Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has accused ex-leader Jair Bolsonaro's allies of aiding an attack on the presidential palace on Sunday.
Lula said he was convinced supporters of Mr Bolsonaro inside
the palace had been complicit by allowing rioters to enter key state buildings.
And he vowed to carry out a thorough screening of palace
employees in the wake of the attempted insurrection.
LEARN
PROFESSIONAL COURSES FOR FREE AND GET CERTIFIED WITHIN 48HRS (COURSERA)
Some 1,500 people have already been detained in connection
with the attack.
"I am convinced that the door to the Planalto palace
was opened so these people could get in because I didn't see the front door had
been broken down. And that means that somebody facilitated their entry
here," Lula told reporters in the capital Brasilia.
"Many people in the military police were
complicit," the veteran leftist politician said. "There were many
people in the armed forces here inside [the palace] who were complicit."
In the wake of the attack on Sunday, Lula accused local
security officials - who were commanded by Mr Bolsonaro's former Justice
Minister Anderson Torres - of incompetence or active involvement with the
rioters.
DOWNLOAD THE LEADING VIDEO CONFERENCING
AND WEBINAR APP (LIVE STORM)
And he doubled down on the allegations on Thursday, telling
reporters that the presidential palace "was full of Bolsonaristas and
military officials and we want to try to correct this so we can appoint career
civil servants - preferably civilian ones".
"Nobody who is suspected of being a hardcore
Bolsonarista can be allowed to remain in the palace," he went on.
"How can I have someone at the door of my office who might shoot me?"
Arrest warrants have already been issued for a host of top
officials, including Mr Torres, accused of being "responsible for acts and
omissions" that led to the riots.
DOWNLOAD THE LEADING
VIDEO CONFERENCING AND WEBINAR APP (LIVE STORM)
Attention has been turned to the military, widely perceived
as being full of supporters of Mr Bolsonaro - a former army captain during the
last military dictatorship.
The army was forced to deny reports that some of its
officers had prevented police from detaining protesters, after footage showing
angry exchanges between security forces emerged in local media.
But Lula has insisted Defence Minister Jose Mucio will
remain in his post, telling reporters "I trust him".
"If I had to fire a minister every time they made a
mistake the turnaround would be enormous," he added.
DOWNLOAD THE LEADING
VIDEO CONFERENCING AND WEBINAR APP (LIVE STORM)
A member of a right-wing party, Mr Mucio was viewed as a
concession to the military upon his appointment. In November, Mr Bolsonaro's
vice-president Hamilton Mourao welcomed reports of the appointment and said it
would be "very well seen by the armed forces".
Despite the mass arrest of supporters of Mr Bolsonaro,
authorities have expressed concern that more rallies could be organised by his
hard-line allies.
DOWNLOAD THE LEADING
VIDEO CONFERENCING AND WEBINAR APP (LIVE STORM)
According to a memo from federal prosecutors seen by the
BBC, pro-Bolsonaro groups have been calling for "mega" demonstrations
to take place across Brazilian state capitals.
The government is also asking that social media platforms
take steps to suspend accounts that have been involved in planning criminal
behaviour
0 comments:
Post a Comment