In the opinion article, Luís Parreirão stressed that “Unfortunately, the mayor of Lisbon understood that the best way to approach the tragedy that was slaughtered about the capital was to bring to the debate the behavior of Jorge Coelho 24 years ago.”
Luís Parreirão, former Secretary of Public Works, criticized this Wednesday how Carlos Coins referred to former Minister Jorge Coelho about the fall of the bridge of Entre-os-Rios, considering that “painful circumstances lead to disorder situations”.
The former Secretary of State refers to an allegation on Sunday, by the Mayor of Lisbon on the causes of the accident with the Glory Elevator, which caused 16 dead and several injured, that Jorge Coelho, already deceased, resigned as minister of social equipment because he had received information in his office that pointed to the fragility of the bridge of Entre-os-Rios before the 2001 accident.
In this interview, Carlos Coins refused his comparison and said that Jorge Coelho’s office had received information that pointed to the bridge’s fragility before the accident, while, in his case, he received no sign in this sense in relation to the Glory Elevator.
In the opinion article, Luís Parreirão stressed that “Unfortunately, the mayor of Lisbon understood that the best way to approach the tragedy that was slaughtered about the capital was to bring to the debate the behavior of Jorge Coelho 24 years ago.”
In the understanding of Luís Parreirão, “Do whatever you do, there is no remission anymore.”
Luís Parreirão recalled that at the time of the accident, the Parliament created an inquiry committee and the Attorney General’s Office conducted a criminal inquiry, and no responsibilities was imputed to Jorge Coelho.
In the article, he also recalls that after the accident, a case was proceeding in the Castle of Paiva, a case to which Jorge Coelho was never called.
“As the people say, ‘the lie has a short leg’ and, in this case, only shames its author,” he writes.
“The then minister Jorge Coelho, and with him myself, who was his secretary of state, we understand that the only way was the resignation”he said, stressing that it was objective political responsibility.
“That night no one assumed personal and subjective responsibilities, for the simple reason they did not exist, such as Parliament and PGR came to confirm,” he said.
“Not being able to defend yourself, it is our duty to defend your memory”
On Tuesday, the current president of the European Council, António Costa, and other former ministers of António Guterres, then Prime Minister, accused Carlos Coins of saying “falsehoods” About the late former socialist leader Jorge Coelho.
“We, Jorge Coelho’s companions in the government of António Guterres when the fall of the bridge of Entre-os-Rios, we want to express our indignation for the falsehoods proclaimed by engineer Carlos Coins about what happened in 2001. Jorge Coelho’s attitude was an important contribution to the defense of democracy in the last 25 years,” former ministers of António Guterres have written to the agency.
In addition to former Prime Minister António Costa, they sign the note Alberto Martins, Augusto Santos Silva, Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues, Guilherme Oliveira Martins, Luís Capoulas Santos and Nuno Severiano Teixeira.
“Not being able to defend themselves, it is our duty to defend your memory,” they stress.
