FRONT PAGE STORY - 12/18/1999

Portugal to sue British newspaper?

According to the national press, the Attorney-General has been instructed by the Portuguese Government to initiate legal proceedings against The Guardian, following a report in its Monday edition stating that members of the current Government were involved in the assassination of Sá Carneiro in 1980. Enquiries by THE NEWS in London and Lisbon would seem to suggest that although the contents of The Guardian article are firmly refuted, no definite course of action has yet been decided on.

The article written by the Portuguese correspondent Eduardo Gonçalves, reported that the date set for the trial of the 63 FP-25 members accused of committing numerous crimes against the State during the eighties, 18 of which for murder, coincided with the decision of the Ministry of Justice not to investigate the mysterious death of former Social Democratic Prime Minister, Francisco Sá Carneiro.

Reacting on behalf of the Ministry, António Costa immediately presented a complaint to the Attorney-General's Office with regards to The Guardian's allegation that members of the current Government had been "accused of being involved in the assassination" of Sá Carneiro and in the "subsequent cover-up" of the case. According to articles by both Diário de Notícias and Público on Tuesday, the Portuguese Embassy in London was also called on to lodge an official complaint, on behalf of the Portuguese State, to the London daily. The Foreign Editor of The Guardian, Ed Pilkington told THE NEWS he was 'unavailable for comment'.

The Portuguese Embassy in London confirmed that they had been contacted by the Minister following the publication of the article. Officials from the embassy said they are currently discussing the matter with The Guardian and looking into the concerns expressed regarding the allegations made in the article. The embassy spokesman said "we have good relations with The Guardian and it is premature to discuss legal action."

Referring to Camarate (the location where Sá Carneiro's plane crashed), the newspaper alleges that the new round of legal proceedings against Otelo (who they termed a Portuguese hero), are being used to obscure the growing political quarrels regarding the emergence of new secret testimonies, which are said to suggest that the death of the then Prime Minister in 1980, "was a deliberate assassination, and not an accident, as has always been officially maintained."

The Guardian also states that it has had access to a "suppressed" report illustrating that traces of explosives were found in the wreckage and in shrapnel in victims' bodies who travelled on the ill-fated aeroplane.

Meanwhile, the Otelo case has been postponed until Monday December 20.