Portuguese protest consulate closure

ABOUT 100 Portuguese people, many wearing traditional dress, demonstrated in front of the recently closed Portuguese consulate in Namibia on Saturday afternoon.

Portugal closed its Windhoek consulate on March 15, three years after closing its embassy. The Portuguese government is streamlining its diplomatic missions worldwide and says the Windhoek consulate was closed because there was not enough work to justify its existence.But Manuel Coelho, elected by the Portuguese community in Namibia to act as their representative, has challenged the Portuguese authorities on this issue.He claims that all consular acts had been performed in Johannesburg for the past three years and demanded that the statistics on the consulate’s workload should be made public in the interest of transparency.He also demanded that the statistics of consular activities in countries such as Gabon, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia and Morocco be made public.Portugal has diplomatic missions in these countries although there are no significant Portuguese communities there.A mere five years ago, Portugal invested 550 000 euro in the construction of the Diego Cao Portuguese Culture and Language Centre in Windhoek, which currently has 4 000 students, adults and children.Coelho is a recipient of Portugal’s Cross of Merit for services to the Namibian Portuguese community, and has vowed to give the award back to the Portuguese president, if the government doesn’t rescind its decision to close the consulate.Another prominent member of the local Portuguese community, Jorge Neves, said the community employed many Namibians, contributed to the economy and development of the country and paid taxes.By closing the consulate, the Portuguese government was sending a negative message to the Namibian Government, he said.How could the Portuguese community in future ask the Namibian Government for any assistance if they had been abandoned by their own government, he asked.An appeal was also made to the Namibian Government to support the 2 000-strong Portuguese community in Namibia on the issue.The Portuguese government is streamlining its diplomatic missions worldwide and says the Windhoek consulate was closed because there was not enough work to justify its existence.But Manuel Coelho, elected by the Portuguese community in Namibia to act as their representative, has challenged the Portuguese authorities on this issue.He claims that all consular acts had been performed in Johannesburg for the past three years and demanded that the statistics on the consulate’s workload should be made public in the interest of transparency.He also demanded that the statistics of consular activities in countries such as Gabon, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia and Morocco be made public.Portugal has diplomatic missions in these countries although there are no significant Portuguese communities there.A mere five years ago, Portugal invested 550 000 euro in the construction of the Diego Cao Portuguese Culture and Language Centre in Windhoek, which currently has 4 000 students, adults and children.Coelho is a recipient of Portugal’s Cross of Merit for services to the Namibian Portuguese community, and has vowed to give the award back to the Portuguese president, if the government doesn’t rescind its decision to close the consulate.Another prominent member of the local Portuguese community, Jorge Neves, said the community employed many Namibians, contributed to the economy and development of the country and paid taxes.By closing the consulate, the Portuguese government was sending a negative message to the Namibian Government, he said.How could the Portuguese community in future ask the Namibian Government for any assistance if they had been abandoned by their own government, he asked.An appeal was also made to the Namibian Government to support the 2 000-strong Portuguese community in Namibia on the issue.