It is little wonder that the Algarve's Ria Formosa island communities continue to live in fear of having their properties knocked down as every move they have made has been thwarted by a government deaf to their appeals.
Six months ago an official public petition gained the requisite number of signatures for the discussion over island property rights to be continued in parliament where MPs could ask questions of a government intent on destroying properties and the island way of life.
The Communist Party has had to ask the President of the Commission for the Environment, Planning and Housing why there has been a six month "significant delay" in the processing of the petition.
On receipt of the petição pública, it was sent to the Commission for its input, due diligence and for the petitioners to be interviewed. The petition then should have gone back to the President of the Parliament for the scheduling of a debate, as required by law.
The petition “for the preservation of the Ria Formosa and immediate suspension of demolitions" has been politically sidelined and the 4,300 signatories ignored by a government system that is meant to be in place to enable citizens' voices to be heard.
This petition was delivered and accepted at the National Assembly on December 24, 2015, and was sent to the Commission on January 19, 2016 for its professional input - it has been there ever since.
After six months, the hearing of the petitioners as required by law has simply been ignored with not one being interviewed.
The Committee is meant to examine the petition within 60 days so the Communist Party’s parliamentary group has demanded that the President of the Commission for Environment, Planning and Housing, as a matter of urgency, examines the petition and submits his findings to the President of the Parliament so that a debate can be scheduled.
The island demolitions have been hampered by individual injunctions but still over 300 properties have been removed. The Ministry of the Environment's target is for over 800 island properties to be destroyed.
When António Costa became prime minister in the autumn of 2015, he suspended demolitions until after the 2016 tourist season so everyone could have a good think about what to do next.
If the government continues to do nothing during the summer and a parliamentary debate is not held until demolitions recommence this autumn, the islanders will find themselves tricked yet again by a government intent on their removal.
