LISBON, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- Portuguese police arrested 55 protesters for civil disobedience, and two people were injured in the early hours of Tuesday, as security forces moved to dismantle camps of housing rights protesters in public squares in Lisbon and Porto.
In Lisbon, the public security police intervened at Praca D. Pedro IV to remove tents set up by the Acampada de Lisboa movement. The 55 arrests were made among protesters who allegedly resisted when officers cleared the site.
In Porto, however, demonstrators vacated the square voluntarily without the need for coercive intervention.
Bruno Pereira of the National Police Officers Union said authorities had tried "in every way, with sensitivity, tolerance, understanding, negotiation and successive warnings, to avoid the need to use force."
Police also pledged to protect demonstrators from those who might "contaminate the protests," signaling concerns over external elements joining the movement.
The housing protests have been ongoing for more than 10 days in Porto and have spread across multiple Portuguese cities, with demonstrators calling for laws to curb real estate speculation and demanding government action on housing affordability.
The movement has also called for a joint Iberian general strike on Nov. 11 in coordination with similar housing protests in Spain. ■
