‘Operation Stork’ in 2024

Operation Stork (“Operação Cegonha”) was a broad initiative under the authoritarian Salazar regime in Portugal, focused on the removal of children from families considered politically undesirable. It also encompassed the interception of correspondence, military censorship, state surveillance and brutal suppression of dissent. Ideologies of nationalism, conservatism, and Portugal as a superior colonial power were imposed through propaganda, whilst economic policies concentrated wealth and power in an elite class of large landowners, industrialists and the Catholic Church. Workers' rights were suppressed, whilst in African colonies military force, torture and forced labour were used.

The regime maintained a firm grip on power for decades and its legacy continues in Portuguese society in this 50th anniversary year of the Carnation Revolution. This blog post describes how calculated interception of private correspondence is still occurring in Portugal, in 2024, with knowledge and consent of public authorities in Tavira Municipality.

Letter no. 907/C on the establishment of military censorship of postal communications between the Continent, the Azores and Madeira Ministry of War - Office of the Minister Date: 28 May 1943

Interception of Correspondence in Portugal

Photographs above and below are from a visit on 24 February 2024 to ‘Museu das Comunicações’ in Lisbon, operated by Portuguese Communications Foundation of which CTT Correios de Portugal is a founding member. I could not find any entry on TripAdvisor for this museum, although it was featured on Google Maps. The museum contains exhibits on the 500-year history of post in Portugal. An introductory panel reads, “The history of the post is, after all, a history of successes…”, which (considering Portugal’s record) comes across as historical negationism. Perhaps to protect an image and for fear that scars of fascism still run deep in the social fabric of Portugal, only a single exhibit (Letter no. 907/C, above) makes reference to the interception of correspondence. One exhibit shows this cartoon from 1962 of a postman finding a man and woman inside a postbox, which might be a double-reference to interception of mail as well as hiding place:

Brief History of Post in Portugal

The first postal systems in Portugal were exclusive to the needs of the king, nobility, church and merchants. Ordinary people were effectively excluded from sending and receiving correspondence. A royal charter on 6 November 1520 created a position of High Courier and the service was available to any citizen via the payment of a sum. In 1606, the king sold rights to operate the postal system to a nobleman whose family maintained control over it until 1797. The state took back control and the first stagecoach service was established between Lisbon and Coimbra in 1798. Legislation was passed in 1800 for creating 17 postal districts in Lisbon, naming streets, numbering houses and hiring "energetic loyal boys" to distribute mail door to door, but it took until 1821 for home postal delivery to be established. In 1864, rail transport replaced the stagecoach. Postage stamps were introduced after a Postal Reform Act in 1852 and by 1893 a rural postal service was operational. In 1885, Lisbon hosted a Universal Postal Congress with representatives from around the world.

‘Museu das Comunicações’ is astoundingly silent on Portugal’s shameful tradition of state-sanctioned interference with private correspondence (which continues in 2024), although one panel mentions “countless criticisms” of the service provided by the High Courier (1606-1797). ‘Official Guide of the CTT’, no. 7, February 1942, describes the postman, “…distributing regularly and with accuracy the correspondence and goods in his custody and trust … With a placid and icy appearance, he is the faithful messenger of life and death … conducted with fantastic coldness and indifference.” The propaganda machine of Portugal’s elite must have been as active then as now!

A panel titled “ESTADO NOVO” states, “the organisation and structure of the Postal Services was consolidated” and mentions “expansion of the service's assets” and “an opportunity for young architects … which led to the construction of post offices…” but omits any reference to Operation Stork. Whilst WW2 was being fought by other nations and Salazar sought to prolong the war by helping both sides, the Portuguese World Exhibition of 1940 had a “Pavilhão das Telecomunicações”.

• Postage stamp for 1940 Portuguese World Exhibition

After the Postal Reform Act of 1852, use of the postage stamp became compulsory, “This changed the way in which the post office worked entirely, since the service was now paid for by the sender rather than the recipient.” Oh, really?! Then why is it impossible to receive mail in 2024 without submitting to extortion?

The last panel describes CTT as “a familiar and trusted company” since floating on the stock market in 2013; whereas, the price of its shares peaked at €10.49 around 2016 and is €3.645 on 29 February 2024.

2024

In 2024, for the entire village of Pedras d’el Rei (containing approximately 800 houses with license for habitation), only 14 post boxes exist on a dirt track outside the village.

More than 95% of houses in the village are normally unoccupied, due illegal administration throughout several decades. CTT employees obediently deliver mail (“just doing their job”, whilst knowing they commit crime) addressed to private homeowners to a criminal organisation which occupies a so-called “reception building”, which criminal organisation withholds mail from intended recipients unless they submit to extortion. Town Hall of Tavira knowingly permits this criminality, by refusing acknowledge public ownership of public infrastructure or identify residential houses in the village with the street names, and by approving an illegal postcode (8800-531). GNR agents in Tavira consciously refuse to permit reports of crime against the mafia which controls the municipality. CTT (a publicly traded company) refuses to consider that its employees and agents might be active participants in criminality. Public prosecution service of Portugal refuses to consider that its office in Tavira might be incapable of performing its function.

"Switchboard Girls"

Before mobile phones and before telephone calls were automated, a human intermediary was required to connect caller with receiver. To perform their job, that human required to listen into the conversation. An information panel at ‘Museu das Comunicações’ reads, “To be hired, these girls had to be single, over 1.50m in height, aged between 16 and 20, have a primary school diploma and have a good ear, good voice and good diction”. They were taught “handling various types of calls and the company rules and regulations” and, “Discretion and efficiency were desired qualities, as was adherence to a strict set of rules on telephone manner … the entire call revolved around her.” ‘Museu das Comunicações’ makes no mention of any training as informants for the fascist state or of the potential for sexual abuse of those “switchboard girls”.

Reflections

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Reflections 〰️

This conscious participation in calculated criminality on the part of many individuals and entities reflects deeper issues in Portuguese society. Trust in government and political institutions in Portugal remains low compared to other European countries, reflecting either rational or irrational skepticism of the legal system and other institutions. Building trust may help social cohesion, promote economic growth, and strengthen democratic governance. Various legislative measures might improve trust amongst human inhabitants of Portugal, e.g:

1. Decriminalise defamation: The criminalisation of “defamation” is an assault against free speech, a legacy of colonialism and a prop for fascist ideologists, as has been recognised by countries such as United Kingdom, Argentina and Sri Lanka. Its use continues as a weapon of last resort in retrograde nations such as Spain, Portugal and Pakistan (which all prohibit the use of swords by ordinary citizens to defend a reputation), despite that allegations of defamation are used only as legalised swords for the purpose of protecting powerful people from scrutiny by causing economic and emotional harm to a victim.

2. Permit any photography and recording of own conversations. Many cases of intimate partner violence are not witnessed by others and discreet recording of evidence may be vital for evidentiary purposes. Scotland required to tighten its criminal law in 2016, in the following manner:

   2.1 Disclosing, or threatening to disclose, an intimate photograph or film. A person (“A”) commits an offence if—

   (a) A discloses, or threatens to disclose, a photograph or film which shows, or appears to show, another person (“B”) in an intimate situation,

   (b) by doing so, A intends to cause B fear, alarm or distress or A is reckless as to whether B will be caused fear, alarm or distress, and

   (c) the photograph or film has not previously been disclosed to the public at large, or any section of the public, by B or with B’s consent.

   The reason why Scotland required to tighten its criminal law is that making and/or sharing photographs of anyone (in any state of dress or undress) was not already penalised by legislation or common law.

3. Improve transparency of public information and accountability of public servants. Portugal’s land registry remains not publicly available, due to devious insertion of loopholes into legislation by its scamming elite. It is not even possible for co-owners of condominiums to contact one another for the purpose of convening the legally-mandated meetings of co-owners each January! Portugal’s EU-mandated Registo Central de Beneficiário Efetivo (for adopting preventive and repressive measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing) has been inaccessible due to “technical reasons” throughout more than 2 months when I have tried to access it.

4. Social welfare reforms: Implementing real policies (not just in pretence) aimed at reducing inequality and poverty are necessary. One such policy (very obviously) is to make registries of real estate and legal entity ownership transparently available to the public. Another such policy would be to soften mandatory inheritance rules, so that competent adults can decide more freely who receives their estate when they die.

5. Ethical standards for professionals and public officials: Portugal needs to establish clear ethical standards for professionals and public officials to help prevent conflicts of interest and unethical behaviour. Neophyte lawyers throughout the world, as revealed by Panama Papers and other disclosures of information, have created a global supranational-complex in which legal professionals can act with impunity to scam the majority. For holding those ambitious but stupid lawyers accountable, it is necessary for Portugal to remove the words “duty of obedience” from article 271.3 of its constitution and to stop funding the Catholic Church.

6. Linguistic freedom: Many Portuguese people know English language very well but use it selectively, obviously for the purpose of concealing conscious criminal intent. This reflects a “low-trust” and backward social structure and widespread ignorance of Rule of Law, consequent from many centuries of control by Catholic Church (Scottish Enlightenment philosophers would have described it as “superstition”), exacerbated by Salazar dictatorship (perhaps “excess enthusiasm”, if Scottish Enlightenment philosophers had commented from their graves).

7. "Portugal Day" ("Dia de Portugal") replaced "Dia da Raça" (Day of the Race) as a national holiday in Portugal on June 10, 1978. In this 50th anniversary year of Carnation Revolution, could Portugal could consider change the date of this national public holiday? The date was made a public holiday under Salazar dictatorship and has toxic connotations, consistently promulgated as xenophobia and hatred of aliens online.

8. Freedoms of assembly and association require to be better protected in Portugal, e.g. I was continuously watched by 2 police officers whilst merely eating lunch at a restaurant in Tavira on 19th February 2024 (they declined my invitation to join me for a beer, preferring to talk frantically on their phones):

19 February 15:03, 2024

Although it never had an equivalent of Nuremberg Trials, Portugal needs to view Neo-Salazarists like Germany views neo-Nazis (as a serious threat to its democratic society).

A display panel at Lisbon’s Museum of Resistance and Freedom includes this:

Display panel at Museu do Aljube, Lisbon