Police strikers occupying the state legislature in the Brazilian city of Salvador have vowed to resist if troops try to flush them out amid a tense standoff between the security forces.
More than 1,000 soldiers and police on Monday surrounded the legislative assembly occupied by hundreds of strikers and their families, Lieutenant-Colonel Marcio Cunha, an army spokesman, said.
Outside the legislature building, some 300 supporters of the strikers held hands and formed a giant circle to say prayers.
“We are fighting for our rights. If they want war, they will have war. Our fight is against the government,” Eduardo Nascimento, a 56-year-old military policeman, said.
“We are holding talks to end the protest. The police strikers are demanding amnesty but the government can’t stop a judicial decision which orders the capture” of the strike leaders, Robinson Almeida, a spokesman for the Bahia state secretariat, told AFP news agency.
The strikers are also demanding higher pay and better working conditions. Officials say a third of the state’s 31,000 police have joined the strike.
Crime wave
The strike, which began six days ago, has led to an increase in crime including at least 93 murders in and around Salvador, where major Carnival celebrations are set to begin in two weeks.
Earlier, strike leader Marcos Prisco vowed “to resist,” warning that “if the army storms the building, there could be a catastrophe,” according to the Globo website G1.
Prisco said nearly 4,000 people — striking police and their families, including 300 children — were inside the legislature.
In a telephone interview later in the day, the 42-year-old labour leader said he expected the standoff to “end up in negotiations.”
Justice Minister Jose Eduardo Cardoso, leading the federal efforts, said more federal security forces could be sent to Bahia if needed. He said the security situation is still “unstable”.
On Saturday, a contingent of 3,500 army, navy and federal police took control of security in the state.
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