other minor incidents followed that one, arson became the new FLAMA strategy. The targets were the cars of university professors, syndicalists, members of parliament and journalists. However, this new phase of FLAMA "escaped the control" of the directory members, with one member in particular setting fires which were no longer under FLAMA's ideological motivations. He was identified as Eduardo Mendonça. At the end of 1977, the Portuguese Judiciary Police (from the Portuguese: Polícia Judiciária) counted 14 bombings in Madeira, perpetrated by FLAMA. On 15 February 1978, 3 suspects were detained and accused of terrorism and 219 objects used in bombing devices were found. As a reaction to the detentions, FLAMA left two firecrackers in the Palace of Justice (Portuguese: Palácio da Justiça) in Funchal. On 5 April, two police officers and two tourists were injured in a car explosion set by FLAMA. FLAMA's first deadly attack took place on 23 August 1978, when a car bomb was set and the 19 year-old operational, João Alberto, who was installing it was killed. Another member, Alírio Paulo Fernandes, committed suicide while detained by the police. However, suicide was never confirmed as the cause of death which led to protests during his funeral, where independents accused the police of abuse of power. Following this event, FLAMA dispersed and there are no more records of any bombings. Recent Controversies While it is said in multiple sources that the organization vanished due to its diminishing importance after 1976 and the establishment of Madeira as an autonomous region, recent news indicates the opposite. Allegedly one of FLAMA's most important activists was the controversial Alberto João Jardim, the former President of the regional government of Madeira, co-founder of the Madeiran branch of the popular centre-right-wing Portuguese party PSD and former Vice-president of the European People's Party. However, he has denied any connection to FLAMA, stating that “contrary to what my political adversaries have accused me of- it's not that FLAMA was dishonourable, on the contrary actually-, I not only have never belonged to its organizations, as I also never established any contact with them. Everyone had their role in defending democracy. Mine was ensuring the survival of PSD and of Madeira's Newspaper.” This accusation is supported by a photo in which Albert João Jardim is wearing a shirt that states "Madeira, my Homeland". On 1 July 2011, the Region's Autonomy Day, fifty FLAMA flags were raised in