These positions were conveyed to journalists at the Assembly of the Republic by Mariana Mortágua, the coordinator and sole deputy of BE, who reiterated her party’s stance for Portugal to exit NATO, in light of the NATO summit taking place in The Hague, Netherlands.
“We launched an online petition for those who wish to sign, which includes these three points: condemning the attacks, respecting international law, banning the use of bases on national territory in this military escalation, and recognizing Palestine as an essential point for peace in the Middle East,” announced Mariana Mortágua.
The BE coordinator accused Portugal and the European Union of siding by omission with the “escalation of war,” by not condemning the attacks on Iran: “This is the path Netanyahu is following, Trump is following, and apparently, the European Union and Portugal are also following, by omission and complicity.”
Mariana Mortágua expressed support for the “path of diplomacy that respects international law” represented by the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, “who condemned the attacks by Israel on Iran and by the United States on Iran, warning of the need for compliance and respect for the UN Charter and international law.”
“This is the path we advocate, for Europe, for Portugal, a path of diplomacy that respects international law, following the words of António Guterres, UN Secretary-General, and therefore we demand that the Portuguese state condemn the illegal attacks by Israel on Iran and the United States on Iran. There are no preventive attacks in international law,” she declared.
Regarding the Lajes Air Base in the Azores, Mariana Mortágua stated that it was used “for refueling American aircraft,” adding, “We are not clarified on this matter. No guarantee was given that the use of the Lajes Base did not serve for a mission that we consider illegal under international law of an attack by the United States of America on Iran.”
“We want these doubts clarified and we want a guarantee from the Government, just as we want a condemnation of these attacks,” she reinforced.
Later, PS lawmaker Pedro Delgado Alves, questioned by journalists, said his party asked for clarifications about the use of the Lajes Air Base “and the clarifications were provided.”
According to Pedro Delgado Alves, “in accordance with what was conveyed” to the PS, “the requirements of conventional obligations, what is agreed with the United States were met.”
“More information, more detailed, also, obviously, will have to be evaluated in the appropriate place, which is not in public. But, evidently, requested information was provided, and now it will obviously be evaluated with the details at our disposal at this stage and from the opposition,” he added.
Regarding the “nuclear weapons that were given as justification for this attack” on Iran, the BE coordinator claimed they were “a lie,” noting that “the US intelligence services said they did not exist shortly before the attack.”
“It’s a lie, as were the reasons for attacking Iraq several years ago, which left, moreover, a trail of destruction in Iraq and the Middle East,” she pointed out.
Regarding the NATO summit taking place in the Netherlands, Mariana Mortágua reiterated: “We insist, Portugal’s place is not in NATO, Portugal owes no subservience to Donald Trump, and it should coordinate its military efforts within Europe and exit the NATO alliance.”
Previously, Paulo Muacho, a deputy from Livre, considered, regarding the use of the Lajes Base, that the Government’s position, PSD/CDS-PP, has been “too ambiguous and too evasive in providing explanations.”
Paulo Muacho said that Livre directed a question to the Government on this matter and is awaiting explanations on “the level of knowledge the Government had about the activities at the Lajes Air Base.”
Meanwhile, IL parliamentary leader Mariana Leitão, when asked if she considers the government’s explanations sufficient, replied: “I think that, in principle, it must comply with the multilateral and bilateral agreements already established. It is up to the Portuguese Government to decide whether these clarifications were due or not, and whether the agreements are being met or not.”
