“I will not make any judgment on Mariana Mortágua’s initiative, but I can tell you that I am sure from the first to the last moment, from the President of the Republic to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the entire Government of Portugal, that it never occurred to them that the state of Israel would not ensure the safety and the proper treatment of any Portuguese person on board any vessel interacting with the Israeli authorities. I am sure that is what happened,” stated the MEP to agency Lusa, on the sidelines of an electoral campaign action in Fornos de Algodres.
Sebastião Bugalho added that, although he does not share “the same perspective” as the deputy of the Left Bloc on the Middle East conflict, he would not “condemn this initiative of solidarity demonstration” because “everyone’s freedom must be respected.”
“I just note that a group of governments — and even the Holy Father himself — made several appeals to the flotilla not to enter a hostile environment with the Israeli authorities, but the most important thing is that we, as Portuguese and democrats, know that we stand beside any victims of human rights violations, whether Israeli or Palestinian,” he asserted.
The MEP, who today replaced Luís Montenegro in the electoral campaign in Covilhã, Belmonte, and Fornos de Algodres, recalled that Portugal is a democratic country and a defender of human rights, which stands “alongside the victims of Hamas terrorism, as well as the victims of human rights violations in Gaza and all Palestinians who still do not have the right to their land, their food, their health, and their country.”
“That is why Portugal, as a democracy, led by this Government and by this President of the Republic, decided to recognize the state of Palestine,” he recalled.
Sebastião Bugalho also added that, in the European Council, Portugal “has already voted, and stands by, the partial or total suspension” of the partnership agreement between the European Union and Israel, a review process “triggered by the Netherlands, but supported by the Portuguese Government.”
“It was also with efforts from European governments and the pressure from the European Commission that the humanitarian corridor that was closed to Gaza was reopened in June and that, after months without supplies, [the Palestinians] managed to receive some trucks with food and have been able to combat the humanitarian crisis and the tragedy being experienced in Gaza.”
But more is needed, Sebastião Bugalho argued: “Obviously, we have to open Gaza to international journalism and to external and independent observation missions, something Israel has not allowed,” he stated.
