The PS this Tuesday classified the attitude of the soldiers of the ship Mondego as a “clear insubordination” and defended that the political power should not try to justify such episodes in the armed forces.
“I would like to regret several political statements I have heard since the beginning of last week from various political leaders in this parliament, including those who tried in some way to provide a political framework or some sort of justification for an act of this nature, which is an act that does not have this framework in what our armed forces are “argued deputy Diogo Leão.
The socialist, speaking in the parliamentary defense committee, classified the refusal of the 13 soldiers of the ship ‘Mondego’ to embark on the 11th for a mission to escort a Russian ship in Madeira as a “clear insubordination”.
“The day when political power and holders of sovereign organs try to justify military insubordination is a sad day and a black day for the Republic”considered.
The deputies debated Chega’s requirements and the Liberal initiative to hear Defense Minister Helena Carreiras and Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Henrique Gouveia e Melo in parliament – only unanimously approving the Liberal initiative .
The PS felt it was important for the committee to keep abreast of the country’s naval capabilities, but recalled that deputies recently heard Admiral Gouveia e Melo behind closed doors about naval resources, accusing the parties of “a step of some political expediency”.
Diogo Leão insisted this was a case of insubordination as this is “really the issue” that is addressed “under the right circumstances”, but he approved IL’s request.
Jorge Paulo Oliveira, from the PSD, defended that the episode involving the ship ‘Mondego’ was “serious and worrying” and that it may endanger Portugal’s image with the European Union and NATO.
On a national level, the Social Democrat believed that the incident could damage the image of the Navy itself.
For the PSD, the government must provide an explanation and guarantee to the Portuguese that the armed forces are “capable of safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity” and assume the fulfillment of international obligations.
The IL’s parliamentary leader Rodrigo Saraiva explained that the party’s goal in proposing the hearings was not the concrete episode of insubordination, but rather to gain insight into the state of the Armada’s material resources.
According to the liberal, this situation has consequences for the country’s relationship with its international partners.
Pedro Pessanha, Chega’s deputy, was concerned about the “lack of maintenance of military equipment”, claiming that it is not known whether the ‘Mondego’ “did not go to sea due to lack of conditions”.
“What we do know is that unfortunately a naval warship did not go to sea and it has cast a bad light on the entire Portuguese navy,” he lamented, highlighting the navy’s “tremendous reputation”.
Despite this, the deputy was concerned about “acts of indiscipline” in the military, arguing that “there are no armed forces without respect for the hierarchical chain of command”.
On March 11, the Ship of the Portuguese Republic (NRP) ‘Mondego’ failed to accompany a Russian ship to the north of the island of Porto Santo, in the Madeira archipelago, after 13 soldiers refused to board for safety reasons. .
The Public Prosecution Service suspended the interrogation of these soldiers on Monday by decision of the public prosecutor in order to further analyze the process, the defense announced.
The army in question was to be heard by the Military Judicial Police (PJM) in Lisbon, as part of a criminal investigation after participation by the navy.
The industry has also initiated disciplinary proceedings.
Source: DN
