“On behalf of the Portuguese people, I reaffirm Portugal’s total commitment as a member of NATO, as a founder of NATO, wherever and whenever necessary,” said Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa of Air Force Air Command in Monsanto (Lisbon), in a speech in English as part of the ceremony commemorating the 20th anniversary of NATO’s Joint Analysis and Lessons Learned Center (JALLC), located in that complex.
At this ceremony – also attended by the Minister of National Defense Helena Carreiras – the head of state guaranteed that Portugal will keep its commitments to help the “courageous Ukrainian people”, but also “in the Baltic States, in Romania, in the Atlantic, in the Mediterranean, in improving information, in preventing cyber-attacks, in geostrategic analysis”.
“We were, are and will always be ready to fulfill” [os compromissos da NATO]without moods or excuses, to the utmost of our ability”repeated Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
The President of the Republic underlined that precisely because of this commitment, Portugal would be “one of the last — if not the last” [país] — to leave Afghanistan”, recalling that he himself was “the last head of state to be in Kabul even before the start of the pandemic, at the end of 2019”.
“We remain ready and steadfast, with our soldiers, on the most difficult battlefields, on all continents, but especially in Europe,” he stressed.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa spoke of 20 years of JALLC and considered it “20 years of success” and “work for peace, freedom, human rights and democracy”.
“These 20 years are being celebrated at a time of war in Europe, a war that is not just European, it is global, because the values at stake are global, because international law – which was adopted by the Russian Federation in Ukraine was violated – – is global,” he stressed.
The president said that it is “exactly for this reason that in recent decades NATO has become more than ever “much more than an Alliance of States or an Alliance of Peoples”.
“NATO is a crucial guarantee of peace, security and respect for the Charter of Nations, [é uma garantia] of freedom and human dignity,” he said.
Just before the unveiling of a plaque next to an olive tree on the occasion of JALLC’s 20th anniversary, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa emphasized that the plaque in question “depicts the life of JALLC, but also the last 20 years of peace and friendship between the countries of the Alliance”.
“It is a difficult period and the challenges are enormous. However, I believe in peace and friendship, I believe that our values are enduring and that the Alliance, like the olive tree, will always exist and thrive,” he said.
Speaking to the Supreme Commander of Allied Command for NATO’s Transformation, General Philippe Lavigne, who was present at the ceremony, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa wished him a “welcome” to Portugal.
“You are in a trustworthy, friendly and warm country that shares the values that distinguish democracy from dictatorship, freedom from oppression, peace from war,” he said.
Source: DN
