With controversy still bubbling over Israel’s treatment earlier this week of the humanitarian flotilla trying to carry aid to Gaza, it has now been established beyond doubt that US military aircraft made a stopover at Lajes airbase on the Azorean island of Terceira, bound for Israel, without official prior notification to the Portuguese government (or at least the correct ministry).
The government, however, has been at pains to insist that its commitment not to sell any arms or weaponry to Israel – nor allow the passage of such through national territory – has not been violated.
In a statement made to Lusa last night, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs explains that the planes’ use of the airbase had “tacit communication and authorisation” by the AAN (national aeronautical authority) overseen by the Ministry of Defence.
“Given the sensitivity of the issue, this communication should have been reported to the office of the minister of Foreign Affairs (Paulo Rangel) before the authorisation period expired (ie before the planes had landed and later taken off),” admits the statement.
This lapse constituted an “obvious procedural failure, contrary to internal instructions given by the Minister of State and Foreign Affairs, which are, moreover, publicly known,” the note adds.
The ministry will now move forward with “an investigation of responsibilities and modification of procedures in order to prevent such procedural failures from occurring again, especially in tacit authorisation processes.”
In other words, someone will be in the dog house, and the buck may well stop at the desk of the Ministry of Defence, Nuno Melo – who is being widely criticised today over his less than charitable remarks about the Portuguese citizens arrested when Israeli military stormed the humanitarian flotilla.
For now, the moral of this story would seem to be ‘don’t think military planes can arrive at Lajes without anyne taking notice’”’. The plane-spotting fraternity on Terceira Island is generally on its toes, and denying certain movements happen will almost certainly end with video evidence showing the contrary.
As El Pais explained in its story earlier this week, the fighter jets’ passage through Terceira Island will have been decided because the Spanish government denied the transit of arms destined for Israel, “which included the six aircraft that flew from Fort Worth, Texas, in March and April, heading for Seville’s Morón airbase”.
A spokesperson for the US Embassy in Lisbon has also assured journalists that the United States “always requests authorisation for aircraft to fly over Terceira”.
“We do not comment on specific aircraft movements, but it is routine to request authorisation for these aircraft to use Lajes,” the source added, conceding that there are “hundreds of aircraft in transit at Lajes Base every year (…) We appreciate the continued strong relations with our Portuguese colleagues at Lajes Base.”
This is not the first time eyebrows have been raised over Portugal’s apparent accommodation of the United States.
In June, the arrival of 12 refuelling planes caused another stir, this time in the context of the US attack on Iraq. At the time, Paulo Rangel reiterated the country’s commitment not to allow the transit of any kind of arms or weaponry bound for Israel.
A few months later, in September, Portugal accompanied other countries in joining the majority of nations that recognises ‘the state of Palestine’.
Source material: LUSA/ Expresso/ El Pais
