Lisbon, Sep 19 (EFE).- The Government of Portugal, which has banned the export of arms to Israelreported that it is studying the situation of a Portuguese-flagged ship that is transporting explosive material to Montenegro and Slovenia, although its cargo will then be destined for three countries, “one of them Israel.”
The conservative Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel revealed this information in statements published today by the Público media and the Renascença radio station, although he qualified that this material could be used for weapons or other purposes, such as construction.
“What we knew was that he was transporting explosive material, which, in essence, is the material that would be used by the buyers of this material for the purposes of their firms and companies. Later, we continued to receive new information and it became clear that the material was destined for three countries, one of them being Israel,” he said.
Of the total cargo, half will go to Poland and Slovakia, and the other half to Israel.
Rangel added that the purchasing companies are of three nationalities and that “all of them are arms manufacturing companies,” although “with a clause that excludes weapons of mass destruction.”
“The material on the ship is dual-use material, meaning it can be used for weapons, it can be used for, for example, construction in public works, tunnels, quarries,” he said.
In late August, in statements to local media, the minister justified that, although the ship has a Portuguese flag, it is German.
In his statements today, Rangel said that “Portugal is not standing still” in the face of this situation, but “it is a very complex legal situation.”
“There is no effective legal reason to date for removing the flag. There may certainly be political reasons,” he said.
The minister recalled that the Government, led since April by the conservative Luis Montenegro, has denied the export of arms to Israel and prohibited “this month” the overflight of a plane USA which was transporting weapons to that country.
The circumstances of this ship were denounced days ago by several political parties, such as the Left Bloc and the Portuguese Communist Party, which launched a petition for Rangel to give explanations before Parliament, which will do so on October 15.
Portuguese media reported that the ship came from Vietnam and was blocked in Namibian waters due to the cargo it was carrying. EFE
