Reports of the presence of US military aircraft in Terceira, in the Autonomous Region of the Azores, demand an immediate and urgent clarification by the PSD/CDS government. The PCP condemns any potential use of the Lajes Base by the US to escalate aggression against Iran and warns against Portugal’s involvement in this aggression, given the PSD/CDS government’s policy of alignment and subservience to imperialism.

Recalling that the Lajes Base has functioned as a veritable “aircraft carrier” in the mid-Atlantic for US acts of war — notably during the Gulf War (1990), the invasion of Afghanistan (2001), and the invasion of Iraq (2003) — the PCP reaffirms its opposition to the existence of foreign military bases in Portugal and to the use of Portuguese territory for acts of interference and aggression against other peoples.

The PCP considers it extremely serious that the PSD/CDS government, instead of upholding the Portuguese Constitution by pursuing a policy of peace and the political resolution of conflicts, aligns itself with the forces of militarism and war.

In contrast to those who encourage and feed the militarist escalation, the PCP emphasises the importance of continuing and expanding the struggle for national sovereignty and independence, as well as for Peace, and also in solidarity with all peoples who are the victims of imperialist aggression.