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We evoke today, in Portugal and in the Diaspora, the timeless bonds that link the Portuguese community, united in a language and an identity which find their grandest expression with Luis Vaz de Camões, whose voice merges with the History of this “…Lusitanian Kingdom, where land ends and the sea opens...”

This year, the celebrations of the National Day of Portugal, Camões and the Portuguese Communities return to the city of Lisbon, which faces the Tagus from which our forebears departed to begin the greatest of epics, forever moulding the mind and the feelings of a Nation.

Each monument surrounding us reproduces a part of our History, made up of lives and feats of simple men, whose courage and beliefs overcame the fears of the unknown and of risk. All of them have, as a common trait, the love for their Country and victory over adverse circumstances, in an admirable demonstration of the capability to undertake and carry out great enterprises.

Facing other challenges that arise before us, to celebrate this day, wherever we may be, is also to recall that the grandeur of peoples is in the capability and the determination to overcome obstacles, keeping faith in the values of our identity.

Servicemen,

The contribution of the military effort is deeply linked to the construing of nationality and to the preservation of our sovereignty, independence and freedom.

On this day, we render heartfelt and fair tribute to those who gave all and sacrificed the best of their lives and of their youth for this Portugal that we love, particularly those who lost their lives or their physical wholeness in the service of the Armed Forces and that the State must not forget.

To the former combatants, these men of great character, who tread an arduous route, fraught with challenges and difficulties, and to the families who, beyond the ranks, suffered the absences and the losses of their loved ones, I want to express, on behalf of the Portuguese, a feeling of gratefulness, but, above all, the respect, the support and the solidarity they are due.

Portuguese,

In an environment where the threats that impend over States have become more than ever diffused, even the institutions present for centuries in our History, such as the military institution, must reach a renewed proximity with the people and a clear sense of usefulness, avoiding an undesirable distancing and a possible lack of understanding on the true significance of their existence.

All societies have as main objectives guaranteeing their security and the assurance of their development. It occurs that, without security, it is impossible to attain the stability required for development, just as development is not a guarantee of security.

And it is with regard to such objectives that National Defence appears as a transversal concept to the State’s action and which has in the Armed Forces a central and unavoidable component.

The Armed Forces are a structural institution within the democratic Rule of Law, a pillar of the assertion of national identity and a prime tool for the demonstration of the will of the Nation, to assume and gain respect for its sovereignty and independence and to ensure its future.

Servicemen,

National sovereignty asserts itself, nowadays, within a framework of many dependencies, and the defence of our interests is processed, in the first instance, in the various political, economic, cultural and military international organizations in which we belong.

In this global world of our times, security is more internationalized and characterized by a deeper cooperation among States.

When participating in missions within the scope of the international organizations which we comprise, our Armed Forces are in the first rank of defence of national interests, in the support of the State’s foreign policy, honouring the commitments assumed by the Country. Serving in Operational Theatres of great demand and risk, our servicemen have provided value to Portugal’s contribution for peace, development and security of other peoples and countries.

In Lebanon, and after 6 years of operation, our forces will now terminate their mission, during which they developed notable work in the support of the United Nations Force and in the aid to the people, having incorporated, in the last stage, a military detachment from the fraternal people of East Timor.

We continue in Kosovo, in Afghanistan and in the Indian Ocean, where we contribute with a Naval Force in the repression and prevention of acts of piracy in the region.

In August next we will commence, within the scope of NATO, a policing mission of Iceland’s air space.

In the area of Techno-Military Cooperation, with 43 projects being carried out in six countries, the Portuguese Armed Forces strengthen the solidarity liaison with the Portuguese Speaking Countries, also assuming itself as a relevant component for the assertion of our language and our culture, as I was able to witness in my recent visit to East Timor.

Allow me to address, at this time, a particular greeting to the fraternal people of Cape Verde and to its Armed Forces, represented here by their President for whose presence amongst us, on this day and in this military ceremony, I am most grateful.

Outstanding, equally, is the important contribution of our servicemen for the development and unity of our national entity, through the Missions of Public Interest and in the aid to people in disaster situations, in the preservation of the environment and in the planning and collection of national citizens from zones in conflict.

This is how, diversely but most demanding, our Armed Forces fulfil today their inalienable cause to exist: defend and serve Portugal.

Servicemen,

We live in times of great difficulty and sacrifices for the whole of Portuguese society. The Armed Forces have been assuming their proportional part in the effort, enabling and managing thriftily and rigorously the resources made available.

The men and women who serve in the Armed Forces continue to be their most valuable resource. Throughout the last twenty years, approximately 40 thousand Portuguese servicemen notably fulfilled missions in eighteen Operational Theatres, showing exemplary human conduct and military value, without failures in actions or proceedings. A fact, moreover, always recognized by the peoples and by the different conflicting parties, which has greatly contributed towards the reinforcement of the Country’s image.

Such a performance is solely possible since it is based on the sound ethical and moral training of the servicemen and on a cohesive, disciplined and well prepared structure, which derives from the sharing of the deepest martial values, congregated in the military condition. This is a condition that differentiates servicemen from the remaining public servants, due to the increased responsibility that accrues from the particular nature of their duties and from their permanent availability and pride to serve Portugal, even in situations where their lives may be at risk.

The preservation of the military condition must constitute an obligation clearly assumed by the State towards the Nation and that must be observed with honour and sobriety by servicemen.

Servicemen,

Any reforms in the Armed Forces must be based on a process of political responsibility and decision, necessarily involving the military chiefs, and be the object of an enlarged consensus among the several sovereign bodies.

This is the reason why decisions to be taken must be faced in a more enlarged temporal horizon, in order to avoid, in the long term, the weakening of the performance and the operational capability of the Armed Forces.

It is, as I stated one year ago, “the reduction of capability in producing security could carry non-negligible risks to development and social welfare”.

Servicemen,

The Armed Forces are deeply linked to the construing of Portugal and to the feelings of its people, assuming a unique importance in the preservation of the values of Sovereignty and Independence, which provide sense to the life and continuity of Nations.

It is thus my wish to reassert my total trust in the men and women who, devotedly and professionally serve Portugal and the Armed Forces, and whose performance is recognizably, today, at the level of the best military units of allied countries and partners with whom they operate in missions in foreign territories, in the unremitting safeguard of the ideals of Peace, Freedom and Democracy.

I encourage you to overcome difficulties with the determination, spirit of sacrifice and strength of will that characterizes you, in a prideful attitude exemplary for all Portuguese.

I accompany you in the determination to build a promising future, in respect to the memory of those that preceded us and in the duty that pertains us to continue Portugal.

Thank you very much