The Popular Party has closed ranks with its spokesperson in Congress, Ester Muñoz, who compared on Thursday the detention of a Spanish ‘blue helmet’ deployed in the UN mission in Lebanon by Israel with a traffic stop.
"What we do know is that he has been (detained) for an hour. I have been in traffic stops that have held me for much longer", she said when asked about the detention of a Spanish soldier in Lebanon after stating that she was unaware of the details of the matter.
This Friday, the deputy secretary of the PP, Miguel Tellado, has backed his party colleague and has stated that “everyone has understood perfectly” the meaning of her words, defending their compatibility with respect for the Armed Forces.
For his part, Muñoz has defended his “constant” support for the Armed Forces and has insisted that his intervention in Congress was misinterpreted, assuring that the PP will continue to support the work of the Spanish military in international missions.
Robles says he feels "vicarious embarrassment" for the statements
In response, the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, has expressed her “vicarious embarrassment” for the statements and has demanded respect both for the deployed military personnel and for the Civil Guard.
“It deeply pained me, I felt vicarious embarrassment,” Robles reiterated, who considers that the PP is ignoring the risk that Spanish military personnel assume in Lebanon, “risking their lives.” She also stressed that the detention of the Spanish serviceman constituted a “violation” of the rules that regulate the actions of the United Nations.
Robles has recalled that the military personnel, who suffered "violence" in his detention, was released after diplomatic efforts and has warned that the mission in Lebanon is carried out in extremely complex conditions, with constant risk for the deployed personnel.
Robles has made these statements in Siero (Asturias), during her visit to the ‘Cabo Noval’ barracks, where the ‘Príncipe’ Infantry Regiment number 3 has its base.
From there, has demanded respect for the Civil Guard, of which has pointed out that it carries out traffic controls “in conditions”, and has extended that demand to the military personnel who carry out peacekeeping missions in Lebanese territory.
Albares asks Feijóo for a rectification
Along the same lines, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, has described Muñoz's words as “shameful” and has stressed that a Spanish military personnel “cannot be detained for even a single second.”
Likewise, he has asked for respect for the more than 600 Spanish troops deployed in the United Nations mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL), who operate in an environment of high instability and violence and has also urged the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, to rectify the words of his spokesperson and has accused the opposition of not defending international law or condemning the military escalation in the region.