The Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, has appeared in the Senate to defend the management of her portfolio and the Armed Forces during DANA. The minister has assured that “almost five hours” have passed since the Valencian Generalitat requested the activation of the Military Emergency Unit (UME) “only for Utiel and Requena until the update is requested for the entire province of Valencia”.
Robles has clarified that “from the first moment” the soldiers were in the assigned area and on pre-alert for the moment in which it was requested for the entire region. “The chief general of the UME, taking advantage of the advance deployment that was being carried out in Utiel and Requena, ordered the deployment of a section.” The minister stressed that the Government quickly made available to the Valencian Generalitat “all available resources to deal with the emergency”but it was not until 8:36 p.m. when activation was requested from the entire province.
“Despite the difficulty of a crisis of this magnitude, from the first moment, since level 2 was declared, there were already almost a hundred soldiers working in the area and, from then on, every minute, troops were incorporated and material to face the consequences,” explained the Defense Minister.
The head of Defense has charged against the president of the Valencian Generalitat, Carlos Mazón, for be at a meal on DANA day “much more time than necessary to make decisions” in the face of “such a dramatic situation.” Mazón was eating on October 29 with journalist Maribel Vilaplana in a restaurant to offer her to direct regional television, according to sources from the Generalitat. Robles has reproached the popular senator Eva Ortiz for being part of a party that “supports” an autonomous Executive “that in difficult times for citizens is in meals.”
Regarding when the thousands of soldiers and security forces displaced to the area will begin to leave to help in the cleaning, control and search for missing people, Robles has assured that they will stay “until the last moment” and that “the citizens of Valencia say ‘leave now’.” Robles has highlighted that “the response has been and is being of characteristics that have never been seen before in our country”, and covers more than 8,600 military personnel belonging to the UME, the Earth, Air and Space armies, the Navy and the Royal Guard, with specialties that range from intervention specialists, health engineers, transmissions, air traffic controllers, pilots or psychologists.
“I expected more from you”
After Robles’ intervention, the popular senator reproached the minister for the fact that the UME was deployed “in less than 24 hours” in Morocco after the earthquake in September 2023 and that, however, the UME troops arrived late at the Valencian Community. “I didn’t expect much from this Government, but yes I expected more from you“, he told her, heading to the minister’s chair.
Likewise, the PP senator recalled that the military associations were “eager to go out and help” but that the Government “would not let them.” “I don’t understand how they could have stood impassively in the face of a national emergency of this caliber,” he asked. “What do we Valencians have to ask of our Government? Do we have to ask for humanity?” he launched, insisting that the Executive “he did not want to offer all the capabilities” of the Armed Forces.
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