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the way that the Armed Forces had to do it could only be through institutions similar to this Fund. The idea I have is that, from the Ministry of Defense budget, that Fund disappeared and was somehow'... »

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3.1.2. Testimony by Francisco Pinto Balsemão

In the aforementioned context, a number of questions were referred to Francisco Pinto Balsemão, who date of the facts he was Deputy Prime Minister and who assumed the post of Prime Minister in January 1981. Given his status as State Councilor, he replied in writing.

Asked what information he had regarding the Overseas Military Defense Fund, when served as Prime Minister - regardless of whether the Fund was not associated at the time Camarate replied:

« I had no information about the Overseas Military Defense Fund (FDMU). Note that the FDMU was managed by the Armed Forces Chief of Staff, as stated in a clarification by General António Ramalho Eanes, published in the Diário de Notícias of 29 November 2010 (see Annex 1- A) and was extinguished by the Decree-Law of the Council of the Revolution no. 548/80 of November 18, 1980 (see Annex 1-8), before, therefore, I took office as Prime Minister, on January 9, 1981 ».

Asked how he accompanied the then Minister of Defense, Diogo Freitas do Amaral (when Francisco Pinto Balsemão was Prime Minister] the alleged arms trafficking, replied:

«I do not remember having received any official coinmunication on the subject. I remember. yes, of having appeared in the newspaper Tal e Qual of June 1, 1984, a big title in which I, Professor Freitas do Amaral and my Minister of Foreign Affairs, Professor André Gonçalves Pereira, we were accused of making money from arms sules (see Annex 2 - A) I filed a defamation suit against that newspaper, which was sentenced to a compensation of 2,500 contos (see sentence - Annex 2 - 8). I clarify that this amount was fully handed over to a social solidarity institution, just as it has happened with other amounts received as a result of judgments handed down in proceedings that, for similar reasons, I was forced to try. I reported this sud episode to the Vill Commission Parliamentary Inquiry into the Camarate Tragedy, as set out in the respective Minutes (see Annex 3 - page 35)».

Annex 2-B that accompanies Francisco Pinto Balsemão's response consists of a judgment of the Supreme Court of Justice, of May 28, 1999, related to the proc. No. 81.783, where Author Francisco José Pereira Pinto Balsemão and Réus José Rocha Vieira and the company Repórteres Associados, Lda. object of the lawsuit is the content of a story published in the June 1, 1984 issue of the newspaper “ Tal & Qual”, which presents on the first page, under the photographs of lreitas do Amaral, André Gonçalves Pereira and Francisco Balsemnão, the following litle: “ They played a dirty trick to selling weapons 10 Iraq "and, in subtitle" But the current Government also turba cu balind try to film bralasit of