Timor-Leste’s deputy minister of justice requested in a letter to the prime minister, the minister of the interior and to the command of the National Police of Timor-Leste (PNTL) the dismissal of an agent of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), according to a news portal.
According to the Hatutan portal, the letter requesting Gastão Pereira’s resignation was sent by José Edmundo Caetano on 6 October to the prime minister, Taur Matan Ruak, to the vice-minister of the interior, António Armindo, and to the commanding general of the PNTL, Faustino da Costa.
Gastão Pereira is the current director of Internal Intelligence at the SNI, a position to which he was appointed by the prime minister on a commission basis.
Sources connected to the case explained to Lusa that the request for the agent’s dismissal said that he failed to comply with several of the SNI’s procedures and rules.
At stake are suspicions in the Timorese press of alleged intervention by members of his government in the process related to last week’s seizure of US$130,000 (€134,000) and 40 million Indonesian rupiahs (€2,680) that were being taken out of the country.
“The issues raised in the letter relate to suspicions that the officer publicly disclosed data about the investigation. The investigation processes should be conducted only by the PCIC or PNTL, and it is not foreseen that the SNI will conduct investigations,” said a source with knowledge of the contents of the letter.
José Edmundo Caetano refers in particular to Gastão Piedade’s action, in a conversation that was filmed and the video went viral, in which the agent and the deputy minister argue.
The deputy minister said in the letter that Gastão Pereira did not respect professional ethics and did not comply with the obligation to ensure the secrecy of justice in this case.
Confronted today about the case, the prime minister said that he maintains confidence in the members of his government who allegedly put pressure to remove the SNI agent, saying that investigations must wait.
“Let the investigations run. I prefer that the investigations run. I certainly maintain confidence [in members of the government]. There is a principle of presumption of innocence, and we have the courts to decide,” said Taur Matan Ruak, who is also the interior minister.
The head of the government was speaking to Lusa after his weekly meeting with President José Ramos-Horta, which took place at the Presidential Palace, in Dili.
A police source told Lusa that the three Timorese citizens who carried the money at the airport are linked to Jose Naimori, president of Kmanek Haburas Unidade Nacional Timor Oan (KHUNTO), one of the three government parties, with a party source explaining that the funds were intended to buy party material.
Airport sources explained that after the money was detected, Naimori went to the airport to try to get the money back, and at least two members of the government, both from KHUNTO, also went to the airport.
The funds were confiscated by police, intelligence and criminal investigation authorities, as they were above what could be transported abroad without an express declaration from the Central Bank of Timor-Leste (BCTL).
Both the money and other information collected by the Criminal Investigation Scientific Police (PCIC) have been sent to the Public Prosecutor, a source from the police force confirmed to Lusa today.
The controversy surrounding the case increased, however, after video footage of a meeting attended by Naimori, the deputy ministers of justice, José Edmundo Caetano, and interior, António Armindo, and a researcher of the National Intelligence Service (SNI), Gastão Piedade, went viral.
In the footage, Gastão da Piedade accuses the deputy justice minister of trying to intervene in the investigation, explaining that one has to comply with the law that requires the identity of the owner and the origin of the money before it can be returned.
In the video, Naimori (husband of Deputy Prime Minister Armanda Berta dos Santos) called the prime minister, Taur Matan Ruak, to press the case, then passes the phone to Gastão Piedade.
The agent repeated what the law says about these cases, with the head of government confirming to journalists that he simply said that the law is to be obeyed.
In the last 48 hours, the Timorese press has alleged that the deputy-minister of the interior, Antonio Armindo, wrote to the PNTL command to fire Gastão Piedade.
When questioned by Lusa, Armindo denied having written any letter on the subject to the PNTL, saying that the dismissal of Gastão Piedade is the responsibility of the minister of interior, Taur Matan Ruak.
“I categorically deny having written any letter. Obviously, there are always letters that are received with references to agents or the PNTL, sent by various people, even by civil society. But this is dealt with internally,” Armindo said.
“In situations of reports or complaints, the matter is investigated, and if there are disciplinary actions to be taken, they are taken. What seems to be happening, in this case, is an increasing politicisation of what happened”, he said.
