Portuguese ousted for sham passport

Portuguese ousted for sham passport

JAKARTA (JP): A Portuguese TV journalist was expelled from Indonesia on Sunday after entering the country with someone else's passport, Director General of Immigration Roni Sikap Sinuraya said yesterday.

"Joao Gabriel was immediately expelled after his arrival at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Sunday," Sinuraya told reporters.

Sinuraya said the immigration officer did not question Gabriel about the purpose of his visit to Indonesia.

Gabriel admitted that he used the passport of Spanish national Tavare Enrique Alverio, claiming, Sinuraya said, that he was his brother.

He added that immigration officers pulled aside the alien upon noticing that his face did not match the picture in the passport.

Sinuraya will quit his post tomorrow to assume an ambassadorial post. Sinuraya, who will be replaced by President Soeharto's military secretary, Maj. Gen. Pranowo, said the expulsion was in line with international and local immigration rules.

According to Sinuraya, Indonesia expels two to three foreigners every day for illegally entering the country.

United Press International, quoting several radio broadcasts in Portugal and Macao, reported on Monday that Gabriel was arrested upon his arrival at the airport.

The arrest was made known to foreign media after Gabriel, who holds a Venezuelan passport, called his brother in Lisbon, Portugal, on Sunday. Gabriel, however, did not mention the location from where he made the telephone call.

Agence France Presse reported yesterday that Gabriel, working with independent TV1-Eglise, had planned to work in Jakarta before traveling to Bali and East Timor.

Gabriel interviewed the East Timorese separatist leader Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao, who is serving twenty years at the Cipinang penitentiary in East Jakarta, during his previous trip. He was expelled from the country for not having a visa, the AFP said.(imn)