Pro-RI leader slams Lisbon TV station
Pro-RI leader slams Lisbon TV station
JAKARTA (JP): A pro-Indonesian Portuguese leader in Lisbon has criticized the TVI Portuguese television station for condoning an attempted entry into Indonesia by one of its journalist through fraudulent means.
The head of the Lisbon chapter of the Portugal-Indonesia Friendship Association (PIFA), Manuel Macedo, in a statement to TVI said that he deeply regretted the actions taken and deplores the position of TVI's information director, Jose Ribeiro Castro, in making false accusations concerning the journalist's expulsion from Indonesia.
"Such shameful and dishonest conduct by a member of the media is unacceptable, especially by one that declares itself to be rooted in the Christian inspiration," Macedo said in the statement obtained by The Jakarta Post yesterday.
A TVI reporter, Joao Gabriel, upon arriving in Jakarta from Madrid on March 12 was expelled for illegally entering the country by using a false Spanish passport under the name of Henrique Calvino Tavares.
Immigration officials found that the photo in the passport was different to that of the holder.
After undergoing questioning by immigration officials, Gabriel admitted that he entered under false pretenses and was secretly trying to get to East Timor.
Lisbon and Jakarta broke off diplomatic relations as a result of the integration of the former Portuguese colony of East Timor into Indonesia in 1976.
In his statement Macedo said that PIFA cannot accept the actions of TVI executives in allowing the use of means beyond the accepted norm to realize certain aims filled with "intrigue, deception and lies."
The statement further likens Gabriel's attempt to a criminal act and condones Jakarta's move to immediately deport him to Singapore.
PIFA is a non-governmental organization which was formed last year as a means of facilitating contact between Indonesian and Portuguese people of Timorese descent.
The Indonesian branch of PIFA is headed by businesswomen Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, the daughter of President Soeharto.
Last year the Jakarta chapter of PIFA successfully sponsored a homecoming trip by Portuguese Timorese to East Timor which was soon reciprocated with a visit by Indonesian Timorese to a religious shrine in Portugal. (mds)