East Timor to deport ex-Filipino congressman accused of masterminding governor's murder
DILI, East Timor, May 29, (AP): East Timor said Thursday it would deport a former Filipino congressman charged with multiple murders in the Philippines and added that he was a national security threat whose presence could damage the country's image ahead of its entry to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Ex-Rep Arnolfo Teves Jr was arrested in East Timor's capital of Dili on Wednesday by immigration authorities and would immediately be deported to the Philippines for staying without a visa and after his passport was cancelled by Manila's Department of Foreign Affairs, the East Timor government said in a statement.
East Timor did not immediately specify a date for the deportation of Teves, who has been staying in Dili for more than two years as he tried to seek asylum, straining relations between the two Southeast Asian democracies. The Philippines has been calling on East Timor to repatriate Teves to face trial. The Department of Justice in Manila on Thursday welcomed East Timor's decision and said it has designated a team of justice and immigration officials to help repatriate Teves.
East Timor said in a statement that Teves' presence in the country was "unacceptable' and his stay for more than two years "poses a disruptive factor in bilateral relations between the two states and establishes a serious precedent with potential implications for internal security.' "The perception that Timor-Leste might be viewed as a refuge for individuals fleeing international justice undermines the integrity of our borders and our shared efforts to combat transnational crime,' East Timor said, using the country's formal name.
"The imminent full accession of Timor-Leste to ASEAN, scheduled for October this year, further reinforces the responsibility of the Timorese state to actively collaborate with its regional partners in upholding justice, legality, and stability in the region,' according to East Timor. East Timor President José Ramos-Horta told The Associated Press in an interview in Dili in September that there was "no possibility, under the law' that Teves would be able to remain in East Timor and that he would likely be sent back to the Philippines after his appeal to gain asylum had been exhausted.
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