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DILI, East Timor -- East Timor said Thursday it would deport a erstwhile Filipino congressman charged with aggregate murders successful the Philippines and added that helium was a nationalist information menace whose beingness could harm the country’s representation up of its introduction to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Ex-Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. was arrested successful East Timor’s superior of Dili connected Wednesday by migration authorities and would instantly beryllium deported to the Philippines for staying without a visa and aft his passport was cancelled by Manila’s Department of Foreign Affairs, the East Timor authorities said successful a statement.
East Timor did not instantly specify a day for the deportation of Teves, who has been staying successful Dili for much than 2 years arsenic helium tried to question asylum, straining relations betwixt the 2 Southeast Asian democracies. The Philippines has been calling connected East Timor to repatriate Teves to look trial.
The Department of Justice successful Manila connected Thursday welcomed East Timor’s determination and said it has designated a squad of justness and migration officials to assistance repatriate Teves.
East Timor said successful a connection that Teves’ beingness successful the state was “unacceptable” and his enactment for much than 2 years “poses a disruptive origin successful bilateral relations betwixt the 2 states and establishes a superior precedent with imaginable implications for interior security.”
“The cognition that Timor-Leste mightiness beryllium viewed arsenic a refuge for individuals fleeing planetary justness undermines the integrity of our borders and our shared efforts to combat transnational crime,” East Timor said, utilizing the country’s ceremonial name.
“The imminent full accession of Timor-Leste to ASEAN, scheduled for October this year, further reinforces the work of the Timorese authorities to actively collaborate with its determination partners successful upholding justice, legality, and stableness successful the region,” according to East Timor.
East Timor President José Ramos-Horta told The Associated Press successful an interrogation successful Dili successful September that determination was “no possibility, nether the law” that Teves would beryllium capable to stay successful East Timor and that helium would apt beryllium sent backmost to the Philippines aft his entreaty to summation asylum had been exhausted.
Teves has been sought by the Philippine authorities successful transportation with the March 2023 killings of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo and respective different people, including impoverished villagers seeking aesculapian assistance from him, by men successful subject camouflage and assemblage armor who barged into his cardinal Philippine location with battle rifles. At slightest 17 others were wounded successful the brazen attack, which was captured connected information cameras.
Teves has denied engagement successful the killings, which President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who was backed by Degamo, past called “purely political.”
East Timor, Asia’s youngest country, is successful the process of joining the Philippines and 9 different countries successful the ASEAN, a determination grouping which espouses the regularisation of instrumentality and bully governance. It presently has perceiver presumption successful the determination bloc.
Teves’ archetypal petition to question asylum successful East Timor was rejected, a determination which helium appealed. In March 2024, constabulary arrested Teves portion helium was playing astatine a play driving scope successful Dili and it’s not instantly wide however helium managed to regain liberty earlier bring enactment into custody by migration authorities connected Wednesday.
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Associated Press writers Edna Tarigan successful Jakarta, Indonesia, and Jim Gomez successful Manila, Philippines, contributed to this report.
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