BE also requested access to copies of the protocols between the government and the secret services relied on by Minister João Galamba’s Chief of Staff, Eugénia Correia, to contact the information system of the Portuguese Republic during the night of April (SIRP). 26, for alleged theft of a state computer by former deputy Frederico Pinheiro.
Speaking to journalists in parliament, the parliamentary leader of the BE, Pedro Filipe Soares, defended that the prime minister “cannot remain unmoved and serene” because of what he sees as contradictions between the testimonies of the chief of staff, Eugénia Correia, and the Minister of Infrastructure.
“By law, we know that the Prime Minister and the President of the Republic can choose to respond in writing, but we believe that given the seriousness of the matter, António Costa should respond personally,” he defended.
After Wednesday and Thursday’s hearings in the investigative committee, the parliamentary leader of the BE defended that “the complete impossibility of keeping João Galamba in government” is manifest, but that it is equally justified to listen to the prime minister.
“The responsibilities are many and directly concern him,” he justified.
IL had already announced a request to hear António Costa in the TAP investigation, after which Chega expressed the same intention and added a request to hear the Interior Minister.
“It remains to explain what justifies”
For Pedro Filipe Soares, after the parliamentary hearings of the Minister of Infrastructure and his Chief of Staff, “it remains to be explained what justifies the actions of the Information and Security Service (SIS) to” contact a citizen in the middle of the night to send you a computer to demand”.
“The Prime Minister has said publicly that he has not been contacted, but we know that members of his cabinet have been approached and ordered the SIS involved. Was the Prime Minister not responsible for these orders? It is something that remains existence. clarification”, he said to the group chairman of the BE.
On the other hand, added Pedro Filipe Soares, Minister João Galamba said he had not contacted the SIS directly, an action under the responsibility of his chief of staff “and prior to his appointment”.
“However, the timeline says the opposite: João Galamba spoke to the deputy foreign minister [do primeiro-ministro] at 21:52 and that his chief of staff contacts the SIRP at 21:54, so already after João Galamba had received an indication from the Prime Minister’s Office that he should contact the SIS,” he says, pointing out that however, the minister denies having given any indication to Eugénia Correia.
On the other hand, the parliamentary leader of the BE recalls that during the hearing of the Galamba chief of staff on Wednesday, the existence of a protocol that would justify his contact with the SIRP was pointed out.
“This protocol was not even mentioned during the hearings of the 1st Commission, neither with the general secretary of the SIRP nor with the director of the SIS. It is strange that such an important element was not even mentioned,” he noted .
For Pedro Filipe Soares, such a protocol “seems to be the only source by which the government can escape the most obvious”.
“It is obvious that there has in fact been an intervention by the Prime Minister’s Office so that the SIS was actually used or exploited,” he charged.
During a parliamentary hearing of more than seven hours in the committee of inquiry into the political management of TAP, which began Thursday and ended early this morning, Infrastructure Minister João Galamba said that whoever had told him on April 26 to contact the information services was the Deputy Secretary of State to the Prime Minister, António Mendonça Mendes.
Galamba also said that as early as 1 a.m. on the morning of April 27, he reported the events at the ministry to the Prime Minister, António Costa, telling him “that he had been linked to the SIS”, a call that took hours after an initial contact attempt on which the general manager did not answer.
The minister confirmed the version handed over the day before by his chief of staff – this would have been Eugénia Correia who reported to the SIRP (Information System of the Portuguese Republic) and was later contacted by the SIS – but guaranteed that he would not receive any instructions to to call it ‘secret’.
“My conversation with António Mendonça Mendes ends after Eugénia Correia’s conversation with the SIRP,” he said.
The April 26 incidents are related to Frederico Pinheiro, a former deputy of the minister, and concern complaints against the former deputy for physical violence at the Ministry of Infrastructure and the alleged theft of a laptop computer already after he was fired, in case to be investigated by the Public Prosecution Service.
PAN defends Galamba’s resignation and considers an appeal to SIS an abuse
The PAN spokesman, Inês de Sousa Real, believed on Friday that João Galamba is unable to continue as infrastructure minister and that the intervention of the SIS to recover a computer “was an abuse”.
“In the opinion of the PAN, there are no conditions for the minister to continue to hold office, he is currently damaging the entire government, all the credibility of the institutions and the government itself, and João Galamba should have already urged António Costa to resign accept,” he said.
Speaking to journalists in the Assembly of the Republic, the People-Animals-Natureza lone deputy referred to the latest hearings at TAP’s parliamentary investigative committee and believed that “the zero degree of government political responsibility and decency” had been reached and that “It was a bad decision by Prime Minister António Costa to maintain and not accept the minister’s resignation”.
Sousa Real wondered “what legitimacy João Galamba will have to continue to negotiate on behalf of the state” about the privatization of TAP.
“Regardless of the contradictory exercise that has been done and the inconsistencies that exist in the various hearings, there is one thing that is very clear: there was a use by the SIS which in the opinion of the PAN was abusive, which is not acceptable in a State of the law”, he criticized, pointing out that the intervention should have been made by the “police authorities and in no way by an information service that even has a historical stigma associated with the PIDE and the Estado Novo”.
Inês de Sousa Real thought it was “very serious that the government has resorted to this intervention, regardless of the member of the government who has asked to intervene”.
The PAN deputy also stated that it was “extremely serious” that “a citizen has been locked up against his will in the ministry building” and defended that “in politics not everything is fair, people who are in charge of political offices or parties must take their own responsibility, rather than witness what was a public lynching of an adviser, a former aide, carrying out his duties”.
The PAN leader hopes that “the Attorney General’s Office will push the investigation to the limit, because intervention by the SIS in a state of law is not admissible”.
The deputy also indicated that she will propose an amendment to the law to “clarify all the gray areas of the legislation regarding the functioning of the SIS, because what happened is absolutely not acceptable”.
“This whole process that happened makes no sense to us, it discredits the institutions and the political power. It also makes no sense that this very important file is completely undermined by this episode that happened,” he complained.
During a parliamentary hearing of more than seven hours in the Commission of Inquiry into the political management of TAP, which started on Thursday and ended this Friday at dawn, the Minister of Infrastructure, João Galamba, said that whoever had told him on April 26 to contact taking charge of the information services was the assistant secretary of state to the prime minister, António Mendonça Mendes.
The minister confirmed the version handed over the day before by his chief of staff – this would have been Eugénia Correia who reported to the SIRP (Information System of the Portuguese Republic) and was later contacted by the SIS – but guaranteed that he would not receive any instructions to to call it ‘secret’.
The April 26 incidents are related to Frederico Pinheiro, a former deputy of the minister, and concern complaints against the former deputy for physical violence at the Ministry of Infrastructure and the alleged theft of a laptop computer already after he was fired, in case to be investigated by the Public Prosecution Service.
CDS-PP criticizes “illegal intervention by the SIS” and demands an explanation from the prime minister
The chairman of the CDS-PP accused the prime minister on Friday of not having accepted the resignation of the infrastructure minister because João Galamba had implicated his cabinet in the “decision of the illegal intervention of the SIS”, and demanded an explanation.
“It was clear why António Costa did not fire João Galamba. In the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry, the Minister directly involved the Prime Minister’s Office in the decision on the illegal intervention of the SIS [Serviço de Informações de Segurança]”, says Nuno Melo.
In a short message to journalists, the MEP believes that “the political responsibility lies with the Prime Minister” and that António Costa should “explain the country”.
During a parliamentary hearing of more than seven hours in the Commission of Inquiry into the political management of TAP, which started on Thursday and ended this Friday at dawn, the Minister of Infrastructure, João Galamba, said that whoever had told him on April 26 to contact taking charge of the information services was the assistant secretary of state to the prime minister, António Mendonça Mendes.
Galamba also said that as early as 1 a.m. on the morning of April 27, he had reported the events at the ministry to the Prime Minister, António Costa, telling him “that he was linked to the SIS”, a phone call that took place hours after an initial attempt to contact the top man did not answer.
The minister confirmed the version handed over the day before by his chief of staff – this would have been Eugénia Correia who reported to the SIRP (Information System of the Portuguese Republic) and was later contacted by the SIS – but guaranteed that he would not receive any instructions to to call it ‘secret’.
“My conversation with António Mendonça Mendes ends after Eugénia Correia’s conversation with the SIRP”, mention.
The April 26 incidents are related to Frederico Pinheiro, a former deputy of the minister, and concern complaints against the former deputy for physical violence at the Ministry of Infrastructure and the alleged theft of a laptop computer already after he was fired, in case to be investigated by the Public Prosecution Service.
Source: DN
