DILI (TOP) – Two Timor-Leste leaders, President of the Republic José Manuel Ramos-Horta and former prime-minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão have been relieved and applaud at the decision to discontinue the prosecution against whistleblower Bernard Collaery.
The attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, has dropped the prosecution against Witness K’s lawyer, Bernard Collaery, for allegedly revealing spying on Timor-Leste.
Dreyfus announced in Sydney on Thursday that the commonwealth had discontinued the case in which Collaery was charged with unlawfully disclosing information about an Australian Secret Intelligence Service mission to bug the government offices of Timor-Leste.
Collaery was set to be tried in October on five counts of leaking classified information for allegedly helping his client, an ex-spy known only as Witness K, reveal a mission to spy on Timor-Leste, an impoverished ally, during negotiations over oil and gas reserves in the Timor Sea in 2004.
President Ramos-Horta said, an injustice has been corrected as Australia dropped the case against Bernard Collaery, a loyal, tireless campaigner for justice. Finally wisdom and fairness have prevailed.
“Foreign Minister Penny Wong called me over the phone to inform me in advance of the news of Australian government decision to "discontinue" the case,” President Horta said in his Fan Page.
Horta added, former President Xanana who is the Senior Special Envoy of the inter-governmental group g7+ of fragile States and Timor-Leste International boundaries Chief Negotiator also expressed happiness and relief at this outcome of a saga which he did cause him much anguish and was a thorn in his heart.
“I wholeheartedly commend the Government of PM Anthony Albanese for this wise and fair act which closes another sad chapter in Australia-TL relationship. Let's move on, looking forward on expanding TL-AUSTRALIA relationship.”
Meanwhile, former prime-minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão was commend the decision of the Government of Australia to discontinue the prosecution against Mr Bernard Collaery.
“I have written to the Prime Minister of Australia, the Hon Anthony Albanese MP, thanking him and his government for the decision which has been made in the interests of justice and the relationship of friendship between Timor-Leste and Australia,” Xanana said in a statement.
Xanana explained, Collaery was being prosecuted for alleged breaches of Australian national security laws by disclosing that the Australian intelligence services bugged Timor-Leste’s cabinet room during oil and gas negotiations. The bugging of Timor-Leste’s cabinet room, which was undertaken for commercial purposes, was illegal and unconscionable.
“The Timorese people are grateful for the courage shown by Mr Collaery and supported the stand that he took in this matter. Mr Collaery and his client, Witness K, are greatly respected in Timor-Leste. We recognise their enormous contribution to our struggle to achieve permanent maritime boundaries with Australia in the Timor Sea.”
The President of the Republic, José Ramos-Horta, worked tirelessly behind the scenes and through public advocacy on behalf of Mr Collaery to have the prosecution stopped.
“I have consistently called for the charges against Mr Collaery to be dropped. I was honoured to provide a number of affidavits to the Australian courts in support of Mr Collaery and was prepared to travel to Canberra to give evidence in court. I also raised the matter directly with the previous Australian Prime Minister as well as with the newly elected Prime Minister, the Hon. Anthony Albanese MP. I would also like to thank the Hon Tanya Plibersek, the Australian Minister for the Environment and Water, who I met on the sidelines of UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon on 30 June 2022, who showed a profound understanding of Timor-Leste’s concerns about the prosecution and took such prompt action to raise the matter within her government.”
“I want to acknowledge the contribution of civil society in Australia, and around the world. Activists, lawyers, academics, Members of Parliament, supporters of Timor-Leste and many others campaigned for years to have this prosecution dropped. This is also an important day for them.”
“The decision of the Australian Government to discontinue the prosecution is just and fair. It is the right decision for the relationship between Timor-Leste and Australia. The decision allows our countries to move forward in a positive way to strengthen our relationship of friendship and Cooperation.”
