East Timor: First Lisbon-trained military intelligence officers get diplomas

Dili, Jan. 25 (Lusa) - The first 19 members of East Timor's military intelligence service received diplomas Wednesday in a ceremony attended by Defense Minister Roque Rodrigues and Portuguese Ambassador João Ramos Pinto.

Trained in military intelligence and counter-intelligence by Portuguese instructors, the 19 officers and soldiers constitute the first personnel of Dili's fledgling Military Intelligence System (SIM).

At the ceremony, Portugal offered USD 20,000 worth of geographic data and IT systems to allow SIM to elaborate maps for military use.

The Lisbon financed and administered training course, which included Portuguese language and IT instruction, was launched in June 2004.

EL/SAS.

Lusa