Members of Parliament hear from the Institutional Security Office (GSI) regarding the operation in Suape.
A committee of parliamentarians was at the Planalto Palace to hear the Minister-Chief of the Institutional Security Office (GSI) of the Presidency of the Republic, General José Elito, regarding an operation that was allegedly set up to monitor union movements in the Port of Suape, in the metropolitan region of Recife; the general denied any specific action and said that the GSI and Abin do not monitor people, but scenarios; next Wednesday (17), the Minister-Chief of the GSI is due to appear before the Joint Committee for the Control of Intelligence Activities of Congress to talk about the matter.
Danilo Macedo
Reporter from Agência Brasil
Brasilia - A committee of parliamentarians was at the Planalto Palace today (11) to hear the Minister-Chief of the Institutional Security Office (GSI) of the Presidency of the Republic, General José Elito, about information published by the newspaper The State of S. Paul Regarding an operation allegedly set up by the agency and the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin) to monitor labor union movements at the Port of Suape, in the metropolitan region of Recife.
According to federal deputy Vanderlei Macris (PSDB-SP), who proposed summoning the minister to the Financial Oversight and Control Committee, the general denied any specific action at the port and said that the GSI and Abin do not monitor people, but scenarios. Next Wednesday (17), the chief minister of the GSI is due to appear before the Joint Committee for the Control of Intelligence Activities of Congress to talk about the same subject.
“The general explained how the system works, that it is integrated, that there are 700 scenarios that they monitor to inform the Presidency, and said that this is absolutely normal, that any democratic country in the world needs and should have this information system to guide the decisions of the President of the Republic,” said Macris.
The congressman said he will await responses to the request he submitted to Minister Elito, asking for further explanations about the case. Among the questions raised in the document, Macris asks whether agents from ABIN (Brazilian Intelligence Agency) and other agencies participated in a monitoring operation at the Port of Suape, whether there was a breach of telephone secrecy, and what equipment was used for surveillance.