PRESIDENT GUSMAO RESPONDS TO DISMISSAL OF STRIKING SOLDIERS

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 04 DILI 000135 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 3/25/2016 TAGS: PGOV MARR TT SUBJECT: PRESIDENT GUSMAO RESPONDS TO DISMISSAL OF STRIKING SOLDIERS REF: A) DILI 96, B) DILI 113 DILI 00000135 001.2 OF 004 CLASSIFIED BY: Grover Joseph Rees, Ambassador, Embassy Dili, State. REASON: 1.4 (a),(b) CLASSIFIED BY: Grover Joseph Rees, Ambassador, Embassy Dili, State. REASON: 1.4 (a),(b) Summary -------------- ¶1. (U) On March 16, the Commander of East Timor's Defense Force (FDTL),Brigadier-General Taur Matan Ruak, publicly announced that all striking soldiers were officially dismissed and were considered to have become civilians as of March 1. The dismissed soldiers, numbered at 591, were part of a strike that commenced on February 8 based on alleged discrimination within FDTL ranks by soldiers from the eastern part of the country against those from the west (see reftels). Matan Ruak's announcement was later reiterated and defended by Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri and other senior Government of East Timor (GOET) officials. President Xanana Gusmao, who was traveling at the time of the announcement, cut his travel short to return and address the FDTL issue. In a speech delivered yesterday and broadcast on public radio and television, he acknowledged General Matan Ruak's power to make the decision and stated that he would not change it. However, he lambasted both the General and the Minister of Defense for their handling of the case and strongly stated his opinion that dismissal was the wrong decision. The issue, he stated, was one of long-standing institutional problems that must be addressed, not simply a disciplinary problem. In anticipation of the President's midweek return and following his speech, rumors proliferated in Dili of possible violent response by the striking soldiers. However, so far they have carried out all activities peacefully. The leader of the dismissed strikers stated today that they will seek an audience with the President to ask for a different solution and, if the dismissal is final, will deliver their uniforms back to the FDTL and return home. Nevertheless, the high profile FDTL developments appear to have elevated the normally minor tensions between people from eastern and western parts of the country. End summary. FDTL leadership announces dismissal of all striking soldiers -------------- -------------- ¶2. (U) On March 16, General Matan Ruak announced that all the soldiers who remained on strike were officially no longer members of the FDTL and had been returned to civilian status. The number of dismissed soldiers is generally agreed to be 591. Exact numbers were difficult to pin down during the strike, but this appears to include approximately 400 original demonstrators plus approximately 200 additional soldiers who joined later (see reftel B). The announcement of their dismissal appeared in the press on March 17, but according to the striking soldiers no official notification was delivered directly to them. ¶3. (SBU) The dismissal followed several weeks during which General Matan Ruak repeatedly stated that striking soldiers would be sacked if they did not return to duty. As reported in reftel B, he stated during a briefing to foreign military advisors on March 7 that all AWOL soldiers were considered to be deserters regardless of whether they were participants in the strike. At a press conference several days later on March 21, Prime Minister Mari Alkatir expressed his agreement with the dismissal decision stating: "The decision was made by FDTL's commander, after consultations with myself. I agreed with and fully supported the decision." Other GOET officials including the President of the National Parliament, Francisco Guterres Lu'Olo, also made public statements supporting the decision. Lieutenant Gastao Salsinha, the spokesperson and apparent leader of the striking soldiers, responded by stating despite the FDTL decision, the final verdict was in the hands of the President --- who is widely respected within the FDTL as the leader of the guerrilla resistance to Indonesian occupation, and whom East Timor's Constitution designates as FDTL's Commander-in-Chief --- DILI 00000135 002.2 OF 004 and that they would await his response. President's response: condemns the decision, but will not change it -------------- -------------- -------------- ¶4. (U) President Xanana Gusmao, who has reportedly been at odds with General Matan Ruak over how to handle the striking soldiers, was out of the country at the time of the public announcement. Originally slated to return on March 28, he cut his trip short to return on the 22nd. In a speech broadcast via public radio and television on March 23, he began by stating that his position as Supreme Commander of the nation's armed forces was essentially ceremonial during times of peace. Therefore, the dismissal decision was fully within General Matan Ruak's competence and he would not intervene to change it. He said, "I wish to inform the 591 soldiers who now become civilians that this is the decision that has been taken, and it means that you are no longer military men because I have to respect the decisions taken by your leaders." ¶5. (U) However, the President then severely criticized the dismissal decision and lambasted both General Matan Ruak and Minister of Defense Roque Rodrigues for their handling of the situation. Outlining the sequence of events as it unfolded, beginning in January with the submission of a petition from soldiers complaining of discrimination in promotions and in the imposition of discipline, he described several instances in which he regarded both Matan Ruak and Rodrigues as having neglected their responsibility to address the institutional and political issues within the FDTL. He stated that the issues raised by the striking solders were longstanding and needed careful resolution. These allegations had been raised already in 2004 and two investigative commissions had looked into them. However, the issues identified then were never resolved, so they continue to this day. Among the problems he cited as having been raised in 2004 but never addressed were the absence of laws and regulations such as a Code of Military Discipline and a Law on Military Service. ¶6. (U) The President focused also on the issue of "loromonu-lorosa'e" (West versus East) within the FDTL as a longstanding issue needing resolution. He emphasized the problem of former resistance fighters denigrating the contribution of new recruits who had not been part of the armed resistance. (Note: The guerrilla resistance to Indonesian occupation was dominated by East Timorese from the eastern part of the country, as is the current leadership of FDTL. There is a related perception among some "lorosa'e" or eastern people that they were the only ones who fought against the Indonesians. Alluding to a particularly virulent statement of this belief, the President said the discrimination within the military was based on the idea that "only lorosa'e were independence fighters, all of us from Manatuto to Oecusse are children of the [anti-independence] militias.") President Gusmao stressed the responsibility of military leaders to ensure that the FDTL was a single unified force representing an independent East Timor, not a force divided by the background of its members. "If we do not solve it properly," he went on, "by just dismissing these people, then the young people from 'loromonu' will not apply for FDTL ~ and all of these matters will transform FDTL into a military force from 'lorosa'e' only." Strikers continue to be peaceful despite rumors of violent escalation -------------- -------------- -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Both in anticipation of the President's early return and following his speech, several rumors emerged that the striking soldiers were planning additional demonstrations and/or violent reprisals. So far, however, these rumors have turned out to be unfounded. First, rumors spread that the dismissed soldiers were planning to demonstrate against the President on his arrival on March 22. A strong police presence was established at the airport as a result, but in the end none of the strikers showed up to demonstrate. Lieutenant Salsinha, the spokesperson and apparent leader of the striking soldiers, strongly denied that there had ever been a plan for a demonstration, making clear that the strikers respected the DILI 00000135 003.2 OF 004 President and hoped he would intervene on their behalf. In his speech yesterday, the President labeled the security presence as an attempt by government officials to create a false public impression that these "591 friends" were dangerous: "Sometimes we try to intimidate the population in order to hide the problems which we do not have the courage to solve intelligently." ¶8. (S/NF) Notwithstanding the President's assurances and the consistently nonviolent behavior of the dismissed FDTL strikers thus far, there were further reports today that violence might break out. These reports appear to have been based in part on statements by some of the strikers themselves. Emboff received a report today from an international NGO that the organization's local employees had heard from relatives among the dismissed soldiers that they were planning to set up blockades to prevent travel between the eastern and western parts of the country. Some reports also made reference to weapons available to the dismissed soldiers. Limited details of the type of weaponry were available, although one rumor referred to a "car full of Molotov cocktails". Further investigation revealed no substantiation for these rumors. Embassy staff spoke to a number of the dismissed soldiers gathering for an afternoon meeting to discuss their response to the President's speech and all denied any such plan. ¶9. (SBU) Embassy staff also spoke to Lt. Salsinha this afternoon to ask about the group's plans. According to Salsinha, the dismissed soldiers are ready to return their uniforms to the FDTL and go home if the President's non-intervention is the final decision. According to one credible source, the President has already agreed that the dismissed soldiers can present their uniforms to him next week, thus departing the FDTL with dignity. However, they want to first meet with him personally to appeal for an alternate solution. Salsinha and others in the group have stated several times that they will identify five to eight of their members to represent the group in meeting with the President. Salsinha stated that he tried to meet with the President today but was asked to wait. Commenting on the current situation, Salsinha noted that the President's speech clearly delineated who was right and wrong, apparently indicating some satisfaction that the President's speech represented a moral victory if nothing else. However, in a somewhat more inflammatory comment, he said that if all the "loromonu" people leave the FDTL than all the "lorosa'e" people living in Dili would have to go back to their districts as Dili "belongs to loromonu"(that is, the capital is physically located in the western part of the country). Although Salsinha himself did not suggest that the strikers would take any particular action to bring this mass expulsion about, an unnamed member of the group later commented to Embassy staff that "if we leave FDTL the lorosa'e people will be expelled from Dili." Potential for broader societal impact emerging -------------- - ¶10. (SBU) In addition to these comments by members of the dismissed soldiers highlighting the potential for greater East-West tensions, the Embassy has been hearing of some indications that the FDTL situation may be spilling over into broader societal tensions. For example, one Embassy staff member reports that her neighborhood has seen several late night attacks by groups of young men, most likely members of martial arts groups, on houses occupied by people known to be from the East. The attacks so far have consisted of shouted threats and throwing rocks at the targeted homes and reportedly have been quickly pacified once police appeared on the scene. However, such incidents have reportedly occurred in several neighborhoods and police sources say they have been much busier than usual for the last few nights because of the need to responding to these incidents. In addition, one Embassy source reported that, when traveling in rural areas outside of Dili and asking people about their primary concerns, he has been surprised to hear reference to the FDTL situation as the current top concern of many. While not in itself an indicator of increased tension, this points to broad awareness and attention to this issue. ¶11. (SBU) The Embassy's Emergency Action Committee held a meeting today to discuss the rumors of potential violence and the overall implications of FDTL developments. Results of the meeting will be reported septel. DILI 00000135 004.2 OF 004 Comment -------------- ¶12. (S/NF) As the President suggested, the initial rumors that the dismissed soldiers would resort to violence appear to have been generated by GOET officials, presumably to discredit the strikers and/or to justify any actions that might have been taken against them in the event of a peaceful demonstration at the airport. In particular, the accusation that the strikers were collecting "Molotov cocktails" may have emanated from Minister of the Interior Rogerio Lobato, who has trafficked over the years in similar or identical accusations over the years against numerous personal and political adversaries. It is also possible, however, that some of the dismissed soldiers are becoming impatient with the peaceful approach that has so far been taken by Lt. Salsinha. The remark today by Salsinha about lorosa'e people having to leave Dili, and particularly the follow-up by his colleague to the effect that they will be "expelled," are disturbing. It is certain that President Gusmao will now use his considerable capital with the dismissed soldiers to dissuade them from violence. Even if he succeeds in this effort, however, the normally imperceptible East-West tensions within society at large may now have been aggravated to the point where an unrelated event could turn into something more serious. End Comment. REES