Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06DILI135
2006-03-24 19:13:00
SECRET//NOFORN
Embassy Dili
Cable title:  

PRESIDENT GUSMAO RESPONDS TO DISMISSAL OF STRIKING SOLDIERS

Tags:  PGOV MARR TT 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO1317
PP RUEHCHI RUEHNH RUEHPB
DE RUEHDT #0135/01 0831913
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
P 241913Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY DILI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2348
INFO RUCNARF/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA PRIORITY 0379
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON PRIORITY 0250
RUEHLI/AMEMBASSY LISBON PRIORITY 0306
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 0165
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RHHMHAA/COMPACFLT PEARL HARBOR HI
RUEHBY/USDAO CANBERRA ACT AS
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEHJA/USDAO JAKARTA ID
RUEHDT/AMEMBASSY DILI 1668
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
-------

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