DILI REMAINS CALM, BUT THOUSANDS STILL DISPLACED AS RUMORS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 DILI 000194

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM ASEC MARR TT
SUBJECT: DILI REMAINS CALM, BUT THOUSANDS STILL DISPLACED AS RUMORS
ABOUND

REF: A) DILI 193 B) DILI 192

DILI 00000194 001.2 OF 004



1. Summary: The situation in Dili was relatively calm last
night, but there were still several disturbances reported,
including shots fired in two Dili neighborhoods, reported
clashes in the hills outside of Dili, and fighting at one of the
major markets. There was another fight between groups of youths
reported today, but otherwise the city was calm. The Government
announced that law and order enforcement is now solely the
responsibility of the police (PNTL),but some military presence
still remains in the city and vicinity. There are concerns that
the military (FDTL) may still be carrying out search and seizure
operations, although a senior military official denies this.
Obtaining accurate information on detentions, injuries, and
deaths has been difficult, with official sources stating that
there are between two and five confirmed deaths, while rumors
are circulating of much higher numbers. Official accounts also
state that 86 people have been detained to date. Information on
the whereabouts of the 595 dismissed soldiers is elusive, though
a number are said to have returned to their homes or seeking to
turn themselves in to the police, and others are known to be in
hiding. A large number of people are still taking refuge away
from their homes, including several thousand in Church
facilities. All 200 of the U.S. Embassy employees and family
members who had taken refuge last night on the Embassy compound
had left by the end of today. Although the climate of fear
seemed to be subsiding during the day, at nightfall reports of
fears regarding possible attacks or actions planned for the
evening began to proliferate. End summary.

Situation much calmer overnight, but some incidents reported
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2. The situation in Dili and vicinity was mostly calm last night
(Saturday, April 29),but with a few violent incidents reported.
There was one report around 11 pm of gunfire heard in the
neighborhood near the Pertamina Pier (in the vicinity of the
Embassy) which was attributed to gang activity. Near the
airport, in the Comoro area adjacent to Tasi Tolu, there was one
report of gunfire and of a gunshot injury confirmed this
morning. The injured man was reportedly an ex-FDTL "petitioner"
who had been shot by an active duty FDTL member. Sources also
reported that gunfire was heard intermittently in the hills
outside of Dili just south of Tasitolu where some of the
petitioners are believed to have fled. The Comoro Market was
also reported to have seen some fighting overnight, and in the
morning Emboff observed that the entrance to the market was
blockaded. However, through most of the rest of Dili, there
were no reports of disturbances and the overall volume of
reported clashes and shooting was significantly down.


3. During the day (Sunday, April 30) there were no incidents
reported, except that Government sources reported a fight
between two gangs of youths in Tasitolu that was broken up by
FDTL. According to a statement by Foreign Minister Jose
Ramos-Horta, the youths "were happy to accept the mediation of
FDTL." The city was calmer than it had been since the beginning
of the riot early Friday afternoon. More commercial
establishments reopened and an increased number of people
appearing to be going about their usual business. However, a
large number of stores and vendor stalls still remain closed and
the markets, usually a center of activity, were mostly closed
down. Embassy staff who drove through various neighborhoods of
the city found major markets completely deserted and many
neighborhoods involved in the violence eerily quiet, dark, and
emptied of their inhabitants. The road to Tasitolu, the main
thoroughfare leading to the western areas of the country, was
opened to civilian traffic during the day and some traffic was
moving in and out of the western end of the city. For the most
part, however, the majority of residents in this area are
already in shelters in other areas of Dili, and the few visitors
to the suburb were foreign diplomatic and aid officials.
Embassy officers reported spotting at least 20 houses along the
main road in Tasitolu which had been burned to the ground and
many vendors' stalls were also looted and destroyed. Official
roadblocks had been removed, although tires and rocks still
obstructed portions of the road and the debris from burned cars
lined portions of the route. The area appeared largely
unpatrolled by either police or military forces, although late
in the day PNTL patrols replaced the FDTL patrols that had been
in place for the previous 48 hours.

Army officially no longer involved in law enforcement, but still

DILI 00000194 002.2 OF 004


present
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4. A press release from the office of Foreign Minister Jose
Ramos-Horta last night announced that high-level Government,
military and police leaders had decided that as of today "FDTL
[army] units will be completely withdrawn from Dili and
surrounding areas and will be deployed elsewhere." Another
press release this afternoon stated that law enforcement
activities had been transferred back to the exclusive
responsibility of the national police (PNTL),although military
police would continue their "normal" patrolling. Embassy staff
observed that during the morning the FDTL remained in charge in
the Tasitolu and Comoro areas and a noticeable FDTL presence
remained during the afternoon. By early evening, however,
Embassy officers observed that FDTL had largely vacated these
areas and PNTL officers were seen sporadically in these
neighborhoods.


5. Subsequently, late this afternoon, the Embassy's Defense
Cooperation Chief met with Lieutenant Commander Falur, who has
been in charge of the FDTL operations. He stated that the FDTL
has now shifted to "Phase II operations". He explained that
"Phase I" was the operation to contain, control, and detain
rioting demonstrators while "Phase II" is focused on maintaining
a visible presence in several (unspecified) locations around
town. Under Phase II, he continued, the FDTL will not actively
engage in operations, but will be on standby to render
assistance to PNTL as required. Embassy staff in the Tasitolu
area as well as other areas where FDTL had previously had a
heavy presence observed almost no FDTL presence early in the
evening, with the exception of troops leaving and entering their
headquarters in Tasitolu in troop carriers. They appeared to be
either going to or coming from the direction of Metinaro, where
another headquarters is located. However, later in the evening
a number of Embassy sources reported seeing truckloads of FDTL
members with automatic rifles cruising slowly in various
neighborhoods of Dili. According to FDTL sources, these patrols
are by regular FDTL forces, not the military police. Although
there have been no confirmed FDTL operations today, there
remains some concern that the continued involvement of the
military, even if only in a standby capacity, may mean that
their role in search and seizure operations is not over.
Although GOET officials have justified the military presence by
saying that it is designed to reassure the population of Dili,
numerous Embassy sources report that it is having the opposite
effect.

Official accounts of casualties and detentions are moderate, but
rumors abound
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6. The Embassy is continuing to work to obtain a complete and
accurate accounting of deaths and injuries that have resulted
from the disturbances and the military and police responses.
According to the Government and FDTL, there have been only two
confirmed deaths and about 60 injuries. However, this number
does not include the three additional deaths reported by an FDTL
colonel yesterday (see Reftel B). A source at the national
hospital reported the same numbers, noting that they were
treating about 60 injured, 15 of which were gunshot wounds with
one of the injured is in critical condition. Also, there are
many rumors of greater numbers killed, ranging from 20 to 50.
People are particularly suspicious of the fact that the FDTL
closed all access to Tasitolu for over 24 hours --- even denying
President Xanana Gusmao access to their compound when he arrived
yesterday afternoon without having given advance notice --- and
many Dili residents believe that this was in order to clear out
bodies. Worryingly, Lieutenant Commander Falur, when asked
about these rumors, did not deny them outright but rather noted
that he could not comment further. However, Foreign Minister
Ramos Horta called Ambassador Rees tonight to say that he has
spoken with Brigadier General Taur Matan Ruak, the commander of
FDTL, who has thoroughly investigated the rumors and knows them
to be false. According to Ramos Horta, Ambassador will be
invited tomorrow to inspect the location where the bodies were
supposedly being hidden. The identities of the dead and injured
also remain unclear. No PNTL or FDTL are believed to have been
killed, but there are several reports of police injuries. The
identities of those killed have not been officially released,

DILI 00000194 003.2 OF 004


although they are generally believed to include two
demonstrators who were killed in Dili during the Friday
afternoon rioting and three who were killed later that afternoon
in Tasitolu in a firefight with FDTL.


7. We are also working to confirm the numbers and identities of
people detained. The latest official numbers are a total of 86,
10 of whom are dismissed soldiers. All detainees are reported
to be in regular police custody and FDTL sources state that they
have been immediately handing over anyone they detain to the
police. One FDTL source estimated the number of people captured
by the military and then turned over to the police to be around

50. However, a source in the UN Human Rights Unit expressed
worry that the FDTL may be holding people in unknown locations.
The Embassy has not been able to assess the credibility of this
concern so far. Also, access to the detainees was initially
denied to the UN Human Rights Unit, but they were later notified
that access would be granted and at time of writing had a team
visiting detainees. The Office of the Provedor (ombudsman) also
reports to have been granted access and to have a team currently
conducting visits. According to one senior UN source, the
Provedor is accompanied by UN human rights officers during these
visits to detainees.

Whereabouts of the dismissed soldiers remains unclear
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8. Since Friday, it appears that the dismissed soldiers involved
in last week's demonstrations have dispersed. Various reports
have come in regarding where they are currently located. A
number of them are reported to be in hiding out in fear of
arrest or retribution by the FDTL. Embassy staff visiting one
of the Church sites where people have taken refuge were told
that ten of the dismissed soldiers had taken refuge there and
were being hidden and protected. Although Church officials
initially did not inform authorities regarding their presence,
the parish priest at the site stated that Lieutenant Colonel
Falur is now aware they are there but has promised to not take
action to detain them. Over the course of the weekend three of
the dismissed soldiers presented themselves at the Embassy
seeking refuge and were escorted away from the Embassy. Emboffs
have also heard that some dismissed soldiers currently in hiding
are making inquiries regarding how to come out of hiding and
turn themselves in safely.

Climate of fear persists and thousands of people still refuse to
return home
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9. Although there are no longer any people seeking refuge at the
Embassy (see Ref A),and the last 20 or so people who had been
in the Embassy compound left late this afternoon, thousands are
still being sheltered by the Catholic Church and in other
locations in various parts of the city. The largest site so far
appears to be the Don Bosco Center, a church facility in Comoro.
Embassy staff visiting late this afternoon estimated there are
about 5,000 people there, mostly from adjacent neighborhoods.
When queried, many were concerned about FDTL presence in their
neighborhoods, and none were aware that the FDTL had been
ordered to stand down from further law enforcement activity. A
severe lack of access to up-to-date information appears to have
severely compounded their sense of fear and uncertainty. In
addition, about 250 people have taken refuge in the FDTL
compound in Tasitolu and several among them reported to Embassy
staff that their houses had been burned down . (See paragraph
3). Embassy staff also saw several large trucks full of people
and their belongings heading out of Dili shortly before
nightfall.


10. Toward the end of the day, the level of fear began to
increase again. At the time of writing, we are hearing several
reports that people are afraid of actions allegedly planned this
evening in their neighborhoods and are therefore clearing out.
One Embassy staff member reported that his neighborhood has
emptied because they were told by police that the FDTL would be
conducting a major operation there this evening. Another staff
member heard from neighbors that "Lorosa'e" (eastern) people
plan to launch an attack there this evening against the
"Loromonu" (western) residents. Most Embassy sources believe
these rumors to be false, perhaps perpetrated by people who plan
to rob the vacant houses of those who flee in panic, but the

DILI 00000194 004.2 OF 004


highly visible presence of FDTL patrols with automatic weapons
in various parts of the city has made it difficult to convince
people that the rumors are without foundation.
REES