EAST TIMOR SITREP FOR JUNE 6, 2006

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 DILI 000296

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP/MTS
NSC FOR HOLLY MORROW
USUN FOR GORDON OLSON AND RICHARD MCCURRY
USPACOM FOR JOC AND POLAD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 6/6/2016
TAGS: PGOV MOPS ASEC PHUM UN CASC AU PO TT
SUBJECT: EAST TIMOR SITREP FOR JUNE 6, 2006

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CLASSIFIED BY: Grover Joseph Rees, Ambassador, U.S. Embassy
Dili, Department of State.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)

1. (U) Summary:
1500 Anti-Alkatiri demonstrators arrive from western districts;
Ambassador meets with new Minister of the Interior
Parliament deliberates with a bare quorum;
Portuguese paramilitary police continue operations without JTF
Coordination;
Malaysian diplomats announce need for external funding;
Security conditions in the city;
Internally displaced persons;
American citizens and Embassy security.
End summary.

1500 Anti-Alkatiri demonstrators arrive from western districts
-------------- --------------


2. (SBU) Late in the afternoon approximately 35 large transport
trucks, each carrying 35 to 40 demonstrators, entered the
capital from the west. Bearing "Down with Alkatiri, Viva
Xanana" banners, the trucks, carrying mostly young, unarmed men
in civilian clothes, were escorted by tanks and troop carriers
full of Australian and Malaysian peacekeepers. Several known
members of the ex-FDTL "petitioners" were spotted in the trucks
by EmbOffs. Leaders of the Democratic Party (PD) were also seen
in the convoy. The "deputy coordinator" of the demonstration
was a PD leader from Maliana district. An EmbOff on the site
reported that the demonstrators cooperated with the Joint Task
Force (JTF) troops and appeared calm and peaceful. Embassy
sources and the Portuguese media reported that the demonstrators
were initially stopped by Malaysian soldiers, but they were
escorted into town by JTF forces after ad hoc telephone
negotiations between Foreign Affairs and Defense Minister Jose
Ramos-Horta and dissident military leader Major Augusto Tara,
who coordinated the convoy and demonstration. Under this
agreement, the demonstrators were escorted through the city and
allowed to pass by the Palacio do Governo, Parliament, and
United Nations office in Timor-Leste (UNOTIL) Headquarters, with
a final stop at President Xanana Gusmao's office to deliver a
petition demanding the dismissal of Prime Minister Mari
Alkatiri. As the trucks drove through the western suburbs en
route to the main government buildings, bystanders jumped onto
the trucks to join the convoy.


3. (U) After arriving at the President's Office, Major Tara was
allowed to meet briefly with President Gusmao to deliver the
group's demands in the form of a petition. The petition's
demands included that Gusmao immediately dissolve Parliament and
dismiss the Prime Minister, that he establish a transitional
government in their place, and that national elections be held
within six months. If these demands are not met within 48
hours, the petition continues, the demonstrators will organize a
national strike against the government.


4. (U) The two men later emerged and gave impromptu speeches
from the top of one of a car parked in front of the President's
office. The President told the crowd that the current situation
is a complicated and dangerous crisis which is difficult for the
Government to solve. He continued by saying that it is
important that the crisis be resolved step-by-step and asked the
demonstrators to return home to their districts so that this
important work could continue. The President then reaffirmed
his duty to protect the people and told the crowd that if he
fails to fulfill this duty, they should return to speak with him
directly. Major Tara then announced in a brief speech that he
was coordinating an effort across all 13 districts to fight for
peace and justice in the country. After the speeches ended, the
demonstrators were escorted back out of the city by JTF forces.
Although the President had asked that they return to their
homes, Embassy has received unconfirmed reports that some or all
of the demonstrators may have proceeded only as far as Tasitolu,
just to the west of Dili.


5. (U) Although today's demonstrators came from the western
districts, they made a point of disavowing any east-west
hostilities. Some of the demonstrators carried signs with

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legends such as "Loromonu-Lorosa'e hamutuk hatun Alkatiri"
(East-West united to remove Alkatiri"). Embassy sources have
reported that a convoy from the Eastern districts was to have
joined the demonstration in Dili, but that this convoy was
disbanded after an appeal from Brigadier General Taur Matan Ruak
and President of Parliament Francisco Lu'Olo Guterres.

Ambassador meets with new Minister of the Interior
-------------- --------------


6. (U) Ambassador Rees met today with newly appointed Minister
of the Interior Alcino Baris, who was just about to chair the
first co-ordination meeting among Australian, Portuguese, New
Zealand, and Malaysian police officials. Baris said the police
service (PNTL) is operating normally everywhere in the country
outside Dili and can be restored to operational status in Dili
as soon as the international forces and President Gusmao believe
this to be appropriate. He said PNTL officers are not
participating in joint patrols with international forces but
that they are sometimes being used as interpreters. Baris said
he intended to re-establish the disciplinary system within the
next few days and to be sure that PNTL officers who are known to
have committed human rights violations will not be assigned to
sensitive positions, even if these violations have not yet been
the subject of disciplinary proceedings. He also said that PNTL
officers from the eastern and western districts are now working
--- and in some cases living --- side by side at the Police
Academy and PNTL Headquarters in Dili, and that reconciling
"Loromonu/Lorosa'e" differences within the Department will be
among his top priorities.


7. (C) Comment: Although Minister Baris said all the right
things in today's meeting and seemed genuinely happy to be
meeting with the U.S. Ambassador, it remains to be seen whether
he will follow through. He is a member of the "Mozambique
group" who served until recently as an apparently loyal deputy
to disgraced ex-Minister Rogerio Lobato. During the recent
violence he sought refuge with President Gusmao and has
reportedly shared with the President numerous unsavory details
of Lobato's conduct in office. One cause for concern is that
Baris was accompanied in the meeting by Deputy PNTL Commissioner
Ismael Babo, who was regarded as Lobato's closest ally in the
PNTL until late May when he too sought refuge with President
Gusmao. PNTL Commissioner Paulo Martins, a Gusmao ally who
earned Lobato's enmity in part because he refused to implement
Lobato's orders to use excessive force against demonstrators and
other perceived adversaries, was not in today's meeting, and
Baris deflected questions that would have given him an
opportunity to express his confidence in Martins. End Comment.


Parliament deliberates with a bare quorum
-------------- --------------


8. (U) According to the National Parliament's majority leader,
Francisco Branco, deliberations continued today in Parliament
regarding the current crisis. Parliamentarians appealed for the
Government to address the problem of weapons distribution in the
country, with particular emphasis on weapons that are now in the
hands of civilians. Branco reported that 45 Members of
Parliament (MPs)were present today, the minimum number needed
for a quorum. Among these, he said, there was at least one
representative each from most opposition parties. However, a
number of prominent opposition leaders have told Emboffs they
are staying away from Parliament because they fear for their
lives. The parliamentary leader of one opposition party did
report for work at Parliament today, but she reported that upon
entering the Parliament building she was confronted by a male
Fretilin member of parliament who threatened that "we will shoot
the opposition people dead." She then returned home without
entering the Parliament building.

Portuguese paramilitary police continue operations without JTF
Coordination

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--------------


9. (C) The Security Attache at the Portuguese Embassy conveyed
the frustration of the Portuguese paramilitary police (GNR) in
sharing policing responsibilities with the Australian-led JTF.
Showing virtually no intent to coordinate activities with the
Australians, the Attache stated that the GNR and JTF forces
could simply coordinate on an ad hoc basis on the ground rather
than needing to work together at the highest levels. GNR and
JTF leaders have had preliminary meetings but have not yet
exchanged liaison officers. Nor do they appear to have
established clear channels of communication. The Portuguese
Attache characterized this afternoon's co-ordination meeting at
the MInistry of the Interior, which included the Portuguese
Ambassador as well as what appeared to be several GNR members
and several Australian police officers, as a preliminary meeting
"to coordinate how they will coordinate."


10. (C) The GNR clearly sees itself as the entity currently
responsibly for gendarme-like policing which would respond to
riots and demonstrations and be responsible for "imposing
overall order". In the GNR view, JTF soldiers should be
responsible for disarming civilians and dissidents and
Australian Federal Police ought be assigned to community
policing. GNR forces also do not appear to be under the direct
command of any GOET official. The Attache informed EmbOff that
while GNR commanders keep the new Minister of the Interior and
the Office of the President abreast of their activities, the GNR
initiates operations based on reports of unrest received by the
Portuguese Embassy, informing the GOET only at a later stage.
The GNR sees these activities as authorized under an agreement
signed between Minister Ramos-Horta and the Portuguese
Ambassador which reportedly grants the GNR policing authority
for Dili and surrounding environs. The few people who have been
arrested during the GNR's initial operations yesterday and today
have been handed over to the Prosecutor General's Office, which
has in turn placed them in a Timorese-run jail. The Attache
reported that the GNR's operations would be more frequent and
more robust once a planeload of equipment arrives from Portugal
early next week.


11. (C) When questioned about a timeline for the GNR's mission
in Timor, the Portuguese Attache reported that the agreement
signed between the GOET and the GOP committed the GNR to
remaining until national elections are held. In addition to
acting as a policing authority, the GNR plans to retrain the
Timorese riot police, the Rapid Intervention Unit (UIR),and
possibly a new and as-yet nonexistent border unit similar to the
Special Reserve Unit (PRU). The Attache continued by
reiterating that Portugal does not intend to provide a general
police force for the country and he said his Government will
likely encourage countries in the region to provide a more
routine police force. Although not explicitly stated, the
Attache clearly implied that the GOP is reluctant to accept an
arrangement whereby the Australian Federal Police would be given
direct policing authority in East Timor, preferring instead a UN
Police Contingent similar to the one established under UNTAET.
While the GOP appears to have strong views on the role of the
GNR, both the Attache and other officers at the Portuguese
Embassy appear quite willing to discuss future policing
arrangements with other embassies. (Comment: Embassy
respectfully suggests that the Department ask our missions in
Canberra and Lisbon to urge the GOA and GOP to coordinate more
closely on security operations in East Timor. End comment.)

Malaysian diplomats announce need for external funding
-------------- --------------


12. (C) The Malaysian Embassy told us they are worried they
cannot sustain their participation in the Joint Task Force (JTF)
beyond 30 days without the financial assistance they believe
would be provided by a UN mandate. The 300 Malaysian troops are
controlling the sector west of the Comoro River, near the
airport. The Malaysians report they are pleased with the

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cooperation within the JTF. The colonel commanding the
Malaysian contingent takes orders from Australian Brigadier Mick
Slater, commanding the Joint Task Force. The Malaysians share
Australian concerns about the Portuguese police (GNR) answering
directly to the President and Prime Minister of East Timor.
They told Emboff, however, that they hoped today's meeting of
Australian, Malaysian, Portuguese, and New Zealand police
representatives with Interior Minister Baris will help in
coordinating the policing effort. Embassy will report further
when the results of this afternoon's coordination meeting are
known.

Security conditions in the city
--------------


13. (SBU) About five gunshots were heard last night in the
neighborhoods directly behind the US Embassy. There were also
reports of gunfire in other neighborhoods, including some
reports that a gun was fired from a speeding car. JTF forces
responded by searching the area within 30 minutes of the
gunfire. Fires continued around the city overnight and during
the day, but appear to be less frequent than in previous days.
Today, JTF forces conducted a cordon and search operation in the
Pantai Kelapa, Fatuhada, and Comoro neighborhoods near the US
Embassy. The operation was conducted by the ADF Battle Group
and is still ongoing.

Internally displaced persons
--------------


14. (SBU) A representative of the International Organization for
Migration (IOM) told EmbOff that a sizeable number of internally
displaced persons (IDPs) have begun to leave the camps, not for
their homes in Dili but rather for the districts from which they
or their families originally came. Many more reportedly wish to
follow, but IOM and UNHCR are waiting for approval from the GOET
before committing transportation resources to an operation that
would relocate Dili residents to other districts. International
aid agencies and NGOs have established focal points in each IDP
camp to improve coordination, but NGO representatives have
stated that communications between the IDP camps and the JTF and
GNR security forces need to be improved to provide for more
speedy responses to security threats to the camps by youth gangs
and other troublemakers. A recently arrived UNHCR team has
received two planeloads full of tents, plastic sheeting, and
other materials that they say will be used to establish new,
well-planned camps with good sanitation facilities where IDPs
from the overcrowded existing camps can be relocated.
Internationals involved in the IDP relief effort have commented
on the impressive handling of the situation by both the Ministry
of Labor and Solidarity and Ministry of Health as well as by the
custodians of the camp sites, who are mostly priests and nuns.


15. (U) An airlift of emergency supplies from USAID's Office of
Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) arrived today and will soon
be distributed in IDP camps by Catholic Relief Services (CRS)
and CARE, who are also providing additional U.S.-funded goods
and servcies. Embassy Dili and the AID mission in East Timor
have also requested a $1 million replenishment of Food For Peace
(FFP) stocks to replenish local World Food Program supplies.
Additional support is under consideration, both for emergency
relief and for medium-to-long-term needs.

American citizens and Embassy security
--------------


16. (SBU) The Embassy is in contact with the 56 private American
citizens remaining in East Timor. The Embassy continues to
operate with 12 American employees, 29 Marines, and six Mobile
Security Division (MSD) members. The USAID compound is open for
business during regular working hours. Absenteeism in the local
guard force is not higher than five percent per shift. Several
other local staff at the Embassy and USAID are not reporting for
duty due to conditions in the city.
REES