EAST TIMOR SITREP FOR JUNE 8, 2006

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 06 DILI 000300

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: 6/7/2016
TAGS: PGOV MOPS ASEC PHUM UN KPKO CASC PO MY AS TT
SUBJECT: EAST TIMOR SITREP FOR JUNE 8, 2006

REF: A) DILI 299; B) DILI 293

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




1. (SBU) Summary
- GNR restricted to barracks after confrontation with
Australian forces;
- Provisional cooperation agreement reached between JTF and
Portuguese forces;
- Armed group claims Alkatiri gave them weapons to kill
opponents;
- Foreign Defense Attaches invited to participate in FDTL
weapons inventory;
- Fretilin Party office in Ermera reportedly burned;
- New Minister of the Interior stood up by PNTL commanders
from the East;
- EmbOff meetings with demonstration organizers in Maliana;
- Western border districts remain quiet and isolated;
- Dili and district courts begin to function with minimal
staffing;
- UNHCR working with GOET and local NGOs to improve
conditions in IDP camps;
- Security.
End Summary.

GNR restricted to barracks after confrontation with Australian
forces
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--------------

2. (C) On Wednesday afternoon, Portuguese paramilitary police
(GNR) officers arrested three youth who were fighting and
threatening to burn homes in one of Dili's violence-prone
suburbs. The GNR transported these detainees to a temporary
detention center staffed by Australian soldiers. Citing
concerns that the GNR had not respected the procedure jointly
developed by the GOET and the JTF on arrests and detentions, the
Australian soldiers refused to accept the detainees. When GNR
officers insisted that the agreement between the GOET and the
GOP accorded them such a status, the Australian soldiers
reportedly attempted to disarm the GNR officers. The GNR
resisted and returned to their headquarters, detaining the youth
in their compound until they were transferred to a Timorese jail
24 hours later. According to a Portuguese Embassy source, news
of this incident reached Lisbon quickly and the GNR commanders
in Dili received instructions that all GNR officers were to
remain in their barracks until further notice.

Provisional cooperation agreement reached between JTF and
Portuguese forces


3. (C) Despite this emotionally charged incident --- or
perhaps in part because of it --- the Portuguese GNR now appear
willing to cooperate more closely with the JTF forces.
President Gusmao, Prime Minister Alkatiri, and Foreign/Defense
Minister Ramos-Horta met this morning, in part to discuss the
confrontation between the two international forces. (A report
on this meeting will follow septel.) Minister Ramos-Horta then
held a meeting attended by the Defense Attaches and Ambassadors
of the four countries contributing troops to the peacekeeping
effort. The main purpose of the meeting was to discuss an
arrangement for co-operation between the Joint Task Force (JTF)
and GNR commanders. The Portuguese DCM reported that a
provisional agreement had been signed but was pending approval
from Lisbon. Portuguese and Australian sources have reported
that the agreement establishes a two-step cooperation plan.
Initially, the GNR will be given exclusive patrol in the Comoro
area of the city, with possible deployment to other areas in the
city during daylight hours under an arrangement to be determined
between the GNR and JTF. (Note: In the end, the acceptance of a
specific geographical sector rather than a city-wide mandate was
the result of a direct GOET request to GNR rather than

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negotiations between GNR and JTF; nevertheless, the result was
the arrangement that had been proposed by JTF.) Upon the
establishment of an international police force in the coming
weeks, the GNR would become the rapid response force for riots
and other large-scale civil disturbances. In the agreement, the
GNR accepted the need to abide by the JTF procedures for arrests
and detentions that have been meticulously drafted to comply
with Timorese law. The GNR will become fully operational
tomorrow when the bulk of its weapons and vehicles arrive from
Portugal.


4. (C) During a lengthy discussion of the incident with
EmbOff, the Portuguese DCM made explicitly clear to EmbOff that
Portuguese forces would never be under the command of the JTF
and that the new agreement would only enhance communication and
cooperation. Interestingly, the Portuguese diplomat stated
repeatedly that the Australians are merely a "visiting [not
occupying] force" and must respect the autonomy of foreign
troops not under their command. She reiterated that the GNR was
here at the explicit request of the GOET and answered only to
the President and Prime Minister. She concluded by stating that
Australia has been a good neighbor to East Timor, but that
Australians must understand the "special role" Portugal plays in
the newly independent country. She cited what she described as
an outpouring of popular support for the GNR upon their very
public arrival in East Timor and characterized them as
"saviors".

Armed group says Alkatiri gave them guns to kill opponents
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5. (C) The Australian television network ABC today reported
on a journalist's meeting with a group of 30 men who claimed
they had been recruited by Alkatiri and former Minister of the
Interior Rogerio Lobato to intimidate and kill political
opponents in the lead-up to the 2007 elections. The men said
they had met with Alkatiri personally and had been told to kill
the ex-FDTL "petitioners" as well as opposition leaders and
"anyone who breaks the Fretilin rules." The leader of the group
was an ex-Falintil fighter called "Railos" who had relayed a
similar story to Emboffs during a visit to Liquica last weekend.
Railos told Emboffs that a representative of Lobato came to him
with 18 long-barreled weapons and an assignment to use them to
eliminate political opponents as necessary. He said that he had
then taken the weapons to the President and relayed the story.
He showed Emboffs a pistol he was carrying with him that he said
was given to him by police at the President's house when he
delivered the 18 weapons. According to the ABC account,
however, the men have not yet turned their weapons over to the
President but say they are willing to do so. The television
story says the men are also seeking protection from
international forces. Emboffs are investigating this and
similar reports and will report further as details become
available.


Foreign Defense Attaches invited to participate in FDTL Weapons
inventory
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--------------


6. (SBU) In fulfilment of one of the responsibilities of he
Ministry of Defense under President Gusmao's new national
security plan, Minister Ramos-Horta will conduct an inventory
tomorrow of FDTL weapons in military installations in Baucau,
Metinaro, Hera, and Tasitolu. Ramos-Horta will be accompanied by
senior FDTL officers, UN officials, and the defense attaches
from foreign embassies. The weapons inventory will be compared
with a written inventory recently delivered to the President by
Brigadier General Tuar Matan Ruak.


7. (SBU) Assuming that the written inventory provided by
General Matan Ruak is a complete and accurate list of all the
weapons formerly possessed by FDTL, the physical inventory
should reveal how many FDTL weapons are still at large. The

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probable possessors of such weapons fall into two categories.
The first category consists of small groups of FDTL dissidents
led by Majors Reinado, Tara, and Tilman, who fled to the western
districts with their military weapons during early May. The
second group consists of a substantially larger number of
civilians from the eastern part of the country --- FDTL leaders
have reportedly begun referring to them as "reservists" --- to
whom these leaders gave weapons during the fighting in Dili in
late May. The President's security plan charges FDTL and the
Ministry of Defense with recovering all weapons that were given
to what the plan calls "the so-called reservists." Embassy has
received reports that some of those who were given FDTL weapons,
including the erratic ex-guerrilla "L4", have been asked to
return them, but there are credible reports that many of the
"reservists" are still in Dili and still in possession of the
weapons. Tomorrow's inventory should be at least a first step
toward assess the scope of this problem.


8. (C) An advisor to Defense Minister Ramos-Horta, Janelle
Saffin, told Emboff today that she had been present at the
Minister's recent meetings with dissident members and ex-members
of FDTL. Contrary to reports received by the Embassy from UN
sources that these dissidents would not engage in dialogue with
GOET leaders until Prime Minister Alkatiri resigns or is
dismissed, Ms. Saffin was adamant that, while their agreement to
participate in a dialogue with the President and "other" GOET
officials was vague, all sides had indeed agreed to talks in the
near future. Once the FDTL inventory has been completed,
Ramos-Horta will again approach the various dissident leaders in
an attempt to establish a timetable for dialogue.

New Minister of the Interior stood up by PNTL commanders from
the East
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--------------


9. (C) Minister of the Interior Alcino Barris called today
for a meeting in Dili of all 13 national police (PNTL) district
commanders to assess the current state of PNTL activities in the
districts. Reports from the UN and PNTL indicate that initially
all 13 commanders agreed to attend. In the end, however, only
the commanders from the ten "Loromonu" (western) districts
attended. When the Minister attempted to contact the commanders
from Baucau, Viqueque and Lautem districts, their phones were
reportedly switched off. It was also reported that Deputy
Police Commissioner for Administration Lino Saldanha, who
defected two weeks ago during the fighting between FDTL and PNTL
and is staying at the FDTL compound in Metinaro, declined to
attend the meeting.

EmbOff Meetings with demonstration organizers in Maliana
-------------- --------------


10. (SBU) EmbOff and USDR today traveled to Maliana, in
Bobonaro district near East Timor's western border, to follow up
on the demonstrations that took place in Dili on June 6
involving approximately 1500 people from Bobonaro and other
western areas. District police reported that the demonstrators
had kept them informed of their planned departure from Bobonaro
and coordinated with them concerning security arrangements. The
police reported that the demonstrators from Maliana, which
contributed the largest number, had been organized by a
newly-formed commission made up of political party leaders and
ex-Falintil fighers. The leader of the Maliana commission is a
former FDTL soldier known as "Deker" who was dismissed over a
year ago and has since affiliated himself with the Democratic
Party (PD),East Timor's largest opposition party.


11. (SBU) Poloff and USDR then arranged a meeting with Deker,
who was accompanied by approximately 15 members of the
commission. Deker explained that the group included leaders of
various political parties, including Fretilin; former Falintil
fighters; and community leaders. He also said the commission
was receiving advice from the Church in Maliana. Two Timorese

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leaders of a community forum organized by the National
Democratic Institute (NDI) who reside in Maliana were also there
as members of the commission. Deker described the June 6
demonstration as "just the first step" in their campaign. They
are currently waiting for the President's response to the
petition they presented to him during the demonstration. If
their demands (including the resignation or dismissal of the
Prime Minister) are not met soon, they plan to organize much
larger demonstrations They characterized June 6 as just a
testing of the waters. When asked whether their movement was
limited to the western districts, they emphasized that they are
focused on national unity and are in communication with several
political party leaders from the East. However, all the
districts they mentioned in which there are commissions such as
theirs are in the West.

Western border district remains quiet and isolated
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12. (SBU) District police in Maliana appeared to be operating
normally during an unannounced visit by Emboffs today. However,
they reported that their usual logistical problems, including
insufficient vehicles to carry out regular police work, have
been exacerbated by the current lack of logistical support from
Dili. Emboffs also spoke to border police (BPU) both in Maliana
and at a nearby border post who shared similar complaints
regarding lack of support from Dili over the last two weeks.
They are particularly hard hit as they are dependent on food
supplies being delivered to their remote posts. Nonetheless,
the BPU also appeared to be operating as usual. They reported
that the border with Indonesia remains closed by order of the
Indonesian government, and that the border has been mostly quiet
in recent weeks.


13. (SBU) Life in the town of Maliana as a whole also appeared
to be normal. Stores and restaurants were open and the market
was lively. Electricity is intermittent, which is the norm for
Maliana. Government services such as the police, schools,
hospital, and sanitation are operating normally but all other
government offices are reported to be closed. There are
concerns that between the lack of goods coming from Dili and the
closed border with Indonesia, Maliana and the entire border area
will soon face serious hardship. Prices for basic commodities
have already risen significantly.

Fretilin Party Office in Ermera reportedly burned
-------------- -


14. (U) According to an announcement by a prominent Fretilin
leader in Dili, the Fretilin Party headquarters for Ermera
District in the town of Gleno was looted and burned by youth
gangs today. The announcement was made by Francisco "Lu'Olo"
Guterres, President of the National Parliament and also
President of Fretilin. Assuming Lu'Olo's account is accurate,
this incident represents only the second major act of violence
outside of the capital since incidents civil unrest began more
than a month ago. The other incident outside Dili, an attack on
a government building that resulted in the death of a police
officer, was also in Gleno. Foreign media reports stated that
gunfire was heard in the streets of Gleno. In a subsequent
phone conversation with Lieutenant Gastao Salsinha, the
Gleno-based leader of the petitioners, EmbOff was assured that
no such attack had taken place. UN sources also report that the
Fretilin district leader's house may have been stoned, but they
could not confirm that any buildings had been burned or any
gunshots fired. Further developments will be reported septel.

Dili and district courts begin to function with minimal staffing
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--------------


15. (C) EmbOff met today with a UN-funded international judge
and with President of the Court of Appeals Claudio Ximenes to
discuss the current state of the Timorese judicial system. Both
interlocutors reported that after several weeks in which no

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cases were heard, the courts were beginning to use the newly
sworn-in Timorese judges (see Ref B) and the three remaining
international judges to conduct 72-hour hearings for recently
arrestees and to resume cases still on the court docket. The
Court of Appeals building has been ransacked and Dili District
Court is still not considered sufficiently secure to conduct
trials, so the international judges have assembled ad hoc "court
teams" to go to conduct detention hearings at JTF and other
detention sites. Reports indicate that approximately 8 such
hearings have taken place. International and Timorese judges
were also visiting district courts in Oecussi and Baucau to
resume hearings in those districts. Judge Ximenes indicated
that it would be preferable to continue having UN-funded judges
in the post-UNOTIL mission to work in the courts as mentors and
to hear cases. Several Timorese judges are reportedly still
living in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps and have not
yet reported back to report to work. Concerning the
investigations underway into the actions of the FDTL on April 28
and May 25, Judge Ximenes stated that while Timorese law states
that military courts should be established to try F-FDTL
officers, in the absence of such courts the district courts
could hear military cases.

UNHCR working with GOET and local NGOs to improve conditions in
IDP camps
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--------------

16. (SBU) UNHCR Regional and Country Representatives briefed
EmbOff on their agency's plan to work in coordination with the
GOET to establish new camps for those IDPs suffering from
long-term displacement due to the destruction of homes or
serious security threats. In addition, in response to an appeal
from the Ministry of Labor to improve the situation in the
current IDP camps, UNHCR is assisting the existing camps in
reorganizing and is outfitting them with better facilities and
supplies. To date, four planeloads of UNHCR supplies have
arrived in Dili and this afternoon a Boeing 747 filled with
tents, blankets, tarps, and other non-perishable supplies
arrived in Darwin, Australia and will be transferred to Dili.
These supplies will provide adequate longer term shelter for at
least 15,000 IDPs. The selection process to identify candidates
to move to any new camps will be coordinated by the Ministry of
Labor and the international NGOs assigned to each camp.


17. (SBU) The biggest concern expressed by UNHCR officials and
by NGOs involved in the relief effort is the question of having
visible, permanently assigned security forces at the larger
camps. Although JTF forces responded quickly overnight to an
attack on an IDP camp by a youth gang, those working on the IDP
crisis have repeatedly stated that a visible presence of foreign
soldiers or police outside the camps would greatly ease tensions
within the camps and would likely serve as an effective
deterrent against attacks. Another priority is the provision of
protective services by NGOs and GOET agencies. Although the IDP
camps are generally far more peaceful than other parts of Dili,
there have been reports of crimes including at least one rape.
Organizations including UNICEF are coordinating with local NGOs
to begin providing protective services in the camps.


18. (SBU) When questioned about possible steps to encourage
IDPs to return home, UNHCR representatives said it is essential
that an international police force be established as soon as
possible and that such a force conduct extensive community
policing to create an atmosphere of security in Dili's
neighborhoods. The officials cited UNHCR's program to convince
refugees from the 1999 violence to return home from West Timor,
in which initial socialization meetings were held between
refugees and others from their home villages. These meetings
were then followed by UNHCR supervised visits back to the areas
from which people fled to provide them with a clear
understanding of the improved security situation. During a
meeting with EmbOff, First Lady Kirsty Sword Gusmao stated that
several NGOs, including the Alola Foundation which she
established, are concentrating on issues specific to women in

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IDP camps.


Security
--------------


19. (SBU) EmbOffs and international aid workers continue to have
access to all areas of the capital necessary to carry out
diplomatic work and to address the IDP crisis. The few
checkpoints maintained by international forces do not hinder
movement. A reduced number of arson attacks continue, but only
in the most disfranchised and historically violent
neighborhoods.


20. (C) Embassy DCM and RSO met with Australian DCM today to
discuss a possible formal arrangement between the Embassy and
the JTF to provide protection to the Embassy should it come
under attack. The Australian DCM stated that he did not see any
obstacles to such an agreement, but that it would likely need to
be negotiated back in Canberra. Ambassador Rees subsequently
discussed the issue with the Australian Ambassador, who gave
assurances that the JTF would respond as quickly as possible to
a call for help at the U.S. Embassy or any other diplomatic
mission. However, she said an estimate of likely response time
and other details should be discussed directly with JTF
representatives. Emboffs and/or USDOD representatives at
Embassy Dili hope to engage in such discussions tomorrow morning.


21. (SBU) The number of American citizens remained at 57.
REES