Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06DILI301
2006-06-09 11:26:00
SECRET//NOFORN
Embassy Dili
Cable title:  

EAST TIMOR SITREP FOR JUNE 9, 2006

Tags:  PGOV MOPS ASEC PHUM UN KPKO CASC PO MY TT AS 
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VZCZCXRO3477
OO RUEHCHI RUEHNH RUEHPB
DE RUEHDT #0301/01 1601126
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
O P 091126Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY DILI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2661
INFO RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0514
RUCNARF/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE
RUEHXX/GENEVA IO MISSIONS COLLECTIVE
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA PRIORITY 0585
RUEHLI/AMEMBASSY LISBON PRIORITY 0505
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 0353
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 0366
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON PRIORITY 0444
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 0238
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHDT/AMEMBASSY DILI 1986
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 DILI 000301 

SIPDIS

NOFORN

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP/MTS, CA, DS
PACOM FOR JOC AND POLAD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 6/9/2016
TAGS: PGOV MOPS ASEC PHUM UN KPKO CASC PO MY TT AS
SUBJECT: EAST TIMOR SITREP FOR JUNE 9, 2006

REF: A) DILI 300

DILI 00000301 001.2 OF 003


CLASSIFIED BY: Grover Joseph Rees, Ambassador, EXEC, State.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)



S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 DILI 000301

SIPDIS

NOFORN

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP/MTS, CA, DS
PACOM FOR JOC AND POLAD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 6/9/2016
TAGS: PGOV MOPS ASEC PHUM UN KPKO CASC PO MY TT AS
SUBJECT: EAST TIMOR SITREP FOR JUNE 9, 2006

REF: A) DILI 300

DILI 00000301 001.2 OF 003


CLASSIFIED BY: Grover Joseph Rees, Ambassador, EXEC, State.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)




1. (SBU) Summary:
- AFP commander gives policing plan to Ramos-Horta;
- GNR Equipment Arrives in Baucau;
- Former Minister of Police Bids Farewell to PNTL Commanders;
- Sources confirm Fretilin Headquarters in Ermera District was
burned;
- Status of the news media;
- JTF agrees to provide security for CAVR files;
- Security at the Embassy.
End Summary.

AFP commander gives policing plan to Ramos-Horta
-------------- --------------


2. (C) EmbOffs met today with AFP Commander Steve Lancaster to
discuss the JTF policing plan recently handed over to
Foreign/Defense Minister Jose Ramos-Horta. The plan includes a
five-phase approach to establishing effective policing in East
Timor:


I. JTF Military cooperation with AFP who are present to
advise on policing.
II. Joint ADF/AFP patrols, but ADF still maintains the
dominant presence. During this phase, AFP begins conducting
investigations and collects intelligence on youth gangs and
other violent groups.
III. AFP-led international police services assume primary
responsibility for providing security in Dili with ADF soldiers
available for reinforcements. The AFP will focus its efforts on
highly visible community policing.
IV. International police become the sole security force on the
ground. If an appropriate vetting and reconciliation mechanism
has been established, the international police force will begin
to transition certain PNTL into positions and operations.

V. PNTL resumes its role as stand-alone national police force.


3. (S) Lancaster describes the AFP's operation as presently

somewhere between Phase II and Phase III. The current priority
for the AFP is conducting thorough investigations into the
events of May 25, a house burning that killed a family of six,
and recent allegations that Prime Minister Alkatiri and former
Minister of the Interior Rogerio Lobato had armed Fretilin
militants. Lancaster said the UN had initially issued an order
forbidding its staff from speaking to AFP investigators, but he
added that this problem has been overcome through negotiations
between UN and Australian diplomats. The AFP is also jointly
gathering intelligence with the ADF on leaders of gang violence.
Once AFP assumes primary responsibility for security,
systematic raids will be planned to capture the gang leaders.
When asked about GOA requests for the GOET to promulgate a law
granting foreign police arrest authority, Lancaster stated that
this was still a priority, but that arrests had been carried out
by both ADF and AFP under the terms of the status of forces
agreement (SOFA) currently in force. He added that such a law
would no longer be necessary if a Chapter 7 Security Council
resolution were to grant policing authority to a multinational
force.


4. (C) Senior Australian and Malaysian police officials have
been coordinating closely and the advance team for the Malaysian
police expressed complete willingness to operate under
Australian command. By next week, the Australian police
battalion will stand at 200 (AFP and state police) with a group
of 250 Malaysian police and 30 New Zealand police expected to
arrive within a similar timeframe. When asked about
coordination problems with the Portuguese paramilitary police
(GNR),Lancaster responded that Tuesday's disagreement (see Ref
A) had been overplayed by diplomats and the media. While the

DILI 00000301 002.2 OF 003


GNR will not be formally incorporated within the AFP-led command
structure, the AFP and GNR are establishing solid operational
coordination and Lancaster expressed his respect for the highly
trained GNR officers. The GNR will be participating in an
Executive Committee on Policing, comprising all contingent
commanders, that will advise the overall policing commander.


5. (C) A question receiving little attention in Dili is the
status of the police in the districts, many of whom have
continued to perform their duties. Lancaster envisions a hybrid
arrangement in which the district police would continue their
operations but receive instructions and logistical support from
the international police force in Dili. Lancaster concluded by
stating that the sooner the Security Council could adopt a
resolution on an international police force, the better. Many
of the current vagaries and coordination problems would be
overcome by bringing all forces under a UN umbrella. The
Commander did stress, however, that the AFP would like a UN
mission that leaves AFP at the helm of the international
policing effort.

GNR equipment arrives in Baucau
--------------


6. (SBU) A large shipment of personnel carriers, logistical
equipment, and weapons has arrived from Portugal for use by the
GNR battalion in Dili. The supply plane landed in Baucau and
the equipment is currently being transported to GNR headquarters
in Dili. Reports indicate that GNR is now fully operational and
will assume policing authority tomorrow for the Comoro area of
Dili.

Former Minister of the Interior Lobato bids farewell to PNTL
Commanders
-------------- --------------
-------------- -


7. (C) After a meeting of all PNTL district commanders called
yesterday by his successor, former Minister of the Interior
Rogerio Lobato gave a farewell speech which was broadcast on
Portuguese television. In the speech, Lobato said the massacre
of 10 PNTL officers on May 25 was unacceptable and that justice
must be pursued. This appearance represents one of the first
instances Lobato has been seen in public since he was forced to
resign less than a week ago. Local political contacts continue
to express concern over Lobato's new position as Vice President
of Fretilin, especially in light of continued rumors that the
Prime Minister would be ousted, which these contacts feared
could leave Lobato in an even more powerful position within the
party.

Sources confirm Fretilin headquarters in Ermera District was
burned
-------------- --------------
--------------


8. (S/NF) EmbOff spoke with Associate Press stringer Jose
Belo(please protect) who confirmed that the Fretilin Party
Headquarters in Ermera District had been burned. Having
inspected the site yesterday, Belo said the building was
actually in the town of Ermera, rather than Gleno, thus
explaining conflicting reports from Gleno that there had been no
violence yesterday. In a related report, Belo informed EmbOff
that the Chefe de Aldeia from Memo (a border village near
Maliana) was detained by a youth gang due to his participation
in the Fretilin Party Congress. According to this report, the
man is still being held captive and his whereabouts are unknown..

Status of the news media
--------------


9. (SBU) The state-funded radio and television stations have
continued operating in recent days, albeit on a limited schedule
with one hour of news in the morning and in the evening. Suara

DILI 00000301 003.2 OF 003


Timor Lorosa'e, a major daily newspaper, resumed printing on
Tuesday, although both printing and circulation has been quite
limited due to financial restraints and paper shortages. Timor
Post published today for the first time since May 24. Both
major dailies are being assisted in reestablishing their
operations through a small grant from USAID.


10. (S/NF) AP stringer and Embassy source Jose Belo was
handcuffed and detained by ADF forces for four hours today.
According to Belo, he was questioned about why he is often
sighted on the scene of violent incidents and what his
motivations are for retaining contact with Major Reinado and
Salsinha. After ADF forces initially questioned Belo's status
as a journalist, the AP representative in Dili contacted the ADF
and Belo was released.

JTF agrees to provide security for CAVR files
-------------- --


11. (SBU) In response to requests from diplomats and GOET
officials, the JTF Command has agreed to perform hourly patrols
of the compound that houses both the offices of the Truth and
Friendship Commission (TFC) and the files of the domestic Truth
and Reconciliation Commission (CAVR). The JTF has agreed to
provide hourly patrols of the compound and reportedly intends to
establish a security post nearby. Security concerns over the
CAVR files have intensified after several motorbikes were stolen
from the compound earlier this week. Unlike the SCU files,
which pertain mostly to indictees for serious crimes who are
outside of East Timor, the CAVR files include abundant
information about acts committed between 1974 and 1999 by a wide
range of actors including many who are still in East Timor.

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


12. (SBU) Embassy and U.S. Mission facilities were secure today
and Emboffs were able to perform their functions throughout Dili
and in other areas of the country. There were discussions today
among the Ambassador, the Australian Ambassador, USDOD
representatives, and Australian JTF personnel about the
circumstances under which JTF could respond to an emergency at
the U.S. Embassy after the planned departure of the Marine Corps
FAST team. Embassy has received a written communication from
the JTF Commander that will be reported septel.


13. (U) Two United States citizens who had evacuated
returned to Timor today, bringing the total number of AmCits in
country to 59.
REES