AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH NEW DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DILI 000356

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
DEPT FOR EAP/MTS,INL
PACOM FOR POLAD AND JOC

E.O. 12958: DECL: 7/11/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV PREF KJUS EAID KDEM PINR TT
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH NEW DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

REF: DILI 355

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

1. (SBU) Summary: The Ambassador congratulated newly
inaugurated Deputy Prime Minister Estanislau Da Silva and
discussed the new Government's priorities. According to Da
Silva, who had been the Fretilin leadership's first choice for
Prime Minister, the discussions between President Xanana Gusmao
and Fretilin leaders to select new Government leaders were
relatively quick and non-confrontational because Fretilin took
an accommodating stance. End summary.


2. (C) During a courtesy call to congratulate newly inaugurated
First Deputy Prime Minister Estanislau Da Silva, the Ambassador
learned Da Silva's views on the future of policing, the draft
election law, and other priorities of the new Government. Da
Silva said he had been surprised that Timorese police (PNTL) had
been so heavily armed in recent years, blamed the problem on
former Minister of the Interior Rogerio Lobato, and said the
police should not be given automatic weapons in the future.
Asked about allegations that arms remain in the hands of
Fretilin party loyalists in several districts, Da Silva said he
did not know whether these reports are true but did not discount
them. Da Silva said the election law would be a top priority of
the new Government and predicted that the draft law would be the
subject of consultations in the coming three months. He
believes the existing electoral institutions should be left in
place but should work with close UN supervision in preparing the
2007 elections. (Comment: There appears to be some tension
between the position of Da Silva, a Fretilin leader who is close
to former Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri, and the views of new
Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta. Ramos-Horta has indicated
publicly and privately that he prefers a complete restructuring
of East Timor's electoral institutions, with the independent
electoral commission (CNE) having authority over election
administration, whereas Da Silva appeared to endorse the current
system under which the Fretilin-led Ministry of State
Administration would run the elections. Ramos-Horta has also
suggested that the upcoming UN mission have ultimate authority
over the 2007 election process, whereas Da Silva spoke only of
UN "assistance.") Other priorities for the new Government,
according to the Deputy Prime Minister, include security and
housing in order to persuade many thousands of internally
displaced persons (IDPs) to return to their homes, rural
development, school feeding programs, re-establishing community
cohesion, and attracting investment.


3. (C) Da Silva spoke briefly about the July 7-8 negotiations
between Fretilin leaders and President Xanana Gusmao leading to
the selection of Jose Ramos-Horta as Prime Minister and of Da
Silva and Rui Araujo as Deputy Prime Ministers. See Reftel. He
described the meetings, which lasted three and half hours on
Friday and continued for about two hours on Saturday, as brief
and non-confrontational. Fretilin had originally proposed Da
Silva himself as Prime Minister, but Da Silva said the Fretilin
leaders put up little resistance when Gusmao stated his
preference for Ramos-Horta. (Note: President Gusmao's somewhat
different and more detailed account of the negotiations will be
reported in septel.)


4. (U) Da Silva described his relations with opposition parties
as good and suggested that there would be regular meetings
between the new Government and opposition leaders. He took the
opportunity to suggest that Parliamentary leaders could benefit
from donor-funded leadership training. Asked to elaborate on
this view, he suggested that some opposition leaders are not
really interested in working together across party lines.


5. (U) Da Silva confirmed that he would retain the position as
Minister of Agriculture, which he held in the previous
Government, and that Dr. Araujo would retain the health
portfolio. As for the distribution of responsibilities among
the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime MInisters, Da Silva said he
would be responsible for social and economic issues including
labor and youth while Da Silva would be responsible for finance.
(Note: This is more or less consistent with the President
Gusmao's account of the distribution of authority in the new
Government. The President suggested to Ambassador today that
the reform-minded Araujo will be in charge of finance,
procurement, customs, and other areas that have been or might
become subject to corruption, whereas Da Silva will be in charge
of implementing the national development plan and drafting
needed regulations. See septel.)

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6. (C) Comment: Da Silva is intelligent, friendly, and
accessible. He speaks English well but not comfortably. He has
a history of cooperation with the U.S. on development issues,
and he made clear in today's meeting that he welcomes our
continued assistance and co-operation. However, at least for
now when Da Silva says "we" he usually means the Fretilin party
inner circle consisting of Alkatiri and his closest associates,
rather than the new Ramos-Horta government in which he is the
second-ranking official. End comment.
REES