JAPANESE EMBASSY VIEWS NEXT UN MISSION

C O N F I D E N T I A L DILI 000358 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP/MTS,IO PACOM FOR POLAD AND JOC USUN FOR GORDON OLSON AND RICHARD MCCURRY E.O. 12958: DECL: 7/12/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV KPKO UN TT SUBJECT: JAPANESE EMBASSY VIEWS NEXT UN MISSION CLASSIFIED BY: Grover Joseph Rees, Ambassador, EXEC, State. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (C/NF) Summary: A Japanese diplomat meeting with DCM spoke highly of Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG) Sukehiro Hasegawa and suggested Hasegawa should head the next UN mission in East Timor. Japan will not contribute troops or police to the peacekeeping operation (PKO),but believes that a PKO under a UN umbrella is necessary. Japan prefers a large UN presence in East Timor focused on electoral assistance and police training. End summary. ¶2. (C/NF) Japanese Embassy Counselor Takashi Koizumi told DCM that although Japan has no formal position regarding the next Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG),Japanese diplomats believe Hasegawa wants the job and they believe he has done a good job so far. Koizumi praised Hasegawa's contacts and relationships in East Timor and his history of close consultations with President Xanana Gusmao, Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta, and former Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri. He said the SRSG job should be graded one step higher in the UN system than it currently is. The follow-on mission, Koizumi believes, is likely to be four times the size of UNOTIL --- approaching the size of UNTAET. He also noted that of all the SRSG jobs in the world, this is the only one occupied by an Asian. Koizumi wondered if the U.S. would be willing to put in a good word for Hasegawa. ¶3. (C/NF) Koizumi said Japan would not be contributing military or police to the peacekeeping operation (PKO) in East Timor due to domestic reticence, which he said was partly the result of Japan's PKO experience in Cambodia. Japan believes the PKO should have some sort of UN status. Japan also believes there should be a limited number of countries --- though perhaps more than one --- providing police training in Timor. ¶4. (C/NF) Japan believes the next UN mission should have a special focus on electoral assistance. Further, Koizumi said, the degree to which the UN advises the GOET should increase beyond what was seen with UNOTIL. He said the SRSG and President Gusmao should preside over a consultative body and the President should take a much more active role than in the past. ¶5. (C/NF) Japan's mission remains on the equivalent of ordered departure, with nonessential personnel, dependents, and most aid agency (JICA) staff evacuated. He said they will watch closely what Australia, the U.S., and other missions decide with regard to their security posture. ¶6. (C/NF) Comment: High regard for SRSG Hasegawa within the Dili diplomatic community is by no means limited to the Japanese Embassy. His principal concerns and priorities --- human rights promotion, police reform, guaranteeing genuinely free and fair elections in 2007, and accountability for serious crimes committed in East Timor both in 1999 and in 2006 --- closely reflect those of the United States. Although Embassy Dili has been informed that there may be at least one other credible candidate for the job, it is unlikely that anyone else would be as thoroughly committed and well prepared as Dr. Hasegawa to manage the complex and urgent mandate of the next UN mission. REES