INDONESIAN TRUTH AND FRIENDSHIP COMMISSIONERS ARRIVE IN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DILI 000084

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP/MTS, S/WCI
LISBON FOR DANA BROWN
JAKARTA FOR HANK RECTOR AND LISSA MCATEE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PREL JKUS KCRM KAWC ID TT
SUBJECT: INDONESIAN TRUTH AND FRIENDSHIP COMMISSIONERS ARRIVE IN
DILI

REF: A) 2005 DILI 574 B) JAKARTA 1078

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1. (SBU) Summary. The five Indonesian members of the bilateral
Truth and Friendship Commission (TFC) arrived in Dili on Sunday
to commence a weeklong program. The program is to include
meetings with high-level Government officials, site visits,
meetings with victims of violence in 1999, and a formal plenary
meeting of the TFC. Embassy is not aware of any plans for the
commissioners to examine documents related to the Serious Crimes
process or to the CAVR during their visit. East Timor's
commissioners expressed disappointment with their Indonesian
colleagues for canceling their original trip plans in the midst
of the controversy following President Xanana Gusmao's
presentation of the Commission on Truth and Reception (CAVR)
report to the UN Secretary General last month. However, they
expect the CAVR report's handover to contribute positively to
the TFC process in the long run. The East Timorese
commissioners continue to express their desire for international
advisors both for the full commission and for their office in
Dili. End summary.


2. (U) All ten members of the bilateral Truth and Friendship
Commission traveled from Bali to Dili on Sunday, February 19.
They are scheduled to depart on Sunday, February 26. The
arrival of the Indonesian TFC members has been long anticipated
and follows months during which their plans to visit East Timor
were repeatedly delayed. Most recently, having finally reached
agreement on specific dates and an agenda for a TFC program in
East Timor, the Indonesian members cancelled their trip at the
last minute following President Gusmao's presentation of the
CAVR report to the UNSYG (see reftel B).


3. (U) According to the East Timorese commissioners, this week's
program includes 1) meetings with high-level Government of East
Timor (GOET) officials, including Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri
and President of Parliament Francisco Lu'olo Guterres, as well
as meetings with justice sector officials including Prosecutor
General Longuinhos Monteiro and President of the Court of
Appeals Claudio Ximenes; 2) meetings with victims of the
violence that surrounded the 1999 referendum, including a visit
to a church in Liquica, the site of a massacre of dozens of
civilians in 1999 by an Indonesian-backed militia, with the
reported assistance of Indonesian military and police officers;
and 3) a two-day official meeting between all commissioners and
alternates.


4. (SBU) The Embassy is not aware of any plans for the
commissioners to have access to any confidential files or
documents related to crimes against humanity committed in 1999
during this trip. According to the UN advisor with the Serious
Crimes Unit (SCU) archives, no request has been relayed by the
TFC for access to the SCU files, although the Prosecutor General
is expected to discuss the Serious Crimes process with the
commissioners. The advisor noted that any file access would
require advance notification as well as stringent arrangements
to ensure confidentiality. Moreover, until a memorandum of
understanding (MOU) is signed finalizing the transfer of the SCU
files from the UN to the GOET, the UN advisor remains the only
person with keys to the facility where the files are housed.
Security for the files continues to be provided by the UN Office
for Timor-Leste (UNOTIL). (Note: There were early concerns that
the TFC's Terms of Reference would allow the commissioners
access to confidential files held by the Serious Crimes Unit
(SCU). To date, however, the TFC has made no plans to use the
SCU files or any other confidential sources such as the files
containing CAVR testimonies. As reported in reftel A, East
Timor's commissioners have informed Emboffs that the documentary
review will be focused on reports such as the Indonesian
Commission of Inquiry into Human Rights Abuses in East Timor
(KPP HAM) and the CAVR report, along with selected court files
from the Serious Crimes process, which are already public
documents. End note.)


5. (SBU) During recent conversations with Emboff, several of
East Timor's commissioners expressed their disappointment that
their Indonesian colleagues chose to cancel their original plans
for a visit to Timor, apparently as a result of political
pressure following President Gusmao's presentation of the CAVR
report to the UNSYG last month (see reftel B). On the one hand,
the commissioners said they were not surprised by some of the
reactions in Indonesia to the report, remarking that it was a
natural reaction that would be moderated over time. On the

DILI 00000084 002.2 OF 002


other hand, one commissioner noted that by giving in to the
pressure to cancel their earlier trip, the Indonesian
commissioners had demonstrated the extent to which they do not
enjoy genuine independence in carrying out the TFC mandate.
Interestingly, the East Timorese commissioners reported that
they had given their Indonesian counterparts copies of the CAVR
Executive Summary a month earlier and that they were also fully
aware of Gusmao's plans to present the report at the UN when
they agreed to their original trip schedule. Despite their
disappointment, the East Timorese commissioners expressed
understanding of the pressures on the Indonesian commissioners
immediately following the CAVR release and were optimistic
regarding the prospects for the current visit.


6. (SBU) Despite the controversy and increase in bilateral
tensions that followed President Gusmao's presentation of the
CAVR report at the UN, the East Timorese commissioners expect
the report's handover to contribute positively to the TFC
process in the long run. On a working level, it is hoped that
the report's contents will contribute directly to the work of
the TFC. On a political level, it is hoped that it will create
greater pressure for a credible TFC outcome. They describe the
UN handover as giving the report a higher profile than would
have resulted from an initial domestic release, and thus placing
pressure on the Indonesians to respond to its contents. The
Timorese commissioners characterize Gusmao's decision to go to
the UN with the report as an effort to put indirect pressure on
the Indonesians to take the TFC process seriously and pursue the
genuine truth, while at the same time attempting to defuse the
remaining pressure for an international tribunal.


7. (SBU) The East Timorese commissioners continue to express
their desire for assistance to the commission in the form of
advisors either from the UN or bilateral sources. However, they
expressed some frustration and confusion with the manner in
which the Indonesian commissioners have handled this issue.
They note that the Indonesians have been markedly unenthusiastic
about international advisors since the beginning, but then
recently began to discuss the prospect, couching it as their own
initiative. They report that they were recently informed by the
Indonesians that the US Ambassador in Jakarta had "given a green
light" for US bilateral provision of advisors. However, to date
the two sides have been unable to reach a consensus regarding
what they would request, regardless of the source. Meanwhile,
the East Timorese commissioners emphasized that they still need
an advisor with expertise in international human rights law,
especially in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal
Court, to work exclusively with their Dili office.
REES