EAST TIMOR'S PARLIAMENTARY CAMPAIGN OFF TO VIOLENT START

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DILI 000218 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP/MTS USUN FOR RICHARD MCCURRY TOKYO FOR HANS KLEMM SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 6/4/2017 TAGS: PGOV ASEC KDEM PHUM AS UN TT SUBJECT: EAST TIMOR'S PARLIAMENTARY CAMPAIGN OFF TO VIOLENT START DILI 00000218 001.2 OF 002 CLASSIFIED BY: Henry M. Rector, Charge d'Affaires, U.S. Embassy, Dili, East Timor, Department of State. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (SBU) Summary. Campaign-related violence in the district of Viqueque left three dead over the weekend of June 2 - 3. Viqueque is a Fretilin stronghold and tensions erupted as former President Xanana Gusmao led his new party in campaign rallies there. With help from the International Stabilization Force (ISF) and UN police (UNPOL),order has reportedly been restored in both locations, but the situation remains very tense and potentially volatile. President Ramos Horta and former President Xanana Gusmao plan to make appeals for calm and order over in the coming days, but coming so early in the campaign season, the incidents may well portend more violence in the coming days and weeks. The behavior of the East Timor National Police (PNTL) in the incidents underscores questions about its political neutrality and fundamental ability to maintain public order. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) Over the weekend of June 2 - 3, violence claimed three lives in the towns of Viqueque and Ossu. Post has assembled the following account of the incidents based on a combination of reliable international and local sources. The tension began when Gusmao's party, the National Council for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT) began its campaign activities in the Uatalare area of Viqueque. Responding to a rock throwing attack in which six CNRT vehicles were damaged and surrounded, members of Gusmao's close protection (seconded from the PNTL),fired warning shots to disperse the crowd. The following day, as CNRT arrived and began its campaign activities in Viqueque, harassment similar to that encountered in Uatalare continued creating a highly tense and confrontational environment. When a member of Gusmao's civilian security, Afonso Kudalai, left the campaign area on a motorbike, apparently to buy supplies, an off-duty PNTL officer, Luis da Silva, confronted and shot him, firing first at his legs and then his head according to an eye witness. ¶3. (C) Upon learning of the incident, President Ramos Horta called Australian Ambassador Margaret Twomey and requested that the Australian International Security Force (ISF) be dispatched to Viqueque to "disarm the PNTL." According to Ambassador Twomey, a furious Ramos Horta ranted against the foreign UN Police (UNPOL) personnel who had been on the scene, calling them "useless." (Note: Embassy sources on the scene separately reported that an UNPOL officer was nearby when the shooting occurred, but did nothing in response to the first shots fired, allowing the fatal headshots that followed.) After conferring with Interior Minister Barris and UN Mission In Timor Chief Eric Tan, it was agreed to fly a platoon of ISF personnel to Viqueque, but with a mission to support the UNPOL personnel, and only to disarm any PNTL at the direction of the UNPOLs in specific situations if conditions warranted. ¶4. (U) Around the same time, members of the Rapid Intervention Unit (UIR) of the PNTL based in Baucau, about 2.5 hours drive from Viqueque town, were ordered into Viqueque district to meet up with Gusmao and his convoy and to escort him on his way onward to Baucau. ¶5. (U) In the meantime, Xanana Gusmao and his convoy proceeded to Ossu, about 30 minutes from Viqueque town, in order to bring the victim's body to his family. According to Embassy sources, his security detail tried to convince him to depart the district as fast as possible, but he insisted on both accompanying the body and spending time with the family. In Ossu, a crowd of mainly youth quickly gathered around the victim's house. They were described as very angry and agitated over Kudalai's death. When the UIR on the road from Baucau arrived in Ossu, they confronted this crowd which apparently directed its anger at them as members of the PNTL. Details of exactly what happened next are sketchy, but we know that the UIR opened fire, killing one immediately. Two others were also wounded, one severely who died on June 4 of his injuries. ¶6. (U) The Australian ISF, diverted from Viqueque, arrived in Ossu and restored order. The ISF offered to evacuate Xanana Gusmao by helicopter, but he again refused and instead departed DILI 00000218 002.2 OF 002 Ossu by vehicle, under UIR and UNPOL escort, to continue his planned itinerary, proceeding the home of a well-known priest in the vicinity of Baucau city. CNRT continued its campaign schedule today in the districts of Baucau and Manatuto with no known incident. ¶7. (U) As of Monday, June 4, both Viqueque and Ossu remain quiet but tense. Members of opposition parties in the area report that they are very scared of possible continued Fretilin violence and are trying to lay low. In Viqueque, PNTL is temporarily confined to barracks while UNPOL has taken over responsibility for public order. The PNTL officer implicated in the shooting, Luis da Silva, remains at large but is being sought. The ISF platoon remains deployed to Ossu. ¶8. (U) The GOET will reportedly take steps today to calm the situation. President Ramos Horta will make an address calling for calm and appealing to political parties to adhere to the agreed code of conduct. Former President Xanana Gusmao will reportedly make a similar speech. Interior Minister Barris and PNTL Commissioner Afonso de Jesus will reportedly travel to Ossu to offer their condolences to the families of the bereaved in the coming days. Fretilin has issued a statement calling for an investigation, alleging that the CNRT worker killed in Viqueque was armed. (Note: Post has not been able to confirm the veracity of this allegation.) ¶9. (C) Comment. It does not bode well that we are seeing fatalities and violent confrontations only one week into East Timor's parliamentary campaign. Viqueque stands out as hard core Fretilin stronghold, arguably a unique status in the new political equation in East Timor, and may therefore not necessarily be a predictor of tensions in other areas. However, the fallout from these incidents will likely be significant and will bear close watching. In the immediate term, Viqueque is likely to remain tense and possible explosive especially when the three victim's bodies are returned for burial in the coming days. Beyond Viqueque, the identities and loyalties of perpetrators and victims will likely impact dynamics throughout the eastern districts, and possibly in the rest of the country as well. We will follow up with further analysis of the potential implications. RECTOR