TIMOR-LESTE'S NEW CABINET COMPLETE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DILI 000313

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EAP FOR MTS, PACOM FOR POLAD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 9/7/2017
TAGS: PGOV KDEM TT
SUBJECT: TIMOR-LESTE'S NEW CABINET COMPLETE

REF: DILI 285

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CLASSIFIED BY: Henry Rector, Charge d' Affaires, U.S. Embassy,
Dili, East Timor, Department of State.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)

1. (C) Summary: Following Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao's initial
appointments to Timor Leste's new Cabinet (reftel),President
Ramos Horta swore in additional members on August 31. In a move
that grants him authority over the National Police (PNTL) and
Defense Forces (F-FDTL),PM Gusmao assumed the Defense and
National Security portfolios. This may set him up for tension
with the President, who has made it clear that he intends to
remain active on foreign affairs and national security matters.
End summary.


2. (C) The following is an overview of the new Cabinet
officials, including brief notes on their political backgrounds
and some initial assessments:

-- Minister for Social Solidarity, Maria Domingas Alves
"Micato". Micato accepted this post after FRETILIN member David
Ximenes declined it, citing direct pressure from FRETILIN
Secretary General Mari Alkatiri. Micato is the former advisor

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to the PM on Gender Balance Issues, and is widely seen as
independent but still close to FRETILIN. She is from Manatuto
and is married to Jacinto Alves, a member of the joint
Indonesian-Timorese Truth and Friendship Commission.

-- Minister of Agriculture, Mariano Sabino Lopes. Lopes should
have been sworn in on August 8, but had to deal with last-minute
pressures from within his own Democratic Party (PD) to decline.
He finally accepted after repeated urging from both PM Gusmao
and President of Parliament Fernando de Araujo ("Lasama").
Lopes has been accused by some of having negotiated PD
participation in the new government without adequately
consulting the party, especially its main body, the National
Political Commission. This issue will likely figure in an
upcoming PD party conference.

-- Secretary of State for the Environment, Abilio Lima. Lima is
from the Timorese Social Democratic Association (ASDT) party and
originally from Ermera. He only completed secondary school and
is a former militia leader. Recently, ASDT complained about the
party receiving only one ministerial position, while the Social
Democratic Party (PSD) has three.

-- Secretary of State for Tourism, Adriano Nascimento.
Strangely, Nascimento did not attend the swearing-in ceremony.
He was PD caucus chair and is now the party's vice-president. A
Westerner from Suai, he is thought by some to have instigated
east versus west divisions within the party. He previously
accused Mariano Sabino Lopes of naming Easterner PD members to
the government, and demanded a position within it or threatened
to vote in Parliament against the Alliance for a Parliamentary
Majority, the parliamentary bloc to which PD belongs.
Nascimento received the support of two other PD MP's: Lucas da
Costa and Vital dos Santos, both westerners.

-- Secretary of State for Veterans Issues, Mario Nicolau dos
Reis. Reis is a PD member originally from Baucau. His brother
Jose Maria Reis is FRETILIN Secretary of State for Region One,
encompassing Baucau, Viqueque, and Los Palos. In 2001 he was
appointed by UNTAET at Xanana Gusmao's behest as District
Administrator of Baucau. He outlined his main goals for his new
position as finding "a place of honor for veterans of the
resistance" to serve their country in a civil capacity and
integrate them into society. In addition, he wants to institute
a pension system for veterans as well as for the widows and
children of veterans. He has expressed his enthusiasm for
serving the new AMP-led government, believing that if it is able
to quickly deliver tangible progress, it will win popular
support that will enable it to withstand attempts from FRETILIN
to destabilize it. In a meeting with Poloff today, he warned
that the AMP coalition must stay vigilant against internal
divisions that FRETILIN could exploit to undermine the
government.


3. (C) Comment: As these new appointments make clear, PM
Xanana Gusmao is continuing to take an inclusive approach, even
reaching out to FRETILIN. As noted reftel, external political
pressure from FRETILIN has probably helped him to hold the new
AMP coalition together during its first month. As the above
background notes make clear, however, there is no lack of
divisions and infighting within the AMP bloc's various member
parties. This means that over the longer term, the new Cabinet

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may face centrifugal pressures from within as well as external
pressures from the opposition. However, as they settle down to
the real business of governance, the new members may be able to
put behind them the inevitable political maneuvering that
surrounded the formation of the Cabinet. End comment
RECTOR