ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL'S APRIL 6 - 7 VISIT TO TIMOR-LESTE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 DILI 000107 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MTS DHS FOR COAST GUARD E.O. 12958: DECL: 4/15/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV TT SUBJECT: ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL'S APRIL 6 - 7 VISIT TO TIMOR-LESTE DILI 00000107 001.2 OF 003 CLASSIFIED BY: Henry M. Rector, Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy Dili, Department of State. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (SBU) Summary. In an April 6-7 visit to Timor-Leste, EAP Assistant Secretary Hill emphasized continuing U.S. support in the wake of the February 11 attacks on President Ramos-Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao. He urged the GOTL to move forward on strengthening the judiciary system and resolving land and property rights disputes, noting that these were crucial to Timor-Leste's future stability and development. He reiterated the USG's willingness to provide assistance in the security sector, based on the GOTL's priorities. GOTL leaders said their most pressing short term priorities are reintegrating the internally displaced persons (IDPs) from the 2006 crisis and resettling the 600 ex-military petitioners currently encamped in Dili. They said that although they had encouraged Gastao Salsinha, the surviving ringleader of the February 11 attacks, to surrender voluntarily, they would soon direct that he and his followers be apprehended by force if necessary. During his visit, A/S Hill visited the Don Bosco IDP camp, received briefings from the UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) and International Stabilization Force (ISF),and met with Acting President Lasama, Deputy Prime Minister Guterres, Acting President of Parliament Guterres, and opposition leader Alkatiri. End summary. Lasama Promises Prompt Arrest of 2/11 Attackers -------------- -- ¶2. (C) EAP Assistant Secretary Christopher R. Hill met with Timor-Leste Acting President Fernando "Lasama" de Araujo on April 7. Assistant Secretary Hill said the U.S. condemned the assassination attempts against President Ramos-Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao last February 11 and commended the GOTL for its handling of the situation. Lasama said that the GOTL's most pressing short-term priorities were apprehending the February 11 attackers still at large and reaching a settlement with the "petitioners," the 600-plus group of former military personnel encamped in central Dili. Lasama said the GOTL had attempted to negotiate a non-violent surrender with Lieutenant Gastao Salsinha, the surviving leader of the would-be assassins. Since Salsinha has this far refused to turn himself in, the GOTL's joint military-police task force would begin operations on April 8 to apprehend Salsinha by force if necessary. Although a curfew remains in effect in Dili, Lasama said, society and government are functioning normally. ¶3. (SBU) On the petitioners issue, Lasama said that the 664 men currently living in an encampment in Dili were mostly ex-military and veterans of the FALENTIL resistance movement, many of whom had been supporters of Major Alfredo Reinado, who was killed during the attack on President Ramos-Horta. Lasama said the GOTL was looking for ways to re-integrate the men into the workforce, both in Timor-Leste and also by including them in groups of Timorese laborers who work temprarily overseas. ¶4. (SBU) Assistant Secretary Hill told Lasama about his April 6 visit to the Don Bosco IDP camp. He observed that although there had been some progress since the IDPs first appeared during the political crisis of 2006, their continued presence in large numbers was symptomatic of deeper problems such the absence of a functional judiciary and a reliable framework of land and property rights. A/S Hill said he was pleased that USAID was supporting a land law project, and urged that the GOTL move forward on this to create a basis for economic growth and foreign investment. A/S Hill said the U.S. was pleased to continue its economic assistance to Timor-Leste, but stressed that urban land reform would be necessary for future economic development. Lasama agreed, and said that the Ministry of Justice was working on the problem. He added that the GOTL was developing a public housing scheme to accommodate some of the IDPs who could not return to their previous homes. ¶4. (C) On security sector reform, Lasama said that the joint military-police operation to apprehend the perpetrators of the attacks on the President and Prime Minister resulted in improved cooperation between the two organizations. A/S Hill reiterated DILI 00000107 002.2 OF 003 that the U.S. was willing to provide assistance to Timor-Leste's security sector once the GOTL indicates its priorities. Lasama replied that the GOTL urgently needs to improve its ability to stop illegal fishing in its waters, and would welcome U.S. assistance in maritime security. The Armed Forces' naval element only has two patrol boats, Lasama noted. DPM Guterres Outlines Progress On IDPs, Petitioners -------------- -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Deputy Prime Minister Jose Luis Guterres met with Assistant Secretary Hill on behalf of Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, who cancelled due to illness. Guterres expressed gratitude for the friendship of the United States, and said that Timor-Leste would soon appoint an Ambassador and defense attache to its Embassy in Washington. Recalling PACOM Commander Admiral Keating's September visit, he thanked the U.S. for its offer to assist Timor-Leste in the security sector. He identified maritime security as a top priority, and said the GOTL would welcome further Coast Guard support in this area. ¶6. (SBU) Guterres reaffirmed that resolving the petitioners problem and reintegrating the IDPs were the GOTL's highest short term priorities. He said that the governing coalition had consolidated its relationship with the opposition FRETILIN party on these issues, and noted that he consulted regularly with FRETILIN leader Mari Alkatiri. ¶7. (SBU) Guterres said that the GOTL had already surveyed the petitioners to learn about their background, needs, and expectations. He emphasized that the GOTL would soon finalize an MOU with Republic of Korea to extend offers of employment overseas for up to 10,000 Timorese, including petitioners; this would not only provide skills to Timorese workers, but possibly also improve Timor-Leste's image and business environment. Some petitioners, he said, could eventually rejoin the armed forces, but only after undergoing a screening process. ¶8. (SBU) Guterres said that the GOTL intended to apprehend Salsinha and other perpetrators of the attacks against the President and Prime Minister with a minimum of violence. The GOTL's preferred approach, he said, had been to encourage voluntary surrenders, and still hoped that Salsinha would turn himself in. ¶9. (SBU) Turning to the IDPs, Guterres said that the GOTL was moving forward with plans to offer 1,750 subsidized housing units to IDP families, but faced a $17.5 million funding shortfall. The GOTL had already selected two sites for the housing, Guterres said, and the Minister of Justice was resolving title issues. Parliament: Institutions Are Works In Progress -------------- -- ¶10. (SBU) In a meeting with Acting President of Parliament Vicente Guterres, A/S Hill asked about progress in the development of Timor-Leste's government institutions. He commended the GOTL for having passed the important tests of the 2007 national elections and the assassination attempts of last February. Guterres replied that while Timor-Leste was experiencing difficult times, countries often face such challenges in the state-building process. He said that the Timorese people now accept that political differences can be best resolved by elections and in Parliament. He stressed that Timor-Leste continues to look towards democratic partners such as the United States as role models. Guterres explained that Timorese parliamentarians are still developing expertise, and for that reason Parliament continues to rely on foreign advisors for both legal and logistical assistance. ¶11. (SBU) Guterres agreed with A/S Hill's observation that much needs to be done on Timor-Leste's judicial system. Only a few Timorese judges and public defenders had been trained, and conditions for judges in the outlying districts remain primitive. The National Parliament was working to implement a civil code to replace the UNTAET regulations and Indonesian laws that are currently in effect, Guterres said. He estimated that putting a fully functional judiciary system in place would take DILI 00000107 003.2 OF 003 10-15 years. ¶12. (SBU) A/S Hill said that an important part of this reform process would be to create a legal mechanism for resolution of land and property disputes. Guterres agreed, noting that there were several different kinds of land disputes and that the GOTL was proceeding by resolving the relatively straightforward ones first. He pointed out that Timor-Leste has many linguistic and ethnic groups, each with its own traditions of conflict resolution, and this complicates the task at hand. Alkatiri on 2/11 Attacks, Petrol Fund, Indonesia -------------- --- ¶13. (C) In his meeting with A/S Hill, FRETILIN Secretary General Mari Alkatiri characterized the problem of the petitioners and the February 11 attacks on the President and Prime Minister as resulting from the mishandling of the 2006 political crisis. Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, he said, had actually encouraged the petitioners and the Reinado group in 2006. Alkatiri said that FRETILIN nonetheless fully supported the GOTL's efforts to apprehend the perpetrators. He said that in his opinion, a breakdown of command and control mechanisms was the reason that the would-be assassins were not caught on the day of the attack. ¶14. (C) A/S Hill commended Alkatiri's foresight in creating Timor-Leste's national petroleum fund. Alkatiri recalled that the law had been passed unanimously, and that the fund had been set up only after a three-year process of consultation. A/S Hill remarked that this might be a paradigm for creating a mechanism for resolving land and property disputes. Alkatiri agreed, adding that this was an urgent priority, but one that required a popular consensus. Politicization of land and property issues would be very harmful, said Alkatiri, who encouraged U.S. assistance in building bipartisan support for reform. He remarked that Indonesia still had extensive property claims, and that the report of the bilateral Commission on Truth and Friendship might contain provisions addressing these issues. Alkatiri underscored the fundamental importance to Timor-Leste of good relations with Indonesia, complaining that some foreign NGOs failed to appreciate this. A/S Hill reiterated a standing invitation to Alkatiri to visit Washington. KLEMM