HUMAN RIGHTS UNDER TIMOR-LESTE'S STATE OF EMERGENCY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 DILI 000126

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

FOR EAP/MTS AND DRL
PACOM FOR POLAD - CHRISTY

E.O. 12958: DECL: 4/30/2018
TAGS: PHUM PGOV ASEC TT
SUBJECT: HUMAN RIGHTS UNDER TIMOR-LESTE'S STATE OF EMERGENCY

REF: DILI 124

DILI 00000126 001.2 OF 003


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




1. (C) Summary. Although the Government of Timor-Leste publicly
directed the security forces to respect human rights during the
State of Emergency imposed following the attacks on the
President and Prime Minister on February 11, the Office of the
Ombudsman (Provedor) has reported 17 instances of serious human
rights violations, and has referred them to the police and
Prosecutor General for further action. The Office of the
Ombudsman reports that the police, military, and other
authorities have generally cooperated with its inquiries. The
Human Rights Division of the United Nations Integrated Mission
In Timor-Leste (UNMIT) has recorded 47 such cases, although
these have not been fully investigated. These mostly took the
form of irregular searches and detentions. Beatings were
reported, and there have been complaints about rough treatment
of persons violating the curfew. One man was killed on April 5
when he threatened soldiers with a machete. Local NGOs have
tended to downplay the incidents, saying that they were
relatively few in number and were the result of poor training
and misunderstanding, not conscious, systematic disregard for
the law. They stress that violations committed since February
11 pale in comparison with the violence of the 2006 crisis and
other traumas in Timor-Leste's history. End summary.


2. (U) On February 11, military dissidents led by the late
Major Alfredo Reinado shot and seriously wounded Timor-Leste
President Jose Ramos-Horta and attempted to kill Prime Minister
Xanana Gusmao. In response, the GOTL formed a Joint Command
between the National Police (PNTL) and Armed Forces (F-FDTL) to
apprehend the attackers, and the National Parliament passed a
law creating a State of Siege that imposed a curfew, relaxed
legal requirements for searches and arrests, and restricted
demonstrations. The law was renewed on February 22, and again
on March 22 as a "State of Emergency" in slightly modified form.
It was renewed again on April 22, but limited to the western
district of Ermera, where the surviving perpetrators of the
attacks remained at large. Since February 11, there have been
reports that the security forces have committed violations of
legal and human rights.

Ombudsman Fulfills Legal Mandate

--------------


3. (SBU) In an April 29 meeting with DCM, Silverio Pinto
Baptista, Deputy Ombudsman, recalled that the Office of the
Ombudsman had formed a team to monitor implementation of the
State of Siege immediately after Parliament passed the relevant
laws on February 11. Baptista said that his office had been
afforded good access by the authorities, since the National
Parliament had explicitly included a mandate for the Ombudsman
in the legislation. To date, the Ombudsman prepared four
reports containing findings and recommendations, and had
forwarded them to the relevant national and international
authorities in Timor-Leste.


4. (SBU) He confirmed that his office had reported 17 serious
instances of human rights violations to the GOTL for further
investigation and possible prosecution. These violations took
the form of beatings, psychological abuse (e.g., death threats
at gunpoint),unlawful searches and detention, and property
damage caused by security forces. These violations, he said,
had been committed by the Defense Forces (F-FDTL) and all units
of the National Police: the UIR (Rapid Response Unit),URP
(Police Reserve Unit),and Task Force (a special public security
unit). He confirmed that there had been a concentration of
reports of abuses in Ermera, and said that the Ombudsman had
sent investigators to that district in mid-March, where they had
found indications of political score-settling.


5. (SBU) Baptista said that with the February 11 attackers now
in custody (reftel),the Office of the Ombudsman would now
concentrate on effecting follow-up by relevant instances in the
GOTL. In the coming days, he said, he would meet with the
Prosecutor General and the head of the Joint Command to discuss
further investigations into specific incidents and possible
legal action. Baptista also planned to meet with the Ministry
of Social Solidarity to discuss monetary reparations for victims

DILI 00000126 002.2 OF 003


who had suffered injuries or property damage. Finally, he said,
the Office of the Ombudsman would encourage the GOTL to issue an
official apology to those who had suffered violations.

UN Sees Broader Problem

--------------


6. (SBU) In an April 15 meeting with DCM, UNMIT Human Rights
Unit Deputy Chief Daniela Baro (PROTECT) reported that her
office had verified 47 complaints of human rights violations
committed by the PNTL and F-FDTL since imposition of the State
of Emergency. Baro said that while UNMIT had not conducted
full-fledged investigations in all 47 cases, it had interviewed
witnesses, taken photographs, or found other credible
indications supporting allegations made.


7. (SBU) Baro said that the majority of these incidents had
occurred during the first weeks of the State of Emergency, and
that reports had dropped sharply in recent weeks. Only one
incident had resulted in loss of life; this was the widely
publicized April 5 incident in Atabae in which F-FDTL soldiers
shot and killed a mentally ill man who refused to drop a
machete. Almost all the other incidents consisted of
ill-treatment during arrest or detention (33 cases); death
threats, occasionally at gunpoint (11 cases); and unlawful or
unjustified arrest or detention (21 cases). Ill-treatment
typically took the form of beatings; none of the cases verified
resulted in hospitalization, permanent disability, or broken
bones. In six instances of mistreatment, passengers in vehicles
stopped at checkpoints were forced to do push-ups.


8. (SBU) With regard to incidents involving arrest and
detention, Baro said that the problem was often that persons
were sometimes detained without explanation (as in the case of
former Minister for Natural Sources Jose Teixera) or arrests
without warrants. In all these cases, however, detainees were
subsequently released.


9. (SBU) Baro said that most of these abuses had been committed
by the PNTL, and attributed a far lower number of confirmed
human rights violations to the F-FDTL, whether operating
independently or as part of the Joint Command.


10. (SBU) Ms. Baro said that UNMIT has sent weekly reports to
the office of Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, the Joint Command,
and the Secretary of State for Defense and Security. Although
there has been no GOTL follow-up as yet, the Prime Minister has
publicly acknowledged that abuses had occurred and cautioned the
security forces to respect human rights. The UN, Ms. Baro said,
would eventually issue a public report on the situation, but
this would not be until June.

Local NGOs Not Alarmed

--------------


11. (SBU) Jose Oliveira, director of the human rights NGO HAK,
argued that any fair assessment of the state of emergency must
consider historical context. Timor-Leste was still in the early
stages of developing the rule of law, he said, and the GOTL's
handling current state of emergency compared very favorably with
the last political crisis in 2006. Prime Minister Xanana
Gusmao, in contrast to former PM Alkatiri, had adhered to the
law and constitution in imposing the state of emergency.
Oliveira pointed out that some MPs were now criticizing
emergency legislation that they themselves had voted for.


12. (SBU) Oliveira conceded that particularly in Ermera,
political score settling appeared to be influencing the security
forces behavior, and that "emotional self-control" was still a
problem.


13. (SBU) Timotio de Deus, Executive Director of the Judicial
System Monitoring System (JMPS),also offered a balanced
assessment. JMPS is Timor-Leste's most respected rule of law
NGO, and while it did not systematically monitor implementation
of the state of emergency, it nonetheless tracked developments.
De Deus strongly defended the state of siege as necessary and
justified, and praised statements by Prime Minister Xanana
Gusmao and the Ombudsman calling on the security forces to
uphold human rights. He downplayed some actions of the Task
Force and Joint Command, such as forcing curfew violators to
perform push-ups, saying that these were necessary to enforce

DILI 00000126 003.2 OF 003


the measures.


14. (SBU) De Deus said he was concerned by reported beatings by
the F-FDTL in the village of Letefoho, Ermera District.
Although these incidents took place under the pretext of
searching for perpetrators of the February 11 attacks, de Deus
said that this appeared to be a case of political
score-settling. He said that 13 persons had been beaten, two of
them quite seriously, and the victims were now afraid to report
the matter to authorities. De Deus said his information on the
cases was reliable, but he had not met with the victims himself.


15. (SBU) De Deus said that he was also concerned about
irregular detentions, but said that he believed these had
occurred not out of any willful intent to disregard the law, but
rather because legal requirements were misunderstood. He added
that overall, he believed that the violations were not massive
or systematic, and that it would be an adequate corrective if
the authorities followed up on abuses reported by the Ombudsman.


16. (SBU) Christopher Samson, leader of the Timorese human
rights and anti-corruption NGO LABEH, was relatively unconcerned
about the issue. He defended the state of emergency as a
necessary measure following the February 11 attacks, and claimed
that many allegations of abuses remained unconfirmed. While
acknowledging that abuses had taken place, he noted that these
incidents had not been "institution-directed," but were rather
aberrations. With regard to the April 5 fatality in Atabae,
Samson said that while this incident was unfortunate, he could
understand why the F-FDTL felt threatened.
RECTOR