TIMOR-LESTE: LEADERS RECEIVE REPORT OUTLINING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001351 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, EAP/ANP, EUR/WE, DRL/AWH NSC FOR EPHU E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/15/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM ID TT SUBJECT: TIMOR-LESTE: LEADERS RECEIVE REPORT OUTLINING HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES REF: A. DILI 183 ¶B. JAKARTA 1328 AND PREVIOUS Classified By: Pol/C Joseph L. Novak, reasons 1.4 (b+d). ¶1. (U) This message was coordinated with Consulate Surabaya. ¶2. (C) SUMMARY: In a ceremony in Bali on July 15, President Yudhoyono and President Ramos-Horta formally received copies of the Commission of Truth and Friendship (CTF) report. The official report has not been publicly released as of yet, although contacts have already briefed Mission on its key conclusions. In brief remarks at the event, both leaders welcomed the report. They also signed a joint statement in which they expressed "remorse" to victims. The Indonesian media is just beginning to report on the CTF's conclusions, which are highly critical of GOI security forces. As expected, former militia leaders now based in Indonesia have denounced the report. The presentation of the document wraps up almost three years of work by the joint commission. END SUMMARY. HANDING OVER REPORT ¶3. (SBU) Indonesian President Yudhoyono and East Timor President Ramos-Horta formally received copies of Commission of Truth and Friendship (CTF) report on July 15. The ceremony took place at a heavily guarded luxury hotel in Nusa Dua, Bali. The official report has not been publicly released as of yet. The Indonesian Department of Foreign Affairs (DEPLU) will hold a press conference reviewing the report for diplomats on July 16 in Jakarta. (Note: Mission is trying to obtain a copy of the final report. We have already been briefed on parts of it, including its main conclusions. See ref B. Once Mission receives a copy of the final report, we will do an analysis of it via septel.) JOINT STATEMENT ¶4. (SBU) Events in Bali were closed to our Pol FSN, who was at the site. Based on what she picked up, the two leaders welcomed the report in their comments at the ceremony, expressing the hope that both countries could now focus on reconciliation and not the past. In a joint statement, which they signed, the two leaders noted that they accepted the findings of the report to the effect that gross violations of human rights had occurred prior to and immediately after the referendum in 1999. The two leaders--on behalf of their governments--also expressed "remorse to all those who suffered immeasurable pain and physical and psychological wounds" during the period in question. (Note: Press reports state that President Yudhoyono used the term "regret" in discussing what had transpired.) They pledged to implement the Commission's recommendations (such as human rights training for military forces) and take other steps to "promote friendship and reconciliation. (Note: Mission is e-mailing the text of the joint statement to Embassy Dili and EAP/MTS.) The foreign ministers of the two countries then held a press conference. EX-MILITIA RAGE ¶5. (SBU) As expected, former militia leaders now based in Indonesia have denounced the report. In representative comments, Eurico Guterres, a well-known ex-militia leader (a controversial figure with a poor human rights record),called the report "unfair and unbalanced." He asserted that the report had failed to take fully into account violence by pro-independence militants. Guterres was speaking from Kupang in West Timor (eastern Indonesia). MEDIA COVERAGE ¶6. (U) Based on leaks and other public information, the JAKARTA 00001351 002 OF 002 Indonesian media is carrying straightforward wire-service reports about the report and its conclusions, including the assessment that Indonesian security forces committed gross violations of human rights in East Timor. Some op-ed pieces have come out in praise of the report. We expect that news of the Bali event will, no doubt, increase the coverage. A LONG HARD ROAD ¶7. (C) The presentation of the report wraps up years of work by the joint commission, which was formed in 2005. The commissioners, divided equally between Indonesians and East Timorese, interviewed dozens of experts, witnesses and participants in the events in East Timor and sifted through piles of documents. The GOI has been supportive of the report, which is a positive. So far, not much has been heard from Indonesia's clique of retired military officers, with nationalist views who are influential and are bound to be critical of the report and its conclusions. ¶8. (U) Please see ref B points containing suggested USG press guidance. HUME