HOUSE DEMOCRACY ASSISTANCE COMMISSION VISITS DILI

UNCLAS DILI 000173


STATE FOR EAP/MTS AND H

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL EPET EFIN PHUM TT
SUBJECT: HOUSE DEMOCRACY ASSISTANCE COMMISSION VISITS DILI


1. SUMMARY: Six U.S. Congressmen led a delegation from the
House Democracy Assistance Commission (HDAC) on a visit to
Timor-Leste July 2-4. HDAC members and staffers engaged with
Timorese leaders, held a day-long training session at the
National Parliament, and visited a rural district. Timorese
officials underscored the continued fragility of Timor's
governing institutions, particularly the legislature, and
expressed continued appreciation for HDAC's assistance. END
SUMMARY.


PRESIDENT RAMOS-HORTA TOUTS PETROLEUM FUND, ASKS FOR RETURN OF
PEACE CORPS


2. President Ramos-Horta thanked the delegation for visiting
Dili and praised the United States Congress for its long-term
support to Timor-Leste, dating back to Senator Harkin's draft
resolution rebuking the Indonesian occupation in 1975.
Congressman Price congratulated President Ramos-Horta on his
recovery from the 2008 assassination attempt and thanked him for
his personal leadership and commitment to democracy. He noted
that Timor-Leste is one of the most enthusiastic HDAC partners
and pledged continued engagement between the Commission and the
National Parliament.


3. Several Members inquired about the use and sustainability of
the government's special petroleum fund as a vehicle for
development in Timor-Leste. President Ramos-Horta boasted that
the fund was rated as one of the best managed in the world by
Freedom House and would be used to support the government's
investment priorities: infrastructure, education and health.
However, Bayu Undan is the only site currently under production
and Timor-Leste is negotiating the terms of the unexploited
Greater Sunrise natural gas field between Timor and Australia.
Ramos-Horta acknowledged disagreement with Australia over
whether to send the Sunrise pipeline to existing facilities in
Darwin, Australia or to the underdeveloped southern Timor-Leste
coast. President Ramos-Horta argued forcefully that directing
the pipeline to Timor-Leste would create desperately needed
jobs, spur economic growth in southern Timor-Leste, and still be
profitable for all parties involved.


4. Congressman McDermott asked if President Ramos-Horta if he
had considered a possible return of the Peace Corps and whether
English Language training might be a part of their mandate.
Ambassador confirmed that Timorese formally requested the return
of the Peace Corps earlier this year. Ramos-Horta
enthusiastically added that he would be happy if "the Peace
Corps did nothing more than English Language training in
Timor-Leste." Congressman Price reported that the House had
recently authorized a major expansion of the Peace Corps.

OPPOSITION DECRIES GOVERNMENT'S APPROACH BUT DOWNPLAYS POLICY
DIFFERENCES


5. Dr. Mari Alkatiri, former Prime Minister and
Secretary-General of the opposition Fretelin party, criticized
the lack of inclusiveness of Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao's
government and characterized President Ramos-Horta's main role
as being "the opposition to the opposition." Alkatiri again
questioned the constitutionality of the government, adding that
the government's corruption was further undermining its
legitimacy. Fretelin was a constructive opposition, Alkatiri
argued, because it rejected violence and was willing to
challenge government actions in court. Alkatiri emphasized
Fretelin's agreement with many of the government's foreign
policies, however, including pursuing ASEAN membership in the
medium-term, the need to maintain good relations with Indonesia
and Australia while also resolving outstanding territorial
issues, and the desire to phase down the UN presence by 2012.

UN: INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT KEY TO SUPPORTING DEMOCRACY


6. Special Representative of the UN Secretary General Atul
Khare and his team briefed the delegation on UN activities in
Timor-Leste. Khare admitted that before 2006 the UN had
primarily been focused on maintaining stability, but had
broadened its efforts over the last two years to include
developing institutional capacity - a key to supporting
democracy in Timor-Leste. Khare pointed to the "smooth"
transition to a second democratically-elected president as a key
indicator of success, but that less attention has been spent on
what to do between elections. In response to questions posed by
the congressmen, Khare noted that the goal now is to develop
capacity so that elected institutions can deliver public goods
and conduct the next elections without international assistance.
Khare emphasized, however, that he sees a need for a UN
presence until the 2012 elections, albeit with appropriate
reductions in the cost and scope of the mission each year.
During that period the UN will gradually hand over
responsibilities to local institutions while maintaining a
presence to "observe" performance, something Khare likened to
giving a novice driver a driver's permit while riding with them
in the vehicle.

LEGISLATOR-TO-LEGISLATOR ENGAGEMENT AT PARLIAMENTARY SESSION


7. The delegation was invited to speak at a plenary ceremony of
the National Parliament and meet with parliamentary committees
on July 3. The visit to the parliament began with a brief tour
of the Parliamentary Library which had been established with
financial and technical assistance from HDAC. Following the
tour, President (i.e., Speaker) of the National Parliament
Lasama welcomed and introduced the delegation, each congressman
spoke briefly, the representatives of each of the political
parties represented in parliament made brief statements, and the
delegation and Timor-Leste parliamentarians exchanged views on
the roles of the legislature. In the afternoon, each
congressman spent time with separate parliamentary committees
and engaged in more detailed discussions with individual
parliamentarians about the challenges facing the Timor-Leste
parliament, including parliamentary oversight responsibilities
in the areas of anti-corruption and infrastructure development.
Two final concurrent sessions brought together local
parliamentarians with delegation members to discuss budget
analysis and security sector oversight.

PROVINCIAL TRIP HIGHLIGHTS U.S.-SUPPORTED COFFEE PROGRAM


8. In the rural district of Maubisse, the delegation was feted
with a traditional welcome ceremony and toured the Timor-Leste
Coffee Cooperative (CCT). CCT was initiated with USAID funding
in 1994, has been self-sufficient since 2005 and now supports
over 23,000 families throughout the country with 12 million USD
in annual sales last year. The congressmen were impressed with
the success of the project and wondered if it might be
replicated elsewhere as a model of economic growth. In the
afternoon, the delegation participated in a joint town hall
meeting with Members of Parliament and fielded questions from
traditional community leaders.

STAFF PROGRAM FOCUSES ON RESEARCH CAPACITY


9. Congressional staffers, researchers from the Congressional
Research Service (CRS),and librarians from the Library of
Congress (LOC) participated in a separate schedule during the
delegation's visit to Timor-Leste. The staffers and researchers
held meetings with the Chief of Staff for the Speaker of
Parliament, the Director of the Parliamentary Research Center,
and the representative from the Asia Foundation, which is
currently managing the USAID-funded project to build
Parliamentary capacity through the research center. The topics
discussed included the status of the Parliament's modernization
efforts, the scope of the HDAC program to create a functioning
research service, and the level of training and research for
Parliamentary staffers. The librarians and researchers also
conducted training sessions with researchers and librarians from
the Parliament Research Center on information research services,
library services, and legislative analysis. Research staffers
even came in on a Saturday to take advantage of the CRS and LOC
expertise provided. The staffers also met with former Prime
Minister and current Member of Parliament Estanislau da Silva
who explained the importance of the research center for
Parliamentary development and the desire to obtain training for
the Members of Parliament who sparingly use the center.
Congressional staffers from the Rules Committee also held a side
session with the President of Timor's Internal Rules Commission
at the request of Parliament to explain the importance of
internal rules for the proper functioning of a legislative body.


10. The HDAC delegation consisted of Chairman David Price, Rep.
Jim McDermott, Rep. Jim Cooper, Rep. Bob Etheridge, Rep. Vern
Buchanan, and Rep. Phil Gingrey. HDAC approved this message.


KLEMM