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S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 04 DILI 000135 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  3/25/2016 
TAGS: PGOV MARR TT
SUBJECT: PRESIDENT GUSMAO RESPONDS TO DISMISSAL OF STRIKING SOLDIERS 
 
REF: A) DILI 96, B) DILI 113 
 
DILI 00000135  001.2 OF 004 
 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Grover Joseph Rees, Ambassador, Embassy Dili, 
State. 
REASON: 1.4 (a), (b) 
 
 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Grover Joseph Rees, Ambassador, Embassy Dili, 
State. 
REASON: 1.4 (a), (b) 
 
 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (U) On March 16, the Commander of East Timor's Defense Force 
(FDTL), Brigadier-General Taur Matan Ruak, publicly announced 
that all striking soldiers were officially dismissed and were 
considered to have become civilians as of March 1.  The 
dismissed soldiers, numbered at 591, were part of a strike that 
commenced on February 8 based on alleged discrimination within 
FDTL ranks by soldiers from the eastern part of the country 
against those from the west (see reftels).  Matan Ruak's 
announcement was later reiterated and defended by Prime Minister 
Mari Alkatiri and other senior Government of East Timor (GOET) 
officials.  President Xanana Gusmao, who was traveling at the 
time of the announcement, cut his travel short to return and 
address the FDTL issue.  In a speech delivered yesterday and 
broadcast on public radio and television, he acknowledged 
General Matan Ruak's power to make the decision and stated that 
he would not change it.  However, he lambasted both the General 
and the Minister of Defense for their handling of the case and 
strongly stated his opinion that dismissal was the wrong 
decision.  The issue, he stated, was one of long-standing 
institutional problems that must be addressed, not simply a 
disciplinary problem.  In anticipation of the President's 
midweek return and following his speech, rumors proliferated in 
Dili of possible violent response by the striking soldiers. 
However, so far they have carried out all activities peacefully. 
 The leader of the dismissed strikers stated today that they 
will seek an audience with the President to ask for a different 
solution and, if the dismissal is final, will deliver their 
uniforms back to the FDTL and return home.  Nevertheless, the 
high profile FDTL developments appear to have elevated the 
normally minor tensions between people from eastern and western 
parts of the country.  End summary. 
 
FDTL leadership announces dismissal of all striking soldiers 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
 
¶2. (U) On March 16, General Matan Ruak announced that all the 
soldiers who remained on strike were officially no longer 
members of the FDTL and had been returned to civilian status. 
The number of dismissed soldiers is generally agreed to be 591. 
Exact numbers were difficult to pin down during the strike, but 
this appears to include approximately 400 original demonstrators 
plus approximately 200 additional soldiers who joined later (see 
reftel B).  The announcement of their dismissal appeared in the 
press on March 17, but according to the striking soldiers no 
official notification was delivered directly to them. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The dismissal followed several weeks during which 
General Matan Ruak repeatedly stated that striking soldiers 
would be sacked if they did not return to duty.  As reported in 
reftel B, he stated during a briefing to foreign military 
advisors on March 7 that all AWOL soldiers were considered to be 
deserters regardless of whether they were participants in the 
strike.  At a press conference several days later on March 21, 
Prime Minister Mari Alkatir expressed his agreement with the 
dismissal decision stating: "The decision was made by FDTL's 
commander, after consultations with myself.  I agreed with and 
fully supported the decision."  Other GOET officials including 
the President of the National Parliament, Francisco Guterres 
Lu'Olo, also made public statements supporting the decision. 
Lieutenant Gastao Salsinha, the spokesperson and apparent leader 
of the striking soldiers, responded by stating despite the FDTL 
decision, the final verdict was in the hands of the President 
--- who is widely respected within the FDTL as the leader of the 
guerrilla resistance to Indonesian occupation, and whom East 
Timor's Constitution designates as FDTL's Commander-in-Chief --- 
 
DILI 00000135  002.2 OF 004 
 
 
and that they would await his response. 
 
President's response: condemns the decision, but will not change 
it 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
-------- 
 
¶4. (U) President Xanana Gusmao, who has reportedly been at odds 
with General Matan Ruak over how to handle the striking 
soldiers, was out of the country at the time of the public 
announcement.  Originally slated to return on March 28, he cut 
his trip short to return on the 22nd.  In a speech broadcast via 
public radio and television on March 23, he began by stating 
that his position as Supreme Commander of the nation's armed 
forces was essentially ceremonial during times of peace. 
Therefore, the dismissal decision was fully within General Matan 
Ruak's competence and he would not intervene to change it.  He 
said, "I wish to inform the 591 soldiers who now become 
civilians that this is the decision that has been taken, and it 
means that you are no longer military men because I have to 
respect the decisions taken by your leaders." 
 
¶5. (U) However, the President then severely criticized the 
dismissal decision and lambasted both General Matan Ruak and 
Minister of Defense Roque Rodrigues for their handling of the 
situation.  Outlining the sequence of events as it unfolded, 
beginning in January with the submission of a petition from 
soldiers complaining of discrimination in promotions and in the 
imposition of discipline, he described several instances in 
which he regarded both Matan Ruak and Rodrigues as having 
neglected their responsibility to address the institutional and 
political issues within the FDTL.  He stated that the issues 
raised by the striking solders were longstanding and needed 
careful resolution.  These allegations had been raised already 
in 2004 and two investigative commissions had looked into them. 
However, the issues identified then were never resolved, so they 
continue to this day.  Among the problems he cited as having 
been raised in 2004 but never addressed were the absence of laws 
and regulations such as a Code of Military Discipline and a Law 
on Military Service. 
 
¶6. (U) The President focused also on the issue of 
"loromonu-lorosa'e" (West versus East) within the FDTL as a 
longstanding issue needing resolution.  He emphasized the 
problem of former resistance fighters denigrating the 
contribution of new recruits who had not been part of the armed 
resistance.  (Note: The guerrilla resistance to Indonesian 
occupation was dominated by East Timorese from the eastern part 
of the country, as is the current leadership of FDTL.  There is 
a related perception among some "lorosa'e" or eastern people 
that they were the only ones who fought against the Indonesians. 
 Alluding to a particularly virulent statement of this belief, 
the President said the discrimination within the military was 
based on the idea that "only lorosa'e were independence 
fighters, all of us from Manatuto to Oecusse are children of the 
[anti-independence] militias.")  President Gusmao stressed the 
responsibility of military leaders to ensure that the FDTL was a 
single unified force representing an independent East Timor, not 
a force divided by the background of its members.  "If we do not 
solve it properly," he went on, "by just dismissing these 
people, then the young people from 'loromonu' will not apply for 
FDTL ~ and all of these matters will transform FDTL into a 
military force from 'lorosa'e' only." 
 
Strikers continue to be peaceful despite rumors of violent 
escalation 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
---------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Both in anticipation of the President's early return 
and following his speech, several rumors emerged that the 
striking soldiers were planning additional demonstrations and/or 
violent reprisals.  So far, however, these rumors have turned 
out to be unfounded.  First, rumors spread that the dismissed 
soldiers were planning to demonstrate against the President on 
his arrival on March 22.   A strong police presence was 
established at the airport as a result, but in the end none of 
the strikers showed up to demonstrate.  Lieutenant Salsinha, the 
spokesperson and apparent leader of the striking soldiers, 
strongly denied that there had ever been a plan for a 
demonstration, making clear that the strikers respected the 
 
DILI 00000135  003.2 OF 004 
 
 
President and hoped he would intervene on their behalf.  In his 
speech yesterday, the President labeled the security presence as 
an attempt by government officials to create a false public 
impression that these "591 friends" were  dangerous:  "Sometimes 
we try to intimidate the population in order to hide the 
problems which we do not have the courage to solve 
intelligently." 
 
¶8. (S/NF) Notwithstanding the President's assurances and the 
consistently nonviolent behavior of the dismissed FDTL strikers 
thus far, there were further reports today that violence might 
break out.  These reports appear to have been based in part on 
statements by some of the strikers themselves.  Emboff received 
a report today from an international NGO that the organization's 
local employees had heard from relatives among the dismissed 
soldiers that they were planning to set up blockades to prevent 
travel between the eastern and western parts of the country. 
Some reports also made reference to weapons available to the 
dismissed soldiers.  Limited details of the type of weaponry 
were available, although one rumor referred to a "car full of 
Molotov cocktails".  Further investigation revealed no 
substantiation for these rumors.  Embassy staff spoke to a 
number of the dismissed soldiers gathering for an afternoon 
meeting to discuss their response to the President's speech and 
all denied any such plan. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Embassy staff also spoke to Lt. Salsinha this afternoon 
to ask about the group's plans.  According to Salsinha, the 
dismissed soldiers are ready to return their uniforms to the 
FDTL and go home if the President's non-intervention is the 
final decision.  According to one credible source, the President 
has already agreed that the dismissed soldiers can present their 
uniforms to him next week, thus departing the FDTL with dignity. 
 However, they want to first meet with him personally to appeal 
for an alternate solution.  Salsinha and others in the group 
have stated several times that they will identify five to eight 
of their members to represent the group in meeting with the 
President.  Salsinha stated that he tried to meet with the 
President today but was asked to wait.  Commenting on the 
current situation, Salsinha noted that the President's speech 
clearly delineated who was right and wrong, apparently 
indicating some satisfaction that the President's speech 
represented a moral victory if nothing else.  However, in a 
somewhat more inflammatory comment, he said that if all the 
"loromonu" people leave the FDTL than all the "lorosa'e" people 
living in Dili would have to go back to their districts as Dili 
"belongs to loromonu"(that is, the capital is physically located 
in the western part of the country).  Although Salsinha himself 
did not suggest that the strikers would take any particular 
action to bring this mass expulsion about, an unnamed member of 
the group later commented to Embassy staff that "if we leave 
FDTL the lorosa'e people will be expelled from Dili." 
 
Potential for broader societal impact emerging 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶10. (SBU) In addition to these comments by members of the 
dismissed soldiers highlighting the potential for greater 
East-West tensions, the Embassy has been hearing of some 
indications that the FDTL situation may be spilling over into 
broader societal tensions.  For example, one Embassy staff 
member reports that her neighborhood has seen several late night 
attacks by groups of young men, most likely members of martial 
arts groups, on houses occupied by people known to be from the 
East.  The attacks so far have consisted of shouted threats and 
throwing rocks at the targeted homes and reportedly have been 
quickly pacified once police appeared on the scene.  However, 
such incidents have reportedly occurred in several neighborhoods 
and police sources say they have been much busier than usual for 
the last few nights because of the need to responding to these 
incidents.  In addition, one Embassy source reported that, when 
traveling in rural areas outside of Dili and asking people about 
their primary concerns, he has been surprised to hear reference 
to the FDTL situation as the current top concern of many.  While 
not in itself an indicator of increased tension, this points to 
broad awareness and attention to this issue. 
 
¶11. (SBU) The Embassy's Emergency Action Committee held a 
meeting today to discuss the rumors of potential violence and 
the overall implications of FDTL developments.  Results of the 
meeting will be reported septel. 
 
DILI 00000135  004.2 OF 004 
 
 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶12. (S/NF) As the President suggested, the initial rumors that 
the dismissed soldiers would resort to violence appear to have 
been generated by GOET officials, presumably to discredit the 
strikers and/or to justify any actions that might have been 
taken against them in the event of a peaceful demonstration at 
the airport.  In particular, the accusation that the strikers 
were collecting "Molotov cocktails" may have emanated from 
Minister of the Interior Rogerio Lobato, who has trafficked over 
the years in similar or identical accusations over the years 
against numerous personal and political adversaries. It is also 
possible, however, that some of the dismissed soldiers are 
becoming impatient with the peaceful approach that has so far 
been taken by Lt. Salsinha.  The remark today by Salsinha about 
lorosa'e people having to leave Dili, and particularly the 
follow-up by his colleague to the effect that they will be 
"expelled," are disturbing.  It is certain that President Gusmao 
will now use his considerable capital with the dismissed 
soldiers to dissuade them from violence. Even if he succeeds in 
this effort, however, the normally imperceptible East-West 
tensions within society at large may now have been aggravated to 
the point where an unrelated event could turn into something 
more serious.  End Comment. 
REES