VZCZCXRO6567
RR RUEHCHI RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHDT #0172 1950819
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 140819Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY DILI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4455
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHLI/AMEMBASSY LISBON 1127
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 1292
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEHDT/AMEMBASSY DILI 3988

UNCLAS DILI 000172 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MTS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL MARR KJUS TT
SUBJECT: TRIAL BEGINS FOR PRESIDENT'S ATTACKERS 
 
¶1.  (U) The trial for the 28 individuals accused of attacking 
President Ramos-Horta and Prime Minister Gusmao in February 2008 
began in Dili on July 13.  The suspects, including ex-soldiers 
and an Australian woman, are charged with attempted murder, 
conspiracy to murder, and other offenses, for their alleged role 
in the attacks on Timor's two highest-ranking public officials. 
Ramos-Horta was shot multiple times outside his home and nearly 
died in the attacks on February 11, 2008, while Gusmao escaped a 
separate ambush on the same day unharmed. 
 
 
 
¶2.  (U) The leader of the group, Gustao Salsinha, denied the 
accusations in court.  Salsinha surrendered to authorities in 
April 2008 after remaining at large for several months.  The 
group's original leader, Alfredo Reinado, was killed by the 
president's security detail at the time of the attack. 
Ramos-Horta publicly forgave his attackers and suggested he 
might pardon the ex-soldiers if they are convicted. 
 
 
 
¶3.  (U) UN police conducted lengthy security checks at the court 
building and closed the streets around the building for several 
hours.  The capacity crowd inside the court room consisted 
mainly of relatives and other ex-soldiers, the so-called 
petitioners whose mass firing sparked political crisis in 2006. 
Spectators on the streets cheered when Salsinha arrived and 
waved banners calling for truth and justice.  Police kept the 
crowd away from the front of the building and removed the 
banners without incident.  Lawyers expect the trial to last for 
several months. 
 
 
 
¶4.  (SBU) In a July 13 conversation with the Ambassador, 
Timor-Leste's Prosecutor General also predicted that the trial 
would last several months, if for no other reason than more than 
60 witnesses are scheduled to testify in addition to the 
accused.  The Prosecutor General expressed some reservations 
regarding the strength of the state's case, while noting it had 
been prepared prior to her assuming the post in March 2009.  She 
shared, for example, that the ballistics evidence against the 
accused was inconclusive. 
 
 
 
¶5.  (U) Embassy requests Department approval of the if-asked 
press guidance suggested below. 
 
 
 
Q: What is the position of the United States on the trial of 
Gustao Salsinha and others for the attack on President 
Ramos-Horta? 
 
 
 
A: We applaud the steps the Timorese Government has taken to 
date to peacefully apprehend, investigate and prosecute those 
individuals suspected of the attacks on the President and Prime 
Minister.  We have consistently urged the Government to bring 
accused criminals to justice under domestic law.  The full 
establishment and development of rule of law and the elimination 
of an atmosphere of impunity are critically important for 
sustaining stability in Timor-Leste. 
 
KLEMM