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FM AMEMBASSY DILI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2527
INFO RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0408
RUCNARF/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE
RUEHXX/GENEVA IO MISSIONS COLLECTIVE
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA PRIORITY 0470
RUEHLI/AMEMBASSY LISBON PRIORITY 0397
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 0251
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 0265
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON PRIORITY 0336
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 0137
RUEHDT/AMEMBASSY DILI 1848

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DILI 000231 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/MTS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  5/14/2016 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM TT
SUBJECT: FRETILIN PARTY CONGRESS WILL BE "A REAL FIGHT 
 
REF: DILI 224 
 
DILI 00000231  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Elizabeth S. Wharton, Political Officer, Embassy 
Dili, State. 
REASON: 1.4 (b) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary: According to Embassy sources within and close to 
the ruling party, the Fretilin Party Congress scheduled to take 
place in Dili May 17-19, will be "a real fight".   The 
competition will not only be between the two dominant candidates 
for Secretary General, but also over competing visions of the 
future of the party, which are to be enshrined in a revised 
party constitution approved at the congress.  The heart of 
argument will be between two factions: those who want greater 
democracy within the party versus those around incumbent 
Secretary General, Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri, who want to 
 
SIPDIS 
maintain the current system.  Particularly important are the 
draft of criteria for key leadership positions which contain 
provisions that would disqualify the strongest candidates 
running against Alkatiri.  This will likely be the focus of 
controversy at both the final pre-Congress meeting of the 
Fretilin Central Committee (CCF), being held May 13-14, and 
early in the Congress.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (C) Poloff yesterday spoke with a reliable and well-placed 
source regarding the Fretilin Party Congress scheduled to take 
place in Dili May 17-19.  This source is delegate to the 
Congress from the Dili district and has access to CCF 
deliberations.  He said that delegates to the Congress were 
prepared for a "real fight" both over leadership and the future 
organization of the party.  According to this source, much of 
the leadership campaign will be carried out via discussions on 
the future structure of the Party, especially the Party 
Constitution and Political Manual, formally slated for day two 
of the Congress.  The over-arching issue at hand in these 
discussions will be the distribution of power within the party. 
How the respective campaigns fair in this process will have a 
large influence on the leadership vote scheduled for day three. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The source repeated what we have heard from many 
others: that an Alkatiri victory in the party would likely 
produce an electoral loss for Fretilin in the 2007 national 
elections.  He also reiterated criticisms of Jose Luis 
Guterres's campaign, noting that Guterres does not appear to 
have well-prepared proposals regarding party reform, does not 
have anyone with the intellectual firepower to develop such 
arguments, and does not have the right allies for a winning 
ticket. (Reftel provides an overview of comparative strengths 
and vulnerabilities of both candidates.) 
 
¶4. (C) According to this source, the draft revision of the party 
constitution that has been approved by the Fretilin Central 
Committee (CCF) reflects the views of the Alkatiri camp and does 
little or nothing to further democratize the party.  To the 
contrary, it establishes a Political Committee chaired by the 
Secretary General and empowered to act as the CCF in between CCF 
 
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meetings.  This would increase the Secretary General's powers 
vis-`-vis the CCF, in contrast to demands within the party for 
greater CCF autonomy and decision-making power. 
 
¶5. (C) Not all pro-reform delegates are anti-Alkatiri. 
According our source, there is a group of about 20 Dili 
delegates who are organized around Aniceto Guterres.  (Aniceto 
Guterres is currently a member of the Truth and Friendship 
Commission.  He is a highly-popular new Fretilin member who has 
also been mentioned as a possible Secretary General candidate 
but has indicated that he does not intend to run.)  Another 
prominent member of the group is Francisco Branco, the majority 
leader in the National Parliament.  This group is meeting in 
advance of the congress to discuss their priorities and ideas 
for the constitution.  They are strongly pro-reform but have not 
aligned themselves with one of the other candidate.  Reportedly 
there are similar groups in each of the districts, although they 
are smaller and probably less organized.  Overall, there seems 
to be a significant portion of the delegates who are not yet 
convinced by Guterres and so might still be willing to accept 
continued Alkatiri leadership tempered by reform of the party's 
structure. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The Embassy has obtained a copy of the regulations 
governing the Congress which have been approved by the CCF. 
 
DILI 00000231  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
Interestingly, the regulations require that candidates for the 
Secretary General and President of the Party run together on a 
 
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single list.  This could potentially disadvantage Guterres if he 
is unable to present a competitive running mate.  Guterres has 
stated that he will push for the positions to be elected 
individually.  The regulations are still pending ratification by 
the Congress, but are not on the agenda for further discussion. 
Changes will require a special motion by at least ten percent of 
the delegates. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The Embassy has also obtained a copy of the draft 
criteria for leadership positions within the Party.  Some 
observers have expressed concern that these criteria will 
effectively disqualify Ambassador Guterres from running as they 
stipulate a minimum of five years residency in East Timor prior 
to taking office.  However, this will most likely not present an 
obstacle as political assignment at overseas embassies is 
reportedly still regarded as residency in the national 
territory.  In addition, the criteria specify that all 
candidates for office must have been members of Fretilin for a 
minimum of two years.  This would make Aniceto Guterres 
ineligible to run for either the Secretary General or President 
positions.  (Despite his stated reluctance to run for party 
office, Aniceto Guterres is frequently cited by others as the 
best possible running mate for Ambassador Guterres or as a 
Secretary General candidate in his own right.) 
 
SIPDIS 
 
¶7.  (C) According to our information, the criteria for 
leadership positions, as well as the party constitution, are 
under discussion during the current CCF meeting (May 13-14). 
The nature of these discussions will determine the prospects for 
reform within the party and will further clarify emerging 
political alliances.  The Embassy is monitoring the CCF meeting 
through our sources (it is closed to the public) and will report 
septel. 
 
 
REES 
STEIN