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OO RUEHCHI RUEHNH RUEHPB
DE RUEHDT #0246/01 1421513
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O P 221513Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY DILI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2547
INFO RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0424
RUCNARF/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE
RUEHXX/GENEVA IO MISSIONS COLLECTIVE
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA PRIORITY 0481
RUEHLI/AMEMBASSY LISBON PRIORITY 0408
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 0262
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 0276
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON PRIORITY 0347
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 0148
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHDT/AMEMBASSY DILI 1868

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DILI 000246 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/MTS; USPACOM FOR JOC AND POLAD; JOINT STAFF FOR J5 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM ASEC MARR KDEM TT
SUBJECT: DILI SITREP MAY 22 
 
 
DILI 00000246  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
LIFE IN DILI:  BECORA MARKET MARRED BY COMMUNAL VIOLENCE 
 
¶1. (SBU) The situation was more tense than in recent days as 
rumors and exaggerations circulated widely.  An outbreak of 
communal violence in Becora (Dili's easternmost suburb), where 
gangs of eastern and western youth armed with slingshots, 
knives, and machetes clashed intermittently throughout the day, 
significantly raised the level of tension in Dili.  Police from 
the Dili district task force, rapid response unit, and police 
reserve unit were deployed to the area but had difficulty 
subduing the violence because, according to one police commander 
at the scene, his men faced the dilemma of either firing on the 
youth-something they were unwilling to do-or trying to scare 
them with warning shots.  A lack of proper protective equipment 
also contributed to the difficulties: police officers complained 
that were unable to take up positions on street corners because 
each time they did they were pelted with rocks from slingshots. 
In the end, the youth were disbursed by a combination of heavy 
rain, darkness, and a heavy police presence.  Two bamboo 
shelters and another structure-probably a small kiosk-were 
burned during the clashes.  Police arrested three local youth 
involved in the clashes.  FDTL members detained a fourth 
individual who had attacked their vehicle with rocks as they 
were passing through the area.  He had been armed with a spear 
and had painted his face black.  Despite the problems in Becora, 
markets and shops in the rest of the capital remained open. 
 
IDP UPDATE 
 
¶2. (U) Refugees were seen returning to Dili throughout the 
weekend and today.  Camps in Liquica, a town located east of 
Dili, which had housed large numbers of refugees, appear to have 
been closed.  One effect of the return of refugees to Dili has 
been an increase in the number of people in Dili's camps. 
According to representatives of NGOs working in these camps, 
many IDPs are using them as halfway houses as they contemplate 
their return home.  NGO representatives also reported that 
outside individuals had attempted to incite east-west tensions 
in some of the Dili camps. 
 
STAFFING 
 
¶3. (U) New ODC representative, Major Ron Sargent, arrived in 
Dili on May 21.  TDY A/RSO Mario Reta is scheduled to depart on 
May 23, while DCM Seiji Shiratori is scheduled to arrive that 
day. 
 
INFLAMATORY PRESS CONFERENCE BY REINADO 
 
¶4. (C) EmbOffs met with Foreign Minister Ramos Horta several 
times over the weekend to discuss possible actions to resolve 
the impasse between the government and the dissident military 
groups.  On behalf of himself and the President, Foreign 
Minister Horta asked EmbOffs to convey his plan for dialogue to 
Major Reinado and to ask that he refrain from making any 
inflammatory statements prior to the dialogue.  According to the 
plan, GOET leaders, Major Reinado, Majors Tilman and Tara, Lt. 
Salsinha, senior FDTL officers, and the Bishop of Dili will meet 
in a seminary near Dili to begin talks aimed at deescalating the 
situation.  EmbOffs relayed this message to Reinado and were 
reassured that while he did plan to give a press conference 
today, he would refrain from making incendiary statements and 
would convey that dialogue between all sides is crucial. 
 
¶5. (C) During the press conference this morning, however, 
Reinado reneged on these promises and made several comments 
aimed at inciting fear among Dili residents and bolstering his 
position vis-`-vis the Government.  Speaking in Aileu, 
surrounded by all major print and broadcast media outlets, 
Reinado began by affirming the need for dialogue among the GOET, 
petitioners, dissident military, and the Church.  However, he 
then repeatedly stated that he could not attest that Dili is 
currently safe and advised people to flee if they feel unsafe. 
In a complete departure from his previously cautious 
relationship with the petitioners, the increasingly egotistical 
Reinado asserted that he now also led that group and would serve 
as the spokesperson for both dissident military groups. 
 
DILI 00000246  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
Additionally, Reinado stated he is certain that there are large 
numbers of weapons missing from FDTL armories and that both 
civilians and military officers have been heavily armed. 
 
¶6. (C) EmbOffs, who obtained a readout of the press conference 
from an FSN on the scene, discussed it with the Foreign 
Minister.  Horta replied that if Reinado's statements were as 
inflammatory as reported, he would exclude Reinado from the 
dialogue and seek to drive a wedge between him and the other 
groups.  He also said that such statements would make it much 
more difficult to ensure FDTL participation in the dialogues. 
Horta was optimistic that Reinado's statements would not 
contribute to the tensions in Dili and said that General Taur 
Matan Ruak had told him the previous day that he had written a 
letter to Prime Minister Alkatiri recommending that an 
independent commission be established to inventory and account 
for all of FDTL's weapons.  TMR, said Horta, had emphasized that 
every weapon locker would be open to the investigators because 
FDTL had nothing to hide.  Local media broadcasts of the 
Reinado's press conference were heavily edited and focused on 
Reinado's commitment to dialogue and working with the president 
and foreign minister. 
 
OFFICIAL DEATH COUNT FROM APRIL 28 RIOTS NOW AT 6 
¶7. (U) The official count of deaths resulting from the violence 
of April 28 has been revised to include an additional victim who 
died at Dili District Hospital over the weekend. 
 
REES 
STEIN