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RUEHDT/AMEMBASSY DILI 2281

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 DILI 000455 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MTS, IO 
USUN FOR RICHARD MCCURRY 
NSC FOR HOLLY MORROW 
PACOM FOR JOC AND POLAD 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  9/8/2016 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM KPKO ASEC AU TT
SUBJECT: THE VIEW FROM AILIEU: REINADO'S POPULARITY ENDURES, F-FDTL 
PRESENCE REGARDED WITH SUSPICION 
 
 
DILI 00000455  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Elizabeth S. Wharton, Political / Economic 
Officer, U.S. Embassy Dili, Department of State. 
REASON: 1.4 (a), (b), (c) 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Emboffs on Wednesday, September 6 traveled to 
Aileu to look into developments there since dissident Major 
Alfredo Reinado escaped from prison in Dili last week.  Aileu is 
the location where he established his initial base following his 
departure from his armed forces (FDTL)post in early May.  In 
response to last week's jail break, the international Joint Task 
Force (JTF) has deployed Australian Defense Force (ADF) platoons 
to Aileu and Ermera districts, each of which includes three 
members of the FDTL.  This is the first time since the beginning 
of the crisis that FDTL have been deployed to these areas, which 
are strongholds for the FDTL dissidents including Reinado and 
the group of 595 dismissed soldiers known as the "petitioners". 
According to one FDTL officer, they are using this deployment to 
attempt to repair their relationship with the population in 
these areas, including the police.  In Aileu, it is apparent 
that sympathy for Reinado remains strong and that the presence 
of active duty FDTL is regarded with suspicion and fear, 
primarily because of the killings committed by FDTL members in 
Dili on  April 28 and May 25.  All parties in Aileu report that 
they have not heard from Reinado and have no solid information 
on his whereabouts.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Poloff and U.S. Defense Representative traveled to 
Aileu on September 6 to assess local reaction to Reinado's 
escape from prison and to the arrival of several FDTL soldiers 
embedded in an ADF platoon deployed in response to the prison 
break, and to gather more information on the nature of the ADF 
and FDTL mission there.  Aileu was the site of Reinado's initial 
base following his departure from his FDTL position in Dili in 
early May. 
 
¶3. (C/NF) In response to the August 30 escape of Reinado and 56 
other prisoners from Becora Prison in Dili,  the JTF deployed an 
ADF platoon to Aileu the same day.  Emboffs in Aileu on 
September 6 observed several groups of patrolling ADF over a 
period of about four hours.  An ADF officer explained that their 
mission is to "secure the area" to prevent its use as a staging 
or hideout base.  He said they have no orders to attempt to 
recapture Reinado or any other of the escaped prisoners, but 
that an unspecified number of other ADF forces "are out looking 
for him." 
 
¶4. (C/NF) The ADF platoon in Aileu is also charged with ensuring 
that Reinado and his group do not gain access to any of the 
weapons held by regular police or the Police Reserve Unit (URP). 
 To date, there has been no evidence of any attempt or planning 
on Reinado's part to do so.  An ADF officer reported that all 
the weapons inventoried in Aileu as of August 1 as part of the 
National Police (PNTL) weapons inventory are still accounted 
for.  In order to reduce the number of weapons available in the 
western districts, 51 long-barreled weapons, including Steyrs 
and HK-33s, have been removed from PNTL stocks in Aileu, Gleno 
and Liquica in the last few days and sent to the Dili armory. 
(Comment: It should be noted, however, that when the PNTL 
weapons inventory was carried out by the JTF in late July, 
attempts to gain a complete accounting of the weapons at the URP 
base in Aileu were repeatedly stymied.  Over several trips to 
the base, the inventory team was obstructed from getting a 
complete inventory for a variety of reasons they regarded as 
specious.  The URP commander is known to be close to Reinado and 
Emboffs observed in early May that the URP was apparently 
cooperating with Reinado in his securing of the region, 
particularly in establishing armed checkpoints at the major 
entry and exit points.  See reftel #.  End comment.) 
 
¶5. (S/NF) Per an agreement between JTF and the FDTL commander 
Taur Matan Ruak three members of the FDTL are embedded with the 
ADF platoon in Aileu and are conducting some joint patrols with 
them.  Although the JTF initially asked that they be unarmed, 
Emboffs observed that one officer, Major Coli Ati, FDTL's J3 
Operations Officer, was patrolling with a holstered pistol while 
 
DILI 00000455  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
the other two soldiers were unarmed.  Coli Ati told Emboffs that 
the soldiers accompanying him were allowed to have their 
long-barreled rifles with them, but cannot take them out on 
patrol.  He said that the decision to allow them to have these 
armswas based on considerations of self-defense since it was 
known that the two areas to which they are deployed might be 
hostile toward any FDTL presence.  ADF officers on scene stated 
that Coli Ati was being allowed to carry his personal weapon out 
of deference to his high position within FDTL. (Note: According 
to a well-informed Australian source (please strictly protect), 
the original arrangement was that each of the two ADF platoons 
would have one embedded FDTL member who would be unarmed and 
serve as a "liaison/intelligence" officer.  According to this 
source, FDTL Commander Matan Ruak later insisted that each 
platoon include three FDTL members, not just one, and that they 
be permitted to carry automatic weapons.  The source says 
Brigadier General Mick Slater, the JTF Commander, eventually 
agreed to these requests in part because Matan Ruak was holding 
out the alternative possibility of conducting an independent 
FDTL operation to capture Reinado.) 
 
¶6. (C) Coli Ati, who returned to Dili the same day leaving two 
FDTL soldiers in Aileu, said he was there in  an initial effort 
to"rebuild trust" between the FDTL and the people at large as 
well as with the district-based PNTL.  He said he had held 
meetings with the regular Aileu PNTL, the commander of the URP, 
the District Administrator, and other members of the community. 
He described these meetings as constructive and cordial.  He 
said the population was receiving them well but that members of 
the petitioners group were not happy with their presence.  He 
added that the Aileu reception of FDTL soldiers was far more 
positive than what he had been hearing from Ermera.  His 
colleague in Ermera, Captain Alberto, who intended to carry out 
similar outreach activities, had reported to him that the 
Gleno-based petitioners had approached him to tell him that FDTL 
was not welcome there until the petitioners' issues were fully 
resolved.  The FDTL in Ermera were therefore reportedly 
maintaining a very low profile for the time being. 
 
¶7. (SBU) From the conversations Emboffs had with locals, police, 
and internationals in Aileu it was very clear that Reinado 
continues to enjoy broad support and sympathy and that people 
believe he should not have been imprisoned in the first place. 
This sympathy for Reinado is closely linked to general sympathy 
for the petitioners who are regarded as having valid grievances 
that have to this date not been properly heard.  The URP 
commander reiterated these same views and used wording very 
similar to Reinado's statement following his escape, opining 
that the justice system was focused only on punishing the 
"little people" while ignoring the culpability of powerful 
politicians and the FDTL who had "started it all." 
 
¶8. (SBU) In addition to sympathy for Reinado and other FDTL 
dissidents, there is widespread suspicion and fear of the FDTL 
based on the town's experience of recent events.  This suspicion 
was initially started with reports from the petitioners of FDTL 
activities in Dili on April 28, further increased when injured 
members of Reinado's group arrived in Aileu after clashing with 
FDTL on May 23, and solidified dramatically when a very popular 
member of the community was among the PNTL officers killed in 
the FDTL attack on unarmed police on May 25 in Dili.  Aileu 
residents operating the town's only restaurant shared their view 
of the arrival of the three FDTL soldiers, stating that the 
local population is scared and believe the soldiers "want to 
come and shoot" the population.  This was reiterated in 
conversations with the URP commander and several of the city 
police, who reported that the population was "traumatized" by 
the sight of FDTL uniforms, although the police themselves 
claimed it did not bother them. 
 
¶9. (C) Despite the concerns expressed to us, Aileu as a whole 
 
DILI 00000455  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
appeared normal, with the same activity level in the streets and 
markets as observed on previous trips.  However, we continue to 
hear reports from both Aileu and Ermera that the population is 
extremely unhappy with the presence of FDTL soldiers.  Rumors of 
large-scale demonstrations in both districts reached Dili on 
Thursday.  However, we have so far received no direct 
confirmation of this from contacts in either location , and 
police contacts reached today have stated that there have been 
no demonstrations so far.  The potential for anti-FDTL 
demonstrations does  exist, however, as youth in both districts 
have declared their desire to mobilize a response, but are 
currently lacking someone to  organize one.  The National Front 
for Justice and Peace (FNJP) is currently planning 
anti-government demonstrations in Dili but has not relayed any 
plans for demonstrations elsewhere.  The FNJP is led by 
dissident Major Augusto Tara who has shared with us that he is 
very upset by the FDTL deployment to the western districts and 
says that he is in close contact with Reinado. 
 
¶10. (S) Comment: The initial response to the presence of FDTL 
soldiers demonstrates the extent to which relations between the 
armed forces and much of the population in these districts has 
been damaged by recent events.  Even if FDTL interlocutors are 
sincere in their assertions that their main purpose in going to 
Aileu and Ermera was to repair their relationship with the 
people, such efforts will face significant challenges.  These 
challenges will be particulary  difficult to overcome if the 
issue of the petitioners is not addressed first.   If, as some 
reports suggest, the FDTL is seen to be conducting active 
operations in pursuit of Reinado, the gap between the population 
in these districts and the FDTL could become unbridgeable. 
Meanwhile, while there is currently no overt evidence in Aileu 
of any active mobilization in support of Reinado, his durable 
popularity means that Aileu would likely be a receptive place 
for him or his supporters to operate..  For example, Aileu could 
be a source of significant numbers of demonstrators should 
Reinado put his full support behind the FNJP demonstration 
planning.  End comment. 
REES