VZCZCXRO1069
PP RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHHM
DE RUEHDT #0017/01 0251043
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 251043Z JAN 08
FM AMEMBASSY DILI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3819
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHPB/AMEMBASSY PORT MORESBY PRIORITY 0023
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 0811
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA PRIORITY 1110
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON PRIORITY 0897
RUEHLI/AMEMBASSY LISBON PRIORITY 1001
RHMFIUU/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 1019
RUEHDT/AMEMBASSY DILI 3236

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 DILI 000017 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MTS AND H 
PACOM FOR POLADS - AMB CHRISTY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV TT
SUBJECT: TIMOR-LESTE'S NATIONAL PARLIAMENT: A WORK IN PROGRESS 
 
 
DILI 00000017  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
Summary 
----------- 
¶1. (SBU)  Timor-Leste's National Parliament is still grappling 
with language issues, low capacity, staffing shortages, and poor 
communication with voters.  It continues to rely heavily on 
Portuguese-speaking foreign staff financed by the UNDP. Despite 
this, the four-party government coalition has managed to pass 
two budgets since its formation last August, and the opposition 
FRETILIN caucus has participated constructively.  Party 
structures remain rudimentary, both as Parliamentary caucuses 
and as national organizations.  FRETILIN has by far the most 
effective national structure, and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao's 
CNRT remains well financed.  Smaller parties are looking forward 
to the allocation of state funding approved as part of the 2008 
budget.  End summary. 
 
 
Context:  A New Parliamentary Dynamic 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
¶2. (U)  The defeat of Frente Revolucionaria de Timor-Leste 
Independente (FRETILIN) in June 2007 marked a historic turning 
point in Timorese politics.  Although FRETILIN received 29 
percent of the vote (21 of 65 seats), President Ramos-Horta 
invited a coalition of four smaller parties to form a 
government.  While FRETILIN was in power from 2002-05, its 
majority in Parliament acted as a rubber-stamp for the 
government.  This dynamic has now changed.  The government is 
represented in the legislature by a new and potentially 
fractious coalition of several parties, while FRETILIN operates 
as unified and seasoned opposition bloc.  Though FRETILIN still 
claims the Alliance of the Parliamentary Majority (AMP) 
coalition government is unconstitutional, it engages in 
constructive debate on daily matters.  Since last August, the 
Parliament has passed a transitional budget for the final 
quarter of 2007 and a full budget for the calendar year 2008. 
The Parliament has nine commissions (committees).  The concept 
of constituent services is developing, but to date the only 
option for a constituent wishing to reach out to an MP is to 
call the parliamentarian's mobile phone. 
 
 
A Parliamentary Babel 
---------------------------- 
¶3. (U) One of the most serious difficulties facing the 
parliament is language.  The constitution requires laws to be 
enacted in both Tetum and Portuguese, but the structure and 
vocabulary of Tetum make it significantly less precise than 
Portuguese.  As a result, all laws are drafted in Portuguese, 
and the constitutional requirement for Tetum translations is 
rarely observed in practice. 
 
 
¶4. (SBU)  Few MPs and less than five percent of the population 
speak Portuguese.  Plenary sessions are conducted in Tetum with 
a minority speaking in Portuguese or Bahasa Indonesia.  After 
each session, the minutes are transcribed into Portuguese, which 
most MPs cannot read.  This gives rise to misunderstandings 
about events in previous sessions, laws under consideration, 
laws already enacted, and questions of constitutional law.  MPs 
told PolOff that legislators who have language deficiencies rely 
on their colleagues to interpret and explain.  Unscrupulous 
politicians are not above manipulating these dependencies to 
their own advantage. 
 
 
¶5. (SBU) Portuguese is not the only language problem.  The 
Minister of Finance and her close circle were trained in 
Australia, and they prefer to use the English terms learned 
during their education.  The Government submitted its two-inch 
thick 2008 budget proposal to the Parliament in English only. As 
it was already two weeks late, MPs were given until the 
following morning to read it before debate began. 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) While MPs acknowledge language is a problem, there is 
little agreement on a solution.  Older parliamentarians and 
those who were educated outside Timor insist that Portuguese is 
grammatically superior and is an important aspect of national 
identity.  A more widespread view is that the Tetum language 
should be "strengthened" to allow it fill the role of 
Portuguese, but PolOff spoke to no one who knew how this could 
 
DILI 00000017  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
be accomplished in practice. 
 
 
Scant resources 
------------------ 
¶7. (U)  The National Parliament continues to grapple with 
shortages of staff, materiel, and financial resources.  The 65 
MPs currently share six Timorese staffers, who devote of their 
time to supporting serving the nine parliamentary committees. 
None of these staffers have legal training.    A foreign 
advisory staff consists of ten Portuguese-speaking UNDP 
advisors, and one bilateral advisor from Portugal. 
 
 
¶8. (SBU)  The national government does not provide office space 
or staff for individual MPs.  Likewise, parties do not currently 
receive state funding, either for their parliamentary caucuses 
or national organizations.  Only the National Congress for the 
Reconstruction of East Timor (CNRT), FRETILIN and National Unity 
Party (PUN) have offices and staff paid by dues and donations 
from party members.  This will change soon, however.  The 2008 
budget authorized $1 million for parties.  30 percent of this 
will be spread evenly and 70% by proportion to each party in 
parliament.  All parties except the well-funded CNRT want to 
triple or quadruple this amount next year. 
 
 
Constituent outreach challenges 
-------------------------------- 
¶9. (SBU)  As Timor-Leste lacks electricity and phones in many 
areas, communication with the electorate is a serious problem. 
MPs rely on the traditional Timorese networks of interpersonal 
relationships among family, friends, church, and former 
resistance units.  Though citizens in the districts receive 
information about events taking place in Dili, the distorted 
version they receive is more akin to the result of playing the 
telephone game in primary school. 
 
 
¶10. (SBU) Although MPs are elected from party lists and do not 
represent electoral districts per se, they suffer from the lack 
of information and feedback from constituents.  MPs are entitled 
to a $50 stipend for travel on committee business and use of one 
of parliament's four automobiles, but must plan and coordinate 
the trip themselves.  MPs' travel programs rarely involve 
organized encounters with constituents, and usually consist of 
ad hoc meetings with personal and political contacts in the 
area.  After completing the travel, MPs are required to deliver 
a report during the plenary session.  The leaders of each party 
told PolOff that these reports typically contain no substance, 
instead focusing on road conditions, delays, and vehicle 
breakdowns. 
 
 
Party machines developing 
-------------------------------- 
¶11. (SBU)  The June 2007 elections were a political upheaval. 
Unexpected losses by FRETILIN and the CNRT in regions where they 
assumed victory caused alarm and hope across many parties. 
These unexpected results opened the door for recent training 
campaigns by NGOs such as International Republican Institute 
(IRI) and National Democratic Institute (NDI) to encourage broad 
party structures.  These NGOs are helping parties to establish 
or redesign their party machines.  However, with the 2007 
elections over, these organizations are approaching the end of 
their party development projects, and it is not clear that they 
have enough time to effect an improvement in the areas of 
constituent relations and the legislative process. 
 
 
¶12. (SBU) The opposition parties FRETILIN and PUN have national 
party structures.  Both of these parties have representatives in 
each of Timor-Leste's twelve districts, and will soon have a 
representative in each village.  FRETILIN and PUN hold biannual 
congresses and use their district representatives to get out 
their messages.  Both are counting on the new legislation to 
provide them the funds to pay a nominal salary to district 
representatives and hire permanent staff in Dili to communicate 
with them.  With this money, FRETILIN hopes to add more 
programming to its intermittent radio station, and PUN hopes to 
increase its news pamphlets. 
 
DILI 00000017  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
 
 
¶13. (SBU)  The governing AMP coalition is more varied.  The 
party of the Prime Minister, CNRT, is well-funded and is able to 
provide each district representative with a motorcycle, security 
guard and a cell phone.  CNRT led the effort to lower the amount 
provided to parties from $3 million to $1 million.  While this 
party may have the best resources, the various personalities 
that coalesced around Xanana Gusmao, former guerilla leader and 
president, are finding it difficult to send a unified message to 
their districts.  Party leadership confided to PolOff that 
outside of election season, this structure is rarely utilized. 
 
 
¶14. (SBU) The remaining members of the AMP coalition, Democratic 
Party (PD) and Social Democratic Party/Social Democratic 
Association of Timor (PSD/ASDT), have very few resources.  PD 
has organization at the district level but confided to PolOff 
that while it has volunteer district leaders, their 
effectiveness is questionable.  PSD and ASDT have little to no 
structure at the national or local level.  These small parties 
are waiting for the party-funding manna that the party leaders 
hope will be disbursed by late-February.  All three told PolOff 
that opening a permanent office in Dili with two or more 
staffers is their first priority, and that while they know 
district level staff is important, that must come later. 
 
 
¶15. (U) This report was prepared by TDY political officer Chip 
Gamble. 
RECTOR