VZCZCXRO4675
OO RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #0281 0421036
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 111036Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7961
INFO RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA IMMEDIATE 1989
RUEHDT/AMEMBASSY DILI IMMEDIATE 0929
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON IMMEDIATE 2316
RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS PRIORITY
RUEHPB/AMEMBASSY PORT MORESBY PRIORITY 3664
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 1511
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RHHJJPI/USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L JAKARTA 000281 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, EAP/ANZ, EAP/RSP 
NSC FOR E.PHU 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/11/2018 
TAGS: PGOV PREL IP TT
SUBJECT: EAST TIMOR -- INDONESIA MONITORING SITUATION 
CLOSELY 
 
REF: DILI EMAIL UPDATES 02/11/08 
 
Classified By: Pol/C Joseph Legend Novak, reasons 1.4(b+d). 
 
¶1.  (U) This message was coordinated with Consulate General 
Surabaya. 
 
¶2. (C) SUMMARY -- In the aftermath of the February 11 attack 
on President Ramos-Horta, Indonesia is monitoring the 
situation in East Timor with concern.  GOI officials have 
confirmed that Indonesia views the situation as an internal 
Timor Leste matter.  Contacts in the Indonesian province of 
West Timor report that all seems to be calm along the border 
with East Timor.  Worried about any instability, we expect 
that Indonesia will continue to monitor the situation 
closely, and to be very cautious and constructive in any 
statements it issues.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶3.  (C) MONITORING EVENTS -- The attack on President 
Ramos-Horta in Dili and other violence in East Timor is being 
monitored carefully by the Indonesian government.  GOI 
contacts tell us they have been reviewing the fast-breaking 
situation based on reports from the Indonesian Embassy in 
Dili.  The GOI plans to issue a public statement, but has not 
yet done so, though one may be issued late today.  According 
to contacts in the Directorate of East Asian Affairs of the 
Department of Foreign Affairs, GOI officials have been 
meeting during the day to discuss the situation. 
 
¶4. (C) NO INTERFERENCE -- Trini Gunarti, Deputy Director for 
North American Affairs at the Department of Foreign Affairs, 
told Pol/C that Indonesia's policy of "non-interference" in 
Timor Leste's affairs would dictate its response.  LTG (ret) 
Agus Widjojo, who is an official adviser of President 
Yudhoyono and a Commissioner on the Indonesia-East Timor 
Commission for Truth and Friendship (CTF), echoed this 
sentiment in a conversation with Regional Stability Unit 
Chief.  He said he had every expectation that Indonesia would 
view the attack as "a purely internal affair" of Timor Leste 
and would not interfere in any way. 
 
¶5. (C) Wisber Loeis, who is also an Indonesian Commissioner 
on the CTF and seems well-informed re East Timor, told 
Dep/Pol/C that the attack had come despite Ramos-Horta's 
efforts to find a peaceful solution to the differences with 
Major Alfredo Reinado (who apparently was behind the 
violence).  He also commented that he understood Horta had 
been attacked during his daily physical fitness regimen and 
had been without his security guards.  Loeis suggested that 
the attack had been an act of "desperation" by Reinado 
loyalists in the face of a steady stream of Reinado followers 
who had defected and made their peace with the government. 
He noted that the government had begun to take a firmer line 
on Reinado after he had rebuffed several of the GOTL's 
good-faith efforts. 
 
¶6. (C) QUIET ON THE BORDER -- So far, there appears to be no 
unusual activity on the border between East Timor and the 
Indonesian province of West Timor.  Gregorious Mau Bili, Vice 
Regency Chief of Belu, which is located near West Timor's 
north coast, told ConGen Surabaya that the border was 
operating normally, albeit with heightened security 
awareness.  There were no reports of refugees or other 
abnormal activities from the East Timor side.  Haris Oetan of 
CIS Timor, an NGO in West Timor, told ConGen Surabaya that 
NGOs in the region were nevertheless preparing for a possible 
influx of refugees. 
 
¶7.  (C) INDONESIAN CONCERNS -- Worried about any instability 
in a neighboring state and possible impact along the border, 
we expect that Indonesia will continue to monitor the 
situation closely.  We expect that the GOI will want to be 
very cautious and constructive in any statements it issues, 
not wanting to entangle itself in East Timor's affairs. 
HEFFERN