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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 DILI 000201 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MTS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  8/12/2018 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KJUS TT
SUBJECT: TIMOR-LESTE: PROPOSED AMNESTY STIRS CONTROVERSY 
 
DILI 00000201  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Henry M. Rector, Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. 
Embassy Dili, Department of State. 
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
 
 
SUMMARY 
 
-------- 
 
¶1. (C) Begin Summary.  Following his commutation in May of the 
sentences of 94 criminals including former Interior Minister 
Rogerio Lobato, Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta proposed 
on June 30 a law that would extend amnesty to figures implicated 
by the UN's Commission of Inquiry (COI) in acts of violence 
committed during the political crisis of 2006.  The draft law 
seeks to "foster national reconciliation" by granting those 
persons the right to submit voluntarily to "public audiences of 
reconciliation" to express remorse for their crimes, and 
contains provisions for reparations to victims.  Potential 
beneficiaries include former Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri and 
Defense Chief Brigadier General Taur Matan Ruak.  The draft law 
has been criticized by government figures, the Catholic Church, 
and NGOs.  They argue that it undermines efforts to strengthen 
Timor's fragile justice sector, and has damaged President 
Ramos-Horta's public standing.  President Ramos-Horta reaffirmed 
his commitment to the proposed amnesty during a meeting on 
August 4 with the U.S. and Australian ambassadors.  However, the 
controversial draft law still needs a parliamentary sponsor, and 
may not go forward in its present form.  End summary. 
 
Content and Breadth of the Law 
 
------------------------------ 
 
¶2. (U) On June 30, Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta 
proposed to political parties draft legislation that would 
extend an amnesty to persons implicated by the UN Commission of 
Inquiry and others in acts of violence perpetrated during the 
2006 political crisis.  The period covered under the law is 
April 28 through December 31, 2006.  Beneficiaries of the 
amnesty would be subject to a "special community reconciliation 
process."  The amnesty covers criminal offenses against the 
State, public order, public authority, life, physical integrity, 
general security of the people or goods, and property. It also 
covers offenses relating to the use, carriage and possession of 
weapons.  The proposed law would create public fora where the 
accused and victims can be heard; pay respect and compensation 
to the victims; and promote a "national dialogue and 
reconciliation."  It also asserts that the courts are unable to 
handle these types of crimes; that victims are afraid and have 
not participated in the legal processes; that the crisis was a 
result of an "exceptional period;" and that "society is divided, 
requiring solutions in which all (victims and the perpetrators) 
win."  The law further asserts that "formal justice does not 
resolve social conflicts and justice is not solely defined as 
criminal sanctions."  Reparations for victims would vary 
according to the crime, and may include payments by the State to 
victims of up to $10,000 and scholarships to children of the 
victims.  Beneficiaries of the amnesty law might also be 
required to perform community service. 
 
¶3. (C) For the draft to become law, a party caucus or group of 
parliamentarians first must sponsor the measure to open debate 
in the National Parliament.  The measure must then be passed by 
a majority in Parliament, be promulgated by the President, and 
survive constitutional challenges. (Note: a similar effort to 
pass an amnesty measure in 2007 was struck down on a 
technicality by the Court of Appeals, Timor's highest court. 
End note.)  PM Gusmao told the Ambassador on August 4 that he 
does not expect Parliament to approve an amnesty bill if limited 
only to acts committed during the 2006 period.  Most parties are 
reluctant to associate themselves with the law and the measure 
might not survive a vote in its current form. 
 
¶4. (C)During an interview with Poloff, the President's legal 
advisor Mario Spencer said the proposed law and the May 2008 
pardons are intended to "erase the past; it never happened; why 
should the Timorese pay for crimes when Indonesians go free for 
the same crimes?"  The May pardons included former Interior 
Minister Rogerio Lobato, convicted in 2007 of weapons 
distribution during the 2006 crisis, and Johnny Marques, a 
 
DILI 00000201  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
pro-integration militia member convicted of murdering a caravan 
of priests and nuns in Los Palos in 1999.  These pardons were 
widely criticized by NGOs, the Catholic Church, and 
parliamentarians. 
 
¶5. (SBU) United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste 
(UNMIT) Human Rights Officer Luis Gomez Orodea emphasized to us 
that UNMIT's mandate includes implementation of the 2006 COI 
report recommendations, including further investigation into 
criminal acts committed during the crisis. The UN therefore 
opposes the proposed measure.  He added that UNMIT may 
"acquiesce without condemning the law if they remove arson, 
murder, and other crimes as subject to a special reconciliation 
process," but that approval of the law as written would generate 
condemnation by the UN. 
 
Implications for 2006 Commission of Inquiry Cases 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----------------- 
 
¶6. (C) There is increasing concern among political and civil 
society leaders that a culture of impunity is taking root in 
Timor-Leste.  Sources interviewed argue that the country's three 
main leaders - Ramos-Horta, Prime Minister Gusmao, and 
opposition leader Mari Alkatiri - have a shared interest in 
absolving themselves of responsibility for violent incidents 
arising from their thirty-year struggle for power.  United 
Nations Development Assistance Program (UNDP) International 
Prosecutor Luis Lamdin, assigned since March 2008 to the office 
assigned to the office of the Prosecutor General with the task 
of preparing the COI cases for prosecution, observed that the 
draft law is designed to grant impunity for the leaders, and 
that "people are afraid to testify against powerful people like 
Alkatiri or Taur Matan Ruak."  According to Lamdin, the Timorese 
authorities "never understood that justice is essential for 
national stability."  He highlighted that passage of the law 
remains uncertain, but warned that if successful it would 
"erase" his work.  Expressing some frustration, he pointed to a 
desk with 10 piles of cases and complained that Monteiro is 
keeping him "busy with other non-COI cases." 
 
Parties Reluctant to Sponsor Law 
 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (C) FRETILIN Members of Parliament Jose Teixeira and David 
Ximenes criticized the law, but warned that some in their party 
or in the Prime Minister's National Congress for Timorese 
Reconstruction (CNRT) party may consider sponsoring it because 
it may benefit some of their members.  FRETILIN Secretary 
General Alkatiri told the Ambassador in July that Ramos-Horta's 
draft has many "technical problems" and considerable time would 
be needed to develop a consensus in support.  He acknowledged 
the risks an amnesty would pose to the rule of law, but noted 
that reconciliation may be as worthy a goal as justice. 
 
¶8. (C) Opposition National Unity Party (PUN) President Fernanda 
Borges echoed those criticisms, and observed that she is no 
longer amazed at Ramos-Horta's "messianic approach to 
forgiveness."  Ms. Borges was the only MP to publicly question 
Ramos-Horta's credentials for the job of UN High Commissioner 
for Human Rights based on his "spotty record" in defending 
victim's rights.  Reaction from within the ranks of the ruling 
Parliamentary Majority Alliance (AMP) coalition has been more 
muted, although Social Democratic Party (PSD) chairman Mario 
Carrascalao has publicly criticized the measure. 
 
Catholic Church to Speak Out Against Impunity 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶9.  (C) Father Filomeno Jacob, assistant to the Bishop of Dili, 
said that Ramos-Horta, Gusmao, and Alkatiri are "all one and the 
same, leading us towards a dictatorship through impunity at the 
expense of democracy; the leaders forgive one another because 
they have dark chapters in their past - we are hostages to 
them!"   He harshly criticized the President's speeches as 
"cloaked in religiosity lecturing the Timorese people on the 
need to learn how to forgive." Father Jacob took issue with 
Ramos-Horta's description of Rogerio Lobato as "a man with a 
heart of gold," and Brigadier Taur Matan Ruak as "a national 
hero."  This was at the heart of Timor's climate of impunity, he 
 
DILI 00000201  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
said: "national heroes earn special dispensations while the 
people receive none, and victims of crimes such as rape and 
murders of relatives are told to forget offenses."  He said that 
the Catholic Church will soon be speaking out more openly 
against a growing climate of impunity, and explained that "up 
until now we have been reluctant to do so in order not to be 
accused of meddling in politics." 
 
International Partners Concerned 
 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶10. (C) On August 4 the U.S. and Australian Ambassadors raised 
their concerns on the amnesty law to the President and Prime 
Minister.  Ramos-Horta summed up his views on the law by saying, 
"I will not be part of a process that sends a national hero such 
as Taur Matan Ruak to jail."  Responding to our concerns about 
the law's potential to further undermine Timor-Leste's justice 
sector, Ramos-Horta countered that "justice in Timor-Leste does 
not operate like in Norway, New Zealand or Iceland."  He sought 
to associate his approach with those pursued in other 
post-conflict nations such as South Africa and Mozambique. Prime 
Minister Gusmao suggested the nation may want to consider an 
omnibus amnesty to include the entire period from 1974 to the 
present day.  While acknowledging the dangers impunity might 
pose, Gusmao mulled that an amnesty could be useful to "end the 
past," overcome Timor's sense of victimhood and contribute to 
building the Timorese nation.  Both the President and Prime 
Minister stated they appreciated our concerns and welcomed 
comments on the draft law. 
 
¶11.  (C) During a meeting with Poloff on August 4, the 
Portuguese deputy chief of mission explained that while her 
government was concerned about the draft amnesty law, its role 
as the historic colonial power constrains it from unilaterally 
delivering a tough message.  She noted that President 
Ramos-Horta has a tendency to overstep his constitutional 
boundaries and ignore the independence of the judiciary. 
 
Jury Still Out on Amnesty 
 
------------------------- 
 
¶12. (C) Two local human rights and justice NGOs explained 
Ramos-Horta's eagerness to extend amnesties and pardons as 
reflective of "the mindset of the older generation that justice 
undermines their integrity," and warned that this threatens 
efforts by international donors currently to strengthen 
assisting Timor-Leste's justice sector.  Jose Luis Oliveira from 
the HAK human rights NGO summarized: "It is not acceptable to 
say that because we are Timorese our implementation of justice 
should be different than that in developed nations; the amnesty 
law demonstrates the leadership's failure to understand the 
people's right to justice."  While the leadership seems 
determined to push for the law's success in the National 
Parliament, it remains to be seen whether the measure will 
survive a vote due to its deep unpopularity with the public. 
KLEMM