CONGO'S VICE PRESIDENT RUBERWA VISITS RWANDA TO

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 KIGALI 001169

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR AF/C AND PRM
EUCOM FOR POLAD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/16/2014
TAGS: PREL PREF SMIG RW CG
SUBJECT: CONGO'S VICE PRESIDENT RUBERWA VISITS RWANDA TO
URGE BANYAMULENGE'S RETURN

REF: KIGALI 00730

Classified By: ERIC WONG, POLITICAL OFFICER. REASON: 1.4 (D).


1. (C) SUMMARY: Following meetings in Kigali with President
Kagame and other GOR principals, DRC Vice President Ruberwa
met with Banyamulenge refugees in Cyangugu and urged them to
return to eastern Congo. Banyamulenge are concerned about
their personal safety and economic security, including lost
government jobs. Ruberwa's unanticipated visit came one day
after a Banyamulenge leader was to have met senior GOR
officials. END SUMMARY.


2. (S/NF) On August 10 and 11, DRC Vice President Azarias
Ruberwa led a ministerial delegation to Kigali to discuss the
situation of approximately 3,500 Banyamulenge refugees who
have fled eastern DRC for Rwanda since May (reftel). The
GDRC delegation--comprised of the Minister of Social Affairs
and three vice ministers (including interior and
security)--met with senior GOR officials, including President
Paul Kagame, Foreign Minister Charles Murigande, and Special
Envoy for the Great Lakes Amb. Richard Sezibera.


3. (S/NF) Ruberwa and the GDRC delegation met with the
Banyamulenge refugees at Cyangugu on August 11, addressing
the refugees as a group, and then meeting selected refugee
leaders. Ruberwa urged the refugees to return to the DRC,
assuring them it would be safe to do so. Some refugees
responded to Ruberwa's comments, most indicating that they
believed it was still too dangerous to return to their homes
in the DRC. A major concern of the refugees was that those
who had been government employees learned that they had been
replaced and had lost their jobs.


4. (U) State-run Radio Rwanda reported Ruberwa's meeting with
Banyamulenge refugees who cited incidents of harassment and
who called for Gen. Mbusa Mabe's removal. MONUC's Radio
Okapi also reported on Ruberwa's visit.


5. (S/NF) Ruberwa and the DROC delegation proposed the
following course of action to the refugees:

-- the GDRC would assure their security by deploying troops
to their home regions;

-- those refugees who had been employed by the GDRC would
return home first, and would be
entitled to return to their positions in the government;

-- the government would arrange for those who return home
first to communicate with their families still in Rwanda and
arrange for their eventual return.

Ruberwa assured the refugees that they would not be forced to
return to the DRC until they felt secure.


6. (S/NF) Ruberwa's visit to Rwanda was hastily arranged. He
arrived in Bukavu on August 7 and proposed the visit on
August 9. GOR officials were unhappy about the lack of prior
notice, but believed they could not reject his proposal.

--------------
BANYAMULENGE LEADER NOTES GDRC HARASSMENT
--------------


7. (C) Ruberwa visited Kigali the day after a Banyamulenge
community leader, Etienne Rusimara, was to have met Amb.
Sezibera and Dr. Emmanuel Ndahiro, Kagame's former national
security advisor who now serves as Director of External
Intelligence. In an August 9 meeting with Poloff, Rusamira
discussed the GDRC's victimization of Banyamulenge (septel),
citing intimidation and harassment--including "hate radio"
broadcasts by "Radio Patriot"; special government checkpoints
at Uvira and Bukavu for Banyamulenge; and incidents of
military forces, not civilians, targeting Banyamulenge.
Rusamira said that Banyamulenge refugees who had fled to
Rwanda needed not only military but also social protections,
citing concerns about jobs. While outlining the plight of
the Banyamulenge, Rusamira nevertheless criticized the GOR
for using attacks on Banyamulenge to justify possible
military intervention, saying such statements endangered
Banyamulenge in the DRC by playing into fears that they were
pawns of Rwanda. (NOTE: Ruberwa and Rusamira both made their
comments before the August 13 attack on Gatumba refugee camp
in Burundi that claimed the lives of 170 Banyamulenge; in a
August 14 communique (septel),the GOR attributes the attack
to ex-FAR/Interahamwe collaborating with Mai-Mai and FNL
rebels. END NOTE.)


8. (C) COMMENT: While rhetoric describing a "massacre" or
"genocide" of Banyamulenge in eastern DRC is likely
inflammatory, the refugees' comments to Ruberwa--coupled with
Rusimara's observations--highlight that acts of violence and
intimidation have led Banyamulenge refugees to flee to
Rwanda. Rwandaphone Congolese---whether Banyamulenge from
South Kivu, or Banyarwanda from North Kivu--have struggled
for decades for Congolese citizenship and recognition. They
are likely to remain in Rwanda until their genuine concerns
about personal safety and economic security are addressed.
END COMMENT.


9. (U) Bujumbura minimize considered.
PATRICK