KINSHASA UNIVERSITIES CONCERNED ABOUT STUDENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L KINSHASA 000644 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/15/2015 TAGS: PGOV ASEC CG KSOC SUBJECT: KINSHASA UNIVERSITIES CONCERNED ABOUT STUDENT VOLATILITY REF: KINSHASA 567 Classified By: Poloff Gons Nachman for Reasons 1.4 B and D ¶1. (C) Summary. Kinshasa university officials expressed concern about the vulnerability of students to manipulation by spoilers opposed to the transition. They feel there is an urgent need for a GDRC sensitization and civic education campaign. The extent to which students will participate in disorderly activities June 30th will depend largely on the GDRC, civil society and the international community's success in countering the message of transition spoilers. End Summary. ¶2. (C) University students in Kinshasa have often been manipulated by political actors critical of the transition government and the international community. Some of these actors have already started to encourage students to demonstrate and engage in disruptive actions declaring that "the transition ends on June 30th." Poloff met administrators and faculty from three universities in Kinshasa -- University of Kinshasa (UNIKIN),Superior Technical Institute (ISTA), and the Catholic University of Kinshasa (CUK) -- from March 30 to April 6 to discuss concerns about student volatility and manipulation. Students: Easy Targets for Spoilers -------------- ¶3. (C) The administrators of UNIKIN, ISTA and CUK said there were several factors that made students easy targets for people opposed to the transition government: widespread poverty, unrealistic expectations that elections will bring an end to misery, and general ignorance of existing agreements including a constitutional provision allowing for two possible six-month extensions to the transition. Universities Want Sensitization -------------- ¶4. (C) Administrators and faculty from all three schools said there is a major need for civic education in Kinshasa campuses to counter political manipulation. They said their institutions lacked the resources to conduct major sensitization campaigns, but welcomed any efforts by the GDRC and the international community. The dean of one of the universities expressed dismay at the lack of involvement and planning by GDRC authorities in this regard. In his view, the government is not "taking the situation as seriously as it merits." Journalism Students Aware of Manipulation -------------- ¶5. (C) Poloff gave a presentation on the role of the media in elections coverage to over 200 journalism students at Kinshasa's Communication and Information Sciences Institute (IFASIC) April 14. Following the presentation, students engaged in a lively exchange in which they agreed that the Congolese media can and should play a positive role in sensitizing and educating the public about electoral issues. Students also said they know about ongoing manipulation efforts by politicians like Etienne Tshisekedi, leader of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) who claims the transitional government ends June 30th (reftel). When asked whether it would be possible to organize elections by June 30th, students said they understood this would not be possible and agreed there was no alternative to the transition. Comment -------------- ¶6. (C) University officials in Kinshasa are aware of and concerned with ongoing manipulation of popular frustration to foment disorder on June 30th. The Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) and some NGOs share these concerns and have started sensitizing the public. However, the GDRC, civil society actors, and most especially the CEI, need to play a more active role in countering misinformation and political manipulation campaigns by individuals like Tshisekedi. MEECE