ARCHBISHOP MONSENGWO WRITES TO MBEKI ABOUT

C O N F I D E N T I A L KINSHASA 000874

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/24/2015
TAGS: PGOV KDEM PHUM PREL CG
SUBJECT: ARCHBISHOP MONSENGWO WRITES TO MBEKI ABOUT
CONCERNS WITH TRANSITION

Classified By: Poloff Gons Nachman for Reasons 1.4 B and D


1. (C) Summary. Archbishop Monsengwo, President of the
Catholic Bishops' Conference, wrote a letter to South African
President Thabo Mbeki using ambiguous language to question
the commitment of transition actors to organize elections.
The letter was later discussed in a private conversation with
an assistant to Cardinal Etsou, who said the Church supports
the transition and elections within the framework of the
Transitional Constitution. Monsengwo's letter, however,
remains subject to manipulation by transition critics like
the UDPS who are calling for an end to the transition on June
30th. End Summary.

Monsengwo: "Elections Without Procrastination"
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2. (U) Monsengwo Pasinya, Archbishop of Kisangani and
President of the DRC's Catholic Bishops' Conference, sent a
letter to South African President Thabo Mbeki during his May
16 visit to Kinshasa May 15 in which he raised concerns about
the transition and the electoral process in the DRC. The
letter was subsequently published on the front page of
Kinshasa's daily newspaper "La Reference Plus" May 21.
Monsengwo's letter refers to recent developments affecting
the organization of elections such as political crises that
are "artificially maintained" and questions the relevance of
solutions to solve these crises. He also questions the
willingness of political actors to act for the common good
and states that the electoral calendar has seen delays that
have not been explained to the people, which have led to
"chaotic interpretations and anarchic declarations."
Monsengwo concludes his letter by providing various
recommendations on behalf of the Bishops' Conference,
including a call to transitional institutions to "take into
account the Congolese people's determination to proceed
towards fair, free, and democratic elections without
procrastination."

Cardinal's Assistant: "Church Supports the Transition"
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3. (C) Monsengwo's comments were "clarified" by Bishop Daniel
Landu, Assistant to Cardinal Frederic Etsou, Archbishop of
Kinshasa, during a May 23 meeting with Poloff. Bishop Landu
said the Catholic Church's official position on elections and
the transition is clear: "There is no alternative to the
transition...we fully support it and recognize that the
Transitional Constitution provides for two possible six-month
extensions beyond June 30th." Landu also criticized
politicians who try to mislead, manipulate, and encourage
anxiety about June 30th, "we want people to stay home that
day, engage in quiet reflection, and avoid problems."

Letter Meant to Encourage "Communication"
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4. (C) According to Landu, Monsengwo's letter was meant to
encourage greater communication about the transition and the
electoral process between government institutions and the
people. It was also intended to call attention to a
troublesome security situation. Landu noted that Monsengwo is
part of the Church and, as such, he supports the transition
and the organization of elections as stipulated by the
Transitional Constitution.

Comment
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5. (C) Monsengwo's statement is sufficiently ambiguous to be
used by opposition parties like the Union for Democracy and
Social Progress (UDPS) as part of their calls for an end to
the transition on June 30th. Despite private "clarification"
by an assistant to the Cardinal that emphasized continued
Church support for the transition and the electoral process,
Monsengwo's letter remains the most recent public position on
the transition by a Catholic Church leader and one who
purports to speak on behalf of the Bishop's Conference. While
Monsengwo's views may reflect those of some bishops in the
Conference, it is by no means clear that his letter
accurately reflects the position of the majority of the
Conference's members.
MEECE