MINISTER OF DEFENSE ON TSHISEKEDI AND RWANDA

C O N F I D E N T I A L KINSHASA 000878 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/26/2015 TAGS: PGOV PREL PINS CG RW SUBJECT: MINISTER OF DEFENSE ON TSHISEKEDI AND RWANDA REF: A. KINSHASA 847 ¶B. KINSHASA 849 Classified By: Poloff Meghan Moore for Reasons 1.4 B and D ¶1. (C) During a May 23 meeting with polcouns, Minister of Defense Adolphe Onusumba said his attempts to reason with UDPS leader Tshisekedi about joining the transitional government had failed, that Rwanda would like to replace Congolese Vice President Ruberwa, and that the international community was not concerned enough about insecurity in North Kivu. He also claimed that Rwandan troops have entered the DRC to provide support to Thomas Lubanga's faction of the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC-L) in Ituri. End Summary. The Tshisekedi Connection -------------- ¶2. (C) Onusumba said that his personal attempts to convince UDPS leader Etienne Tshisekedi to seek an acceptable position in the transitional government have failed because Tshisekedi is unreasonable and irrationally continues to insist that he should be prime minister. Onusumba, whose aunt is married to Tshisekedi's brother, told polcouns he had also asked his SIPDIS aunt to help convince Tshisekedi to engage in reasonable dialogue, but she too had been unsuccessful. ¶3. (C) According to Onusumba, RCD/G leader VP Ruberwa would like to re-establish a formal alliance between the RCD/G and UDPS, which Ruberwa believes would greatly improve the RCD/G's chances of winning parliamentary seats in the upcoming elections. (Comment: Ruberwa, however, may have changed his mind after Tshisekedi humiliated him by not participating in a meeting Ruberwa set up between Tshisekedi and South African President Thabo Mbeki May 16. (reftel A). End comment.) Rwanda -------------- ¶4. (C) Onusumba asserted that he was close to Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Rwandan military Chief of Staff James Kabarebe, and said he often met with them while supposedly visiting Goma. (He assured polcouns he asked for President Kabila's permission before going to Rwanda.) Kigali was finished with Vice President Ruberwa, Onusumba said, and would like to replace him. He added that Kabarebe, with Kagame's approval, had started purging the Rwandan military of those not loyal to Kagame. As a result, the Minister claimed a number of Rwandan soldiers had fled to Burundi, Uganda and the DRC. North Kivu -------------- ¶5. (C) Per Onusumba, the international community was not concerned enough about political dynamics in and around Goma. He believed it would be increasingly difficult for North Kivu Governor Serufuli to maintain order in the province because Serufuli has moved much closer politically to Kinshasa, which has caused "others" to take a more direct hand in the province. Ituri -------------- ¶6. (C) Several hundred Rwandan soldiers have entered the DRC and moved towards Ituri to provide support to Bosco (military leader of the UPC-L),alleged Onusumba. He went on to say that Bosco had called him during May 22's firefight in Bunia between the UPC-L and FARDC to complain that the FARDC had fired on his troops (reftel B). Onusumba told polcouns he yelled at Bosco and told him, "of course they fired at your troops-- they are rebels." Comment -------------- ¶7. (C) Onusumba broke little ground on Rwanda-related issues, as reports that Ruberwa is on the "outs" with Kigali and/or Serufuli has moved too close (or too far away) from Kinshasa are relatively common. A specific report of Rwandan troops moving to help Bosco from an RCD/G source (albeit a Kasaian one) was a bit unexpected. More surprising was Onusumba's personal efforts to convince Tshisekedi to take a more moderate stance. MEECE