AJELLO VISIT TO RWANDAN DEMOBILIZATION CENTER

UNCLAS KIGALI 000283

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR AF/C

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: MOPS PGOV PREL CG RW
SUBJECT: AJELLO VISIT TO RWANDAN DEMOBILIZATION CENTER

REF: KIGALI 004

Sensitive but UNCLASS. Please Protect Accordingly.


1. (U) Summary. On 17 March Ambassador Aldo Ajello, EU
Special Envoy for the Great Lakes, visited Mutobo
Demobilization and Reintegration Center. Poloff accompanied
the EU delegation to a special site visit set up by the
Rwanda Demobilization and Reintegration Commission (RDRC) to
introduce Ajello to a group of ex-combatants who reportedly
recently returned from the DRC. Ajello heard directly from
former Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR)
combatants that their two biggest issues are leaving behind
dependents in eastern Congo and making the difficult journey
to Rwanda despite impediments by the FARDC and MONUC. End
Summary.

2. (U) The event was attended by the European Commission Head
of Mission, the French, British and Ugandan Ambassadors,
political officers from the Dutch, Belgian and Burundian
Embassies and representatives from MONUC, the World Bank and
the Rwandan press corps. Jean Sayinzoga, Chairman of the
RDRC, gave Ajello a briefing and a short tour of the center.
The Ajello delegation then met with a group of approximately
120 ex-combatants waiting for the start of the next training
phase.


3. (U) Ajello listened to three ex-FDLR combatants from the
group describe their experiences leaving eastern DRC (Note. A
volunteer from the group acted as interpreter for Ajello
translating between Kinyarwanda and French. End note.). The
group of men ranged from 18 years old to the mid-40s and
seemed to be in good health. They described similar
difficulties getting to Rwanda including: leaving behind
families, avoiding Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC) units for
fear of capture, and capitulating to MONUC. When Ajello
asked the group as a whole who had left wives and children in
the DRC over half raised their hands. Ajello praised the
group for their willingness to return, encouraged them to
successfully reintegrate into their communities and pledged
that the international community would continue to work to
improve the security situation in eastern Congo.


4. (SBU) Comment. What was originally planned as an
unofficial visit of the 'comite de suivi' ('follow-up
committee') by the British Ambassador devolved into a
standard Mutobo visit complete with ex-combatant testimony
(and dancing),and a speech to the returnees and press. There
were no surprises, the two primary and familiar complaints
from the ex-combatants were the need to leave behind family
and the accusations of incompetence and worse directed at
MONUC and the FARDC. While Ambassador Ajello probably did
not learn anything new, he likely benefited, as all visitors
do, from seeing firsthand the center and the successful
demobilization and reintegration program the GOR has in place
for returning ex-combatants (reftel).
ARIETTI