PRESIDENT KAGAME MEETS WITH A/S FRAZER

C O N F I D E N T I A L KIGALI 000334 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR AF/C AND AF/FO E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/10/2016 TAGS: KPKO PGOV PREL RW CG SU SUBJECT: PRESIDENT KAGAME MEETS WITH A/S FRAZER Classified By: Poloff GLearned. Reason 1.4(d) ¶1. (SBU) Summary. On 6 April, A/S Frazer met with President Kagame at his office on the presidential compound. Also in attendance were Ambassador Arietti, Foreign Minister Murigande, Chef du Cabinet Kabija, National Security Service Director Ndahiro, AF Special Assistant Gaither and poloff. Kagame offered insight on the improved relations between the GOR and GDRC and the performance of MONUC. A/S Frazer engaged Kagame on Sudan and U.S.-Rwanda bilateral issues including democracy and governance, socio-economic development and the Millennium Challenge Account. End summary. Eastern Congo, MONUC and Enticing Combatants Back to Rwanda -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) A/S Frazer opened the meeting with a recap of her visit to the DRC and meeting with President Kabila. She expressed satisfaction that the GDRC is taking the threat posed by the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) seriously but emphasized that the USG is still pressing the UN Mission in Congo (MONUC) and the GDRC to become more aggressive in combating the FDLR. President Kagame noted that MONUC seems to be more active in the Ituri province of eastern Congo than in the Kivus. (Note. Ituri, bordering Uganda, is the current location of negative foreign forces of Ugandan origin. North and South Kivu, bordering Rwanda and Burundi, are occupied by the FDLR and Burundian FNL. The GOR regularly claims that MONUC spends more time and efforts in Ituri pursuing smaller Ugandan groups than the FDLR, the larger and more significant threat in the region. End note.) A/S Frazer said that there seemed to be a resurgence of militia action and an increased arms flow in the Ituri region. ¶3. (C) Kagame rejected the suggestion that the GOR could do more to encourage ex-combatants to return to Rwanda. He noted that, in addition to regular radio broadcasts targeting combatants, the GOR had sponsored trips of relatives to eastern DRC to encourage combatants to return. Kagame asserted that the GOR message that "the door is open to them" is clear and he "can't think of what else to do". ¶4. (C) President Kagame expressed his satisfaction with the status of communications with the GDRC and said that he understands the limits of both MONUC and the Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC). He noted that the improved political aspect of the relationship is more important than the lack of military action against the FDLR, which he said would be worked out over time. Kagame said the most dangerous risk to Rwanda is outside support to the FDLR, thus, the GDRC,s political support is more important than the current poor execution of the few military operations against the various negative forces in eastern DRC. ¶5. (C) A/S Frazer noted that MONUC was discussing the option of the inclusion of national units from countries like South Africa and Angola. Kagame said that Minister Murigande had discussed the issue with the GDRC in January 2005 and the GOR had no problem with any force the GDRC wanted to choose as long as the force is committed. (Note. The Foreign Minister and the President's Special Envoy to the Great Lakes Region have given the same response when asked directly if the GOR would have a problem with the deployment of Angolans to eastern Congo. End note.) When asked about extending the Tripartite Plus Commission past the original cessation date of June 2006, President Kagame replied that he would support whatever position the Congolese wanted. The AU and Sudan -------------- ¶6. (C) A/S Frazer stated that President Bush is committed to aiding the people of Darfur and protecting the North-South peace agreement. President Kagame agreed that the focus in Sudan should be to "see the lives of the people preserved" and smiled dismissively at Mu'ammar Qadhafi's view that the USG was interested in Darfur only because of oil. He said that the Rwandan forces on the ground were discouraged by the lack of progress made by the AU to help the people. A/S Frazer summarized the USG position that the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) must be re-hatted to a UN mission in order to increase the financing, logistic support, and planning efforts required to achieve the end-state of a force on the ground that is able to deter attacks on civilians. She noted that NATO is already helping, but, under the auspices of the UN, NATO support could increase substantially. Kagame said he would consider seconding Brigadier General Jean-Bosco Kazura if a formal request was made by AU Mediator Dr. Salim Salim. (Note. BG Kazura served as the AMIS Deputy Commander in 2005 and 2006. End note.) ¶7. (C) Kagame agreed with A/S Frazer,s assessment that an Abuja agreement is unlikely in one month and stated that the GOS needs to be talked to directly, but not publicly. He used Rwanda's experience with the UN to illustrate that it is incumbent on the host nation to resolve its own problems rather than rely on a UN mission. Kagame pointed out that the GOR overcame its problem with the UN mission in Rwanda by addressing and resolving the root problems, thus, eliminating the need for the UN to remain. He noted that currently, the GOS was neither working to resolve the problems on the ground nor allowing the UN to do it. Bilateral Relations -------------- ¶8. (C) When asked about bilateral issues, President Kagame said there were no serious outstanding issues that needed to be addressed. He said that the GOR,s priorities remained socio-economic development and governance issues and while the socio-economic development required help from partners, the governance issues could be handled best internally. A/S Frazer noted that good governance is an important priority and must be included in the bi-lateral dialogue. She observed that for Rwanda to qualify for Millennium Challenge Account threshold status, it would have to change negative perceptions as well as improve performance in areas such as human rights and good governance. Kagame acknowledged the importance of the relationship and emphasized that human rights issues are an important priority for his government. A/S Frazer and President Kagame agreed that Kagame's May trip to the U.S. to visit President Bush would further improve the relationship between the governments. ARIETTI