Identifier | Created | Classification | Origin |
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06KINSHASA1124 | 2006-07-12 10:24:00 | CONFIDENTIAL | Embassy Kinshasa |
1. (C) Summary: With the presidential campaign well underway, Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba's campaign as the Movement for the Liberation of the Congo (MLC)'s candidate is among the most visible in Kinshasa. The theme of Bemba's campaign posters, as well as his party literature, is "security, justice, and development," although his campaign tactics encourage none of the above. Whether such ideals can be realized, particularly by Bemba, given his reputation, remains to be seen. End summary. 2. (U) The simultaneous campaigns for the presidency and for the National Assembly have created a boom for the local poster and banner printing industries. On the surface, the candidates are (for the most part) eager to get their names and faces in front of the electorate, and the main streets are festooned with colorful banners, posters, billboards, and flyers. The number of Bemba's campaign posters is topped only by those featuring incumbent President Joseph Kabila. Bemba's smiling image, wearing an open-necked Hawaiian-style shirt and silhouetted against the map of the DRC, is ubiquitous at all major intersections and along major transport routes. His casual pose, while invoking the Mobutu-era disdain for Western dress code (and by design, possibly, his connections as Mobutu's son-in-law and the ostensible Mobutuist political heir), stands in stark contrast to the formal, business-suited images of his competitors. 3. (U) Bemba's campaign is apparently using all available sources to present a detailed, coherent message to the public. In addition to rallies broadcast on television and statements on the radio, the MLC spells out its plan to implement its broad goals in Bemba's "letter to the Congolese," published in "Le Potentiel" on July 10. Bemba states that there are seven values which the MLC shares with all Congolese: national unity, peace, liberty, democracy, social justice, solidarity, and durable economic development in the Congo. He states that the time has come to re-launch these elements of a social contract for the recovery of the DRC, and calls for "a Congo reconciled with itself, at peace with its neighbors, driven from the bottom by the principles of good governance, by national agreement, by justice and by equity, in respect of the dearly-acquired national independence." He swears before God, before the nation, and before history, that he will put in place the necessary reforms to transform the Congo, with the primary goals being a policy of strong and sustainable economic growth, reduction of poverty, and "a voluntary and transparent policy of redistribution of the fruits of growth in order to eliminate poverty..." 4. (U) The MLC further states the elements of its "social contract" through a statement from Francois Mwamba, the Minister of Budget and secretary-general of the party, in the same edition. That statement outlines broad areas for strengthening the nation, among them: encouraging decentralization, ensuring justice and fighting against corruption and impunity, creating security through development of an operational national army and professional police force, introducing transparency in the management of national resources, developing accessible housing, implementing a rural electrification program, fighting epidemics such as malaria and HIV/AIDS, and putting in place free primary education along with subsidized secondary education. All of these ambitious programs support Bemba's call for security, justice, and development. 5. (C) Justice, however, can be a slippery term -- and one which is difficult to pin down in Bemba's case. Accusations of his complicity in crimes against humanity during the DRC's civil war abound. Shortly into the campaign period, an article appeared chronicling some damning accusations from one of Bemba's former rebel companions, Papy Kibonge. Kibonge granted an interview to a Belgian news group after giving testimony to the International Criminal Court (ICC) on war crimes allegedly committed by the MLC in the Ituri region, and by Bemba in particular in his role as MLC leader. These allegations include accusations of widespread rape, torture, murder, and cannibalism reportedly committed by MLC troops (and Bemba himself) in Bunia during the civil war. Kibonge, one of the founders and leaders of the MLC during the early days of the war, recounts a growing estrangement KINSHASA 00001124 002 OF 002 between Bemba and his confederates as Bemba revealed an increasingly violent and dictatorial agenda. Bemba is also "of interest" to the ICC for his participation in similar alleged crimes against humanity in the neighboring Central African Republic during an attempted coup in October 2002. 6. (C) Reports about the conduct of the campaign outside of Kinshasa are also troubling. Some Embassy contacts report that while Bemba was actively campaigning in Bandundu, four separate campaign offices of Olivier Kamitatu (former MLC president of the National Assembly and current breakaway independent parliamentary candidate) were burnt. In addition, sixteen Kamitatu operatives were reported to have been hospitalized during the same period. While nobody is directly accusing Bemba, the implication is telling. Many people throughout several provinces continue to report widespread intimidation by Bemba's campaign workers -- both direct and unspoken threats along the lines of, vote for Bemba, or you (and your family) will pay. In addition, statements from Bemba and other MLC officials frequently emphasize his "true" Congolese identity, a thinly disguised reference to Kabila's alleged foreign roots and a short step away from overt objectionable ethnic-based appeals. 7. (C) Comment. While Bemba's rhetoric hits all the right notes, his actions remain suspect. Reports continue to indicate that he is carefully playing both sides -- publicly demonstrating support for the electoral process while privately attempting to subvert the results. Still armed and very dangerous, Bemba remains one of the most feared candidates in the race, and one of the biggest potential troublemakers before or after the elections. End comment. MEECE |