KABILA AND BEMBA HOLD PRIVATE MEETING

UNCLAS KINSHASA 001817 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KDEM CG SUBJECT: KABILA AND BEMBA HOLD PRIVATE MEETING REF: KINSHASA 1791 ¶1. (U) President Joseph Kabila and Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba met at Bemba's riverside residence early in the afternoon of November 30. This was the first meeting between the two since the Supreme Court's official certification of Kabila's election (reftel). ¶2. (SBU) Presidency officials told us that the two discussed a full range of issues, and that it was a private one-on-one meeting. Kabila left the capital later in the day for North Kivu province, which has seen fighting between renegade and regular troops during the past week (septel). ¶3. (SBU) Bemba adviser Thomas Luhaka separately characterized the meeting as important. Luhaka told us he had met with Kabila earlier to help facilitate it, and predicted that Kabila and Bemba would hold additional meetings after Kabila's return to Kinshasa. ¶4. (SBU) Comment. Newly-elected, Kabila showed magnanimity in meeting his defeated rival on his own turf -- a gesture that Bemba would likely appreciate. The meeting sent a strong and positive signal at the end of a hard-fought and divisive campaign. End comment. MEECE