KABILA MEETS WITH NORTH KIVU COMMUNITY LEADERS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KINSHASA 001828

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/04/2016
TAGS: PGOV KPKO CG
SUBJECT: KABILA MEETS WITH NORTH KIVU COMMUNITY LEADERS

REF: A. KINSHASA 1815

B. KINSHASA 1787

Classified By: PolOff TJNaber, reasons 1.4 b/d.


1. (C) President Joseph Kabila concluded his unannounced
visit to North Kivu December 2. The visit, which began
November 30 (ref A),included meetings with the Barazza
interethnic regional council, community leaders, and
residents of Sake, which had seen fighting between the FARDC
and forces loyal to Nkunda (ref B).


2. (C) Victor Ngezayo, a leading Tutsi businessman, told us
he and 30 other community leaders met with Kabila December 1.
The meeting included the brother of Musafiri Mayogi, the
Tutsi businessman whose shooting by PNC officers triggered
the fighting. Ngezayo said he told Kabila that the territory
held by Nkunda is the only place where the Tutsi community
can move freely, without being subject to harassment by the
national police, intelligence services, and FARDC. He said
he reiterated long-standing Tutsi concerns about amnesty for
Nkunda and the return of Tutsi refugees from Rwanda. Ngezayo
said Kabila was attentive and favored a political solution
over a military one.


3. (C) On December 2, Kabila met with the North Kivu Brigade
Commander and the MONUC-Goma Head of Office and chief of
political affairs. According to internal MONUC reporting,
Kabila said he expected community leaders to convey several
messages to "appropriate people." He offered his personal
word that Nkunda could come out of his stronghold and be
assured of his security. (Note: Ngezayo claimed the
security offer also extended to Bosco Ntaganda, a renegade
soldier formerly associated with the Union of Congolese
Patriots in Ituri District, who has allegedly collaborated
with Nkunda. End note.)


4. (C) Per MONUC, Kabila told community leaders that amnesty
for Nkunda is a legal issue that required national assembly
legislation. Kabila told MONUC it was the responsibility of
community leaders to convince the 81st and 83rd Brigades to
report for integration into the FARDC. By December 4, eleven
of Nkunda's senior officers, including his chief of
operations, had turned themselves in to UN peacekeepers for
integration. (septel).


5. (C) According to MONUC internal reporting, Kabila
conveyed to the community leaders that no individual tribe
would be allowed to maintain armed elements for the
protection of specific groups; the only way ahead was to
continue the process of integration so that the national
government could provide security for all.


6. (C) Kabila told MONUC he expected renegade General
Laurent Nkunda to "come out" within the next 2-3 days, and he
anticipated that his overtures to Nkunda through the Barazza
would yield positive results by December 10.


7. (C) Kabila made no comments to the press during his
visit, but PPRD Secretary General Vital Kamerhe told AFP "the
president has come to tell the population of North Kivu that
there will be no negotiation with Nkunda. He needs to step
aside or we will hit him hard." In fact, MONUC reporting has
Kabila saying that if he did not receive a favorable response
from Nkunda, exercising the military option could not be
ruled out.


8. (C) Deputy SRSG Haile Menkerios, who headed the
MONUC/GDRC delegation to the area, told the Ambassador
November 4 that he was encouraged that Kabila appeared to
clearly understand that the situation in North Kivu requires
a political, not a military, solution. Menkerios noted that
Kabila has a convenient cover for political action that would
avoid accusations from critics that he is pandering to the
Tutsi community or to Rwanda. It is by now clear that Nandes
will likely dominate the North Kivu provincial assembly and
future provincial government. Kabila can offer needed and
useful reassurances to the multiple ethnic minority groups in
North Kivu regarding their rights and security, contributing
to an overall calming of tensions and conveying a needed
message to the key Tutsi community within the larger package.


9. (C) Comment: If Kabila conveyed to community leaders the
same strong messages he reported to MONUC, many like Ngezayo
were undoubtedly disappointed. They seek a long, negotiated
political solution that will ensure the continued presence of
Nkunda and troops loyal to him in North Kivu. Kabila prefers

KINSHASA 00001828 002 OF 002


a swift resolution resulting in integration. The rapid
request from several of Nkunda's senior people for MONUC to
collect them for immediate inclusion into the integration and
DDR program is a very hopeful sign, suggesting broad
sentiment within the "renegade" forces to join the overall
GDRC process, and weakening Nkunda's margin of maneuver. End
comment.
MEECE