ITURI UPDATE: OBSTACLES DELAYING MILITIA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KINSHASA 001861 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/14/2016 TAGS: PGOV KPKO ASEC EAID CG SUBJECT: ITURI UPDATE: OBSTACLES DELAYING MILITIA DISARMAMENT REF: KINSHASA 1826 AND PREVIOUS Classified By: PolOff CBrown, reasons 1.4 b/d. ¶1. (C) Summary: Approximately 100 Ituri District militia members have voluntarily disarmed since peace agreements were signed in October between the GDRC and three of the District's militia groups. Congolese military officials had expected nearly 5,000 militia members to sign on by the end of the demobilization program December 31. Several sticking points have delayed the process, including continued demands for amnesty and the non-payment of promised funds by the GDRC. A turf battle between international donors and the UNDP also threatens to undermine completion of Ituri's militia disarmament. End summary. ¶2. (C) Ituri District's three main militia groups -- the Front for National Integration (FNI),the Congolese Revolutionary Movement (MRC),and the Front for Patriotic Resistance in Ituri (FRPI) -- each signed separate cease-fire and disarmament agreements with the GDRC earlier this year. The FNI and MRC militias, led respectively by Peter Karim and Mathieu Ngudjolo, signed accords in July. Cobra Matata of the FRPI agreed to disarm in November. All three groups signed on to a common cease-fire agreement November 29 that laid out a timetable for each militia's demobilization (reftel). -------------- FRPI THE ONLY MILITIA TO DISARM -------------- ¶3. (C) Matata's FRPI has been the only militia to send members to demobilization sites since the deals were struck. On December 11, the first day of scheduled FRPI disarmament, the FRPI sent just five members to a transit point in Aveba in southern Ituri. The FRPI also delivered 39 child soldiers to the camp, despite having earlier claimed the militia did not have children in its ranks. MONUC officials report the FRPI subsequently sent 110 members, with a total of 60 weapons, to Aveba December 13. MONUC officials believe the FRPI has some 2,400 members, based on discussions with Matata and his commanders. ¶4. (C) Neither the FNI nor the MRC have sent any members to demobilization sites since signing the original accords in July. MONUC DDR officials in Kinshasa estimate Karim controls approximately 1,800 militia members, while Ngudjolo has about ¶800. Other MONUC military officials in Bunia, however, dispute these numbers, saying the figures are likely inflated. -------------- THE AMNESTY QUESTION -------------- ¶5. (C) The continuing delays in Ituri militia disarmament can be attributed to three factors: amnesty, the non-payment of promised funds, and a turf battle among international donors. The first of these, as reportedly previously, is the issue of amnesty for the militias. According to MONUC's acting Security Sector Reform (SSR) chief Renner Onana, Karim is the only militia leader still demanding amnesty. GDRC officials explained to Karim as recently as November that amnesty can only be provided through legislation from the new National Assembly. Until a new amnesty law is adopted, the GDRC has provided Karim with a letter from the Ministry of Defense asking military justice officials not to pursue charges against Karim or Ituri's other militia leaders. ¶6. (C) Onana told us Karim has rejected this offer and is instead demanding a personal letter guaranteeing him amnesty. In response, the GDRC drafted a letter from the Ministry of Defense addressed to Karim, Ngudjolo and Matata, promising not to pursue charges against any of them. We have obtained an advance copy of the letter, which also stated the GDRC will present to parliament an amnesty law specifically concerning the Ituri militias. In addition, the GDRC warned that if the three do not surrender by December 31, they will be considered "deserters" and will be immediately pursued. MONUC and FARDC officials told us the final version of this letter has not yet been delivered. -------------- GDRC DELAYED IN PROVIDING PROMISED FUNDS -------------- ¶7. (C) The second sticking point involves the GDRC's delay in KINSHASA 00001861 002 OF 002 paying Ngudjolo and Matata previously-agreed funds to conduct "sensitization" of their members to convince them to disarm. The GDRC had promised to pay each leader 5,000 USD for such activities. The government did not deliver these funds until December 13 when a special delegation from the Presidency and Ministry of Defense arrived in Ituri. Vice Minister of Defense Bernard Mena told us the delegates gave the money personally to Ngudjolo and Matata to ensure delivery. Mena said the payment to Matata is what prompted the surrender of the 110 FRPI members December 13. -------------- TURF BATTLE BETWEEN INTERNATIONAL DONORS -------------- ¶8. (C) The final obstacle to Ituri's militia disarmament is a turf battle involving the UN Development Program (UNDP) and the World Bank. The Bank, which administers the Multi-Donor Demobilization and Reinsertion Plan (MDRP) in the DRC, declared in October that no additional funds would be disbursed for militia demobilization in Ituri, as a greater security priority existed in dealing with non-integrated Congolese military (FARDC) troops in the Kivus and northern Katanga. MONUC and UNDP officials, in light of the recent developments and peace deals in Ituri, disagreed with the Bank, and in December pursued bilateral funding for a UNDP-led demobilization program in Ituri. ¶9. (C) The debate came to a head December 11 when MDRP donors in Washington instructed CONADER -- the DRC's national demobilization agency, which is financed by MDRP and the World Bank -- not to provide UNDP with "demobilization kits" for use in Ituri. The Bank reportedly told UNDP officials that since the MDRP had technically paid for the kits, and that the MDRP did not want to be involved in Ituri issues at present, UNDP would not be allowed to use the material. Onana told us MONUC is currently discussing with World Bank officials ways to resolve the problem. ¶10. (C) The fight over the kits will become more important if, in fact, the expected number of militia members do disarm. Each demobilizing militia member is entitled to a kit that includes some clothing and other items for re-entering civilian life. Should the estimated number of militias materialize, and there is an insufficient amount of kits, demobilization will be further stalled. In addition, as has been the case in Ituri and elsewhere in the DRC, if demobilizing ex-combatants do not receive their promised security payments or kits, they are more likely to return to their militias or commit acts of violence. -------------- COMMENT: AVOIDABLE PROBLEMS -------------- ¶11. (C) Many of the problems delaying Ituri militia disarmament could have been resolved some time ago had the GDRC addressed them before the end of the Transition. Responsibility for answering the amnesty question was passed from one ministry to another until the decision was finally left to the National Assembly. Karim is unlikely to surrender until he receives the personal guarantee he seeks. Paying the MRC and FRPI the 5,000 USD is also a promise that should have been fulfilled immediately, but instead has contributed to the problem. The turf battle between donors will be resolved in the end, and this is not the first time such bureaucratic infighting has taken place. End comment. MEECE