GDRC OFFICIAL: NO TO UGANDA'S CALL FOR HOT PURSUIT

C O N F I D E N T I A L KINSHASA 000643 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/24/2016 TAGS: PREL KPKO CG UG SUBJECT: GDRC OFFICIAL: NO TO UGANDA'S CALL FOR HOT PURSUIT Classified By: PolOff CBrown, reasons 1.4 b/d. ¶1. (C) During an April 20 demarche, MFA Chief of Staff Jacques Djoli raised with PolOff Uganda's recent call for the right of "hot pursuit" into the DRC to chase elements of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in Garamba National Park. Djoli said the GDRC would never agree to such a request, and asked rhetorically why the GDRC should be expected to resolve a problem that Ugandans have been unable to solve in twenty years. Djoli said he understood, however, that President Museveni's comments on the LRA were largely meant for a domestic constituency. ¶2. (C) Comment: The Congolese remain puzzled by media reports from Kampala claiming that hot pursuit is needed to prevent LRA attacks on Uganda from the DRC. They point out that Garamba National Park, a remote and undeveloped area, does not even share a border with Uganda but is more than 100 miles away. End comment. DOUGHERTY