SUPREME DEFENSE COUNCIL MAKES KEY DECISIONS ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KINSHASA 000722 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/09/2016 TAGS: PGOV PHUM MARR KPKO CG SUBJECT: SUPREME DEFENSE COUNCIL MAKES KEY DECISIONS ON ISSUES REF: A. KINSHASA 711 ¶B. KINSHASA 702 Classified By: A/DCM MSanderson, reasons 1.4 b/d. ¶1. (C) Summary: In a series of marathon meetings beginning May 6 and running through late evening May 8, the Supreme Defense Council, chaired by President Kabila and attended by senior GDRC officials, addressed serious shortcomings plaguing the FARDC, including human rights violations, and failure to regularly pay salaries. The Council also confronted the issue of the excessive numbers of troops and arms being accumulated by Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba (president of the MLC),and President Kabila ordered the seizure of the arms and dispersal of the troops. Follow-on meetings during the week in Kinshasa are to develop a realistic system to ensure payment of the military, and a mixed military commission (with members from the RCD, MLC and ex-FAZ) will be dispatched to Equateur province May 11 to seize the arms stockpiled there by VP Bemba and return them to Kinshasa to be distributed to the FARDC. These decisions are a promising development and, if followed through, could actually begin addressing many of the problems which the Joint Commission on Security has raised for several months (reftel a). End Summary. ¶2. (C) The Supreme Defense Council normally is composed of senior military and civilian authorities, including the Ministers of Defense and Interior, the National Security Advisor, the chief of the armed forces, heads of the military branches (air force, navy and army) and the four Vice Presidents, with President Kabila presiding. The May 8 meeting also included, at Kabila's insistence, the Minister of Finance, the Vice Minister of Budget (the Minister of Budget is still in mourning for the unexpected death of his son),and the President of the Central Bank, who were ordered to attend to discuss developing and fully implementing a firm budget and payment plan for the military. -------------- Imposing Order -------------- ¶3. (C) A/DCM spoke May 9 with Ministers of Defense and Interior and the Vice Minister of Budget to discuss results of the series of lengthy meetings. Defense Minister Adolphe Onusumba was almost buoyant, noting that President Kabila had given "clear direction" to all those present. For instance, he said, chief of the armed forces General Kisempia was 
ordered to immediately work with the military Inspector General to develop mandatory sentences for military convicted of rape, torture, or other human rights violations. Kisempia is to report back to Kabila (per the DefMin) by May 12 with the sentencing structure and is to issue an order to the field the following day instructing that these procedures be immediately implemented. Furthermore, the DefMin said that the investigations are to begin with a list of over 1,000 alleged human rights violations which had been provided to the GDRC by MONUC. -------------- Paying the Troops -------------- ¶4. (C) Onusumba, who has always frankly said that his Ministry has not done a good job of preparing budgets to ensure full funding for logistical necessities such as fuel to transport troops, said that Kabila instructed the Vice Minister of Budget to work with the MOD to develop a projected budget for approval by May 11. Vice Minister of Budget Tresor Kapuku confirmed this, adding that May 9 he would be meeting "all day" with the Minister of Finance and President of the Central Bank to help develop the other, even more pressing, schedule demanded by the Council, i.e., ensuring regular payment of the troops. Kapuku said the Council wants a system in which monies for salaries are disbursed to specifically identified individuals in the military structure every two weeks, with "full accountability" established, and instructed the Inspector General to be prepared to investigate any irregularities. Kapuku complained that, without really knowing how many troops are actually stationed where, it will be difficult for him to develop an accurate and sustainable budget, and said that probably he will have to overestimate the salary payments to ensure that sufficient funds will be always KINSHASA 00000722 002 OF 002 available. The Central Bank, he said, is to be involved in transferring funds, and the Finance Ministry is to develop a "standing order" authorizing disbursement of pre-set amounts every two weeks. ¶5. (C) Likewise, Kapuku's budget must include elements such as food for the troops and gasoline for the planes and trucks needed to ensure transfer of troops to and from the military integration centers. Air Force General John Numbi was ordered to make such transport his priority, according to DefMin Onusumba. -------------- Confronting Bemba -------------- ¶6. (C) Minister of Interior Theophile Mbemba said that following a very rancorous discussion, Vice President Bemba was directly ordered by President Kabila to submit to the decisions of the Council regarding the numbers of troops, and the amount of arms and ammunition he has been illegally stockpiling. (Note: For many months Bemba has had about 3,000 troops on the outskirts of Kinshasa past the airport. In addition, he had been accumulating large amounts of ammunition and arms in his home base of Bandalite, in Equateur province, most of which reportedly came from Libya. End Note.) The Council agreed that 1,000 of Bemba's MLC troops from Kinshasa should go to the military integration center at Kitona, another 1,000 to the integration center at Kamina, and 500 could stay in Kinshasa. (Bemba already had agreed to "re-station" 500 of the 3,000 as a result of a recent face-off with the GSSP. See reftel b.) The Minister said that a "joint" military mission (composed of representatives from the RCD, MLC and ex-FAZ),accompanied by some police and members of the ANC (civilian intelligence) will go to Bandalite May 11 to begin inventorying the stockpile there, which will be transported to Kinshasa to be disbursed among the FARDC units throughout the Congo. This work supposedly will be completed within two weeks, i.e., around the end of May. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶7. (C) President Kabila reportedly was inspired to take action because he was appalled that Congolese citizens in Bukavu accused the FARDC of being worse than the FDLR, and also because he did not want to risk losing international assistance to the military integration process. While the real results of these meetings of course will hinge on implementing the decisions taken, this weekend's process nonetheless represents basically the first real action on the part of the Congolese in addressing issues which long have been raised by the Joint Commission on Security. Even just one issue -- that of reducing Bemba's private army -- could greatly enhance security during and after elections. Progress on the full range of issues, taken together, could be a real step forward. DOUGHERTY