ITURI UPDATE: TALKS STILL UNDERWAY FOR RELEASE OF

S E C R E T KINSHASA 000898 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/06/2016 TAGS: PGOV KPKO CG SUBJECT: ITURI UPDATE: TALKS STILL UNDERWAY FOR RELEASE OF MONUC PEACEKEEPERS REF: A. KAMPALA IIR 6 913 0085 06 ¶B. KINSHASA 853 ¶C. KINSHASA 851 Classified By: PolOff CBrown, reasons 1.4 b/d. ¶1. (C) According to MONUC and Congolese government officials, talks are still underway with militia leader Peter Karim and his Front for National Integration (FNI) regarding the release of seven Nepalese peacekeepers captured in Tsupu May 28 (ref C). MONUC officials confirm that a Crisis Management Support Team from the UN Department of Safety and Security arrived in Kwandruma June 3 to assist with the hostage release. As of June 6, MONUC officials said no further progress has been made in securing the release of the seven Nepalese. ¶2. (S) Contrary to reporting from Kampala DAO (ref A),MONUC officials said they know where the peacekeepers are being held. Kampala DAO source reported a "Major Tabenge" was holding the peacekeepers and had relocated to Bogoro, south of Bunia; MONUC military and GDRC officials, however, say such reports are categorically wrong. First, through established and authorized intermediaries, MONUC has confirmed it is Peter Karim who is holding the peacekeepers, and that he is moving among various locations in Djugu territory north of Bunia. Second, Karim and the FNI are based in the Lendu-dominated region north of Bunia and have no base of support in the Hema-oriented areas to the south. Moreover, for Karim, his militia and seven captive peacekeepers to make their way some 50 miles south from their current position -- past Bunia and MONUC headquarters, undetected -- would be a logistical impossibility. (Note: Ref A was unfortunately not sent to Kinshasa for comment. End note.) ¶3. (C) Efforts at negotiating with Karim and the FNI have nonetheless been complicated in the past week by contacts between third parties and the militias. Ituri District Commissioner Petronille Vaweka said the Djugu territory administrator, a member of the Lendu tribe, conducted an independent, unauthorized mission to secure the release of the peacekeepers. Vaweka said the administrator offered Karim USD 515 for the release of the soldiers, but the militia leader turned it down. MONUC-Bunia Head of Office Charles Gomis said the monetary offer was made without the knowledge or consent of MONUC officials, who say they will not pay any ransom for the peacekeepers' release. Karim did initially demand money for release of the Nepalese, reportedly USD 20,000 per person (ref B),but MONUC reports that Karim now realizes MONUC will not pay. ¶4. (C) One of MONUC's own intermediaries has also been called into question. As reported ref B, MONUC was using a former militia member to convey messages to Karim and his militia, based on this person's previous reliability and contacts within the militia. According to Vaweka, this negotiator, however, betrayed MONUC confidence and did not deliver messages to the militia or in fact make contact with Karim or the peacekeepers themselves. MONUC officials confirm the ex-combatant has lied regarding his contact with the militia. Consequently, Vaweka has recommended -- and MONUC has accepted -- the addition of another member to the team of intermediaries, an alleged business partner of Karim's. Verified contact with the militia (and the condition of the peacekeepers) has subsequently been achieved through these new intermediaries. ¶5. (C) Comment: MONUC has been engaged with several intermediaries, authorized by Congolese officials, who are working for the release of the MONUC peacekeepers. We speculate that Karim, failing to get money, is looking for some kind of respectability. While this offers some basis for discussion by those seeking the Nepalese's release, such discussions are obviously delicate and difficult to bring to successful conclusion. The attempts by outside agents -- from both inside and outside the DRC -- to interfere with this process will undermine the negotiations currently underway. Such attempts further risk the lives of those in captivity as well as the legitimacy of MONUC operations in Ituri and the DRC. End comment. MEECE