NKUNDA ATTENDS FORMATION CEREMONIES FOR TWO NEW

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KINSHASA 000367 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/27/2017 TAGS: PGOV KPKO MOPS CG SUBJECT: NKUNDA ATTENDS FORMATION CEREMONIES FOR TWO NEW "MIXED" BRIGADES Classified By: PolOff CBrown, reasons 1.4 b/d. ¶1. (C) Summary: Renegade General Laurent Nkunda attended formation ceremonies for the last two "mixed" brigades March 22 and 23 in North Kivu with several prominent political and military leaders. Nkunda said in local interviews he was pleased with the "mixage" process and promised that any soldiers who misbehaved would be subject to military justice. His public presence at these events sends a mixed message from the GDRC about its intentions to resolve the "Nkunda problem" and the ultimate goal of "mixage." End summary. ¶2. (U) Nkunda attended the official March 22 and 23 ceremonies in North Kivu marking the formation of two new "mixed" Congolese military brigades. Nkunda, accompanied by militia leader Bosco Ntaganda, was seated together with DRC Air Force Commander General John Numbi, North Kivu Governor Julien Paluku, 8th Military Region (North Kivu) Commander General Louis Ngizo and MONUC-Goma Head of Office Ulli Mwambulutuku at the events in Kitchanga March 22 and Kimoka March 23. Defense Minister Chikez Diemu, who was in the provincial capital of Goma at the time, did not attend either ceremony. ¶3. (U) Nkunda spoke with reporters after the March 22 ceremony in Kitchanga. He said he was pleased with the "mixage" process and promised that any soldiers who abused the local population would be subject to military justice as members of the Congolese army (FARDC). At the Kikoma ceremony March 23, Nkunda said he believed President Kabila is a "man of peace" for having negotiated with him. He appealed to the GDRC to bring back all Congolese refugees and grant them "legal status" as full citizens. ¶4. (C) Paluku said during the March 22 ceremony he was happy to have Nkunda at the event and to have met him. He added that he intended to meet with him again and eventually sign a "peace agreement" with the renegade general. Paluku said in later press interviews that the issue of the Congolese arrest warrant against Nkunda was a matter for the central government, not him. Contacted March 26, Paluku told us he believes establishing a dialogue with Nkunda is key to bringing stability and peace to the province. ¶5. (U) Despite Paluku's comments, President Kabila continues to portray Nkunda as a criminal. In a March 26 press conference in Kinshasa, Kabila said Nkunda remains the subject of a Congolese arrest warrant. He added that Nkunda is no longer an officer with the FARDC and that "mixage" is only a first step in putting Nkunda's forces under a unified command before either demobilizing or integrating them. ¶6. (C) The two new units, dubbed "Delta" and "Echo," will be the last of five brigades formed during the "mixage" process. According to Mwambulutuku, Numbi claimed there are not enough troops remaining from the remnants of the non-integrated (and pro-Nkunda) FARDC 81st and 83rd Brigades to form a sixth "mixed" brigade of 2,000. Numbi told MONUC officials any remaining Nkunda loyalists, along with other non-integrated FARDC forces, will be added to the existing "mixed" brigades. (Note: "Mixage" combines troops loyal to Nkunda with pro-government FARDC forces into new units which will be deployed throughout North Kivu for the short term. The process, a temporary measure meant to end violence in the region, was agreed to as part of a ceasefire between Nkunda and the GDRC in Decmber 2006. End note.) ¶7. (C) "Delta" will be comanded by Colonel Faustin Muhindo, the former deuty commander of the 83rd; Lt. Col. Masudi, formrly of the loyalist 116th Brigade will be his deput. "Echo" will have Colonel Padiri, former commaner of the 116th, as its commander and Lt. Col. Caude, formerly of the 81st, as his deputy. Deploment areas have not been determined for either bigade, but FARDC 8th Military Region Deputy Commader Colonel Delphin Kahimbi told us they will liely be stationd in the southern part of the provice closer to Goma. ¶8. (C) Comment: Nkunda's pblic presence at the Kitchanga and Kimoka ceremoies is another twist in North Kivu's "mixage" sag. "Mixage" was originally portrayed by the GDRC aspart of a process leading to Nkunda's departure rom the country. Nkunda's sitting alongside promnent political and military figures at public ceemonies, however, suggests otherwise. President Kabila's comments, made days after the events, addto the confusion. Kabila's mixed message suggests hat the KINSHASA 00000367 002 OF 002 GDRC's resolution of the "Nkunda problem" is still very much a work in progress. End comment. MEECE