ITURI UPDATE: KARIM STILL A HOLD-OUT FOR DISARMING

C O N F I D E N T I A L KINSHASA 000086 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/25/2017 TAGS: PGOV KPKO CG SUBJECT: ITURI UPDATE: KARIM STILL A HOLD-OUT FOR DISARMING MILITIA Classified By: PolOff CBrown, reasons 1.4 b/d. ¶1. (C) Summary: Front for National Integration (FNI) leader Peter Karim refuses to disarm his Ituri-based militia despite a series of deadlines imposed by the GDRC. While other militias have disbanded and sent their members to demobilization sites, Karim and the FNI are instead massing forces northeast of Bunia around the villages of Kpandroma and Jiba. The GDRC has given Karim USD 5,000, but the militia leader is still demanding that certain conditions be met, including a specific amnesty for himself. End summary. ¶2. (C) A December 31 deadline imposed by the GDRC for the surrender of all Ituri militia members passed without Peter Karim and his FNI doing so. Sporadic fighting broke out in central Ituri District between FNI members and Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC) troops in late December and again January 12. A ceasefire has effectively taken hold in the area since mid-January, with no reported clashes since then. MONUC military observers report, however, that FNI members have been gathering in larger-than-normal numbers -- approximately 200 according to locals -- in areas around Kpandroma and Jiba about 60 miles northeast of Bunia. ¶3. (C) A GDRC delegation traveled to Ituri the week of January 8 to discuss disarmament with FNI leaders. Vice Minister of Defense Bernard Mena told us the mission was unsuccessful, as Karim failed to show up and demanded through intermediaries further concessions from the government. Mena said Karim wants an official cease-fire agreement between the FNI and the FARDC, plus an official inquiry into alleged FARDC abuses around Fataki and Kpandroma in recent months. Karim again demanded the GDRC grant him amnesty before disarming, and on January 18 requested the FARDC provide uniforms for his militia members. ¶4. (C) Mena, who heads the GDRC's negotiation efforts with Karim and other Ituri militia leaders, rejected Karim's demands. He said that since Karim is now officially a colonel in the FARDC, and not an opposing military force, there is no reason to arrange a ceasefire. Mena added that the question of amnesty is one for the new Parliament, which will have to approve a new or amended amnesty law. He said he would be open to an investigation of alleged FARDC abuses, but added an inquiry should not be an impediment for FNI demobilization. ¶5. (C) Mena alleged that Karim has never negotiated in good faith with the GDRC. He pointed to the original disarmament agreement Karim signed in July, saying Karim has failed to live up to any of its conditions. In addition, the July accord never promised the GDRC would provide Karim with funds to conduct "sensitization" efforts to convince FNI members to surrender. As a sign of its good faith, however, Mena said the GDRC in January gave Karim USD 5,000, the same amount given to other Ituri militia leaders. ¶6. (C) MONUC military reports indicated FNI officials later promised that its members would report for disarmament January 20. That deadline similarly passed without any reported FNI surrenders according to MONUC officials in Bunia. MONUC military observers reported January 22 that FNI officials told them the militia would begin sending members to demobilization sites January 28. Mena, as well as MONUC military officials in Bunia, told us they have little expectations Karim will surrender any members by that date. ¶7. (C) Comment: Karim has refused to surrender despite the repeated concessions granted by the government. His refusal to disarm is exacerbating tensions in the region and could convince other demobilized militia members to return to the bush. The GDRC has lost most of its remaining patience with Karim, but is unwilling to use military force to neutralize him. End comment. MEECE