ANGOLAN EXPULSION: TOTAL OF CONGOLESE ARRIVALS

UNCLAS KINSHASA 000884 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREF PHUM PGOV PREL CG OA SUBJECT: ANGOLAN EXPULSION: TOTAL OF CONGOLESE ARRIVALS RISES FROM 16,000 TO 26,500 REF: A. KINSHASA 318 ¶B. KINSHASA 1600 ¶C. BAILEY-HALL EMAIL 07/13/07 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Initial news reports of Congolese expelled from Maludi, in Lunda Norte, Angola, were exaggerated, but the numbers continue to grow. Assessment teams confirmed in mid July that 13,000 displaced Congolese arrived in West Kasai and some 3,000 others in Katanga since July 3. They said the 16,000 displaced Congolese were mistreated by Angolan authorities and were in need of humanitarian aid. Latest MONUC figures indicate the number of displaced has now risen to roughly 26,500, including an additional 10,000 arriving in Katanga and 1,000 in Western Kasai who arrived the previous week. Some humanitarian agencies expect an additional 30-40,000 displaced Congolese to arrive in Western Kasai alone by the end of the year. End Summary. -------------- ANGOLAN MILITARY CLEARS DIAMOND MINING AREA -------------- ¶2. (SBU) MONUC and NGO reports have confirmed that a new wave of expulsions of Congolese living in Angola began on July 3 when Angolan military authorities started chasing out illegal miners from Maludi, a diamond mining town 80 km from Dundo, the capital city of Lunda Norte. News sources including Reuters, Radio Okapi and the BBC reported in the second week of July that 13,000 had arrived in Western Kasai and between 13-15,000 had arrived in Katanga since July 3. However, MONUC and NGO assessment teams reported in mid July that the Katanga figures had been exaggerated and that a total of 16,000 Congolese had arrived in both provinces. ¶3. (SBU) An internal MONUC report of July 12 stated that 15,000 Congolese had been ordered to leave Maludi. It stated that 3,000 were forcibly moved by truck to Katanga, 2,000 had fled across the border on foot, and 10,000 were hidden in surrounding forest areas in Angola. Similarly, a July 14 Joint Commission including the World Food Program, UNICEF, and local authorities reported some 3,400 displaced in Katanga: 3,000 in Kapanga and some 400 at Kasamayi near the Angolan border. The report claimed there were roughly 500 women and 60 children amongst the displaced. ¶4. (SBU) CARITAS is present in Western Kasai and estimated in a July 12 report that over 12,000 of those expelled were in the province, mainly in the villages of Kawakala, Kabungu and Kamako in Tshikapa. Its assessment report said roughly 4,000 of these were women and children. That same day DRC Minister of Humanitarian Affairs Jean-Claude Muyambo told us he agreed with the number of displaced, but estimated two thirds of them were women and children. Acting Western Kasai Governor Hubert Mbingho however provided us a lower estimate of 800 women and children. ¶5. (U) During the second week of July CARITAS DRC Charg de Liaison Christina Kaiser told us that while initial displacement reports were exaggerated, thousands more were waiting on the Angolan side of border to cross into the DRC. MONUC announced July 25 that 10,000 additional Congolese arrived in Katanga and 1,000 in Western Kasai during the previous week. OCHA official Christophe Illemassene speculated that up to 30-40,000 additional Congolese could arrive in Western Kasai alone by the end of the year based on a July 20-21 assessment by a joint team including UN agencies and CARITAS. Another OCHA official involved with the assessment stated that a minimum of 9,000 Congolese were still waiting to cross into the DRC. -------------- FORESEEN MOVEMENT -------------- ¶6. (SBU) According to the July 12 MONUC report, Kapanga administrator Zakari Ikombe was coordinating with Lubumbashi civil authorities and the Angolan Embassy to guarantee safe passage to the DRC for Congolese hiding in the Angolan forest. The report said the Angolan Security Post commander in Mwakamika had agreed to grant safe passage for women and children, but stipulated that men must do three days of manual labor for the Angolan army before leaving. ¶7. (U) Kaiser told us rumors were circulating that the displaced persons were moving towards Tshikapa in Western Kasai, since many of them originate from that province. Kaiser also said some were planning to return to Angola while others wanted to return to homes in the DRC. Local authorities said their priority was to ensure expelled Congolese return home as quickly as possible. When we met with UNHCR Chief of Mission Bob Rodrigus, he said some of the displaced Congolese may have been expelled before and returned to Angola because they had no where else to go. -------------- HUMANITARIAN SITUATION -------------- ¶8. (SBU) The Joint Commission report claimed the Congolese had suffered imprisonment, forced labor, confiscation of goods and body cavity searches. It said they were generally traumatized and in weak physical state upon arrival in the DRC. The report also said three people died in an unspecified prison and one woman had a miscarriage during the expulsion. ¶9. (SBU) Congolese authorities have told us they do not have the supplies necessary to handle the situation in Western Kasai. Kaiser said CARITAS only has adequate medicine and non-food supplies for 7,000 persons. There is no MONUC presence in the province. In Katanga, the Joint Commission report stated that a local committee had been formed to take care of Congolese without host families. The report said local authorities and religious groups were providing money and that the NGO PAREC had opened soup kitchens using volunteers. Additionally, Minister Muyambo announced on a visit to Katanga that the DRC government would provide 15 tons of clothes, medicine and food. -------------- POLITICAL UNDERTONES -------------- ¶10. (SBU) The Joint Commission report stated that the reasons for the expulsion were not clear. It reported that its members were told the Angolan government had recently sold the mining zone to an American company and wanted to clear it out. The report also said they were told by displaced Congolese that they supported UNITA, and were therefore targeted by the MPLA because of upcoming elections. ¶11. (U) According to Embassy Luanda, Lunda Norte officials announced in January that they planned on expelling illegal miners in Maludi at an unspecified time (ref C). GDRC officials were not prepared however, and Minister Muyambo and Governor Mbingho told us they had not been informed about the expulsion in advance. According to Kinshasa news reports, Angolan Ambassador Joao Baptista Mawete told a DRC delegation on July 10 the expulsions followed bilateral agreements on illegal miners between the GDRC and the GOA three years ago. Local articles also said Minister of Interior Denis Kalume called on the GOA in the meeting to treat the Congolese with dignity and to give the GDRC necessary time to prepare for their return. The press later reported that Mawete emphasized in a July 19 meeting with Prime Minister Antoine Gizenga that all illegal miners were being expelled from the region, and that Congolese were not targeted. ¶12. (SBU) CARITAS, MONUC and other embassy contacts told us there was nothing unexpected about the expulsions, as they have been going on for three years now and have reoccurred in recent months. Rodrigus said the GOA will not stop the expulsions in the future because it wants control of their diamond resources along the border with DRC. He expressed concern to us that the southern border with Angola could become a hot spot as a result of these problems. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶13. (U) Comment: Initial estimates of displaced Congolese were exaggerated, but it is clear more Congolese will be arriving from Angola in upcoming months. Humanitarian emergencies and population displacements along the border are likely to continue unless displaced Congolese are able to support themselves economically in their homes in the DRC. It is true that Congolese expulsions from Angola have occurred periodically for years, usually without much or any prior notice, often creating humanitarian problems, and occasionally provoking some media and other protests in the DRC. This episode occurs in the midst of continuing political outrage being expressed by parliamentary opposition members and others in Kinshasa over the recent DRC/Angola border dispute, magnifying the issue. President Kabila is expected to travel to Luanda in coming days for a bilateral visit, and both governments have a vested interest to limit the damage to bilateral relations associated with the issue. MEECE