GOMA NOTES - PARTNER'S PLAN FOR AMANI PROGRAM MOBILITY AND

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KINSHASA 000438 SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL MOPS KPKO CG BE SUBJECT: GOMA NOTES - PARTNER'S PLAN FOR AMANI PROGRAM MOBILITY AND SECURITY ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Concerned that a crippled transportation infrastructure will slow down implementation of the Amani Program and humanitarian assistance, Father (also French: "Abbe") Apollinaire Malu Malu convened partners from MONUC and International Facilitation on April 20 to discuss improving critical roads in the Kivus. It was the Malu Malu's first meeting with General Singh, who opened with a detailed security briefing that stole the spotlight from roads but gave Malu Malu a chance to probe MONUC's battle strategy. Malu Malu fears that military pressure would incite the FDLR to attack civilian communities, and asked the General if there is a population protection strategy in place. Singh answered that the military should move very slowly and be certain that the population is secure during all stages of an operation, which should also include "non-kinetic" options. He agreed with the Abbe that all factions of PARECO and the Mai Mai are ready for brassage even if Nkunda does not move from his present positions. As for roads, Malu Malu endorsed the partners' recommendations for urgent rehabilitation of the road between Sake-Masisi beginning early May, in large part to re-start the flow of blocked humanitarian aid. He also urged immediate construction of a several barracks to house FARDC soldiers and their families. In all cases, Malu Malu suggests that staff of provincial public works agencies be present when partners plan and execute road and related construction. End summary. The Threats to Order -------------- ¶2. (SBU) General Singh drew a distinction between problems of law and order, and problems of public order. He believes the major problems of the present are in the law and order domain and require police attention more than military. Yet the Amani program is still threatened by public order issues, including not only North and South Kivu armed groups but also the LRA. In the event Joseph Kony does not sign any agreement favoring a peaceful resolution and if a breakaway faction forms and tries to return to the DRC, Singh said that MONUC would train a FARDC battalion to counter its advance. ¶3. (SBU) Singh also has an eye on socio-economic factors that undermine stability, including a "youth bulge" of educated, frustrated young people in the population who could easily ignite a political brushfire. Singh is less worried about Muslim groups in DRC, which he believes are probably not fundamentalist. MONUC's May-June Plan -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Singh has prepared MONUC to act in the Kivus' four small theaters or triangles, using a three-pronged approach: "sensitization," DDR, and 8 FARDC battalions trained by MONUC and supported by 8 individual logistics/planning companies. The battalions will stabilize the triangles and reassure the population, sowing new seeds of state authority. He emphasized that no such operations can begin before the end of May, when all component units will have arrived in their areas of operation. One concern that cannot be addressed during May is the return of demobilized Mai Mai and refugees from northern Katanga; these movements can add to public anxiety. Similarly, Amani sensitizers will not be able to reach out in underdeveloped areas west of the Kivus until the longer term. ¶5. (SBU) Responding to Malu Malu's concerns, Singh said that MONUC will move slowly against the FDLR, being sure the population is secure at every stage of an operation. He believes MONUC has not tried enough "non-kinetic" options to weaken FDLR in advance of any attack. One approach is to isolate FDLR units, making them feel marginalized. By this logic, Singh believes the proposed Kisangani meeting is counter-productive. ¶6. (SBU) The General advised against sending untrained units into any area of responsibility at the present time. Malu Malu nodded his agreement and used the opening to pitch his plan for constructing barracks for rehabilitated FARDC who should live, accompanied by their families, in the newly stabilized areas. Smoothing the Road -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Amani planners knew that the North Kivu government was already engaged on a roads improvement project when they met with the Roads Office on April 19. They proposed collaboration with public authorities and told the Governor that the UN logistics cluster would bring needed technical cadre. Malu Malu proposed that the provincial minister of public works participate fully and attend regular monthly meetings with the partners and Facilitation KINSHASA 00000438 002 OF 003 beginning in June. ¶8. (SBU) The first task will be a main road and secondary road mapping project. Malu Malu realized that MONUC was the natural agency to solve some of the most pressing problems, notably security restraints that can not only block engineering work but also impact humanitarian measures. Amani planners are paying most attention to the Masisi region, where the first job is to clean up priority stretches of road. The team must be ready to begin clean up by the time of the June meeting, and must also outline a policy for long-term maintenance. ¶9. (SBU) Malu Malu stated that repairing the roads is not just a matter of putting hardware and construction materials in place, but also is a challenge for inexperienced provincial administrators. Unfortunately, however, the existing provincial government plan for rehabilitating roads does not include any administrator training. ¶10. (SBU) A MONUC representative raised a further concern, pointing out that the current mapping exercise for armed groups reveals that the police and justice presence along the affected axis is very weak. UN agencies may tap into Dutch funding to organize Security Sector Reform in Rutshuru territory. The Road Map -------------- ¶11. (SBU) Malu Malu and the partners' top priority is access to the Sake-Masisi road because humanitarian assistance in Masisi is seriously blocked. For funding reasons the solution might not be a new highway but a rehabilitated, existing road. A USD 25 million grant from the Netherlands, and other aid from Sweden, will allow UNOPS to move forward quickly but that agency is still considering the best approach. ¶12. (SBU) The Sake-Masisi road is virtually impassable beyond the 20 km point. Though the South African road battalion attempted to open it to trucks in the recent past, a north-south FARDC convoy from the 81st Brigade in mid-April took two hours to cover 8 kilometers and one hour to negotiate the following 6 kilometers. Landslides block the road along its entire length. There are ruts deep enough to hide a car. The UNOPS representative believes that only a "heavy duty" contractor is equal to the job. He proposed hiring such a company and arranging for it to give equipment training to local workers. ¶13. (SBU) Elsewhere, work could begin immediately to restore a bridge on the Sake-Kichinga road. North of Rutshuru town on the road to Ishasha, conditions are generally good but the program can employ local residents to correct some drainage problems using light equipment only, and should include a new building to house workers in Rutshuru. Hazardous Detour -------------- ¶14. (SBU) UNOPS also advised that new police stations be built in Kindoni; in Bunia, where 600 prisoners occupy a space for 200; and in Masisi, where the police are now in borrowed facilities. The existing construction plan calls for 22 police stations to be built from Ituri to North and South Kivu. Malu Malu suspects that local officials might insert themselves in the land-allocation process for personal gain, and told UNOPS that he wanted to be present at any discussions involving the transfer of public land for road construction and municipal facilities. Dishonest police officials pretend that they need to pay for their land to extract funds from donors. Malu Malu said that such claims are not true. Gathering the Resources -------------- ¶15. (SBU) The humanitarians' needs carry special weight for Malu Malu, and the WFP logistics coordinator named his three most urgent projects: (a) Sake-Masisi, where an emergency clean-up and repair operation should begin in early May, including heavy rocks for the roadbed. (b) A rehabilitation program for critical spots in collaboration with MONUC, drawing from USD 700,000 in South African funds. The South African engineering force provides rock, culvert, and material for reinforcing slopes. (c) More extensive road rehabilitation addressing collapsed sections over which trucks cannot pass. While waiting for this work to be completed, WFP is obliged to ask for airlift capacity. ¶16. (SBU) As there are today more than 400 metric tons of construction materials as well as humanitarian supplies to transport KINSHASA 00000438 003 OF 003 on the Sake-Masisi axis and beyond, Gen. Singh proposed an unconventional solution. We could revive the "lost art" of human portage over blocked areas, with local inhabitants earning a small wage to break down and carry even the heaviest materials in portable loads, though WFP might hesitate to entrust food to inadequately supervised porters. A UNOPS engineer recalled that construction crews used this method along roads between Bunya and Kisangani in the last decade. The participants agreed only to think about the plan. ¶17. (SBU) MONUC commented that above and beyond the USD 700,000 in funds, it is already working to provide support materials for both the South African and Indonesian engineering units. Gen. Singh decided at once to create a regional engineering office at MONUC headquarters in Goma, to which RSA and Indonesian skilled personnel will be assigned to coordinate the urgent projects. ¶18. (SBU) Abbe Malu Malu invited the participants to contact him for help in unblocking any problems. He said that the Prime Minister puts a premium on state authority and the participation of the international community and traditional chiefs to restore it. Malu Malu proposed a "sensitization" (awareness raising) meeting with the traditional chiefs to make them aware that they are the first line of state authority. ¶19. (SBU) Comment: Not all partners found this meeting useful. USAID reps gave UNOPS low marks for a presentation that was random and incomplete, and did not inspire confidence that this project was in good hands. The UNDP rep did not have time to discuss critical infrastructure needs for restoration of justice and state authority, which are vital components of the Amani program. DDRRR was not directly represented. Yet General Singh's decision to create a centralized engineering office in Goma, already in process, signals MONUC's recognition that there are a few months left at best to accomplish Amani goals. End comment. BROCK