MISSION OFFICER GOMA ESCAPES SERIOUS INJURY WHEN UN CAR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KINSHASA 000599 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL MOPS KPKO CG RW SUBJECT: MISSION OFFICER GOMA ESCAPES SERIOUS INJURY WHEN UN CAR OVERTURNS ON ILL-FATED JULY 18 FIELD TRIP TO TERRITORY HELD BY IRREGULAR ARMED GROUPS ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Mission officer Nicholas Jenks and a small party of international functionaries assigned to Goma undertook to visit territory held by irregular armed groups in outlying areas on Friday, July 18, together with "Museveni" (nom de guerre), representing the PARECO insurgency. The party was accosted by hostile crowds on two separate occasions but was finally allowed to leave without harm. The car carrying Jenks and other members of his party overturned after nightfall during the return trip to Goma. No serious injuries were sustained, although several party members received cuts and bruises and were treated by MONUC medical personnel. CNDP actions in harassing the party during the field were clearly planned and particularly unhelpful. End summary. ¶2. (U) Mission officer Nicholas Jenks departed Goma at 9:00 am July 18 and not at 8:00 am as planned because of confusion over departure time and location by Museveni, the PARECO representative in Goma and/or MONUC staff. Also making the trip were Thomas Pravda from the UK Embassy, Gloria Fernandez, Director of OCHA for the DRC, and Patrick Lanvand'homme, head of OCHA for North Kivu. An hour later, having arrived in Masisi (CNDP territory),Jenks' party was supposed to meet the MONUC escort in Bihambwe, but was unable to do so and had to double back to Osso to the South African SCD (standing combat deployment),which kindly agreed to escort the party, resulting in the loss of another hour. Progress west through Kibabi and through the "exclusion zone" was without incident, and the party arrived at Kiningi (first town in PARECO territory) to find that Hassan Mugabo, a PARECO leader with whom the party had arranged to meet, was not in Kiningi as agreed on, but rather in a place called Luke. Having been told it was close by, party proceeded towards Luke, but it turned out to be an additional hour's drive. In Luke, the party found it was market day, and Mugabo was holding a town hall meeting. He broke away from that meeting to receive Jenks and the other members of the party. ¶3. (U) At this point Museveni reverted to previous behavior and attempted to portray himself as leading the delegation and setting the agenda. Jenks told him, not with great politeness, that he was leading no delegation and that the trip was driven by the agenda. Party met with Mugabo (now styling himself as "general") for about 20 minutes, and asked the following questions and made the following points: -- Did Mugabo agree to meet Roeland van de Geer, Malu Malu and the facilitation on Wednesday morning in Kiningi? He agreed to be there. -- All North Kivu armed groups needed to stop brutalizing the population, and (while not singling PARECO out for any more criticism than any other group) PARECO needed to stop all such behavior. -- PARECO needed to ensure security for NGO's working in Masisi (Note: MSF/Belgium is pulling up stakes. End note) ¶4. (U) PARECO responded (Mugabo himself saying very little but giving party a document setting forth their concerns) that: -- CNDP commits abuses and then tries to make it look like it was PARECO. -- PARECO has captured a Rwandese national from CNDP. -- CNDP recently raped nine women in the Muheto exclusion zone. -- CNDP refuses to let trucks into this part of PARECO territory, and the population cannot sell its surplus production. -- MONUC needs to deploy a SCD to Mema and do more patrolling of the exclusion zone. -- PARECO will go to brassage after CNDP disarms. ¶5. (U) On the way back, party passed the Muheto exclusion zone without incident, and entered into CNDP territory at Kibabi 2 (Note: there are actually two Kibabis - 1 and 2.) In Kibabi 1 the trip became interesting. The party's caravan consisted of an escort car in first position, the OCHA car second, and a MONUC car carrying MONUC staff and Museveni third. The first two cars got through, but the civilian population blocked the third car with a boulder in the road and a large crowd who refused to let it proceed. Facilitation went back to sort this out, later supplemented by MONUC blue helmets. The population was rowdy and displayed negative body language, and said they wanted to "talk" to Museveni. Party refused, asserting that Museveni was under UN protection in a UN/diplomatic convoy, and that they had to get out of the way. Party removed the boulder and crowd put it back. Crowd physically restrained the vehicle by means of interposing itself and, in one person's case, by trying physically to push the vehicle backward. After a few minutes of this back and forth, the party was able to get the vehicle loose, and sent it on its way, this time in the front of the convoy. KINSHASA 00000599 002 OF 002 ¶6. (U) Party decided it was likely to encounter more of the same in Mushake, the most heavily fortified CNDP town in the area and which also boasts a serious roadblock. So, instead of leaving out its escort in Osso, party prevailed on MONUC's South African captain to send the escort with the party all the way to Sake. He and his soldiers accepted gracefully and, sure enough, events repeated themselves in Mushake. As the party approached the roadblock, CNDP moved a large blue truck into position to completely block the road on the other side of the barrier. Approximately 40 CNDP soldiers and a larger number of civilians were present waiting for the convoy. Sensing a situation was developing, Pravda and Jenks went to see what was going on. CNDP said there were FDLR members in the vehicles, which Jenks and Pravda denied. CNDP then spotted Museveni and invited him out of the vehicle. He complied; Pravda and Jenks interposed themselves to prevent CNDP from harming Museveni. ¶7. (U) There followed some ten minutes of hostile words and negative body language from CNDP, while Jenks and Pravda explained that this was a diplomatic convoy; they were not under any obligation to ask for, nor would they seek to attain, CNDP prior approval to take anyone through CNDP territory; and that Museveni was under their protection. It was difficult to identify the senior CNDP person present and the situation was somewhat confused. This continued for quite some time, with the crowd getting a bit larger, but not in any way out of control, and OCHA on the satellite phone to MONUC in Goma, which set in motion the sending of reinforcements. Suddenly a CNDP Colonel who Jenks had met in Kirolirwe on a previous occasion arrived and, after the usual back and forth, said he knew Jenks and what his party was doing, asking what he needed to do. Jenks told him he needed to unblock the road and let the party proceed; the Colonel complied immediately. At that point the nature of the encounter changed dramatically: phone numbers and pleasantries were exchanged; Museveni was greeted as a brother and invited to return and stay with them; and all was very friendly. The party departed with a show of good will on all sides. ¶8. (U) It was now dark and the road very dusty; the closest safe haven was Sake. The party wanted to keep the convoy in close formation, which it did, until the driver -- due to dust and darkness -- inadvertently drove into a ravine which had taken over half of the roadbed. Down the car went, with the vehicle about six feet below road level, tilted about 120 degrees. All passengers were shaken and two had minor abrasions. The party climbed out of the car and left the ravine with the help of a motorcyclist shining his headlamp on the scene and giving party members a hand coming out. The rest of the convoy returned shortly, the South African soldiers (who were superb throughout the day) retrieved backpacks and personal effects, and the party continued on to Sake and Goma. The Level III hospital in Goma disinfected small cuts and scratches, gave party members tetanus shots, gave Pravda one stitch in his forehead, gave out painkillers and discharged the group. MONUC's Alpha Sow, Colonel Cunliffe, and Major Sanjay arrived to make sure all was right and Deputy SRSG Ross Mountain called to express his concern. Thus ended another day in the life of the U.S. Mission's officer in Goma, in the wild, wild east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. ¶9. (SBU) Comment: CNDP behavior as described above was highly unhelpful. It is clear that they had received information on the party's passage after Kibabi and set up their "reception committee" at Mushake. This was in no way unplanned. Ultimately the party ended up with a number of "IOU's" that can be cashed in the future. PARECO is in Jenks' debt, and CNDP's leaders will be told at a convenient time about how badly their followers behaved. End comment. GARVELINK