Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08KINSHASA8
2008-01-07 12:51:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Kinshasa
Cable title:
Kivus Conference opens in Goma without Kabila;
VZCZCXRO6031 RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN DE RUEHKI #0008/01 0071251 ZNR UUUUU ZZH R 071251Z JAN 08 FM AMEMBASSY KINSHASA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7331 INFO RUEHXR/RWANDA COLLECTIVE RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KINSHASA 000008
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL MOPS PHUM PREF KPKO CG
SUBJECT: Kivus Conference opens in Goma without Kabila;
many Tutsis appointed to senior positions
REF: Kinshasa 0005
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KINSHASA 000008
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL MOPS PHUM PREF KPKO CG
SUBJECT: Kivus Conference opens in Goma without Kabila;
many Tutsis appointed to senior positions
REF: Kinshasa 0005
1. (SBU) Summary: The ceremonial opening on January 6 of the
projected week-long Conference on North and South Kivu (reftel) kept
to a positive script. Absent at the opening ceremony was President
Joseph Kabila; he did now show, it is believed, because of security
concerns. After gaining security assurances from a reluctant MONUC,
a delegation from Nkunda's CNDP did attend. Leadership positions in
the Conference are widely distributed among ethnicities, with Tutsis
getting more than their population in itself would seem to justify.
End Summary.
2. (SBU) The Conference on Peace, Security, and Development for the
Kivus got underway January 6 in Goma in a relatively positive spirit
and with relatively few glitches, considering the monumental
difficulties of organizing a huge conference (800 attendees) in such
a chaotic city in cramped facilities. President Kabila was expected
to give the principal address but, apparently at the last minute,
decided not to fly from Lumbumbashi to Goma, handing responsibility
for delivering the speech to Denis Kalume Numbi, Minister of State
for the Interior, Decentralization, and Security. A government
security officer informed ARSO that Kabila had decided that security
at the conference site was simply too inadequate. Most of the
senior diplomatic corps was flown in on MONUC aircraft to attend the
event, and were made to wait two hours for it to commence.
Tutsis are well represented
--------------
3. (SBU) Conference organizers made a considerable effort to ensure
Tutsi involvement among the 20 leaders designated for the conference
(see para 8 below for full list) and to ensure ethnic balance, but
no ethnic group is likely to be satisfied with its representation.
The most important positions within the conference are the so-called
Executive Board ("Bureau" in French) with seven members, of whom two
are Tutsi; the "Committee of Experts" ("Commission des Sages"),with
seven members, of whom two are Tutsi; and the "Panel of Moderators,"
of which three are Tutsi. The four Tutsis in the first two bodies
are close to Nkunda, while the three Tutsi moderators include RCD
head Azarias Ruberwa and two of his Banyamulenge allies from South
Kivu. Hutus received relatively little representation.
4. (SBU) A 10-person delegation from Nkunda's party CNDP attended
the opening session and was seated not in the principal conference
room into which 400 attendees were squeezed, but in an ancillary
hall where the speeches were televised. Getting the CNDP delegation
into the conference was the last major hurdle that MONUC had to
confront, working till late the previous night. The CNDP insisted
that MONUC provide its security, while MONUC insisted that security
for the CNDP team was a government function (Note: MONUC wished to
avoid being accused of being soft on Nkunda). In the end, MONUC
acquiesced.
5. (SBU) After long prayers, there were four speeches. The
Governor of North Kivu (a Nande from the "Grand Nord") opened with a
short address, sticking to platitudes, refraining from his normal
invective against Nkunda and merely condemning of "all those who
wreak havoc on innocent citizens." The conference president,
Apollinaire Malu Malu (also a Nande),a Catholic priest who heads
the Congo's Independent Electoral Commission, reviewed what he
described as the organizers' considerable efforts to visit and
include all sections of the Kivus (they had, he said, only failed to
visit Masisi Territory). The mission of the Conference was not to
have a talk fest, nor to usurp powers of the executive, legislature,
or judiciary as enshrined in the Constitution and the election of
2006, but to find a practical, reconciliatory way forward out of the
conflicts that beset the Kivus, to instill a culture of peace
instead of violence and to strengthen democracy.
Swing's Swan Song
--------------
6. (SBU) SRSG William Swing, in his last public address in Congo
(he departs the DRC January 8 at the end of his mandate),emphasized
how far the country had come in the past five years, "miraculously
and irreversibly far." The conference had an historic
responsibility to get rid of deep-rooted stereotypes and consolidate
the remarkable progress that had been made; the international
community would continue to give Congo its full encouragement.
Kabila's speech, delivered by the Minister of Interior, emphasized
that the conference must work to enhance the strength of the state
and rule of law. Forces operating outside the state must be
demobilized and integrated into the army, as called for in the
Nairobi communique. Congo was a country of diverse ethnicities;
protection of minorities was a fundamental requirement. Congo was a
KINSHASA 00000008 002 OF 002
country of great natural wealth; pillage of its natural resources
had to be stopped. Congo was surrounded by nine neighbors and would
pursue peaceful existence with all of them. There were high
expectations of this conference which, if it did its work well,
could go far toward ensuring durable peace.
7. (SBU) The conference is scheduled to work in plenary January 7
(covering accreditation and technical matters),have simultaneous
workshops for North and South Kivu January 8, move to separate
workshops for North and South Kivu January 9-11, reconvene in
simultaneous workshops January 12 and a plenary January 13, and
close on January 14.
List of Conference Officers
--------------
8. Principal leadership positions in the conference (with
ethnicities to be confirmed):
Executive Board:
-- President: Fr. Apollinaire Malu Malu (Nande, Grand
Nord)
-- First Vice President: Senator (Monseigneur) Jean-Luc
Kuye Ndondo (Mushi, S. Kivu)
-- Second Vice President: Emmanuel Kamanzi (Tutsi, Goma)
-- General Rapporteur: Hon. Sekimonyo wa Magungu (Hutu,
Rutshuru)
-- First Assistant Rapporteur: Boniface Balamage Nkolo
(Mushi, S. Kivu)
-- Second Assistant Rapporteur: Azil Tanzi (Tutsi,
Orientale)
-- Questeur: Hangi Binini (Hunde, Masisi)
-- Assistant Questeur: Benjamin Mukulungu (Mushi, S. Kivu)
Committee of Experts:
-- President and Spokesman: Hon. Vital Kamerhe (Mushi, S.
Kivu)
-- First Vice President: Denis Ntare Semadwinga (Tutsi, N.
Kivu)
-- Second Vice President: Pardonne Kaliba (Mushi, S. Kivu)
Rapporteur: Basengezi Katintima (Mushi, S. Kivu)
-- First Assistant Rapporteur: Safi Adili (Tutsi, N. Kivu)
-- Second Assistant Rapporteur: Pasteur Mushunganya Nene
(Mushi, S. Kivu)
-- Third Assistant Rapporteur: Philemon Balinabo (Hunde,
Masisi)
Moderators:
-- Fr. Apollinaire Malu Malu (see also Bureau)
-- Azarias Ruberwa Manyua (Tutsi Banyamulenge, S. Kivu)
-- Vital Kamerhe (see also Committee of Experts)
-- Foreign Minister Antipas Mbusa Nyamwisi (Nande, Grand
Nord)
-- Mashako Mamba (Hutu, Rutshuru)
-- Jean Kevin Jemsi Mulengwa (Mushi, S. Kivu)
-- Joseph Gwamuhanya (Tutsi Banyamulenge, S. Kivu)
-- Bizima Karaha (Tutsi Banyamulenge, S. Kivu)
Garvelink
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL MOPS PHUM PREF KPKO CG
SUBJECT: Kivus Conference opens in Goma without Kabila;
many Tutsis appointed to senior positions
REF: Kinshasa 0005
1. (SBU) Summary: The ceremonial opening on January 6 of the
projected week-long Conference on North and South Kivu (reftel) kept
to a positive script. Absent at the opening ceremony was President
Joseph Kabila; he did now show, it is believed, because of security
concerns. After gaining security assurances from a reluctant MONUC,
a delegation from Nkunda's CNDP did attend. Leadership positions in
the Conference are widely distributed among ethnicities, with Tutsis
getting more than their population in itself would seem to justify.
End Summary.
2. (SBU) The Conference on Peace, Security, and Development for the
Kivus got underway January 6 in Goma in a relatively positive spirit
and with relatively few glitches, considering the monumental
difficulties of organizing a huge conference (800 attendees) in such
a chaotic city in cramped facilities. President Kabila was expected
to give the principal address but, apparently at the last minute,
decided not to fly from Lumbumbashi to Goma, handing responsibility
for delivering the speech to Denis Kalume Numbi, Minister of State
for the Interior, Decentralization, and Security. A government
security officer informed ARSO that Kabila had decided that security
at the conference site was simply too inadequate. Most of the
senior diplomatic corps was flown in on MONUC aircraft to attend the
event, and were made to wait two hours for it to commence.
Tutsis are well represented
--------------
3. (SBU) Conference organizers made a considerable effort to ensure
Tutsi involvement among the 20 leaders designated for the conference
(see para 8 below for full list) and to ensure ethnic balance, but
no ethnic group is likely to be satisfied with its representation.
The most important positions within the conference are the so-called
Executive Board ("Bureau" in French) with seven members, of whom two
are Tutsi; the "Committee of Experts" ("Commission des Sages"),with
seven members, of whom two are Tutsi; and the "Panel of Moderators,"
of which three are Tutsi. The four Tutsis in the first two bodies
are close to Nkunda, while the three Tutsi moderators include RCD
head Azarias Ruberwa and two of his Banyamulenge allies from South
Kivu. Hutus received relatively little representation.
4. (SBU) A 10-person delegation from Nkunda's party CNDP attended
the opening session and was seated not in the principal conference
room into which 400 attendees were squeezed, but in an ancillary
hall where the speeches were televised. Getting the CNDP delegation
into the conference was the last major hurdle that MONUC had to
confront, working till late the previous night. The CNDP insisted
that MONUC provide its security, while MONUC insisted that security
for the CNDP team was a government function (Note: MONUC wished to
avoid being accused of being soft on Nkunda). In the end, MONUC
acquiesced.
5. (SBU) After long prayers, there were four speeches. The
Governor of North Kivu (a Nande from the "Grand Nord") opened with a
short address, sticking to platitudes, refraining from his normal
invective against Nkunda and merely condemning of "all those who
wreak havoc on innocent citizens." The conference president,
Apollinaire Malu Malu (also a Nande),a Catholic priest who heads
the Congo's Independent Electoral Commission, reviewed what he
described as the organizers' considerable efforts to visit and
include all sections of the Kivus (they had, he said, only failed to
visit Masisi Territory). The mission of the Conference was not to
have a talk fest, nor to usurp powers of the executive, legislature,
or judiciary as enshrined in the Constitution and the election of
2006, but to find a practical, reconciliatory way forward out of the
conflicts that beset the Kivus, to instill a culture of peace
instead of violence and to strengthen democracy.
Swing's Swan Song
--------------
6. (SBU) SRSG William Swing, in his last public address in Congo
(he departs the DRC January 8 at the end of his mandate),emphasized
how far the country had come in the past five years, "miraculously
and irreversibly far." The conference had an historic
responsibility to get rid of deep-rooted stereotypes and consolidate
the remarkable progress that had been made; the international
community would continue to give Congo its full encouragement.
Kabila's speech, delivered by the Minister of Interior, emphasized
that the conference must work to enhance the strength of the state
and rule of law. Forces operating outside the state must be
demobilized and integrated into the army, as called for in the
Nairobi communique. Congo was a country of diverse ethnicities;
protection of minorities was a fundamental requirement. Congo was a
KINSHASA 00000008 002 OF 002
country of great natural wealth; pillage of its natural resources
had to be stopped. Congo was surrounded by nine neighbors and would
pursue peaceful existence with all of them. There were high
expectations of this conference which, if it did its work well,
could go far toward ensuring durable peace.
7. (SBU) The conference is scheduled to work in plenary January 7
(covering accreditation and technical matters),have simultaneous
workshops for North and South Kivu January 8, move to separate
workshops for North and South Kivu January 9-11, reconvene in
simultaneous workshops January 12 and a plenary January 13, and
close on January 14.
List of Conference Officers
--------------
8. Principal leadership positions in the conference (with
ethnicities to be confirmed):
Executive Board:
-- President: Fr. Apollinaire Malu Malu (Nande, Grand
Nord)
-- First Vice President: Senator (Monseigneur) Jean-Luc
Kuye Ndondo (Mushi, S. Kivu)
-- Second Vice President: Emmanuel Kamanzi (Tutsi, Goma)
-- General Rapporteur: Hon. Sekimonyo wa Magungu (Hutu,
Rutshuru)
-- First Assistant Rapporteur: Boniface Balamage Nkolo
(Mushi, S. Kivu)
-- Second Assistant Rapporteur: Azil Tanzi (Tutsi,
Orientale)
-- Questeur: Hangi Binini (Hunde, Masisi)
-- Assistant Questeur: Benjamin Mukulungu (Mushi, S. Kivu)
Committee of Experts:
-- President and Spokesman: Hon. Vital Kamerhe (Mushi, S.
Kivu)
-- First Vice President: Denis Ntare Semadwinga (Tutsi, N.
Kivu)
-- Second Vice President: Pardonne Kaliba (Mushi, S. Kivu)
Rapporteur: Basengezi Katintima (Mushi, S. Kivu)
-- First Assistant Rapporteur: Safi Adili (Tutsi, N. Kivu)
-- Second Assistant Rapporteur: Pasteur Mushunganya Nene
(Mushi, S. Kivu)
-- Third Assistant Rapporteur: Philemon Balinabo (Hunde,
Masisi)
Moderators:
-- Fr. Apollinaire Malu Malu (see also Bureau)
-- Azarias Ruberwa Manyua (Tutsi Banyamulenge, S. Kivu)
-- Vital Kamerhe (see also Committee of Experts)
-- Foreign Minister Antipas Mbusa Nyamwisi (Nande, Grand
Nord)
-- Mashako Mamba (Hutu, Rutshuru)
-- Jean Kevin Jemsi Mulengwa (Mushi, S. Kivu)
-- Joseph Gwamuhanya (Tutsi Banyamulenge, S. Kivu)
-- Bizima Karaha (Tutsi Banyamulenge, S. Kivu)
Garvelink