CNDP DENIES TARGETING CIVILIANS IN KIWANJA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KINSHASA 000998

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL MOPS KPKO CG
SUBJECT: CNDP DENIES TARGETING CIVILIANS IN KIWANJA
AND ACCUSES FARDC AND ALLIES OF ATROCITIES IN
NOVEMBER 10 PRESS STATEMENT


1. (U) Post received a scanned copy of the November 10 press
statement from CNDP Political Leadership Executive Secretary
Deogratias Nzabirinda. In the letter, Nzabirinda categorically
denied all allegations of CNDP-authored civilian assassinations at
Kiwanja. The CNDP accused FARDC, in collaboration with FDLR and
PARECO Mai Mai, of targeted killings of civilians in Kiwanja on
November 5 in retaliation for cooperation with CNDP during the
latter's occupation of the town on November 2.


2. (U) The CNDP denounced what it labels a "defamation" campaign
carried out against it by the Governor of North Kivu, Julien Paluku.
The statement also accused the FARDC of sowing panic in Kibati IDP
camp on November 9 in order to facilitate the looting of the camp
and criticized the international community's preoccupation with
alleged CNDP actions while refraining from criticizing FARDC
activities.


3. (U) The following is an unofficial embassy translation of the
press statement.

Begin unofficial embassy translation:

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
NATIONAL CONGRESS FOR THE DEFENSE OF THE PEOPLE

PRESS RELEASE

The Political Leadership of the CNDP submits the following statement
for public opinion:


1. On Wednesday, November 5, 2008, several people from the
FARDC-FDLR/PARECO-MAY MAY governmental coalition, most of them
dressed in civilian clothes and bearing the traditional so-called
bullet-proofing amulets, entered the city of Kiwanja, on the
outskirts of Rutshuru - Center. They started to physically
eliminate civilians that they accused of complicity with the CNDP in
the fall of the city on the previous Sunday. The CNDP political
leadership has just sent Mr. Serge Kambasu Kiwanja Ngeve, Deputy
Executive Secretary of the movement, to give our support and comfort
to the population. The CNDP calls for a Joint Investigation
Commission including the inter-community organization "Baraza
Wazeer," provincial civil society, MONUC and CNDP to determine
responsibilities for the Kiwanja tragedy.


2. The CNDP notes that a smear campaign is orchestrated against it
which has all the appearances of a conspiracy to tarnish its image.
It is meant to make it look like the killings that took place in the
city were its deeds. In fact, the provincial governor rushed to
announce this on the media before the CNDP was even back in Kiwanja.
Because he was still thinking of the grim scenario produced by him
and FARDC officers in the city of Goma on Wednesday, October 29,
2008, and he knew that the same scenario would be replayed in
Kiwanja: indeed, in their rout, government troops had put the city
through blood and fire, had murdered six times more people than in
Kiwanja, had raped women, girls and Pallottine religious women,
hoping that the CNDP would enter the city and be blamed. This
cynical plan failed because the CNDP refrained from entering Goma.
But a conspiracy of silence obscured the cries and tears of the
people of Goma the next day, because no media, no authority, no
chancery spoke of it anymore. "Go FARDC, your sins are forgiven,"
seems to be the watchword agreed to by the humanitarian-diplomatic
world and media swarming in Goma to the point where you get
vertigo.


3. Again, last Sunday, November 9, 2008, the government army
entered the Kibati displaced persons camp, on the outskirts of Goma,
and fired in the air for several hours, making it look like fighting
with CNDP had resumed. In fact, the FARDC had fired to make the
population panic, before completely looting the camp and escaping
with the loot. On Monday morning, radio silence prevailed among
humanitarians as well as in MONUC, in the media or in the Goma
chancery annexes. It was apparently preferable to comment on CNDP
action near Ngungu, presented as an attempt by the CNDP to enter
South Kivu, when it was merely reclaiming cows stolen from the
population in the FDLR/PARECO militia's raid.


4. The CNDP thus denies most categorically the biased and
defamatory allegations of targeted assassinations recently imputed
by an arsonist masquerading as a firefighter. A little more than
three months ago, in fact, Mr. Julien Paluku, Governor of the North
Kivu Province was questioned, along with (North Kivu Provincial)
Deputy Kenda Kenda and (National Deputy from North Kivu) Barihima
about the distribution of firearms for self-defense, specifically to
the youth of Kiwanja and of the Buramba community. This is where

KINSHASA 00000998 002 OF 002


the origin of the Kiwanja tragedy may be found, which was fated with
infiltration into the city of hundreds of FARDC-FDLR/PARECO guided
by local Mai Mai.

For the political leadership of CNDP

NZABIRINDA Deogratias
Executive Secretary

End unofficial embassy translation.

BROCK