BELGIUM: GOB RESPONSE TO URGENT MONUC DEMARCHE

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRUSSELS 000289 SIPDIS STATE PASS AF/C CHRISTOPHER LAMORA AND IO/PSC HEATHER VON BEHREN E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/03/2019 TAGS: KPKO PREL PHUM UNSC CG BE SUBJECT: BELGIUM: GOB RESPONSE TO URGENT MONUC DEMARCHE REF: SECSTATE 18863 Classified By: A/DCM Richard Eason for reasons 1.4(b) and (d). ¶1. (C) On March 2, PolOff and PolIntern delivered Reftel points regarding the threat of Indian troop withdrawal from MONUC. Contacts noted that they had received similar information from the Belgian mission to the UN. In fact, they had learned that the DPKO had communicated to multiple UN missions, and that the Indians were displeased when they learned of the effort. The GOB shared US concerns that an Indian withdrawal would have drastic humanitarian and security implications, but chose to wait to obtain more information before approaching the Congolese. An MFA contact notified us March 3 that the Belgian's had learned from New York and Kinshasa that UNSYG Ban Ki-Moon had made an unambiguous representation on this issue to President Kabila over the weekend. They said President Kabila had agreed to make a small gesture, either by making a statement or sending his Foreign Minister to New Delhi, to convince the Indians they are still welcome and that their effort in the DRC is appreciated. After receiving this information, the GOB decided that no urgent demarche was necessary. ¶2. (C) Our contacts noted that Belgium has been pleading for a dialogue between the UN and MONUC-contributing nations on the new mandate and expectations, but Belgium feels that no good communication had been achieved. The MFA speculates that MONUC's new rules of engagement may play a role in India's threat to withdraw. They want to figure out whether India's pullout is really related to President Kabila's letter to the UN, or an underlying reluctance to expose troops to combat under the new MONUC mandate. BUSH .