SCENESETTER FOR AFRICOM DEPUTY COMMANDER YATES

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRUSSELS 000324

SIPDIS

STATE PASS AF/C, AF/RSA, AND EUR/WE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/20/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM SOCI MARR MOPS CG BE
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR AFRICOM DEPUTY COMMANDER YATES
TRIP TO BELGIUM

REF: BRUSSELS 314

Classified By: Political Economic Counselor Richard Eason for reasons 1
.4 (B) and (D).


1. (U) Deputy to the Commander of AFRICOM Yates, your trip to
Brussels comes at a time when the Belgian government is eager
for dialogue with the United States on Africa. Secretary of
State Clinton met with Foreign Minister De Gucht March 6, and
much of what De Gucht brought up centered on Africa. We hope
your visit can contribute to our efforts to promote
coordination with Belgium in areas where our interests and
approaches coincide. Belgium's main concern in Africa is the
Democratic Republic of Congo--Belgium's number one foreign
policy priority. The Belgians believe their history and
continued engagement with the DRC provides them with unique
insight into the region. The GOB wants a stable, secure and
peaceful Congo, and will work with the international
community, the GoDRC, neighboring African countries, and in
multilateral fora to achieve this aim. The Government of
Belgium (GOB) is also concerned with events in neighboring
countries that impact the DRC, including Rwanda, Burundi,
Sudan, and Uganda. Further afield, the Belgians have trained
Beninese peacekeepers and have development projects in a few
other countries.

Outcomes and Goals for Your Visit
--------------


2. (C) We hope your visit will help demystify AFRICOM for
those in the Belgian government who have been somewhat
critical or uncertain of its purpose, especially the MFA.
Please help our interlocutors understand the joint
civil-military nature of AFRICOM and the diversity of its
operations. We would also like to achieve an agreement
during your visit on areas of cooperation between AFRICOM and
the GOB. U.S. Embassy Brussels recommends the following
concrete program of engagement with Belgium on Africa: making
a U.S. contribution to Belgium's 2010 DASSA exercise in
Benin, Belgian participation in the Africa Partnership
Station in 2009, and an invitation to Belgium to send a
delegation to AFRICOM to discuss lessons learned in the
Congo. You could also ask the MFA about an outstanding
request to co-host an SSR meeting in Brussels, to which
AFRICOM would be invited. Our State colleagues have also
asked us to encourage the Belgians to push the DRC on real
institutional reform of the military, which is badly needed.


3. (C) We have arranged a wide variety of meetings for you to
provide a broader insight into Belgium's relations with the
Congo than you would obtain from the MFA and MOD alone. The
dinner will include academics, businessmen, as well as MFA
and MOD guests, that should contribute to a thoughtful
discussion from Belgians knowledgeable about Africa. The
lunch will include parliamentarians from several parties and
both language groups who are interested in Belgium's history
and policy in Africa. The NGO roundtable participants are
contacts recommended by those who work on Africa in Brussels
and include a mix of humanitarian and development
organizations.

Belgium's Goals in the Congo
--------------


4. (U) Belgium's new Ambassador in the Congo, former
Ambassador to the U.S., Dominique Struye, took up his post in
mid February, after an almost eight month freeze in Belgium's
diplomatic relations with the DRC, due to FM De Gucht's
strong criticism of DRC President Kabila in April, 2008.
Belgium's next priorities are reopening its consulates in
Bukavu and Lubumbashi, and restarting foreign assistance
coordination. The GOB is a driving force in the EU for
promoting European engagement with Africa.


5. (U) Belgium believes the Great Lakes Contact Group agenda
is moving forward smoothly. Belgium's stated objective for
the Congo is peace and stability, and the GOB views
restoration of the state's capacity to promote law and order
throughout the country as the best means to do so. However,
the GOB realizes corruption, lack of effective command and
control of the military, and the illicit export of mineral
resources are major obstacles to ending armed internal
conflict.


6. (U) The Belgians are involved in several activities they
see as important in the DRC. They believe the security
sector reform (SSR) program remains crucial in promoting
security, strengthening the army, and in police and justice

programs. Training rapid reaction forces is also a Belgian
priority. Belgium is looking at closer coordination with the
U.S. in these areas. Accordingly, Belgium wants to look at
ways forward on army reform, will make a push for
improvements in openness and transparency in customs
processes, and remains interested in the mineral resources
sector and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
(EITI).

Belgian Concerns
--------------


7. (U) Belgium is skeptical of what it perceives as some
partners' proposed "quick fixes" for the Congo, such as
certain French initiatives and what it sees as a U.S. tilt
toward military approaches. Inside the Belgian government
and in public opinion, the recent Rwandan-DRC and Ugandan
operations in the east of Congo were viewed very negatively,
and Belgians are deeply troubled by media reports of supposed
U.S. support of these operations. Belgium believes military
operations will result in unacceptable civilian casualties
and atrocities such as those reported in the aftermath of
last month's operation by Ugandan forces against the Lord's
Resistance Army. Acting A/S for African Affairs Phil Carter
shared views on these issues during his visit February 26
(reftel).


8. (U) Belgium will remain interested primarily in the DRC,
its periphery, and in assisting other countries in Africa to
improve its credibility on Congo issues. In Sudan for
instance, the MFA has allocated funds to train Sudanese
diplomats from the north and south. The GOB is skeptical
about self-determination for southern Sudan, and does not
believe it could be a viable entity. Belgium has provided
troops to the EU mission in Chad intended to protect refugees
from Darfur. Belgium is also contributing a frigate to
patrol the Somali coast starting in late 2009, and is
committed to the Task Force on Piracy.

Areas for Cooperation
--------------


9. (C) The Embassy has identified three main areas for
cooperation with Belgium on Africa. First, earlier this
year, the Belgians requested USG participation in the GOB's
Benin training mission by providing medical support to the
troops involved. This request was considered by AFRICOM but
response time was too short. The training mission is an
annual one and the request could be repeated for 2010. A
positive response would build U.S. - Belgian ties. Second,
we believe Belgium would be an excellent participant in the
Africa Partnership Station in 2009, providing trainers for
African militaries as do Germany, Portugal and some other
NATO allies. Third, AFRICOM could welcome a delegation of
Belgians to share lessons learned in the Congo. We are also
working on obtaining Belgian agreement to co-host an SSR
meeting with the GOB in Brussels, that we hope AFRICOM would
attend. Secretary Clinton and FM De Gucht discussed Congo in
detail March 6, and as a mission, we are looking for creative
ways to increase our cooperation to strengthen U.S. - Belgian
dialogue on Africa. Your meeting is an important part of
what we hope to be an expanding dialogue between our two
countries.
.