RDF GENERAL EMPHASIZES REGIONAL STABILITY, URGES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KIGALI 000618

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/06/2019
TAGS: PREL MOPS PINS PINR KJUS CG RW
SUBJECT: RDF GENERAL EMPHASIZES REGIONAL STABILITY, URGES
USG ACTION AGAINST FDLR

REF: USUN 791

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Classified By: CDA Anne Casper for reasons 1.4 (b) (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: In a September 23 meeting, a senior Rwandan
military officer stressed that regional peace and stability,
especially with regard to the Democratic Republic of the
Congo (DRC),was in Rwanda's vital interest. He requested
USG action against U.S.-based supporters of the Democratic
Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR),an armed group
operating in eastern DRC. Other senior Rwandan officials
have made this same point in recent weeks. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) CDA and polcouns met on September 23 with Rwandan army
Brigadier General Jerome Ngendahimana, at the latter's
request, in his office at the Rwandan defense ministry.
There were no other participants. Tone of the meeting was
friendly.


3. (C) Ngendahimana, who until 2003 was the J-2 or
intelligence chief for the Democratic Forces for the
Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR),said he was currently serving as
Rwandan army chief Gen. James Kabarebe's military assistant
for intelligence and security. (Note: The FDLR is a Rwandan
politico-military group whose armed wing, perhaps 4000-6000
strong, operates in the DRC but whose political leaders live
in Europe and elsewhere. End Note.) After recounting his
own repatriation to Rwanda in 2003 (see para 6),Ngendahimana
explained that Rwanda needed peace and stability in
surrounding countries, especially the DRC, in order to secure
its own economic development and attract foreign investment.
Relations between Rwanda and the DRC have greatly improved,
he continued, noting his own role as the senior Rwandan
officer during the January-February 2009 combined
Rwandan-Congolese military campaign in the DRC against the
FDLR. "The Congolese population didn't trust us to leave"
the DRC, he said, "but now they trust us." Again emphasizing
the importance of economics, he urged USG support for
Economic Community of Great Lakes Countries (CEPGL),in order
to solidify the improved ties between Rwanda and the DRC.


4. (C) Turning more specifically to the FDLR, Ngendahimana
listed the reasons why many FDLR rank and file continue to
remain in the DRC, despite increased military pressure from
Rwandan, Congolese and UN forces. One reason, he said, was
simply "jobs." Many FDLR members lacked formal education or
were illiterate, and lacked the skills necessary to find
civilian employment. "Propaganda and ideology" was another,
as FDLR leaders indoctrinate the rank and file, restrict
their access to outside information, and instill hatred of
Tutsis and the Government of Rwanda (GOR). A third reason
was that for the past several years, "there has been no
military pressure, and the FDLR have gone into business" by
extracting the DRC's mineral wealth. Finally, he argued,
"the international community," specifically NGOs and members
of MONUC, had no interest in seeing the FDLR go away, as it
would mean those NGOs and MONUC would lose their raison
d'etre. Also, the "hard core" of FDLR leaders included many
who had participated in the 1994 genocide and would face
severe punishment were they to return to Rwanda. (Comment:
Rwandan officials have long accused MONUC, the UN and
international NGOs of bad faith, naivete or inefficiency. We
note that Ngendahimana omitted one other oft-cited reason,
Qnote that Ngendahimana omitted one other oft-cited reason,
namely, coercion by senior and mid-level FDLR leaders. End
Comment.)


5. (C) Continuing in the same vein, Ngendahimana said top
FDLR leaders and their families lived and worked unhindered
in Europe and the United States, and urged the USG to take
action against those on U.S. territory. When pressed for
specific details, he promised to check with the Rwandan
Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ascertain what information the
GOR had previously provided the USG. (Comment: It was
unclear to us whether he was referring to FDLR names the GOR
has previously submitted to us for the UN sanctions process,
or whether he had a different set of individuals in mind.
End Comment.)


6. (C) BIO NOTE: Ngendahimana is an ethnic Hutu, married with
three daughters, two sons, and three stepchildren. His wife,
a Hutu from the Gisenyi area, has been a member of parliament
since 2008 and has reportedly played an active role in
encouraging FDLR members to return to Rwanda. Ngendahimana,
describing his earlier career, said he was originally an
officer in the gendarmerie, and served as a company commander

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and then battalion commander near Ruhengeri during the
1990-94 war. In 1994 he entered the DRC with remnants of the
former government's armed forces and remained in the Kivus
for the duration, eventually achieving the rank of colonel,
as J-2 of FDLR, before he quit the DRC in 2003. Ngendahimana
said that between 1994 and 2003, he had had no communication
with his wife, who remained in Rwanda, but Kabarebe located
her and convinced her to travel to the DRC to encourage her
husband to switch sides and return to Rwanda. After hearing
her testimony and questioning her at length, he did indeed
return in 2003, escaping only by deceiving his fellow FDLR
cadres. In 2004, fully rehabilitated and given a house by
the GOR, he was promoted to brigadier general. Though he did
not mention it, Ngendahimana was also a member of the GOR's
own "Mucyo Commission," which investigated and reported on
France's role in the 1994 genocide.


7. (C) COMMENT: Ngendahimana's emphasis on economics, and his
statement that Rwanda needs peace and stability in the region
in order to prosper, echo what other senior GOR officials
have been saying in recent months. Consistent with our own
assessment, he did not depict the FDLR's military wing in the
DRC as a significant or immediate threat to Rwanda. His call
for action against FDLR political cadres and other "negative
forces" living outside Rwanda reflects the strong influence
FDLR leaders wield over the rank and file in the bush. Other
GOR officials have delivered this same message in recent
weeks (reftel). Post will review the status of our
information exchange with the GOR on FDLR sanctions, in
response to and anticipation of this. END COMMENT.
CASPER