RWANDAN PM DESCRIBES IMPROVING RWANDA-DRC TIES,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KIGALI 000634 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/7/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV KPAO PHUM ECON EAID CG RW SUBJECT: RWANDAN PM DESCRIBES IMPROVING RWANDA-DRC TIES, DEFENDS RECORD ON MEDIA FREEDOM REF: A. KIGALI 536 ¶B. KIGALI 505 ¶C. KIGALI 631 KIGALI 00000634 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: CDA Anne Casper for reasons 1.4 (b) (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: On September 30, Rwanda's prime minister confirmed plans for Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to exchange ambassadors in the very near future and said Rwanda sought to strengthen its economic partnership with both the DRC and with countries belonging to the East African Community (EAC). He also defended the GOR's record on media freedom, describing the situation as much improved since the 1994 genocide. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) CDA and polcouns met on September 30 with Rwandan Prime Minister Bernard Makuza, in his office. His personal assistant, Christine Hategekimana, attended as notetaker. Regional Issues -------------- ¶3. (C) Acknowledging CDA's expression of USG support for Rwanda's improved relations with the DRC, Makuza said that for many years, the Government of the DRC (GDRC) had tolerated and cooperated with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) but last year, "their attitude changed," making it possible for the two countries to normalize relations. (Comment: He did not mention Rwanda's own history of intervention in the DRC, focusing instead on the GDRC's changed stance and the future. End Comment.) According to Makuza, Rwanda's ambassador-designate to the DRC will travel to Kinshasa in a week or two, and the first Rwandan diplomat had already arrived in Kinshasa to begin refurbishing Rwandan diplomatic facilities there. He added that the Government of Rwanda (GOR) will give the GDRC a building in Kigali for the GDRC to use as its own embassy; the DRC's ambassador-designate to Rwanda has not yet arrived. Makuza said Rwanda was also looking to strengthen its economic partnership with the DRC, by cooperating on a joint venture to exploit methane gas in Lake Kivu (Ref A) as well as by reinvigorating the Economic Community of Great Lakes Countries (CEPGL),which encompasses cooperation on energy, agricultural techniques and some banking between Rwanda, Burundi and the DRC. Broadening the scope, Makuza noted that Rwanda was also keen to integrate more closely with fellow members of the East African Community (EAC),a regional organization that Rwanda joined only a year ago and currently chairs. Media Freedom -------------- ¶4. (C) Regarding media freedom in Rwanda, "an issue many Westerners misunderstand," Makuza said that in 1994--the year of the genocide--Rwanda had five to seven newspapers, which were "sectarian" in nature, and only two radio stations, one being the infamous RTLM. Today, he claimed, Rwanda has 67 registered newspapers, 16 private and five public radio stations. Rwandan President Paul Kagame held monthly press conferences that sometimes lasted for hours, he argued, ministers faced questioning in parliament, and senior officials regularly appeared on "hard talk" shows broadcast by radio on weekends. (Note: Post believes the figure of 67 registered newspapers includes all those available in Rwanda, not necessarily those printed here. In Kigali, the one prominent daily is the English-language, pro-government New Times. The next best-known papers are several in Kinyarwanda that appear only weekly or irregularly; numerous regional Qthat appear only weekly or irregularly; numerous regional newspapers and magazines are available in bookstores and offices. Presidential news conferences, often live, are a forum for journalists to ask wide-ranging questions; however, attendance is by invitation and VOA's Kinyarwanda-language radio service as well as the newspapers Umuseso and Umuvugizi are excluded. Finally, the "hard talk" radio shows, which are broadcast on state-run Radio Rwanda on Sundays, are often used to inform the public, but do sometimes feature controversial questions. End Note.) The real problem, Makuza declared, was journalists' "lack of professionalism." We are not like America or Europe, where there are trained journalists, he continued, so "we see it as our responsibility to train them." The GOR tolerated journalists and allowed them to print the most scandalous stories, "even when they break the law." CDA praised the GOR for not having suspended Umuseso, despite the Media High Council's recommendation in August to do so following publication of a controversial article (Ref B),to which Makuza said "This is KIGALI 00000634 002.2 OF 002 a question for the Media High Council, not the government." (Note: The laws that apply or potentially apply to the media are extensive and sometimes ill-defined, such as a prohibition on insulting the head of state. Also, according to recently-passed legislation, the Media High Council now has the authority to suspend media. Previously, it could only make recommendations to the Ministry of Information. End Note.) Development, Governance -------------- ¶5. (C) Following the 1994 genocide, Makuza explained, the country was at "ground zero." Until about 2000, the GOR's primary focus was on security, stability, and building state institutions. Since that time, the GOR has focused more on economics, he continued, and over the past two years has seen tangible results from its reforms, reflected in 11 percent GDP growth in 2008 and a projected 5 percent growth for 2009. The GOR is moving forward with plans to decentralize public services and administration, in order to better connect people with their government and make it more responsive to their needs. People are increasingly giving feedback to government officials, Makuza claimed. Rwanda's successes were due to the strong, clear vision provided by Kagame--"He has taught us that nothing is impossible"--and the country's ultimate goal was to graduate from a "developing" to a "developed" country. (Comment: While Rwandan society and political culture have long been characterized by deference to authority, Makuza's message is that the decentralization program is intended to empower and better connect the average citizen to government. Post will explore the extent to which this process is successfully encouraging feedback in future reporting. End Comment.) Succession -------------- ¶6. (C) In describing his own role, Makuza said that his main job was to coordinate executive branch activities and organize periodic cabinet meetings. Kagame generally chaired these meetings himself, though he usually arrived later in the day and often posed questions that had been addressed earlier or were not even on the meeting agenda. Makuza added that, per the Rwandan constitution, whenever the president was temporarily out of the country the prime minister assumed his duties, but that if "anything happened" to the president, then the president of the senate would run the government until it could organize new elections. COMMENT -------------- ¶7. (C) In this courtesy call, Prime Minister Makuza highlighted Rwanda's recent successes and focused on the future, from better relations with the DRC to improved governance and economic development. His comments about the media, and his assertion that journalists' lack of training is the crux of the problem, reflect GOR perception and sensitivity to Western criticism of Rwanda over this issue. While his explanation of presidential succession was unexpected as this is a relatively taboo subject, Makuza's apparent intent was to highlight the GOR's adherence to Rwanda's constitution and rule of law. With presidential elections set for August 2010, and given the experience of 2008's less-than-perfect legislative elections (Ref C),the GOR will have an opportunity to demonstrate this in practice. END COMMENT. CASPER