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