KABILA PRESS CONFERENCE FOCUSES ON EASTERN DRC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KINSHASA 000105 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL MOPS ECON KPKO CG SUBJECT: KABILA PRESS CONFERENCE FOCUSES ON EASTERN DRC AND ECONOMIC SITUATION Ref: Kinshasa 98 Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) DRC President Joseph Kabila held a press conference January 31, addressing questions on the situation in the East and on the state of the economy in the DRC. Kabila defended his decision to allow Rwandan troops into the DRC to pursue FDLR combatants, stressing that both Ugandan and Rwandan troops would leave the DRC by the end of February. The GDRC, according to Kabila, wanted CNDP leader Laurent NKUNDA extradited to the DRC. Regarding the fate of Bosco Ntaganda, for whom the ICC has issued an arrest warrant, Kabila stated that, if the choice was between restoring peace and stability now and heeding far-in-the-future international justice, the GDRC would chose the former. Kabila acknowledged slow progress on achieving the "Cinq Chantiers," the GDRC's five priority areas for development. The DRC economy, according to Kabila, would withstand the global drop in commodity prices, but it needed to better diversify its economy. On the eve of the press conference, Kabila filled several key, vacant positions at the Presidency, including Presidential Chief of Staff. The various appointments were not unexpected and reflected a careful balancing of ethnic interests, as well as increased influence for Katanga Province within the Presidency. End Summary. Situation in the East -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Kabila rejected allegations that the DRC allowed Rwandan troops into eastern Congo as a result of international pressure. Stressing that it had been a difficult decision, Kabila said that this approach was necessary to confront the problems caused by armed groups, especially the FDLR and CNDP. ¶3. (SBU) Regarding a timetable for the DRC-Rwandan military operations in North Kivu, Kabila said that the two governments would assess the progress of this joint effort on February 10. He added that operations would be extended until late February, if they had not yet produced significant results. According to Kabila, the joint operations had enabled the FARDC to occupy positions formerly held by CNDP; it had facilitated the return of IDPs to their homes; and it had helped to restore government authority in the region. DRC-Ugandan operations against the LRA would also terminate by the end of February. ¶4. (SBU) Kabila stated that the GDRC would accelerate the integration of the CNDP, PARECO and other North Kivu armed groups into the FARDC. These groups will be trained (not necessarily in North Kivu) and redeployed to other provinces. A FARDC office, charged with overseeing the military integration, will ensure that all integrated combatants possess DRC citizenship. ¶5. (SBU) Noting that there are less than 5,000 FDLR troops operating in the Kivus, Kabila dispelled fears that the Rwandan army might get bogged down in the region. He maintained that over 1,200 Rwandan Hutu combatants are willing to voluntarily repatriate and called on the international community to support the repatriation of Rwandan Hutu combatants. Nkunda and Bosco -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Kabila asserted that the GDRC had begun political and diplomatic efforts to effect the extradition of CNDP leader Laurent Nkunda from Rwanda. He denied that the GoR had arrested NKUNDA in Rwanda as a quid pro quo to allow the RDF to hunt down FDLR militias on Congolese soil. Kabila emphasized that the GDRC would not hand over CNDP renegade leader Bosco Ntaganda to the International Criminal Court, which has an arrest warrant for him. In Kabila's view, the pressing need to restore peace and stability to Eastern DRC was more important than responding to international justice, which might in any case be protracted. ¶7. (SBU) Kabila emphasized that the restoration of peace to Eastern DRC also depended on dismantling "mafia-like" groups that use or manipulate armed groups to promote their own private agendas. He stated that these "puppet masters" operating in Kinshasa and in the East must be eradicated at all costs. ¶8. (SBU) Referring to "international plans" to share the DRC's mineral wealth with Rwanda in the context of a regional common market, Kabila stressed that the DRC is a sovereign and independent KINSHASA 00000105 002.2 OF 002 country whose "policies were not crafted in Western capitals." Any regional trade agreement, he added, must be developed within the framework of the Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries (CEPGL). Economic situation -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Kabila said that the GDRC is gradually implementing its five priority areas (Cinq Chantiers in French) to rebuild and develop the DRC, although the slow pace was frustrating. In 2009, Chinese companies will fund $750 million in infrastructure construction. One billion dollars will be made available in 2010 and $750 million will fund projects in 2011. According to Kabila, logistical problems have prevented the implementation of reconstruction work in provincial areas. ¶10. (SBU) Kabila expressed confidence that the global drop in raw material prices would not seriously affect the implementation of the government's five development priorities. The DRC needed to diversify its economy to withstand the global economic crisis. The DRC should concentrate more effort on developing its agricultural sector. ¶11. (SBU) Kabila urged Congolese to "invest in local production" and reduce foreign import dependency to stabilize Congo's weakening currency. He announced that the government would adopt an action plan to address the effects of the global economic crisis at the next cabinet meeting. Kabila ames Chief of Staff, Other Cabinet Changes -------------- -------------- ¶12. (SBU) On the eve of the press conference, Kabila named former Minister for Parliamentary Relations Adolphe Lumanu Mulenda (biographical note at paragraph 13) as Chief of Staff. Lumanu replaces Raymond Tshibanda, now Minister of International and Regional Cooperation. Current Deputy Chief of Staff Louise Mayuma Kasende was named Deputy for Political, Administrative, and Judicial Affairs. Henri Yav Mulang replaces Athanas Mukanya as Deputy Chief of Staff for Economic and Reconstruction Affairs. Former Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Leonard Masu was named Presidential Counselor. Marcellin Chisambo is no longer a counselor on the presidential staff. Biographical Note on New Chief of Staff -------------- ¶13. (SBU) Adolphe Lumanu Mulenda, an ethnic Songye from East Kasai, was born in 1954. He received a PhD in Political Science from Lubumbashi University and served as a government counselor in several offices during the Mobutu era. During the Transition Government of 2003-2006, he served as Counselor to the Governor of East Kasai before becoming Vice Governor. He was elected as a national deputy from East Kasai in 2006 as a member of the Alliance for the Presidential Majority (AMP),and became Minister for Parliamentary Relations in November 2007. Comment -------------- ¶14. (SBU) Kabila's appearance is the latest in a series of public speeches clearly aimed at winning public opinion in the face of falling popularity. Kabila was under tremendous political pressure to establish a deadline for the withdrawal of Rwandan troops. However, we suspect that the deadline, both for Ugandan and Rwandan troops, may be fungible. ¶15. (SBU) The appointments in Kabila's presidential staff come as little surprise. Kabila has maintained the existing ethnic balance of his closest advisors, while subtly altering the geographic composition of the team. Lumanu is a Songye from East Kasai, replacing Tshibanda, also from East Kasai but an ethnic Luba. Mulang is a Lunda Katangan replacing Mukanya, a Luba Kasai. Chisambo and Masu are both Shi from South Kivu, but it is doubtful whether Masu will have the same influence Chisambo enjoyed. The geographic shift suggests increased Katangan influence. The center of gravity of presidential influence remains in the hands of Presidential Advisor Augustin Katumba, General John Numbi, Head of the Congolese National Police, and Jean-Claude Masangu, Governor of the Congolese National Bank.