EASTERN DRC NOTES - APRIL 1: DRC SENATE COMMISSION

UNCLAS KINSHASA 000307 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL MOPS PHUM PREF KPKO CG SUBJECT: EASTERN DRC NOTES - APRIL 1: DRC SENATE COMMISSION DISCUSSES AMNESTY LAW ¶1. (U) The items contained in this report consist principally of spot information from various sources. This report is not exhaustive, nor can all the information contained therein be confirmed at this time. Amnesty Law -------------- ¶2. (U) The DRC Senate's Defense, Security and Border Controls Commission debated the draft amnesty law March 31. The Commission recommended that "acts of war" and "acts of insurrection" during the period June 2003 until promulgation of the law be considered eligible for amnesty. Genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes would not be eligible for amnesty. Several senators noted that the law should reflect the recommendations contained in the recently concluded GDRC-CNDP Agreement. Addressing a question about the status of Laurent Nkunda, Senator Jacques Djoli, Vice-Chairman of the Commission, said that, if Nkunda qualified under the law for amnesty, then it should be granted. However, Djoli underscored that it is the responsibility of the judicial branch to decide if amnesty is applicable in specific cases (Note: the National Assembly has already passed an Amnesty Law, but the Senate has not. Some - primarily from the CNDP camp, but not limited to that group - have advocated for a general amnesty law. End Note). Security Situation -------------- ¶3. (SBU) MONUC reported that the FRPI (Force de Resistance Patriotique en Ituri) captured the town of Tchey from the FARDC in recent days, also forcing the FARDC to withdraw from the nearby villages of Geti and Aveba. Like many Ituri armed groups, the FRPI was never integrated as intended into the FARDC, and they have established a lucrative logging and charcoal business in the forests near Tchey (Comment: With MONUC and the FARDC focused elsewhere, the FRPI and possibly other armed groups in Ituri could seize a chance to expand their operations. End Comment). ¶4. (SBU) Unpaid FARDC troops have been looting around Kelehe on the western shore of Lake Kivu. The MONUC base has provided some "administrative assistance" (often in the form of food) to the FARDC to mitigate their predations on the local populace. Outbreaks of looting among the FARDC have become increasingly common as the soldiers' anger over lack of pay increases. ¶5. (U) Government officials in Lubero Territory have complained that undisciplined soldiers perpetrated a series of lootings in various places in the territory over the past week. One official singled out elements of the FARDC's 2nd Brigade as particularly disruptive. ¶6. (SBU) MONUC reported that the FDLR abducted two people from the village of Lulibo, southeast of Hombo. Separately, a Polish priest working for the NGO Caritas was shot by unknown assailants on March 28 in the vicinity of Rutshuru. MONUC has recommended that NGO's working in the area request a MONUC armed escort. The priest was treated at a MONUC facility and released. Political Developments -------------- ¶7. (SBU) The GDRC will hold a ceremony on April 15 to commemorate formally the integration of all North Kivu armed groups into the FARDC. GDRC and MONUC sources state that armed groups who refuse to integrate by that date will be treated as "bandits" (Comment: We nevertheless deem it highly unlikely that all former fighters will, by a reasonable standard of assessment, truly be "integrated" by that date. End Comment). GARVELINK