DISCUSSION WITH A SENIOR MEMBER OF PARECO-HUTU

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KINSHASA 000429 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/30/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL MOPS PINR CG SUBJECT: DISCUSSION WITH A SENIOR MEMBER OF PARECO-HUTU REF: KINSHASA 409 KINSHASA 00000429 001.8 OF 002 Classified By: Ambassador William J. Garvelink for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: We recently met with a senior political advisor from PARECO-Hutu, who claimed that blocks of CNDP fighters are still outside the FARDC, most of whom are still loyal to Nkunda. Nkunda, he said, remains extremely popular among Tutsis and the "real CNDP." Many Hutus want closer ties with Tutsis, but complain that Kigali's efforts to facilitate this has not worked. There are serious tensions between the Hutu and Nande wings of PARECO, which Malu-Malu and Governor Paluku are trying to resolve. End summary. Integration -------------- ¶2. (C) We recently met with a senior PARECO-Hutu political advisor who maintained that many CNDP fighters have not integrated into the FARDC. They are spread throughout the Petit Nord in groups, he asserted, some consisting of several hundred fighters. He recently spoke with approximately 200 of these at Ngungu (located in southern Masisi). He estimates that in total, 1,000-1,500 CNDP elements remain outside the integration process. Internal CNDP Tensions -------------- ¶3. (C) In the advisor's view, most of these non-integrated fighters are Nkunda loyalists. They hope Rwanda will release Nkunda so they can continue their "mission" under his leadership. Many in the wider Tutsi community feel the same way. There is a significant group of people who do not like Bosco Ntaganda or the new CNDP political leadership, such as Desire Kamanzi, whom they view as Rwandan front-men. Some of the troops, however, obey Bosco because he wields power. This group still looks to the CNDP old guard, including Rene Abandi and Bertrand Bisimwa, for guidance. Hutu-Tutsi Dynamics -------------- ¶4. (C) The advisor claimed that many Hutus, including himself, advocated a much closer relationship with the Tutsis in the Petit Nord, particularly those behind the "real CNDP" with whom they have been fighting on and off at least since ¶1994. He opined that former North Kivu Governor Eugene Serufuli made real progress in bringing these groups together under the RCD, but then Kigali drove them apart by creating the CNDP. Now Kigali, he said, wants to rebuild the "Rwandophonie," but it is dealing with the wrong people (Bosco and Serufuli). What it needs to do is facilitate a reconciliation between the "real protagonists," i.e., Nkunda and Mugabo (leader of PARECO-Hutu) and the communities they represent. Rwandan CHOD James Kaberebe has the moral authority to lead such an effort, according to the advisor. He claimed to have asked the UK to approach Kaberebe on this matter (Note: We understand that the UK is unlikely to act on this request. End note). Hutu-Nande Tensions -------------- ¶5. (C) The advisor claimed that there are serious tensions between the Hutu and Nande wings of PARECO. LaFontaine feels he has been left out of the process (reftel) and wants Mugabo and Museveni (another PARECO-Hutu leader) to use their new "privileged" positions to acquire for him and his officers command positions in the FARDC. Malu-Malu and Governor Paluku, both of whom are Nande, are urging PARECO-Hutu to be helpful, but so far to no avail. He asserted that LaFontaine is working with the FDLR in the Grand Nord, in part to put pressure on the FARDC to accept him. The leader of yet another PARECO faction -- one which we had not heard of before -- has also allegedly been left out of the integration process and is similarly working with the FDLR in Walikale. PARECO-Hunde under Janvier, by contrast, is on board and its fighters integrated into the FARDC. ¶6. (C) The advisor said that the Nande in general are becoming increasingly concerned about the Rwandophone agenda and the prospect of divided North Kivu. He asserted that many are selling their land in Rutshuru, fearing that if and when the province is divided, the Rwandophones will simply steal land. KINSHASA 00000429 002.2 OF 002 ¶7. (C) Comment: The Hutu-Tutsi and internal CNDP dynamics, which the advisor described are interesting as they suggest that the Rwandophone agenda may hit obstacles placed by those who in theory want the same thing, but in practice believe that Kigali is going about it the wrong way, particularly when Kigali does not want them to be in the lead. This tension could play into a deeper sense of unease on the part of some Congolese Rwandophones who resent Kigali's "outsider" attempts to dictate what happens in the Petit Nord. As for the advisor's accusation that other PARECO wings are collaborating with the FDLR, while it is difficult to know if this is true, it is nevertheless a plausible scenario given the groups' histories. It is also a troubling indicator of how non-Rwandophones may react to being excluded in the new political and military constellation in North Kivu. Since the Nande and other non-Rwandophone groups lack great fighting power on their own, the FDLR might conceivably be in a position to provide this for them. End comment. GARVELINK