UPDATE ON ANGOLAN RETURNEES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LUANDA 000747 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/10/2024 TAGS: PREF PREL PGOV PHUM AO SUBJECT: UPDATE ON ANGOLAN RETURNEES REF: A. A. LUANDA 673 ¶B. B. LUANDA 652 ¶C. C. LUANDA 649 ¶D. D. LUANDA 648 ¶E. E. LUANDA 645 ¶F. F. LUANDA 629 ¶G. G. LUANDA 633 ¶H. H. KINSHASA 957 (U) Classified by Ambassador Dan Mozena, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. A USAID assessment team visited Uige Province from 20 November to 4 December to assess the current conditions of reception camps and resettlement zones for the approximate 22,000 Angolans who have flooded back to Uige since the DRC began expelling them on 5 October (see reftels). The GRA and GDRC, through shuttle diplomacy, have stopped expulsions, but approximately 30-50 Angolans continue to cross the border every day into the province, increasing the GRA's burden. To date, approximately half of the 22,000 returnees in Uige have been relocated to their zones of origin, leaving almost 12,000 in camps. GRA officials are suspicious of some international organizations operating in the area, as well as returnees themselves, especially those who do not want to return to their zones of origin. The GRA is expected to issue an international appeal on 14 December. END SUMMARY. -------------- USAID TEAM ASSESSES CAMPS IN UIGE PROVINCE -------------- ¶2. (SBU) From 20 November to 4 December, a USAID team traveled to Uige Province to assess the current conditions of reception camps and resettlement zones for Angolans who have been expelled or voluntarily left the DRC since early October. Forced expulsions between the GRA and DRC have stopped, but approximately 30-50 Angolan returnees continue to cross into Uige province every day. Of the estimated 22,000 returnees who have entered Uige Province, more than half have left or been transferred by the government to their "zones of origin," leaving nearly 12,000 returnees still in camps. ¶3. (SBU) Camp officials, returnees, and NGOs provided information on a wide range of immediate and long-term needs. Recurrent themes included: inadequate food supplies as two of the three camps are experiencing food shortages and the next harvest is not expected for three more months; lack of kitchen kits, including pots and cooking implements; other deficient supplies of basic non-food items such as blankets, foam mattresses, water purification tablets, and mosquito nets; and shortages of agricultural tools and inputs as many of the returnees are farmers who plan on resettling in surrounding villages. ¶4. (SBU) The relocation process has been hamstrung in particular by the lack of government transport for returnees and collapse of local roads as the rainy season continues. Some returnees' relatives have either not been found, cannot afford to host returnees, or have rejected them due to bad relations. In other cases, entire zones of origins were abandoned during the civil war. Some of those who have been relocated also have ended up returning to camps because of poor living conditions in the villages. Most often, these returnees are not accepted back into the camps and turn to churches for help. -------------- REQUESTS MET WITH SUSPICION -------------- ¶5. (C) The GRA has been reluctant to transfer anyone to urban areas and has flatly refused to transfer anyone to Luanda. Educated returnees most want to relocate to urban areas, and in some cases have refused to declare their zone of origin, instead saying they did not know or that they no longer had family. Angolan officials have found this implausible and suspicious and have jumped to the conclusion that those who want to relocate to cities are either DRC nationals or UNITA members who committed atrocities in their zones of origins during the civil war. (Note: In October at the height of the cross-border crisis, UNITA President Isaias Samakuva told us he was worried that former UNITA members forcibly ejected from DRC could potentially be targets of GRA mistreatment; he did not cite specific examples.) ¶6. (C) Some camp officials were hesitant to provide any information to USAID officials about the returnees without permission from superiors because they were afraid of being punished. Apparently the provincial director of the Ministry LUANDA 00000747 002 OF 002 of Social Affairs and Reintegration (MINARS) and a camp administrator have been suspended for providing information returnees to unauthorized parties without approval. Katharina Schnoring (protect),Resident IOM Chief of Mission, told DCM that IOM and UN officials have also been held at arm's length by some camp personnel. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶7. (C) Post expects an international appeal on 14 December. We were encouraged during the early weeks of the crisis by the GRA's engagement with UN agencies and subsequently with NGOs. We hope that recent sour incidents between government authorities and international representatives do not portend a shift in the GRA's heretofore openness to engage with the international community. Meanwhile we await the substance of the anticipated December 14 appeal. MOZENA