ANGOLA SEEKS STABILITY IN DRC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LUANDA 000760

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/16/2029
TAGS: PREL MARR MOPS AO CG
SUBJECT: ANGOLA SEEKS STABILITY IN DRC

REF: A. KINSHASA 1084

B. LUANDA 747 AND PREVIOUS

(U) Classified by Ambassador Dan Mozena, Reasons 1.4 (b) and
(d).


1. (C) Summary. In a series of meetings with AFRICOM Deputy
Commander Ambassador Tony Holmes, Angola's top defense
decision-makers were categorical: the GRA's primary objective
in the DRC is stability, and Angola has nothing to do with
ongoing security incidents in Congo's Equateur province (Ref
A). In conversations with Holmes, Angolan defense officials
expressed concern about President Kabila and his entourage
and worried that poor Congolese military leadership negated
Angolan military training efforts in DRC. They made clear,
however, that the primary irritant in the relationship - the
issue of illegal immigration and recent reciprocal expulsions
(Ref B) - is being resolved through diplomatic means.
Interestingly, potential disputes over maritime boundaries
did not figure in the concerns raised during Holmes's
meetings. Based on what we know at this point, we are
inclined to take the GRA at its word; Angola has much to
lose, and little to gain, by whipping up rebellion in its
neighbor's backyard, which would undercut the stability in
DRC it seeks. End Summary.


2. (C) In a series of meetings with AFRICOM's Ambassador Tony
Holmes December 15-16, Angolan defense officials made clear
that the GRA's top priority in the DRC is stability. Acting
Defense Minister Gaspar Rufino told Holmes on December 16
that Angola was concerned about the current situation in the
DRC and noted that "instability in Congo affects all of us."
On December 15, the Chief of Staff of the Angolan Armed
Forces (Forcas Armadas Angolanas - FAA) General Francisco
Furtado similarly emphasized the importance the Angolan
military attaches to stability in its northern neighbor.


3. (C) Both Rufino and Furtado dismissed out of hand any
suggestion that Angola was involved in the recent, murky,
happenings in the Dongo region in Equateur province. Furtado
opined that the troubles in Equateur province were tribal in
nature and noted that "some see a connection with other
forces within the Republic of Congo." While Equateur was
"far from our border," Furtado said Angola is following
developments there closely. The Angolan defense
establishment, he said, is particularly worried as Equateur
is flaring up just as pacification is beginning to take hold
in the East. The FAA had had some early reports of FARDC
action in Dongo, the death of one FARDC officer there, and
the possible capture by rebels of a GRDC vessel carrying
military supplies. Furtado thought the involvement of former
FARDC soldiers trained by Angola highly unlikely, as the
units trained by the Angolan military mission had not been
assigned to the region.


4. (C) While the Angolans may be frustrated with Kinshasa,
our interlocutors gave no indication that the GRA had decided
to withdraw support from Kabila. Over dinner with Ambassador
Holmes, Vice Minister of Defense Agostinho Nelumba "Sanjar"
did complain that Kabila is heavily influenced by
"Mobutu-ists." (Note: Not a compliment in an Angolan
context.) Sanjar also observed that Congo's weak executive
left Kabila overly dependent on the Mobutu-ists in the
Congolese parliament.


5. (C) Furtado expressed disappointment with the results of
the Angolan military training mission in Congo. Angola had
trained three brigades at a base in Kitona in western DRC and
was working with a fourth. The FAA had also trained a
commando battalion in Angola in 2004, the last time any
Congolese soldiers were trained in Angola. All told, Angola
had instructed some 14,000 FARDC soldiers, Furtado said.
However, much of this effort seemed for naught as poor
Congolese leadership and endemic FARDC logistical, pay, and
morale issues sapped the strength of Angolan-trained units
almost immediately. Furtado complained that that FARDC units
essentially disintegrated within months of training, and some
FARDC soldiers returned to factional forces as soon as the
training was completed. Of three companies of the commando
battalion, for example, the FARDC could only currently
account for one.


6. (C) Defense officials insisted to Ambassador Holmes that
from the Angolan perspective the key bilateral issue between
DRC and Angola was illegal immigration and the recent
tit-for-tat round of expulsions from both countries. As do
all official Angolans, acting Defense Minister Rufino drew a
clear distinction between Angola's "justified" expulsion of
illegal immigrants and the DRC's "retaliation" against

LUANDA 00000760 002 OF 002


long-time Angolan residents in DRC. As Rufino put it to
Holmes, "Angola doesn't expel, we repatriate." Furtado spoke
to Holmes at length about the threat represented by illegal
DRC immigrants in Angola's diamond mining regions and
highlighted the vital role the diamonds smuggled from the
same region played in keeping UNITA afloat during the civil
war. Rufino and Furtado both stressed, however, that the
tensions over immigration and expulsion were being resolved
through diplomatic means. Furtado noted that the Angola-DRC
binational commission was meeting the same day to take up the
issue. (Note: The FAA's intelligence chief, who attended the
December 16 meeting with Holmes, was wearing a pass for the
talks, which suggests that the Angolan's are sending some of
the right people to participate.)


7. (C) Comment. Angola has a long and tangled involvement
with the DRC. However, based on what we know at this point,
we are inclined to believe the Angolans when they say they
want stability in the DRC. Among Angola's primary security
objectives are ending the flow of illegal immigrants from the
DRC into the diamond mining provinces of Lunda Norte and
Lunda Sul and keeping unrest from infecting its sensitive
Cabinda province and other border areas; neither are served
by stirring up the pot in Equateur or creating further
instability in the DRC. Interestingly, neither Furtado nor
Rufino cited maritime boundaries disputes with DRC - which
could potentially impact Angola's rich offshore oil fields -
as a significant security concern. End Comment.
MOZENA