PRETORIA DRC WATCHERS HOLDING ON

UNCLAS PRETORIA 000844 SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL CG RW SF SUBJECT: PRETORIA DRC WATCHERS HOLDING ON (U) Sensitive but Unclassified -- Please protect accordingly. ¶1. (SBU) Summary: South Africa's interest in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been eclipsed by domestic politics and more acute Southern African Development Community (SADC) emergencies, but it has not disappeared. The United Nations Organization Mission in the DRC (MONUC) maintains an active diplomatic presence in Pretoria, and its Head of Office recently paid a call on the Charge. The Department of Foreign Affairs provides training programs for Congolese diplomats. The Institute for Security Studies hosts periodic seminars featuring regional players. The DRC Embassy predicts greater South African Development Community engagement as the GDRC prepares to take on a SADC leadership role. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) On April 21, MONUC Pretoria Head of Office Mujahid Alem paid a courtesy call on Charge Helen La Lime. Providing background, Alem said MONUC initially opened in office in Pretoria at the request of former President Thabo Mbeki at a time when the Government of South Africa "was very active" in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) peace process. Alem said "Mbeki wanted to stay in close touch" with events in DRC. Alem said the MONUC Pretoria office remains open today primarily because of the numerous diplomatic missions present and because Pretoria is a medevac destination for MONUC personnel. Alem said that there are currently 14 MONUC personnel on medevac status in Pretoria. Alem said the situation in DRC had improved in the last 3-4 months, but he stressed that lasting improvements in DRC would require full-scale security sector reform. ¶3. (SBU) Department of Foreign Affairs Acting DRC Desk Warnich recently told DepPolCouns that South Africa is waiting for signs that the situation has changed significantly. Asked what the SAG considered those signs to be, Warnich said a Rwanda decision to extradite Nkunda to DRC would be a very good sign, adding that an even better sign would be the establishment of full diplomatic relations. Asked about South Africa's current role with regard to DRC, Warnich pointed to DFA's role in U.S.-supported trilateral cooperation. He noted that DFA is currently training Congolese diplomats in English and diplomatic tradecraft but did not have numbers of current participants in this program. ¶4. (SBU) DRC Embassy Pretoria Counselor Kiyoko L. Komba commented to DepPolCouns that a motivating factor in President Kabila's agreement to launch joint operations with Ugandan and Rwandan was his ambition to have Eastern DRC under control before assuming the presidency of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Komba remarked that former President Mbeki's active role in DRC was not always helpful, commenting that South Africa's present role is positive an appropriate. ¶5. (SBU) Periodic International Security Studies seminars provide Pretoria-based DRC watchers an opportunity for closer look and a chance to discuss the dramatic events unfolding in eastern DRC with key players, including Wilson Center Program Director Michel Kassa and GDRC DDR Chief Nzekani Zena. LA LIME