UN ASKS FOR U.S. HELP TO AVERT INDIA'S TROOP

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 000381 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL UNSC IN CG SUBJECT: UN ASKS FOR U.S. HELP TO AVERT INDIA'S TROOP WITHDRAWAL FROM MONUC REF: DICARLO-CARTER TELECON -- 9 APRIL 2009 ¶1. (SBU) This is an action request. Please see paragraph 6. ¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY: DPKO U/SYG Le Roy and MONUC SRSG Doss have separately approached Ambassador DiCarlo to request U.S. assistance in pressuring both the DRC and India to reach an accommodation that would keep India from withdrawing its forces from MONUC. DPKO informs USUN that the Indian Charge today formally asked that the UN begin to withdraw the Indian forces. The Indian request reflects ongoing displeasure at a DRC letter to the SYG of last November, aggravated by subsequent official DRC commentary, making clear that Indian forces were no longer welcome in DRC. All efforts at patching up the incident have failed in light of Indian insistence that DRC retract the November letter. USUN recommends that Department communicate urgently at senior levels with the governments of India and DRC to impress on both that loss of the Indian forces would be catastrophic to MONUC's mission to keep the peace and protect civilians in war-ravaged DRC and that, accordingly, a deal must be brokered. END SUMMARY. ¶3. (SBU) UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) U/SYG Le Roy, A/SYG Edmond Mulet, and MONUC Special Representative of the Secretary-General Allan Doss have all approached USUN in recent days to say that India was about to make good on its threat to withdraw its troops and equipment from MONUC, the UN Peacekeeping Operation in DRC. These communications culminated in Le Roy's and Mulet's telephone calls to DiCarlo on April 9 in which they said that the Indian Charge has formally asked LeRoy in a personal meeting to begin to implement the withdrawal of India's forces from MONUC. (NOTE. India provides 4,267 of MONUC's 17,000 plus troops and 23 helicopters. India's threat to leave MONUC stems from a November 22 letter signed by DRC Foreign Minister Alexis Thambwe Mwamba to SYG Ban in which Thambwe asks the UN not to replace troops of a certain "origin" when they were due for rotation. In public comments, India alleges, Thawbwe left no doubt he had asked the UN to remove all Indian forces from MONUC. DPKO confirms to USUN that Thambwe contacted the UN in follow-up to his November 22 letter to state emphatically that DRC wanted the Indian troops out of MONUC. END NOTE.) ¶4. (SBU) On April 9, MONUC SRSG Allan Doss told Ambassador DiCarlo that DPKO U/SYG Le Roy was working to convince DRC President Kabila to write "a one-line letter" to the UN retracting its November 22 letter. Doss also said the retraction was a requirement from India for its troops to remain in MONUC. Doss suggested the U.S. join the UN in urging Kabila to send such a letter and in encouraging India to accept it as the basis for Indian forces to remain in MONUC. Doss noted FM Thambwe had "used up all his political capital" with Kabila in getting him to sign a draft letter praising the Indian troops in an earlier UN-orchestrated effort to resolve the impasse; that effort failed when India insisted on a retraction of the November letter. Doss said Kabila would be likely to acquiesce in signing a retraction letter only upon application of concerted UN and U.S. pressure. U/SYG Le Roy and A/SYG Mulet also asked, during their subsequent calls to Ambassador DiCarlo, that the U.S. weigh in. ¶5. (SBU) USUN's soundings of the Indian and DRC missions in New York track with DPKO's communications. DepPolCouns and PolOff confirmed with Indian Counselor Vikram Doraiswami on April 3 that the DRC's failure to retract the November 22 letter is the primary obstacle to India remaining in MONUC. Doraiswami said the Kabila letter was a welcome gesture of goodwill but not good enough to remove public pique in India over Thambwe's earlier insult. DRC Deputy PermRep Nduku Booto agreed in an April 8 conversation with DepPolCouns that the departure of the Indian forces and helicopters could be catastrophic. The DPR said that Kinshasa was aware India continued to demand a retraction and offered to pass along any USG idea about the form such a retraction might take. ¶6. (SBU) COMMENT AND ACTION REQUEST. MONUC's ability to implement its mandate will be dramatically reduced if India does withdraw its troops, especially if MONUC loses India's 23 helicopters. USUN suggests Department approach both governments at a senior level, urging Kinshasa to withdraw the November 22 letter and encourage New Delhi to accept the Kabila letter as the definitive expression of DRC views on the capacity of India's forces. If either or both approaches produce results, the problem would be solved. END COMMENT AND ACTION REQUEST. USUN NEW Y 00000381 002 OF 002 Rice