INDEPENDENT NEWS

Cablegate: San'egidio Could See Success

Published: Wed 2 Mar 2005 01:27 PM
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS KINSHASA 000356
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL KPKO CG RW
SUBJECT: SAN'EGIDIO COULD SEE SUCCESS
1. (SBU) Ambassador received a letter from President Kabila's
Ambassador-at-Large Antoine Ghonda informing him that on
March 6, the FDLR has agreed in principle to publicly agree
to renounce violence, denounce the Rwandan genocide, and
agree to disarm and voluntarily repatriate to Rwanda.
Informal Embassy translation of the letter follows.
March 1 2005
Information Concerning the DDRRR Program
(complimentary opening)
I have the honor of informing you that within the context of
implementing the peace accords signed between the Democratic
Republic of Congo and the Republic of Rwanda and conforming
to UN Security Council Resolution 1565 which gives the DRC
the responsibility to undertake a DDRRR Program, the
transitional government has initiated a series of demarches
to convince Rwandan armed groups to agree in principle to
disarm and voluntarily repatriate to their country of origin.
In this context, a second meeting is scheduled for March 6,
2005 in Rome, Italy between Congolese officials and a
delegation of military and political FDLR leaders under the
aegis of the Italian Community of San'Egidio.
During the course of the first meeting, organized in the same
city on February 4, 2005, the FDLR agreed, in principle, to
the following pre-conditions put forward by the Congolese
delegation:
1. The FDLR would renounce military options and commit itself
to continuing its fight in the political arena.
2. The FDLR would denounce the Rwandan genocide and its
authors, and commit itself to fighting genocidal ideology and
ethnic hatred.
3. Along similar lines, the FDLR would denounce the massacre
of Rwandans perpetrated by Rwandan troops in Congolese
territory.
4. The FDLR would accept participating in the repatriation
program of Rwandan refugees in the Congo.
In addition to these four pre-conditions, FDLR leaders added
other conditions, notably concerning security measures,
recovering debts owed to them, justice, political
recognition, humanitarian assistance for repatriated
refugees, political asylum for those not cited for crimes of
genocide, and the creation of a pilot program for DDRRR.
During the March 6 meeting, the FDLR is scheduled to sign a
public declaration supporting its acceptance of the four
pre-conditions previously mentioned, and its engagement in
persuading armed groups to return to Rwanda.
I would like to clarify that this demarche does not at all
modify other measures adopted in this sense by the
transitional government, notably the possibility of forcible
disarmament of recalcitrant armed groups.
(complimentary close)
2. Bujumbura minimize considered.
MEECE
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