Cablegate: Tripartite Plus Ministerial Decisions

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PP RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHKI #0698/01 1721548
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 211548Z JUN 07
FM AMEMBASSY KINSHASA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6370
INFO RUEHXR/RWANDA COLLECTIVE
RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KINSHASA 000698

SIPDIS

SENSTIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL MARR KPKO CG
SUBJECT: TRIPARTITE PLUS MINISTERIAL DECISIONS

REF: KINSHASA 629

1. (SBU) Tripartite Plus Joint Commission ministerial and
sub-commission meetings took place in Lubumbashi June 5-7. In
addition to the communique issued on June 7 (reftel), the group
published a document formalizing the Ministerial Decisions (see para
3). The next Tripartite meeting will be held in Kampala September
15-17.

2. (SBU) The heads of the member delegations were:

Burundi - Antoinette Batumubwira, Minister of External Affairs and
International Cooperation
DRC - Antipas Mbusa Nyamwisi, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs
and International Cooperation
Rwanda - General Marcel Gatsinzi, Minister of Defense
Uganda - Ruth Nankabirwa, Minister of State for Defense

3. (U) The final text of the Ministerial Decisions follows:

//Begin Text//

Tripartite Plus Joint Commission
Ministerial Decisions
Lubumbashi, DRC
June 7, 2007

--Global Strategy aimed at eradicating the Threat posed by Negative
Forces

Political and Diplomatic Strategies

Member countries request the Government of the Democratic Republic
of the Congo to make a statement at the highest level asking the
Negative Forces to disarm, disengage, and leave its territory.

Member countries welcome the Government of Uganda's continued
engagement in the Peace Process in Juba, and continue to encourage
the Negative Forces to utilize the existing Beni Amnesty Commission
office, and call on the LRA to respect the cessation of hostilities
agreement and to assemble at Ri-Kwangba.

Member countries request the Government of Rwanda to continue to
publicize the welcome of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of
Rwanda (FDLR) returnees and related incentive packages as a way to
encourage more repatriation.

Member countries urge the leadership of the National Liberation
Front (FNL) to return to Bujumbura to complete implementation of the
peace process.

Member countries welcome the resumption of work of the Joint
Verification Monitoring Mechanism (JVMM) and recommend the return of
PALIPEHUTU FNL leader, Agathon Rwasa, to Burundi to implement the
Global Ceasefire Agreement signed September 7, 2006 in Dar es
Salaam.

Member countries agree to inform the public through media outlets
and other means to publicize the aforementioned positions of the
Tripartite Plus member countries.

Member countries agree to press MONUC to be more receptive to
negative groups prepared to undertake disarmament, demobilization,
reintegration, and repatriation.

Member countries agreed to issue a joint declaration as follows:

"The Tripartite Plus member countries reaffirmed their commitment to
political and military efforts aimed at eliminating the threat posed
by Negative Forces. These political efforts will include among
others denial of Negative Forces' safe haven, fundraising, movement
(including visas), and access to media including the leaders of
militias operating in eastern DRC. In this context:

- The Government of Burundi expresses its concerns given the noted
delay of the implementation of the Global Ceasefire Agreement with
the PALIPEHUTU FNL, and calls on its leader to return to Burundi to
accelerate and complete the peace process.

-The Government of the DRC reiterates that negative forces are
unwelcome in its territory, and urges that they disarm, disengage,
and return to their home countries. It encourages the leadership of
militias in Ituri and in North and South Kivu to engage in the
military integration process.

- The Government of Uganda affirms its continued engagement in the

KINSHASA 00000698 002 OF 003

Peace Process in Juba, and calls on the LRA to respect the cessation
of hostilities agreement and to assemble at Ri-Kwangba in Sudan. The
Government of Uganda continues to encourage the Negative Forces to
utilize the existing Amnesty Commission offices.

-The Government of Rwanda reiterates that it welcomes the return of
its citizens. Returnees will continue to enjoy the rights and
obligations that all other Rwandans enjoy, and Rwanda has put in
place incentives for repatriation. The Government of Rwanda noted
that it has received and reintegrated thousands of former members of
armed groups, including the FDLR, comprised of all ranks up to and
including their overall commanders.

Member countries urged media outlets and non-governmental
organizations to disseminate this information widely, especially to
areas where Negative Forces are present. MONUC's Radio Okapi, in
particular, should redouble efforts to disseminate programming to
encourage Negative Forces to return peacefully to their countries of
origin. All media organizations - domestic, regional, and
international - should avoid broadcasting interviews or other
content that gives voice to those promoting violence in the
region."

Military Strategies

Member states welcome the report of the Chiefs of Defense staff and
thank them for responding to the request at the March 16 Tripartite
Plus meeting to develop a list of available strategies for concerted
military action against the Negative Forces.

Member states reaffirm that any cross-border operations should
reflect full coordination, consensus, and respect for sovereignty
among member countries.

Member states applaud the Government of the Democratic Republic of
Congo for recent military actions against Negative Forces in North
Kivu, which are fully consistent with Scenario 1 as proposed by the
Chiefs of Defense Staff, and endorse the need for consideration of
alternative scenarios as presented by the Chiefs of Defense Staff
based on available intelligence.

Member states endorse the proposal for a follow-up meeting of Chiefs
of Defense Staff within two months in Kigali to review progress in
implementing Scenario 1 and to make recommendations to the Ministers
on further courses of action. At their meeting, the Chiefs of
Defense staffs are to (1) involve experts from the Defense and
Security Sub-Committee and (2) establish a joint planning cell to
develop operational plans based on intelligence from the Tripartite
Fusion Cell.

--Tripartite Plus Fusion Cell

Member countries welcome the U.S. Government decision to continue
funding of the TFC until March 2008.

Member countries approve in principle the transition to a virtual
Tripartite Plus Fusion Cell by March 2008, and with the retention of
mentors: one based in Kinshasa, and the other to rotate among the
other capitals.

Member countries will ensure that their intelligence agencies will
provide an improved flow of timely and accurate intelligence to
Focal Point Offices and to the TFC/Kisangani.

--Next steps for creating and acting upon a common List of "Most
Wanted"

Member states agreed that the Most Wanted List, once adopted, will
be subject to future changes as new information about target
individuals becomes available.

Member states agreed that:

-53 names submitted by Rwanda for the FDLR and RUD-URUNANA have to
date been vetted by the TFC and encountered no objections;

-Burundi and Congo confirm their lists but still withhold them in
view of the political evolution in their countries; nonetheless they
reserve the right to activate these lists at any time if progress is
insufficient;

-Uganda withdraws its list subject to review and will submit a
revised list, and detailed order of battle in accordance with the
criteria retransmitted by the TFC to all the FPOs, within six weeks.

KINSHASA 00000698 003 OF 003

Member states agreed that at the next Tripartite Plus Ministerial
they will adopt as the common most wanted list those names that will
have been vetted by the TFC and to which no objections will have
been raised, as specified in bullet 2.

The Member States agreed that a meeting of legal experts will be
held in Goma, DRC, within a month, in order to:

-Propose draft legislation to criminalize any act of aggression or
subversion against other states by individuals or groups operating
in their respective states and to review the need for harmonization
of these approaches,

-Review existing extradition arrangements and provide a proposal for
harmonization thereof,

-Propose measures to prosecute listed persons for common crimes they
may commit,

-Propose options for freezing assets and implementing immigration
and travel restrictions on named individuals,

-Report recommendations to the Tripartite Plus Ministerial for
consideration.

--Normalization of Diplomatic Relations and other pending Issues

Member states noted continued progress toward normalization of
diplomatic relations, including through contacts in multilateral
fora such as the Economic Community of Great Lakes States (CEPGL).

Member states welcomed the interest of the Executive Secretary of
the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) in
obtaining observer status at the Tripartite Plus, and requested that
the Rwandan delegation invite the ICGLR Executive Secretary to
submit a formal request to member states via the Facilitation.

Signed in English and French, both texts being equally authentic,
In Lubumbashi on June 7, 2007,

THE REPUBLIC OF BURUNDI
THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
THE REPUBLIC OF RWANDA
THE REPUBLIC OF UGANDA

//End Text//

MEECE

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