VZCZCXRO2451
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHKI #0010/01 0071251
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 071250Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY KINSHASA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0004
RUEHC/USAID WASHDC 0001
INFO RWANDA COLLECTIVE
SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0001
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS 0001
RUEHBZ/AMEMBASSY BRAZZAVILLE 0001
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0003
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KINSHASA 000010
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KPAO PREL PHUM CG RW ICTR
SUBJECT: DDRRR AWARENESS ACTIVITIES APPEARS TO DELIVER RESULTS, BUT
MORE RESOURCES NEEDED
1. (SBU) Summary: While MONUC awareness activities appear to have
had positive results in encouraging FDLR combatants to participate
in the Disarmament, Demobilization, Repatriation, Resettlement and
Reintegration (DDRRR) process, additional resources are needed to
sustain their efforts, according to MONUC. MONUC DDRRR and other
offices are proving to be helpful in Embassy Kinshasa's efforts to
promote the Rewards for Justice Program. End Summary.
MONUC DDRRR awareness efforts
-----------------------------
2. (SBU) MONUC officers noted to APAO on December 10-11 that DDRRR
awareness efforts have made inroads in encouraging Democratic
Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) rank-and-file to leave
the movement and participate in the DDRRR process. DDRRR Political
Officer Matthew Brubacher, awareness team leader Sam Howard, and
Public Information Office chief Sylvie Van Den Wildenberg all
indicated that the FDLR information campaign, which previously had
been quite effective in discouraging participation among
rank-and-file, was being countered by awareness efforts.
Weaknesses in the current FDLR presence in the Kivus, resulting
from military pressure following the Umoju Wetu and Kimia II
operations and coupled with the recent arrests of FDLR leaders
Ignace Murwanashyaka and Straton Musoni, have been necessary for
the awareness efforts to be successful. But, according to DDRRR
team members, as the recent military pressure on the FDLR has made
some tactical gains, and put the rank-and-file on notice,
information campaigns, which have been synergized with military
campaigns, have had more success. DDRRR team members noted that
during 2009, 1664 FDLR combatants were repatriated, which was a
three-fold increase compared to 2008. While MONUC does not
officially survey ex-combatants to determine motivation to return,
DDRRR team members indicated a number of ex-combatants attributed
their decision to return to information products distributed by
MONUC.
What are these products?
------------------------
3. (SBU) The sustained awareness campaign has included the
distribution of written materials through air-drops, the
transmission of messages through the MONUC mobile radio stations in
the Kivus, and the continued regional broadcasting of Radio Okapi's
"Gutahuka" program (which interviews recently returned
ex-combattants to Rwanda). Currently, there are 20 reception sites
in North and South Kivu and thirteen active radio stations. To
generate a greater listenership among FDLR rank-and-file and local
audiences, MONUC has permitted local and international
organizations to broadcast non-DDRRR messages on their mobile radio
stations. For more remote areas where the stations' signal cannot
reach audiences, or where combatants do not own radios, flyers and
pictorials have proven to be effective tools (for instance,
anecdotal information has revealed many FDLR combatants come to
DDRRR facilities with these flyers). More recently, DDRRR and PIO
have partnered together to show FDLR members images of
ex-combatants who have been successfully reintegrated back into
Rwandan society, and combat misperceptions (intentionally promoted
by the FDLR information campaign) of the "Gacaca" justice process.
On a more limited scale, DDRRR is also providing satellite phones
to ex-combatants to phone individuals still part of the movement to
encourage participation in the DDRRR process.
Need for further resources
--------------------------
KINSHASA 00000010 002 OF 003
4. (SBU) Despite progress in the awareness efforts, MONUC DDRRR has
noted more resources are needed to sustain the program. While the
British government has provided some support to assist in the
production of films for FDLR audiences, additional resources have
been limited. Howard provided APAO with a draft proposal (which
has yet to receive any funding support from MONUC or other donors)
that requests $25,000 in additional assistance to maintain existing
programs and support new initiatives. The funding would cover
additional materials to upgrade the existing mobile transmitters,
as well as support the development of additional print and
broadcast materials.
5. (SBU) Brubacher asserted that flyers and booklets on DDRRR that
were produced last year by the Mission Information Strategic Team
(MIST) and airdropped into FDLR territory proved to be effective
(as many FDLR combatants referenced these products when explaining
their reason for coming to DDRRR facilities), and indicated similar
products would be helpful. (Note: APAO did provide DDRRR with the
Swahili version of the VOA editorial that highlighted the
Murwanashyaka and Musoni arrests, which has been broadcasted on the
mobile radio units. End Note.) Howard noted DDRRR has contemplated
augmenting the capacity of community radio stations (which are more
widely followed in certain communities than MONUC's mobile radio
stations) to help transmit information on the DDRRR process, but
funding limitations have restricted efforts to pursue this option.
Support for Rewards for Justice
-------------------------------
6. (SBU) MONUC DDRRR and PIO have expressed great interest in
supporting USG efforts to publicize the Rewards for Justice (RFJ)
Program, noting that it complements the overall objectives of the
DDRRR process by targeting International Criminal Tribunal of
Rwanda (ICTR) indictees, some of whom are affiliated with the FDLR
(for instance, they have learned informally from local contacts
that two ICTR indictees, Jean Bosco Uwinkindi and Charles
Zikubwabo, are located in FDLR territory in North Kivu). MONUC
officials in Kinshasa and the field have assisted in "getting the
message out" about the program to key audiences in the Kivus (such
as church networks, civil society and press representatives) and
have agreed to broadcast Rewards for Justice information on both
Radio Okapi and mobile radio units in the region.
7. (SBU) MONUC also proposed news-oriented programs to help
explain the program and address specific concerns about RFJ. Most
of the questions that emanate from MONUC's informal outreach
efforts have revolved around the manner in which payments would be
made to those with information on the ICTR indictees. They
specifically wanted concrete instances in which Congolese citizens
were rewarded by the program for any information offered to track
down any of the indictees. MONUC PIO also indicated that while
security has improved in most areas of the Kivus, any messages
concerning RFJ would have to clearly identify the United States as
promoting the initiative, so as to not expose the entity
broadcasting the message.
8. (SBU) Comment: MONUC appears confident in its assertion that
the awareness programs have been a bright spot in the DDRRR
process. While military pressure is necessary to weaken FDLR
morale and encourage repatriation, awareness efforts are unarguably
a necessary complement that supports the DDRRR process and combats
the FDLR's own information campaign. As MONUC awareness tools
KINSHASA 00000010 003 OF 003
appear to be an effective vehicle for the U.S. to promote the RFJ
program, we should explore avenues to augment MONUC's capacity,
and to collaborate more intensively in this area. End Comment.
GARVELINK