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DE RUEHBS #0719/01 1351447
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O 141447Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7425
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY 1753
RUEHJB/AMEMBASSY BUJUMBURA PRIORITY 0012
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA PRIORITY 0225
RUEHLGB/AMEMBASSY KIGALI PRIORITY 0384
RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA PRIORITY 0467

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRUSSELS 000719 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/07/2018 
TAGS: PGOV PREL BE DRC CH
SUBJECT: BELGIAN MINISTERS VISIT DRC 
 
Classified By: EPOLCOUNS RMEASON REASON 1.4(B) 
 
1.(SBU) SUMMARY- Belgian Defense Minister (MoD) Pieter De 
Crem, Foreign Minister (FM) Karel Du Gucht, and Development 
Minister (DM) Charles Michel visited the Democratic Republic 
of Congo (DRC) from April 16-23, 2008.  The visit, intended 
to show a unified approach by Belgium,s new coalition 
government (GOB) toward its former colony, made waves after 
DRC President Joseph Kabila characterized as "insulting" 
remarks by FM de Gucht regarding the need for peace, 
transparency, and democracy in the troubled nation.  In 
Kinshasa, the Belgian visitors also raised the issue of 
transparency concerning a recent mining contracting between 
China and the DRC.  DRC authorities asserted that they are a 
sovereign state and can sign contracts how they please. MOD 
De Crem also visited Kananga while De Gucht and Michel also 
traveled to Goma and Bukavu for a closer look at issues 
surrounding the civilian population including hospitals 
attempting to deal with victims of sexual violence. 
 
¶2. (C) In a readout to western diplomats on April 29, senior 
MFA Belgian Africa specialists said the goals of the visit 
were threefold: to send a strong message of Belgian political 
unity to the DRC; to promote development, human rights, and 
transparency; and to reiterate Belgium,s support and 
engagement in the troubled eastern provinces of North and 
South Kivu. The MFA urged solidarity among western nations in 
working with Kinshasa to promote democracy and peace in the 
DRC.  Belgium told diplomats that they had acted as 
"international spokespersons" for the positions of many 
European Union countries with which they had consulted before 
their trip. Stating that the DRC is "not a hopeless case." 
The MFA urged western solidarity toward the country.  END 
SUMMARY 
 
 
Ministers Discuss Defense, Political Cooperation, and 
Development 
 
 
¶3. (SBU) On his first major trip as a national leader, 
Defense Minister Pieter De Crem focused his April 16-22 
visit to the DRC on becoming informed about its on-the-ground 
situation and military issues, with an eye to focusing his 
visit on future military cooperation between the two 
countries.  A highlight of his trip was the stop in Kananga, 
where Belgium has some 60 troops.  Referring to several 
poorly-organized visits by his predecessor, Socialist MoD 
Andre Flahaut, De Crem acknowledged a previous lack of 
coordination between various Belgian ministries with regard 
to the DRC and promised "a better synergy between the 
Defense, Foreign Affairs, and Development ministries." 
"Belgium will, from now on, speak with one voice when it 
comes to involvement in Africa," he said. 
 
 
¶4. (SBU) De Crem visited Congolese military bases, where he 
observed first-hand the Army's obsolete, often broken, 
equipment and the difficult living arrangements of soldiers 
and their families.  He announced that Belgian military 
support would shift from an active humanitarian, peacekeeping 
role to one of logistical and medical support.  Belgium has 
some 75 troops in DRC, among which six are in Kinshasa, 60 in 
Kananga, two in Bukavu and nine in the United Nations Mission 
in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC). The shift would 
not reflect a decrease in overall monetary aid to Congo, but 
simply a shift to professional, especially medical, training 
and cooperation, he said.  De Crem reiterated Belgium,s 
willingness to station a rapid response force in the Congo to 
help quell future outbreaks of violence.  He offered Belgian 
military to help train and reorganize the Congolese Forces as 
legitimate assimilated soldiers transformed from renegade 
rebel groups. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Most Belgian and French media reports on the visits, 
from across the ideological spectrum, have noted that De Crem 
drew a mixed reaction during his visit to war-torn northern 
Kivu.  One group of local officials was reported to have 
brushed aside the minister,s discussion on defense issues, 
instead wanting to talk about Belgian methods for hog 
insemination. Some citizens expressed skepticism about the 
effectiveness of foreign military aid, recalling past 
maintenance problems with donated equipment.  De Crem was 
shown Belgian trucks that were unable to run because of a 
lack of spare parts, gasoline, or both.  De Crem referred to 
his visit as seeing "real Africa." 
 
 
De Gucht Directly Addresses DRC Issues in Major Address 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) After four days focused on defense issues, De Crem 
was joined in Kinshasa on April 20 by FM de Gucht and DM 
Michel.  The meetings between Belgian and Congolese officials 
touched on a range of subjects and discussions described by 
the Belgian MFA in a readout to western diplomats on April 29 
as "intense and animated."  Briefers included Amb. Guy 
Trouveroy,Director for Sub-Saharan Africa; Amb.Jozef Smets, 
Senior Envoy for the Great Lakes; Amb. Koen Adam, DRC desk. 
 
¶7. (SBU) In the major speech of the visit, FM de Gucht said 
on April 21 that Belgium considers peace, security, 
prosperity, and democracy as the priorities facing the DRC; 
with Congolese leaders addressing those issues through 
political and economic transparency>  The leaders should 
ensure that agricultural and mineral products benefit the 
many (and not just the few), lead the fight against 
corruption, and support the growth of a responsible political 
opposition.  De Gucht referred to an agronomist,s estimate 
that the Congo had the capacity to feed two billion people if 
properly exploited.  He noted the need to "attack the 
fabulous privileges of the few." Hailing the political 
capacity of the Congolese people, the FM stressed that 
freedom of political choice could make the nation a model 
throughout Africa.  In their debrief, the MFA Africa experts 
named several personalities in whom they see increasing 
democratic leadership potential.  These included:  Abbe 
Malumalu, the presidents of the Senate and House, with whom 
De Gucht and Michel met, as well as leaders in some areas of 
the private sector whom they also met.  The three ministers 
also held separate meetings with Congolese parliamentary 
leaders, government officials covering mining, 
transportation, and relations with the IMF, and with business 
leaders.  MFA debriefers reported finding serious and 
competent interlocutors within parliament and the business 
community, for example, growth of the country (?), De 
Gucht,s remarks clearly irritated Kabila, who responded 
through the media by calling for an end to the "slave-master 
relationship" between the two countries. 
 
Chinese Mining Contract 
 
 
¶8. (SBU) The MFA briefers said that a key area of sensitivity 
between the two sides was the  recent mining contract between 
China (the PRC) and the DRC.  The details of the reported 
multi-billion dollar deal, which would accord DRC mining 
rights to Chinese firms, have been kept secret (in fact, in 
its readout sheet of the visit, the DRC Embassy in Brussels 
characterized de Gucht's inquiry into the matter as "simply 
indecent"). Stating that Belgium has "no problem" with the 
fact that the PRC has huge contracts in the DRC, the MFA 
focused its concern on lack of transparency in investment 
transactions that would make commitments covering much of 
Kinshasa,s mineral wealth.  In addition, the Belgians were 
concerned that these commitments were not tied to balancing 
the DRC,s debt to the broader international community, not 
just to Belgium but also to the European Union and the 
International Monetary Fund (IMF). Lacking any detailed 
knowledge of the deal, the MFA briefers continued, the IMF 
will be unable to judge how to treat DRC requests for easy 
terms from the international lending community.  During the 
visit, Development Minister Michel expressed concern that the 
sudden, overwhelming influx of Chinese resources could 
undermine international aid structures. 
 
¶9. (SBU) The Belgian debriefers expressed cautious optimism 
about the situation in eastern Congo based on the fact that 
the Goma and Nairobi processes remain on track. The MFA 
officials stressed the importance of international 
involvement as the Goma peace process moves forward.  They 
praised the United Kingdom, Sweden, and the United States for 
their efforts in the region.  They also cautioned against 
strikes targeting rebel groups, such as the FDLR, lest they 
take retribution against civilian populations. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) In their debrief, MFA officials acknowledged that 
comments made by the Belgian officials during the visit on 
human rights and corruption in the DRC as well as the slow 
pace of economic reform ruffled the feathers of some DRC 
Officials.  The Belgian ministers emphasized that they were 
sending a strong message to the Congolese government about 
the need for future reforms.  The Belgian MFA informed 
members of the diplomatic corps that the message carried to 
Kinshasa by FM de Gucht and the other ministers had been 
cleared by a number of its EU partners. 
 
¶11.  (C)  COMMENT:  The level of the delegation that Belgium 
sent to the DRC illustrates the importance Belgian places on 
stability and development in its former colony.  Belgium 
clearly continues to feel a responsibility to its former 
charge, more than forty years after it was granted 
independence.  Belgian concerns about the DRC are certainly 
heightened by Chinese maneuvers in a resource-rich part of 
the world.  Belgium worries both about a potential loss of 
economic and commercial influence but also about the 
possibility that Chinese deals might weaken 
democracy-building in the DRC, reverse recent improvements in 
transparency, and return the country to the kleptocracies of 
years past. 
Bush