VZCZCXRO0443
OO RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHKI #0275/01 0851035
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 261035Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY KINSHASA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9363
INFO RUEHXR/RWANDA COLLECTIVE
RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KINSHASA 000275 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL MOPS PHUM PREF KPKO CG
SUBJECT:  ATTEMPTS TO BRING STATE AUTHORITY TO 
 NORTH KIVU YIELDING UNEVEN RESULTS 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  MONUC-trained police are deploying to former 
CNDP-occupied areas, as the GDRC attempts to establish state 
authority in the region north of Goma.  Police who worked under the 
CNDP administration remain in the region, and integration with the 
national police (PNC) has been uneven.  Crime is on the rise, 
especially stemming from unpaid FARDC troops.  FDLR rebels remain 
active in the area as well.  MONUC has stepped up its outreach in an 
effort to improve its public image.  End Summary. 
 
Government Police Return 
------------------------ 
 
¶2.  (SBU) A key aspect of establishing government authority in the 
former CNDP territory north of Goma is reintroduction of police 
forces loyal to the GDRC.  Most of the existing forces in the Petit 
Nord consist of CNDP loyalists, estimated at 900 police.  Some are 
career police officers who simply switched sides when the area was 
occupied by the CNDP, while others were appointed directly by the 
CNDP leadership.  MONUC is facilitating the deployment of several 
hundred additional national police to the region, providing them 
with basic training, vehicles and some weapons.  MONUC is also 
building new police headquarters in several towns.  The effort is a 
key part of MONUC's and various NGO's stabilization programs, funded 
by donors. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) On a trip to Rutshuru, Niyalima and Kinyondoni on March 
21, members of the International Facilitation, including Goma 
PolOff, visited recently deployed PNC units.  While only 10-20% of 
the officers were armed, all wore brand new uniforms provided by the 
GDRC.  Each of the units had new vehicles and, since they often lack 
gas, they often conduct joint patrols with MONUC in UN vehicles. 
PNC morale seemed high, and the officers with whom we spoke were 
intelligent and motivated.  The new police have been paid their $28 
monthly salaries. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The new forces appear to enjoy the support from 
communities weary of CNDP, FDLR and FARDC depredations, but the 
relationship between the new units with the existing police force is 
still ambiguous.  The new police are supposed to be integrated with 
existing forces, but instead often operate on a parallel structure. 
In Rutshuru, the newly deployed police appear to have access to all 
police facilities, but in Niyalima they tend to defer to the 
existing forces and seek their assistance when arresting or jailing 
suspects.  Some NGO's in the area around Rutshuru tell us that the 
situation has not really changed.  CNDP fighters in FARDC uniforms 
remain in their previous positions, and CNDP forces continue to levy 
taxes which they do not remit to the government. MONUC believes the 
parallel structures will eventually consolidate, but acknowledges 
that in some areas the process is one of "fusion, not integration." 
 
 
FDLR:  A Criminal Threat 
------------------------ 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Colonel Ranbir Vashistha, Commander of the MONUC 
headquarters base in Rutshuru, said the FDLR remains active in the 
area, despite the recent RDF operations to push them away from the 
border with Rwanda.  As a military force, they are a "menace, not a 
threat," but as a criminal element, they continue to prey on locals. 
 Some residents said they feared returning to their homes on the 
borders of the Virunga National Park because of the presence of FDLR 
cadre.  Residents of the IDP camp just outside the MONUC base in 
Rutshuru said FDLR fighters tax farmers who walk from the camps to 
their fields to the west of town. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Colonel Ranbir estimated the numbers of FDLR in the area 
at 150-200, with 60-80 combatants.  He told us that these "bandits" 
were demoralized, and had expressed interest in surrendering to 
MONUC.  Asked if MONUC would pursue them militarily, he replied that 
the FARDC should undertake such operations with MONUC support.  He 
claimed the FARDC, with an estimated 30,000 troops in North Kivu, 
has adequate resources for the undertaking, but may lack the 
political will. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Unpaid FARDC soldiers are also a threat to the populace 
and travelers.  FARDC troops have gone on looting sprees in several 
towns.  On March 17, uniformed soldiers robbed an IRC vehicle after 
it was involved in an accident, firing shots into the car chassis. 
A vehicle with staff from the NGO Search for Common Ground was 
robbed at gunpoint on March 16 by uniformed troops.  The vehicle was 
carrying a FARDC captain and major, who were also robbed (Comment: 
The incident reveals one of the consequences of rushed integration. 
Command structures have been upended, and soldiers are not 
accountable to anyone in many areas.  End comment). 
 
 
KINSHASA 00000275  002 OF 002 
 
 
MONUC Community Outreach 
------------------------ 
 
¶8.  (SBU) As part of its effort to help establish GDRC control in 
the Petit Nord, MONUC has increased efforts to reach out to local 
communities.  Until recently, the local Indian troops had little 
contact with locals (partly because several Indian troops were 
censured a few years ago for inappropriate sexual contact with local 
women).  In addition to increasing its interaction with local 
police, MONUC has increased its use of foot patrols, changing a 
pattern of relying exclusively on vehicle patrols. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) On the evening of March 21, MONUC invited residents of the 
10,000 member IDP camp next to its Rutshuru base to a concert 
featuring a 16-member marching band followed by a six piece electric 
combo that played Swahili favorites.  Several dozen children ran out 
to mimic the varied marching styles of the military band and a 
handful of Senegalese MONUC peacekeepers mingled with the crowd of 
over 1,000 Congolese during the subsequent concert.  Several women 
in the audience negotiated their way onto the stage to lead the 
crowd in Swahili standards, while local security personnel kept the 
children in the front away from the concertina wire that separated 
the field from the stage and the base.  Following the musical acts, 
MONUC treated the crowd to a movie in Swahili.  The MONUC Public 
Affairs Officer who arranged the event has been in touch with the 
Military Information Support Team (MIST) about continuing such 
events at other MONUC bases in proximity to IDP camps. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Comment:  The reintroduction of GDRC police and MONUC's 
public outreach provide some evidence that peace may be taking hold 
in the Petit Nord.  The U.S. and other international donors have 
long urged MONUC to get out of their vehicles and improve their 
dismal image with the populace.  A bit of entertainment for bored 
and dispirited IDP's also provides a venue for public education for 
everything from health care to political reconciliation.  Improved 
security is the single biggest requirement for enticing IDP's to 
return to their homes and farms.  It appears that few have decided 
to leave the camp at the MONUC base, and the increasing impunity of 
uniformed troops contributes to regional insecurity.  The proximity 
of FDLR forces is also problematic.  NGO's and MONUC will continue 
to implement stabilization programs, but continuing insecurity works 
against restoration of GDRC authority in the Petit Nord.  End 
Comment. 
 
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