VZCZCXRO6374
OO RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHKI #0307 0911304
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 011304Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY KINSHASA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9403
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 KINSHASA 000307 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL MOPS PHUM PREF KPKO CG
SUBJECT:  EASTERN DRC NOTES - APRIL 1: DRC SENATE COMMISSION 
DISCUSSES AMNESTY LAW 
 
¶1. (U) The items contained in this report consist principally of 
spot information from various sources.  This report is not 
exhaustive, nor can all the information contained therein be 
confirmed at this time. 
 
Amnesty Law 
----------- 
 
¶2.  (U) The DRC Senate's Defense, Security and Border Controls 
Commission debated the draft amnesty law March 31.  The Commission 
recommended that "acts of war" and "acts of insurrection" during the 
period June 2003 until promulgation of the law be considered 
eligible for amnesty.  Genocide, crimes against humanity, and war 
crimes would not be eligible for amnesty.  Several senators noted 
that the law should reflect the recommendations contained in the 
recently concluded GDRC-CNDP Agreement.  Addressing a question about 
the status of Laurent Nkunda, Senator Jacques Djoli, Vice-Chairman 
of the Commission, said that, if Nkunda qualified under the law for 
amnesty, then it should be granted.  However, Djoli underscored that 
it is the responsibility of the judicial branch to decide if amnesty 
is applicable in specific cases (Note: the National Assembly has 
already passed an Amnesty Law, but the Senate has not.  Some - 
primarily from the CNDP camp, but not limited to that group - have 
advocated for a general amnesty law.  End Note). 
 
Security Situation 
------------------ 
 
¶3.  (SBU) MONUC reported that the FRPI (Force de Resistance 
Patriotique en Ituri) captured the town of Tchey from the FARDC in 
recent days, also forcing the FARDC to withdraw from the nearby 
villages of Geti and Aveba.  Like many Ituri armed groups, the FRPI 
was never integrated as intended into the FARDC, and they have 
established a lucrative logging and charcoal business in the forests 
near Tchey (Comment: With MONUC and the FARDC focused elsewhere, the 
FRPI and possibly other armed groups in Ituri could seize a chance 
to expand their operations.  End Comment). 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Unpaid FARDC troops have been looting around Kelehe on the 
western shore of Lake Kivu.  The MONUC base has provided some 
"administrative assistance" (often in the form of food) to the FARDC 
to mitigate their predations on the local populace.  Outbreaks of 
looting among the FARDC have become increasingly common as the 
soldiers' anger over lack of pay increases. 
 
¶5.  (U) Government officials in Lubero Territory have complained 
that undisciplined soldiers perpetrated a series of lootings in 
various places in the territory over the past week.  One official 
singled out elements of the FARDC's 2nd Brigade as particularly 
disruptive. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) MONUC reported that the FDLR abducted two people from the 
village of Lulibo, southeast of Hombo.  Separately, a Polish priest 
working for the NGO Caritas was shot by unknown assailants on March 
28 in the vicinity of Rutshuru.  MONUC has recommended that NGO's 
working in the area request a MONUC armed escort.  The priest was 
treated at a MONUC facility and released. 
 
Political Developments 
---------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The GDRC will hold a ceremony on April 15 to commemorate 
formally the integration of all North Kivu armed groups into the 
FARDC.  GDRC and MONUC sources state that armed groups who refuse to 
integrate by that date will be treated as "bandits" (Comment: We 
nevertheless deem it highly unlikely that all former fighters will, 
by a reasonable standard of assessment, truly be "integrated" by 
that date.  End Comment). 
 
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