VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSA #0844 1190832
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 290832Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY PRETORIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8282
INFO RUEHXR/RWANDA COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

UNCLAS PRETORIA 000844 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL CG RW SF
SUBJECT: PRETORIA DRC WATCHERS HOLDING ON 
 
(U) Sensitive but Unclassified -- Please protect accordingly. 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: South Africa's interest in the Democratic 
Republic of Congo (DRC) has been eclipsed by domestic 
politics and more acute Southern African Development 
Community (SADC) emergencies, but it has not disappeared. 
The United Nations Organization Mission in the DRC (MONUC) 
maintains an active diplomatic presence in Pretoria, and its 
Head of Office recently paid a call on the Charge.  The 
Department of Foreign Affairs provides training programs for 
Congolese diplomats.  The Institute for Security Studies 
hosts periodic seminars featuring regional players.  The DRC 
Embassy predicts greater South African Development Community 
engagement as the GDRC prepares to take on a SADC leadership 
role. End summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) On April 21, MONUC Pretoria Head of Office Mujahid 
Alem paid a courtesy call on Charge Helen La Lime. Providing 
background, Alem said MONUC initially opened in office in 
Pretoria at the request of former President Thabo Mbeki at a 
time when the Government of South Africa "was very active" in 
the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) peace process. Alem 
said "Mbeki wanted to stay in close touch" with events in 
DRC. Alem said the MONUC Pretoria office remains open today 
primarily because of the numerous diplomatic missions present 
and because  Pretoria is a medevac destination for MONUC 
personnel.  Alem said that there are currently 14 MONUC 
personnel on medevac status in Pretoria. Alem said the 
situation in DRC had improved in the last 3-4 months, but he 
stressed that lasting improvements in DRC would require 
full-scale security sector reform. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Department of Foreign Affairs Acting DRC Desk 
Warnich recently told DepPolCouns that South Africa is 
waiting for signs that the situation has changed 
significantly.  Asked what the SAG considered those signs to 
be, Warnich said a Rwanda decision to extradite Nkunda to DRC 
would be a very good sign, adding that an even better sign 
would be the establishment of full diplomatic relations. 
Asked about South Africa's current role with regard to DRC, 
Warnich pointed to DFA's role in U.S.-supported trilateral 
cooperation.  He noted that DFA is currently training 
Congolese diplomats in English and diplomatic tradecraft but 
did not have numbers of current participants in this program. 
 
¶4. (SBU) DRC Embassy Pretoria Counselor Kiyoko L. Komba 
commented to DepPolCouns that a motivating factor in 
President Kabila's agreement to launch joint operations with 
Ugandan and Rwandan was his ambition to have Eastern DRC 
under control before  assuming the presidency of the Southern 
African Development Community (SADC). Komba remarked that 
former President Mbeki's active role in DRC was not always 
helpful, commenting that South Africa's present role is 
positive an appropriate. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Periodic International Security Studies seminars 
provide Pretoria-based DRC watchers an opportunity for closer 
look and a chance to discuss the dramatic events unfolding in 
eastern DRC with key players, including Wilson Center Program 
Director Michel Kassa and GDRC DDR Chief Nzekani Zena. 
LA LIME