VZCZCXRO4865
PP RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMA RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHTRO
DE RUCNDT #0381/01 1000120
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 100120Z APR 09
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6309
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA PRIORITY 1777
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 2542

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 000381 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL UNSC IN CG
SUBJECT: UN ASKS FOR U.S. HELP TO AVERT INDIA'S TROOP 
WITHDRAWAL FROM MONUC 
 
REF: DICARLO-CARTER TELECON -- 9 APRIL 2009 
 
¶1. (SBU) This is an action request.  Please see paragraph 6. 
 
¶2. (SBU)  SUMMARY:  DPKO U/SYG Le Roy and MONUC SRSG Doss 
have separately approached Ambassador DiCarlo to request U.S. 
assistance in pressuring both the DRC and India to reach an 
accommodation that would keep India from withdrawing its 
forces from MONUC.  DPKO informs USUN that the Indian Charge 
today formally asked that the UN begin to withdraw the Indian 
forces.  The Indian request reflects ongoing displeasure at a 
DRC letter to the SYG of last November, aggravated by 
subsequent official DRC commentary, making clear that Indian 
forces were no longer welcome in DRC. All efforts at patching 
up the incident have failed in light of Indian insistence 
that DRC retract the November letter.  USUN recommends that 
Department communicate urgently at senior levels with the 
governments of India and DRC to impress on both that loss of 
the Indian forces would be catastrophic to MONUC's mission to 
keep the peace and protect civilians in war-ravaged DRC and 
that, accordingly, a deal must be brokered.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶3. (SBU) UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) 
U/SYG Le Roy, A/SYG Edmond Mulet, and MONUC Special 
Representative of the Secretary-General Allan Doss have all 
approached USUN in recent days to say that India was about to 
make good on its threat to withdraw its troops and equipment 
from MONUC, the UN Peacekeeping Operation in DRC.  These 
communications culminated in Le Roy's and Mulet's telephone 
calls to DiCarlo on April 9 in which they said that the 
Indian Charge has formally asked LeRoy in a personal meeting 
to begin to implement the withdrawal of India's forces from 
MONUC.  (NOTE. India provides 4,267 of MONUC's 17,000 plus 
troops and 23 helicopters.  India's threat to leave MONUC 
stems from a November 22 letter signed by DRC Foreign 
Minister Alexis Thambwe Mwamba to SYG Ban in which Thambwe 
asks the UN not to replace troops of a certain "origin" when 
they were due for rotation.  In public comments, India 
alleges, Thawbwe left no doubt he had asked the UN to remove 
all Indian forces from MONUC.  DPKO confirms to USUN that 
Thambwe contacted the UN in follow-up to his November 22 
letter to state emphatically that DRC wanted the Indian 
troops out of MONUC. END NOTE.) 
 
¶4. (SBU) On April 9, MONUC SRSG Allan Doss told Ambassador 
DiCarlo that DPKO U/SYG Le Roy was working to convince DRC 
President Kabila to write "a one-line letter" to the UN 
retracting its November 22 letter.  Doss also said the 
retraction was a requirement from India for its troops to 
remain in MONUC.  Doss suggested the U.S. join the UN in 
urging Kabila to send such a letter and in encouraging India 
to accept it as the basis for Indian forces to remain in 
MONUC.  Doss noted FM Thambwe had "used up all his political 
capital" with Kabila in getting him to sign a draft letter 
praising the Indian troops in an earlier UN-orchestrated 
effort to resolve the impasse; that effort failed when India 
insisted on a retraction of the November letter.  Doss said 
Kabila would be likely to acquiesce in signing a retraction 
letter only upon application of concerted UN and U.S. 
pressure.  U/SYG Le Roy and A/SYG Mulet also asked, during 
their subsequent calls to Ambassador DiCarlo, that the U.S. 
weigh in. 
 
¶5. (SBU) USUN's soundings of the Indian and DRC missions in 
New York track with DPKO's communications.  DepPolCouns and 
PolOff confirmed with Indian Counselor Vikram Doraiswami on 
April 3 that the DRC's failure to retract the November 22 
letter is the primary obstacle to India remaining in MONUC. 
Doraiswami said the Kabila letter was a welcome gesture of 
goodwill but not good enough to remove public pique in India 
over Thambwe's earlier insult.  DRC Deputy PermRep Nduku 
Booto agreed in an April 8 conversation with DepPolCouns that 
the departure of the Indian forces and helicopters could be 
catastrophic.  The DPR said that Kinshasa was aware India 
continued to demand a retraction and offered to pass along 
any USG idea about the form such a retraction might take. 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) COMMENT AND ACTION REQUEST.  MONUC's ability to 
implement its mandate will be dramatically reduced if India 
does withdraw its troops, especially if MONUC loses India's 
23 helicopters.  USUN suggests Department approach both 
governments at a senior level, urging Kinshasa to withdraw 
the November 22 letter and encourage New Delhi to accept the 
Kabila letter as the  definitive expression of DRC views on 
the capacity of India's forces.  If either or both approaches 
produce results, the problem would be solved. END COMMENT AND 
ACTION REQUEST. 
 
USUN NEW Y 00000381  002 OF 002 
 
 
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