VZCZCXRO0666
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHDR #0758/01 3100345
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 060345Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY DAR ES SALAAM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8987
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RUEHJB/AMEMBASSY BUJUMBURA 3000
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 3537
RUEHLGB/AMEMBASSY KIGALI 1464
RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA 0330
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 1419
RUEHDS/USMISSION USAU ADDIS ABABA
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0513

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 DAR ES SALAAM 000758 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR AF/E JTREADWELL, INR FEHRENREICH, PRM WHENNING 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PINR PHUM PREF CG BY TZ
SUBJECT: REFUGEE UPDATES: GOT ACKNOWLEDGES OBLIGATIONS, BUT STILL 
AIMS TO CLOSE MTABILA CAMP 
 
REF: A: DAR ES SALAAM 413, B: DAR ES SALAAM 525, C: DAR ES SALAAM 
607 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Due to security and domestic political concerns, 
GOT continues to push for the repatriation of the Burundian refugees 
in the Mtabila camp.  While initial steps towards invoking the 
cessation clause have been taken, UNHCR hopes to avoid a scenario 
where the refugees are forced to return and has increased the 
incentives offered to those willing to repatriate as a means of 
encouragement.  GOT acknowledges that conditions in the DRC are not 
conducive to repatriation and is committed to living up to 
international obligations vis-a-vis this group.  The GOT has granted 
citizenship to 29,000 Burundian refugees living in the settlements 
and aims to complete the naturalization process for the remaining 
population by the end of the year.  The GOT plans to relocate these 
individuals to various regions within Tanzanian over the next two 
years.  UNHCR estimates this effort will cost more than USD 20 
million per year.  END SUMMARY 
 
¶2. (U) On October 26, Washington-based Program Officer in the Bureau 
of Population, Refugees and Migration (ProgOff), Wendy Henning; and 
Kampala-based Refugee Program Assistant (RefPA), Annie Gacukuzi met 
separately with UNHCR, Red Cross, and Ministry of Home Affairs 
officials to discuss the status of the remaining refugees in 
Tanzania.  Accompanied by PolOff, ProgOff and RefPA met with Indrika 
Ratwatte, Deputy Representative; Eveline Wolfcarius, Associate 
External Relations Officer; and Ron Mponda, Senior Protection 
Officer, at UNHCR; Charles Nzuki, Assistant Director, Refugee 
Services at the Ministry of Home Affairs; and representatives from 
the Spanish, American, and Tanzanian Red Cross. 
 
Mtabila: Status of the Remaining Refugees 
--------------------------------- 
¶3. (SBU) Ratwatte started off the meeting at UNHCR by presenting the 
GOT's perspective on the refugees in the Mtabila camp (ref a).  He 
said the GOT feels it has done enough for these refugees, having 
supported the peace process and offered them refuge for more than 15 
years.  With conditions in Burundi safe for these refugees to return 
and their rationale for staying no longer refugee related, the GOT 
would like to see the 35,000 Burundians in the Mtabila camp leave 
Tanzania.  According to Ratwatte, the GOT believes allowing them to 
remain only perpetuates the cycle of dependence, particularly as the 
refugees are provided with better living conditions than average 
Tanzanians.  The GOT would like to see Burundi increase its efforts 
to facilitate the return of these refugees.  Ratwatte suspects that 
GOT leaders feel pressure to live up to their promises to have 
Tanzania 'refugee free' by 2010 in the lead up to the October 2010 
elections.  He noted that the Minister of Home Affairs, Lawrence 
Masha, has been criticized by the opposition for compromising 
national security by granting citizenship to the 1972 Burundian 
refugees. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Ratwatte also noted that the GOT has security concerns 
related to this refugee population as there have been reports that 
some of them are armed.  According to UNHCR, Tanzanian police 
arrested a few armed men in the camp, but most were released and 
likely returned to the camp.  Further, Ratwatte reported that there 
is a considerable amount of cross border interaction, a fact that 
the Red Cross also noted.  According to Ratwatte, the GOT is 
concerned that the refugees may be receiving assistance to 
"mobilize" from elements in Burundi.  During a donor partner meeting 
at UNHCR, Yacoub El Hillo, outgoing Representative, stated that FNL 
member Pasteur Habimana's numerous visits are certainly a 'cause for 
concern'.  El Hillo suggested that some of the refugees may have 
been promised roles in the Burundian government after the 2010 
elections.  However, El Hillo said these FNL visits are strictly 
political in nature, not military.  Ratwatte admitted that if the 
civilian nature of the camp was compromised, there would be a 
serious problem.  Separately, MHA's Nzuki also raised the connection 
between the Mtabila population and the FNL, suggesting that these 
refugees are supporters of Agathon Rwasa and as such were awaiting 
the outcome of the Burundian elections before returning home. 
 
¶5. (SBU) During the meeting at the Ministry of Home Affairs, Nzuki 
reiterated Tanzania's goal to be refugee free by the end of 2010. 
He acknowledged that Congolese refugees will likely remain due to 
the uptick of conflict in their area of origin.  He highlighted that 
the GOT, GOB, and UNHCR had discussed the Mtabila population during 
the Tripartite meeting in June (ref b) and again at the Executive 
Committee meeting in Geneva in September, at which time all parties 
 
DAR ES SAL 00000758  002 OF 003 
 
 
agreed that the conditions in Burundi were satisfactory to allow for 
repatriation.  He further stated that the GOT had expressed its 
desire for the cessation clause to be invoked as soon as possible. 
Nzuki acknowledged the importance of following the necessary 
procedures related to the cessation clause, which he said would be 
in place by year-end.  As part of this process, refugees with valid 
claims to asylum would have their status reviewed.  Queried as to 
what would happen if the refugee status of this population is 
revoked and the refugees choose not to return, Nzuki said unless 
they had valid claims to asylum, they would have to apply for a 
resident permit to remain in Tanzania. 
 
¶6. (SBU) In an effort to encourage the remaining refugees in the 
Mtabila camp to return home, Ratwatte said that UNHCR has enhanced 
the incentive package by tripling the cash grants and expediting the 
repatriation process.  With regards to other efforts to encourage 
the refugees to return home, ProgOff expressed concern about the 
closure of the primary schools in the camp.  Ratwatte explained that 
the GOT had "officially closed" the camp and thus did not believe 
such services should be provided.  From the GOT's perspective, it is 
not denying these children an education; their parents are doing so 
by refusing to return to Burundi.  Ratwatte said the Regional 
Commissioner had been particularly adamant about this issue. 
ProgOff emphasized that primary education is generally considered a 
basic right and protection tool.  Ratwatte agreed and said UNHCR 
would reevaluate the situation in December.  If the school closure 
lasted more than three months, UNHCR would make a "serious demarche" 
to the GOT. 
 
¶7. (SBU) UNHCR also said it is following through with the steps 
associated with the invocation of the cessation clause, having 
recently completed the population survey in the Mtabila camp. 
Further, it is developing a "road map" to guide the process. 
However, UNHCR hopes to avoid a scenario in which this clause is 
invoked.  Ratwatte believes if UNHCR can persuade 15,000 refugees to 
return to Burundi by the end of the year, it will be able to 
negotiate with the GOT for additional time.  If these refugees do 
not return, then UNHCR will undertake the additional processes 
required to invoke the cessation clause, such as the evaluation of 
the conditions in Burundi and the establishment of a system for any 
necessary individual status determinations.  At this stage, UNHCR 
hopes to persuade the GOT not to invoke the cessation clause 
unilaterally.  Ratwatte seemed confident that UNHCR will be able to 
"get the space needed" to complete the cessation clause process 
properly in the early part of 2010 if necessary.  However, he noted 
that if one refugee decides to make a claim for asylum, they all 
will, resulting in a lengthy status determination process. 
 
¶8. (SBU) UNHCR Tanzania is developing a contingency plan with its 
counterparts in Burundi to prepare for the possibility of unilateral 
Tanzanian invocation of the cessation clause and attempts to escort 
the refugees back to Burundi.  UNHCR has compiled information on the 
origin of each refugee and would help the reception centers cope 
with an influx.  However, the key challenge would be to transport 
the refugees to their home villages from the reception centers.  If 
the GOT unilaterally invokes the cessation clause, UNHCR would 
stress to the GOT that these refugees should be returned in a humane 
way and with the full agreement of GOB. 
 
Nyarugusu Camp: Congolese Refugees Continue to Arrive 
----------------------------------- 
¶9. (SBU) Ratwatte reported that the relocation of all Congolese 
refugees from the closed Lugufu camp to Nyarugusu camp was complete. 
 Nyarugusu has also been receiving a "trickle" of new arrivals each 
day, with 500 new arrivals in the last thirty days.  Based on 
observations from his counterparts in the DRC, Ratwatte said it was 
unclear if these are new arrivals to Tanzania or simply new arrivals 
to the camp.  There is some question as to whether some of these 
individuals have been in Tanzania for some time, possibly having 
been rejected from Lugufu.  UNHCR is conducting in-depth interviews 
to determine how and when these refugees arrived.  If they are 
indeed new arrivals, they will be screened by the National 
Eligibility Committee.  At present, they have not been granted 
refugee status but are receiving assistance.  Ratwatte cautioned 
that they do not want to "open Pandora's box" by accepting these 
Congolese without determining where and how they entered Tanzania. 
(Note: MHA's Nzuki stated that the Regional Authorities in Kigoma 
are reluctant to receive new arrivals.) 
 
¶10. (SBU) Ratwatte acknowledged that UNHCR will need to reexamine 
 
DAR ES SAL 00000758  003 OF 003 
 
 
its strategy for the return of the Congolese refugees given the 
problems in North and South Kivu.  If military action ceases, UNHCR 
would like to see the return of 15,000 Congolese (out of 61,000 now 
in the camp).  However, he said if the fighting continues in DRC, 
these refugees will not return.  Nzuki as well as the MFA noted that 
GOT would live up to its international obligations vis-a-vis the DRC 
refugees.  Nzuki stated that the GOT is not promoting repatriation 
to North or South Kivu.  Red Cross officials noted that the 
Nyarugusu camp is at capacity and suggested that if there were a 
major influx of refugees from the DRC, another camp would need to be 
opened. 
 
Naturalization and Relocation of the 1972 Burundian Population 
-------------------------------------- 
¶11. (SBU) While the repatriation of the 1972 Burundian refugees was 
completed the week of October 26, the naturalization process 
continues.  UNHCR set up a citizen processing unit in Dar es Salaam 
to facilitate the process and to date roughly 29,000 refugees have 
been granted citizenship. Ratwatte noted that the Minister of Home 
Affairs has committed to completing the naturalization process by 
the end of the year. 
 
¶12. (SBU) Although UNHCR is still working out the details of 
relocation, Ratwatte did confirm that all the refugees would be 
moved, with some remaining in the general vicinity of the 
settlements.  Based on an earlier UNHCR intentions survey, roughly 
half of this population knew where they would like to go, while the 
other half expressed no preference.  UNHCR is in the process of 
developing a relocation package for these refugees to include a cash 
grant and certain non-food items.  Further, it will consult with 
regional authorities to determine what type of sectoral assistance 
they need to absorb these groups, such as funding for schools and 
clinics.  The Minister of State for Regional Administration and 
Local Government plans to host the Regional Commissioners from 
several regions, including Morogoro and Mwanza, to discuss 
integration.  The regional authorities have set a two year timeframe 
for local integration, which UNHCR estimates will cost USD 23 
million in 2010 and USD 22 million in 2011. 
 
ANDRE