VZCZCXRO7734
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHKI #1096/01 3501328
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 161328Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY KINSHASA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0435
INFO RUEHXR/RWANDA COLLECTIVE
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 2307
RUEHRN/USMISSION UN ROME
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0806
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUCNSAD/SADC COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 KINSHASA 001096 
 
AIDAC 
 
AID/W FOR DCHA/OFDA- CCHAN, ACONVERY, KCHANNELL, RKERR 
AID/W FOR DCHA/FFP- TANDERSON, NCOX, TMCRAE 
AID/W FOR DCHA/OTI- KHUBER 
AID/W FOR AA/AFR, EARL GAST; AFR/EA RHELLYER, KDESGRANGES 
NAIROBI FOR USAID/OFDA/ARO- GPRATT, SKHANDAGLE 
NAIROBI FOR USAID/FFP- DSUTHER 
KAMPALA FOR MLARSON-KONE 
STATE FOR PRM WHENNING; S/WI; AF/C 
ROME FOR USUN FODAG- RNEWBERG 
GENEVA FOR NYKLOH 
NSC FOR PMARCHAM 
BRUSSELS FOR USAID JADDLETON 
NEW YORK FOR TMALY 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM EAID PREF PGOV KWMN PREL AG CG
SUBJECT: EMBASSY KINSHASA TEAM VISITS BAS CONGO TO DISCUSS 
EXPULSIONS OF ANGOLANS AND CONGOLESE 
 
REFS: (A) KINSHASA 948 (B) KINSHASA 775 
 
KINSHASA 00001096  001.2 OF 004 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  An Embassy Kinshasa team comprised of two 
political officers, a representative of the office of the defense 
attache, and a USAID/OFDA representative visited the province of 
Bas-Congo on November 3-4 to look at the humanitarian situation. 
Angola has expelled approximately 140,000 illegal Congolese 
immigrants from its territory in various waves since December 2003. 
The number of expulsions a day from Angola reached a peak of 3,000 
expellees in September 2009.  In August, the GDRC retaliated by 
expelling Angolans, many of whom had long-standing refugee status, 
from Bas Congo Province.  By the end of October the DRC had deported 
30,000 Angolans.  Although both Angola and DRC decided in October to 
suspend expulsions, illegal immigrants from both sides continue to 
cross the borders.  The number of crossings, however, has 
drastically decreased to less than ten per day.  Some people 
expelled from Angola and the DRC have apparently returned to where 
they were deported from, resuming daily activities.  Most of our 
Congolese interlocutors pointed to 2010 elections in Angola as the 
factor behind Angola's decision to expel DRC citizens.  As of now, 
the situation appears to be more of a political rather than 
humanitarian problem.  End summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) An Embassy Kinshasa team comprised of two political 
officers, a defense attach representative, and a USAID/OFDA 
representative visited the Bas-Congo Province on November 3-4.  The 
purpose of the visit was to assess the situation and provide 
recommendations for humanitarian assistance, if needed.  The USG 
delegation met with the province's Vice Governor, the MONUC 
Provincial Team, local NGO representatives, including those working 
on sexual violence and human rights, the Provincial Director of 
Migration, and residents of Songololo and Kimpese, including 
expelled Congolese and Angolans.  This report focuses primarily on 
the humanitarian aspect of the situation. 
 
Background 
---------- 
 
¶3.  (U) The Government of Angola started periodic expulsions of all 
foreigners living or working in Angola without legal status in 
December 2003.  The majority of people that have been expelled from 
Angola are DRC citizens, mainly from the provinces that share 
borders with Angola including Bandundu, Bas Congo, Kasai Occidental, 
and Katanga.  The expulsions have been in waves with over 140,000 
Congolese expatriated since 2003.  Until recently, the most affected 
DRC provinces had been Bandundu and Kasai Occidental (ref A). 
Starting in June 2009, the number of people expelled into Bas Congo 
gradually increased and reached a peak of 3,000 persons a day 
between late September and early October.  These recent expelled 
Congolese used to live in Cabinda district, M'banza Congo in the 
Uige Province, and Soyo in Zaire Province of Angola. 
QUige Province, and Soyo in Zaire Province of Angola. 
 
¶4.  (U) The Congolese expelled to Bandundu and Kasai Occidental were 
mostly people involved in illegal diamond mining (ref B).  However, 
the new waves of expellees arriving since January 2009 in Bas Congo 
had been involved in a variety of activities, including small 
business and farming in Angola.  Immigration officials register only 
people who cross the official border posts, admitting that the exact 
number of people expelled and entering Bas Congo remains unknown. 
Since January 2009, the immigration office in Bas Congo has 
registered 85,000 Congolese expelled from Angola. 
 
¶5.  (U) The GDRC decided in August 2009 to begin expelling illegal 
Angolan citizens residing in the DRC.  Many observers considered 
this decision retaliation for the sudden repatriation of thousands 
of undocumented Congolese migrants working in Angola.  The majority 
 
KINSHASA 00001096  002.2 OF 004 
 
 
of Angolans in Bas Congo have been living in DRC fo decades, many 
with refugee status, after fleeing Angola's protracted civil war, 
which ended in 2002.  The tit-for-tat expulsions raised concerns of 
a humanitarian catastrophe, if further and accelerated expulsions 
continued. 
 
Expulsion of Angolans 
--------------------- 
 
¶6.  (U) According to Songololo and Kimpese residents, many Angolans 
living in the region were frightened, not only by the DRC decision 
to expel them, but also by fear of violent retaliation by expelled 
Congolese.  As a result, many illegal Angolans rushed to the 
Congolese immigration offices and requested to be deported as soon 
as possible, while the legal residents requested government 
protection.  At the beginning of deportation, the DRC assisted 624 
deported Angolans with transportation from their villages to the 
borders.  However, this assistance was discontinued in September, as 
the number of Angolan candidates for deportation increased.  As of 
November, the immigration office of Bas Congo had recorded the 
return of about 30,000 Angolans to their homeland. 
 
¶7.  (U) According to MONUC, the expulsion process of Angolans went 
peacefully with little or no incidents.  In one exception in 
October, after crossing the border, angry expelled Congolese wanted 
to retaliate by attacking Angolans living in Moanda, but they were 
stopped by Angolan soldiers (military instructors at Kitona camp) 
who fired shots to prevent the attack. 
 
Reasons for Expulsions 
---------------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) When asked, the vice governor and human rights 
representatives believe the GoA consider most Congolese in regions 
bordering Cabinda to be supportive of the rebel Front for the 
Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC).  The vice governor 
speculated that Angola wants the DRC to pay for its support to 
former UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi.  Many Songololo and Kimpese 
residents believe that Angolans are unhappy with Congolese who fled 
Bas Congo to look for jobs in Angola and ended up as criminals.  Our 
interlocutors, including expelled Congolese, believe that the 
expulsion is mostly driven by upcoming elections in Angola.  As 
Congolese immigrants overwhelmingly support the opposition UNITA, 
they are not often welcome during election periods. 
 
Abuse Committed during Expulsion 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶9.  (U) In Songololo, expelled Congolese interviewed reported to 
have been physically abused by Angolan authorities during 
deportation.  Some women claimed that Angolan law enforcement 
officers raped them either during arrest or while in temporary 
detention.  Several women interviewed burst into tears when asked 
about their ordeals in prison before being deported.  According to 
expellees, deportation did not depend on the legal status of the 
Congolese, all Congolese living in a targeted neighborhood were 
QCongolese, all Congolese living in a targeted neighborhood were 
subject to deportation.  Resident cards held by Congolese were 
destroyed by Angolan authorities.  Massive extortions were committed 
where people were stripped of all their belongings.  Angolan 
authorities purposefully ignored the closest borders and selected to 
drop Congolese at borders that were as far away from where they were 
arrested as possible (200 kilometers in some cases).  According to 
the Congolese authorities, some expelled people appeared at the 
borders with gunshot wounds in need of immediate medical attention. 
Most of these atrocities were reportedly committed by Angolan police 
officers, but sometimes by youth hired to track down Congolese 
immigrants. 
 
KINSHASA 00001096  003.2 OF 004 
 
 
 
Assistance to Expellees 
----------------------- 
 
¶10.  (U) Congolese expellees who arrive at official borders are 
first registered by immigration officials.  Although expulsions from 
Angola have continued for years, the GDRC has not yet established a 
mechanism to assist its deported citizens.  Generally, expellees are 
on their own once they cross the border to reach their final 
destinations, a difficult situation for many considering that they 
have nothing with them.  Many expellees indicated that they received 
assistance for transportation from relatives in villages along the 
way home. 
 
 
¶11.  (U) Humanitarian organizations have mostly been absent in 
assisting expellees, as the expulsions have often not been 
considered a humanitarian crisis.  Therefore, humanitarian 
assistance services are mostly lacking or at very limited capacity 
at the onset of expulsions.  This year, at the peak of the crisis in 
September-October, some humanitarian actors started to provide 
assistance.  WHO vaccinated children under five, MSF-Belgium 
provided medical screening and emergency healthcare to expellees in 
need, UNICEF and CARITAS assisted with non-food items for the most 
vulnerable, and the GDRC provided transportation and meals for a few 
days. 
 
¶12.  (U) Once in villages, most expellees in Bas Congo move back in 
their households, but often rely on relatives and friends to 
re-establish livelihood activities.  However, expellees who have no 
houses to move back to stay with relatives until a permanent 
solution is found.  Despite the hardship of restarting livelihood 
activities, the situation appears to be under control and does not 
constitute a humanitarian crisis. However, this might change if 
Angolan authorities decide to restart expulsions that would 
overwhelm the existing coping mechanism of the host villages. 
 
¶13.  (U) According to MUNUC observers, Angolan authorities had not 
expected a large number of expellees from the DRC, and were, 
therefore, not prepared to receive them.  Angolan authorities wanted 
to screen people claiming to be Angolans, but were overwhelmed by 
the numbers, which led to crowds forming at the borders for several 
days and expellees losing patience. 
 
Expellees Returning 
------------------- 
 
¶14.  (SBU) There is increasing evidence that many expellees from 
Angola and the DRC are trying or have returned to the country that 
deported them.  One of the tactics used by Congolese was to claim to 
be Angolan citizens to Congolese authorities and to request to be 
deported.  This occurred mostly when DRC authorities processed 
Angolans to be deported.  Since assistance has stopped and all 
deportation became voluntary, Congolese are now paying up to $20 to 
immigration authorities for an official document allowing them to 
re-enter Angola.  According to Congolese laws, this is illegal; 
people deported should not be allowed to return to the country 
Qpeople deported should not be allowed to return to the country 
within two years of the deportation. 
 
¶15.  (SBU) There are also reports of deported Angolans returning to 
the DRC.  According to Angolans interviewed in Songololo and 
Kimpese, many were born and raised in the DRC and do not know people 
or have relatives back in Angola.  According to local NGO 
representatives and local authorities in Songololo and Kimpese, some 
deported Angolans have re-emerged in villages from where they were 
deported.  One of the indications of return is the re-opening of 
businesses owned by Angolans.  USAID/OFDA rep met with one Angolan 
 
KINSHASA 00001096  004.2 OF 004 
 
 
family that had returned with official papers showing October 5 as 
the day they were deported.  The family was being questioned by 
immigration authorities.  In Songololo, some villages were 
completely emptied when Angolans were deported, but those villages 
have become populated again.  Village residents, in discussions with 
USAID/OFDA rep, insisted that they were all Congolese citizens, but 
would not answer additional questions.  It was clear that they did 
not want to talk any further. 
 
Conclusions 
------------ 
 
¶16. (U) Although the GDRC and Angola decided in October to suspend 
expulsions, immigration officers continue to registerexpellees 
crossing from both countries.  However, according to DRC immigration 
officers, the number of people crossing has significantly decreased 
from thousands a day to less than 10. 
 
¶17.  (SBU) Residents of Bas Congo think that the expulsions have 
created more problems than solutions to the situation of illegal 
immigration from both countries.  In the past, residents of 
neighboring towns did not need a passport or visa to enter either 
country, but now everybody is required to have a passport and visa. 
Businesses in neighboring towns are also affected by the expulsions. 
 In Cabinda, for instance, most of the small businesses were 
operated by Congolese immigrants.  In addition, vegetable 
cultivation has also been dominated by Congolese immigrants.  These 
sectors have been the most affected since the expulsions of 
Congolese started in the Cabinda territory.  Many children from 
Cabinda go to school in the DRC and the majority of Cabinda 
residents use Congolese hospitals to get medical help. Many have 
questioned whether the expulsions and general bad blood will incite 
the DRC to prevent Angolans from using these DRC facilities. 
 
¶18.  (SBU) All our interlocutors do not believe that deportation 
would succeed in solving the problem of illegal immigration.  For 
many, Angola and DRC authorities will never succeed in getting rid 
of their respective illegal immigrants.  According to Bas Congo 
officials and local NGOs, expulsions will only lead to more abuses 
from both sides and tarnish the longstanding good relations between 
the two people.  To many, the solution is a political and not a 
humanitarian one.  According to the provincial head of immigration, 
the DRC is ready to work on a political solution, but feels Angola 
does not yet trust the GDRC. 
 
¶19. (SBU) Although some returnees require assistance, the magnitude 
of the situation appears at the moment not to be a humanitarian 
crisis.  Many Bas Congo residents believe the worst is behind them. 
It is a general belief among most residents that Angolan authorities 
are unlikely to expel more Congolese at this time.