VZCZCXRO2451
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHKI #0010/01 0071251
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 071250Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY KINSHASA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0004
RUEHC/USAID WASHDC 0001
INFO RWANDA COLLECTIVE
SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0001
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS 0001
RUEHBZ/AMEMBASSY BRAZZAVILLE 0001
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0003

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KINSHASA 000010 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KPAO PREL PHUM CG RW ICTR
SUBJECT: DDRRR AWARENESS ACTIVITIES APPEARS TO DELIVER RESULTS, BUT 
MORE RESOURCES NEEDED 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: While MONUC awareness activities appear to have 
had positive results in encouraging FDLR combatants to participate 
in the Disarmament, Demobilization, Repatriation, Resettlement and 
Reintegration (DDRRR) process, additional resources are needed to 
sustain their efforts, according to MONUC.  MONUC DDRRR and other 
offices are proving to be helpful in Embassy Kinshasa's efforts to 
promote the Rewards for Justice Program.  End Summary. 
 
 
 
MONUC DDRRR awareness efforts 
 
----------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶2.  (SBU) MONUC officers noted to APAO on December 10-11 that DDRRR 
awareness efforts have made inroads in encouraging Democratic 
Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) rank-and-file to leave 
the movement and participate in the DDRRR process.  DDRRR Political 
Officer Matthew Brubacher, awareness team leader Sam Howard, and 
Public Information Office chief Sylvie Van Den Wildenberg all 
indicated that the FDLR information campaign, which previously had 
been quite effective in discouraging participation among 
rank-and-file, was being countered by awareness efforts. 
Weaknesses in the current FDLR presence in the Kivus, resulting 
from military pressure following the Umoju Wetu and Kimia II 
operations and coupled with the recent arrests of FDLR leaders 
Ignace Murwanashyaka and Straton Musoni, have been necessary for 
the awareness efforts to be successful.  But, according to DDRRR 
team members, as the recent military pressure on the FDLR has made 
some tactical gains, and put the rank-and-file on notice, 
information campaigns, which have been synergized with military 
campaigns, have had more success.  DDRRR team members noted that 
during 2009, 1664 FDLR combatants were repatriated, which was a 
three-fold increase compared to 2008.  While MONUC does not 
officially survey ex-combatants to determine motivation to return, 
DDRRR team members indicated a number of ex-combatants attributed 
their decision to return to information products distributed by 
MONUC. 
 
 
 
What are these products? 
 
------------------------ 
 
 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The sustained awareness campaign has included the 
distribution of written materials through air-drops, the 
transmission of messages through the MONUC mobile radio stations in 
the Kivus, and the continued regional broadcasting of Radio Okapi's 
"Gutahuka" program (which interviews recently returned 
ex-combattants to Rwanda).  Currently, there are 20 reception sites 
in North and South Kivu and thirteen active radio stations.  To 
generate a greater listenership among FDLR rank-and-file and local 
audiences, MONUC has permitted local and international 
organizations to broadcast non-DDRRR messages on their mobile radio 
stations.  For more remote areas where the stations' signal cannot 
reach audiences, or where combatants do not own radios, flyers and 
pictorials have proven to be effective tools (for instance, 
anecdotal information has revealed many FDLR combatants come to 
DDRRR facilities with these flyers).  More recently, DDRRR and PIO 
have partnered together to show FDLR members images of 
ex-combatants who have been successfully reintegrated back into 
Rwandan society, and combat misperceptions (intentionally promoted 
by the FDLR information campaign) of the "Gacaca" justice process. 
On a more limited scale, DDRRR is also providing satellite phones 
to ex-combatants to phone individuals still part of the movement to 
encourage participation in the DDRRR process. 
 
 
 
Need for further resources 
 
-------------------------- 
 
KINSHASA 00000010  002 OF 003 
 
 
¶4. (SBU) Despite progress in the awareness efforts, MONUC DDRRR has 
noted more resources are needed to sustain the program.  While the 
British government has provided some support to assist in the 
production of films for FDLR audiences, additional resources have 
been limited.  Howard provided APAO with a draft proposal (which 
has yet to receive any funding support from MONUC or other donors) 
that requests $25,000 in additional assistance to maintain existing 
programs and support new initiatives.  The funding would cover 
additional materials to upgrade the existing mobile transmitters, 
as well as support the development of additional print and 
broadcast materials. 
 
 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Brubacher asserted that flyers and booklets on DDRRR that 
were produced last year by the Mission Information Strategic Team 
(MIST) and airdropped into FDLR territory proved to be effective 
(as many FDLR combatants referenced these products when explaining 
their reason for coming to DDRRR facilities), and indicated similar 
products would be helpful.  (Note: APAO did provide DDRRR with the 
Swahili version of the VOA editorial that highlighted the 
Murwanashyaka and Musoni arrests, which has been broadcasted on the 
mobile radio units. End Note.) Howard noted DDRRR has contemplated 
augmenting the capacity of community radio stations (which are more 
widely followed in certain communities than MONUC's mobile radio 
stations) to help transmit information on the DDRRR process, but 
funding limitations have restricted efforts to pursue this option. 
 
 
 
 
Support for Rewards for Justice 
 
------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶6.  (SBU) MONUC DDRRR and PIO have expressed great interest in 
supporting USG efforts to publicize the Rewards for Justice (RFJ) 
Program, noting that it complements the overall objectives of the 
DDRRR process by targeting International Criminal Tribunal of 
Rwanda (ICTR) indictees, some of whom are affiliated with the FDLR 
(for instance, they have learned informally from local contacts 
that two ICTR indictees, Jean Bosco Uwinkindi and Charles 
Zikubwabo, are located in FDLR territory in North Kivu).  MONUC 
officials in Kinshasa and the field have assisted in "getting the 
message out" about the program to key audiences in the Kivus (such 
as church networks, civil society and press representatives) and 
have agreed to broadcast Rewards for Justice information on both 
Radio Okapi and mobile radio units in the region. 
 
 
 
¶7.  (SBU) MONUC also proposed news-oriented programs to help 
explain the program and address specific concerns about RFJ.  Most 
of the questions that emanate from MONUC's informal outreach 
efforts have revolved around the manner in which payments would be 
made to those with information on the ICTR indictees.  They 
specifically wanted concrete instances in which Congolese citizens 
were rewarded by the program for any information offered to track 
down any of the indictees.  MONUC PIO also indicated that while 
security has improved in most areas of the Kivus, any messages 
concerning RFJ would have to clearly identify the United States as 
promoting the initiative, so as to not expose the entity 
broadcasting the message. 
 
 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Comment:  MONUC appears confident in  its assertion that 
the awareness programs have been a bright spot in the DDRRR 
process.  While military pressure is necessary to weaken FDLR 
morale and encourage repatriation, awareness efforts are unarguably 
a necessary complement that supports the DDRRR process and combats 
the FDLR's own information campaign.  As MONUC awareness tools 
 
KINSHASA 00000010  003 OF 003 
 
 
appear to be an effective vehicle for the U.S. to promote the RFJ 
program, we should explore avenues to augment  MONUC's capacity, 
and to collaborate more intensively in this area.  End Comment. 
GARVELINK