US embassy cable - 01PRETORIA423

Disclaimer: This site has been first put up 15 years ago. Since then I would probably do a couple things differently, but because I've noticed this site had been linked from news outlets, PhD theses and peer rewieved papers and because I really hate the concept of "digital dark age" I've decided to put it back up. There's no chance it can produce any harm now.

RCD-G'S INITIAL THOUGHTS ON JOSEPH KABILA

Identifier: 01PRETORIA423
Wikileaks: View 01PRETORIA423 at Wikileaks.org
Origin: Embassy Pretoria
Created: 2001-01-19 10:55:00
Classification: CONFIDENTIAL
Tags: PREL PGOV MARR CG ZI SF
Redacted: This cable was not redacted by Wikileaks.
P 191055Z JAN 01
FM AMEMBASSY PRETORIA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7015
INFO RWANDA COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L PRETORIA 000423 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR AF/S AND AF/C 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/17/2006 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, MARR, CG, ZI, SF 
SUBJECT: RCD-G'S INITIAL THOUGHTS ON JOSEPH KABILA 
 
CLASSIFIED BY POLCOUNSELOR MDRAGSDALE, REASONS 1.5(B) AND (D). 
 
 
1.  (C)  THE CONGOLESE REBEL GROUP RCD-G IS WILLING TO WORK 
WITH NEWLY NAMED DROC PRESIDENT JOSEPH KABILA SO LONG AS HE 
ADHERES TO THE LUSAKA AGREEMENT AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A 
CEASE-FIRE, RCD-G REPRESENTATIVE TOMAS NZIRATIMANA TOLD 
POLOFF JANUARY 19.  HOWEVER, NZIRATIMANA STRESSED THAT RCD-G 
WAS CONCERNED ABOUT BOTH KABILA'S POLITICAL AND MILITARY 
CAPABILITIES AND STRESSED THAT HE WAS HEAVILY UNDER THE 
INFLUENCE OF ZIMBABWE.  NZIRATIMANA ALLEGED THAT ZIMBABWE 
PRESIDENT MUGABE SELECTED KABILA AS HIS FATHER'S SUCESSOR 
BECAUSE JOSEPH KABILA HAS "FULL KNOWLEDGE" OF ALL THE 
ZIMBABWEAN "BUSINESS DEALS" IN THE DROC. 
 
2.  (C)  ACCORDING TO NZIRATIMANA, THE ALLIED FORCES HAD A 
"FAILED MISSION" IN NORTHERN PWETO JANUARY 11-12.  THIS 
MISSION RESULTED IN AT LEAST ONE HUNDRED CASUALTIES AND 
APPEARED TO "SCARE" THE ALLIED FORCES, MAINTAINED 
NZIRATIMANA.  SINCE THIS ABORTED ATTEMPT AT ATTACK, CONTINUED 
NZIRATIMANA, THERE HAS BEEN NO REPORTS OF FIGHTING IN THE 
PWETO AREA. 
 
3.  (C)  NZIRATIMANA SAID RCD-G CONTINUED TO MONITOR THE 
SITUATION IN KINSHASA AND HAD NO PLANS TO EMBARK ON A 
MILITARY OFFENSIVE. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
4.  (C)  THE RCD-G REPRESENTATIVE HAS NOW BECOME THE RCD-G'S 
OFFICIAL "SPOKESPERSON."  HIS VIEWS ARE BEING WIDELY 
SOLICITED AS HE MAKES THE ROUNDS ON NATIONAL RADIO AND 
TELEVISION, INCLUDING RADIO 702, FM94.7, SABC, AND ETV SINCE 
JANUARY 17 ON THE LIKELY OUTCOMES OF THE DEMISE OF KABILA. 
END COMMENT. 
 
 
BLANEY 

Latest source of this page is cablebrowser-2, released 2011-10-04