US embassy cable - 04KINSHASA1456

C O N F I D E N T I A L KINSHASA 001456 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/02/2014 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, CG 
SUBJECT: POSITIONING FOR THE NEXT TRIPARTITE TALKS 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Roger Meece.  Reason 1.5 b/d) 
 
1. (C) Summary: In an informal Sunday meeting at the CMR, 
former FM Ghonda told the Ambassador that the GDRC wants to 
have some agreement regarding the proposed Joint Verification 
Mechanism (JVM) prior to the next round of Tripartite talks. 
He asserted that the Rwandans had concurred formally with 
this idea in Washington, but in fact are seeking to drag out 
Joint Verification talks.  In  response to a question, Ghonda 
said that he is proposing that the GDRC be represented in the 
next round by new FM Ramazani and Regional Cooperation 
Minister Nyamwisi.  The latter would be the de facto Kabila 
rep, as thus far at least, Kabila will not deal with 
Ramazani.  End summary. 
 
2. (C) Former FM Antoine Ghonda stopped by the CMR on Sunday, 
August 1 for a lengthy but informal discussion of the current 
situation in the DRC.  Septel will cover his account of 
developments leading to his recent replacement as FM by Vice 
President Jean Pierre Bemba, and some observations about the 
domestic Congolese scene. 
 
3. (C) During the conversation, the Ambassador asked Ghonda 
about Kinshasa's view of the next round of Tripartite talks 
in light of the Ministerial change.  Ghonda responded by 
first noting that the GDRC (comment: presumably meaning 
Ghonda, and by implication Kabila) wants to have some kind of 
agreement regarding the proposed Joint Verification Mechanism 
prior to the next round of talks.  Ghonda said that both the 
Ugandans and Rwandans had concurred with this proposal during 
the last round of talks in Washington.  But, he added, in 
fact the Rwandans are not eager to move the Joint 
Verification Mechanism forward and are in fact stalling, 
dragging the process out as much as possible.  He observed 
that the Rwandans would therefore be all too pleased to 
attend the next Tripartite round without any forward movement 
on joint verification, all the more reason from Kinshasa's 
perspective to stick to the Washington agreement.  Ghonda 
expressed hope that a scheduled meeting this week in Nairobi 
would produce some progress on the Joint Verification front 
which could lead to more general progress.  (Note: 
PolCounselor was separately informed by MONUC Chief of Staff 
July 30 that the Nairobi talks have been postponed at the 
request of the GOR.  End note). 
 
4. (C) The Ambassador also asked about new FM Ramazani's 
position and the more general question of future Congolese 
representation in the talks.  Ghonda (please protect) said 
that to-date, President Kabila would have nothing to do with 
Ramazani.  While Ghonda said that he has been trying to get 
Kabila to modify this stance, thus far he has been 
unsuccessful.  Ghonda has proposed that the GDRC be 
represented in the next round by FM Ramazani in some sort of 
co-representative arrangement with International Cooperation 
Minister Mbusa Nyamwisi.  The latter would serve as the de 
facto Kabila representative in the talks.  Ghonda indicated 
that no final decision has yet been made, but that he 
(Ghonda) at this point has no official role. 
 
5. (C) Comment: It was clear from his general comments that 
Ghonda is essentially finished as a part of Jean-Pierre 
Bemba's MLC, but that he continues to do discrete work for 
President Kabila.  Nonetheless, he implied that any future 
formal role for himself will probably not be decided until at 
least the end of the month, after some of the dust settles. 
In the meantime, it appears that Ghonda and Kabila want to 
push forward with the Joint Verification Mechanism, and are 
willing to try to use the tripartite talks as some leverage 
on the issue.  The problem of a Foreign Affairs Minister who 
does not enjoy the confidence of the President is an 
additional complication and needs some further processing in 
Kinshasa as well to find an acceptable formula.  The 
Ambassador is scheduled to present credentials to President 
Kabila on August 3.  While that occasion is likely to be 
ceremonial with little chance for substantive exchange, it 
will open the door to increased contacts in Kinshasa to help 
push for continued forward movement on this and other 
questions.  End comment. 
MEECE