US embassy cable - 05KINSHASA878

C O N F I D E N T I A L KINSHASA 000878 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/26/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PINS, CG, RW 
SUBJECT: MINISTER OF DEFENSE ON TSHISEKEDI AND RWANDA 
 
REF: A. KINSHASA 847 
 
     B. KINSHASA 849 
 
Classified By: Poloff Meghan Moore for Reasons 1.4 B and D 
 
1. (C) During a May 23 meeting with polcouns, Minister of 
Defense Adolphe Onusumba said his attempts to reason with 
UDPS leader Tshisekedi about joining the transitional 
government had failed, that Rwanda would like to replace 
Congolese Vice President Ruberwa, and that the international 
community was not concerned enough about insecurity in North 
Kivu. He also claimed that Rwandan troops have entered the 
DRC to provide support to Thomas Lubanga's faction of the 
Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC-L) in Ituri. End Summary. 
 
The Tshisekedi Connection 
------------------------- 
 
2. (C) Onusumba said that his personal attempts to convince 
UDPS leader Etienne Tshisekedi to seek an acceptable position 
in the transitional government have failed because Tshisekedi 
is unreasonable and irrationally continues to insist that he 
should be prime minister. Onusumba, whose aunt is married to 
Tshisekedi's brother, told polcouns he had also asked his 
 
SIPDIS 
aunt to help convince Tshisekedi to engage in reasonable 
dialogue, but she too had been unsuccessful. 
 
3. (C) According to Onusumba, RCD/G leader VP Ruberwa would 
like to re-establish a formal alliance between the RCD/G and 
UDPS, which Ruberwa believes would greatly improve the 
RCD/G's chances of winning parliamentary seats in the 
upcoming elections. (Comment: Ruberwa, however, may have 
changed his mind after Tshisekedi humiliated him by not 
participating in a meeting Ruberwa set up between Tshisekedi 
and South African President Thabo Mbeki May 16. (reftel A). 
End comment.) 
 
Rwanda 
------ 
 
4. (C) Onusumba asserted that he was close to Rwandan 
President Paul Kagame and Rwandan military Chief of Staff 
James Kabarebe, and said he often met with them while 
supposedly visiting Goma. (He assured polcouns he asked for 
President Kabila's permission before going to Rwanda.) Kigali 
was finished with Vice President Ruberwa, Onusumba said, and 
would like to replace him. He added that Kabarebe, with 
Kagame's approval, had started purging the Rwandan military 
of those not loyal to Kagame. As a result, the Minister 
claimed a number of Rwandan soldiers had fled to Burundi, 
Uganda and the DRC. 
 
North Kivu 
---------- 
 
5. (C) Per Onusumba, the international community was not 
concerned enough about political dynamics in and around Goma. 
He believed it would be increasingly difficult for North Kivu 
Governor Serufuli to maintain order in the province because 
Serufuli has moved much closer politically to Kinshasa, which 
has caused "others" to take a more direct hand in the 
province. 
 
Ituri 
----- 
 
6. (C) Several hundred Rwandan soldiers have entered the DRC 
and moved towards Ituri to provide support to Bosco (military 
leader of the UPC-L), alleged Onusumba. He went on to say 
that Bosco had called him during May 22's firefight in Bunia 
between the UPC-L and FARDC to complain that the FARDC had 
fired on his troops (reftel B). Onusumba told polcouns he 
yelled at Bosco and told him, "of course they fired at your 
troops-- they are rebels." 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
7. (C) Onusumba broke little ground on Rwanda-related issues, 
as reports that Ruberwa is on the "outs" with Kigali and/or 
Serufuli has moved too close (or too far away) from Kinshasa 
are relatively common. A specific report of Rwandan troops 
moving to help Bosco from an RCD/G source (albeit a Kasaian 
one) was a bit unexpected. More surprising was Onusumba's 
personal efforts to convince Tshisekedi to take a more 
moderate stance. 
MEECE