US embassy cable - 05KINSHASA950

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KINSHASA 000950 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/10/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, KPKO, MARR, CG 
SUBJECT: NEW SECURITY SECTOR AGREEMENTS SIGNED BETWEEN 
BELGIUM, SOUTH AFRICA, HOLLAND, AND THE DRC 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Roger Meece.  Reason 1.4 (b/d). 
 
1. (U) Summary: Three new security sector reforms were signed 
on the margins of a June 1 ceremony marking the graduation of 
the third FARDC integrated brigade (reported septel).  The 
Belgian, South Africa, and DRC agreements provide for 
additional future training, equipment and infrastructure 
development.  A Dutch "letter of intent" provides for a new 
Euro 5 million grant channeled through South Africa, also 
related to infrastructure support for further military 
integration training.  Related, South African military 
"census" activities continue, with an implicit agreement for 
European financial support as necessary to complete the key 
census exercise.  All represent welcome progress to spur 
increased activity in the critically important security 
sector during the final portion of the DRC transition 
process.  End summary. 
 
2. (U) Septel reports a June 1 ceremony held in Kamina 
(Katanga Province) to mark the graduation of soldiers drawn 
from various former belligerent factions, trained under South 
African and Belgian auspices to form the third integrated 
FARDC brigade.   Three security sector agreements were signed 
on the margins of the ceremony by the Belgian, South African, 
and Congolese Ministers of Defense, and by the Dutch 
Ambassador. 
 
3. (U) A "Joint Communique on the Arrangement between the 
DRC, RSA, and Belgium" signed by the respective Defense 
Ministers builds on a December 2004 "trilateral" agreement, 
and provides for continued future cooperation and further 
military training.  In general terms the agreement provides 
for the South Africans and Congolese to "keep on with the 
activities linked to the integration training" in designated 
centers, and the Belgian and Congolese to "ensure the 
training of the leadership of the Kamina airport site and the 
Kinshasa Military Academy."   The agreement further provides 
that Belgian and South African liaison officers will be 
detailed to the other country,s working groups, and 
specifies "implementation mechanisms" will be further worked 
out at the expert level. 
 
4. (U) A bilateral agreement signed by the Belgian and 
Congolese Ministers commits Belgium to further 
"train-the trainers" for the Mushaki, Luberezi, and Nyaleke 
integration centers (in North and South Kivu), with training 
to be conducted in Kamina starting July 1.  The accord 
further commits both countries to work to improve Kamina 
infrastructure, and promises Belgian support to help equip 
the new third integrated brigade.  This support is further 
defined as direct Belgian contributions as well as Belgian 
"contacts" with other international community states to 
fulfill equipment needs of this and future integrated 
brigades.  The bilateral accord also references Belgian 
secondment of a Belgian Colonel to the GDRC,s military 
integration authority (SMI), as well as a Belgian promise to 
"equip and form" a Beninese battalion for deployment to MONUC 
forces. 
 
5. (U) In addition, a quite detailed "Letter of Intent" was 
signed by the South African and Congolese Ministers, and by 
the Dutch Ambassador on behalf of her government.  The letter 
in essence commits the Dutch government to provide a grant of 
five million Euros to the South African government to support 
Congolese Army integration.  Specifically, the funds are 
intended to improve living conditions in the Nyaleke and 
Mushaki integration centers in North Kivu in accordance with 
a previously conducted needs assessment.  The letter is very 
specific that the grant is to support the integration 
process, and that brigades to be trained must include troops 
at platoon level from a specific list of former belligerent 
factions (e.g., MLC, RCD-Goma, FAC, Mai-Mai, RCD-ML).   The 
letter imposes a number of other specific conditions, 
including human rights training, consistency with the 
national integration and demobilization plans, and deployment 
of troops following training to permit other new troops to be 
moved into the integration training centers.  The letter 
notes that a separate bilateral agreement will be signed 
between the Netherlands and South Africa regarding the grant 
and release of funds and the obligations of both countries 
 
6.  (U) Text of all three agreements are being sent to AF/C. 
 
7. (SBU) Related, South African-led "census" activities are 
continuing based on a 30-person South African military group 
assisted by FARDC officers.  A large number of soldiers in 
Kamina were clearly equipped with visible badges indicating 
soldiers already processed through the census procedure. 
Concern had arisen that this initiative might falter due to a 
lack of money; however, a consensus has formed with an 
implicit commitment for European funds to be available to 
South Africa to permit the census activity to be completed as 
quickly as possible.  A successful census project is 
essential to eliminate from the rolls a large number of 
"phantom" soldiers, claimed for payroll purposes, and set 
baselines for the overall military integration and DDR 
programs.  In addition, the exercise is critical to the 
corresponding effort underway to regularize payment of 
salaries to the military, a long-standing Congolese problem. 
 
8. (C) Comment: The Dutch grant is fully consistent with 
obvious Dutch interest in helping to foster greater South 
African integration with European security sector activities. 
 There is, however, continuing unease and sometimes criticism 
evidenced by Belgian officials regarding the South African 
activities.  While senior-level Belgian and South African 
officials appear intent to reinforce coordinated activities, 
as evidenced by the new "trilateral" cooperation extension, 
there appears to be some continuing working-level 
competition.   The Kivu integration centers were part of a 
new network established as a part of various "emergency 
plans" adopted starting late 2004, but largely uncoordinated 
and poorly directed.  The new agreements reflect efforts to 
ensure that the poor physical conditions in these centers are 
brought up to some accepted minimal standard, and that more 
generally the integration efforts underway in these, as well 
as the Kitona and Kamina centers, are part of the overall 
coordinated national integration plan.  There are still 
outstanding issues, for example, a sub-standard Camp Lukusa 
facility in Kisangani, and a proposed new center in Mbandaka, 
but the agreements signed in Kamina represent substantial 
progress. 
 
9. (U) Comment continued:  Taken together, the new 
agreements, the corresponding census activity, related 
continuing Angolan training efforts, and the establishment of 
a new EU Security Mission working in support of pay and other 
security sector reform activities augur well for an increased 
pace of security sector programs.  All of these activities 
represent substantial resource commitments by the various 
partners in recognition of the critical importance of the 
security sector as the Congolese transition enters a final 
phase moving toward elections.  End comment. 
MEECE