US embassy cable - 05KINSHASA1873

C O N F I D E N T I A L KINSHASA 001873 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/10/2015 
TAGS: PHUM, PGOV, KPKO, CG 
SUBJECT: FARDC MILITARY TRIBUNAL REQUESTS MONUC SUPPORT IN 
MASS GRAVES INQUIRY 
 
Classified By: PolOff TJNaber, reasons 1.4 b/d. 
 
1. (SBU) Following an October 25 joint visit to recently 
discovered mass graves in Rutshuru territory by a MONUC Human 
Rights Division team and a FARDC military tribunal, the 
latter requested MONUC assistance in conducting an inquiry. 
Specifically, the FARDC military tribunal requested the 
following of the MONUC Human Rights Division: 1) technical 
support in measuring the perimeter of the grave sites, 2) 
technical and logistical support in a second visit to the 
mass graves for the purpose of taking the statements of 
witnesses, 3) technical support via a medical-legal team and 
scientists specializing in forensics, and 4) MONUC protection 
for the witnesses, magistrates, and investigators involved in 
the inquiry.  Initial investigations by the military 
magistrate located four witnesses, including one survivor. 
The FARDC military tribunal at Rutshuru sent a report to the 
FARDC Magistrate-General asking him to provide the necessary 
directives to continue the inquiry. 
 
2. (SBU) FARDC soldiers with the 5th Integrated Brigade by 
chance discovered three mass graves within the perimeter of 
their military base near Rutshuru in late September.  Four 
other mass graves have since been identified in nearby 
locations near Rutshuru.  MONUC human rights officers in Goma 
reportedly urged the GDRC to bring the killings to light, 
preferably through a civilian judicial inquiry.  According to 
the Chief of Staff to the GDRC Human Rights Minster, Olela 
Okunji, the inquiry will be military and civilian in nature. 
 
3. (SBU) According to local accounts, the graves hold the 
remains of Congolese Hutu victims of Rwandan/AFDL massacres 
in Rutshuru dating to October 30 and November 18, 1996. 
Local survivors recount a meeting called by the AFDL in 
Rutshuru stadium on October 30, 1996 for the region's 
inhabitants; nearly all were massacred.  Local survivors also 
claim they can provide the location of several other mass 
graves. 
 
4. (SBU) The well-publicized discovery of the graves appears 
to have opened old wounds in Rutshuru.  According to a UNICEF 
staff member in Goma, Anisea Mweze, relations between local 
Hutus and Tutsis have cooled, despite reports that North Kivu 
governor Eugene Serufuli is working to calm them.  The Nande, 
an ethnic group usually unsympathetic to both Hutus and 
Tutsis, has recently expressed fellowship with the former as 
victims of perceived Tutsi violence.  The Regional 
Coordinator of the Rutshuru NGO Centre d'Etudes et de 
Recherches en Education de Base pour le Developpement Integre 
(CEREBRA) has established a committee to identify witnesses 
of the massacre and register possible victims.  The Regional 
Coordinator of CEREBRA, Kambale Kiyana, said that a local 
Catholic church organized a mass for the victims October 29. 
He also said that the local population is horrified at seeing 
human bones and skulls scattered around the mass graves sites 
and are accusing Rutshuru Mayor Oscar Ndambiye of failing to 
take steps to secure the graves due to his complicity in the 
original massacres.  (Note:  The initial goals of the MONUC 
Human Rights Division and FARDC military tribunal visit on 
October 25 were to establish the existence of the mass 
graves, locate witnesses and survivors, and to protect the 
grave sites.  It is unclear whether the last of these has 
been achieved. End note.) 
 
5. (C) Comment: The "recently discovered" mass graves in 
Rutshuru appear to have been an open secret among the local 
population.  With the commencement of a public inquiry, 
witnesses and survivors responded with rage and grief at what 
they characterize as a "genocide" of Hutus (Congolese and 
Rwandan) by Tutsis (Congolese and Rwandan) during the 
1996-1998 war that brought Laurent Desire Kabila to power. 
There is a widespread perception in the provinces of North 
and South Kivu that the world is unwilling to hear about 
atrocities committed by Rwandan and AFDL forces in the DRC, 
especially given that the current Congolese president's 
father came to power as the head of the AFDL.  Foot-dragging 
by the FARDC military tribunal or perceived lack of 
assistance by MONUC will further contribute to distrust of 
both institutions in the area.  End comment. 
MEECE