US embassy cable - 05KINSHASA2001

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KINSHASA 002001 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/09/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, KDEM, CG, KPKO 
SUBJECT: AMNESTY LAW: QUESTION MAY NOT BE SETTLED YET 
 
 
Classified By: PolCouns MSanderson, reasons 1.4 b/d. 
 
 1. (C) On November 29 the National Assembly passed the 
long-awaited amnesty law, but the central issue -- the fate 
of those accused of assassinating former president Laurent 
Kabila -- remains explosive and far from settled.  Passage of 
the law itself triggered a spate of bad feelings, as the law 
passed on a slim three-vote margin following a walk-out by 
the PPRD and the Mai Mai delegates.  This break with 
consensus -- the foundation of the transition -- in favor of 
majority voting could itself carry consequences for remaining 
legislation in Parliament, including the electoral law. 
Senior Presidential Advisor Augustin Katumba told PolCouns 
December 3 that National Assembly president Olivier Kamitatu 
had made a "deliberate choice" to force the law through, and 
would have to deal with the consequences. 
 
2. (C) This law, a key piece of legislation identified in the 
transitional constitution as necessary to complete the 
transition, has always been divisive, posing as it does both 
a personal and political dilemma for President Kabila.  Those 
close to the President say that he does not want to risk 
offending family members and the hard-liners among his 
political followers by appearing willing to forgive his 
father's killers. At the same time, he reportedly favored 
trying to advance national reconciliation, which was the 
intent of the law.  When Kamitatu first believed that he had 
a workable law, over 18 months ago, he approached Kabila and 
in a series of private meetings, said that he had received 
Kabila's personal assurance that the bill could be presented 
for a vote and that the PPRD would support it. However, when 
Kamitatu brought the bill to the floor, the PPRD and Mai Mai 
delegates left the Assembly and, without MLC support, there 
were not enough votes to pass the law so it foundered. 
 
3. (C) In the ensuing time the PPRD and RCD have sporadically 
searched for a compromise.  It was the MLC which finally 
proposed a way forward, by inserting a new paragraph into the 
law defining political crimes, and specifically providing a 
conditional (vice complete) amnesty to the alleged assassins 
of the former president and giving them the opportunity to 
plead their case before the Supreme Court, abiding by the 
Court's decision.  According to Katumba, the PPRD agreed to 
allow the bill to be voted based on the understanding that 
this language would be included.  Instead, thanks to a few 
key changes in the definition of war crimes (changes which 
MLC VP Bemba reportedly believes will exempt him from 
prosecution for his actions during the war), the MLC withdrew 
its proposed compromise language and voted with the RCD and 
political opposition, providing the critical mass to pass the 
law on majority vote. 
 
4. (C)  The problem which remains now is a question of 
interpretation.  The law no longer provides a specific 
definition of a political crime, despite fairly specific 
language defining war crimes.  Moise Nyarangabu, head of the 
RCD/G component in the Assembly and one of his party's 
hard-liners, believes the RCD can and should use this 
imprecision to exonerate those of its members imprisoned or 
under sentence of death for their supposed involvement with 
the assassination.  The PPRD vehemently insists that, since 
political crimes were not defined and killing a president is 
not a war crime, the law does not apply to this group. 
Furthermore, Katumba and others from the PPRD told PolCouns 
that if the RCD tries to have the Minister of Justice rescind 
the sentence regarding the assassins, the PPRD will challenge 
the law in the Supreme Court.  Katumba also said that 
President Kabila will not sign the bill into law, despite the 
risk that the PPRD could then be accused of trying to block 
the transition.  However, he added that as long as the RCD 
doesn't try to use the law to free those imprisoned, the law 
can be finalized "some time" before the end of the 
transition. 
 
5. (C) Comment: Passing the bill has not put an end to the 
controversy and potential problems posed by the issue of 
amnesty.  Among fallout from the bill's passage seems to be a 
rupture between National Assembly head Kamitatu and the PPRD 
(septel), and the threat (by the PPRD) of problems passing 
remaining pieces of key legislation, such as the elections 
law and the budget.  But for President Kabila personally, the 
passage of the law -- over the strong and vocal objections of 
his party -- has drawn some of the sting from the issue.  At 
this point he can argue to both his family and his party that 
he did his best to oppose it, but that now it is time to move 
on.  If he does so, resisting the urging of extremists that 
he either contest the law or refuse to sign it, it could be 
not only an important step in national reconciliation but one 
which redounds to his political credit. End comment. 
MEECE