US embassy cable - 03HARARE1217

UNCLAS HARARE 001217 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR INR/R/MR AND AF/PDPA DALTON, MITCHELL AND SIMS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, KPAO, KMDR, ZI 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION DROC; HARARE 
 
  1.   Under headline "U. N.'s indifference to DRC conflict 
      disturbing" the government-controlled daily "The 
      Herald" dedicated its June 13 editorial to accusing 
      the United Nations of dragging its feet in solving 
      the political discord in the Democratic Republic of 
      Congo (DRC).  Excerpts: 
 
  2.   "Reports coming out of the DRC. . .make depressing 
      reading and make the sincerity of the United Nations 
      in solving conflicts in Africa questionable.  The U. 
      N. is mandated to stop conflicts and maintain peace 
      and security, yet Congolese nationals in the Ituri 
      province of the vast country have been killing each 
      other while the U. N. stands by. . .It was not until 
      fairly recently that the U. N. decided to move in. 
      So far, its involvement has . . .been 
      lukewarm. . .Reports say that the U. N. has deployed 
      700 peacekeepers in the war-torn country, a figure 
      which, given the size of the DRC and the complexity 
      of the situation, we feel is negligible.  While 
      these few and ill-equipped `monitors' are sauntering 
      about in the DRC, the fighting is raging 
      on. . .Africa has never meant much for the U. S. or 
      other influential members of the U. N. Security 
      Council, hence the apparent slow manner in which the 
      U. N. has been moving over the DRC issue. . .We feel 
      that the U. N. has the capacity - but lacks the 
      will - to mobilize a big enough force to stop the 
      carnage in the DRC. . . ." 
 
SULLIVAN