Cablegate: Media Pledge Extends to Kabila and Bemba Camps

VZCZCXRO3987
PP RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHKI #1401 2501536
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 071536Z SEP 06
FM AMEMBASSY KINSHASA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4740
INFO RUEHXR/RWANDA COLLECTIVE
RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK

UNCLAS KINSHASA 001401

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

E.O.12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KDEM KPAO CG
SUBJECT: Media Pledge Extends to Kabila and Bemba Camps

REF: KINSHASA 1388 and previous

Sensitive but Unclassified. Not for Internet Distribution.

1. (SBU) Summary: High-level representatives of both President
Kabila and VP Bemba on September 4 signed a pledge to rein in their
respective media. The Ambassador has heard from representatives of
President Kabila that pro-Bemba broadcast media will be restored by
the end of this week. The pledge will mean little without some move
to get Bemba media back on the air. The question will indeed then
become one of tempering its content. End Summary

2. (U) At its weekly press conference on September 6, MONUC Deputy
Spokesman Jean-Tobie Okala rejected assertions that talks between
the representatives of the two presidential candidates had
stalemated. In fact, he said, the two parties had formally
committed themselves to a responsible use of their media outlets.

3. (U) The Embassy has obtained a copy of the agreement, signed
September 4 by the Secretary General of VP Bemba's MLC party,
Francois Muamba, and by President Kabila's Special Security Advisor,
Samba Kaputo. The agreement is basically the same engagement drawn
up by the High Media Authority (HAM) and signed by most of
Kinshasa's television stations (reftel). That document is an
engagement to abide by the law concerning press freedoms; notably,
the pledge to abjure provocative speech. The HAM pledge also
proscribes live political call-in shows, live reports from violent
demonstrations, and shocking images during the electoral campaign
period.

4. (U) In addition to this basic HAM pledge, Muamba and Kaputo
formally pledged, by their signatures, not summarily to interrupt
broadcast signals, arrest journalists, or prevent media from
covering the entire country. They further pledged to denounce
offensive broadcasts and to punish offenders (under their control),
without prejudice to possible judicial investigations. Muamba and
Kaputo further committed to contact one another so as immediately to
redress any infractions to their agreement, and to respect all HAM
decisions.

5. (SBU) Senior presidency representatives told the Ambassador
September 7 that VP Bemba's media should be back on the air by the
end of this week. Two Bemba television stations have been shut down
since August 20 by the Ministry of Information, usurping regulatory
authority vested in the HAM.

(SBU) Comment: The pledge signed by Muamba and Kaputo is one of
several initiatives aimed at restoring some degree of confidence
between the Bemba and Kabila camps and reducing tensions in
Kinshasa. The pledge they signed will remain hollow, however,
without some concrete moves to restore the signal to pro-Bemba
media. There remains the question, however, of whether pro-Bemba
broadcast journalists can overcome their reported fear of threats
made against them. There remains, too, the concern of just what
Bemba media will try to say when it goes back on the air.

MEECE

© Scoop Media