Cablegate: Military Justice Reacts Quickly to Discovery Of

VZCZCXRO0282
PP RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHKI #1797 3321448
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 281448Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY KINSHASA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5228
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 001797

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV MOPS KPKO KJUS CG
SUBJECT: MILITARY JUSTICE REACTS QUICKLY TO DISCOVERY OF
MASS GRAVES

1. (U) DRC military prosecutors have moved quickly in
response to widely-publicized reports of three mass graves
found near Bunia in Ituri District. The Military Prosecutor
for Ituri, John Penza, arrested two senior officers of the
Congolese national army's (FARDC) First Integrated Brigade
(1st IB) after UN and army investigators discovered the
graves November 22 inside the 1st IB's Bavi camp, 24 miles
south of Bunia.

2. (U) According to a MONUC press release, Penza charged
the head of the 1st IB's Intervention Battalion, Francois
Molese, and a battalion disciplinary officer with the summary
execution of at least 30 civilians whose bodies were found in
the graves. MONUC Human Rights chief and investigation
leader Louis-Marie Bouaka told us preliminary hearings could
begin as early as this week. The remainder of the battalion
has been relocated to Bunia to await possible charges.

3. (U) The Belgian-trained 1st IB had enjoyed a reputation
for satisfactory discipline and military ethics until this
event. Its Intervention Battalion was deployed to Ituri in
January 2006 to disarm militia groups and had taken the Bavi
area in July. Penza told the French newspaper "Le Monde"
that Molese confessed to ordering the executions as "an act
of vengeance" against militia members who had attacked and
killed soldiers.

4. (U) Bouaka confirmed that the victims were in fact
civilians. MONUC-Bunia Human Rights Officers reported that
the 1st IB had abducted 21 civilians in the area on August 11
and another nine on September 16; none were seen again.
Human Rights Watch reported the kidnappings and claimed the
victims had been used by the army for forced agricultural and
mining labor. Bouaka said the FARDC does not have the means
to conduct forensic testing, but witnesses were able to
positively identify the victims as those kidnapped by the 1st
IB in August and September.

5. (U) Comment: The rapid action of the military
prosecutor is a welcome step in a country where the army is
the source of many human rights violations. Unfortunately,
the involvement of the 1st Integrated Brigade in serious
abuses raises questions about the effectiveness of military
training programs. End comment.
MEECE

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