U N I T E D N A T I O N S Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Integrated Regional Information Network for Central and Eastern Africa Tel: +254 2 622147 Fax: +254 2 622129 email: irin@ocha.unon.orgCentral and Eastern Africa IRIN-CEA Weekly Round-up 24 10 - 16 June 2000
CONTENTS: DRC: Rwanda, Uganda react strongly to sanctions threat DRC: Continuing tension between armies in Kisangani DRC: Markets slowly reopening in Kisangani BURUNDI: Mandela leaves without accord on prisoner release BURUNDI: Arusha committee to meet next week RWANDA: Archbishop Misago acquitted UGANDA: Fighting in west ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: Peace agreement due to be signed ETHIOPIA: 10 million Ethiopians at risk from drought crisis SUDAN: Ethiopian military personnel in Kassala state SOMALIA: Conference stage of Djibouti peace talks opens DRC: Rwanda, Uganda react strongly to sanctions threat Rwanda and Uganda have reacted strongly to a statement by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan recommending sanctions if the two countries fail to withdraw their troops from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). They said the resolution, if adopted, could lead to the collapse of the Lusaka agreement. "To go ahead and suggest that we should withdraw from Congo when the Lusaka agreement clearly details the withdrawal schedule of all foreign troops, is a sign of bad faith," Rwandan army spokesman Emmanuel Ndahiro told IRIN on Thursday. "This is not a new thing to us, the UN was here at the time of genocide and it ordered the withdrawal of its troops and what happened?" he said. "We shall not leave until the security of our borders is guaranteed." The Ugandan army spokesman, Major Phineas Katirima, for his part, told IRIN that good faith should prevail in the debate of Annan's proposal to the Security Council. "They should take into account the situation on the ground before rushing into any decision," he noted. "In Uganda's case we have already withdrawn from Kisangani, our forces are at Kapalata 11 km away and we shall continue to withdraw further to Banalia in a few days," Katirima said. Meanwhile, the Rwanda backed RCD-Goma termed Annan's recommendations to the Security Council "detestable and unacceptable and a renewed violation of the Lusaka accord to which it reaffirms its strongest commitment," rebel-controlled radio Goma said. The Council was due to adopt a resolution on Friday. DRC: Continuing tension between armies in Kisangani Humanitarian sources told IRIN that tension between Ugandan and Rwandan armies in the northeastern city of Kisangani still exists after a week of heavy fighting that led to the death of hundreds of people and destruction of property. "The UPDF commanders have expressed concern about the heavy presence of the RPA in town and are demanding that they withdraw to positions agreed upon in the demilitarisation plan," a source said. "They have made it clear that if the RPA uses humanitarian planes for military purpose they will be shot down." Ugandan army spokesman Major Phineas Katirima told IRIN that the Ugandan army has decided to unilaterally withdraw from all positions near town, beginning on Friday. "We have decided to withdraw our forces to Banalia 100 km away from Kisangani. Within a week our withdrawal will be complete," he noted. "It is up to MONUC to ensure that everybody respects the demilitarisation plan." DRC: Markets slowly reopening in Kisangani With the ceasefire still holding, markets are slowly reopening in certain areas of Kisangani. According to the latest report by the humanitarian agencies' task force, aid workers have been able to carry out their activities without any hindrance and have been able to move around the city freely. ICRC is looking at the problems of unexploded ordinance, which humanitarian workers said was causing great concern. The Rwandan Patriotic Army is still in control of the city centre, and occupies both airports of Simi-Simi and Bangboka. The Ugandan army is still in the Kapalata area, to where it withdrew on Saturday. Regarding population movements in Kisangani, the task force said these revolved around two major axes. According to OCHA, there are some 50,000 internally displaced people in the North Buta-Tshopo area, and a further 35,000 on the Bafwasende-Bangboka axis. Further assessment on the nature of the movements is required, as some people are moving back and forth from Kisangani (for example to the markets), the task force report noted. By Wednesday, the total number of displaced people at 13 sites within the city had reached 12,500. BURUNDI: Mandela leaves without accord on prisoner release Peace mediator Nelson Mandela ended his three-day visit to Burundi on Wednesday with the issue of freedom for political prisoners still unresolved, the Hirondelle news agency reported. "We didn't agree but we are going to continue to discuss the issue to find a solution," he told a news conference in Bujumbura before leaving. Mandela was shocked by conditions at Bujumbura's central prison when he visited it on Monday, describing them as "unfit for human habitation". President Pierre Buyoya welcomed Mandela's visit as a "very important step in the peace process". "It is very important that Mandela, the facilitator, came to listen to the people of Burundi, to talk to them, to listen to the fears, worries and emotions surrounding the peace process," he said. "I think it is very important for what will come next". The Arusha peace process is due to resume next month, and Mandela has said he is confident the rebel CNDD-FDD and FNL groups will attend. BURUNDI: Arusha committee to meet next week Delegates of Committee Five of the Arusha peace process - dealing with implementation guarantees of a future peace accord - are due to meet in the northern Tanzanian town on Monday, Hirondelle news agency reported. The Committee was due to meet on 12 June, but the date was put back because of Mandela's visit to Burundi. RWANDA: Archbishop Misago acquitted The bishop of Gikongoro, Augustin Misago, was acquitted by the Kigali court of first instance on Thursday on genocide charges, the Hirondelle news agency reported. The presiding judges ruled that the prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Misago committed the alleged crimes, and ordered the archbishop's immediate release. Prosecutors had been asking for the death penalty. The archbishop has been held in detention since April 1999. Following his release, Misago told the Vatican news agency FIDES he would go to Rome to personally thank the Pope for his support. The agency described him as ill, tired, and out of breath when he tried to speak. "Fourteen months in prison is difficult for an innocent man," Misago told the news agency by telephone. However, he said he hoped he would be able to return to his diocese next week. He added that he hoped his experience would serve the cause of peace and reconciliation in Rwanda, and he thanked the judges for their "impartiality and courage". Rwandan Prosecutor General Gerald Gahima expessed disappintment over the verdict, but said they would appeal. However, he added that the case "shows that the justice system in this country works contrary to what outsiders think". UGANDA: Fighting in west The Ugandan army is battling rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in western Uganda, according to army spokesman Major Pheneas Katirima. "We got intelligence reports that Rogers Kabanda, one of the ADF leaders, was hiding at a place called Rugesi near Mwtaga on the Congo side, " he said. "We attacked the camp by shelling until dusk and continued hitting them the next day, and dislodged them." He claimed five rebels were killed. He said the rebels had attacked a displaced people's camp, "but have not managed to cause general insecurity in the area". ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: Peace agreement due to be signed Eritrean Presidential Adviser Yemane Gebremeskel has said an OAU-brokered peace accord to end its war with Ethiopia would be signed on Sunday in Algeria, which holds the rotating presidency of the OAU, news organisations reported on Thursday. The agreement was hammered out over 12 days of indirect talks in Algiers, during which the war continued. The peace proposal was accepted by Ethiopia on Wednesday, its Council of Ministers "realising that it complies with the principles and conditions enunciated earlier by Ethiopia", according to a government statement. The proposed plan involves an immediate ceasefire and the deployment of international peacekeepers in a 25km buffer zone inside Eritrea along the contested border until international arbitrators demarcated the 1,000 km border, the BBC reported. UN spokesman Fred Eckhard said on Monday that a planning mission from the Department of Peacekeeping Operations was on standby to discuss a possible UN role. An advance Italian military and diplomatic team was due in Eritrea on Thursday to assess the situation on the ground. The Eritrean government said in a press statement the same day the OAU agreement must be signed and its enforcement verified "in the shortest possible time". ETHIOPIA: 10 million Ethiopians at risk from drought crisis The UN Country Team (UNCT) in Ethiopia on Monday appealed for US $193.4 million to assist 10 million drought-affected people. This was part of a broader UN Emergency Drought Appeal for US $378 million for a total of 13.4 million people in the region. The UNCT said insufficient or outright absence of rains for three consecutive years and crop failure had exhausted the coping mechanisms of already vulnerable populations. Rangeland deterioration, over-population and poor market facilities have also intensified the crisis in Ethiopia. Worst affected were the pastoral communities in the Somali Regional State, Borena Zone, and South Omo Zone, it added. "Generous donor support is absolutely essential if we are to avert the current crisis from degenerating into widespread famine", said Manuel Aranda da Silva, UN Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Drought in the Horn of Africa. Drought-alleviation and development projects have had funding curtailed while the Ethiopian-Eritrean war brought an increase in military expenditure, according to an international report on Ethiopia's economic prospects cited by the BBC. The draft report, prepared by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and international donors, said that while defence spending had risen, funding for health and education had declined, and essential projects starved of funds. SUDAN: Ethiopian military personnel in Kassala state A group of Ethiopians, including some military personnel, has been in Kassala state since the end of May and appeared to be talking to Eritrean refugees in an attempt to persuade them to join the Eritrean opposition, humanitarian sources said on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Eritrean presidential spokesman Yemane Gebremeskel told IRIN that "about 2,000" Ethiopian troops had been helped by being allowed access to Tameret in eastern Sudan, although he "didn't think it was official government policy". In a separate development, the Sudanese authorities released several hundred Eritrean soldiers detained after they crossed the border with civilian refugees. A UNHCR spokesperson told IRIN that these soldiers, who had been disarmed on arrival in Sudan, were now being allowed to join the civilians in the refugee camps. UN High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata, who is visiting the Horn of Africa and Great Lakes region, travelled to Kassala from Khartoum on Monday to visit the camps for Eritrean refugees. Ogata spent two hours at Gulsa and Lafa camps, according to a UNHCR spokesperson. "I will do my best to help those among you who want to return home," the Associated Press (AP) quoted her as telling the refugees. SOMALIA: Conference stage of Djibouti peace talks opens The Somalia National Peace Conference opened on Thursday after completing its consultative phase. Since early May clan elders have been meeting to chose lists of delegates for the conference phase of the peace process, which is taking place in Arta, some 35 km south of the capital Djibouti. At the closing session of the elders meetings on 13 June, a "General Agreement" was formally approved. It consisted of six points: 1. Peace and reconciliation should be reached among all clans in general and specifically among those with ongoing conflict. 2. The Somali people should form an all-inclusive Somali government 3. The unity of Somalia is sacrosanct. 4. All assets, fixed or non-fixed, national or private, confiscated during the civil war, should be returned to their rightful owners in a process to be overseen by the newly-formed government. 5. Human rights should be respected and protected. 6. The international community is requested to assist the Somali peace process taking place at Arta, Republic of Djibouti, and to recognise the government that will be formed. Sources close to the meeting told IRIN that the conference was expected to focus on decentralised structures of government, the special status of Mogadishu, elections, and the choosing of a cabinet, parliament and government leadership. Representatives of all clans are reported to be present at the peace process, although some faction leaders and autonomous administrations have opposed it. The self-declared republic of Somaliland in the northwest of the country on Friday said the Djibouti conference was hostile to it, undermining its "integrity and sovereignty", and that Somalia would "react aggressively" if it established an administration that sought to include it as part of Somalia. Meanwhile, the international community is busy analysing potential scenarios and assessing its level of preparedness for the potential annoucement of a new government of Somalia in July or soon after, humanitarian sources told IRIN. Italy has also established a new, informal donors' forum in anticipation of a new political situation in Somalia, they added. Nairobi, 16 June 2000 [IRIN-CEA: Tel: +254 2 622147 Fax: +254 2 622129 e-mail: irin-cea@ocha.unon.org ] [This item is delivered in the English service of the UN's IRIN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations. For further information, free subscriptions, or to change your keywords, contact e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org or Web: http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN . If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. 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