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CENTRAL AND EASTERN AFRICA
IRIN-CEA Weekly Round-up 95
13 - 19 October 2001


CONTENTS:

KENYA: First anthrax incident in Africa
DRC: Peace talks suspended
DRC: RCD recaptures strategic port on Lake Tanganyika
DRC: Former minister fights Belgian arrest warrant
DRC: Insecurity continues to hamper relief efforts - WFP
BURUNDI: UN urges "inclusive" implementation of peace process
BURUNDI: FDD rebel leader "suspended"
BURUNDI: Belgium to give US $5 million for protection force
BURUNDI: Japan donates US $50,000 to peace process
CAR: UN begins separating civilian, military refugees
RWANDA: Five sentenced to death for genocide
TANZANIA: Zanzibar court frees opposition leaders

KENYA: First anthrax incident in Africa

Kenyan health officials on Thursday confirmed that anthrax had been
discovered in a letter sent to a private Kenyan citizen from Atlanta in
the US, and received on Wednesday. Four members of the man's family were
exposed through the letter, which was sent on 8 September - three days
before the attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, USA - and
routed through Miami, arriving in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on 9
October, Ongeri added. As of Friday, Kenya's Ministry of Health had been
given seven suspect packages for anthrax analysis, with six of those
testing negative. The anthrax poisoning confirmed in Nairobi is the first
such incident outside the US, though alerts and hoaxes have been reported
around the world.

Meanwhile, the United Nations system in Kenya on Friday confirmed that
there was no evidence of anthrax contamination in two suspect items which
had been tested. Director-General of the UN Office at Nairobi Klaus
Toepfer wrote to staff on Friday to assure them that Kenyan Health
Minister Prof Sam Ongeri had informed his office that the results of
analysis in both cases tested were negative. A suspect letter received at
the UNEP office in Gigiri, Nairobi, on Wednesday raised suspicions because
of the odd way in which stamps were applied and the address written. In
light of concerns about that letter, a dusty parcel which had been sent to
Habitat (the UN Centre for Human Settlements) was also tested, but neither
was contaminated with anthrax, Nick Nuttall, Head of Media at UNEP told
IRIN on Friday.

UN staff had implemented new health and security measures to deal with
suspected anthrax cases correctly, and some 10 UN staff members had
started receiving precautionary antibiotics - including senior UNEP
official, Tore Brevik. "We have no reason to believe that the UN was
targeted in any way, but we will definitely remain on the alert, because
the potential threat worldwide is not going to go away," said Nuttall.
"Neither do we think it's a hoax; there was some form of contamination on
the items [dust, grit or whatever] and staff became suspicious because of
the heightened state of alert," he added. [For further details see IRIN
separate report of 19 October: KENYA: Anthrax analysis negative on items
sent to UN]

DRC: Peace talks suspended

The inter-Congolese peace and reconciliation dialogue, which opened on
Monday in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, was suspended on Wednesday,
and is to be relocated to South Africa, the DRC government has indicated.
"Leaders of delegations who met the facilitator [former Botswanan
President Ketumile Masire] agreed that the dialogue could resume in South
Africa in a month's time," according to a communique. A spokeswoman for
the government delegation at the talks told IRIN that Durban was the most
likely venue for the talks. Pretoria had earlier offered to help with the
cost, paying for accommodation and transport. Telecommunications links are
far superior in South Africa, from where televised sessions of the
meetings could be relayed to the DRC.

The Rwandan-backed Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma)
armed opposition movement welcomed the agreement by the DRC government.
RCD-Goma's Secretary-General Azarias Ruberwa said that since there were
only enough funds available at present to continue the dialogue in Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia, for one or two weeks, and since the dialogue could not
start in South Africa within a month, an interruption of the talks was a
fait accompli. Masire congratulated the Congolese parties for agreeing to
continue with the dialogue, allaying fears that the talks might break
down. "I commend the different sides, who have all made important
concessions," he said.

However, another armed opposition group, the Mouvement pour la liberation
du Congo (MLC), has rejected the proposal of interrupting the dialogue by
up to three weeks. "It's impossible for us to accept that proposal,"
Dominique Kanku, an MLC spokesman, said. "That will break the dynamic of
the dialogue, and you will have thousands of problems between here and
Durban."

DRC: RCD recaptures strategic port on Lake Tanganyika

RCD-Goma recaptured a strategic port of Lake Tanganyika on Wednesday from
a coalition of Congolese Mayi-Mayi militiamen, Rwandan Hutu Interahamwe
and soldiers of the Burundian Hutu Forces pour la defense de la democratie
(FDD), Reuters reported. "Our forces flushed the enemy out of Kaziniya
this morning without much resistance because the attack came as a surprise
to the enemy who had been besieged for many days," Pierre Kisanga, an RCD
spokesman, told Reuters. "The left in disarray toward Kigoma, Tanzania,
aboard a ship they had seized from merchants, leaving many dead behind."

For the past five months, Kaziniya, more than 500 km south of Bukavu in
South Kivu Province of the DRC, had been a stronghold of the
Mayi-Mayi/Interahamwe/FDD coalition. The RCD claimed the port was a
transit point for DRC-based Rwandan and Burundian rebels coming from
southeastern Katanga province en route to attacking neighbouring Rwanda
and Burundi.

DRC: Former minister fights Belgian arrest warrant

The DRC took its former colonial ruler to the International Court of
Justice (ICJ) in The Hague on Monday, arguing that Belgium's arrest
warrant for former DRC Foreign Minister Yerodia Abdulaye Ndombasi for
crimes against humanity should be dropped, Reuters reported. The case
dates back to April 2000, when a Belgian judge issued the warrant for
Ndombasi after refugees alleged he had incited hatred against them in
speeches referring to "vermin" and "extermination". Ndombasi made the
comments shortly after Tutsi-led rebels attacked Kinshasa in August 1998.
Ndombasi said he was referring to invading forces from Rwanda and Uganda
who backed the revolt, and not to a specific ethnic group.

On the first day of a week-long hearing, the DRC argued that the arrest
warrant failed to comply with international law, and demanded a formal
apology. "It [Belgium's action] constitutes an illegal act that violates
Congo's sovereignty," Antoine Deogratias Ngele Masudi, the DRC justice
minister, was quoted by Reuters as telling the ICJ.

DRC: Insecurity continues to hamper relief efforts - WFP

Food distribution for the month of September in and around the eastern
town of Bukavu in the DRC turned out to be half the level planned due to
insecurity throughout the region, and the poor condition of roads, WFP
reported on 12 October. Of 2,600 mt of food planned to be distributed,
only 1,127 mt could be delivered to a total caseload of 156,663 people.

Meanwhile, insecurity was reported in various regions across the country.
In Kahemba, Bandundu Province, security was said to have substantially
deteriorated as a result of the removal of military checkpoints on the
roads leading to Kahemba. The situation in Bunia, Ituri Province, remained
tense as a result of persistent rumours of Hemas resuming attacks against
Lendus, and the killing of a civilian by a Ugandan soldier on 4 October.
Because of fighting in Kindu, Maniema Province, and Fizi, South Kivu
Province, the UN peacekeeping mission advised planes to avoid this
airspace.

BURUNDI: UN urges "inclusive" implementation of peace process

The UN Security Council has urged the parties in Burundi to work out all
remaining issues in advance of the installation of a transitional
government, set to begin on 1 November. In a press statement following the
Council's closed-door consultations late on Tuesday, the current president
of the 15-member body, Ambassador Richard Ryan of Ireland, welcomed the
progress made at a recent summit held in Pretoria. "Members of the
Security Council called on all the Burundian parties to avail of this
unique opportunity and to implement the peace process in an inclusive
manner," Ryan said. He stressed that the members "called on the Burundian
parties to resolve the outstanding issues without delay so that the
installation of the transitional government can proceed on 1 November".

Ryan said the Council, which had been briefed on the situation in Burundi
by UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Kieran Prendergast,
"will continue to follow developments very closely".

BURUNDI: FDD rebel leader "suspended"

Long-running divisions in one of Burundi's two main Hutu rebel groups
deepened sharply this week, with a military commander "suspending" the
group's leader, Jean-Bosco Ndayikengurukiye, AFP reported on Tuesday. An
FDD commander, Adolphe Nshimirimana, said on Monday that Ndayikengurukiye,
the FDD "coordinator-general", had been temporarily relieved of all his
responsibilities within the movement. He said the decision was taken in
the interests of peace, following a meeting of military commanders held
earlier in October. He accused Ndayikengurukiye of being more concerned
with violent criminals and looters than with others in the FDD or with the
civilians of Burundi.

The FDD's two spokesmen, however, reacted in opposite ways to the
statement. Brussels-based Jerome Ndiho said the suspension lacked
legitimacy, since such a decision could only be taken at a national
congress of the FDD, which has been fighting Burundi's Tutsi-dominated
government since 1993. Ndayikengurukiye "is still our
coordinator-general", AFP quoted Ndiho as saying. In Johannesburg, another
spokesman, Jean-Marie Ngendahayo, told AFP that Nshimirimana's statement
was genuine and that Ndayikengurukiye's suspension could speed up the
peace process.

BURUNDI: Belgium to give US $5 million for protection force

Belgium is prepared to contribute US $5 million for a South African
protection force to oversee the installation of a transitional
power-sharing government in Burundi, AFP reported on Tuesday. "Belgium and
the European Union are currently reviewing how we can help the
implementation of the next phase of the Arusha accords, which call for the
inauguration on 1 November of a transitional government," Belgian Prime
Minister Guy Verhofstadt said at a news conference after a meeting with
Burundi peace mediator and former South African President Nelson Mandela.

Belgium's donation would form part of the European Union's
$23-million-dollar effort, AFP reported. Meanwhile, Mandela said South
Africa was ready to send a 700-man protection force for the Hutu leaders
who had to flee Burundi in 1993.

BURUNDI: Japan donates US $50,000 to peace process

Japan will contribute US $50,000 to a UN trust fund in support of a
stakeholders meeting to be held soon in Arusha, Tanzania, the Japanese
foreign ministry announced on Monday. Calling the stakeholders conference
"an important meeting for further promoting the Burundi peace process",
Japan said its donation was intended "to support the United Nations'
efforts for a peaceful settlement of the dispute, as well as to enhance
the friendly relations between Japan and Burundi".

More than 200,000 people are estimated to have been killed since the
eruption of the civil war in 1993 in Burundi. The peace process began in
1998, with a series of talks held in Arusha that led to the August 2000
signing of the Arusha peace accord.

CAR: UN begins separating civilian, military refugees

Sixty-five former soldiers from the Central African Republic (CAR) were
transferred from a border town in the DRC to a camp farther inland on
Tuesday in the first phase of an operation designed to maintain the
civilian character of refugee sites, UN News reported. The UNHCR, which
requested the transfer, has insisted on separating the more than 24,000
civilian refugees and the 1,250 former soldiers who had fled the CAR
during an attempted coup in May, UN News said. The civilian nature of the
camps, the UNHCR said, would ensure the safety of the refugees and
surrounding host populations.

The former CAR soldiers were taken by truck Monday from the border town of
Zongo to a site at Bokilio, 120 km inland, UN News reported. The operation
was scheduled to continue Wednesday with the transfer of between 400 and
600 persons by UN peacekeepers to the new site, it said. Truck convoys
were scheduled to make the 24-hour trip every two days, completing the
transfer of up to 2,500 people within 10 days, it added. Those physically
unable to make the overland trip will be transferred by helicopter. A
doctor from an NGO was accompanying each convoy, it said.

Peacekeepers from the UN mission in the DRC (MONUC) registered the group
of former soldiers and their families and secured their agreement for the
move to the new site at Bokilio. Once the former soldiers have been moved,
UNHCR said it would begin the transfer of the civilian refugees to a new
site being prepared further inland at Mole, UN news reported.

RWANDA: Five sentenced to death for genocide

A court in the Rwandan province of Gikongoro has sentenced five genocide
suspects to death for crimes against humanity, the BBC reported on 14
October. They were among 17 others in a group trial designed to speed up
the judicial process for the tens of thousands awaiting trial for
genocide. Seven of the group were given life sentences, three got
seven-year sentences and two were acquitted, the BBC added.

There have been 5,927 arrests and sentences of genocide suspects between
December 1996 and June 2001, the Rwandan League for the Promotion and
Defence of Human Rights, said. The league, which is monitoring the
genocide trials, reported a growing number of trials since the process
began in December 1996, the Hirondelle news agency reported on Monday. The
increase in the number of defendants on trial, it added, was attributable
to the greater number of magistrates available, and the collective nature
of the court cases.

TANZANIA: Zanzibar court frees opposition leaders

A Zanzibar court on Monday ordered the release of two prominent opposition
politicians after the state dropped murder charges against them, news
agencies reported. Civic United Front (CUF) deputy secretary-general, Juma
Duni Haji, and the party's security director, Machano Khamis, had been
detained in connection with the killing of a police officer during
political demonstrations on Pemba island, part of the Zanzibar
archipelago, on 27 January. "I have received a letter from the Zanzibar
Attorney-General Idd Pandu Hasan saying the state is no longer interested
in the case," magistrate Yesaya Kayange of the regional court in Zanzibar
told AFP on Monday.

Human rights watchdog Amnesty International said in June the two CUF
leaders were being held as "prisoners of conscience", and that they were
thought not to have been on Pemba when the alleged murder took place.
Hasan had ordered the release of Juma and Machano in May, saying the
police had "failed to produce any evidence beyond reasonable doubt against
the suspects," Amnesty said.

The decision to drop charges against the two men follows last week's
signing of a reconciliation agreement between the CUF and the ruling Chama
Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party. "I'm happy being out of a remand prison because
it is part of the implementation of the recently signed agreement between
CUF and Chama Cha Mapinduzi," Duni was quoted as saying by the 'Guardian'.
The agreement was aimed at resolving a long-running dispute which arose
when the opposition contested the results of last October's parliamentary
elections, alleging they were neither free nor fair.

Nairobi, 19 October 2001


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Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2001


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