U N I T E D   N A T I O N S
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CENTRAL AND EASTERN AFRICA
IRIN-CEA Weekly Round-up 84
28 July - 3 August 2001


CONTENTS:

DRC: Opposition demands release of 32 activists
DRC: Mayi-Mayi militiamen agree to join peace process
DRC: "Ceasefire and disengagement continuing to hold" - UN
DRC: Rebels claim to seize "strategic" town
DRC: UN "peace boat" leaves with humanitarian supplies
DRC: World Bank approves US $50 million grant
BURUNDI: Talks in South Africa adjourned to August
BURUNDI: Buyoya comments on the Pretoria talks
BURUNDI: CNDD wants to participate in ceasefire talks
BURUNDI: At least eight killed in rebel attacks
BURUNDI: Rebel infiltrations reported
RWANDA: Government says Kenya harbouring suspect

DRC: Opposition demands release of 32 activists

Congolese opposition parties have called on the DRC government to release
32 people detained when police prevented a planned political march in
Kinshasa on Monday, Reuters reported on Tuesday.  "We demand that our
freedom fighters be immediately released," Reuters quoted the general
secretary of the Union pour la democratie et le progres social (UDPS),
Marcel Mbayo, as saying. He noted that 10 of his party's supporters were
being held. "The government has demonstrated that it is not ready to
liberalise politics," Joseph Olenghankoy, leader of the Forces novatrices
de l'union sacree (FONUS), was quoted by Reuters as saying.

Tensions have risen between opposition parties and the DRC government over
rules introduced in May allowing political parties to operate provided
they informed the government in writing that they intended to resume
activity, thereby easing restrictions imposed on parties by DRC President
Joseph Kabila's late father, Laurent-Desire Kabila, Reuters noted.
However, Olenghankoy told Reuters that he had informed the government that
his party would resume political activity. According to Reuters, other
parties have refused to comply with the revised rules, claiming their
status is guaranteed by a 1990 law.

DRC: Mayi-Mayi militiamen agree to join peace process

A faction of the Mayi-Mayi tribal militia in the DRC calling itself the
Lumumbist National Resistance (LNR) has reportedly been persuaded by
opposition politician Francois Lumumba to join the peace process, the
group said in statement received by AFP in Paris on Tuesday. In the
statement, the Mayi-Mayi group said they believed the suffering endured by
the people of the DRC was "essentially" due to the presence of foreign
troops on Congolese soil. "We declare ourselves party to the process of
the resolution of the crisis as envisaged by the Lusaka accord, and we
invite all other Mayi-Mayi armed combatants to join our declaration," AFP
quoted the statement as saying.

Following six days of negotiations led by Lumumba, the LNR Mayi-Mayi on 29
July released one Kenyan and 16 Thai hostages whom they had held captive
for more than two months. Lumumba's late father Patrice, a leader in
Congo's struggle for independence in 1960, was arrested in 1961 by late
dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, and killed soon after in circumstances which
remain unclear.

DRC: "Ceasefire and disengagement continuing to hold" - UN

"The ceasefire and the disengagement agreement between the parties is
continuing to hold" in the DRC, according to a press statement issued on
28 July by the UN mission to the DRC (MONUC). "Most of the forces have
completed their redeployment and, as of 27 July, 86 of the designated 96
redeployment positions had been visited and the disengagement of forces in
those areas verified by MONUC observers." The statement also notes that
although Jean-Pierre Bemba's rebel Mouvement de liberation du Congo (MLC)
troops have nearly completed their redeployment in Equateur Province, the
MLC "has not relinquished administrative control of the areas its military
forces are vacating, effectively preventing government forces from moving
forward to their designated positions of Losombo, Abunakombo and Djefera".
According to MONUC, government and allied forces have agreed to hold their
current locations for the time being.

In Kisangani, MONUC is "engaged in efforts to persuade the Rassemblement
congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma) to withdraw its military forces
from the city", while MONUC observers are monitoring the ongoing
repatriation of Ugandan forces from Basakusu, Dongo, Lisala and Gbadolite
in the DRC. Meanwhile, MONUC "continues to investigate all reports of
ceasefire violations and other incidents raised by the parties," except in
areas where security considerations preclude unarmed military observers
from entering. The findings of all such investigations are forwarded to
the joint military commission, which was established by the Lusaka
ceasefire agreement and consists of representatives from all signatory
parties.

DRC: Rebels claim to seize "strategic" town

The Rwandan-backed Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma)
rebel movement on Wednesday claimed to have seized the "very strategic"
town of Lokandu from DRC government-backed militia forces after two days
of "intense fighting," Reuters reported on Thursday. Kin-Kiey Mulumba,
spokesman for RCD-Goma, was quoted as saying that "the town of Lokandu is
very strategic because its fall has led to a blockade of the capital of
Maniema province [Kindu, some 50 km upstream]". Lokandu lies on the
Lualaba river, a tributary of the Congo. "After two days of intense
fighting, the RCD forces routed the enemy forces," Mulumba was quoted as
saying, adding that fighting was still continuing with Mayi-Mayi tribal
militia and ethnic Hutu militia groups loyal to the DRC government. This
latest outbreak of fighting followed an ongoing exchange among the DRC
government and rebels of accusations of violations of the Lusaka peace
agreement.

DRC: UN "peace boat" leaves with humanitarian supplies

Along with the WFP-chartered barge, the UN peace barge 'Boboto' left
Kinshasa on Tuesday carrying 650 mt of humanitarian supplies bound for
Mogalo (on the Lua river, a tributary of the Ubangui) in Equateur Province
DRC, some 1,250 km from Kinshasa, the UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) announced. The boats will be accompanied by
MONUC peacekeeping troops. The supplies include medicine and medical
supplies, fuel, food, school supplies, construction material, clothing,
and seeds and tools, purchased with contributions from the European
Commission's Humanitarian Office (ECHO), Belgium, France, numerous UN
agencies (MONUC, OCHA, UNICEF, WFP, FAO and the international NGO
MEMISA/Belgium. The distribution of goods to local populations will be
coordinated by the Centre de developpement integre (Centre for Integrated
Development) network, based in Bwamanda, as well as by various religious
organisations.

The 'Boboto' will return to Kinshasa, which is suffering from a shortage
of food, with a cargo of 1,000 mt of corn, purchased by the European Union
for populations in need. According to OCHA, future projects of this kind
are foreseen in anticipation of a complete return of free navigation of
the vast riverine network of the DRC.

DRC: World Bank approves US $50 million grant

The World Bank has approved a US $50 million post-conflict grant for
economic recovery in the DRC and has defined a strategy for World Bank
assistance there, the World Bank announced on Tuesday. According to a
statement, the Emergency Early Recovery Project (EERP), funded by a US $50
million International Development Association (IDA) grant, will provide
technical assistance for economic reforms, capacity building and aid
coordination. The EERP will seek to establish new investment codes and to
support governance and public revenue management reforms. It will also
finance several "urgent interventions in regions where they can be
implemented safely, such as the main road artery between Kinshasa and the
sea", the statement noted.

Meanwhile, the World Bank's new Transitional Support Strategy (TSS) for
the DRC is a document "adapted to special situations such as the emergence
from conflict", according to the statement. "Comparable to the Country
Assistance Strategy (CAS), it sets out a strategy for World Bank
assistance to the country in accordance with the government." The World
Bank noted that the TSS proposed "a gradual and carefully phased
re-engagement" of the Bank during the coming year, and that the TSS would
"eventually be replaced by a full CAS".

BURUNDI: Talks in South Africa adjourned to August

Talks between representatives of Burundi government and those of the rebel
CNDD-FDD were on 27 August adjourned till August, the South African News
Agency (SAPA) reported. It quoted South African deputy president, Jacob
Zuma, who mediated the talks, as expressing optimism about the outcome of
the talks. He told journalists that another round of talks would be held
at a venue still to be decided, from 13 to 17 August. "There are a couple
of points that need to be clarified. The committees will continue seeking
clarity on these matters and we hope that when we meet again on 13 to 17
August, they will have been clarified," he said. Zuma said that the
negotiating parties still had to report back to the chief mediator of
Burundi peace process, Nelson Mandela.

BURUNDI: Buyoya comments on the Pretoria talks

Burundi's President Pierre Buyoya at the end of last week said his
delegation had achieved its aim, which was to "make progress in the talks"
despite the fact that no summit took place. "As you already know, there
was supposed to be a summit between the heads of state of Gabon, DRC and
Burundi. This summit did not take place but the work went ahead," Burundi
radio quoted him as saying. "I met the South African vice-president, who
was charged with chairing the negotiations on the ceasefire. He briefed us
on how the work was organised and the objectives being aimed at," he said.
Buyoya said the work of the technical experts committee "stumbled on the
issue of mediation". "The FDD delegation stressed on the fact that
President Omar Bongo should be recognised as a co-mediator. Of course it
was not possible for us to designate somebody as a co-mediator since the
mediator is designated by regional countries and accepted by Burundians
and the international community," Buyoya explained. 

"In short, the issue was a stumbling block. The meeting of experts resumed
on the following day [27 July]. The difficulty was not solved," he said.
Buyoya said that it was after the intervention of the South African
mediator and the Gabonese foreign minister, who was assisting in the
mediation, that the discussion "moved forward". The delegates finally
agreed on the commitment to negotiate and the objective of the
negotiations. "We agreed that the mediator was Mandela, and that the
negotiations should start as soon as possible," Buyoya said. "We fixed the
next date as 13 August. In general, we agreed on the talks timetable since
we had already agreed on in Libreville [Gabon]," he said. He noted,
however, that two questions remained to be clarified: Whether President
Bongo is co-mediator or not, and that of the venue of for the
negotiations. He said that Mandela had said he would "do everything
possible" to clarify the question of co-mediation after consulting with
the regional heads of state before 13 August. "Therefore I think we did
not achieve all what we were seeking. However, as you can see there are
some clarifications on the ways to carry out the negotiations," Buyoya
added. 

BURUNDI: CNDD wants to participate in ceasefire talks

The pro-Hutu CNDD wants, "as an armed movement", to be part of the
ceasefire negotiations, the independent Hirondelle news service on Tuesday
quoted its leader Leonard Nyangoma as saying. Hirondelle quoted Nyangoma's
statement on Monday as reiterating his party's support for the peace and
reconciliation accord for Burundi, "but nevertheless makes its
participation in the transitional government conditional on the conclusion
of a negotiated agreement on a ceasefire". Meanwhile, at the end of last
week, the leader of the FDD, Jean-Bosco Ndayikengurukiye, said his group
did not trust the army nor President Pierre Buyoya to step down after his
18-month tenure. 

BURUNDI: At least eight killed in rebel attacks

At least eight people have been killed in the past few days in various
parts of Burundi, news organisations reported. On 27 July, four people
were killed on Bujumbura's main road, Route 1, after a public transport
minibus plying the Bujumbura-Gitega route was attacked some 15 km from
Bujumbura.  Three of the dead were civilians and one a soldier. Three
others were wounded, two of them seriously, Burundi news agency ABP
reported on Monday. It blamed the attack on rebels of the Forces
nationales de libération (FNL). However, FNL spokesman Anicet
Ntawuhanganayo denied these claims, saying the group could not attack
buses. "We can't attack civilians, we can't punish them," he said when
contacted by IRIN on Tuesday. "This route is used by rebels, government
militias and even bandits," he said. "I don't know about this attack. It
may have been by another group," he said. "We cannot be involved in
killing civilians. Our fight is against the government," he reiterated.

Meanwhile, in Kabezi in Bujumbura-Rural Province, western Burundi, two
people were reportedly decapitated by suspected rebels of CNDD-FDD on 27
July, Net Press reported. The two allegedly refused to make payments to
the movement. The rebels stole foodstuff and money during the raid. A man
and a child were also killed in Gatete zone, Rumonge commune, Bururi
Province, southwestern Burundi on the night of 28 July, ABP reported. One
person was injured during the attack. 

BURUNDI: Rebel infiltrations reported

Meanwhile, local government sources in Ruyigi, eastern Burundi have
reported numerous infiltrations by rebels in the communes of Ruyigi and
Gisuru both within Ruyigi Province, Net Press said. They said the rebels
were arriving in small groups of 10 people and their movements have been
"regular for several days now". "Their final destination for a long time
remains unknown," Net Press said, adding that these movements were
seriously worrying residents of Ruyigi. The commune of Nyanza-Lac, Makamba
Province, was another area infested with rebels. 

RWANDA: Government says Kenya harbouring suspect

Rwandan authorities said on Wednesday that a Rwandan accused of helping
plan the 1994 genocide was living in Nairobi under the protection of
influential Kenyans, Reuters reported. It said, exiled Hutu millionaire,
Felicien Kabuga, was living in Nairobi, and that Kenya should arrest him.
"If there were real cooperation by the Kenyan government, Kabuga could be
arrested any time, because his whereabouts are known to the Kenyan
authorities," Reuters quoted a Rwandan official as saying. He said
Rwanda's External Security Organisation had records of phone calls Kabuga
had made from Nairobi to relatives in Brussels, among other evidence. "It
is deplorable that some countries, Rwanda's neighbours, and even those
pretending to be our friends, continue to show very little or no
cooperation in netting and extraditing well-known genocide suspects who
have found safe haven in those countries," Reuters quoted Rwanda's justice
minister, Jean de Dieu Mucyo as saying.

Kenya's foreign minister, Chris Obure, for his part, said Kenya was not
aware that Kabuga lived in the country. "The government would be prepared
to cooperate in extraditing Felicien Kabuga if such extradition is sought
should it be proved that he is anywhere within our jurisdiction," Obure
told journalists in Nairobi. Kabuga is one of the 13 Rwandans named this
year as key suspects by the US State Department, which has offered rewards
of up to US $5 million for information leading to their arrest.

Nairobi, 3 August 2001


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