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

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CENTRAL AND EASTERN AFRICA
IRIN-CEA Weekly Round-up 105
05 - 11 January 2002


CONTENTS:

AFRICA: US grants tariff preferences to 35 African countries
GREAT LAKES: Flurry of diplomatic efforts to resolve conflicts
BURUNDI: Army storms rebel positions around Bujumbura
BURUNDI: Assembly elects Minani as Speaker
DRC: UN confirms MLC/RCD-ML clashes in the northeast
DRC: EU to release renewed development aid
DRC: Panel on illegal exploitation of resources to continue
RWANDA: Belgian court rejects appeals of genocide convicts
BURUNDI-DRC-RWANDA: Bujumbura to withdraw troops from Congo
KENYA: Opposition to oil imports from Sudan persists

AFRICA: US grants tariff preferences to 35 African countries

The United States government recently approved the designation of 35
sub-Saharan African countries as eligible for tariff preferences under the
African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

The office of the US Press Secretary reported last week that, as required
by the legislation, this annual determination signified countries making
continued progress towards a market-based economy, the rule of law, free
trade, economic policies that will reduce poverty and protection of
workers' rights. The Central African Republic, Republic of Congo and
Rwanda are among the countries to benefit from the tariff preferences.

"By providing these countries greater access to American markets, AGOA can
spur development of an economic relationship between the United States and
Africa that is based on shared values and shared responsibilities in a
world of free trade, free peoples, and free ideas," the Press Secretary's
office reported. It reiterated that the Bush administration was committed
to AGOA's success and to seizing the important opportunities offered by
law in fighting poverty and fostering development.

Other countries deemed eligible are Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Cape Verde,
Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau,
Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius,
Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tome e Principe, Senegal,
Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda and
Zambia.

GREAT LAKES: Flurry of diplomatic efforts to resolve conflicts

A flurry of diplomatic efforts was under way this week to resolve ongoing
conflicts throughout the Great Lakes region of Africa. South African
Deputy President Jacob Zuma arrived in Bujumbura on Thursday as part of
Pretoria's ongoing efforts to achieve the successful implementation of the
Arusha peace and reconciliation process agreed to by 19 Burundi political
parties and the former government.

Zuma was scheduled to brief Burundi's transitional government on progress
made in negotiations with the rebels, to exchange views, and to receive a
report from the transitional government on progress made so far in
consolidating the peace process. Zuma is also scheduled to meet Tanzanian
President Benjamin Mkapa on 12 January. He will brief Mkapa on
developments in Burundi and seek Tanzanian support in finding a lasting
solution to Burundi's problems.

On Thursday, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) President Joseph
Kabila was in Zimbabwe to meet President Robert Mugabe. On Friday, he was
scheduled to travel to Luanda for two days of talks with Angolan President
Jose Eduardo dos Santos. Also on Thursday, Ugandan Defence Minister Amama
Mbabazi was in Angola to meet dos Santos. Mbabazi's visit follows one
earlier this week by Rwandan President Paul Kagame. Both visits were part
of renewed efforts to discuss the DRC conflict and to improve bilateral
relations.

Next week, a major summit to discuss conflict situations in the Great
Lakes and southern African region will be held on 14 January in Blantyre,
Malawi. Leaders of the 14-member Southern African Development Community
(SADC) will be joined by Kagame, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, and
inter-Congolese dialogue facilitator, former Botswana President Ketumile
Masire. The main item on the agenda will be the conflict in the DRC,
particularly with regard to the inter-Congolese dialogue, due to be held
in Sun City, South Africa, in the coming weeks. The land crisis in
Zimbabwe and the civil war in Angola are also scheduled for discussion.

BURUNDI: Army storms rebel positions around Bujumbura

Government troops, backed by heavy artillery and helicopters, stormed
rebel positions around Bujumbura Rural on Tuesday in a bid to "flush them
out", army spokesman Augustin Nzabampema told IRIN.

The troops attacked the rebel-controlled hills of Mbare, Gasarara and
Kirombwe overlooking the capital, Bujumbura, Colonel Nzabampema said on
Thursday.

A diplomat in Bujumbura told IRIN that the rebels had withdrawn from the
Rukoko valley and Kibira forest, northwest of the capital, into the hills
after government troops defeat them in Tenga forest in November 2001. He
said that acts of banditry and armed robbery had increased "tremendously"
in and around the capital - some perpetrated in "broad daylight".

BURUNDI: Assembly elects Minani as Speaker

Burundi's Transitional National Assembly has elected Jean Minani, who
heads one of the factions of the Front pour la democratie au Burundi
(FRODEBU), as its Speaker, a senior party official told IRIN on Thursday.

Minani garnered 115 votes, while his rival, Augustin Nzojibwami, received
53. Nzojibwami heads the other FRODEBU faction.

"This is the best thing for the moment," Terence Nahimana, an MP
representing civil society, told IRIN. "Both [President] Pierre Buyoya and
Jean Minani are the leaders of the strongest political wings. They are the
ones who have worked hard in the negotiations, and it would only be wise
for them to work together on the implementation of the peace agreement."

The election was postponed recently to allow FRODEBU to choose one of the
four candidates for the post, including the immediate former
vice-president, Frederic Bamvuginyunvira, who until Wednesday had vowed to
stand as an independent candidate after rejecting his party's calls to
step down in favour of Minani. The FRODEBU parliamentary group leader,
Fidele Habonimana, said that Bamvuginyunvira did not stand because of
"internal party reasons". The fourth parliamentarian, Pierre Barusasiyeko,
stepped down for Minani.

The Union pour le progres national's (UPRONA) candidate for the post of
deputy Speaker, Frederic Ngenzebuhoro, also defeated his two challengers
from the same party after gaining 112 votes against 57 for the other two.
The post of Speaker is usually filled by FRODEBU, which won the 1993
elections, while UPRONA, which came second, fills that of deputy Speaker.

DRC: UN confirms MLC/RCD-ML clashes in the northeast

The UN Mission in the DRC confirmed on Monday that fighting had taken
place between rival armed opposition groups in and around Isiro and Buta,
in the northeast of the country.

The clashes involved the Mouvement de liberation du Congo (MLC) of
Jean-Pierre Bemba and the Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie -
Mouvement de liberation - Kisangani (RCD-ML-K) faction of Mbusa Nyamwisi.
Both groups are backed by Uganda. It is believed that the fighting erupted
over territorial disputes between the MLC and the RCD-ML-K. A regional
analyst told IRIN that hostilities were aggravated by MLC concern that
Nyamwisi was colluding with the government of President Joseph Kabila.

At a meeting on Sunday between representatives of the UN mission (known by
its French acronym, MONUC) and rebel leaders at MLC headquarters in
Gbadolite, northwestern Congo, the UN expressed concern regarding MLC
troop advances toward Isiro, Sqn-Ldr Nigel Hillary of MONUC told IRIN on
Monday.

"However, despite assurances by the MLC that they would not enter Isiro,
they have," he said. "We're working on a number of solutions, but the
ultimate aim is to clearly define boundaries between the MLC and RCD-ML,"
Hillary said. He added that precise figures on casualties were not yet
available.

Earlier, on 4 January, AFP quoted Bemba from Kigali, Rwanda, as saying,
"There was no confrontation, simply clashes between armed bandits who got
into territory we control." On Tuesday, RCD-controlled RTNC radio reported
from Goma that the strategic airport of Isiro was captured by MLC forces.
Hillary told IRIN that MONUC had received reports of gunfire in the area.

DRC: EU to release renewed development aid

The European Union (EU) has committed itself to releasing US $108 million
in developmental aid to the DRC, an EU humanitarian source told IRIN on
Monday.

Following the decision taken in December 2001 to resume developmental aid
to the Congo, the EU would release the funds from the European
Developmental Fund at the end of January, the EU source added. The money
was, however, dependent on the continuation of the peace process, he said.
Unlike emergency funds available from the European Commission's
Humanitarian aid office, ECHO, which have been available throughout the
current Congo crisis, developmental aid had been frozen during the early
1990s.

EU Commissioner for External Affairs Chris Patten and EU Aid Commissioner
Poul Nielson opposed the resumption in developmental aid "pending clearer
signs of a reopening of political dialogue" from the Kinshasa government,
The Guardian, a London newspaper, reported on Wednesday. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=18486]

DRC: Panel on illegal exploitation of resources to continue

A reconstituted expert panel set up by the UN Security Council to examine
the illegal exploitation of natural resources and other forms of wealth in
the DRC is expected to reassemble in late January 2002 for an additional
six-month period, UN News reported on 4 January.

The panel's mandate was extended at the recommendation of the Security
Council, following the presentation of the panel's report in December. An
interim report is expected after three months. When the Council last
extended the panel's mandate in mid-2001, it noted that the unabated
exploitation of natural resources and other forms of wealth was
perpetuating the conflict in the DRC, exacerbating the suffering of its
people and impeding economic development.

In its latest report to the Council, the six-member panel called for a
moratorium on the purchase and importing of products such as coltan,
diamonds, gold, copper, cobalt, timber and coffee, originating in areas
where foreign troops are present, as well as in territories under the
control of rebel groups.

The Security Council stated on 19 December that the panel's next report
should include an update of relevant data and analysis of further
information from all relevant countries; an evaluation of possible actions
that could be taken by the Council, including those recommended by the
panel, in order to help end plundering; recommendations on specific
actions that the international community might take in support of the
Congolese government; and recommendations on possible steps that might be
taken by transit countries, as well as end users, to contribute to ending
illegal exploitation of natural resources.

RWANDA: Belgian court rejects appeals of genocide convicts

Belgium's final court of appeal, the Cour de Cassation, rejected on
Wednesday the appeals for a retrial by a Rwandan businessman and two
Rwandan nuns sentenced to prison in Brussels on 8 June 2001 for war crimes
committed during the 1994 genocide.

Lawyers for the convicts had appealed, claiming irregularities in the
original trial. However, the appeal court confirmed the sentence of 20
years imprisonment for Alphonse Higaniro, 52, a former minister and
director of a match factory; 15 years for Consolata Mukangango, 42, also
known as Sister Gertrude; and 12 years for Julienne Mukabutera, 36, known
as Sister Maria Kizito. Both nuns are from the Benedictine convent in
Sovu, Butare Prefecture, Rwanda. The fourth convicted, Vincent Ntezimana,
39, is a former professor at Butare University. He was given a 12-year
sentence but did not appeal.

The trial of the "Butare Four" was described as "historic", because it was
the first under a 1993 law in which defendants were judged in Belgian
courts for war crimes and human rights violations committed by foreigners
outside Belgium. All four originate from Butare in southern Rwanda, where
their crimes were committed, and have been living in Belgium since the
1994 genocide, in which at least 900,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were
slaughtered.

"It's a fundamental judgement that makes the trial historic," one of the
lawyers of the victims said. "We are now waiting for other trials in
Belgium and elsewhere, for which investigations are continuing."

Currently, a Belgian investigative magistrate, Damien Vandermeersch, is in
Rwanda in connection with the killings of four Belgians in 1994. Three of
the dead were aid workers - Olivier Dulieu, Christine Andre and Antoine
Godfriaux - slain in Rambura (about 150 km from Kigali) on 7 April 1994.
Their families suspect that they were killed because they had been
informed about funds embezzled from the Belgian foreign aid office.
Vandermeersch, accompanied by a deputy prosecutor and two police
detectives, will also seek information on the deaths of another Belgian
and two Rwandans in Kigali on the same date, in response to complaints
made by Belgian citizens.

BURUNDI-DRC-RWANDA: Bujumbura to withdraw troops from Congo

Burundi's government made a formal commitment on Monday to withdraw its
troops from neighbouring DRC. Official sources in Bujumbura told IRIN on
Wednesday that a government delegation led by Foreign Minister Terence
Sinunguruza, who visited Kinshasa this week, pledged to pull out the
troops soon.

In return, the Congolese government pledged to discontinue support to
Burundi rebels, saying it would "push" them to start "serious
negotiations" with the Burundi government, Nicodeme Nduhirubusa, an
adviser in the office of the minister of foreign relations and
cooperation, told IRIN. He said the Congolese authorities also promised
measures to ensure their territory would not be used to launch attacks on
Burundi. "In addition, the two countries decided to design an efficient
mechanism of surveillance and protection along their common border to ward
off incursions by armed groups," he added.

They resolved to normalise relations with regard to the Organisation of
African Unity and UN charters on the non-use of force in resolution of
conflicts. They also pledged to restore mutual confidence, and to relaunch
mechanisms for bilateral relations, Nduhirubusa said. A meeting of experts
from the two countries is scheduled for the second week of February, he
added, to look into the possibilities of securing both countries'
political wishes in the implementation of all that was agreed. [Full
report at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=18643]

"During the meeting, each group was able to present the main
preoccupations of their country," Nduhirubusa told IRIN. "I think that the
Congolese have understood. We asked them to use their influence to bring
the rebel groups to join the peace process. I think that is the most
important step left for peace, he added.

He added that the Arusha agreement foresaw the participation of former
rebels in political institutions as well as in the national army.

"That is why we turned to them to help us convince the rebels to stop the
war," he said. "The war is taking the lives of innocent civilians and
destroying the infrastructures and economy of the country. The Burundian
people need a cease-fire to understand the importance of Arusha. The
Congolese have agreed to advise them and to use pressure if necessary."

KENYA: Opposition to oil imports from Sudan persists

Kenyan government efforts to pave the way for oil imports from Sudan have
again encountered criticism from civil society groups in Kenya, who
question whether Kenya can mediate as an honest broker in Sudanese peace
talks while profiting from the country's controversial oil production.

The Nairobi government confirmed in August 2001 its intention to allow the
tax-free importation of Sudanese oil under the terms of the Common Market
for East and Southern Africa (COMESA) - despite the vehement opposition of
church and human rights groups - after fears were raised of a trade war
between the two countries.

The issue has emerged again this week with news that Kenya's energy
minister, Raila Odinga, signed a deal last week with his Sudanese
counterpart, Awad Ahmad al-Jaz, during an official visit to Sudan, the
Nairobi-based East African Standard reported on Monday. Odinga denied that
he had signed any deal for the Kenyan government to import oil from Sudan,
saying that such plans were reserved for the private sector over whose
actions his government had no control.

He brushed aside arguments that it was morally defective for Kenya to
allow the importation of Sudanese oil [when development and human rights
groups have linked oil revenues to human rights abuses and exacerbation of
the civil war], saying that opposition to Sudanese oil was misplaced, the
East African Standard newspaper reported on Thursday. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=18912]

[See also:

KENYA: IRIN Focus on violent clashes in 2001 //Yearender//

Inter-ethnic clashes and civic unrest in Kenya continued to plague many
communities across Kenya throughout 2001. From the capital, Nairobi, to
Turkana in the far northwest of the country, rising tensions frequently
exploded into violent clashes between neighbouring communities, forcing
families to flee their homes, exacerbating food shortages and increasing
reliance on emergency relief aid.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=18913

UGANDA: IRIN Focus on humanitarian issues in 2001 //Yearender//

Last year saw the humanitarian and security situation in Uganda improve,
offering better prospects for peace and development as well as a need for
greater commitment to marginalised areas and political accommodation,
according to observers.
http://www.irinnews.org/frontpage.asp?SelectRegion=East_Africa&SelectCountry=Uganda

UGANDA: Focus on Karamoja disarmament //Yearender//

General insecurity and incidences of cattle rustling persisted in Uganda's
northeastern region during 2001 but there were renewed efforts to bring
peace to Karamoja, through community-level peace initiatives and then,
notably, by way of a government-sponsored disarmament programme, which
began in early December. http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=18776


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Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2002



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