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Integrated Regional Information Network for Central and Eastern Africa

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CENTRAL AND EASTERN AFRICA
IRIN-CEA Weekly Round-up 118
13 - 19 April 2002


CONTENTS

DRC: Deal between government and MLC rebel movement
DRC: War crimes case against Yerodia "inadmissible"
DRC: Radio Okapi bulletins available via internet
ROC: Insecurity still a problem as UN prepares response
BURUNDI: VP Ndayizeye "optimistic" about conflict resolution
BURUNDI: At least 21 civilians killed in Gihanga, confirms Iteka
RWANDA: ICTR commission of inquiry cancelled
UGANDA: Government resettles Kikagati returnees
KENYA: Recovery under way but drought issues remain
TANZANIA: New act offers hope on Zanzibari reconciliation
GREAT LAKES: Five million dead from violent conflict in last decade
CENTRAL AFRICA: Donors pledge US $330 million for regional fund
GLOBAL: IDP agreement "a very positive step forward"

ALSO SEE:

BURUNDI: Focus on children in prison

BURUNDI: Interview with Senate President Libere Bararunyeretse

BURUNDI: Interview with President Pierre Buyoya

BURUNDI-TANZANIA: Interview with UNHCR representative in Burundi

UGANDA: Special report on concern at anti-LRA campaign


DRC: Deal between government and MLC rebel movement

The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the rebel
Mouvement pour la liberation du Congo (MLC) have reached an agreement in
Sun City, South Africa, that they claim will reunite 70 percent of the
divided country. The deal, which its architects claim was inspired by
South African President Thabo Mbeki, would give the MLC leader,
Jean-Pierre Bemba, the job of prime minister in a transitional government,
while confirming Joseph Kabila as president, the MLC spokesman, Olivier
Kamitatu, told a press conference in Sun City on Wednesday.

The other main rebel movement in DRC, the Rassemblement congolais pour la
democratie (RCD-Goma) would nominate the president of parliament, said
Kamitatu, and would hold ministerial posts in the government, as would the
unarmed opposition and civil society. The Rwandan-backed RCD, which
governs the remaining 30 percent of the country, is understood to have
rejected the deal. The rebel movement had been holding out for more
important posts than the presidency of parliament. Under a plan proposed
by Mbeki last week, which the RCD had said it could discuss, defence,
security and elections portfolios would be given to it in a transition
government.

The MLC/government deal, if implemented, could realise the hopes of
millions of ordinary Congolese. "From east to west and to the extreme
south, the Congolese can now travel freely," Kamitatu proclaimed in Sun
City. He added that Bemba had already signed an agreement with Kabila
which would open the Congo river to trade, and liberalise the movement of
people across the former front line. In answer to fears that the agreement
could pose the risk of renewed war between the RCD and the new coalition,
Kamitatu said that in the hours to come a framework agreement would be
drafted and presented to the other delegates at the dialogue. If the RCD
delegates rejected it, he said, the MLC would continue to try to persuade
them to join. [Also see:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=27297]

Talks between DRC delegates continued behind closed doors on Thursday
until the early hours of next morning. The meeting of about 20 people
broke up without any agreement except to refer the discussion to a plenary
meeting to be held later on Friday. Present were Thabo Mbeki, who was
chairing the meeting with the facilitator of the inter-Congolese dialogue,
Ketumile Masire, leading negotiators from the DRC government, and
delegations from the MLC and the RCD. The government and MLC delegations
agreed in blaming the RCD for the lack of progress.

"It was impossible to agree, because we were in front of compatriots who
are unable to negotiate freely," said the DRC national security minister,
Mwenze Kongolo, referring to the RCD negotiators. Kamitatu said the RCD
had refused to be part of the agreement between the MLC and the
government, entered into on Wednesday. Adolphe Onusumba, president of the
RCD, blamed the facilitation team for the failure of the session. Asked
what he thought of Bemba's agreement with the government, Onusumba said
Bemba was "just trying to get his 10 percent".


DRC: War crimes case against Yerodia "inadmissible"

Belgian judges ruled on Tuesday that the case against a former foreign
minister of the DRC, Abdoulaye Yerodia Ndombasi, who had been accused of
war crimes and genocide, was inadmissible. They based their judgment on an
article of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1878, which stipulates that
cases against foreigners relating to offences committed abroad can only be
tried if the foreign national in question is on Belgian soil at the time
the case is brought.

The case against Yerodia was brought under a 1993 law that allows war
crimes and crimes against humanity to be heard in Belgium regardless of
where the alleged offences took place or the plaintiff's country of
residence. Yerodia was accused along with the late DRC president,
Laurent-Desire Kabila, former Information Minister Didier Mumengi and a
former communication manager, Dominique Sakombi.

The only successful trial so far under the 1993 law took place last year,
when four Rwandans were sentenced by a Brussels court for their role in
the 1994 genocide. The Rwandans were on Belgian soil at the time the
charges were filed. [Full report]


DRC: Radio Okapi bulletins available via internet

Beginning on Monday 19 April, Radio Okapi's morning bulletins from Monday
to Friday will be available worldwide over the internet at
http://www.radiookapi.net, the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of
the Congo (known by its French acronym, MONUC) has announced. The latest
updates will be available every morning within an hour that the news has
been broadcast in the DRC, in French, Kiswahili, Lingala, and Tshiluba.

A joint initiative of MONUC and the Fondation Hirondelle, a Swiss-based
nongovernmental organisation that specialises in using information for
peace, Radio Okapi was launched on 25 February to coincide with the
convocation of the inter-Congolese dialogue in Sun City, South Africa. It
broadcasts simultaneously from three studios in the capital, Kinshasa
(103.5 FM), the northeastern city of Kisangani (94.8 FM), and the eastern
city of Goma (105.2 FM), 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Broadcasts
are also available via short-wave radio throughout most of the DRC, on
9550 KHz. In the coming months, additional stations will be opened in
Kananga (south-central DRC), Mbandaka (in the northwest), Kalemie
(southeast), Gbadolite (northwest), Kindu (east-central), Bukavu (east),
and Bunia (northeast). [Full report]


ROC: Insecurity still a problem as UN prepares response

Following hostilities that have recently shaken Brazzaville, the capital
of the Republic of Congo (ROC), and the surrounding Pool region, and in
response to the request of the ROC government, UN agencies in that country
have put in place all logistical, material, and human resources to respond
to the needs of populations displaced and/or affected by fighting and
looting, the UN office of the Humanitarian Coordinator reported on
Wednesday.

However, security concerns continued to prevent access to populations in
the interior of Pool region, the UN coordinator, William Paton, told IRIN
on Wednesday. He cited the case of the town of Kindamba (170 km northwest
of Brazzaville), where more than 5,000 people who cannot access their
fields are facing serious food shortages only two weeks before harvest. He
said he hoped assessment missions of affected populations in the interior
would begin on Thursday.

At a press conference held on Tuesday, Paton insisted that the parties to
the conflict should guarantee access to civilian populations for the
purpose of delivering humanitarian assistance. "Moreover, all combatants
should respect the human rights of civilians, in particular the right not
to be displaced forcibly, the right to cultivate their land, the right not
to have their homes looted, not to be killed or raped," Paton stated.
[Full report; also see: http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=27285]


BURUNDI: VP Ndayizeye "optimistic" about conflict resolution

"The armed movements are part of a logic of negotiations, at least in
words. That allows the Burundian government to be optimistic concerning
the ceasefire and a solution to the conflict," Domitien Ndayizeye, the
vice-president of Burundi, said at a press conference in Brussels on
Wednesday, on the last stop of his tour of Europe.

He based his affirmation on the negotiations being held in Pretoria, South
Africa, between the Burundi government and the armed wing of the CNDD
(Conseil national pour la defense de la democratie) led by Jean-Bosco
Ndayikengurukiye, while hoping that next week the Forces nationales de
liberation (FNL), led by Agathon Rwasa, and the CNDD led by Pierre
Nkurunziza, would arrive for further negotiations. "They have to
negotiate, because they cannot win the war anyway. It's also a matter of
saving the lives of civilians," Ndayizeye said.

With regard to relations with Tanzania, accused of harbouring rebels,
Ndayizeye stressed that "they are improving". "Most of the [Burundi]
refugees are in Tanzania," he noted. "That's why there will be no solution
unless Tanzania applies its weight." According to Ndayizeye, 28,000 people
returned in 2001, while some 54,000 have returned since January 2002.
"This is a sign that people are confident in the peace process," he said.

The other challenge for Burundi, Ndayizeye said, was poverty. "If it
continues to worsen, peace will be compromised," he said. Burundi has
submitted its strategic plan to reduce poverty (Cadre strategique
interimaire de croissance economique et de lutte contre la pauvrete) to
international donors. According to Ndayizeye, the UK has already paid US
$1 million, and Belgium, Sweden and Austria have made pledges. He is now
urging Austria to mobilise a group of donors that could include Austria,
Belgium, France, Sweden, the UK, and possibly Germany, which he will visit
next month.

During his five-nation tour, Ndayizeye gave briefings on the Burundi
peace process and the resumption of cooperation between Burundi and its
partners in the region. Ndayizeye and his 12-member delegation left
Burundi on 31 March and were scheduled to return on Thursday 18 April,
following visits to Austria, Italy, The Vatican, the UK, Sweden and
Belgium.


BURUNDI: At least 21 civilians killed in Gihanga, confirms Iteka

At least 21 civilians were killed during fighting between government
forces and rebels on 6 April in the town of Gihanga, in the northwestern
province of Bubanza, Burundi, local human rights organisation Iteka
confirmed to IRIN on Friday.

The confirmation follows a news item issued by Iteka on 13 April, in which
they reported an estimated total of 38 people dead - 29 civilians, seven
rebels and two government soldiers. Having been informed of a rebel
presence in Gihanga, government troops reportedly entered the town around
five in the morning of 6 April. After surrounding a home where rebels were
believed to be hiding, shots were fired from within, unleashing a fierce
gunfight and resulting in the high death toll, Iteka reported.

On 1 November 2001, a three-year transitional national government was
inaugurated in Burundi following eight years of civil war between Hutu
rebels and the predominantly Tutsi military. The war has claimed the lives
of an estimated 250,000 Burundians, most of them civilians, and has
resulted in the displacement of still greater numbers of people.


RWANDA: ICTR commission of inquiry cancelled

The registrar of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR),
Adama Dieng, has withdrawn a proposal to establish a commission to
investigate allegations of the mistreatment of witnesses at the tribunal,
following a disagreement with Rwandan authorities over the commission's
mandate. In a letter sent on Tuesday to Rwandan Minister of Justice and
Institutional Relations Jean de Dieu Mucyo, Dieng said that, because of
"an inability to agree on certain fundamental points, beyond compromise,
regarding the proposed commission's terms of reference", the proposal was
being withdrawn. Controversy had arisen, because the government contended
that the commission should also investigate allegations of genocide
suspects working within the ICTR.

The registrar would nevertheless spare no effort to shed light on the
allegations of mistreatment of witnesses from Rwanda, he said in a
statement issued on Wednesday. "The registrar wishes to reassure the
Rwandan authorities and witnesses, in particular those from Rwanda, that
the tribunal is committed to making certain that, as always, witnesses
called to testify in Arusha for either the prosecution or the defence will
not suffer any mistreatment, and that their welfare and security will
continue to be ensured in the interest of the proper administration of
justice," he added.

Meanwhile, a defense investigator, Pierre Karangwa, was suspended last
week for his alleged involvement in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, Internews
reported. Karangwa is investigator for the defence team of Augustin
Ndindiliyimana, a former chief of staff of para-military police who is
awaiting trial at the tribunal. [Full report]


UGANDA: Government resettles Kikagati returnees

The Ugandan government has transferred nearly half of 2,800 Ugandan
deportees from Tanzania, who have been camping in difficult conditions for
more than a year at Kikagati, Mbarara District in southern Uganda, to a
new location in Kamwenge, according to a senior official within the Office
of the Prime Minister. Martin Owuor, an Assistant Commissioner in the
disaster preparedness and prevention department of the Office, told IRIN
on Wednesday that about 1,268 of the returnees had been resettled in
Kamwenge District, neighbouring Mbarara, and each individual family
allocated two acres of land, a three-month food ration and agricultural
tools.

The Ugandan returnees are part of a group of 3,027 Ugandans, mainly ethnic
Bakiga cattle herders, expelled from Tanzania, allegedly for voting
against Tanzania's ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party in elections in
October 2000, according to media reports in January. The expulsions were
effected after CCM lost the elections in the northwestern Tanzanian
district of Karagwe, Kagera Region, where the long-time Ugandan settlers
were then living, the reports added. The returnees have subsequently been
living in difficult conditions in a water-logged camp, with poor
sanitation and the threat of disease, where up to 42 deaths have been
recorded - notably of malaria and cholera, according to humanitarian and
media reports.

The resettlement process began on 8 April following two logistical
meetings between the prime minister's office and several humanitarian aid
agencies which have pledged support for the resettlement, and would be
completed soon, according to Owuor. "We are continuing with the exercise.
We should complete it in the next one and a half or two weeks. Afterwards,
we shall look into other longer-term facilities for the community, such as
health centres and schools," Owuor told IRIN.


KENYA: Recovery under way but drought issues remain

Two years after the onset of a devastating drought, Kenya is moving out of
emergency and into a recovery phase, though there are still pockets that
continue to feel the stresses of drought, especially in pastoralist areas,
according to the latest UN donor alert for the country. The focus of
drought-related activities would be mainly on improving people's asset
base and coping mechanisms, while the UN country team would continue to
work on sector priorities in health, education, agriculture, water and
sanitation, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The UN country team issued an inter-agency appeal in February 2001,
updated in September to increase the overall appeal to US $177.1 million,
which was 80 percent covered by funding pledges as of February 2002,
according to OCHA figures. The 2002 donor alert is for $59,482,798. Any
occurrence of natural or man-made disaster, including conflict, population
displacement and human rights, would also be addressed, it said in the
inter-agency donor alert released on 13 April.

A critical issue to address was "the underlying causes of food insecurity
that afflicts a large proportion of rural Kenyans, and link this with
longer-term recovery programming", it said. Many of the root causes of the
crisis related to a rise in poverty in Kenya and the lack of
infrastructure in key drought-affected areas, especially as donors were
reluctant to invest in longer-term solutions because of "the current
frosty climate" with the government, the report stated. For many people
experiencing chronic poverty, and whether the rains are good or not, "the
solution to their problems is not short-term emergency interventions, but
in longer-term strategies", it added. [Full report]


TANZANIA: New act offers hope on Zanzibari reconciliation

A Constitutional Amendment Act was passed by the Zanzibari parliament on
Pemba island on Tuesday in what is seen as an important step towards the
implementation of a reconciliation agreement signed by the ruling Chama
Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and opposition Civic United Front (CUF) parties in
October 2001. The Zanzibari parliament was sitting in Wete, on Pemba, the
smaller of the two islands that make up the Zanzibar archipelago, when the
bill was discussed and passed. The passing of the 8th Constitutional
Amendment Act will mean a review of the judiciary and Zanzibar Electoral
Commission (ZEC), as well as the introduction of a Director of Public
Prosecution. The duties normally associated with such a position have,
until now, been fulfilled by the Attorney-General.

These changes were recommended as fundamental elements that brought the
two parties together on 10 October 2001, after years of political and
social tensions on the islands - initially arising from the CCM's
widely-disputed 1995 general election victory in Zanzibar and exacerbated
by its winning the subsequent elections in October 2000 in controversial
circumstances.
[for more details on the October reconciliation agreement, go to
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=12193]

CUF and CCM sources on Zanzibar told IRIN on Tuesday that the bill had
been passed without substantive amendments. When the bill was originally
put to parliament in January, amendments had been made without the consent
of either party, resulting in further delays in the reconciliation
programme. Mohammed Aboud, a CCM negotiator and Zanzibar's Minister for
Tourism and Trade, was more than happy with the passing of the bill. "I
think the issue is now to have free and fair elections," he said. "There
have been problems in our country but, through this bill, we will rectify
them. This is a new chapter that will create peace in our country." [Full
report]


GREAT LAKES: Five million dead from violent conflict in last decade

A recent Oxfam report says that some five million people have died from
violent conflict in the Great Lakes region of Africa in the last decade,
including about 800,000 people in the Rwandan genocide of 1994, and 2.5
million in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since 1998. The
report, "Africa at the Crossroads", says that "the shockingly high death
toll" in eastern DRC continues today. While many of the deaths could be
attributed to indirect effects of war, such as malnutrition and disease,
thousands were the result of direct violence, Oxfam said. In 2001, it was
estimated that one in every eight households in eastern DRC had
experienced a violent death since the start of the war there, and that 40
percent of the victims were women and children, the organisation reported.

"As the UN Secretary-General recently reported, human rights violations
and disappearances continue with almost total impunity in the DRC." To
date, no single individual has been held to account before a national or
international tribunal for these crimes in the DRC. This culture of
impunity has had a significant impact in that if there were no justice,
local populations became despondent or might cause further violence by
taking matters into their own hands, Oxfam said. The search for justice
would therefore have to be tackled at two levels: firstly, a forum where
serious war crimes and systematic human rights abuses were dealt with,
sending out a clear signal that there would be retribution for such
crimes; secondly, the culture of widespread criminal activity would also
have to be tackled by improving local justice systems.

It was vital that these solutions were Africa-led, said Oxfam, and that
justice would always have to take account of the specific case. The
organisation advocated that African leaders - with the help of northern
governments - should strengthen the African Commission on Human Rights,
which would include enhanced funding, the appointment of independent and
impartial commissioners, and the timely provision of reports by all
African member states.

Furthermore, Oxfam urged that all African governments ratify the statue of
the International Criminal Court as soon as possible.


CENTRAL AFRICA: Donors pledge US $330 million for regional fund

About US $330 million was pledged for a five-year programme to finance the
disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) of about 350,000
ex-combatants in the Greater Great Lakes region, the World Bank announced
on 12 April. "Donors expressed a willingness to provide further
contributions as regional peace processes advance and programme
implementation progresses satisfactorily," a statement from the World Bank
noted at the end of a meeting it hosted in Paris on a multi-country DDR
programme for the Greater Great Lakes region (which encompasses Angola,
Burundi, the Central African Republic (CAR), the ROC, the DRC, Namibia,
Rwanda, Uganda and Zimbabwe), and an associated regional multi-donor trust
fund (MDTF).

The purpose of the meeting was to review the joint regional DDR strategy
and programme, mobilise resources for the regional MDTF and reach
agreement on the next steps. The meeting followed two consultative
meetings held earlier in Brussels (19 December 2001) and in Washington, DC
(8 February 2002) "to develop a comprehensive DDR framework to enhance the
prospects for stabilisation and recovery in the region", the World Bank
reported. The meeting was chaired by Emmanuel Mbi, World Bank country
director, South Central Africa and Great Lakes department.

It was attended by representatives from 13 donor countries (Austria,
Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands,
Norway, Sweden, the UK and the US), eight regional governments (Angola,
Burundi, CAR, DRC, Namibia, ROC, Rwanda and Uganda), and 12 international
organisations (African Development Bank, the European Commission, the
International Labour Organisation, the International Monetary Fund, the UN
mission in the DRC, the UN Development Programme, the UN Department of
Peacekeeping Operations, the office of the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees, the UN Children's Fund, the World Food Programme, and the World
Bank). [Full report]


GLOBAL: IDP agreement "a very positive step forward"

The UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Kenzo Oshima, and the Representative
of the Secretary-General on Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), Francis
Deng, on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding in New York to
improve UN efforts to respond to the severe crisis of internal
displacement around the world, the UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported on Thursday. "This is a very positive
step forward," Phyllis Lee, head of the advocacy and external relations
section of OCHA, told IRIN on Friday.

Under the agreement, the two units will jointly design and develop
strategies for the promotion, dissemination and application of guiding
principles on internal displacement, OCHA reported. They will coordinate
field visits to maximise impact, build upon each other's findings, and
ensure meaningful follow-up action. The two units will collaborate in the
development of policy and research on IDP issues and in the planning of
joint activities, such as seminars, to identify best practices and areas
for further application of the guiding principles. OCHA's IDP Unit and
Deng will also undertake joint advocacy activities to further raise the
awareness of the international community of the plight of millions of IDPs
and their urgent need for protection and assistance.

It is estimated that some 20-25 million people have been displaced within
their own countries as a result of armed conflict. Natural disasters have
displaced another 25 million. "Because they are not covered by the same
legal regime and assistance programmes that benefit refugees, these
populations require the support of the international community to meet
their urgent humanitarian needs," OCHA stated.



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