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CENTRAL AND EASTERN AFRICA
IRIN-CEA Weekly Round-up 169
05 - 11 April 2003


CONTENTS:

DRC: 1,000 people killed in Ituri massacre
DRC: Fighting in east hinders disarmament says MONUC
DRC: Rebels declare Kabila's inauguration "invalid"
DRC: International Committee meets to follow up on Sun City accord
DRC: Chinese engineers arrive in Bukavu
CAR: Bozize names members of transitional law-making body
BURUNDI: Opposition leader released from house arrest
BURUNDI: Former US special envoy says US must support Burundi
   peacekeeping mission
UGANDA: LRA reportedly demands unconditional ceasefire
UGANDA: Security agents accused of torture
TANZANIA: World Bank praises poverty reduction efforts
KENYA: Government's stand on constitution draws criticism


ALSO SEE:

TANZANIA: Preventing HIV/AIDS transmission from mothers to babies in
refugee camps

TANZANIA: Interview with UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie


DRC: 1,000 people killed in Ituri massacre

BUNIA, 7 Apr 2003 (IRIN) - A UN helicopter flew 200 kg of medicines and
plastic sheeting on Monday to survivors of an attack on a Hema community
in Drodro, in northeastern Ituri District, Democratic Republic of the
Congo (DRC), as UN officials investigated a massacre there on 3 April,
said to have claimed around 1,000 victims.

Local chiefs gave lists of 996 people summarily executed in Drodro, 80 km
north of the principal town of Bunia, and 14 surrounding places, the UN
mission in the DRC, known as MONUC, said. The investigation team saw 49
victims, suffering from machete and bullet wounds, in a local hospital.
The team was shown 20 mass graves, marked with fresh traces of blood and
fragments of clothing, said to contain 250 bodies.

According to witnesses, the attack began at around 05:00 local time and
lasted three hours. The assailants - men, women and children, some in
military uniform, others in civilian clothes - attacked from five
directions. Some spoke the Lendu language, others spoke in Swahili, MONUC
said.


UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Sergio Vieira de Mello warned on
Tuesday that those behind the Ituri massacre could be charged before the
International Criminal Court (ICC). "The perpetrators of these atrocities
will be put under the spotlight and will have to answer for their
actions," he said in a statement.


Meanwhile, the New York-based aid agency, the International Rescue
Committee (IRC), said in a report released on Tuesday that the conflict in
the DRC had cost more lives than any other since World War II. In a survey
carried out between August 1998, when the war began, and November 2002,
the IRC estimated that at least 3.3 million Congolese died. The agency
said its study showed the mortality rate in the DRC to be higher than UN
reports for any other country in the world.

George Rupp, the president of the IRC, said: "This is a humanitarian
catastrophe of horrid and shocking proportions. The worst mortality
projections in the event of a lengthy war in Iraq, and the death toll from
all the recent wars in the Balkans, don't even come close. Yet the crisis
has received scant attention from international donors and the media."



DRC: Fighting in east hinders disarmament says MONUC

Continued fighting in eastern DRC is preventing the programme of
disarmament, demobilisation, and repatriation of foreign armed groups, Gen
Mountaga Diallo, the commander of MONUC, said on Wednesday.

Addressing a press conference, Diallo said he had raised the matter with
the rebel Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma) during a
mission to eastern DRC, aimed at obtaining explanations from the rebels
for the recent capture of Bunyatenge and Muhanga in North Kivu Province.
The RCD-Goma authorities said they had launched an offensive against
Rwandan Interahamwe and ex-Forces armees rwandaises (FAR) fighters active
in the area, but assured MONUC their operations would not extend further
north towards the towns of Beni and Butembo.

"We pointed out [to the rebels] that every time, just as we are about to
assemble fighters from foreign armed groups in one of our reception
centres, military operations are unleashed." The fighting, Diallo said,
had stalled the predicted arrival at MONUC's Lubero reception centre of
thousands of Interahamwe and ex-FAR fighters who were ready to go back to
Rwanda.

DRC: Rebels declare Kabila's inauguration "invalid"

RCD-Goma on Tuesday declared as "invalid" the swearing-in on Monday of
Joseph Kabila as interim president of the DRC. Kabila was sworn in before
the supreme court of justice as head of state for a transitional period of
two years, following the 2 April Sun City peace accord signed by all
parties to the DRC conflict.

Azarias Ruberwa, the secretary-general of RCD-Goma, told IRIN that the
inauguration ceremony was conducted by the president of the supreme court
of justice, who was appointed five years ago. "The context demands that
the president takes his oath before new institutions and a new man,"
Ruberwa said. He said his group would challenge the legality of the
inauguration at the first meeting of the national follow-up committee
convened by Kabila to implement the Sun City accord.

However, Mulegwa Zihindula, Kabila's spokesman, dismissed the rebel claim,
saying the president had been properly sworn in before the supreme court
of justice, which remained as an institution. Meanwhile, Kabila announced
during his inaugural speech on Monday evening that an amnesty for war
crimes would be decreed, while ensuring that "impunity does not triumph."


DRC: International Committee meets to follow up on Sun City accord

The international committee to accompany the transition in the DRC held
its first meeting on Thursday at the headquarters of MONUC, a MONUC
statement said. The committee is composed of representatives of MONUC, the
five permanent members of the UN Security Council (namely China, France,
the UK, Russia and the US), Canada, South Africa, Angola, Mozambique,
Zambia and the EC.

Under the chairmanship of Amos Namanga Ngongi, the UN secretary-general's
special envoy to the DRC, the international committee discussed how it
would function, and its relations with the national follow-up committee to
the DRC peace accord, signed on 2 April. Ngongi said: "We are here to
accompany the transition process and to help the [national] follow-up
committee to do its work after the installation of a transitional
government; and to work towards trying to resolve the small problems that
will arise."

The international committee decided to hold weekly meetings. The first
meeting of the national follow-up committee to oversee implementation of
the Sun City accord is due to be convened next week by Kabila.


DRC: Chinese engineers arrive in Bukavu

A contingent of 175 Chinese engineers has arrived in Bukavu in South Kivu
province, DRC, to build a medical centre, the MONUC spokesman, Hamadoun
Toure, said on Monday. A 70-strong Chinese medical team was also due to
arrive soon in Kindu in Maniema Province, Toure told IRIN.

Toure said MONUC was also awaiting the arrival of around 1,000 South
African and 105 Swedish troops to support the process of disarming,
demobilising, repatriating, and rehabilitating foreign armed groups
operating in the DRC. These are mainly the Rwandan Interahamwe militia and
the ex-FAR, both responsible for the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

Toure said the Swedes' task would be to contact targeted groups in their
forest hiding places and convince them to be repatriated.


CAR: Bozize names members of transitional law-making body

Francois Bozize, the new leader of the Central African Republic (CAR), has
established a 63-member National Transitional Council (NTC) to serve as an
advisory and transitional law-making organ, the government-owned Radio
Centrafrique reported on 4 April. The NTC will assist the president "in
his legislative functions...[and] the government in the drafting of the
[new] constitution and the preparation of general elections", a
presidential decree issued on Thursday said.

The NTC is expected to meet every three months, except in cases of
emergencies. Its membership comprises: all former heads of state, 12
representatives of political parties, 17 from the country's provinces and
towns, six from labour unions, three from religious communities, five from
professional associations, two from the businessmen^Òs association, two
from the small-scale traders^Ò association, four from human rights bodies,
two from women^Òs organisations, two from youth organisations, two from
the armed forces, two from the gendarmerie, two from farmers^Ò
associations, two from the magistrates^Ò association and one from the
police.


Bozize, said in a radio broadcast on Thursday that a transitional period
would last between 18 and 30 months. He promised in a speech carried on
government-run Radio Centrafrique that he would restore peace and
security, and fight corruption and poverty during that time. He said that
measures had been taken, including the suspension of timber and mineral
exploitation, to eradicate "mafia networks" that had corrupted those
sectors.

He also announced, in a reference to civil servants who have not been
receiving wages, that payment of salaries would start from next week.


BURUNDI: Opposition leader released from house arrest

The Burundian government said on 4 April that it had released
Jean-Baptiste Bagaza, the leader of the suspended Tutsi opposition Parti
pour le redressement national (Parena), from house arrest. Bagaza, a
former president of Burundi, was placed under house arrest in November
2002 for allegedly plotting to kill President Pierre Buyoya and the
Speaker of the national assembly, but was never charged. Home Affairs
Minister Salvator Ntihabose said the government would continue to monitor
Bagaza and Parena would remain suspended.

Bagaza has consistently denied the allegations against him. Parena was a
signatory to the Arusha peace accord, which aims to end Burundi's civil
war. However, it refused to take part in a transitional government.


BURUNDI: Former US special envoy says US must support Burundi
    peacekeeping mission

The former US presidential special representative to the Great Lakes
region, Howard Wolpe, urged the US Congress on 3 April to support the
peacekeeping mission due to be sent by the African Union (AU) to Burundi.
"These African nations can neither undertake - nor sustain - this critical
mission without the substantial financial and logistical support of the
United States and others within the international community," Wolpe said
in a written testimony submitted to the House Committee on International
Relations, subcommittee Africa. "There can be no higher priority than
standing up and maintaining this peacekeeping mission," he said.

A 3,500-strong AU peacekeeping force made up of soldiers from Ethiopia,
Mozambique and South Africa is to be deployed in Burundi under a peace
agreement to end the country's civil war.


BURUNDI: South Africa and Belgium reaffirm support for Burundi peace process

South Africa and Belgium have reaffirmed their committment to the peace
process in Burundi "to guarantee the wellbeing of a population that has
suffered from civil strife for too long," a joint communique said on
Thursday. The communique was issued in Brussels following a meeting
between the facilitator of the peace process, South African Vice-President
Jacob Zuma, and Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Louis Michel to discuss the
implementation of ceasefire agreements and the deployment of an AU
peacekeeping force.

According to the communiqué, Zuma briefed Michel on the ceasefire
agreements between the armed groups and the transitional government in
Burundi and the expected 1 May handing over of power by President Pierre
Buyoya to his deputy, Domitien Ndayizeye, in line with the requirements of
the three-year transitional period.

Michel said the Belgian Council of Ministers allocated on 4 April some
E1 million (US $1.7 million) towards the deployment of the AU mission.


UGANDA: LRA reportedly demands unconditional ceasefire

The rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has reportedly said the Ugandan
government must declare an unconditional ceasefire before it will nominate
a peace negotiating team. A statement sent to the presidential peace team
in Gulu, entitled "LRA/M Press Release", but not signed by any LRA
members, said certain preconditions needed to be met before the LRA would
engage in talks.

"The National Resistance Movement [NRM] of President Yoweri Museveni must
unequivocally issue an official declaration to the people of Uganda and
the international community that he is genuine and favours an
unconditional ceasefire between his government and the LRA/M
[LRA/Movement] and that he must make it explicit as a precursor to peace
talks," the statement said.

The Ugandan army spokesman, Shaban Bantariza, told IRIN that he had not
seen the statement, but it "may most likely be from the LRA if not from
their supporters, but I cannot categorically say it is". He added that in
a previous statement, the LRA had threatened to kill "anyone they come
across along the road because President Museveni has refused to negotiate
peace with them".


Meanwhile, a senior military official and the head of the presidential
peace team in Uganda, Salim Saleh, threatened on 5 April to leave the team
if the LRA did not show commitment to peace talks. "I have not seen any
seriousness with these rebels in the 45 days I have so far spent in Gulu,"
he told IRIN. "These guys seem somehow not to be serious and therefore I
will have no choice but to quit the peace team, because I have not seen
any willingness from their side to talk peace."


UGANDA: Security agents accused of torture

A report released this week by the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC)
has accused government security agents of torture. Margaret Sekagya of the
UHRC) told IRIN that the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence - a military
intelligence security department in the Uganda People's Defence Forces -
and the Internal Security Organisation - part of the ministry of internal
affairs, which controls internal security - had been heavily implicated in
the report.

There were 158 cases of torture reported in 1999, 97 cases in 2000 and 152
in 2001, the report said. The majority of cases occurred while victims
were being held in custody. The report added that torture continued to
exist in Ugandan society because of the impunity that resulted in the
government's reluctance to punish the perpetrators.

The UHRC had trained more than 60 police officers since October 2001 on
how to use a police human rights training manual developed in 1999,
Sekagya told IRIN.


TANZANIA: World Bank praises poverty reduction efforts

The World Bank praised Tanzania on 4 April for making concerted efforts in
poverty reduction, saying that its push to harmonise donor efforts in the
country should be seen as a model for other developing nations. "What
stands out is the strong government leadership in the whole effort," the
World Bank country director for Tanzania and Uganda, Judy O'Connor, said.
"The harmonisation between the World Bank and the United Nations system
here in Tanzania should be seen as a model in terms of poverty reduction,"
she said.

The UN Development Programme resident representative and the coordinator
of the UN system in Tanzania, John Hendra, said that this type of
partnership had not been seen in any other country. O'Connor and Hendra
were speaking at the conclusion of a two-day meeting to discuss the World
Bank and the UN system performance review in Dar es Salaam, the Tanzanian
commercial capital.

Tanzania's efforts have been rewarded with substantial funding from the
Bretton Woods institution. After Ethiopia, the East African country is
Africa's second largest recipient of World Bank funding, and O'Connor
recently announced that the Bank intended to provide Tanzania with a new
grant of US $70 million for HIV/AIDS-related projects. According to the
Ministry of Finance, the World Bank currently has 22 projects in Tanzania,
with commitments totalling $1.3 billion.


KENYA: Government's stand on constitution draws criticism

Barely three months into office, President Mwai Kibaki's government has
been accused of ignoring the most pressing national issue of putting in
place a new constitution. Otieno Ombok, a programme officer at the Chemi
Chemi ya Ukweli [Kiswahili for fountain of truth], a Catholic-based human
rights pressure group, told IRIN on Thursday that the National Rainbow
Coalition (Narc) had failed to adhere to its earlier commitment to pursue
the crimes of past regimes and make the changes it had promised Kenyans.

A new constitution is one of the pre-election pledges that Narc promised
to implement within 100 days in office. After winning the December 2002
elections, the ruling coalition said it could produce a final draft
constitution by June. It also promised to set up a truth and justice
commission to probe past crimes against humanity committed under the
previous Kenya African National Union (KANU) government.

Ombok accused the government of instead offering "piecemeal" measures to
please the public. "Many people expected a constitution to come first,
then a truth and justice commission. But this is a piecemeal approach. We
needed a proper framework in order to bring a new political dispensation,"
he added.


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