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CENTRAL AND EASTERN AFRICA
IRIN-CEA Weekly Round-up 258
18 - 24 December 2004


CONTENTS:

BURUNDI: Maternity services suspended in private health centres
DRC: UN creates buffer zone in east
CENTRAL AFRICA: New regional security mechanism
CAR: New constitution adopted, 15 to vie for presidency
UGANDA: LRA rebels not committed to peace - army spokesman


ALSO SEE: CONGO: Region continues to reel from earlier armed conflict
[http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=44796 ]


BURUNDI: Maternity services suspended in private health centres

Burundi's Ministry of Health says it has suspended maternity services in 
private health-care centres following patients' complaints of bad 
treatment.

"We have found out that all is a matter of money at the cost of people's 
lives," Dr Jean Kamana, the minister for public health, said on Wednesday, 
one day after he visited some of the private health centres in the 
capital, Bujumbura. He said the suspension of child-delivery services and 
hospitalisation was undertaken to protect the public from bad treatment.

[Full story on:
http://www.irinnews.org/Homepage.asp ]


DRC: UN creates buffer zone in east

The UN announced on Tuesday that it was creating a buffer zone in the 
province of North Kivu in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo 
(DRC). The 10-km buffer zone will be located between the towns of 
Kanyabayonga and Lubero.

"Two hundred blue helmets from the South African contingent will 
temporarily protect the buffer zone to permit the humanitarian community 
to reach thousands of displaced civilians in the area," M'hand Ladjouzi, 
the head of the North Kivu office of the UN peacekeeping mission in the 
DRC, known as MONUC, said.

[Full story on:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=44773]


CENTRAL AFRICA: New regional security mechanism

Amid renewed fighting in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo 
(DRC), countries in central Africa decided on Saturday to create a 
regional military command with a brigade of around 2,400 troops.

The new regional military command is "in keeping with other regions of 
Africa, which have mechanisms for the prevention, resolution and 
management of conflicts," Nelson Come, the Deputy Secretary-General of the 
Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), said at the end of a 
two-day meeting in Brazzaville, capital of the Republic of Congo (ROC).

[Full story on:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=44740 ]


CAR: New constitution adopted, 15 to vie for presidency

An overwhelming majority of voters in the Central African Republic (CAR) 
approved a new constitution at a referendum held on 5 December, the 
chairman of the Mixed Independent Electoral Commission, Jean 
Wilibiro-Sacko, announced on Sunday. He said 90.4 percent of the voters 
favoured the adoption of the new constitution, while 9.6 percent were 
against it.

At the same time, CAR leader Francois Bozize has set parliamentary and 
presidential elections for 13 February 2005. Already, 15 candidates have 
declared interest in contesting the presidency, according to the electoral 
commission.

[Full story on:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=44736 ]


CAR: Elections postponed; possible candidate goes on trial

President Francois Bozize postponed the date of presidential and 
parliamentary elections for Central African Republic only one week after 
authorising the initial election date. The new date has been set for 13 
February 2005.

Bozize signed a decree on Saturday postponing the elections, which he had 
set for 30 January one week before. Bozize also announced that he would 
contest the presidency as an independent candidate. Other potential 
candidates include the CAR's former president, Andre Kolingba, the former 
prime minister, Jean-Paul Ngoupande, and the former defence minister, 
Jean-Jacques Demafouth

[Full story on: 
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=44650 ]


UGANDA: LRA rebels not committed to peace - army spokesman

The Ugandan military said on Thursday that the rebel Lord's Resistance 
Army (LRA) had misused a month-long ceasefire declared by the government, 
and instead of a showing commitment to peace, regrouped to execute more 
atrocities in the northern region. Army spokesman, Maj Shaban Bantariza, 
told IRIN that the ceasefire period "was a time lost as far as the 
military is concerned", adding that the army had lost its momentum.

"We had successfully curtailed their propensity to abduct children to 
swell up their ranks," he said. "They could not meet to plan attacks, but 
the ceasefire period offered them this opportunity and instead of moving 
towards talking to the government, they have been moving to Sudan to 
re-organise."

[Full story on: 
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=44650 ]


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