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 338
1 - 7 July 2006


CONTENTS:

RWANDA: Tribunal's appeals court sentences ex-mayor to life in prison
BURUNDI: Ceasefire negotiations delayed to 13 July
BURUNDI: Belgium to increase aid to eradicate poverty
CAR: WFP needs $3 million for troubled northwest, official says
DRC: Suspend poll campaigns, 19 presidential candidates say
DRC: Thousands flee army-militia showdown in Ituri
DRC: Deadline for militias to disarm extended to 15 July
UGANDA: Northern leaders hail talks between Government and LRA


ALSO SEE:

DRC: Country without roads
[http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54422]

DRC: No better place than prison
[http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54439]

DRC: Interview with Petronille Vwaweka, Bunia District Commissioner
[http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54396]

DRC: Interview with Congolese army commander in Ituri
[http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54354]


RWANDA: Tribunal's appeals court sentences ex-mayor to life in prison

The Appeals chamber of the United Nations International Criminal
Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) on Friday sentenced a former Rwandan mayor to
life imprisonment for his role in the 1994 genocide.

Judge Mohamed Shahabuddeen, presiding, handed down the sentence to
Sylvestre Gacumbitsi, in revision of an earlier 30-year jail term
imposed by a trial chamber of the tribunal. The court ruled that
Gacumbitsi's public statements during the genocide encouraged "the mass
killing and raping of Tutsis."

At the same time, the Appeals chamber reduced the sentence of a former
Rwanda para-military commander, Lt. Samuel Imanishimwe, who had been
jailed for 27 years in 2004. He will now serve 12 years after the
appeals chamber quashed two charges of genocide and extermination.

[Full story:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=54464]


BURUNDI: Ceasefire negotiations delayed to 13 July

Negotiations between the Burundian government and the remaining rebel
group, the Forces nationales de liberation (FNL), have been postponed
until 13 July after the parties failed to agree on a permanent truce,
mediators said on Wednesday.

"There is need for further consultation on the matter," the South
African-led mediation team said in a statement issued to the media in
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's commercial capital, where the talks were held.

On 18 June, the government and the FNL signed a preliminary accord
setting a 1 July deadline for the signing of a permanent peace accord
aimed at bringing to an end 13 years of civil war that has claimed some
300,000 lives in the country.

[Full Story on:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54435]


BURUNDI: Belgium to increase aid to eradicate poverty

Belgium pledged to increase its aid to Burundi by 15 million euros (US
$19 million) per year, the Belgian cooperation and development minister,
Armand de Decker, said on Wednesday.

"What is impressive is the consciousness of the Burundian ministers and
their willingness to work for the people but [they] have no budget to do
more. Belgium will help in that way to improve the situation of people,
to fight poverty," he said.

The aid comes in the wake of new measures taken by the government to
improve living conditions, including the provision of free medical care
to pregnant women and children under five.

[Full Story on:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54447]


CAR: WFP needs $3 million for troubled northwest, official says

In an appeal to the international donor community, the United Nations
World Food Programme (WFP) says it needs US$3 million for its activities
in the troubled northwestern Central African Republic (CAR).

"Most of the people in the region are having one meal a day and are
resorting to wild roots and herbs to survive," Charles Dei, the agency's
representative in the CAR, said at a news conference on Thursday in the
capital, Bangui. Thousands of civilians have been displaced in the
northwest province of Ouham and Ouham-Pende since late 2005 when attacks
by armed groups began. More have been displaced in recent months after
the nation's armed forces were deployed in the area to flush out the
insurgents.

[Full story:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=54457]

[On the Net: ICRC, Red Cross begin aid distribution
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54407]


DRC: Suspend poll campaigns, 19 presidential candidates say

Nineteen of the 33 presidential candidates in the Democratic Republic of
the Congo (DRC) on Tuesday called for the suspension of ongoing election
campaigns to allow for what they termed as "transparency" in the
country's first democratic elections in 45 years.

"We want the campaigns to be suspended to rid the process of
irregularities," Gerard Kamanda Wa Kamanda, one of the presidential
candidates and minister in charge of scientific research in the
transitional government, told a news conference in the capital Kinshasa.

Presidential and parliamentary elections are scheduled for 30 July.
Election campaigns officially began on 30 June.

[Full story on:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54402]

[On the Net:  Election campaigns begin
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54336]


DRC: Thousands displaced as fighting continues

Humanitarian actors in the DRC's northeastern district of Ituri are
finding it difficult to reach thousands of civilians displaced by recent
militia attacks, a United Nations (UN) official said on Tuesday. The
information officer with the UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Idrissa Conteh, said many of the displaced
were still hiding in the bush as fighting continues between the army and
militiamen in parts of the district.

"The displaced are living with other families, while others have sought
shelter in churches and schools," Conteh said. "There are an estimated
1,500 in the church and at the Chem College south of Bunia, 700 arrived
in the town at night."

Ituri has remained volatile due to continued militia activity. The
attacks come as the country gears up for the first democratic elections
in 45 years, scheduled for 30 July.

[Full Story on:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54397]

[Also on the Net: Thousands flee army-militia showdown in Ituri
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54365]


DRC: Deadline for militias to disarm extended to 15 July

The deadline for militias in the DRC's northeastern district of Ituri to
voluntarily surrender and join disarmament and demobilisation programme
has been extended to 15 July.

"The deadline has been extended because we are seeing up to 250
combatants coming to disarm every day. These figures pushed us to get an
extension," said Carmine Camerini, a public information officer with
MONUC, the UN mission in the DRC on Wednesday.

"After the deadline, there will be forced disarmament operations in
order to guarantee security for the approaching elections," he said.

The government, MONUC and the National Commission for Disarmament,
Demobilisation and Reintegration, known as CONADER, had set 30 June as
the deadline. At least 2,500 militiamen and women surrendered within a
few days before the deadline expired, taking advantage of the initiative
in which they were offered cash in exchange for their guns.

[Full Story on:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54444]

[On the Net: Militiamen disarm ahead of deadline
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54304]


UGANDA: US gov't demands trial for rebel leaders

Uganda's announcement of a total amnesty to indicted leaders of the
rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) met opposition on Thursday when the
United States said "those who committed atrocities should be held
accountable for their deeds".

A statement issued by the US embassy in Kampala stated: "President
Museveni announced that he is willing to extend amnesty to the LRA
leader Joseph Kony - and potentially the rest of the LRA leadership as
well. The United States respects Uganda's decision on this matter, but
we believe those who have committed atrocities in this long-standing
insurgency should be held accountable for their deeds."

The Hague-based ICC last year issued arrest warrants for Kony and four
of his top commanders for trial for war crimes and crimes against
humanity.

[Full Story on:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54442]

[On the Net: Northern leaders hail talks between Government and LRA
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54391]

[Gov't, LRA to hold talks despite ICC indictments
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54356]

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