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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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IRIN Update No. 657 for Central and Eastern Africa (Monday 26 April 1999)
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Rebels' preconditions rule out Rome talks
The rebel Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie(RCD) on Sunday set down "essential preconditions" which effectively ruled out its participation in peace talks scheduled for Friday (30 April) in Rome, news organisations said. The RCD's spokesman in Europe, Jorge Ndondo, told Radio France Internationale that "the conclusion of a ceasefire agreement, and then the "extension of the planned negotiations to other internal players in the conflict" must precede any talks.
Ndondo said the RCD rejected President Laurent-Desire Kabila's designation of participants and that it would only attend if four groups it considered essential were "constituted in a balanced manner". The four groups included: the Kabila regime, the internal opposition, the armed opposition and civil society - "comprising all the truly representative political and social forces".
RCD vows to fight guerrillas who threaten its allies
The RCD has vowed to fight guerrilla forces which are threatening the security of its allies in the DRC conflict. The head of the RCD's department of the interior, Joseph Mudumbi, said his movement would "fight Rwandan Hutu extremist militias, the Burundi Hutu rebels of the Forces pour la defense de la democratie (FDD) and the Uganda rebels using northern and southern Kivu provinces of eastern Congo as launching pads for their cross-border raids", according to the Rwanda News Agency.
Cracks appear in peace deal
Rwanda has said Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has no mandate to broker a peace deal for DRC. The 'EastAfrican' weekly on Monday cited Rwandan Presidency Minister Patrick Mazimhaka as saying his country "recognises only President Frederick Chiluba of Zambia in the peace effort because he was assigned the task by SADC [Southern African Development Community]". Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and DRC leader Laurent-Desire Kabila put their names to a peace agreement in Libya during a meeting last Sunday. But Mazimhaka said it was "unfortunate that Colonel Gaddafi is taking on the role [of mediator] without involving the protagonists in the conflict".
Uganda's semi-official 'Sunday Vision' described the accord as "an agreement which was not an agreement" and commented that it was "dead before it was ever signed". It said Museveni signed the accord to keep his "long time ally", Gaddafi, happy.
Another DRC rebel leader, Jean-Pierre Bemba of the Equateur-based Mouvement de liberation congolais (MLC), said at the weekend there could be no peace deal between Kabila and Uganda without the agreement of all the parties to the conflict. "I think there is no ceasefire agreement available as long as all the countries, all the parties involved in this war, are not invited", he told Radio France Internationale. "You cannot say today that you finish the problem of Congo if Zimbabwe is not around the table, [as well as] Namibia, Angola, Sudan, the Interahamwe, the RCD and my group."
DRC urges foreign support for accord
Meanwhile, DRC Foreign Minister Yerodia Abdoulaye urged ambassadors in Kinshasa to convince their governments to support the accord, the Agence congolaise de presse reported on Monday. "It is a good accord," he said. "Even Angola is in favour of it. It's the first time President Museveni signs something and commits his country."
Economy said slightly better in rebel-held areas
The economic situation in rebel-held DRC is marginally better than in government-controlled areas, commercial sources in eastern DRC told IRIN on Monday. They said an indication was the black market index which put the franc congolais-dollar exchange rate at 3.6 to one in rebel areas, and 8.2 to one in government areas. However, business in eastern DRC was still poor as the interior was still "very disturbed" and nobody was coming into the towns to buy. Purchasing power had plummeted and severe food shortages were reported in Kindu and Kisangani, the sources said. Mining activity in the region had dropped drastically due to Mayi-Mayi attacks along roads leading to the major towns. Local Congolese were suffering as a result of foreigners coming into the mining areas and flying the minerals out.
RWANDA: ICTR judges slam handling of Ntuyahaga case
Judges at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) have criticised the handling of the case of genocide suspect Bernard Ntuyahaga, the independent Hirondelle news agency reported. The former army officer was freed by the ICTR last month after the prosecution withdrew its indictment against him so that he could be tried in Belgium. However, the Tribunal ruled it had no jurisdiction to deliver Ntuyahaga, who is also wanted by Rwanda, to any national authority. Last week, the judges criticised the ICTR's registry for having gone "beyond its power" in issuing the suspect with a letter of safe conduct. They expressed concern that this "should not set a precedent".
Journalists protest over detention of two reporters
The Rwandan Association of Journalists (ARJ) has strongly protested to the authorities over the "illegal detention" of two journalists, the Rwanda News Agency (RNA) reported on Monday. John Eddie Mugabi of the 'Newsline' monthly was accused of allegedly defaming the secretary-general in the defence ministry, while the charges against Amiel Nkuliza of 'Le Partisan' "remain unclear", the ARJ said in a letter to President Pasteur Bizimungu. Mugabi was reportedly imprisoned for failing to reveal his sources and the ARJ said "this uncalled for pressure" was "unacceptable". RNA said the arrests highlighted fear among journalists of press harassment.
BURUNDI: UN calls for further measures against impunity
The UN Human Rights Commission on Friday adopted a resolution urging the Burundi government to take more measures against impunity. The resolution however expressed support for the internal dialogue underway in the country, as well as for the Arusha process, and hailed the recent lifting of the regional embargo. It took note of "encouraging signs" in the struggle against impunity and for the promotion of human rights, but expressed concern over continued insecurity and reports of massacres. Finally, the resolution called on the international community to extend financial backing to the government "to put Burundi back on its feet". It also decided to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur for a further year.
The 25th session of the African Commission for Human Rights was due to open in Bujumbura on Monday, and continue until 5 May, PANA news agency reported. Some 200 delegates will review the human rights situation in OAU member states, and Burundi will give a presentation about the situation at home.
Nairobi, 26 April 1999, 14:30 gmt
[ENDS]
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 1999 17:33:24 +0300 (EAT) From: IRIN - Central and Eastern Africa <irin@ocha.unon.org> Subject: CENTRAL AND EASTERN AFRICA: IRIN Update 657 for 26 April [19990426]
Editor: Dr. Ali B. Ali-Dinar, Ph.D
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