Date: 26 May 2000 08:58 GMT From: 320064413815-0001@t-online.de (zdwf) To: References: Subject: GREAT LAKES: IRIN-CEA Update 929 [2000523] (fwd) X-Mailer: T-Online eMail 2.3 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable IRIN schrieb: U N I T E D N A T I O N S=20 Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs=20 Integrated Regional Information Network=20 for Central and Eastern Africa Tel: +254 2 622147=20 Fax: +254 2 622129=20 e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org=20 IRIN-CEA Update 929 for the Great Lakes (Tuesday 23 May) CONTENTS:=20 BURUNDI: Mandela meets army and rebels BURUNDI: Army says ceasefire a prerequisite for future talks BURUNDI: Heavy fighting reported in southeast BURUNDI: Insecurity temporarily forces NGOs out of Makamba BURUNDI: Paramilitaries backing army in troubled areas DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Rebels agree to Kisangani demilitarisation DRC: UN military teams to oversee withdrawal DRC: MONUC urged to protect civilians TANZANIA: Burundian "combatants" arrested RWANDA: Genocide suspects sentenced to death BURUNDI: Mandela meets army and rebels The facilitator of the Arusha peace process for Burundi, former South African President Nelson Mandela, was on Tuesday meeting with representatives of the Burundian army and rebel groups in Johannesburg, an official at the Mandela Foundation told IRIN. "For security reasons, I am under instructions not to divulge the names of the participants," the spokesman said. Sources close to the facilitator's office told IRIN that opposition groups represented at the Johannesburg consultations included the FNL, FDD, CNDD, PALIPEHUTU and FROLINA. The independent Hirondelle news agency on Monday quoted informed sources as saying FDD leader Jean-Bosco Ndayikengurukiye was not attending in person but had sent a high-level representative. The facilitation was hoping to get all the parties to meet together on Wednesday, Hirondelle added. "This is the beginning of the process that will lead to the cessation of hostilities ... it's a good opportunity for the mediator to try and bridge the gap between different parties," Burundi analyst Jan van Eck of the South Africa-based Centre for Conflict Resolution told IRIN on Tuesday. BURUNDI: Army says ceasefire a prerequisite for future talks Colonel Leonidas Mijimbere, leading the army delegation to the talks in South Africa, said on 'Umwizero' radio on Monday that the cessation of hostilities was "a prerequisite for the success of future negotiations." Mijimbere said he would like the rebels to have delegates who were really capable of committing their groups to discussion on the cessation of hostilities, and that the army would look into demands they might have. Mijimbere rejected as "a bargaining tactic" the rebels' call for 60 percent representation in a reformed Burundian army. "Even if we had to accept a few elements from the armed groups, we would not consider such a percentage," he said, adding that any solution arrived at would have to avoid the formation of a national army along tribal lines. BURUNDI: Heavy fighting reported in southeast There were heavy clashes between the army and rebels in Makamba province, southeastern Burundi, on Sunday night and Monday morning, news organisations reported. Three vehicles, including two belonging to an NGO, were burnt to a shell, and rebels looted shops and stalls in what appeared to be an attack mainly geared at securing supplies, the local ABP news agency reported. Humanitarian officials in Burundi confirmed that vehicles belonging to MSF and IRC - the two international NGOs working in the area - had been damaged. BURUNDI: Insecurity temporarily forces NGOs out of Makamba International staff of the two NGOs have now withdrawn to Bujumbura while security staff assess the situation in Makamba. Aid officials in Burundi told IRIN on Tuesday that humanitarian operations in the area had continued until last week despite the insecurity, even in rural areas and quite close to the Tanzanian border, but "the situation changed very quickly over the weekend". The communes of Kibago and Mabanda were most affected by new movements of internally-displaced people (IDPs), and water availability was "a big problem," they added. BURUNDI: Paramilitaries backing army in troubled areas There were now some 2,500 armed civilians supporting the army in areas of insecurity, particularly in the south of the country, as part of a government policy of civilian self-defence, AFP reported on Sunday. These recruits - dubbed 'guardians of the peace' by the Burundian authorities - were often repentant rebels, and they were now "in all the communes affected by insecurity," it quoted the governor of Makamba, Colonel Gabriel Gunungu, as saying. Armed with rifles, these paramilitaries backed up the army in surveillance missions and in protecting roads or civilian regroupment camps, AFP quoted a senior army officer as saying. The training of these civilians had been interrupted when insecurity erupted all along the border with Tanzania in December but would soon come back into force, the report stated. However, some observers had pointed to the danger of arming yet more people in Burundi and wondered who was going to disarm the civilians so they did not constitute a threat to any peace deal between the government and rebel groups, it added.=20 DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Rebels agree to Kisangani demilitarisation Rebels of the Goma-based Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD) said on Tuesday that they would withdraw their troops from Kisangani, paving the way for the full demilitarisation of the city. "On Monday, we signed an agreement with the UN and the JMC [Joint Military Commission created under the Lusaka ceasefire agreement] to pull the bulk of our forces out of Kisangani," RCD official Bizima Karaha told IRIN. He said, however, that the RCD would remain in charge of the city's administration and that it reserved the right to intervene "if we feel the city is threatened." Karaha said the RCD's withdrawal agreement was separate from the demilitarisation plan agreed upon by Rwandan and Ugandan army commanders last Sunday, under which Rwandan and Ugandan soldiers are to begin withdrawing from Kisangani on Thursday. "They will follow their arrangement and we shall follow ours," he stated. The demilitarisation efforts follow recent clashes between Rwandan and Ugandan soldiers in Kisangani, in which at least 27 Congolese civilians were killed and over 150 others wounded. The demilitarisation of Kisangani is seen as crucial to avert a wider conflict between Uganda and Rwanda, regional analysts have said.=20 DRC: UN military teams to oversee withdrawal Two teams of UN military officers were already in Kisangani and a third team was scheduled to join them to oversee and monitor the demilitarisation process, an official from the UN Mission in the DRC (MONUC) said on Tuesday. "We will continue to build our presence there and we envisage 6 to 8 teams in the longer term," the official said. Each team comprises 3-4 officers. Implementation of the agreement would begin on Thursday with a "detailed planning phase", lasting until Monday. The simultaneous withdrawal of Ugandan and Rwandan forces from the city would be completed within 16 days, he said. Under the demilitarisation plan, Rwanda and Uganda will each maintain two companies within Kisangani, while administration of the city would be undertaken by "local authorities", he added. Meanwhile, the army commanders of Rwanda and Uganda have agreed to set up a joint military commission to look into the presence of their forces along the Rwandan-Ugandan border and propose "a solution to the problem," Radio Rwanda reported on Monday. DRC: MONUC urged to protect civilians The DRC government has condemned what it called the "latest massacre perpetrated by the Rwandan army" in South Kivu and urged MONUC to use its 'Chapter VII' enforcement mandate to protect civilians, Congolese state television reported. "Today, the UN should use coercive measures in order to neutralise the aggressors, in other words, demilitarise the occupied territories but also force the aggressor troops to withdraw from the DRC so as to protect civilians there," Human Rights Minister Leonard Okitundu said on Sunday. Resolution 1291 adopted by the UN Security Council in February authorised MONUC to protect civilians under imminent threat of physical violence "in the areas of deployment of its infantry battalions". The Catholic missionary news agency MISNA on Saturday said Rwandan-backed rebel forces had killed about 300 people on 14-15 May in Katogota, about 60 km south of Bukavu. The RCD said it was investigating the charge. TANZANIA: Burundian "combatants" arrested Authorities arrested 167 "Burundian combatants of Hutu origin" in the Kigoma area of western Tanzania last Thursday, according to a senior Tanzanian police officer quoted by the independent 'Guardian' newspaper. Regional police commander Placid Chaka said the suspects had intended to cross into Burundi to attend "military training being offered by the CNDD-FDD," the 'Guardian' reported. They included 24 children as young as 13 years old, it added. The Burundian government has in the past accused Tanzanian authorities of supporting Burundian rebels. Tanzania has denied the claim. RWANDA: Genocide suspects sentenced to death Five genocide suspects were sentenced to death at Nyamata court in Kigali Rural and 16 others were sentenced to life imprisonment, Radio Rwanda reported on Tuesday. The court also sentenced six people to jail terms ranging from five to 20 years. Meanwhile, a court in Gashora commune sentenced nine genocide suspects to death, eight to life imprisonment and 49 others to jail terms of 15-20 years, the radio said. Nairobi, 23 May 2000, 16:00 gmt [ENDS]=20 [IRIN-CEA: Tel: +254 2 622147 Fax: +254 2 622129 e-mail: irin-cea@ocha.unon= .org=20 ] [This item is delivered in the English service of the UN's IRIN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations. For further information, free subscriptions, or to change your keywords, contact e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org or Web: http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN . If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer.] Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2000 =20 Subscriber: zdwf-@t-online.de Keyword: IRIN-CEA