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Subject: GREAT LAKES: IRIN-CEA Update 955 [2000628]
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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

Tel: +254 2 622147
Fax: +254 2 622129
e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org

IRIN-CEA Update 955 for the Great Lakes (Wednesday 28 June)

CONTENTS:

DRC: Attacks continuing in South Kivu
DRC: Masire to hold talks with Mbeki
DRC: Mini-summit planned for belligerents 
DRC: Journalists released, one to be deported
BURUNDI: Campaign to explain peace process launched
BURUNDI: Committee three of the Burundi talks meeting
BURUNDI: Delegates welcome women's involvement in peace process
BURUNDI: Appeal for common approach to humanitarian work 
RWANDA: Prosecutor asks appeals court to confirm sentence


DRC: Attacks continuing in South Kivu

Humanitarian sources have pointed out that insecurity is still prevalent in
Bukavu and areas of South Kivu. About 1,000 Interahamwe militiamen last week
reportedly attacked the parish of Kabare, Mukongola hospital and a number of
nearby villages, and were said to have killed, raped and looted. The sources
said the attacks resulted in civilians fleeing to the Kadutu and Bagira
areas, and some 10,000 people arrived in Bukavu itself. The ever-increasing
number of displaced people in Bukavu is putting an enormous strain on
commodities. The South Kivu governor has called on the local youth to
organise self-defence militias, the sources added, stressing that the
situation in Kabare was of serious concern. 

Meanwhile, further south in Kiliba, near Uvira, clashes broke out between
joint Mayi-Mayi militia forces and Burundian rebels of the Forces pour la
defense de la democratie (FDD) against allied Rassemblement congolais pour
la democratie (RCD-Goma)-Rwandan troops. The Interahamwe also attacked
villages near Lubarika. Following the attacks, people are again on the move,
the sources said.   

DRC: Masire to hold talks with Mbeki

The facilitator of the inter-Congolese dialogue, Ketumile Masire, was
scheduled to hold talks with South African President Thabo Mbeki on
Wednesday, the facilitator's chef de cabinet Philip Winter told IRIN on
Wednesday. Masire is also set to meet Mozambican President Joachim Chissano
on Thursday. Winter said the meetings were part of the ongoing shuttle
diplomacy in a bid to solve the inter-Congolese dialogue problem, following
the DRC government's rejection of Masire. He confirmed that on Tuesday, the
facilitator met Rwandan President Paul Kagame, and briefed him on the
progress and constraints he had encountered so far in the dialogue. 

According to the Rwanda News Agency (RNA), Masire told journalists in Kigali
he was continuing with his facilitation role, despite the DRC government's
rejection. "I was appointed by the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and
mandated by the terms of the Lusaka peace accord to play my role, and I
intend to continue to do so," he said. He indicated that he had not yet been
formally informed of the DRC's position, saying he would "cross that bridge
when I come to it".

DRC: Mini-summit planned for belligerents 

A mini-summit has been planned for the belligerents in the DRC crisis, a
diplomatic source told IRIN on Wednesday. "The tentative date for the
meeting is 4 July and the tentative venue is Algiers," he said. Apart from
the belligerents and organisations involved in diplomatic efforts, South
Africa, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria and Zambia had also been invited. "It is
still early to know who has responded positively to the invitation," the
source said. The facilitator's office confirmed receipt of the invitation
saying, "we have been invited and we expect the facilitator to attend the
meeting". "We are aware that consultations are going on at a high level,"
OAU officials in Addis Ababa added.

DRC: Journalists released, one to be deported

The Congolese security services have released two BBC employees who were
being held in Kinshasa, but one said on Tuesday she was going to be deported
after being held for two nights, according to Reuters news agency. The two,
Caroline Pare and Arnold Zaitman, were arrested on Saturday and Monday
respectively. Pare, a London-based producer, was arrested alongside her
Congolese assistant and a translator, who were also released on Monday. The
three were arrested near the house of the former head of a mining company
Jonas Mukamba. Mukamba himself was arrested at his house on Friday along
with around 30 guests, mainly expatriates. Zaitman, on the other hand, was
released late Monday, after being arrested earlier in the day, for failing
to stop his car as required while the Congolese national flag was being
lowered. 

BURUNDI: Campaign to explain peace process launched

The government has launched a countrywide campaign to explain the peace
process. The campaign is aimed at exchanging information with Burundians in
a bid to address their questions and concerns, particularly following the
recent visit to Burundi of the peace mediator, Nelson Mandela. Diplomatic
sources said President Pierre Buyoya and his two vice-presidents also met
high-ranking officials to discuss various issues, notably army integration,
political prisoners and a cessation of hostilities. The three leaders
stressed that the aim of army integration was to "progressively" correct
imbalances in the military. On political prisoners, they reiterated their
differences of opinion with the mediator, saying it was impossible to "empty
the prisons and sanction impunity". They again underlined that a truce was
necessary during the period of negotiations before an eventual ceasefire and
disarmament. Independent observers point out the government has been at
pains to stress there will not be a "fusion" of the army and the rebels, but
rather a progressive integration of rebel forces in addition to existing
Hutu members of the armed forces.

BURUNDI: Committee three of the Burundi talks meeting

Committee three of the Arusha peace process, which deals with matters on
peace, security for all and the defence forces, resumed discussions on
Monday, Burundi radio reported. It said the week-long talks would focus on
the composition of the national police, the demobilisation of the security
and defence forces, the national, regional and international environment, a
cessation of hostilities and a permanent ceasefire.

BURUNDI: Delegates welcome women's involvement in peace process

Delegates attending peace talks in Arusha at the weekend welcomed advice
from a UN expert team on how women's rights should be considered within the
peace negotiations. The Hirondelle news agency said the delegates each
agreed to attend an upcoming conference on the issue of women, to be held in
Arusha in the next three to four weeks. "I think that one of Burundi's
problems is that very few women are involved in politics," Hirondelle quoted
the leader of the exiled wing of the FRODEBU party, Jean Minani, as saying.
"Perhaps they would be more sensitive to Burundi's problems than we men, and
we must encourage them."

Minani was reacting to an address by a high-level expert group from the UN
Fund for Women (UNIFEM) which on Friday urged negotiators to integrate
women's issues into the peace agreement and involve Burundi women as much as
possible in its implementation. The expert team, comprising of women
representatives from South Africa, Uganda and Guatemala, two technical
experts from UNIFEM and Eritrea's attorney general - the only man in the
team - were invited by the peace talks facilitator, Nelson Mandela.

BURUNDI: Appeal for common approach to humanitarian work 

OCHA-Burundi has called for adopting a common approach to tackling
humanitarian projects in the country. In a detailed document outlining
principles for humanitarian intervention, it said the deterioration of the
humanitarian situation in Burundi, coupled with the nature of the regional
conflict and increased insecurity for relief workers, rendered such an
approach essential. To this effect, it said the principles of humanitarian
intervention had been adapted for the Burundi context by a working group
comprised of NGOs, the Red Cross, donors and UN agencies under the
supervision of OCHA. Notwithstanding the different mandates of all the
players, these principles were aimed at improving the effectiveness and
provision of aid. 

RWANDA: Prosecutor asks appeals court to confirm sentence

The prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR),
Carla Del Ponte, on Wednesday told the Appeals Court sitting in Arusha,
Tanzania that former Rwandan prime minister Jean Kambanda "had twice pleaded
guilty" and that his life sentence for genocide should be confirmed. "I was
wondering whether Kambanda should have had the opportunity for the trial,"
the independent Hirondelle news agency quoted Del Ponte as saying. "But
yesterday's [Tuesday] hearing swept all my doubts away," she said. "Kambanda
pleaded guilty a second time, he admitted his political responsibility in
the genocide," Del Ponte noted. "He confirmed the statements he made to the
prosecution...and it is those declarations which form the basis of his
indictment."  

Kambanda told the court on Tuesday he felt he was "forced" to sign his
guilty plea agreement with the prosecution. He further said he had been
denied the lawyer of his choice and that all his avenues of recourse had
been exhausted. Kambanda was sentenced to life imprisonment on 4 September
1998 after pleading guilty to all charges, including genocide and conspiracy
to commit genocide.

Meanwhile, the eighth plenary session of the Appeals Court on Monday adopted
a number of proposed amendments on the regulations and operations of the
ICTR. News organisations quoted Tribunal spokesman Kingsley Moghalu as
saying the most important amendment was related to speeding up the trials.
"This will reduce delays and postponements of trials," he said. 

Nairobi, 28 June 2000, 14:30 gmt

[ENDS]



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