Date: Thu, 3 Aug 2000 18:23:02 +0300 (BEAUT)
From: IRIN <irin@ocha.unon.org>
To: IRIN - English Service <english@ocha.unon.org>
Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.3.96.1000803182216.8557F-100000@mail.ocha.unon.org>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
Subject: GREAT LAKES: IRIN-CEA Update 981  [2000803]
Precedence: bulk
Sender: IRIN Africa English Service <africa-english@ocha.unon.org>






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 981 for the Great Lakes (Thursday 3 August)

CONTENTS:

BURUNDI: Buyoya meets army officers to discuss peace accord
BURUNDI: FRODEBU-Minani satisfied with accord
BURUNDI: Concern over resumption of widespread violence
BURUNDI: Security Council urges end to hostilities
DRC: Bunia reported calmer
DRC: Uganda hopes Kabila will "come back to the fold"
UGANDA: Soldiers arrive from DRC


BURUNDI: Buyoya meets army officers to discuss peace accord

Burundian President Pierre Buyoya on Wednesday had a meeting with officers
and unit commanders of Bujumbura garrison on issues connected to the peace
process, Burundi radio reported. The meeting, also attended by commanders
of the country's military regions, discussed the security situation in the
country and the draft peace agreement presented two weeks ago by the peace
process facilitator, Nelson Mandela. Buyoya presented the government's
position on questionable issues, and they also discussed the security
forces' concerns.

"The attitude that I recommend is that first security forces keep their
cohesion at all cost," President Buyoya was quoted as saying. "Two, that
they maintain the security of the country and citizens."  He also advised
people to avoid rumours and manipulation "of which there is no shortage at
this period". He urged people to "allow politicians to discuss and debate
while the army remains focused on its main mission".

Meanwhile, Buyoya arrived in South Africa on Thursday for talks with
Mandela, ahead of the resumption of talks in Arusha on 7 August. Sources
close to the mediation say Mandela is adamant about adhering to the 28
August date for signing a peace accord. 

BURUNDI: FRODEBU-Minani satisfied with accord

The leader of the exiled wing of the opposition FRODEBU party, Jean
Minani, has expressed general support for the draft agreement. "I must say
that not all proposals made by the mediation are satisfactory to us,"
Radio France Internationale (RFI) quoted him as saying. "We have
criticised many of them, but if we are to make an initial assessment, we
will say that the draft agreement is satisfactory to us."  According to
Minani, the draft only constitutes a start of the peace process. "The
proposals made by the mediation can pave the way for really pursuing the
negotiations," he said.  "When we look at the proposals as a whole, we
tell ourselves that there are aspects on which a compromise could be
sought," Minani added. "On 7 August when we go to Arusha, maybe we will
say, let us allow the draft accord to pass, let us sign it while we
continue to dialogue, because after all, Arusha is not the last place of
dialogue for Burundians."

BURUNDI: Concern over resumption of widespread violence

Diplomatic sources warned of a climate of increased tension in Burundi,
leading to the possible resumption of widespread hostilities. Reports are
circulating of the return to Bujumbura of the Sans Echecs Tutsi militia
group, sent into exile after the 1996 coup that brought President Pierre
Buyoya to power. The sources described the current situation as
precarious, warning of possible provocations that could trigger a cycle of
violence.  Diplomatic missions in Burundi are reported to be keeping a
close watch on how the situation evolves. 

BURUNDI: Security Council urges end to hostilities

Members of the UN Security Council on Wednesday called on all parties to
the conflict in Burundi to end hostilities "without delay". In a statement
read by the Council's current chairman, Agam Hasmy of Malaysia, members
stressed the importance of resuming development aid to the war-torn
country. The Council released the statement after closed door
consultations, which included an update from the UN Secretariat on the
outcome of the Arusha summit and its follow-up. Members strongly supported
the facilitation efforts of Nelson Mandela and urged the parties to engage
seriously in the peace process. They also supported the idea of holding a
donors' conference which would facilitate the relaunching of the Burundian
economy. On the humanitarian front, members expressed concern about the
current situation and stressed the importance of ensuring access to the
population in need, as well as safeguarding the security of aid workers.
They also stressed the importance to dismantle all regroupment camps in
the country. 

DRC: Bunia reported calmer

The northeastern DRC town of Bunia is "fairly calm" after Ugandan soldiers
moved in to quash a rebellion within a new rebel group. Leader of the
governing Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie-Mouvement de
liberation (RCD-ML) Ernest Wamba dia Wamba told IRIN on Thursday there was
"absolutely no confrontation" and that the problem was sparked by a "few
individuals who were trying to use armed groups to oust their party
leader". "The issue was with a small group of people and had nothing to do
with the whole [Wahema] ethnic group," he said.

"Assistants to the head of the movement organised militias and decide to
move into Bunia to force their leader out, this is when the UPDF [Uganda
People's Defence Force] moved in to save the situation, and the issue has
been dealt with," he said. He said delegations had been sent to talk with
the new rebel group, whose members are still in the bush, adding that the
problem was "purely political". The semi-official 'New Vision' newspaper
reported on Thursday that the UPDF moved tanks and helicopter gunships in
a major offensive against the group.  It said that by Wednesday, over 500
of the rebels had surrendered to UPDF.

DRC: Uganda hopes Kabila will "come back to the fold" 

Uganda, as chairman of the Joint Military Commission's political committee
- which oversees implementation of the Lusaka peace accord - has said all
the signatories to the agreement are committed to the process, except for
the DRC government. "It is only the DRC government that wants to leave the
Lusaka process," Uganda's foreign minister in charge of regional
cooperation, Amama Mbabazi, told IRIN on Thursday. He was speaking after
chairing the latest political committee meeting in Lusaka last week. "But
we hope reason will prevail and Kabila will be back in the fold," he
added. "We hope this will be done sooner rather than later." Mbabazi
stressed that the Lusaka process was the only way to achieve peace. "It is
a great miscalculation by Kabila to try and go for the military option,"
he said.

A government offensive is currently underway in northwest Equateur
province.  On Tuesday, Rwandan Foreign Minister Andre Bumaya expressed
concern over the DRC's "repeated violations" of the Lusaka accord, the
Rwanda News Agency (RNA) reported. "The prospects for the inter-Congolese
dialogue remain poor," Bumaya told diplomats in Kigali. Diplomatic sources
have also noted troop movements in the Kabalo sector of Katanga province. 

UGANDA: Soldiers arrive from DRC

The first batch of 450 Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF) soldiers
currently withdrawing from DRC arrived in Uganda on Wednesday evening, the
semi-official 'New Vision' reported on Thursday. They are part of some
4,000 soldiers from five battalions who have been waiting for repatriation
in the eastern DRC town of Buta since last month. Welcoming the soldiers,
Uganda's Minister of State for Defence Steven Kavuma emphasised that the
country's interest in Congo will remain "as long as the threat of the
[Ugandan rebel] Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and genocide persists".

"During your stay in Congo, you planted a mustard seed which must and will
grow until our brothers are totally liberated," he said. He reiterated
that Uganda was committed to the Lusaka peace accord, but expressed
concern over what he called "deliberate efforts" by the Kinshasa
government to "break it".  Army spokesman Major Phineas Katirima also said
that the pull-out would continue "until all the estimated 4,000 soldiers
have returned". He said the capacity of two chartered aircraft would
determine how fast the withdrawal was conducted, adding that "flying in
the soldiers with their newly-acquired Congolese women calls for more
trips". A diplomatic source pointed out to IRIN that this was the first
official withdrawal from the DRC by a belligerent in the country's
conflict. 

Nairobi, 3 August 2000, 14:20 gmt

[ENDS]


[IRIN-CEA: Tel: +254 2 622147 Fax: +254 2 622129 e-mail: irin-cea@ocha.unon.org ]





[This item is delivered in the "africa-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. Reposting by commercial
sites requires written IRIN permission.]

Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2000
 

Subscriber: zdwf-@t-online.de
Keyword: IRIN-CEA