Date: Thu, 5 Oct 2000 17:57:25 +0300 (BEAUT)
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Subject: GREAT LAKES: IRIN Update 1,026  [2001005]
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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 1,026 for the Great Lakes (Thursday 5 October)

CONTENTS: 

DRC: Tension in Bukavu following Kataliko death
DRC: RCD divided over new administration in Uvira
DRC: Rights Commissioner urges respect for freedoms
DRC: Journalists complain over lack of press freedom
DRC: Major powers urged to make Kabila accept accord
RWANDA: Denmark to extradite genocide suspect
BURUNDI: Government wants to meet rebels "anywhere, any time"
BURUNDI: Army admits security situation "very bad" 
BURUNDI: FRODEBU urges ceasefire


DRC: Tension in Bukavu following Kataliko death

Reports from Bukavu say tension is mounting in the town following the
announcement of the death of the diocese bishop, Mgr Emmanuel Kataliko. 
Sources told IRIN that gunshots were heard in several parts of the town
and groups of young people marched through the streets carrying crosses
and chanting slogans. There were reports also of stone-throwing incidents,
with at least one person killed and several people injured. The cathedral
was inundated with crowds of people mourning Kataliko's death. As the
bishop's body was awaited from Rome where he died, the governor of South
Kivu province, Norbert Bashengezi Katintima, issued a plea for calm over
Bukavu radio, which is currently playing only religious music. 

Bishop Kataliko died suddenly in the Italian capital on Tuesday from a
heart attack. His relationship with the governing Rassemblement congolais
pour la democratie (RCD) was very problematic after the RCD authorities
prevented him from returning to Bukavu from a foreign trip in February,
accusing him of "preaching ethnic hatred". He was finally allowed back
from his home town of Butembo last month, and had travelled to Italy to
attend a DRC episcopal conference. Following his death, the ethnic Tutsi
Banyamulenge community in Bukavu has expressed concern for its safety. One
Munyamulenge, interviewed by the BBC Kirundi service, claimed the
Banyamulenge were being targeted on suspicion of "having killed" Kataliko.
He said some people had fled, while others were in hiding. He added that
the army had not intervened, although soldiers were on the streets. 

DRC: RCD divided over new administration in Uvira

Tension is also reported further south in the town of Uvira where the
administrative team was replaced by the South Kivu provincial authorities
on Monday, local sources told IRIN. Some RCD and Rwandan officials are
said to have objected to the inclusion of officials from the Banyamulenge
and Bavira communities, who are opposed to the allies. Many of the local
people in Uvira - including the Banyamulenge who were originally perceived
as supporters of Rwanda - accuse the RCD of "being a tool" of the
Rwandese, the sources said. They added that with the new administration -
led by Albert Simbade - RCD members in Uvira are now split, creating
further confusion.  Meanwhile, the Uvira-Bukavu road is still described as
dangerous, with frequent ambushes reported. On Monday, one person was
killed and two injured when their vehicle was attacked. 

DRC: Rights Commissioner urges respect for freedoms

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR), Mary Robinson, on
Wednesday urged the DRC leadership to ensure respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms, a statement from the UN office in New York said. In
her meeting with DRC President Laurent-Desire Kabila, Robinson who
concluded her visit to the country on Tuesday, expressed concern about
recent violations of human rights which had been brought to her attention.
"Even in the case of a conflict like this which has affected your country,
a way has to be found to integrate and respect fundamental freedoms," she
said, referring in particular to the rights to freedom of expression,
association and movement.

She voiced her concern to President Kabila about the country's military
court, and received assurances from him that it would not try civilians.
She also held meetings in Goma with senior members of the Rassemblement
congolais pour la democratie (RCD). She expressed her "extreme concern" 
about allegations of massacres carried out in the region which had
prompted the Security Council to call for an international enquiry. She
also said that she was worried about numerous rights violations regularly
brought to her attention, including violations of the right to life, the
use of torture, and the harassment of human rights defenders and other
members of civil society. "The armed conflict which is affecting your
country can in no way justify or excuse violations against defenceless
civilians, the very young or the very old who are too weak to flee," she
said. Robinson left DRC for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to attend a regional
seminar on the prevention of ethnic conflicts.

DRC: Journalists complain over lack of press freedom

The Kinshasa-based organisation, Journaliste en danger (JED), has drawn
the attention of Mary Robinson to the difficult circumstances in which the
media operate. In a lengthy report submitted to the UN human rights chief
during her visit to the DRC, the non-governmental organisation said press
freedom was becoming more and more remote. "Media repression has turned
the DRC into one of the francophone countries in Africa where press
freedom is most flouted," the report stated. It stressed that since
President Laurent-Desire Kabila came to power, over 100 journalists had
been detained for long periods at a time. "This is a record compared to
other crucial periods in the country's history," it pointed out.
Acknowledging that some journalists were unethical in carrying out their
work, the report nevertheless said "summary justice" against the entire
profession was not the answer. The report also said that in
rebel-controlled areas of the country, "the press has practically ceased
to exist". "Journalists also pay a heavy price as the rebel authorities
and their foreign backers will not stand the slightest criticism." All
these restrictions place journalists in a terrible position - "either
applaud or stay silent", the report stated. 

DRC: Major powers urged to make Kabila accept accord

The facilitator of the inter-Congolese dialogue, Ketumile Masire, on
Wednesday called on the major powers to take action on the "ever
worsening"  situation in the DRC. AFP quoted Masire as saying at the start
of a four-nation tour of Canada, Britain, France and Belgium that he is
trying to "drum up" international support for his job as facilitator. He
warned that if there were no movement towards peace, the human tragedy of
the DRC would only escalate. "If President Kabila could be persuaded to
change his mind and accept what he signed in the Lusaka agreement, we
could make progress,"  Masire told AFP. "This could bring peace," he said.
"It is not for me to persuade him...[but] he must be made to do something,
otherwise the deaths will just escalate." 

RWANDA: Denmark to extradite genocide suspect

Denmark's Appeals Court on Wednesday upheld an earlier ruling to extradite
a former Rwandan army officer, Innocent Sagahutu, to the International
Criminal Tribunal in Rwanda (ICTR) in Arusha, Tanzania. The suspect is
wanted on charges of participating in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda as well
as the murder of 10 Belgian UN peacekeepers, and also faces rape charges,
AFP reported. It said the decision confirmed a 29 August ruling by a court
in the Danish town of Skjern that Sagahutu was fit to travel to Tanzania.

Sagahutu's lawyer had lodged an appeal on the basis that his client was
too weak to travel to the ICTR in Arusha. He had argued that his client
has an unnamed "serious illness" and that a trial in Arusha would put his
life in danger. Sagahutu arrived in Denmark two years ago, seeking
political asylum, and was later joined by his wife and two children.
However, at the ICTR's request, Danish police tracked him down to the
small town of Skjern and arrested him. 

BURUNDI: Government wants to meet rebels "any time, anywhere" 

Burundi's President Pierre Buyoya on Wednesday has reiterated that despite
continuous fighting in the country, his government's position remained
unchanged and it was willing to meet the rebel leaders "any time,
anywhere".  In an interview with the BBC Kirundi service, he said the
rebels were "not implementing what they promised". "As you know, their
pretexts are people in the camps and prisoners," he said. "They were given
explanations in Nairobi [regional summit last month] on all these, and
were told that they were baseless."

He said the issue of people living in regroupment camps had been solved. 
"Concerning the issue of political prisoners, all the heads of state told
them that such a pretext showed they were not interested in discussions
and that if they wanted them, they should study all the questions
including that one, instead of bringing pretexts," he added. 

In a separate interview with BBC Radio Afrique, President Pierre Buyoya
described the 28 August Arusha peace accord as an "important step", but
said the priority now was to agree on a ceasefire. In the interview to
mark the launch of the corporation's FM radio in Bujumbura, he described
the rebellion as "nebulous". "It is difficult to know who is working with
who,"  he said.

BURUNDI: Army admits security situation "very bad" 

At least 52 government soldiers were seriously wounded in fighting with
rebels at Tenga, northwest of Bujumbura, last week, the Associated Press
(AP) reported on Thursday. It quoted an army official, Major Edward
Ntibigira, as saying he did not know the number of soldiers who had been
killed in the fighting because the bodies had not yet been brought to the
capital. Unconfirmed reports talk of about 30 dead. The army has been
shelling Hutu rebel positions since last Friday after rebels killed a
senior military commander, Colonel Audace Basuzuguye, on 26 September, AP
noted. 

The private Netpress news agency said that in Gitega, east of Bujumbura,
unidentified attackers on Tuesday gunned down a woman, who ran a
paramedical school, and her two children. Army spokesman, Colonel Longin
Minani, on Thursday confirmed to IRIN that the security situation was
currently "very bad", saying the rebels had "increased their animosity". 

BURUNDI: FRODEBU urges ceasefire

The main opposition FRODEBU party has appealed to the armed factions to
stop fighting and join others at the negotiating table, Burundi radio
said. The party noted that there was no longer any reason to continue
unleashing violence after the accord had been signed. "We have appealed to
them to join the other delegations which signed the agreement in order to
negotiate a permanent ceasefire," FRODEBU chairman [internal wing]
Domitien Ndayizeye said. He said his party had anticipated that
immediately after the signing of the accord the belligerents would come
together to negotiate arrangements for an effective ceasefire agreement,
so that international cooperation could resume and Burundians could start
living normally. 

"We have unfortunately noted that since that date, the violence unleashed
by the belligerents has instead intensified," he said. "I am purposely
talking of belligerents, because these are attacks by the armed groups and
the government army which, after the fighting, engage in the massacre of
innocent people...We cannot allow them to continue to massacre innocent
people with impunity, especially after the signing of a political accord." 
Analysts note FRODEBU has been seen as a backer of some rebel groups, and
some rebels are former members of the party. 

Nairobi, 5 October 2000, 14:45 gmt

[ENDS]

   
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