CONGO (Kinshasa)

Rapports sur les relations éthniques / Reports on Ethnic Relations

The following section is consisted of part, full or summaries of articles from diverses sources (newspapers, newsletters, etc...).
La section suivante est constituée d'exraits, de la totalité ou de résumés d'articles provenant d'origines diverses (journaux,bulletins, etc..).

11 / 28 / 2003 

IRIN

"DRC-RWANDA: Kigali, Kinshasa recommit to repatriation deal"

The governments of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda recommitted themselves on Thursday to complete the repatriation of Rwandan Interahamwe militia and former soldiers in the Congo within a year, according to a communique issued in Pretoria at the end of a Great Lakes summit.

South African President Thabo Mbeki hosted the summit on the UN Third Party Verification Mechanism (TPVM), which was established after the signing of an agreement on 30 July 2002 between the Congo and Rwanda on the withdrawal of Rwandan troops from Congolese territory and the dismantling of the Interahamwe and former Rwandan Armed Forces (ex-FAR).

Besides Congolese President Joseph Kabila and Rwanda's Paul Kagame, Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique attended the summit in his capacity as chairperson of the African Union (AU). The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the DRC, William Swing, attended the summit on behalf of the verification body.

The verification mechanism was set up following the signing of the DRC-Rwanda agreement, known as the Pretoria Agreement, under which the UN Secretary-General and the South African government were assigned the responsibility of the Third Party.

It was established to act as the secretariat of the Third Party and mandated to monitor and verify the implementation of the agreement.

During Thursday's summit, the leaders evaluated the work done by the verification mechanism, and noted that while much had been achieved, a lot of work still needed to be done.

"It was agreed that the signatories to the Pretoria Agreement, namely the governments of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of Rwanda, commit themselves to finding new ways to finalise the work started by the TPVM," the communiqui read.

The Congolese and Rwandan governments committed to work bilaterally, with the continued assistance of the AU and the support of the UN, both of which pledged to continue their political, material and logistical support to the process.

"It is envisaged that this process should be finalised as soon as possible, not exceeding 12 months," the communique read.

The leaders agreed that members of ex-FAR and Interahamwe armed groups in eastern Congo must "be persuaded to depart from the territory of the DRC" as they constitute a threat to peace and stability in the region.

11 / 26 / 2003 

IRIN

"President reinstates 315 magistrates"

President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of the Congo reinstated on Tuesday 315 magistrates sacked en-masse in 1998 for striking over pay and independence of the judiciary.

The decision to reinstate them was contained in a presidential decree, which was one of the long-term outcomes of the inter-Congolese dialogue that ushered in a government of national unity after years of civil war.

The magistrates' union, which had called the strike, welcomed the decision. However, it rejected the government's offer of US $100 a month as starting pay for a magistrate with a $10 increment for each grade above the entry level. The magistrates are demanding $950 per month as starting pay.

"We wonder if the government is really serious, because its offer seems to us a mockery," Sambayi Mutenda Lukusa, the chairman of the union, said.

The striking magistrates said improved salaries was one of the necessary steps towards ensuring their independence and that regular pay would enable them to avoid the pitfalls of corruption, which had ostensibly been the reason for their dismissal.

The present monthly starting salary for magistrates is just under $12, while the most senior magistrates earn $40.

11 / 24 / 2003 

IRIN

"'Urgent needs' along Solenyama-Blukwa axis in Ituri"

Humanitarian aid is "urgently required" along the Solenyama-Blukwa road axis northeast of Bunia, the main town of Ituri District in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), international NGO German Agro Action (GAA) reported on Saturday.

The report follows a mission GAA conducted on 19 and 20 November, to assess road conditions, social infrastructure and the general humanitarian situation in the region. GAA also distributed hoes and fast-growing vegetable seeds in villages along the axis.

GAA said that the current security situation enabled humanitarian actors safe access to the population, while ongoing grassroots peace initiatives were establishing "a certain stability" in the area between Katoto and Blukwa.

"Both population and local authorities showed themselves satisfied with the presence of humanitarian actors in their area, as that would mean for them the end of years of being isolated from humanitarian assistance and outside contacts," GAA stated.

GAA added that it received repeated appeals for humanitarian aid to reinforce local peace initiatives.

While local community leaders, military and civilian authorities said they were "war weary and ready for peace", according to GAA, all Hema and Lendu military personnel questioned in Loga, Katoto and Blukwa said that they were opposed to cantonment. However, they favoured demobilisation - which they defined as "deposing arms and being reintegrated in an income-generation or education process without prior cantonment", GAA said.

With regard to social infrastructure - schools, health centres, markets and townships - GAA reported "total devastation" along the road between Lita and Masumbuko. Much of the population had fled to surround hills, where they had created semi-permanent settlements. Access to potable water as well as agricultural products was found to be extremely difficult, and numerous children showed signs of malnutrition, GAA said.

As for road conditions, GAA found that the Lita-Masumbuko section had been unused for the past two years, and was totally overgrown by bushes. However, the underlying road base, with an average width of four meters, was found to be largely intact.

The section of road between Masumbuko and Blukwa had been used regularly, and was found to be in a "relative good state", although lacking drainage channels and culverts. Furthermore, some 20 percent of the road had eroded, which would require a significant amount of manual labour in order to restore a durable surface.

Meanwhile, two bridges - one in Tso, 30 km north of Solenyama, the other in Tchuru, 37 km north of Solenyama - were found to be in poor condition, unable to support vehicles heavier than two metric tonnes.

Ituri District is a natural resource-rich region that has been devastated by several years of economically driven ethnic strife, resulting in the deaths of some 50,000 people and the displacement of another 500,000 since August 1998, when war in the Congo last erupted.

"700 Mayi-Mayi elements demobilised in Kindu"

Some 700 people associated with Mayi-Mayi militias were demobilised in Kindu, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), on Saturday by the UN peacekeeping mission in the country, MONUC, in cooperation with forces of the seventh military region of the unified national army.

A statement issued by MONUC on Monday reported that the 700 individuals - including women, children and the elderly - who opted to return to civilian life, were part of a larger group of about 2,000 fighters, the remainder of whom asked to be integrated into the national army.

According to MONUC, those who wished to join the national army were transported to Camp Lwama, some seven kilometres from Kindu, while those who wished to return to civilian life were registered and photographed, after surrendering their weapons and military uniforms to the seventh military regional command.

MONUC said that similar operations were planned for the near future, as there were "large numbers" of Mayi-Mayi forces who were already cantoned and awaiting either demobilisation, or integration into the national army. However, MONUC cautioned that this increasing demobilisation of ex-combatants would require humanitarian assistance, particularly with regard to training and reintegration of former combatants, including children.

The leadership of the DRC's newly unified national military was inaugurated on 5 September in the capital, Kinshasa. As part of the power-sharing accord reached at the end of the inter-Congolese dialogue, former belligerents - namely, those of the former Kinshasa government, the Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma), the Mouvement de liberation du Congo, RCD-Kisangani/Mouvement de liberation, RCD/National and Mayi-Mayi militias - agreed to share control of a unified national military.

11 / 20 / 2003 

IRIN

"Lancement d'une campagne de solidarité en faveur des victimes"

Le gouvernement d'union nationale en République démocratique du Congo (RDC) a décrété mercredi une campagne d'un mois de solidarité nationale en faveur des victimes des cinq années de guerre et des catastrophes naturelles.

Cette campagne s'inscrit, par ailleurs, dans le cadre de la semaine internationale de la solidarité organisée par les Nations Unies.

"Notre message est d'appeler à la conscience du grand ou du petit à venir en aide aux faibles qu'ils soient victimes de la guerre ou de catastrophes naturelles," a déclaré à IRIN Azarias Ruberwa, l'un des quatre vice-présidents de la RDC, lors du lancement de la campagne.

Le ministère de la Solidarité nationale et des affaires humanitaires, l'initiateur de cette campagne nationale a ouvert à cette fin, un fonds où seront collectés les dons et autres contributions en faveur de 2,7 millions de victimes selon les estimations du Comité international de secours.

"Nous sommes abandonnés à notre triste sort. Nous ne bénéficions pas de soins médicaux. Nous ne recevons pas de rations pour nourrir nos familles. Nous n'avons plus de travail et nos filles et fillettes, qui ne vont plus à l'école, sont obligées de se prostituer pour avoir de quoi manger. Elles ramènent, en plus, souvent des maladies du fait de la prostitution. Nos garçons deviennent des enfants de rue," a témoigné à IRIN Gabriel Babembe, déplacé de guerre et président d'un Comité d'encadrement de déplacés de guerre (CEDG).

Selon lui, le nombre de déplacés à Kinshasa dépasse largement les 34.000 enregistrés.

Les victimes des catastrophes humanitaires seront les autres bénéficiaires. Selon les agences des Nations Unies, moins de 30% des Congolais ont accès aux soins de santé primaire, 74% subissent une insécurité alimentaire grave, plus d'un million d'enfants souffrent d'une grave malnutrition alors que des dizaines de milliers de femmes ont été victimes de violence et de discrimination sexuelle.

11 / 19 / 2003 

IRIN

"La campagne électorale n'a pas encore commencé, dénonce la HAM"

La Haute autorité des médias (HAM) en République démocratique du Congo a demandé aux membres du gouvernement d'unité nationale de ne pas faire campagne électorale lorsqu'ils sont en mission officielle, a affirmé mardi la HAM à IRIN.

"Des membres des institutions de la transition en mission officielle dans la capitale ou en province profitent pour battre campagne pour leurs partis politiques respectifs profitant de l'appui financier et logistique des pouvoirs publics, sur le dos du contribuable," a déclaré Modeste Mutinga, président de la HAM.

A la suite de cette dénonciation, le gouvernement a, dans le compte-rendu de sa dernière réunion, rappelé aux ministres et aux vice-ministres leur devoir de réserve, "surtout à l'occasion de leur mission".

Modeste Mutinga a par ailleurs précisé: "Il est de notre devoir de rappeler aux acteurs politiques que ni la pré-campagne ni la campagne électorale n'ont encore commencé sur toute l'étendue de la RDC".

La Haute autorité des médias a notamment pour mission d'équilibrer la prise de parole des partis politiques dans les médias. La Haute autorité des médias est une des cinq institutions d'appui à la démocratie prévue lors du dialogue intercongolais.

11 / 18 / 2003 

IRIN

"Des ex-combattants sont sur le point d'être rapatriés"

Des ex-combattants étrangers en République démocratique du Congo (RDC) sont sur le point d'être rapatriés sur une base volontaire, a déclaré lundi à la presse Vital Kamerhe, le porte-parole du gouvernement. Les troupes avaient été signalées jeudi dernier à Kikwit, à 400 km au sud-est de Kinshasa, la capitale. Elles sont arrivées mercredi par bateau en provenance d'Ilebo, dans la province du Kasaï oriental, où ils opéraient durant la guerre.

"Ces gens ont accepté d'être volontairement rapatriés. Ils sont effectivement en transit sur ordre de la haute hiérarchie militaire. L'opération s'inscrit dans le cadre de leur démobilisation et de leur rapatriement," a déclaré M. Kamerhe.

Les rapatriés volontaires sont des éléments rwandais de l'Interahamwe, accusés par Kigali d'avoir participé au génocide 1994 au Rwanda ainsi que des combattants des groupes armés ougandais, burundais et soudanais

La MONUC, la mission des Nations Unies en RDC a envoyé lundi dernier une équipe sur les lieux et a confirmé le regroupement de combattants en vue de leur démobilisation.

"C'est une organisation très claire. Le regroupement est prévu depuis longtemps. Nous étions au courant. L'opération se fait sous la responsabilité de l'armée congolaise," a affirmé à IRIN le colonel Jean-Pierre Boutroy, responsable adjoint du département de la MONUC pour la démobilisation, le désarmement et réinsertion.

"Le groupe est constitué de 361 combattants, 137 femmes et de 247 enfants. Ces gens font mouvement avec leurs armes, des membres de leurs familles et leurs troupeaux. Ils seront conduits à la base militaire de Kitona, dans la province du Bas-Congo (dans le sud-ouest) où ils seront démobilisés et désarmés," a expliqué le colonel Boutroy.

Azarias Ruberwa, un des quatre vice-présidents de la RDC et leader du Rassemblement congolais pour la démocratie (RCD-Goma) avait toutefois dénoncé jeudi dernier le mouvement de ces groupes armés étrangers vers Kinshasa. Selon lui, la présence de ces ex-combattants était de nature à déstabiliser le processus de réunification du pays.

11 / 17 / 2003 

IRIN

"DRC-RWANDA: MONUC hails return of FDLR members to Kigali"

The UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) has hailed the voluntary return to neighbouring Rwanda of 103 members of the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda (FDLR - Forces Democratiques de Liberation du Rwanda) on 15 November 2003 as a "major event".

The returnees included FDLR leader Paul Rwarakabije, who returned on Saturday to the Rwanda capital, Kigali, after almost a decade in the DRC.

According to MONUC, Rwandan authorities informed mission chief William Swing, at the end of an official visit to Kigali on 13-14 November, that all returnees were members of the FDLR high command.

"This development of considerable scope will contribute to the normalization of relations between the DRC and Rwanda and to the stability of the sub-region," MONUC said in a statement issued on Sunday from its headquarters in the DRC capital, Kinshasa.

"MONUC will make the most of this indisputable breakthrough to redouble efforts in regard to the process of disarmament, demobilization, repatriation, resettlement and reintegration (DDRRR) [and] urges the DRC and Rwanda to increase their cooperation and exchange of information in order to accelerate the return of all Rwandan armed groups to their country as soon as possible," it added.

MONUC also called on all foreign armed groups still present in the DRC "to seize this opportunity of voluntary return which [MONUC] and the international community offer them".

For his part, Rwanda's army chief, Maj Gen James Kabarebe, said Rwarakabije's return would ease tensions and help stabilise relations between the governments of Rwanda and the DRC.

"I suppose this should cease any escalations of tensions, because [Rwarakabije] has been commander of the forces we have been fighting," Kabarebe said. "We believe the rest of his fighters will follow suit. If he has taken the decision to return, he must have taken it on behalf of the officers and men he has been leading."

The largely Rwandan Hutu FDLR is estimated by analysts to have between 15,000 and 20,000 guerrillas fighting from bases in the DRC to topple the Rwandan government led by President Paul Kagame.

"We have decided to put down our guns. War is not the best solution," Rwarakabije said upon his arrival at Kanombe airport. "We have now decided that we can use peaceful means to solve any outstanding issues."

Although many FDLR fighters are Hutus implicated in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, Rwarakabije, a former Rwandan army officer, has not been accused of having played a role in the orchestrated slaughter by Hutu extremists of an estimated 800,000 minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

Rwanda's army spokesman said that Rwarakabije would undergo the same procedures as other returning combatants from the DRC, including participation in a two-month reintegration programme, after which combatants choose to either remain in the army or to be demobilised.

Analysts told IRIN that Rwarakabije would most likely join the army.

Meanwhile, a MONUC representative in Bukavu, eastern DRC, said on Monday that the UN mission was to repatriate 19 Rwandans, including 12 ex-combatants who had been members of a Mayi-Mayi militia in South Kivu Province.

"We are hoping that after the return of Rwarakabije, many more combatants will be showing interest in returning home," MONUC information officer Sebastien Lapierre told IRIN.

Rwanda withdrew an estimated 20,000 troops from DRC in 2002. In return, Kinshasa said it would disarm Hutu fighters who had fled to the DRC after Rwanda's 1994 genocide.

A two-year transitional national government grouping the former government and ex-rebels of the DRC was sworn in on 30 June. However, fighting still persists in eastern regions of the country among an array of armed factions.

11 / 14 / 2003 

IRIN

"DRC-UGANDA: Return of UPDF will not be welcomed, Kinshasa warns Kampala"

The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) will neither authorise joint patrols with nor grant a military corridor to the Ugandan army for pursuit of Ugandan rebels based in northeastern Congo, Mulegwa Zihindula, spokesman of DRC President Joseph Kabila, said on Thursday.

"If the Ugandan army returns to our territory, we will consider this an act of aggression and will take the necessary action," Mulegwa said at a news conference in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa.

He was responding to a question about the visit of Maj-Gen Aronda Nyakairima, chief of staff of the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF), who met with Kabila on Wednesday.

"I am going for this meeting because the issue of PRA in Congo is no longer a secret. I hope these issues are resolved," Nyakairima was quoted as telling the Uganda government-owned newspaper, The New Vision, on Tuesday.

On 23 October, Mbusa Nyamwisi, minister for regional cooperation in the DRC's two-year transitional government, confirmed reports of the presence of Ugandan rebel training camps in his country's northeastern North Kivu Province, in the region between Beni and Kasindi.

"These camps exist and it is possible that there are other such camps that have not been identified, because these armed groups are located in the forest, sometimes in very small camps," Nyamwisi told IRIN at the time.

Nyakairima's visit to the DRC follows a meeting held last week in Washington, D.C., between Kabila and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.

"President Kabila asked President Museveni to send the Ugandan army chief of staff [to Kinshasa] to discuss the presence of Ugandan armed groups said to be regrouping in northeastern DRC, after [Museveni] complained to Kabila about this," Mulegwa said.

Mulegwa added that Nyakairima's visit was a sign of improving relations between the two countries. Ugandan Defence Minister Amama Mbabazi also visited Kinshasa last week to discuss the matter.

Nyakairima's visit comes as the International Court of Justice, the principal judicial organ of the UN, postponed hearings that had been scheduled to open on Monday in the case concerning "Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo v. Uganda)".

In a letter dated 5 November, the DRC requested that the case be adjourned until April 2004 "in order to enable the diplomatic negotiations engaged by the parties to be conducted in an atmosphere of calm".

Following nearly five years of openly supporting armed rebellions in the DRC, the last of the UPDF withdrew from the DRC in May 2003, following an accord signed on 9 September 2002 in Luanda, the capital of Angola.

11 / 13 / 2003 

IRIN

"Ituri still plagued by small arms – MONUC"

Officials overseeing the UN peace mission in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (known as MONUC), warned on Thursday that the country s troubled Ituri District was unlikely to see calm unless more was done to stem the supply of arms to the region s still active militia groups.

"If Ituri is going to eventually cool down that requires, as a condition, effective monitoring of the flow of arms in the region and of the arms embargo. But this is proving difficult," Philippe De Bard, MONUC s political affairs officer for Ituri, told IRIN in the Ugandan capital, Kampala.

MONUC officials are concerned that recent clashes between its forces and Ituri s armed groups, such as the shoot-out on 8 November between the Parti pour l'Unite, la Solidarite et l'Integrite du Congo (PUSIC) and MONUC forces, which ended in the death of a PUSIC commander and the arrest of nine fighters, would continue so long as the groups have easy access to cheap weapons.

"A Kalashnikov [semi-automatic rifle] is still easily obtained for a mere fifty dollars in Ituri," Usman Dabo, chief administrator of MONUC s Ituri operation, told IRIN.

He said that cutting supplies to the armed groups was proving difficult for a number of reasons.

"There are a lot of airfields, so it s hard to monitor all the planes coming in and what they are carrying," he said. "But part of the problem is the huge supplies of arms that have been shipped into Ituri in the past years during the war. Even if we effectively monitor arms going into Ituri, it is difficult to cut the supplies to the armed groups because a lot of arms are buried around the place".

MONUC is also concerned at claims made by aid agencies that arms may be getting into Ituri from neighbouring Uganda. On 21 October, Amnesty International released a report in which it said armed groups in eastern Congo were still enjoying support, including weapons supplies, from individuals in Uganda and Rwanda.

"We are now working closely with neighbouring administrations Rwanda, Uganda and the transitional government in Kinshasa to see how to tackle this problem," Dabo said. "Ituri is the size of this country [Uganda] and has porous borders. It was never going to be cleared of weapons in a day. We will have to be patient".

11 / 10 / 2003 

IRIN

"L'affaire opposant Kinshasa à Kampala devant la CIJ a été renvoyée"

Les audiences publiques relatives à un litige opposant la République démocratique du Congo (RDC) et l'Ouganda, qui auraient dû s'ouvrir lundi 10 novembre devant la Cour internationale de justice (CIJ) à La Haye (Pays Bas) ont été reportées, a indiqué vendredi un communiqué de la Cour.

La RDC avait, en effet, demandé à la Cour le 5 novembre dernier de repousser la date des audiences au mois d'avril 2004, "en vue de permettre aux négociations diplomatiques engagées par les Parties de se dérouler dans un climat de sérénité," a précisé le communiqué la CIJ. Un jour plus tard, l'Ouganda s'associait à la demande de la RDC.

Le greffier de la CIJ a accepté dans une lettre du 6 novembre, adressée aux parties, de renvoyer l'affaire à une date ultérieure mais qu'il lui était impossible de retenir le mois d'avril 2004.

"Le calendrier judiciaire de la Cour, pour la fin de l'année en cours et pour une période qui couvre déjà une partie importante de l'année 2004, avait [déjà] été adopté," a précisé le communiqué en citant le greffier.

La date de l'audience sera fixée le moment venu. La CIJ a néanmoins trouvé "regrettable que cette situation inattendue amène la Cour à devoir réexaminer son calendrier de travail afin de faire preuve de la plus grande efficacité et de la plus grande rigueur dans le temps qu'elle consacre à l'exercice de sa fonction judiciaire," a déploré la Cour dans le communiqué.

Le 23 juin 1999, la RDC avait déposé auprès de la CIJ une requête introductive d'instance contre l'Ouganda "en raison d'actes d'agression armée perpétrés en violation flagrante de la Charte des Nations Unies et de la Charte de l'Organisation de l'unité africaine," a rapporté un communiqué de la CIJ.

La RDC reproche à l'Ouganda que "cette agression armée...[avait] entraîné entre autres la violation de la souveraineté et de l'intégrité territoriale de la République démocratique du Congo, des violations du droit international humanitaire et des violations massives des droits de l'Homme", a rappelé la CIJ dans l'historique de la procédure. La RDC souhaitait par ailleurs "qu'il soit mis fin au plus tôt à ces actes d'agression dont elle est victime et qui constituent une sérieuse menace pour la paix et la sécurité en Afrique centrale en général et particulièrement dans la région des grands lacs".

Aux accusations de la RDC, l'Ouganda avait répondu le 21 avril 2001 en avançant trois autres demandes. "La première portait sur des actes d'agression que la RDC aurait commis à son encontre; la deuxième avait trait à des attaques visant les locaux et le personnel diplomatiques ougandais à Kinshasa [la capitale de la RDC] ainsi que des ressortissants ougandais, dont la RDC se serait rendue responsable; et la troisième concernait des violations alléguées de l'accord de Lusaka par la RDC [accord de cessez-le-feu signé entre ces deux pays en 1999]," a encore indiqué la CIJ dans l'historique de la procédure. La CIJ n'avait néanmoins retenu la recevabilité que des deux premières demandes ougandaises dans une ordonnance du 29 novembre 2001.

11 / 07 / 2003 

IRIN

"Kinshasa interdit à Kampala de pourchasser les rebelles sur son territoire"

Le gouvernement de la République démocratique du Congo (RDC) n'autorisera ni des patrouilles conjointes avec l'armée ougandaise ni cette dernière à traquer des groupes rebelles ougandais qui seraient regroupés dans le nord-est du territoire congolais, a déclaré jeudi à la presse, Mulegwa Zihindula, porte-parole du président de la RDC, Joseph Kabila.

"La RDC n'ouvrira pas un couloir que l'armée ougandaise pourrait utiliser en vue de pourchasser des groupes armés ougandais sur le sol congolais. Si l'armée ougandaise revient sur notre territoire, nous allons considérer cela comme une agression et la combattre à ce titre," a affirmé M. Mulegwa.

Le général Aronda Nyakairima, le chef d'état-major de l'armée ougandaise, a rencontré mercredi le président Kabila et d'autres membres du gouvernement congolais d'unité nationale. Cette visite, a précisé le porte-parole de Joseph Kabila, suit la rencontre entre les deux chefs d'Etat ougandais et congolais, il y a une semaine à Washington, aux Etats-Unis.

"Le président Kabila a demandé au président Museveni de lui envoyer le chef d'état-major de l'armée ougandaise pour lui donner des précisions sur la localisation des groupes armés ougandais supposés être regroupés au nord-est de la RDC au sujet desquels le président ougandais se plaignait auprès de [Joseph] Kabila," a indiqué le porte-parole Mulegwa.

Pour M. Mulegwa, la visite du général Nyakairima s'inscrit dans le processus de normalisation des relations entre les deux Etats.

Le gouvernement congolais a, par ailleurs dans cette optique, demandé la semaine dernière le report des audiences devant la Cour internationale de justice (La Haye, Pays-Bas) concernant les plaintes que les deux pays s'étaient réciproquement déposées. L'Ouganda avait, de surcroît, fait sienne cette demande congolaise.
[Pour plus de détails voir "L'affaire opposant Kinshasa à Kampala devant la CIJ a été renvoyée" sur http://www.irinnews.org/FrenchReport.asp?ReportID=5105]

L'Ouganda a officiellement retiré ses troupes en mai 2003. Elles combattaient en RDC depuis plus de quatre années aux côtés des rebelles congolais. Ce retrait a été effectué après la signature d'un accord entre les présidents Kabila et Museveni en septembre 2002 à Luanda (Angola).

L'accord prévoit également le rétablissement des relations diplomatiques entre les deux Etats voisins et le règlement amiable de tous les litiges juridiques entre eux.

"DRC-RWANDA-UGANDA: UN refugee agency launches repatriation campaign"

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has launched a repatriation campaign targeting 80,000 Rwandan refugees, mostly in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, the agency reported on Thursday.

It said its representatives and those of the Ugandan government met on Monday and Tuesday with refugees at the Nakivale and Oruchinga camps, to discuss the first organised repatriation programme for 25,000 refugees.

"The first convoys from these two camps located in Uganda's south-western district of Mbarrara are expected to take refugees back to Rwanda in the coming weeks," the agency reported.

It said the refugees were believed to be all that remain of an estimated two million Rwandans who fled to neighbouring countries following the 1994 genocide in their country that left at least 800,000 people dead.

More than 600,000 Rwandans returned home following a Rwandan-backed uprising in October 1996 in the Congo, the agency said. It added that in December 1996, another 500,000 Rwandans returned from Tanzania.

"Returns, both organised and spontaneous, have taken place since, including massive numbers from Burundi," the agency reported. "Last year [2002], some 23,000 and 11,000 Rwandans returned from Tanzania and the DRC respectively."

Under the repatriation programme in Uganda, the refugees would be transported from Mbarara to the Rwandan border for onward travel to their home villages, the agency said. They would also receive aid packages comprising plastic sheeting, kitchen utensils, jerry cans, soap and a three-month supply of food from the UN World Food Programme.

The agency reported that it had helped return 11,900 Rwandan refugees from the Congo in 2003 and that it planned to repatriate the remaining 21,000 in 2004.

On Tuesday, UNHCR signed a tripartite agreement with Rwanda and Malawi for the return of at least 5,000 refugees from Malawi, the agency said.

"DRC-ZAMBIA: Refugees flee fighting"

Fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is forcing a "steady flow" of refugees into Zambia, a spokesman for the office of the UN High Commissioner for refugees (UNHCR) told IRIN on Friday.

"The refugees have told us that the reason they are fleeing into Zambia is because there has been a number of militia actions and skirmishes, mostly in the eastern part of Congo near the border with Zambia, that they are running away from," Kelvin Shimo said in the Zambian capital, Lusaka.

According to him, a total of 787 DRC refugees entered Zambia in October through Kaputa, situated more than 1,000 km north of Lusaka, in Zambia's northen Luapula province. Previously around 100 refugees a month were crossing the border.

The newly arrived refugees have been given temporary shelter at Chiengi, Mpulungu and Kaputa, while they wait to be transferred to Kaala refugee camp, said Shimo.

UNHCR said it was not yet concerned with the situation. "We can manage the numbers ... those that have come in are within the number we can easily handle, in fact I can safely say they are a trickle, but it is something to watch," Shimo said.

Zambia is home to some 55,000 DRC refugees, who have been fleeing internal disputes since the early 1960's, according to UN figures.

For more details see: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=37616

11 / 06 / 2003

IRIN

"Former rebel training camp to close in South Kivu"

The UN has hailed the closure of Nyamununi camp in South Kivu Province, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which had been used by the Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma) former rebel movement, now party to the country's transitional national government, to train its fighters.

The decision to close the camp was announced on Wednesday by South Kivu Governor Xavier Chiribanya Chirimwami during a meeting with the UN Mission in the DRC, known as MONUC.

"The closure of the camp is another step towards the establishment of a durable peace in South Kivu," Sebastien Lapierre, MONUC's public information officer, told IRIN from Bukavu on Thursday.

"Following recent meetings which brought all Congolese armed groups under the fold of the transitional institutions, these are all steps that contribute to the creation of a favourable climate for national reunification and the holding of elections," he added.

However, citing recent fighting between the FDLR Rwandan rebel group and Mayi-Mayi militias in Mwenga and Bunyakiri, Lapierre said there still remained pockets of insecurity in South Kivu due to the continued presence of foreign armed groups. [see earlier IRIN story, "Fighting displaces thousands in Mwenga, South Kivu Province", at http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=37616]

"We now hope that all parties will collaborate with MONUC for DDRRR [disarmament, demobilisation, reinsertion, repatriation and reintegration] in order to fully restore security and thereby achieve the necessary conditions for a successful transition in the east," Lapierre said.

Meanwhile on Wednesday, MONUC spokesman Hamadoun Toure told a news conference in the capital, Kinshasa, that UN peacekeepers were still being denied free access to inspect military installations in North Kivu Province, despite having received authorisation from provincial Governor Eugene Serufuli.

MONUC said it had hoped the inspections would enable verification of the alleged presence of Rwandan troops on DRC territory.

"Six attempts by the verification mission to access the sites were in vain," Toure said. "However, steps will be taken to address this issue."

Also on Wednesday, MONUC protested against obstacles to its verification mission in Kamina, central Katanga Province of southeastern DRC, following the recent crash of an aircraft believed to be transporting weapons intended for armed groups in South Kivu.

"MONUC calls on the relevant authorities to authorize free access to the site of the accident for the purposes of clarifications on this issue," Toure said. [see earlier IRIN story, "MONUC accuses Kinshasa of blocking plane crash inquiry", at http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=37663]

11 / 04 / 2003 

IRIN

"Focus on North Kivu rivals seeking peace"

[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

Congolese farmer Pierre Kabinda, 36, "abandoned" his plot of land on Wednesday for the 10-km hike to the town of Kanyabayonga to witness the reconciliation of two rival governors who had divided North Kivu Province, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, into two.

It was a momentous occasion for Kabinda, who was among an estimated 2,500 people who turned up to witness the governors agree to set aside their differences and embark on the reconstruction of the war-torn province.

Kabinda cast a smile across his face as he watched the two men embrace and promise to work together to end the senseless wrangling that had led to the loss of thousands of innocent lives.

As far as he was concerned, it was these two men who had fanned the war that killed two of his sons and gave him and his neighbours sleepless nights.

"It's unbelievable to see these two governors can come together before us, let alone hug each other," Kabinda said. "The power struggle for control of this area by these two men has been the source of all the trouble we have witnessed."

Kanyabayonga, the remote town of some 30,000 people, lies in the middle of a hilly landscape in mineral-rich eastern Congo. Most of its residents went through appalling experiences during the eight-year-old civil strife in the country.

Strategically placed in the heart of North Kivu Province, Kanyabayonga had for a long time been the scene of fighting between the formerly Rwandan backed Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma) and the formerly Ugandan backed Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie-Mouvement de liberation (RCD-ML) rebel forces. The two movements have since been incorporated into a transitional government of national unity.

Across the town, schools, hospitals and homes are all in a shambles as electricity, clean water and adequate food remain a dream for the majority of its residents.

"We have seen it all," Kabinda said. "We have seen the Ugandans take over this place, the Rwandans, the Mayi Mayi [Congolese militia], Interahamwe [Rwandan Hutu militia] and all the bandit forces you have heard of in eastern DRC. We are simply tired of this war."

As a result of all the fighting, North Kivu has been split into two; one area controlled by the RCD-Goma with its headquarters in Goma town, and the remaining part controlled by the Ugandan and Kinshasa backed RCD-ML with its headquarters in Beni town. The RCD-Goma appointed Eugene Serufuli as governor for North Kivu-Goma and RCD-ML chose Eric Paluku to head North Kivu-Beni.

With these former rebel movements having appointed governors for the two areas in the province, Kanyabayonga, strategically placed in the middle, remained a control target for both groups. The RCD-Goma and RCD-ML forces fought each other more than 10 times in a bid to control Kanyabayonga, local residents told IRIN.

However, with Wednesday's reconciliation between Serufuli and Paluku, in truth between RCD-Goma and RCD-ML, there is hope for lasting peace in the troubled province. This also follows a commitment by the numerous factions to put aside their differences and begin reconstructing and unifying the province.

Already, the newly installed transitional government, mandated to guide the vast central African nation to its first democratic elections in two to three years, has embarked on a process to unify the nation.

Interior Minister Theophile Mbemba presided over Wednesday's ceremony to broker an agreement between the RCD-Goma and RCD-ML, and managed to get the governors to pledge to resolve their differences and work together for the good of the province.

"The heritage that God gave our nation has been wasted over these years," Mbemba said. "We have decided to come together, stop the killings and restore uniform authority for this nation."

He said a new governor for the province would be appointed, instead of the two, as a way of unifying North Kivu.

"For the sake of rebuilding our nation, we have resolved to do away with the past and join hands together with our brothers to rebuild this nation," Serufuli told Paluku as they hugged, amid applause from the crowd.

A great moment

"This is a wonderful moment for the people in North Kivu," William Swing, the UN special envoy to the Congo who attended the ceremony on 30 October, said. "It is a serious effort by the transitional government to resolve local conflicts and we think that this conflict is on the way to a firm resolution."

In an area where two belligerent forces had made it a nightmare for humanitarian agencies to access civilian populations, the reconciliation was seen as likely to facilitate the work of humanitarian agencies trying to reach thousands of internally displaced people.

"This is definitely a significant step which we believe will in the end ease humanitarian supplies to the internally displaced population," Gilbert Gitelman, a senior humanitarian officer at the Goma office of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said.

In its latest study, done in spring, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) concluded that 3.3 million people had died from war-related causes since fighting broke out in the DRC in 1998. Millions others have been displaced as a result of the conflict fuelled by ethnic rivalry as well as the country's vast natural resources. [The IRC survey is at www.theirc.org]

No more militia forces

"There are no more RCD-Goma forces or RCD-ML forces. We now have a unified national army," Mbemba told the gathering in Kanyabayonga who included supporters of the two movements.

"We have fought each other, lost lives but we have now decided to put the past behind and to rebuild our country," he said as the militias, the local population and the governors nodded their heads in compliance.

Under Congo's new constitution, the rebel-turned-political movements now have the task of leading commissions overseeing the country's reconstruction and development, political and economic revival, and social and cultural renaissance.

Swing, who is also head of the UN Mission in the country, known as MONUC, said North Kivu's unification would facilitate both MONUC's and government's efforts to track down and repatriate Rwandan Hutu rebels still present in eastern Congo.

"We certainly hope that this new commitment will help us in intensifying the DDRR [Demobilisation, Disarmament, Reintegration and Rehabilitation] programme," he said.

The militia groups in North Kivu promised to share information with MONUC and, wherever possible, carry out joint operations to track down the Rwandan rebels.

Since his appointment as head of a strengthened MONUC, Swing has taken a proactive approach to deploy UN troops in various provinces in the Congo, from where they will fan out into embattled areas to provide security for the DDRR process and to facilitate the integration of many of the warring forces into a national army.

To Kabinda, and many other Congolese farmers and villagers, the time for the nation's renaissance has come - a time for the guns to be silent and for the people to embark on the road to political tranquillity, economic transformation and social stability.
"Its great that these two foes can face each other," Kabinda said. "I think the war is steadily fading. We need to live like people and make good use of our land instead of turning into beggars."

"Fighting displaces thousands in Mwenga, South Kivu Province"

Fighting that erupted on Friday between a Mayi-Mayi militia and a Rwandan rebel group in South Kivu Province, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), has resulted in the displacement of thousands of civilians, with an as-yet undetermined number of wounded and dead, the UN peacekeeping mission in the country, MONUC, reported on Monday.

"At present, we do not know if the fighting has ceased or if it continues," Hamadoun Toure, the MONUC spokesman, told IRIN in the capital, Kinshasa.

The fighting was reportedly between the Mayi-Mayi militia of Commander Nakiliba and the Forces Democratiques de Liberation du Rwanda (FDLR) in the Ngando sector, some 10 km from Mwenga centre.

A Mayi-Mayi representative in Kinshasa said the situation was calm but tense on Monday morning.

"These people wanted to rape our women and plunder our villages, but they were met with resistance by our troops," Col Emmanuel Mapenzi, a member of the unified national military hailing from the Mayi-Mayi militias, told IRIN.

However, other sources on the ground told IRIN that the FDLR had forced the Mayi-Mayi to withdraw from Mwenga.

For its part, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimated that anywhere between 2,000 and 4,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) sought refuge in Mwenga centre. Some of the IDPs were reported to be staying with host families, while others were temporarily settled in sites set up by local authorities.

OCHA said that humanitarian agencies were overwhelmed by the sudden influx, and concerted efforts were underway to respond to IDP needs.

The Mwenga region is nominally under the control of the Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma) former rebel movement that, like the Mayi-Mayi militias, is now party to the Congo's two-year transitional national government and unified military.

Following peace accords reached in October between the erstwhile enemies, some 50 of Nakiliba's Mayi-Mayi were reported to have joined forces with RCD-Goma.

Fighting between Nakiliba's Mayi-Mayi and the FDLR had been reported earlier last week in the nearby region of Bunyakiri, resulting in widescale displacement of civilians and an unknown number of injured and dead.

The FDLR are among an estimated 14,000 foreign combatants believed to be active in the Congo. Other Rwandan combatants known to be operating in the Congo include the Interahamwe (Hutu militias) and the ex-FAR (former national military), both largely responsible for the 1994 genocide of some 800,000 Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus in Rwanda.

On Friday, the Congolese government vowed to root out Rwandan rebels in eastern Congo in an effort to normalise relations between the two countries.

"We need to open a new chapter in terms of relations between our two countries," Mbusa Nyamwisi, the Congolese minister for regional cooperation, told a news conference in the Rwandan capital, Kigali. [see earlier story, "Congo pledges to arrest Rwandan Hutu rebels", at http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=37590]

"Le Congo s'engage à arrêter les rebelles Hutu rwandais"

Le gouvernement de la République Démocratique du Congo (RDC) s'est engagé à déraciner les rebelles Hutu rwandais dans l'Est du pays dans le but de normaliser ses relations avec le Rwanda.

"Les Interahamwe [une milice Hutu rwandaise] représentent également un problème majeur pour la RDC dont nous n'avons pas besoin. Ils sont actuellement un sérieux problème pour le pays, plus que pour le Rwanda lui-même," avait déclaré vendredi, Mbusa Nyamwisi le ministre congolais de la coopération régionale, dans la capitale rwandaise, Kigali, avant de rappeler la nécessité de normaliser les relations entre ces deux pays.

Les présomptions relatives à la présence de troupes gouvernementales rwandaises en RDC n'ont, quant à elles, ni été infirmées ni confirmées par Nyamwisi. "Je ne suis pas ici pour faire des allégations. Ce n'est pas mon rôle d'accuser le Rwanda," a-t-il dit à la presse.

Les ONG humanitaires et de défense des droits de l'Homme oeuvrant
dans l'Est de la RDC avaient pourtant rapporté la présence de troupes rwandaises dans cette partie du territoire congolais. Le Rwanda a néanmoins réfuté ces accusations en les qualifiant de non fondées. Selon Kigali, il s’agit de manœuvres destinées uniquement à saboter le processus de réconciliation entre ces deux pays.

Alors que le gouvernement d'unité nationale de la RDC s'est engagé à
régler le problème de la présence des éléments de l'Interahamwe, le Rwanda a, pour sa part, cessé d'accuser Kinshasa de soutenir les milices rwandaises responsable, selon Kigali, du génocide de 1994.

11 / 03 / 2003 

IRIN

"Fall shoring up support for Great Lakes regional conference"

The Special Representative of UN Secretary-General for the Great Lakes region, Ibrahima Fall, is holding meetings with government officials of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as part of the preparatory process to organize an international conference for peace, security, democracy and development for the region.

The two-day event, due to take place in Nairobi, Kenya, in mid-2004, will constitute the first meeting of the six national focal points appointed by their heads of state from the core countries of the Great Lakes region, namely Burundi, the DRC, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. [see earlier story, "Work begins on regional peace and development conference", at http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=34858]

"All [with whom I have met] have expressed their support for the conference," Fall told reporters on Monday in the capital, Kinshasa.

He was speaking following a meeting with Yerodia Abdoulaye Ndombasi, one of four vice-presidents of the country's two-year transitional government.

Upon his arrival in Kinshasa on Friday, Fall met with Congolese President Joseph Kabila, currently en route to the US for a meeting with President George W. Bush and other US officials.

Fall was also scheduled to meet on Monday with Vice-President Jean-Pierre Bemba, leader of the Mouvement de liberation du Congo former rebel group, and on Tuesday with Vice-President Azarias Ruberwa, leader of the Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie-Goma) former rebel movement. Meetings with other government officials and former rebel leaders are also scheduled.

This is Fall's first visit to the Congo since the 30 June installation of the country's transitional national government, which ostensibly brought an end to nearly five years of war.

"DRC-RWANDA: Congo pledges to arrest Rwandan Hutu rebels"

The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has vowed to root out Rwandan Hutu rebels in eastern Congo in a bid to normalise relations between the two countries.

"We need to open a new chapter in terms of relations between our two countries," Mbusa Nyamwisi, the Congolese minister for regional cooperation, announced on Friday in the Rwandan capital, Kigali.

"The Interahamwe [Rwandan Hutu militia] are equally a greater problem for the DRC that we do not need now. They are in fact at the moment more of a serious problem for the DRC than Rwanda itself," he added.

Before joining the transitional government of national unity installed in June in the DRC capital, Kinshasa, Nyamwisi was a leader of Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie-Mouvement de liberation (RCD-ML), which in the past had been accused by Rwandan authorities of recruiting the Hutu rebels into the rebel group's headquartered in Beni town, eastern Congo.

Nyamwisi denied that Rwandan Hutu rebels had been part of RCD-ML. He was in Kigali to deliver a message from Congolese President Joseph Kabila on the two countries normalising their relations.

Regarding allegations that Rwandan troops were present in the Congo, Nyamwisi could neither deny nor confirm the claims. "I am not here to make any allegations. It's not my role to accuse Rwanda," he told reporters.

Human rights groups and NGOs operating in eastern Congo have reported that Rwanda has continued to maintain troops in the Congo. But Rwanda has denied the claims, terming them fabrications not based on credible evidence and aimed at sabotaging reconciliation between the two nations.

As the Congolese government expressed commitment to dealing with the Interahamwe, Rwanda also dropped its long-held claim that Kinshasa was still supporting the armed Hutu extremists responsible for the country's 1994 genocide.

Nyamwisi's visit to Kigali follows that of Rwandan Foreign Minister Charles Muligande to Kinsahasa last week.

Muligande also expressed optimism that the Congolese government was now serious about disarming the Rwandan Hutu extremists in its territory.

"La MONUC met fin à des combats en Ituri"

Des soldats de la MONUC, la mission des Nations Unies en République Démocratique du Congo (RDC), ont mis fin vendredi à des affrontements entre deux mouvements rebelles en Ituri, a indiqué lundi un communiqué de la MONUC. Les faits se sont déroulés à Tchomia, une localité à 45 km au sud-est de Bunia, le chef-lieu de cette région dans le nord-est de la RDC.

Les combats ont opposé des éléments de l'Union des Patriotes Congolais (UPC) et du Parti pour l'unité, la solidarité et l'intégrité du Congo (PUSIC). "L'attaque [avait] été lancée par environ 350 hommes de l'UPC, venus de Mandro et de Kadoto, lourdement armés, munis notamment de mitrailleuses, de lance-roquettes (RPG-7) et de mortiers de 81 mm," a précisé la MONUC.

L'intervention de la Brigade Ituri, le nom des forces onusiennes dans cette région, a permis "d'arrêter les combats et d'éviter la perte en vies humaines parmi la population civile," a indiqué le communiqué.

La MONUC s'est rendue sur les lieux en présence des représentants des groupes. Elle leur a enjoint de cesser les combats et de rendre leurs armes avant de rappeler que la zone de Kasenyi-Tchomia avait été déclarée "zone sans armes".

Les combattants de l'UPC sont repartis désarmés à Niyamba, à 5 km au nord de Tchomia, ceux du PUSIC, sont partis vers Kasenyi, à 7 km au sud-ouest de la ville, a affirmé la MONUC.

La situation sur place demeure néanmoins tendue, a précisé la MONUC.

Le journal d'état de l'Ouganda, 'The New Vision', a par ailleurs rapporté lundi que des éléments d'un mouvement rebelle ougandais, People's Redemption Army, combattraient aux cotés de l'UPC. Le porte-parole de l'armée ougandaise, le major Shaban Bantariza, s'est néanmoins dit heureux de la réponse rapide de la MONUC, a rapporté 'The New Vision'.

La MONUC a fermement condamné cette attaque de l'UPC. "[Elle] constitue une violation de tous les engagements antérieurs," a-t-elle déclaré avant de préciser qu'elle continuera à faire respecter les engagements de toutes les parties.

Un second communiqué de la MONUC a encore rapporté lundi des affrontements entre les Mayï-Mayï et les Forces démocratiques pour la libération du Rwanda (FDLR, un mouvement rebelle rwandais) dans le territoire de Mwenga, dans la province du Sud-Kivu, à l'est de la RDC.

Pour la MONUC "la mise en place de programmes d'aide au Sud-Kivu ne pourra se développer sans une amélioration durable de la sécurité, qui passe par une action concertée pour résoudre la question de la présence des groupes armés étrangers".

La MONUC s'est toutefois rendue le premier novembre à Minembwe, dans le Sud-Kivu pour rencontrer Patrick Masunzu et Aaron Nyamushebwa, des chefs Mayï-Mayï actifs dans la zone des Hauts et Moyens Plateaux. Ces contacts permettent "d'améliorer la sécurité des populations civiles et de résoudre les conflits locaux. Ceci contribue à l'établissement d'un contexte favorable à la réunification du pays et à la tenue des élections," a expliqué la MONUC.

La MONUC s'est en fin réjouie à l'occasion de ces prises de contacts de l'attitude des chefs militaires, en faveur du processus d'unification de l'armée et de coopération pour le programme de Désarmement, Démobilisation, Rapatriement, Réinstallation et Réintégration (DDRRR).

Ces avancées, a estimé la MONUC, "posent les bases d'une réconciliation durable entre les communautés" et favorisent "l'accès humanitaire dans des zones jusqu'alors difficiles à atteindre".