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BURUNDI: Reaction to Buyoya-FDD meeting
Reaction to President Pierre Buyoya's meeting with rebel leader Jean-Bosco Ndayikengurukiye on Tuesday has been mixed. Ndayikengurukiye himself, in an interview with the BBC Kirundi service, said he believed the talks - held in Libreville, Gabon - would give an impetus to the peace process mediator, Nelson Mandela. The Libreville meeting was hosted by Gabonese President Omar Bongo and DRC President Laurent-Desire Kabila. "He [Mandela] will realise that the job done by Presidents Kabila and Bongo will give him strength and help him move forward, since the Arusha talks have failed," said Ndayikengurukiye, who leads the Conseil national pour la defense de la democratie-Forces de defense pour la democratie (CNDD-FDD). He reiterated his movement's position that the Arusha accord, signed last August, was "not useful because nothing tangible came out of it". "We asked them [the signatories] that if they reach an agreement, if they set up institutions, if they sign something, they come to explain it all to us. We have been waiting in vain," the FDD leader added.
Domitien Ndayizeye, secretary-general of the main opposition party, FRODEBU, described the meeting as an "important step" in the peace process. He noted that the signatories to the Arusha agreement had stressed the need for the belligerents in the Burundi conflict to meet.
But Jean-Baptiste Bagaza, who leads the hardline Tutsi PARENA party, said the meeting may have repercussions on the Arusha accord. "It means the Arusha talks were useless because they took place between the wrong sides," he told the BBC. "The real negotiators were hiding." He said he believed the peace process should begin afresh. "We took part in the talks with the aim of restoring peace...unfortunately we were not successful," he said. "That is why everything should start all over again."
BURUNDI: Meeting aimed at reaching ceasefire - Buyoya
President Pierre Buyoya, who was in Dar es Salaam on Thursday, said the meeting with Ndayikengurukiye was aimed at reaching a quick cessation of hostilities and a total ceasefire, the Tanzanian 'Guardian' daily reported. He told reporters he felt optimistic now that direct talks had taken place. Buyoya added that his government was ready to implement the Arusha accord. Regional analysts have questioned the timing of the direct negotiations. They say Buyoya may be afraid of losing power to his rival for the presidency, Colonel Epitace Bayaganakandi who, reportedly, has the support of many Tutsis and has embarked on a tour of foreign countries to gather support.
DRC: Hema and Lendu groups clash in Nyankunde
Five members of the Hema community and one from the Lendu community died during two days of ethnic clashes in Nyankunde in northeastern Ituri province on Sunday and Monday, an official from the UN Mission to the DRC (MONUC) told IRIN. The area is controlled by Ernest Wamba dia Wamba's Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie - Mouvement de Liberation (RCD-ML), supported by the Ugandan army. The Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF), led by Colonel Muzoora, intervened on Monday and restored calm in the area, MONUC said. Some sources reported that Lendu fighters attacked Nyankunde hospital on Sunday night. One thousand civilians are said to have fled the area towards Bunia or crossed into Ugandan territory, according to the MONUC official.
The origins of the current conflict are heavily disputed. According to RCD-ML official, Jacques Depelchin, it was sparked partly after Colonel Muzoora favoured a Hema as governor of Ituri province. The move would violate an agreement between the Hema and Lendu ethnic groups that neither member of their communities should act as governor of the province, Depelchin told IRIN. The current governor of Ituri province in northeastern DRC, Ernest Uring-Pa-Dolo, was put under house arrest on Monday following orders by Colonel Muzoora.
DRC: Catholic bishop freed
Bishop Cyprien Mbuka of the Boma diocese was freed on Wednesday after being detained since his arrest on 28 December at a military unit in Kinshasa by DEMIAP, the acronym for the military unit charged with combating "anti-patriotic" activities, the Kinshasa-based news agency Documentations et Informations Africaines (DIA) reported. The news followed an announcement by the secretariat of the national episcopal conference, 'Conference episcopale nationale du Congo' (CENC). The archbishop of Kinshasa and president of the CENC had officially protested against arbitrary arrests of Congolese Catholic bishops and denounced the violations of their human rights in a press release on Tuesday, DIA reported. According to DIA, the Kinshasa government was put in a delicate position by extensive coverage of the detention in the local press.
DRC: South Africa denies replacement of DRC mediation
South Africa's defence ministry at the weekend denied news reports that the country's defence minister, Mosiuoa Lekota, had replaced Zambian President Frederick Chiluba, as the main mediator to the DRC talks. In a statement, it termed as "not true" and "factually inaccurate and misleading" a story carried by the South African 'Sunday Times' on 7 January. "Minister Lekota has not replaced President Chiluba as the main mediator in the DRC talks," the statement declared. "Minister Lekota has also not been appointed to chair a committee of foreign ministers preparing for the implementation of the Lusaka Peace Accord as reported by the 'Sunday Times'," it added.
DRC: Zimbabwe army denies troops court-martialled
Zimbabwe's defence headquarters on Thursday denied a local newspaper report that up to 300 soldiers have been court-martialled in the past month alone for refusing deployment in the DRC. Military spokesman Colonel Chancellor Diye told IRIN that court martials were a normal disciplinary measure in any army. But he denied that any had taken place as a result of soldiers refusing to fight in the DRC, where Zimbabwe is supporting the Kinshasa government against Ugandan and Rwandan-backed rebels. Zimbabwe's independent weekly 'The Financial Gazette' alleged on Thursday that as units were being rotated in December and extra troops assigned to the DRC to beef up a troubled southern front, some soldiers had refused the call-up. The newspaper quoted an unnamed senior army official as saying "there was a lot of resistance from a significant number of soldiers". Among the reasons cited was a lack of military equipment following losses suffered in the battle for the southern DRC town of Pweto. [For full story see separate IRIN item of 11 January, headlined "ZIMBABWE-DRC: Army denies troops court-martialled"]
RWANDA: DRC and allies organising counter offensives
Rwandan military officials said that DRC government forces and their allies were planning for counter offensives in various parts of Katanga province, southern DRC. Rwanda's Presidential Defence Adviser, Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Kayonga, told IRIN on Thursday that military officers in the Katanga area had confirmed some 2,000 Zimbabwean troops had been deployed south of Pweto in Dubie, Lukonzolwa and Kasenga. He said two Angolan battalions had also been sent to these areas. "Fighter aircrafts and helicopter gunships are also being prepared in Lubumbashi," he said. "We are exposing the situation to the international community now before anything happens." Kayonga reiterated Rwanda's commitment and readiness to implement the Lusaka agreement, adding that Rwanda was ready to disengage from the Katanga area if the UN mission in the DRC (MONUC) deployed in the area. "If they [Kabila's troops and allies] break the ceasefire, they will have to face the consequences," Kayonga warned.
RWANDA: More returnees from the DRC
Meanwhile, about 130 Rwandans were voluntarily repatriated to Rwanda from eastern DRC, Congolese rebel-controlled radio from Goma reported on Wednesday. It said that the office of the governor of North Kivu province facilitated the repatriation.
Nairobi, 11 January 2001, 15:35 gmt
[ENDS]
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