Weekly anb0163.txt #8

[anb-bia <anb-bia at village.uunet.be>]

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 16-01-2003      PART #3/8

* Congo (RDC). Exécutions à Kinshasa  -  Amnesty International dénonce 
l'exécution de 15 personnes "en secret" et exprime sa crainte de voir 
d'autres condamnés subir le même sort, notamment parmi les 30 personnes 
condamnées le 7 janvier à la peine capitale dans le cadre du procès des 
assassins de Laurent Kabila. Les 15 personnes récemment exécutées l'ont été 
ce même 7 janvier, au matin. Amnesty ignore pour quoi elles avaient été 
condamnées. Plusieurs d'entre elles, sinon toutes, l'avaient été par la 
Cour d'ordre militaire, juridiction d'exception qui ne respecte pas les 
normes internationales en matière de justice.   (La Libre Belgique, 14 
janvier 2003)

* Congo (RDC). Allégations de cannibalisme  -  9 janvier. Deux factions 
rebelles, des membres du Mouvement de libération du Congo (MLC) de J.P. 
Bemba et leurs alliés du Rassemblement congolais pour la 
démocratie-National (RCD-N), sont accusés de cannibalisme. Des enquêteurs 
de l'Onu ont dit avoir trouvé des preuves crédibles confirmant que les 
insurgés auraient tué et mangé des pygmées dans le nord-est du pays, 
indique l'agence AP. Les deux factions engagent souvent des pygmées pour 
chasser de la nourriture pour leur compte dans la forêt, mais s'ils 
reviennent les mains vides, ils sont tués et mangés, a précisé un officiel 
onusien. Selon une autre théorie, certains rebelles croient que manger des 
pygmées leur donne une puissance magique. Un poste de Médecins sans 
frontières à Beni a signalé que les derniers mois des centaines, sinon des 
milliers de pygmées sont arrivés dans les villages environnants. "Ils font 
état d'incroyables atrocités", affirme la responsable de MSF. "C'est la 
première fois que les pygmées fuient leurs forêts, ce qui confirme qu'ils 
sont confrontés à une violence jamais connue". - 15 janvier. Une enquête 
plus approfondie de l'Onu a confirmé les accusations de cannibalisme, de 
viols systématiques, de tortures et d'assassinats. J.P. Bemba a annoncé que 
le commandant de l'opération, ainsi que quatre soldats ont été arrêtés, 
qu'une enquête allait être diligentée, suivie d'un procès et de sanctions 
exemplaires. Pour lui, il ne s'agit cependant que d'actes isolés. De son 
côté, le gouvernement de Kinshasa a décidé de porter plainte devant le 
Conseil de sécurité de l'Onu. -- Par ailleurs, la Mission de l'Onu (Monuc) 
a indiqué, le 10 janvier, que trois fosses communes avaient été découvertes 
dans la localité de Mambasa (province Orientale) après de récents 
affrontements. Les victimes sont pour la plupart des civils qui avaient 
refusé de se cacher dans la forêt, selon la Monuc.   (ANB-BIA, de sources 
diverses, 14 janvier 2003)

* Congo (RDC). Congolese tell of appalling abuse  -  9 January: United 
Nations human rights investigators have interviewed more than 200 people in 
Congo after allegations that rebel soldiers had committed widespread human 
rights violations. People fleeing recent fighting near the north-eastern 
town of Beni have accused the soldiers of rape, arbitrary execution and 
cannibalism, according to the UN's peacekeeping mission and the relief 
agency Medecins Sans Frontières (MSF). The UN says that although the 
fighting has now ended, more than 100,000 people are still too afraid to 
return to their homes. The UN mission spokesperson in Kinshasa said that 
investigators were preparing a report that would be presented to the 
Security Council next week. For the past two weeks they have been hearing 
testimony from people fleeing the fighting that broke out between rival 
rebel factions in mid-December in the north-east. 15 January: The United 
Nations Security Council has strongly condemned massacres and human rights 
violations, including cannibalism, by rebels in Congo. A UN investigation 
said that the Ugandan-backed Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) and 
two smaller factions committed atrocities between October and December in 
the eastern Ituri province. More than 350 witnesses and victims interviewed 
by the UN confirmed earlier allegations that the MLC was responsible for 
rape, torture, executions and cannibalism near the town of Beni. A senior 
Congolese Government official said the massacres demonstrated the need for 
a more robust UN presence in the region. The human rights investigators 
heard that the soldiers systematically raped women and looted houses in the 
town of Mambasa and in villages along the road towards Beni. Members of the 
minority Pygmy community, forced to flee their forest homes for the first 
time anyone can remember, were among those targeted.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 
15 January 2003)

* Congo (RDC). Disquiet over deaths and death sentences  -  9 January: 
Defence lawyers for those found guilty of killing former President Laurent 
Kabila have officially requested that his son and successor, Joseph Kabila, 
pardon them. A former aide to President Kabila, Colonel Eddy Kapend, and at 
least 25 others, were sentenced to death on 7 January for their role in the 
assassination two years ago. There is no right of appeal in Congo, but 
lawyers say that the final decision rests with the President. When the 
verdict was read out, 26 defendants were counted as being condemned to 
death. Official court documents have not yet been published, but the 
Kinshasa-based human rights Asadho and Lawyer Mulenda said 30 people face 
the death penalty, though 10 were tried in absentia and are not believed to 
be in the country. 10 January: In a Press Release, Amnesty International 
says that fifteen people are reported to have been executed in secret 
earlier this week. The executions took place just hours before the latest 
death sentences were pronounced. 13 January: A human rights organisation in 
Kinshasa says its investigators have come across a fresh mass grave in a 
cemetery near the city limits. The victims were all executed last week by 
Congo's military court, according to Voix des Sans Voix (Voice of the 
Voiceless). The authorities have so far denied the report. According to 
Voice of the Voiceless 15 men were executed in secret on the night of 6 
January. The human rights organisation says they had all been condemned to 
death by Congo's controversial military court for armed robbery and had 
been serving time in Kinshasa's central prison. Voice of the Voiceless says 
none had anything to do with the Laurent Kabila murder trial, in which 30 
people were condemned to death last week. According to the rights 
investigators the 15 men were led out of the prison hooded and in chains, 
and were taken to a cemetery in Mikonga, near the capital's Ndjili 
international airport, where they were then executed. The investigators 
spoke to nearby residents and soldiers and later visited the mass grave, 
where they saw the bodies had been incompetently buried -- limbs were still 
sticking out of the ground, they said. Voice of the Voiceless says 
relatives of the 15 men who have since visited the prison have been told 
their sons were transferred. 15 January: MISNA reports that Ntumba Luaba, 
Congo's Human Rights Minister, denies any knowledge of the 15 prisoners 
executed on 6 January. He promises to shed light on what has happened, 
saying he will personally follow investigations into both the military 
court and Makala Prison from where the executed prisoners were 
taken.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 15 January 2003)

* Côte d'Ivoire/Vatican. Vatican laments misuse of religion in 
Conflict  -  A Vatican official sent a letter to the Côte d'Ivoire's 
bishops' conference to condemn the "dishonest and dangerous use of religion 
for political ends" in parts of the country. In the letter, Archbishop 
Renato Martino, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, 
underlines the positive role of religions in building peace in the troubled 
African country. Echoing the appeal of Côte d'Ivoire's religious leaders at 
the start of this year, Archbishop Martino expressed the hope that "the 
different agents of the crisis will question themselves on their own 
responsibilities in halting the conflict and commit themselves to the 
promotion of authentic peace, founded on justice and 
forgiveness."   (Zenit, Italy, 10 January 2003)

* Côte d'Ivoire. Négociations à Paris  -  9 janvier. Les rebelles de 
l'Ouest ivoirien ont accusé les troupes gouvernementales d'avoir bombardé à 
l'aide d'hélicoptères de combat la ville de Grabo, au sud-ouest, faisant 15 
morts civils. Le porte-parole de l'armée ivoirienne a reconnu que des 
"opérations" étaient en cours. La semaine précédente, le président Gbagbo 
s'était engagé à maintenir au sol ses hélicoptères et à faire quitter la 
Côte d'Ivoire aux mercenaires, dont certains pilotent ces appareils. Selon 
le Programme alimentaire mondial (PAM), le conflit en Côte d'Ivoire a déjà 
entraîné le déplacement de plus de 600.000 personnes. -- 10 janvier. Les 
rebelles ont dénoncé de nouvelles attaques des forces gouvernementales 
contre deux villes de l'Ouest ivoirien, Toulépleu et Bloléquin, contrôlées 
par le Mouvement populaire ivoirien du grand ouest (MPIGO). En réaction, ce 
mouvement a annoncé qu'il ne se rendrait pas à la table ronde de Paris, 
prévue le 15 avril. Par ailleurs, le début du déploiement du contingent de 
la force ouest-africaine qui doit théoriquement relever les troupes 
françaises, a été une fois de plus repoussé aux calendes grecques. D'autre 
part, les chrétiens, les musulmans et toutes les autres confessions 
religieuses ont organisé à Abidjan, au terme de trois jours de jeûne, toute 
une journée de prières communes pour le retour à la paix. -- 12 janvier. On 
signale l'arrivée à San Pedro de centaines de réfugiés qui ont quitté leurs 
villages touchés par les combats dans l'ouest. Par ailleurs, le second 
groupe rebelle de l'Ouest, le Mouvement pour la justice et la paix (MJP), 
était toujours réticent à la signature d'un cessez-le-feu, mais se disait 
prêt à une trêve durant les négociations de Paris. Ainsi, le lundi 13 
janvier à Lomé, le gouvernement et les factions rebelles de l'Ouest ont 
signé une trêve qui permettra aux négociations de s'ouvrir dans le calme 
mercredi à Paris. Par cet accord, sans limitation de durée, les deux camps 
s'engagent à geler leurs positions et à autoriser la libre circulation des 
personnes et des biens. Ils acceptent aussi le déploiement d'une force de 
la CEDEAO qui surveillera la cessation des hostilités. D'autre part, 
concernant la table ronde de Paris, un des participants a indiqué que 
l'"ivoirité" et la réforme de la Constitution figureraient en tête des 
thèmes à discuter. Le président Gbagbo, lui, a répété qu'il refuserait la 
tenue d'élections anticipées, sans exclure en revanche la formation d'un 
gouvernement d'union nationale. -- Le 14 janvier, un détachement de 179 
soldats sénégalais ont quitté Dakar pour rejoindre la Côte d'Ivoire. C'est 
le premier déploiement important de la force ouest-africaine qui doit 
veiller au cessez-le-feu. Par ailleurs, un contingent militaire nigérian de 
250 hommes sera déployé sur le terrain d'ici le 21 janvier, a-t-on annoncé. 
La force internationale de la CEDEAO doit compter à terme 1.500 hommes. -- 
Le 15 janvier en France, les négociations entre les acteurs de la crise se 
sont ouvertes à Marcoussis, à une trentaine de kilomètres au sud de Paris. 
Prévue pour dix jours, la réunion sera présidée par M. Mazeaud, membre du 
Conseil constitutionnel français, assisté de trois coordinateurs 
représentant la CEDEAO, l'Union africaine et l'Onu. Elle rassemble au total 
32 personnes, représentant le gouvernement, les sept partis présents à 
l'Assemblée nationale et les trois mouvements rebelles. Le président Gbagbo 
est toutefois resté à Abidjan. Ouvrant la première séance, le ministre 
français des Affaires étrangères a donné sa feuille de route aux 
participants: le débat sur l'ivoirité qu'il faudra "clarifier et trancher", 
la loi sur la propriété foncière, les questions liées à la nationalité et à 
la naturalisation.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 16 janvier 2003)

* Côte d'Ivoire. A country divided  -  8 January: Christian and Muslim 
religious leaders and well as heads of traditional African religions in 
Côte d'Ivoire have issued a joint statement calling for responsibility and 
peace efforts from all sides in the conflict. The religious leaders have 
called on the people to observe three days of fasting and prayer to "obtain 
the return of peace in this martyred African country". 9 January: Rebels in 
the west have accused the army of attacking their positions with helicopter 
gunships, killing 15 civilians and "some" rebels. An army spokesman said 
that government troops were "engaged in operations" in the Grabo region but 
refused to confirm or deny that combat helicopters had been used. This 
comes less than a week after President Laurent Gbagbo pledged to observe a 
ceasefire and ground helicopter gunships. On 8 January, Sergeant Felix Doh 
from the western-based Movement for Justice and Peace (MJP) rebels said 
that he would sign the ceasefire and attend peace talks in Paris after 
meeting the French ambassador. The main rebel Côte d'Ivoire Patriotic 
Movement )MPCI) signed a ceasefire in October but fighting resumed in the 
west a month later when two new rebel groups emerged. 10 January: France 
urges Côte d'Ivoire to immediately cease hostilities ahead of the Paris 
peace talks. -- Fighting between govt. forces and rebels erupts in 
Toulepleu, near the border with Liberia. A western rebel commander says 
mercenaries fighting the government forces have attacked his group's 
positions. 13 January: Rebels have arrived in the Togolese capital, Lome, 
to sign a truce to end fighting with the government. The leaders of two 
groups of western-based rebels, Gaspard Deli and Felix Doh, verbally agreed 
to a truce last week but concerns over the safety of their supporters 
delayed their departure. The signing of peace accords is due to go ahead, 
today, overseen by Togolese President Gnassingbe Eyadema on behalf of the 
15-nation Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas). The main 
rebel group -- which controls the north -- signed a ceasefire with the 
government in October to end the conflict, which erupted after a failed 
coup attempt on 19 September. All three rebel groups are due to join peace 
talks in France from 15 January. 13 January: President Laurent Gbagbo, says 
he is hopeful that more three months of bitter conflict in his country is 
coming to an end. He was speaking after his envoys signed a truce with two 
rebel groups from the west. "I expect the end of the war," he said on 
France Info radio, speaking by telephone from the city of Abidjan. 
President Gbagbo repeated that he was prepared to offer an amnesty to the 
rebels. "I think that it will be unjust, but it will be necessary to accept 
this injustice if we want to achieve peace." But he added that he could not 
agree to the rebels' demand for early elections. "The constitution does not 
authorise me to organise general elections," he said. 15 January: French 
Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin is calling for energy and commitment 
from all sides in the new peace talks. All the rebel movements and all the 
main political parties in Côte d'Ivoire are due to take part in the new 
negotiations in Paris. Mr de Villepin says there is now a good chance to 
find peace after four months of war. -- President Gbagbo does not attend 
the opening ceremony of the peace talks. He is represented by his prime 
minister, Pascal Affi Nguessan, despite saying he would travel to France. 
16 January: The peace talks resume in Paris for a second day. The first day 
of talks, yesterday, had produced little sign of compromise. The MPCI, 
which controls the north of the said they were sticking to their call for 
early elections.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 16 January 2003

Weekly anb0116.txt - #3/8