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Ben Parker
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anb-bia <anb-bia at village.uunet.be> Wrote on 
Thu, 06 Mar 2003 17:23:00 +0100
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_____________________________________________________________
WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 06-03-2003      PART #3/7

* Congo (RDC). Radio Mandeleo  -  Les journalistes qui couvrent
les 
discussions des commissions du dialogue intercongolais à Pretoria
(Afrique 
du Sud), ont annoncé qu'ils ne rapporteraient plus ce qui s'y
passe tant 
que la guérilla du RCD-Goma maintiendrait sa décision de fermeture
de Radio 
Mandeleo, à Bukavu, a indiqué l'ONG congolaise "Journalistes
en danger". 
L'émetteur est fermé depuis décembre dernier pour avoir diffusé
un 
programme sur le mécontentement de la population devant l'obligation,

imposée par le RCD-Goma, d'acheter (fort cher) de nouvelles plaques
de 
voitures, non reconnues dans les pays voisins. La population
y voit 
l'indice d'une volonté de séparatisme.   (La Libre Belgique,
1er mars 2003)

* Congo (RDC). Congo's war refuses to end  -  Pro-government
forces have 
slaughtered hundreds of civilians in Congo in one of the worst
massacres 
since a peace deal was signed, rebels claimed on 2 March. A coalition
of 
loyalist troops, tribal militia and Ugandan army soldiers rampaged
for two 
days last week in Bogoro, south of the town of Bunia which is
near the 
Ugandan border, according to Thomas Lubanga, leader of the Union
des 
Patriotes Congolais (UPC), a small rebel group backed by Rwanda.
"Until 
yesterday we had counted up to 467 people had been killed. We're
still 
receiving more reports today. They were all civilians," Mr Lubanga
told 
Reuters. A rival rebel group, RCD-Kisangani, also said there
had been a 
massacre but said the toll was 250 and rising. An official from
the United 
Nations mission in Congo (MONUC) confirmed there was an attack
and said the 
higher death toll "could be true". The war, which has devastated
the vast 
central African country for the past four years, is supposed
to be winding 
down, following accords between neighbouring countries which
became 
involved, as well as between Congolese factions. However, fighting
in Ituri 
province in the north-east has continued, as different groups
vie for 
control in a power vacuum, sending tens of thousands of people
fleeing 
their homes in recent months. More than a million civilians are
thought to 
have died in the war, most through disease and hunger, but many
as the 
victims of massacres. There was often confusion and doubt over
which of the 
myriad groups were responsible. Rwanda and Uganda have denied
breaching the 
accords but sceptics say both countries are still hooked on plundering
a 
chaotic neighbour rich in diamonds, gold and other mineral reserves.

Residents of Bunia said Ugandan troop reinforcements arrived
in recent 
weeks following heightened tension with the UPC rebels.   (The
Guardian, 
UK, 3 March 2003)

* Congo (RDC). Massacres en Ituri  -  Dans une dépêche du 28
février, 
l'agence congolaise DIA rapporte que depuis la semaine du 16
février, on 
assiste à une montée de tension à Bunia. On signale des affrontements
entre 
les éléments de l'UPC (Union des patriotes congolais) de Thomas
Lubanga et 
les miliciens lendu à Niangaray, Lipri, Bambu et Kobu. Des sources

signalent des massacres de la population lendu par les éléments
de l'UPC. 
Le 25 février, Bogoro, un village hema, a subi une attaque qui
a mis en 
déroute les forces de l'UPC. L'ampleur de cette attaque et les
armes 
utilisées par les assaillants posent question sur la véritable
identité de 
ceux-ci, indique DIA. L'UPC accuse l'armée ougandaise, dont des
militaires 
ont été retrouvés parmi les morts. Les rescapés parlent de la
présence de 
Lendu parmi les assaillants. A Bunia, on craint une attaque de
la ville. -- 
Le 2 mars, Thomas Lubanga, président de l'UPC, a dénoncé qu'un
groupe de 
soldats gouvernementaux, de miliciens et de soldats ougandais
ont tué plus 
de 400 civils à Bogoro. "Nous avons compté 467 morts. Mais nous
continuons 
à recevoir des informations. Tous étaient des civils", a-t-il
précisé. 
Jean-Pierre Bemba, leader du Mouvement pour la libération du
Congo (MLC) a 
accusé le RCD-ML de Mbusa Nyamwisi, un groupe rebelle allié aux
forces 
gouvernementales. L'Ouganda a démenti avoir des soldats à 
Bogoro.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 3 mars 2003)

* Congo (RDC). Hundreds killed  -  3 March: A rebel leader has
called for 
an international investigation into a reported massacre of civilians
in 
eastern Congo. Jean-Pierre Bemba, head of the Congolese Liberation
Movement 
(MLC), said that hundreds of people had been killed by pro-government

soldiers and other militias. Last year, the main antagonists
in the 
four-year Congolese war signed a peace deal. The government of
Joseph 
Kabila, Rwanda, Uganda and the main rebel groups agreed to set
up a new 
power-sharing government. But fighting has continued in Ituri
province near 
Bunia, featuring a myriad of different groups and shifting alliances.
About 
150,000 people have fled the fighting. Mr Bemba said he was shocked
by the 
lack of an international reaction to the fighting. "We urgently
call for an 
investigating commission into these grave violations of human
rights so 
that those responsible both political and military can be brought
before 
international justice," he said. 4 March: MISNA says that the
UN Mission in 
Congo will send a special team to the Bogoro area in the next
few days to 
collect information on the massacre reported by Bemba.   (ANB-BIA,
Belgium, 
4 March 2003)

* Congo (RDC). Mercenaires pour la Monuc?  -  Des entreprises
militaires 
privées cherchent à participer aux opérations de maintien de
la paix de 
l'Onu au Congo-Kinshasa, indique la lettre d'information sur
l'Afrique 
australe "Southscan" (7 févr. 2003). L'Onu a du mal à trouver
des troupes 
pour cette mission, dont il est prévu de doubler les effectifs.
Un 
consortium d'entreprises militaires privées (autrement dit, fournissant
des 
mercenaires) basé aux Etats-Unis est candidat, "pour un coût
de 10 à 20% de 
celui des habituelles missions de l'Onu", écrit la publication,
éditée à 
Londres. La Monuc coûte actuellement 608 millions de dollars,
dont un quart 
est financé par Washington. Le consortium comprend les entreprises
PAE, ICI 
(Oregon), MPRI (ex-officiers américains), AirScan International
et TASK 
International (utilisant des vétérans Gurkhas de l'armée 
britannique).   (La Libre Belgique, 5 mars 2003)

* Congo (RDC). Police repress Kinshasa demonstration  -  On 5
March, MISNA 
reported that the struggle continues between Joseph Kabila's
government and 
Etienne Tshisekedi's Union for Democracy and Social Progress
(UDPS). The 
previous day, the police in Kinshasa had violently repressed
peaceful 
demonstrations by political protestors, in favour of Tshisekedi's

candidature for one of the four vice-presidential seats foreseen
by the 
so-called "4+1" formula adopted by the Pretoria Agreement. The
Agreement 
designates a leadership formed by one President and four 
Vice-Presidents.   (MISNA, Italy, 5 March 2003)

* Congo (RTDC). Dialogue intercongolais  -  Réunis à Pretoria
depuis le 
lundi 3 mars, les délégués congolais se préparent à conclure
à propos des 
derniers points encore en litige. C'est ainsi qu'une force internationale

de 3.200 hommes pourrait être dépêchée à Kinshasa pour assurer
la 
protection des leaders rebelles qui participeraient au gouvernement
de 
transition. Cependant, dans l'Ituri, la situation continue à
se dégrader et 
l'Onu a envoyé une commission pour enquêter sur le récent massacre
de 
Bogoro.   (Le Soir, Belgique, 6 mars 2003)

* Côte d'Ivoire. Massacre denied  -  27 February: Rebels have
denied 
accusations that they executed in cold blood about 60 policemen
and their 
sons last year. Human rights group Amnesty International said
the policemen 
were detained by members of the Patriotic Movement of Ivory Coast
(MPCI) 
when they captured the central city of Bouake in mid-September
at the 
beginning of the uprising. The Amnesty report, based on testimony
from 
survivors, says a few weeks later the rebels went to the army
barracks 
where the police and their families were living, and opened fire.
But 
almost immediately after the allegations were made public, MPCI
political 
leader Guillaume Soro said that the deaths occurred during fighting
around 
Bouake in mid-September. "For health reasons and humanitarian
reasons we 
had to bury them in a communal grave. We consider that this is
thus 
something which was done with clarity and openness," he told
French 
television. Survivors quoted in the Amnesty report said that
some two weeks 
after the clashes in Bouake, rebels went to the detainees massed
in 
Bouake's military prison three times and opened fire, killing
and wounding 
dozens of people. "I heard children screaming: "We are not gendarmes!
Don't 
kill us"," said one policeman quoted in the report. Another survivor
was 
hiding in his cell when they came. "One of the rebels came close
to us and 
glanced into our cell, saying: "Hell, there are still a lot of
them here!" 
He sprayed the room with bullets, then loaded another magazine
and fired 
randomly. When he left, I smeared myself in blood and hid under
a body," he 
said. Survivors say they were then forced to dig mass graves
for the 
victims. About 10 have since "disappeared" and are believed to
have been 
killed after they buried their comrades. Others paid sums of
money to the 
rebels to be freed. Witnesses say some 40 policemen, 30 of their
children 
and five civilians detained with them were killed. But Amnesty
said it 
could only confirm the death or "disappearance" of 60 people.
  (BBC News, 
UK, 27 February 2003)

* Côte d'Ivoire. Exactions devant la CPI  -  27 février. Le président

Gbagbo a décidé de saisir, via le Conseil de sécurité de l'Onu,
la Cour 
pénale internationale (CPI) pour enquêter sur l'ensemble des
exactions 
commises dans son pays depuis septembre dernier. Lors d'une conférence
de 
presse à Paris, deux avocats travaillant pour les autorités d'Abidjan,
ont 
justifié cette décision par la situation de guerre prévalant
dans le pays. 
Selon eux, la police et la justice ne sont pas en mesure de mener
à bien 
leurs enquêtes, y compris à Abidjan où sévissent des "escadrons
de la 
mort", dont les avocats sont "dans l'incapacité de dire qui ils
sont". Le 
MPCI a catégoriquement réfuté les affirmations d'Amnesty International
qui 
accuse les rebelles d'avoir exécuté, le 6 octobre à Bouaké, une
soixantaine 
de gendarmes. -- Le 28 février, une équipe d'experts de l'Onu
est arrivée à 
Abidjan pour faire la lumière sur les crimes commis. Sa mission
devrait 
durer jusqu'au 11 mars. Le 1er mars, M. Gbagbo a fait devant
la presse un 
discours très offensif, où il a nié toute implication dans les
escadrons de 
la mort. Il a annoncé qu'il comptait attaquer devant la justice
française 
les journaux Le Monde et La Croix. Il a par ailleurs précisé,
à propos des 
crimes commis en zone gouvernementale, que 38 personnes avaient
été 
arrêtées, dont 23 inculpées d'atteinte à l'autorité de l'Etat.
  (ANB-BIA, 
de sources diverses, 3 mars 2003)

* Côte d'Ivoire. Amnesty to review human rights situation  -
 A team from 
Amnesty International, arrived in Côte d'Ivoire on 3 March to
investigate 
human rights violations perpetrated since the beginning of an
armed 
conflict in the West African country. The 10-day mission will
focus mainly 
on the economic capital, Abidjan, where Amnesty plans to investigate
'Death 
squads'- groups of armed men in military uniforms who have kidnapped
and 
killed -- usually at night -- opposition activists and other
civilians in 
recent months. The four-member mission will meet President Laurent
Gbagbo, 
officials of the defence and justice ministries, other top government

officials, political leaders and representatives of civil society,
Amnesty 
sources told IRIN on 4 March. The team is also scheduled to visit
prisons 
and other detention centres, something Amnesty was unable to
do during its 
last mission -- in October 2002. Security forces had said then
that such 
visits required a "green light" from the Minister of Defence
even though, 
according to Amnesty, Justice Minister Desire Tagro had authorised
the 
visits. The Abidjan mission follows last week's highly publicized
report on 
killings committed by Côte d'Ivoire's main rebel group, the Patriotic

Movement of Côte d'Ivoire. The report accused the MPCI of executing

soldiers, gendarmes and their children. The MPCI denied this,
saying the 
victims died in the heat of battle.   (IRIN, Kenya, 4 March 2003)

* Côte d'Ivoire. Un gouvernement annoncé  -  Le 2 mars, les rebelles
ont 
accusé les forces gouvernementales d'avoir tué, la veille, 20
civils au 
cours d'un bombardement par hélicoptères de combat sur la ville
de 
Bin-Houyé, dans l'extrême ouest du pays. Abidjan a de son côté
indiqué 
avoir repoussé une offensive rebelle dans cette zone. D'autre
part, le 
Premier ministre Seydou Diarra n'est toujours pas parvenu à former
un 
gouvernement de réconciliation nationale. -- 3 mars. M. Diara
s'est rendu à 
Bouaké. Il y a mené à huis clos des entretiens avec les responsables
des 
trois mouvements rebelles (MPCI - MPIGO - MJP). Il a ensuite
déclaré que le 
gouvernement de réconciliation nationale sera annoncé "au plus
tard" à la 
fin de la semaine ou au début de la semaine prochaine, sinon
il menace de 
démissionner. -- 4 mars. Dans un entretien public, Simone Gbagbo,
l'épouse 
du président, considérée comme une "dure" du régime, a déclaré
pour la 
première fois accepter les accords de Marcoussis et la présence
de rebelles 
au sein du futur gouvernement de réconciliation, "si c'est le
prix à 
payer". -- Le 6 mars, des représentants des trois mouvements
rebelles 
doivent se rencontrer à Accra (Ghana) pour discuter avec les
signataires de 
l'accord de Marcoussis sur la formation du gouvernement. Des
responsables 
des grands partis politiques ivoiriens y sont également invités.
La veille 
au soir, on ignorait encore si le président Gbagbo sera associé
aux 
discussions. Il fera en tous cas le déplacement, étant invité
par le 
président ghanéen John Kufuor, pour assister aux manifestations
marquant 
les 46 ans d'indépendance du Ghana.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses,
5 mars 
2003)

* Côte d'Ivoire. Fresh fighting breaks out  -  2 March: Fresh
fighting has 
reportedly broken out in the west, despite continuing discussions
on a new 
power-sharing government for the country. The claims, from rebel
and 
government officials, come shortly after neighbouring Liberia
accused Côte 
d'Ivoire of employing Liberian mercenaries to carry out cross-border

attacks. Felix Doh, head of the Ivorian Popular Movement of the
Great West 
(Mpigo), accused the government on 1 March of killing more than
20 
civilians in a helicopter gunship attack on the town of Binhouye,
close to 
the Liberian border. He says that in response to the attack his
rebel group 
will now go on the offensive. "Once helicopters start bombarding
I think 
the ceasefire is over. I have given orders to take the offensive."
3 March: 
Prime Minister Seydou Diarra says he may resign if his latest
attempt to 
form a government of national unity fails. Mr Diarra made this
statement to 
reporters in the rebel-held town of Bouake, today, after an hour-and-a-half

of discussions with representatives of three rebel movements.
Few details 
of what was said have been made public. But the prime minister
did say he 
believed a national unity government would be set up by the beginning
of 
next week. 5 March: The United Nations special representative
for Côte 
d'Ivoire, Albert Tevoedjre, has spoken for the first time about
the current 
impasse in forming a new government of reconciliation for the
country. He 
said that although neither side has yet agreed on a government,
the new 
prime minister must keep up his efforts of persuasion. The apparently
bland 
statement was more than a simple statement of support; it was
a plea for 
perseverance. Mr Tevoedjre seemed to be asking the country's
new prime 
minister not to give up.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 5 March 2003)

Weekly anb0306.txt - 3/7






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