DRC

'Repressive climate' in DR Congo ahead of polls: HRW

NEWS STORY

Source: AFP

Kinshasa, 23 July 2015 - Human Rights Watch on Wednesday warned of a "repressive climate" in restive Democratic Republic of Congo ahead of an election cycle due to start later this year.

Local and provincial elections are scheduled for October, followed by presidential and parliamentary elections in November 2016, in which the opposition fears President Joseph Kabila, in power since 2001, will try to extend his rule.

Kabila is barred by the constitution from seeking a third five-year term at the end of his mandate late next year, but has so far rejected opposition demands to announce he will step down when his term ends.

HRW chief Kenneth Roth said his organisation was deeply concerned about "continuing serious human rights violations" in the country, parts of which have been wracked by conflict for years.

"While we have seen some progress in reining in impunity and improving security in eastern Congo, we are deeply concerned about the repressive climate in advance of elections," he told reporters in Kinshasa.

Roth cited a crackdown on freedom of expression and a clampdown on activists, political leaders and others who have spoken out against attempts to allow Kabila to stay in power.

"Across the country, authorities have sought to silence dissent through threats, arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances and killings," he said.

Roth highlighted "the security forces' use of excessive force against demonstrations in Kinshasa and other cities in January" in which he said Republican Guard soldiers shot dead at least 38 people in Kinshasa and another five in Goma in the east.

Sprawling DR Congo has been the scene of some of Africa's bloodiest wars.

Its mineral-rich North Kivu region has been torn apart by conflict for over two decades and the UN's Congo mission has stationed most if its 20,000 peacekeepers there.

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BURUNDI

Burundi election results to be announced Friday

NEWS STORY

Source: AP

Bujumbura, 22 July 2015 - Results from Burundi's presidential election will be announced Friday, with incumbent Pierre Nkurunziza expected to win a third term that his opponents allege is unconstitutional.

About 72 percent to 80 percent of the country's 3.8 million voters cast ballots Tuesday, said electoral commission head Pierre-Claver Ndayicariye.

Violence on Monday night, as well as an opposition boycott, hindered turnout in the capital. Three people, including two police officers, were killed by gunfire in opposition strongholds.

Agathon Rwasa, the main opposition figure, said his attempts to campaign had been frustrated by the government, and the U.S. and Britain said the election was not credible due to the intimidation of Nkurunziza's opponents.

The Coalition of Independence of Hope, which supports Rwasa, will reject the outcome, said Charles Nditije, who is part of the coalition.

More than 100 people have died in protests since April when the ruling party announced Nkurunziza would seek a third term. The demonstrations triggered an attempted coup in May that was quickly put down by forces loyal to Nkurunziza. Earlier this month, the government said it crushed a rebellion in northern Burundi, killing 31 insurgents and arresting 171 others.

Many fear that Nkurunziza's efforts to stay in power to could bring renewed conflict in Burundi, which gained independence from Belgium in 1962. Since then, it has had four coups and a civil war that killed 250,000 people.

"The attitude of the government is pushing people to create a rebellion," said Francis Nyamoya, secretary general of opposition party Movement For Solidarity and Democracy.

"If it is necessary, force will be used to push out Nkurunziza," he said, adding that members of his party are being killed.

Burundi's president ready to form unity government after poll: adviser

NEWS STORY

Source: Reuters

By Edmund Blair, editing by Drazen Jorgic and Catherine Evans

Bujumbura, 22 July 2015 - Burundi's president would not oppose forming a national unity government after an election boycotted by the opposition but if he wins a third term would not cut it short, a presidential official said on Wednesday.

"A government of national unity is not a problem for Pierre Nkurunziza, we are ready to do so," Willy Nyamitwe, adviser to President Pierre Nkurunziza, told Reuters after a leading opposition figure called for such a step. But he rejected the idea of cutting short any new five-year mandate as "impossible."

Burundi Opposition Leader Calls for Unity Government to Avert Conflict

NEWS STORY

Source: Reuters

22 July 2015 - Burundi's leading opposition politician called on President Pierre Nkurunziza to hold talks with rivals and form a national unity government after a disputed election, saying it could help avert a new conflict in the poor African nation.

Agathon Rwasa, a former rebel leader like Nkurunziza in Burundi's civil war, told Reuters action was needed to prevent generals behind a foiled coup in May taking up arms in a crisis triggered by Nkurunziza's bid for a third term in office.

The opposition has accused Nkurunziza of violating the constitution by seeking another term and boycotted Tuesday's vote, all but handing him victory. The president cited a court ruling saying he could run again.

"Some have already been waving the threat of armed struggle," Rwasa, the head of the opposition Amizero y'Abarundi coalition told Reuters in a villa overlooking the capital.

One of the generals behind the May coup attempt told Reuters this month that force was the only option after dialogue and international pressure had failed to stop Nkurunziza running.

Nkurunziza's third-term bid has plunged the nation into its worst crisis since the end of a civil war in 2005, stoking tensions in a region with a history of ethnic conflict.

"For the sake of Burundi, the idea of a government of national unity can be accepted," Rwasa said.

His demands from the government included preparing for early elections, which meant that any new term for Nkurunziza be limited to six months or a year. He also said those given posts in a unity cabinet must have real influence on policy, to tackle issues such as corruption and fixing strained foreign relations.

President Nkurunziza's adviser said the leader would not oppose a unity government. "We are ready to do so," Willy Nyamitwe told Reuters. But he rejected as "impossible" the idea of cutting short any new mandate.

FORMIDABLE RIVAL

Rwasa, a candidate who like others pulled out of the race, is widely seen as Nkurunziza's most formidable rival, with support in the capital and in the countryside, where the president has his powerbase.

Rwasa acknowledged it was "hard to believe" the government would accept a unity government along the lines he outlined, but said international pressure might help push for new elections.

The government has in the past accused the opposition of trying to secure power through talks because they feared defeat at the ballot box. Opponents say the vote was unfair, citing a media clampdown and violence they blamed on the government.

Rwasa said his message to the failed coup plotters now threatening force was: "War can only destroy, while dialogue can help us overcome all these troubles of ours."

The African Union said on Wednesday it had started sending military observers, to check on an agreement to disarm militias, and human rights experts to Burundi.

The tension particularly worries neighbouring Rwanda, which has the same ethnic mix and suffered a genocide in 1994 that killed 800,000 people.

Fear and Loathing in Burundi: As Votes Are Counted an Embattled President Clings On To Power

NEWS STORY

Source: International Business Times

By Erin Banco

22 July 2015 - Wearing a zip-up jacket and sneakers, Burundi's President Pierre Nkurunziza was greeted like a god as he biked up to the polling station in his northern hometown of Buye. Shouts of "Our savior!" were heard as townsfolk ran beside him, clapping their hands and calling out words of encouragement as he went to cast his ballot in Tuesday's presidential election.

But Nkurunziza, viewed in some parts of rural Burundi as a latter-day Jesus Christ, is getting an international reputation as an iron-fisted authoritarian, clinging on to power and violently cracking down on pro-democracy protesters.

International humanitarian organizations have called on the U.N. Security Council to send a mission to Burundi to see that mass atrocities are not carried out in the fallout from the election. Dozens of people have already died in protests in the world’s third-poorest country, which emerged from civil war only a decade ago.

The embattled president is vying for a third term, even though many countries, including the U.S., have said they will not recognize the election results. By running again, Nkurunziza is flouting a Burundian law that asserts presidents are allowed to sit for only two terms.

Last month, Nkurunziza's party, the National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy, won a sweeping victory in parliamentary elections -- a win that's also been refuted.

Opposition politicians accused the president of violating the constitution and boycotted the vote. Some of the presidential candidates pulled out of the race, claiming the election was not credible. In the lead-up to the election, the capital's residents took to the streets -- two people were killed on voting day, but relative quiet has since ensued.

A Burundian opposition activist, who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons, said the capital was functioning normally Wednesday, but some banks and shops were still closed -- most companies in Burundi have been shut down for months because of the country's dwindling economy.

'Must Not Simply Stand By'

But human rights advocates say the violence could take a turn following the vote-counting. “The international community must not simply stand by and wait for mass atrocities to unfold, thereby risking a major conflict of regional proportions before it finally decides to act,” a statement issued by the office of the U.N. high commissioner for human rights said.

Burundi election officials are still counting votes, but analysts on the ground told International Business Times that Nkurunziza will win. Electoral Commission President Pierre-Claver Ndayicariye said Wednesday that around 74 percent of the country's 3.8 million registered voters cast their ballot, but outside observers say that number seems too high. Local news outlets said Tuesday that voter turnout was low and estimated there were more election officials than voters at any given station.

Protests continued to take place in the capital during the election. The demonstrators threw Molotov cocktails at police officers, demanding the election results be thrown out. But in the north, it seemed, many residents voted for Nkurunziza, claiming he saved them during the country's civil war and he would continue to protect them in the future.

"There has been quite a strong media campaign by the ruling party in the rural areas," Yves Niyiragira, a Burundian analyst living in Kenya, said, adding that Nkurunziza and his party have planted stories in local papers to gain support. "In the rural area there are people who really support him because that's what they've been told."

Platform of Fear

"But also if you look at the level of education of [rural] people in Burundi, the majority of them can't read or write," Niyiragira said. "It is hard for them to read the constitution and make a decision for themselves. That is the problem."

Beyond media influence, there are some people in Burundi who believe in Nkurunziza and his ability to rule. Nkurunziza, a former Hutu rebel leader, was the first president to be democratically elected since the start of Burundi's civil war in 1994.

"There are some of Burundi people who consider Nkurunziza as a liberator or as the one who has brought peace to Burundi," Spageon Ngabo, a Burundian activist, said. He was chosen as president in 2005 and reelected 10 years later -- since then opposition parties have accused him of behaving increasingly like a dictator. "Nkurunziza uses the media to keep true information away and to nourish people with false information," Ngabo said.

Other pro-democracy protesters believe that Nkurunziza operates on a platform of fear. In his first public appearance since the attempted coup against his government in May this year, he announced, "It's either me or [terror group] al-Shabab." One activist, who fled Burundi after becoming the target of security forces, said that even though 1 in 7 citizens cannot read, they still have means of understanding the truth.

On condition of anonymity he told IBTimes, "Many of them don't even really believe in the president. They're just scared. They've been told that if they don't support him or run alongside him to the polling station they will be killed."

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UGANDA

Ugandan rebel chief charged with crimes against humanity

NEWS STORY

Source: AFP

Kampala, 22 July 2015 - A Ugandan rebel leader accused of killing hundreds of civilians was charged in court Wednesday with crimes against humanity and mass murder, a police spokesman said.

Jamil Mukulu, leader of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), was arrested in neighbouring Tanzania in April, before being extradited to Uganda earlier this month.

The ADF is a Ugandan Islamist militia based in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, with alleged links to Al-Qaeda.

"He faces charges of mass murder and crimes against humanity," police spokesman Fred Enanga told AFP, adding he also faced treason charges. "He was charged with two of his accomplices and the court is starting to hear the case."

Mukulu appeared in court under heavy security in the town of Jinja, some 85 kilometres (50 miles) east of the capital Kampala, along with two other men accused of being ADF members.

Journalists were barred from the court