DRC

DRC President Signs Legislation on Local Elections

NEWS STORY

Source: Associated Press

Kinshasa, 26 August 2015 - The president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has signed legislation to keep elections on a timeline proposed by an independent commission, a government spokesman said Wednesday, as the new U.S. envoy for the region urged respect for the constitution and electoral calendar.

President Joseph Kabila on Tuesday signed the parliament-approved legislation to hold the first local elections Oct. 25, said spokesman Lambert Mende.

"The president's actions today reflect the government's steadfast commitment to upholding the electoral calendar,'' he said. The Independent National Electoral Commission's implementation of the timeline "will enable the Congolese people to participate in free, fair and transparent elections at all levels of government.''

Presidential elections are slated for November 2016.

Mass protests erupted in Congo in January against proposed changes to the electoral law, widely seen as a ploy to prolong Kabila's rule. Kabila, who has been in power since 2001, has remained quiet about his future in politics, but the D.R.C. has never had a peaceful transfer of power in its 55 years of independence.

The new U.S. special envoy to the Great Lakes region, Thomas Perriello, met with Kabila on Wednesday before holding his first news conference there.

The election process is as important as Election Day, and "many partners must be involved in ensuring a truly free and transparent elections cycle here,'' he said.

Tensions have been high between the president and opposition parties, who fear election delays could keep Kabila in office beyond constitutional limits.

Kabila called for a dialogue in June, but opposition parties refused to participate without international mediation. Some leaders have said they worry talks will lead to the formation of a national unity government that would delay elections.

U.N. cuts aid to ex-rebels in Congo, urges state to step in

NEWS STORY

Source: Reuters

By Aaron Ross

Kinshasa, 26 August 2015 - U.N. peacekeepers said on Wednesday they would have to cut rations for 6,800 ex-rebels and their families left in limbo in government camps in the Democratic Republic of Congo, blaming a shortage of funds and calling for the state to step in.

The U.N. mission there also said some of the adults and children had been ordered to stay in the camps by rebel leaders trying to keep up a presence in the region - and the aid cut might push the commanders to let the people go home.

The announcement underlined the plight of the thousands of former fighters and their dependants stuck in often dire conditions in demobilization camps for years amid a string of conflicts.

Last October, U.S.-based Human Rights watch said more than 100 people had died from starvation and disease in one camp because of government neglect.

The U.N. Peacekeeping Mission in the country, MONUSCO, said on Wednesday it did not have the funds to keep feeding the inhabitants, and something needed to be done to resolve the festering problem and get the ex-fighters back home.

"We don't have the money," mission head Martin Kobler told a news conference in the capital Kinshasa. "This costs us $2 million per month. It's not our task. It's not our obligation. The government must take responsibility."

The government was not immediately available for comment but has in the past pointed to the difficulty of supplying remote camps, and accused world powers of not giving enough aid.

The defense ministry recently pledged $1.5 million to support the camps, Taz Greyling, the chief of MONUSCO's demobilization, disarmament and reinsertion (DDR) section said.

The camp inhabitants are members of a number of rebel groups, many from Congo, but others from the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a force which includes former Hutu militia accused of involvement in the 1994 genocide in neighboring Rwanda.

Analysts have said the FDLR commanders have been keen to keep their fighters in Congo to avoid having to return to Rwanda and face possible arrest and prosecution.

The FDLR portrays itself as a defender of Hutu refugees in Congo, a country dogged by nearly two decades of conflict fueled by competition over vast minerals resources.

In an email to Reuters, Greyling said the decision to cut support was also meant to pressure FDLR leaders to allow ex-fighters and their families leave the camps.

"We hope that FDLR will let them leave and have a chance at a normal life," Greyling said.

Junior Safari, executive director of the Congolese Association for the Respect of Human Rights in the northern city of Kisangani, where hundreds of ex-FDLR combatants and their families are housed, said MONUSCO's decision would force the former fighters to live off the population.

"Now, they are going to have to get by on their own," he said. "They are going to create panic and insecurity among the population."

L’ONU ne peut plus nourrir les 7 000 ex-rebelles cantonnés dans l’est de la RDC

NOUVELLE

Source: France24 avec l'AFP

Parce qu’elle n’a pas "suffisamment d’argent", la Mission des Nations unies en RD Congo (Monusco) souhaite que l’aide alimentaire apportée aux quelque 7 000 ex-rebelles cantonnés dans l’est du pays soit désormais assumée par Kinshasa.

26 août 2015 - Faute de moyens, la Mission des Nations unies en République démocratique du Congo (Monusco) a annoncé, mercredi 28 août, qu'à partir de la mi-septembre elle cesserait de nourrir les quelque 7 000 anciens rebelles congolais et étrangers répartis dans les camps de démobilisation de l’est du pays.

"Il y a 6 800 ex-combattants [...] que la Monusco nourrit" et le coût de cette aide s'élève à "deux millions de dollars chaque mois", a déclaré à l'AFP le chef de la Monusco, Martin Kobler, qui souhaiterait que cette responsabilité soit "transférée" aux autorités de Kinshasa.

La mission onusienne gère un programme de désarmement, démobilisation, rapatriement, réintégration et réinstallation (DDRRR) des rebelles étrangers. La gestion des camps d'ex-combattants, congolais ou non, revient à la RDC, et l’ONU apporte une aide alimentaire et logistique.

Avec quelque 20 000 hommes et dotée d'un budget annuel de 1,4 milliard de dollars, la Monusco est aujourd’hui l’une des plus grandes missions onusienne au monde. Mais selon Martin Kobler, l’argent lui manque pour nourrir les ex-combattants. Une source à la mission a précisé à l'AFP que parmi les 6 800 personnes concernés par le programme figuraient "sûrement" les femmes et les enfants cantonnés avec les ex-rebelles.

Succès limité

Depuis près de 20 ans, l'est de la RDC est en proie à l'activisme de dizaines de groupes armés congolais et étrangers qui s'affrontent pour des raisons ethniques, foncières ou pour le contrôle d'importantes ressources minières dont regorge la région. En décembre 2013, Kinshasa a lancé un troisième programme de désarmement, démobilisation et réinsertion pour les rebelles congolais. Un programme que la communauté internationale rechignait à financer en raison du succès limité de précédents plans du genre.

Le nouveau plan prévoyait notamment le regroupement des ex-combattants dans des camps, une "phase de réintégration durable sur un site de leur choix" et un "suivi" pendant cinq ans. Mais dans plusieurs centres, les mauvaises conditions de vie ont poussé certains à repartir en brousse.

En octobre 2014, l’organisation Human Rights Watch avait accusé les autorités congolaises de négligence "criminelle", leur reprochant la mort d'une centaine de personnes - dont 57 enfants - dans le camp de Kota-Koli (Nord-ouest). Kinshasa avait démenti les accusations.

U.S. Envoy Meets Congo's Kabila on Election, Regional Issues

NEWS STORY

Source: Bloomberg Business

By Thomas Wilson

26 August 2015 - The U.S. special representative to the Great Lakes region met with Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila on Wednesday to discuss the election in that country and ongoing armed conflicts in the region.

The conversation included the political situation in Burundi and adoptions, Tom Perriello, the U.S.’s special envoy to the Great Lakes region, told reporters in Kinshasa, the capital, on Wednesday.

“The conversation on the electoral calendar was very constructive,” Perriello said. “I am sure we will continue to have many discussions between ourselves and others with the goal, of course, of meeting the presidential and legislative elections slated for the end of next year.”

Perriello, who replaces U.S. Senate candidate Russ Feignold, takes on the role of special envoy at a troubled time in the region. Burundi has suffered deadly protests and widespread civil unrest since President Pierre Nkurunziza successfully sought a third-term in an election in July, which the U.S. described as lacking in credibility.

In Congo, the government plans to hold six elections in 14 months culminating in the presidential elections in November 2016. Opposition leaders have expressed concern that Kabila also wants to run for a third term, which is banned by the constitution.

In two visits to the region since his appointment on July 6,

Perriello has visited Kinshasa and Goma in the Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania. Perriello previously served as a congressman. It was the first meeting between Kabila and Perriello.

Troisième mandat de Kabila: les médias publics’ accusés de partialité

REPORTAGE

Source: RFI

L’Association africaine de défense des droits de l'homme (Asadho) a adressé une lettre ouverte au président congolais Joseph Kabila pour dire son opposition à éventuel un troisième mandat du chef de l’Etat, jugé anticonstitutionnel. L’organisation dénonce également une instrumentalisation des médias publics par les partisans du troisième mandat.

26 Août 2015 - C’est une nouvelle pierre que vient de jeter l’Asadho dans le débat autour de la question d’un éventuel troisième mandat de Joseph Kabila à la tête de la République démocratique du Congo. Dans une lettre envoyée lundi au président (reprise en intégralité sur plusieurs sites congolais), l’Asadho dénonce les « appels à la violation de la Constitution ».

L'Asadho demande à Kabila de « rappeler ses troupes à l'ordre »

Interrogé par RFI, Jean-Claude Katende, président de l’association de défense des droits de l’homme, fustige notamment les interventions régulières des proches du président Joseph Kabila, qui lancent des appels à un troisième mandat, notamment sur la Radio télévision nationale congolaise (RTNC).

« La RTNC est une institution publique, financée par les contribuables congolais. Nous ne pensons pas qu’il soit acceptable que l’on se serve de cet outil, qui appartient à tous les Congolais, pour appeler à la violation de la Constitution », dénonce Jean-Claude Katende.

L’Asadho pointe « le silence du président de la République, qui ne rappelle pas ces troupes à l’ordre ». Selon l'association, M. Kabila laisse faire les appels à une candidature de sa part à un troisième mandat, « alors que cette possibilité ne lui est pas reconnue par la Constitution de notre pays ».

L'exemple burundais et la crainte des violences

« Si la situation dégénère, ce sont nos vies qui vont être affectées », justifie Jean-Claude Katende, qui pointe les risques d’une escalade comparable à celle qui touche le Burundi.

Il faut que Joseph Kabila « se prononce de manière claire pour dire qu’il ne va pas briguer un troisième mandat, demande le président de l’Asadho. Parce que, pour nous, le troisième mandat risquerait de nous plonger dans la crise qui est connue aujourd’hui par le Burundi. »

Et pour Jean-Claude Katende, les violences qui résulteraient d’une telle crise seraient « très grandes par rapport à ce qui se passe au Burundi ». Pour lui, « le peuple n’est pas prêt à accepter une nouvelle transition, qui serait conduite par le président Kabila, et encore moins un nouveau mandat ou un troisième mandat pour ce dernier ».

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BURUNDI

Groups threatening Burundi security must be destroyed: president

NEWS STORY

Source: AFP

26 August 2015 - Burundi's president on Wednesday called for groups that threaten national security to be "destroyed", setting a combative and hardline tone as he begins a controversial third term in office.

In a speech read out on state media, Pierre Nkurunziza said young people would be given "patriotic, theoretical and practical training" to work alongside the central African nation's security forces.

"These mixed security committees will be asked to work day and night so that groups which seek to only kill and upset security, especially inside Bujumbura, will be destroyed and so that we won't be talking about them two months from now," he said.

He urged "all people to rise up as one, and to work with security forces so that this promise can be kept".

The president won a highly-controversial third term in July in polls the Un