Sources: Le Soir, De Standaard, Afro Infodoc, AllAfrica.
March 4, 2002
- The DRC government negotiators at the inter-Congolese dialogue (ICD) in Sun City have demanded the departure of Rwandan and Ugandan security chiefs. They suspect them of spionage. The Rassemblement Congolais pour la Democratie (RCD) rejects the accusation. The negotiations have been stalled since 26 Februari due to objections from members of the unarmed opposition and the RCD and MLC regarding the opposition delegates from Kinshasa.
- Zimbabwe has withdrawn 80 more soldiers from the DRC. They were based in the Mbuji Mayi region. Last week about 150 soldiers arrived in the country from the same province in the DRC.
- The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Ruud Lubbers, on Friday 1 March visited Congolese refugees ia camp in Gihembe, North Rwanda. On Thursday, Lubbers met DRC President Joseph Kabila in Kinshasa.
March 5, 2002
Member of the Ugandan Parlement, Aggrey Awori, calls on the South African government to eject Col. Kanhinda Otafiire, whom he accuses of intrusion in the ICD in Sun City.
- The parties in the ICD appear to be closer to a compromise on the question of how the unarmed opposition should be represented. Not all delegates to take part in the ICD have been able to reach Sun City. Firmin Yangambi, one of the delegates of the civil society of Kisangani, has been blocked in Kinshasa, prevented from getting a visa to go to Sun City. He says to be thinking just to go back to Kisangani.
March 8, 2002
- RCD-Goma has denied accusations that it or its Rwandan backers were involved in massacres near Kisangani. The African Association of Human Rights (ASADHO) has reported the discovery of numerous massgraves.
- The Zambian mining corporation First Quantum is planning exploration drilling to determine the extend of sulphide ores at the Lonshi mine in the DRC. If the ores are viable the output could rise to 50.000 tonnes a year.
- After the first day, the ICD talks appear to be deadlocked over the issue of Joseph Kabila's role in the transitional government. The DRC government insists that the post of president of the RDC is not vacant. Other delegates say the status of the president is included in the new political order.
March 11, 2002
- Woman leaders at the ICD marked International Woman's Day with a presentation. They insisted that their plea for peace, unity and hope be taken seriously by the Dialogue participants.
- MONUC has scored a significant breakthrough in the reopening of the River Congo to commercial trafic.
- DRC Foreign Minister, She Okitundu, warned that resolutions resulting from the dialogue will be a dead letter if Rwandan and Ugandan troops continue to occupy the country at the end of the sessions. A declaration of the RCD emphasised that the international community must concentrate its efforts on complete disarmament of all armed groups in DRC. MLC-leader J.P. Bemba said that he had not confirmed his candidature for the presidency during the transitional period, but did confirm his candidature in future elections. The only candidate for the precidency during transition is Etienne Tshisekedi, leader of the UDPS.
- EU countries are positive about proposals of Belgium for a settlement of the debt arrears of the DRC, but are not willing to commit themselves in this stage. The foreign debt of the DRC amouts to about 12 billion euro.
March 13, 2002
- At the ICD a decision was taken not to allow foreign belligerents such as Rwanda, Uganda and Zimbabwe to sit in on meetings. Also the US, Belgium and Canada who had applied for observer status at the talks were rejected.
- Fighting has taken place between governments troops and rebels near Pepa and Pweto. Fighting is also reported between Interahamwe together with Mai-Mai and troops of Rwanda and RCD at the road between Kitutu and Kamituga.
March 14, 2002
- At the ICD differences continue to exist about the interpretation of the new institutions. The controversy becomes acute about the position of the president in the transition period. A spokesman of the government suggested to appoint a rebel leader as prime minister in the transitional government. Diplomatic sources say that the ICD will lead to nothing without reconciliation between the DRC and Rwanda.
March 15, 2002
- The DRC government delegation walked out of ICD talks, claiming that Rwanda and RCD-Goma had violated the cease-fire in the DRC. Their armies had been attacking government positions at the port of Moliro on Lake Tanganyika. They accuse the government of using the port to supply rebel groups fighting against them.
- Progress remains slow at the ICD. The defence committee was blocked in discussions regarding the establishment of a national army. The government position is that existing armies should be unified, whereas the rebels maintained that a new army should be created. Observers are concerned that a new national army may become an addition to the existing armed forces.
- The media NGO Journaliste-en-danger in Kinshasa reported that two journalists have been arrested in northeastern DRC. It concerns Raphael Paluku Kyana, director of Radio Rurale de Kanyabayonga at the border with Uganda and Wema kennedy of Radio Muungana who was arrested by the RCD-ML of Mbusa Nyamwisi. The Kinshasa-run RTNC (national radio) is criticized for inciting hatred against delegates attending the ICD who do not share the views of the government. Another NGO, Reporters sans Frontieres, expressed its concern to the Rwandan government about the murder of a local journalist, J.M.Hategekimana, in Kigali, and calls for a speedy and impartial inquiry.
March 18, 2002
- Human Rights Watch (HRW) published an open letter to the Secretary General of the UN, titled "DRC: Civilians in Ituri Need Urgent Protection" . Recent fighting between Hema and Lendu militias in the Ituri region of northeastern DRC has killed hundreds of civilians and displaced thousands more over the past few weeks. Ugandan troops have in the past fueled the conflict between the ethnic groups. HRW says that MONUC should tighten their monitoring of the conduct of Ugandan troops. An increased presence of MONUC observers would also reassure the beleagered humanitary community that is intimidated by some locally powerful actors.
- DRC Security Minister Mwenze Kongolo has been interviewed by IRIN about the suspension of the government participation in Sun City. He announced that the delegation will come back only after withdrawal of the Rwandan troops at Moliro.
- RCD says it could hand Moliro over to MONUC.
March 19, 2002
- The civil society groep at the ICD has demanded the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all foreign troops from the DRC. They also called for the MONUC mandate to be changed to peace enforcement.
- A summit of Heads of State signatories to the Lusaka Accord is scheduled for 22 March in Lusaka. A further meeting of the political committee representing the 6 countries and RCD and MLC will take place on 20 March.
- The commission of inquiry of the Belgian Senate on the exploitation of mineral resources of DRC heard the testimony of two researchers from the International Peace Information Service (IPIS). The aim of the commission is to investigate the alleged involvement of Belgian and non-belgian companies in the illegal trade. The experts told the Belgian enquiry of a month-long field trip in the region.They noted that the Rwandan and Ugandan military or foreign companies controlled many businesses involved in the coltan trade, though these were often registered as Congolese companies to disguise them. Both RCD-Goma and RCD-ML impose a huge burden on the local population through taxing people wthout offering any return in terms of health care, education or infrastructure. They also showed a picture of a coltan traderÕs child deformed due to radioactivity of the coltan stocked at home. Some actors involved in mineral trade, as Viktor Bout, are also important players in arms trade.
March 20, 2002
- The trial of some 115 people, accused of involvement in the assassination of the former DRC President L.D.Kabila was postponed on 3 April by the military court in order to give the defense lawyers more time to prepare. The defense lawyer Felix Hamuli says the 15 days delay is just not sufficient. The main accused is former security chief Eddy Kapend. He stands also accused of murder of 5 soldiers and 11 Lebanese traders.
March 21, 2002
- The DRC government agreed to resume its participation to the ICD. The Security Council said that the RCD's taking of Moliro was a major violation of the Lusaka Accord. RCD says it could hand Moliro over to MONUC. The planned meeting of the heads of state has been postponed to 27 March.
- The OMCT (World Organisation against Torture) expresses its concern over developments in the trial against the persons allegedly implicated in the assasination of L.D.Kabila, and about the manner in which the Court of Military Order functions. OMCT fears that, despite the moratorium decreed in 2000 in relation to the death penalty, the authorities will hand down death sentences.
March 22, 2002
- International Alert (I.A.), a London-based NGO, has warned that displaced people in the Fizi region, especially near Baraka town, are in dire need of assistance. Haevy fighting between RCD and government troops, supported by Mai-Mai militia, had displaced up to 30,000 people. I.A. contradicts the suggestion that Baraka is too dangerous a place to get to. Overall security has been enhanced after community level peace talks between Babembe and Banyamulenge.
- A UN-sponsored conference on Promoting Human Securty in the DRC recmmends bridging divided communities. Also consideration should be given to potential micro-credit schemes, road rehabilitation, schools and health care programme and the facilitation of means of communication.
March 25, 2002
- The UN starts a series of workshops to provide an opportunity for Congolese experts to establish their evaluation of the current situation. The first workshop is in Kinshasa, on the issue of education during times of crisis. Future workshops will be in other cities and about other subjects.
- Reportedly a convoy of 40 trucks with military from Bujumbura have arrived in Uvira. It should concern Erytrean mercenaries who have to advance in the direction of Lubumbashi.
March 26, 2002
- In Goma a grenade was thrown during a Palm Sunday procession. A priest and two girls have been killed, and several other people wounded. The DRC government and the RCD-Goma accuse each other of being the instigator.
March 27, 2002
- Delegates at the ICD produced a draft agreement on an interim economic programme for the DRC. A total of US $ 3.5 billion was budgeted for over 3 years, with half that sum coming from foreign income.
- UN-representative for the DRC, Ngongi, confirmed that RCD troops had withdrawn from Moliro. He said to be worried about information regarding movement of troops from RCD-K-ML towards Isiro in northeastern Congo. Fighting has also been reported about 60 km north of Moliro.
- Belgian Businessmen are in DRC on investment mission. It is led by the economy and trade minister, Selbe Kubla. He said that a permanent commercial attache will be send to Kinshasa within 3 months.
- The Norwegian Refugee Council has made an update report about the still desperate situation of the 2.2 milion internally displaced persons in DRC.
March 28, 2002
The UN security Council welcomes the withdrawal of the RCD army from Moliro. It demands also the withdrawal from Pweto and the demilitarisation of Kisangani.
- The ICD commission dealing with humanitarian and social policies has made considerable progress, especially on the issue of nationality for all DRC citizens.
- HRW called on the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva to increase the number of monitors reporting on the ongoing war in he DRC.The actual number of 20 human rights officers is too small for the vast territory.
March 29, 2002
- The Political Committee on the implementation of the Lusaka ceasefire demands the withdrawal of government troops from kayaya and Yayama , and of RCD troops from Moliro and Pweto within 5 days. It also demands the demilitarisation of Kisangani by, at the latest, 6 April 2002.
- Immaculee Birhaheka, a Congolese woman from Goma, speaking at a conference in Kampala, Uganda, said that the UPDF was resonsible for suffering of women in the DRC. Especially displaced women end up being raped and subjected to live in conditions that are unbearable.
- The DRC government has revealed its position on the transitional period. It proposes to establish the post of prime minister, and is ready to discuss the possibility of appointing vice presidents en vice prime ministers Both rebel movements want to the dialogue participants to choose the president, and propose criteria which would rule out Kabila.
April 1, 2002
- Uganda is demanding US $ 6,3 million from the DRC government as compensation for property allegedly plundered by Congolese soldiers attacking the Ugandan embassy in Kinshasa in 1998. It is a counterclaim to the International Court of Justice, where DRC sued Uganda in 1999.
April 2, 2002
- Azarias Ruberwa, the secretary general of RCD, said that his party felt betrayed by MONUC because it had not stopped the government from recapturing Moliro. He said that therefore it is no longer a question of talking about Pweto and Kisangani!
- RCD and Banyamulenge started battling on the Hauts Plateaux in Souh Kivu. A Banyamulenge spokesman, Ruberangabo, said the image of the RCD as a Banyamulenge movement was false.The uprising is led by Patrick Masunzu, an ethnic Banyamulenge officer in the RCD army.
- Representatives from the observer mission MONUC has gone to Moliro to monitor the withdrawal of troops.
April 3, 2002
- Leaders from the countries embroiled in the conflict in the DRC have started their meeting in the Zambian capital Lusaka.
April 4, 2002
- The one-day summit in Lusaka ended with no new committments. There had been rumours that facilitator Masire would use the summit to press the heads of state to agree on a power-sharing formula in DRC.
- The political committee of the ICD has failed to reach agreement on the details of a transitional constitution.The defense committee also remained split, over the issue of who would choose the high command of a new national army.
- UN special envoy Ngongi has received information from UN peace keepers that governments troops in Moliro had withdrawn from the area. He also told that most (of about 200) claims of peace violations in the DRC are unfounded.
April 5, 2002
- In its 2001 report on the DRC, Human Rights Watch says that President Joseph Kabila promised human rights reforms, but delivered relatively little.
- RCD-Goma has given custody of 104 child soldiers to the UN Children s Fund (UNICEF) and its partner agencies.
April 8 2002
-Tensions continue to mount between the Rwandan Army and its former allies the Banyamulenge now fighting the Rwanda backed RCD-Goma. Clashes between the two round places like Minembwe and Uvira are feared to have claimed 400 civilian lives. According to Jack Murinda, one of the leaders of the new formed Mouvement Congolais de Resistance Patriotique, the RPA has shelled Minembwe on Easter Sunday.
April 9 2002
-With four days to go before the close of the inter-Congolese dialogue in Sun City, South African President Mbeki met with the heads of delegations individually. He is trying to seek consensus on the two main issues blocking progress at the talks: the position of president Kabila and the formation of a national army.
-The RCD accuses the Banyamulenge troops of integrating Interahamwe Hutu militia in its ranks. The military leader of het Banyamulenge, Patrick Masunzu, has now for two month successfully resisted attemps by RCD to suppres the 'mutiny'. The Banyamulenge are fighting against the occupation of South-Kivu by Rwandan troops.
April 11 2002
-Two days before the end of the inter-Congolese dialogue at Sun City, President Mbeki has tabled a proposal that would see President Joseph Kabila keep his job until elections are held in two-and-a-half year.Mbeki's proposal provides for a council of state which would consist of Kabila, the chiefs of the country's two main rebel groups, J.-P. Bemba of the MLC and Onusumba of the RCD and a prime minister drawn from the opposition. The prime minister should be a member of the non-armed opposition. But, the RCD refuses to accept Kabila as President.
-The Sun City talks are extended by a week till April 19.
April 12 2002 -Mbeki has come with a new proposal to end the Congo conflict. This proposal was welcomed by the RCD. The major difference with the first proposal is that it assign to the RCD rebel leaders national responsibility for defence, security, finance, economy and the holding of elections throughout the country. This new proposal has not pleased the DRC government. Meanwhile, the government and the rebel groups announced that they had agreed to integrate their armed forces, removing one of the main stumbling blocks at the inter-Congolese dialogue.
-The Permanent Representative of the DRC to the United Nations, Ileka Atoki, wrote a letter to the Security Council to complain that Rwandan troops had neither demilitarised the city of Kisangani nor withdrawn from Pweto, in "flagrant violation" of relevant provisions of Security Council Resolutions. The Rwandan army is reinforcing their positions in Pweto, just jeopardising all prospects for peace in the region. There is also intense fighting in the high plateaux around the city of Uvira involving RPA forces and helicopters.
April 13 2002
-Oxfam is calling for a war criminal tribunal for the DRC, which it says accounts for half of all deaths resulting from Great Lakes conflicts. Great Lakes conflicts have left 5 million people dead in the last ten years.
April 16 2002
-A court in Belgium has thrown out charges of war crimes brought against former DRC minister Yerodia Ndombasi. The proceedings were brought under a controversial Belgian law which claims universal jurisdiction in human rights cases regardless of where the alleged crimes are committed. But the three-judge panel said it could not accept the case because Yerodia was not physically present in Belgium when the case was opened.
April 19 2002
-The Congolese government and the MLC have reached an agreement in Sun City, that they claim will reunite 70% of the country. The deal would give the MLC leader J.-P. Bemba the job of prime-minister in a transitional government, while confirming Joseph Kabila as president. The RCD would nominate the president of parliament and would hold ministerial posts in the government as would the unarmed opposition and civil society. The RCD has rejected the deal. The USA, UK, France and Belgium are supporting the agreement between Bemba and Kabila, like some neigbour countries as Uganda and Angola, but Rwanda has warned that the exclusion of the RCD from Kinshasa's planned interim government is a recipe for more war in the Congo. The Mai-Mai, some rebel groups like RCD-ML and RCD-N, and members of the civil society and of the unarmed opposition have joined the Bemba-Kabila agreement.
April 24 2002
-The UN Security Council is to send a mission of 15 ambassadors to the Great Lakes region and Southern Africa from 27 to 7 May.
April 26 2002
-A convoy of four barges transporting a cargo of more than 1000 mt of humanitarian supplies will leave Kinshasa for Kisangani, the UN office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has announced. The 1700 km journey upriver will take three weeks to complete. The convoy will make stops in the northern towns of Bumba, Lisala and Isangi.
-The RCD has formed an alliance with five political parties to fight attempts by President Kabila and the MLC to form a new government. The alliance, called Alliance pour la Sauvegarde du Dialogue inter-Congolais (ASD) is to be headed by veteran politician Etienne Tshisekedi, leader of the UDPS. The ASD, which will be based in Kisangani, brings together the UDPS, the Dynamique pour une transition neutre (DPTN), the Mouvement Lumumbiste progressiste (MLP), the Conseil de l'opposition Congolaise externe de l'Amerique du Nord (COCEAN) and the Rassemblement pour une nouvelle société (RNS).
April 30 2002
-Ambassador Jean -David Levitte, the French diplomat heading the current UN Security Council mission to the Great Lakes region, encoureaged all parties to the recently concluded inter-Congolese dialogue to be flexible in their demands and to agree to hold discussions on substantive issues and the steps to achieve reconciliation. Rwanda and Uganda called upon the Congolese parties for more talks to reach a consensus on sharing power in all state institutions. Kabila has invited the RCD to join the agreement. He says further to be ready to a no-military resolution of the conflict, as already showed by the retirement of 13 000 government allied troops (Namibians, Angolans and Zimbabweans.)
May 1 2002
-The UN Security mission visiting Kisangani called on tha Rwandan-backed RCD to withdraw its forces from the city. A plan to create a buffer zone between the DRC and 3 of its eastern neighbours has won unanimous support from countries in the region, the UN Special Representative of the Secretary General to the DRC, Amos Namanga Ngongi, said. The plan, proposed by the UN Security mission, envisage, with the total withdraw of foreign forces, thatthe three neighbouring countries which have security problems might station troops inside a narrow zone of Congo, to create cooperation between Congolese and Rwandan troops with the help of MONUC.
May 3 2002
-Citing good prospects for further intensifying cooperation with the DRC, IMF Director Horst Köhler outlined key priorities for the country. Speaking in Kinshasa, Köhler said the appropriate instrument for such intensification would be a three-year programme supported by the IMF's Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility. He said the IMF wanted to help the DRC to overcome the difficult situation , noting that further progress in implementing the Lusaka peace accords and the inter-Congolese dialogue would be essential.
-In an interview with IRIN Banyamulenge leader Muller Ruzimbika asks for the withdrawal of RPA from the High Plateaux, because it is terrorising the people. His organisation, a political faction of Tutsi opposed to the military presence in the DRC, is named Forces Republicaines Federalistes.
May 5 2002
-In a letter to the UN members of the Hema tribe in Eastern Congo have denounced the massacres by Lendu against their people in April. The massacres that have cost the lives of 500 people took place in Gobu, near Bunia.
May 12 2002
-Rwandan troops are arriving at Eastern Congo to occupy territoria around Bafwasende, Kisangani, Beni, Banalia and Butembo.
-The Rwandan army have shelled the place of Nzibira, near Ngweshe, in South Kivu on 25 and 26 April while the population was according to them supporting the Mai-Mai. 500 civilians were murdered.
May 15 2002
-Many people are murdered in Kisangani by fighting between allegedly dissident groups of the RCD and RCD loyalists and their Rwandan backers. (look for presse news)
-The governments of Congo and Zimbabwe have established a committee to implement an economic cooperation agreement the two countries signed in 2000 to encourage trade and investment between them.
May 23 2002
-Delegates at a meeting between the DRC government and its developments partners have expressed readiness to respond positively to a call by a UN Security Council mission for more economic aid to the country, according to the World Bank The WB reported that there was general agreement among the delegates on the analysis of the countries economy, which included the following: satisfaction with the implementation of the IMF-monitored economic programme, encouragement by recent political progress, concern with the dire humanitarian and social needs which could destabilise the transitional process, and support for the interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, which was broadly endorsed at the inter-Congolese dialogue.
chronicle 9, september 29 -october 12 1997
chronicle 10, october 13 - october 26 1997
chronicle 11, october 27 - november 9, 1997
chronicle 12, november 10 -november 23 1997
chronicle 13, november 24 -december 7 1997
chronicle 14, december 8 1997 - january 4 1998
chronicle 15, january 5 - january 18 1998
chronicle 16, january 19 - february 1 1998
chronicle 17, february 2 - february 15 1998
chronicle 18, february 16 - march 1 1998
chronicle 19, march 2 - march 15 1998
chronicle 20, march 16 - march 29 1998
chronicle 21, march 30 - april 26 1998
chronicle 22, april 27 - mei 10 1998
chronicle 23, mei 11 - mei 31 1998
chronicle 24, juni 1 - august 26 1998
chronicle 25, august 27 - september 28 1998
chronicle 26,september 29- october 31 1998
chronicle 27, november 1- december 5 1998
chronicle 28, december 6 - january 24 1999
chronicle 29, january 25 - march 14 1999
chronicle 30, march 15 - may 9 1999
chronicle 31, may 10 - october 24 1999
chronicle 32, october 25 - january 9 2000
chronicle 33, january 10 - april 2 2000
chronicle 34, april 3 - june 25 2000
chronicle 35, june 26 - august 27 2000
chronicle 36, august 28 - october 29 2000
chronicle 37, october 30 - january 14 2001
chronicle 38, january 15 - march 18 2001
chronicle 39, march 19 - may 20 2001
chronicle 40, may 21 - july 15 2001
chronicle 41, july 16 - october 8 2001
chronicle 42, october 9 - december 15 2001
chronicle 43, december 16 2001 - march 3 2002