Sources: allAfrica.com, IRIN, Radio Okapi, CongoForum, africannewsanalysis.blogspot.com
Febr 26 2008
-Dissident gen Laurent Nkunda is boycotting a commission set up under a January peace deal, which could delay the return of hundreds of thousands of internally displaced civilians. He said that his National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) would suspend participation in daily ceasefire meetings as reaction to a report by the MONUC accusing the CNDP of killing at least 30 civilians between 16 and 20 January at the village Kalonge in North-Kivu.
Febr 27 2008
-Defence lawyers at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in Arusha (Tanzania) say the court is ignoring serious allegations against Rwanda's leader Paul Kagame. Earlier this month, Spain's Hight Court indicted 40 members of Kagame's rebels for organising the killing of hundreds of thousands of civilians, including 9 Spaniards, in the 1990's.
- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it had postponed a decision on a three-year economic programme with the Congo. The country has had no IMF backing since the last plan expired in April 2006. The IMF warned of excessive spending in the DRC's 2007 budget and the risk in 2008 of further inflationary pressure and the depreciation of the Congolese franc.
March 6 2008
-Nkunda has resumed his participation in the ceasefire meetings of the committee established after the signing in January of the "Acte d'Engagement" after the conference in Goma for peace and stability in the Kivu's.
March 11 2008
- The International Crisis Group, through its Central African Project Director Francois Grignon, has admitted to Rwandan involvement in Nkunda's march on the city of Bukavu in June 2004.
-The mining groups in Congo were given untill the end of last month to respond to shortcomings in the mining licences. Most companies told their shareholders they were already complying with the requirements indentified, and would respond to the government. But a few hit harder: Fairfax resources chief, Meyer, said the Congolese geovernment had not been particularly investor friendly with companies such as First Quantum and Moto Gold Mines. There could be a modest reduction in First Quantum's ownership of the Kolwezi copper project, Fairfax said in a note to clients. The licenses of two JSE-listed companies (JSE=Johannesburg Stock Exchange), namely: Teal Exploration & Mining and Metorex, both with copper projects in Katanga, came under the spotlights. The Congolese government has asked for the feasibility study and for its social plans. It also asked that Congo's state company Gecamines should participate in the daily management of the companies.
March 17 2008
-The 15 January was issued to the FDLR (the Rwandan Hutu fighters in Congo) to disarm. This date was based on an accord reached in November in Nairobi between Rwanda and the Kinshasa government. According to Congolese Defence Minister, Chikez Diemu, the period till 15 March should have been sufficient to persuade the FDLR to lay down their arms and be repatriated if they so wished. Alan Doss, special representative of the UN Secretary-General and head of the MONUC, however said the awareness-raising period should be extended. The Rwandan Hutu's called on for talks with Rwanda's Tutsi-led government.
March 25 2008
-Congo hopes to set up a scheme to certify columbite-tantalite produced wthin its borders in 2009. For this purpose, a team from Germany's Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources is due to arrive in Congo on April to map the country's coltan producing areas.
April 11 2008
-European Union Special Envoy to the Great Lakes Region Roeland van der Geer said the EU was committed to assisting the peace process in eastern DRC, He went on to say that the international community is accompanying the process, working closely with Kinshasa and Kigali, and the UN Security Council has also moved to put pressure on the FDLR with resolutions 1804 and 1807.
April 22 2008
-An estimated 1.1 million people are displaced in North and South Kivu, of which 550 000 fled from the fighting since 2007. Malnutrition, cholera, malaria, and other preventable diseases are taking their lives at an alarming rate. Last week, Human Rights Watch made detailed recommandations on ways to appoint the special advisor on human rights for Eastern Congo to Abbé Malu Malu, the independent national-coordinator appointed by the Congolese government to lead its peace process.
-During a meeting of the World Council of Energy in London international talks have been taken place about the capacity of the Inga energy project in Bas-Congo. In the future it will be possible that the project Inga III can supply the energy for different African countries, like South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt…
April 25 2008
-President Kabila has told Belgium it must decide whether it wants normal ties or seeks a "master-slave" relationship with its ex-colony after a public row over human rights and Congo's dealings with China. These remarks of Kabila came after Belgian Foreign Minister Karel de Gucht raised a list of longstanding concerns during talks with Kabila in Kinshasa this week.
April 29 2008
-The Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague decided to unseal the arrest warrant issued against Bosco Ntaganda. Ntaganda is alleged to have committed war crimes of enlistment of children under the age of 15, and of using them to participate in hostilities in Ituri from July 2002 until December 2003. Ntaganda was subordinated to Thomas Lubanga, alleged FPLC commander in chief, currently under the custody of the ICC. The arrest warrant against Ntaganda is the fourth issued by the judges of the ICC in Congo. Three persons are currently into custody : Thomas Lubanga, Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui.
April 30 2008
-Uganda accused UN peacekeepers in Congo of supplying arms to a Ugandan rebel group, the ADF. (Ed note: In may 2007, MONUC announced an investigation in possible trafficking in gold and arms with the Congolese rebel group FNI by Pakistani peacekeeper in Ituri)
Mai 10 2008
-The exploitation of oil in the region Graben Albertine at Lake Albert has been discussed by the Congolese civil society of Ituri. They have asked the President Kabila to postpone the contract with oil company Tullow Oil. First there must be evidence that oil exploitation will benefit the population of the region.
Mai 21 2008
-The Congolese Parliament have critized the Chinese mining contracts with the government. They have asked more clarity about the advantages for the Congolese state en people.
Mai 23 2008
-The budget expenditure of the Congolese state are insufficient. One reason is that the financial support of the western donors till now has been nihil. The government is now waiting for the $ 250 million that the Chinese has promised.
Mai 25 2008
-Jean-Pierre Bemba has been arrested in Belgium by request of the ICC. He is accused of crimes contre humanity and war crimes committed in the Central African Republic in the period between 25 Octobre 2002 and 15 March 2003.
June 4 2008
-MONUC reports: In North and South Kivu, sporadic violations of the cease-fire took place. Elements of the CNDP, Mai-Mai groupes and FDLR are regularly involved in skirmishes, either between themselves or against the FARDC. MONUC is carrying out an investigation to check information which reported several people killed during clashes between the CNDP and the Mai-Mai group PARECO in the region of Mushake. In 2008, 524 people has been repatriated within the UN demobilisation programme (DDRRR) to their countries of origin, Rwanda, Uganda or Burundi.
June 6 2008
-14 000 tons material is arrived in Kinshasa brought by the Chinese to repair the infrastructure of Congolese roads and railways.
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
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chronicle 19, march 2 - march 15 1998
chronicle 20, march 16 - march 29 1998
chronicle 21, march 30 - april 26 1998
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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
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