Weekly anb04134.txt #8

[anb-bia <anb-bia at village.uunet.be>]

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 13-04-2000      PART #4/8

* Ethiopia. Problems over dealing with a famine  -  6 April: A meagre 1% of the
food promised by the international community for the famine-hit regions of
Ethiopia has actually arrived, says the government of Ethiopia. Of the 800,000
tons which the Ethiopians requested from the international community in january,
the donors of the industrialised world have pledged to give 450,000. Yet, so far,
only 5,000 tons have arrived, says Ephrem Mehret-ab, a spokesman at the Ethiopian
embassy in London. 7 April: Aid groups have become embroiled in an acrimonious
and dangerous dispute over how to deal with the famine. The WFP, which is co-
ordinating the international aid effort, has come under intense criticism from
other bodies. "The WFP has consistently assured other aid organisations that
their pipeline of food donations will last until June", one aid official says.
"They have repeatedly told us that the pledges are coming through and the short-
term situation is healthy. Right now not even 2% of the pledge promised for this
year have turned up". Eritrea has agreed to allow emergency food aid through to
Ethiopia, despite the continuing border war between the two countries. During a
visit to Washington, Eritrea's President Afwerki agreed in principle to the plan
to set up a humanitarian aid corridor from its coastal ports to Ethiopia.   (ANB-
BIA, Brussels, 8 April 2000)

* Ethiopia. The Falash Mura Jewish community  -  Israel's Interior Minister is
visiting Ethiopia to investigate the claims of some 26,000 Ethiopians who say
they are Jewish and want to move to Israel. They belong to the Falash Mura
community -- Jews who converted to Christianity generations ago. Under Israeli
law, Jews anywhere in the world have the right to citizenship. But Israel has
expressed doubts that many of the claimants are eligible. Thousands of Ethiopians
are living in compounds in Addis Ababa and Gondar hoping to be allowed to
emigrate to Israel.   (BBC News, 9 April 2000)

* Ethiopia. Water a priority  -  Fresh water has become a priority in Ethiopia,
even though food donations are pouring in to the famine-threatened country. tens
of thousands of people are gathering in towns in the eastern Somali region but,
after years of drought, water is either non-existent or contaminated. Aid
agencies are trying to fill the gap with a handful of tankers but funds are
limited, trucks scare and breakdowns frequent. While food is arriving through
Western pledges -- an estimated 800,000 tons are needed to stave off a
catastrophic famine -- the lack of water means some people are not benefiting.
Without water they are unable to cook the cereals being distributed and children
are eating high-energy biscuits without mixing them with water, losing most of
the nutritional value.   (The Independent, UK, 11 April 2000)

* Ethiopie. Aide humanitaire  -  Plus de 8 millions d'Ethiopiens sont menaces par
la famine en raison de la secheresse. La situation est particulierement
inquietante dans l'Ogaden, le sud-est ethiopien, ou presque tous les puits sont
taris. Dans certains villages, le cheptel a ete decime aux trois quarts. -
L'Erythree est prete a laisser passer par son territoire l'aide internationale
destinee a lutter contre la famine qui menace le sud-est de l'Ethiopie, malgre
le conflit entre les deux pays, a declare le 7 avril a Washington le president
erythreen Isaias Afeworki. Les "aspects techniques" de cet acheminement, dans
cette region ou les transports sont difficiles en raison notamment du mauvais
etat des routes, sont du ressort de la communaute internationale, a-t-il ajoute.
Cette catastrophe humanitaire constitue une raison de plus pour "accelerer le
reglement" du conflit, selon lui. -D'autre part, le secretaire general de l'Onu,
Kofi Annan, a rejete les critiques adressees a la communaute internationale sur
la lenteur de sa reaction pour venir en aide a la population de l'Ethiopie. Il
a rendu le gouvernement ethiopien partiellement responsable des retards dans la
distribution de l'aide alimentaire, et il a fait valoir que la poursuite de la
guerre frontaliere avec l'Erythree avait exacerbe le probleme, en limitant les
voies d'acces pour la fourniture de l'aide. - Par ailleurs, selon des sources
humanitaires, plus de 12.000 Somaliens fuyant la secheresse sont entres ces
dernieres semaines en Ethiopie pour atteindre la seule source d'eau qui leur soit
accessible, le fleuve Shabelle. Les refugies somaliens sont arrives sans betail,
les vaches, moutons et chevres ayant ete les premiers a mourir de faim. - Le 11
avril, l'envoyee speciale de l'Onu Catherine Bertini a estime que si la
secheresse empirait et si les arrivages de nourriture etaient insuffisants, la
situation deviendrait "tres difficile" sinon "desesperee". Pres de 16 millions
de personnes sont en danger dans la Corne de l'Afrique, a estime Mme Bertini.  
(ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 12 avril 2000)

* Ethiopia. Aid chief in Gode  -  The Government officials did not know what had
hit them. They had laid on a formal ceremony to greet Catherine Bertini,
executive director of the World Food Programme (WFP), as she began her first
field visit on an eight-day tour to assess the threat of famine in the Horn of
Africa. They had expected she would respond in the same vein. She was in the
south-east of Ethiopia where thousands of Nomads have migrated to makeshift camps
in search of water and food. Officials in the regional capital, Gode, told her
the number in need of help had now risen from 1.3 to 1.7 million. But, after
saying how much aid they needed, and how pleased they were to see her, they were
given a broadside by the quietly spoken American. A driver with Medecins sans
Frontieres had been shot dead in February she said. A WFP worker had been
kidnapped. And three years ago, two WFP workers had been killed. Had anything
been done, she asked, to bring those responsible to justice. the officials seemed
dazed. Despite their hasty assurances of security, Ms Bertini continued: "These
incidents are more than enough for us to be worried about sending international
staff into this region". Ms Bertini was clearly uncomfortable with criticisms the
international community had been slow in its responses. There was nothing much
that could be done as the people involved are nomads. She said: "It is difficult
to help people before they have gone to a place where food can be distributed.
How do you reach people living in the desert? Those who have been sitting outside
Gode for three months might disagree.   (Paul Vallely, The Independent, UK, 13
April 2000)

* Gambie. Manifestations meurtrieres  -  Le 10 avril, dans la capitale Banjul et
sa banlieue Serekunda, les eleves du secondaire qui manifestaient contre la mort
d'un de leurs camarades le mois dernier, se sont violemment heurtes a la police.
Forces de l'ordre et lyceens se sont affrontes a coups de pierres et de grenades
lacrymogenes. Les emeutiers ont saccage les locaux de la television et de la
societe d'electricite, et ont incendie un poste de police. Selon les
constatations de journalistes, une dizaine d'eleves auraient ete tues et de
nombreux autres blesses. - Le 11 avril, la situation etait redevenue calme, mais
les forces de securite ont ete maintenues en etat d'alerte maximum. Les parents
ont ete invites a garder leurs enfants chez eux jusqu'a nouvel ordre et les
etablissements scolaires dans les regions de Banjul et Brikama ont ete fermes. 
 (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 12 avril 2000)

* The Gambia. Police fire on student demonstration  -  10 April: Police opened
fire on a student demonstration killing at least nine people, including a
journalist in Banjul. The Gambia Students Union was denied a permit for the march
organised against the recent death of a high school student, who was allegedly
tortured by security force members, and the reported rape of a 13-year-old girls
by a police officer. When students gathered at the gate of the Gambia Technical
Training Institute to march to the city centre, police ordered them to disperse,
then opened fire with tear gas and rubber bullets. Later on, police apparently
used live ammunition to restore order, killing at least eight students, morgue
officials said. Omar Barrow, an ICRC volunteer and journalist with the private
Sud FM radio station, was hit by a stray bullet while trying to help injured
students at Red Cross Headquarters, witnesses said. 11 April: Protests have taken
place in several parts of the Gambia against the deaths on 10 April. There have
been a large number of arrests, and soldiers have been patrolling the streets of
Banjul. Tourists have now been advised to remain in their hotels. The government
has announced the closure of all schools and colleges.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 12
April 2000)

* Guinee. Tribunal d'exception pour Conde  -  L'opposant Alpha Conde, detenu
depuis seize mois, a comparu ce 12 avril devant la Cour de surete de l'Etat, un
tribunal d'exception mis en place en 1997 pour juger alors les auteurs d'une
sanglante mutinerie militaire. Candidat a la presidentielle de decembre 1998, A.
Conde a ete arrete deux jours apres le scrutin. Accuse d'abord de "tentative de
franchissement illegal de la frontiere", il a ensuite ete inculpe d'"atteinte a
la securite interieure de l'Etat, emploi illegal de la force armee et
complicite". Il aurait recrute des mercenaires pour des actes de sabotage visant
a renverser le gouvernement. M. Conde beneficie d'un large soutien en Guinee et
a l'etranger, mais son proces peut-il etre equitable? Ses avocats n'ont eu
communication du dossier que le 7 avril. Alpha Conde doit etre juge en meme temps
que 47 complices presumes, qui auront le choix entre la comparution comme
"coaccuses" ou comme "temoins a charge". Les debats de la journee ont ete
essentiellement des questions de procedure, portant sur le fait si l'opposant
pouvait etre defendu par des avocats etrangers. Le tribunal a tranche en faveur
de M. Conde qui sera donc defendu par pas moins de 22 avocats, notamment
originaires de France, du Senegal, du Niger, du Mali et du Benin.   (ANB-BIA, de
sources diverses, 12 avril 2000)

* Guinea. Opposition leader on trial  -  12 April: The trial of a leading
opponent of the military government in Guinea, has opened in Conakry. The
defendant, Professor Alpha Conde, is accused of plotting a coup d'etat. He denies
the charges. Professor Conde was arrested over a year ago as he was challenging
the head of state, General Lansana Conte, in presidential elections.   (BBC News,
12 April 2000)

* Horn of Africa. Food shipments arriving  -  10 April: Food to help relieve the
famine in Ethiopia arrived in the Horn of Africa during the weekend and a further
shipment is on its way, a European Commission spokesman said on 10 April. "30,000
tonnes of bulk food aid, European food aid, arrived in Djibouti yesterday and
we're expecting another shipment of almost 17,000 tonnes to arrive before the end
of the week," said the spokesman.   (CNN, 10 April 2000)

* Kenya. Total ban on ivory trade?  -  10-20 April: The Conference on the
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) being held in
Nairobi, is likely to generate intense debate on whether to impose a total ban
on the ivory trade. Already, divergent views on the trade have emerged, pitting
Kenya and India, which are pressing for a total ban, against South Africa,
Zimbabwe, Namibia and Botswana, which want the sale of elephant products
legalised under strict regulations. Members will discuss whether poaching is on
the rise following the limited trade in ivory allowed in 1997.   (The East
African, Kenya, 3-9 April 2000)

Weekly News anb0413 -  END of PART 4/8