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Weekly anb05106.txt #7

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 10-05-2001      PART #6/7
* Rwanda/Kenya. Sendashonga: verdict de non-culpabilité - Les trois personnes accusées du meurtre de l'ancien ministre rwandais de l'Intérieur, Seth Sendashonga, ne sont pas coupables de ce crime, ont estimé, le 3 mai, les assesseurs de la Haute Cour de Nairobi. Dans une opinion unanime, ils ont indiqué que "le parquet a échoué à prouver au-delà de tout doute raisonnable que les accusés ont commis le crime". Ce verdict ne lie toutefois pas le juge Mbogholi, qui devrait prononcer le jugement final le 31 mai prochain. Seth Sendashonga a été abattu le 16 mai 1998 dans une banlieue de Nairobi. Trois suspects (un Rwandais et deux Ougandais) avaient avoué avoir préparé le coup, mais ont plaidé non coupables. De l'avis des assesseurs, le ministère public n'a pas fourni de preuve que les accusés se trouvaient au lieu du crime au moment des faits. (Agence Hirondelle, Arusha, 3 mai 2001)
* Rwanda/Kenya. Minister murder trial in disarray - Three men accused of murdering a former Rwandan minister who attacked the government's human rights record should be acquitted, a Kenyan court was told on 3 May. Assessors said the prosecution had failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the three had murdered former Rwandan Interior Minister Seth Sendashonga and his driver in a Nairobi suburb in May 1998, the independent Internews news agency reported. Days after Sendashonga's murder, Amnesty International said it believed the killing was "a blatant political assassination," likely to have been prompted by his criticism of human rights abuses by the government. Sendashonga's widow also maintains his murder was politically motivated. But the Kenyan police's case against the three men, a Rwandan and two Ugandans, argued the murder was a revenge attack after a row over money. The unanimous recommendations from the three assessors, which are not binding, are intended as guidance for the judge who will give his verdict on May 31. (CNN, USA, 3 May 2001)
* Rwanda/Zimbabwe. Rencontre Kagame-Mugabe - Le 7 mai, le président rwandais Paul Kagame est arrivé au Zimbabwe, où il tentera avec le président Robert Mugabe de trouver une solution au conflit qui oppose leurs pays au Congo-Kinshasa, ont indiqué des responsables. "En bonne place au menu de la rencontre, figureront les moyens de faire appliquer les accords de paix de Lusaka, menacés par l'Ouganda, qui a annoncé qu'il pourrait se retirer des négociations après avoir retiré ses forces" (de la RDC), a rapporté l'agence Ziana. -Le 8 mai, à l'issue de sa visite, le président Kagame s'est dit optimiste pour la "mise en application rapide" du processus de paix en RDC. Selon M. Kagame, c'est dans l'intérêt des deux pays et des autres parties à l'accord de paix de Lusaka de coopérer en faveur de la paix. (La Libre Belgique et PANA, 8 mai 2001)
* Senegal. Fraud claim in elections - Senegal's former Prime Minister Moustapha Niasse has said that there was "massive fraud" in last weekend's parliamentary elections. His party, the Alliance of Forces for Progress (AFP) came third in the vote won by the Sopi -- or "change" -- coalition led by President Abdoulaye Wade. The AFP has asked Senegal's Constitutional Court to annul the results from 23 polling stations. The party wants the records from all the country's polling stations to be examined. Party spokesman Abdoulaye Babou said the national electoral commission found that the results at some polling stations the fingerprints and signatures used were all the same, and in others no record of voters was kept. Provisional election results released on 4 May showed that the Sopi coalition won 49.59% of the popular vote. Second was the Socialist Party of former President Abdou Diouf with 17.36%, and the AFP took 16.14%. (BBC News, UK, 6 May 2001)
* Sénégal. Eglise protestante: vers la réconciliation - L'Eglise protestante sénégalaise serait-elle sur la voie de la réconciliation? Le 6 mai, le temple de la rue Carnot, lieu emblématique de cette communauté, a rouvert ses portes, fermées depuis décembre 1996, suite à des profondes divisions. La crise était née avec le retour dans sa communauté du pasteur Samuel Danshoko, premier pasteur sénégalais ayant terminé ses études aux Etats-Unis. La cérémonie de réouverture a été présidée par l'archevêque catholique de Dakar, Mgr Sarr, en présence du gouverneur de la région, M. Saliou Sambou, qui tous deux ont été les acteurs du processus de réconciliation. Un comité exécutif transitoire de dix membres a été installé pour une durée de trois mois, chargé de parachever les retrouvailles de cette communauté de 400 fidèles, dont la majorité est constituée par des non-Sénégalais. (A. Agboton, Sénégal, 7 mai 2001)
* Sierra Leone. Controversy over Foday Sankoh - A year after the capture of the Sierra Leonean rebel leader, Foday Sankoh, his legal status remains a key political issue with some of his followers making political demands that he be released. His precise whereabouts still generate interest. Sierra Leonean prisons are notoriously insecure. The issue was the subject of an Appeal Court case in London last year when Mr Sankoh's wife, Fatou, argued that Britain had de facto hold of him. Britain is extremely influential in Sierra Leone. It effectively runs the Sierra Leonean government army so it can face up to rebels responsible for widespread atrocities. However the British government successfully argued in court that the Sierra Leone police were responsible for holding Mr Sankoh, and the Sierra Leone government says the same. A year ago this month a British military team took the captured rebel leader Foday Sankoh out of an army base in the capital Freetown. British officers said they were just transporting Mr Sankoh on behalf of the Sierra Leone police. The police say they are now holding him under emergency legislation and that he will soon be tried by a Special Court. But Sierra Leonean government officials refuse to say which jail Mr Sankoh is held in. And his wife continues to believe that the British are involved, even alleging he is held on a British warship. British officials deny this. (BBC News, UK, 5 May 2001)
* Sierra Leone. Négociations avec le RUF - Lors de leur rencontre le 2 mai à Abuja (Nigeria), les négociateurs du gouvernement de Freetown et du Front révolutionnaire uni (RUF) ont fait des progrès significatifs, selon des sources de la Minusil et de la CEDAO. Les rebelles se sont engagés à restituer tout le matériel militaire dérobé l'an dernier au contingent onusien d'ici la fin du mois. Les négociateurs ont égalemnt convenu de relancer et d'appliquer le programme de "désarmement, démobilisation et réintégration". Ils ont conclu un accord sur la formation d'une commission mixte composée de représentants du gouvernement, de la Minusil et du RUF, chargée d'élaborer le calendrier de désarmement des bandes armées qui infestent le pays. Le gouvernement a quant à lui accepté la requête des dirigeants du RUF de transformer leur mouvement armé en une force politique. Le RUF a encore déclaré qu'il faciliterait le déploiement du contingent de la Minusil et des organisations humanitaires. - Le 6 mai, le RUF s'est réuni à Makeni (nord de la Sierra Leone) et a ratifié à l'unanimité l'accord conlu à Abuja. - Le 9 mai, en dépit du cessez-le-feu décidé d'un commun accord, neuf personnes ont été tuées lors d'un affrontement entre des rebelles et des milices pro-gouvernementales. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 10 mai 2001)
* South Africa. "Damaged by plot claim", says ANC - 3 May: The African National Congress (ANC), South Africa's ruling party, has admitted that the controversy over the alleged plot to oust and possibly kill Thabo Mbeki, the president, has damaged the country's image. But Steve Tshwete, the security minister who launched the investigation into the allegations, is unrepentant. Appearing before the National Assembly's safety and security committee on 3 May to explain his actions, Mr Tshwete defended his decision to probe the allegations and denied he had abused his power. But he unwittingly confirmed that he had no evidence to back up his allegations. "There would not need to be an investigation if there was sufficient evidence," he said, without elaborating. Mr Tshwete also insisted he had acted without Mr Mbeki's knowledge. "I have not consulted with the president," he said. "There was no need for me to do so. I am not opening a small footpath between my office and that of the president for every little thing." The minister stunned the nation last week when he named three prominent ANC members-turned-businessmen on state television and accused them of conspiring to overthrow Mr Mbeki by spreading rumours about him. All three have denied the allegations and the minister on 3 May declined to disclose what charges, if any, they face. 4 May: Thabo Mbeki, the South African president, said the three prominent African National Congress politicians-turned-businessmen accused of being involved in a plot to oust him should not have been named. Speaking at length for the first time about an episode that has led to a serious rift within the ruling party, Mr Mbeki admitted it was "an unfortunate incident" that could have been better handled. Mr Mbeki, speaking in a British television interview, seemed to blame the media for focusing on the issue. "The matter arose in the media, it did not originate with the government," he said, ruling out the possibility of Mr Tshwete resigning over the issue. Mr Mbeki said he did not believe that the three men named had any intention of harming him or even of campaigning to replace him: "Honestly, I do not think that anyone of them is involved in any such campaign. They are not my opponents," Mr Mbeki emphasised. "I have no sense of any such opposition from them." (Financial Times, UK, 3-4 May 2001)
* South Africa. Govt. plans for refugees alarms human rights groups - Government plans to set up two reception centres for South Africa's refugees, where victims of war and serious human rights abuses would be detained pending their status determination, have sounded alarms bells among human rights groups working with refugees and asylum seekers. According to a report published by the National Consortium on Refugee Affairs, which includes church organisations and other human rights groups, such a plan has serious implications for individual freedom and minimum standards of treatment. In order to work well and to meet criteria set by international and constitutional law, the report says such centres would need to be carefully planned and executed. (The Southern Cross, South Africa, 18-24 April 2001)
* Sudan. Sudan hits back at USA - The Sudanese government has hit back at the United States over comments by President Bush branding Sudan a disaster area for human rights. The Sudanese foreign minister, Mustafa Osman Ismail, said Mr Bush's remarks would not lead to peace in Sudan and would worsen relations with Washington. Another Sudanese minister, Information Minister Ghazi Salah al-Din is quoted as accusing the Americans of prolonging Sudan's civil war by backing southern rebels against Khartoum. In his speech earlier this week, President Bush said the Sudanese authorities were abusing religious freedom in particular, and were reportedly denying food aid to those unwilling to convert to Islam. In fresh comments on 6 May, Mr Bush's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, said it was an outrage that the United States had failed last week to win a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Committee, while Sudan remained a member. (BBC News, UK, 6 May 2001)
* Soudan. Mort d'un copilote du CICR - Une attaque contre un avion de la Croix-Rouge au sud du Soudan a causé la mort d'un copilote danois. Ericksen Ole Friis, 26 ans, a été atteint à la tête par un projectile qui a traversé la carlingue sous son siège alors qu'il survolait une zone contrôlée par les rebelles. Tant le gouvernement de Khartoum que les forces rebelles du SPLA ont nié la responsabilité de l'attaque. "Ce vol, sans passagers à part l'équipage, était considéré comme une mission de routine et avait obtenu les autorisations nécessaires de toutes les parties contrôlant la région", a précisé à Genève le CICR, qui a par ailleurs décidé de suspendre tous ses vols à destination du Sud-Soudan. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 10 mai 2001)
* Sudan. Red Cross halts flights over Sudan - The International Committee of the Red Cross has halted its operations in Sudan, after an attack on one of its planes left a co-pilot dead. The organisation says all its flights have been suspended until an investigation into the incident is complete --something that may take several days. The plane had been on a routine flight across southern Sudan when several explosions ripped through the fuselage. The 26-year-old Danish co-pilot was killed immediately. The other pilot managed to fly the damaged aircraft back to its base in northern Kenya. The Red Cross says the area that the plane was travelling over has both rebel and government forces present.The Sudanese Government and southern rebels exchanged accusations over who was responsible for the shooting. But it is still not clear who might have carried out the attack. The plane was midway between the southern Sudanese town of Juba and the northern Kenyan town of Lokichokio when the incident happened, the ICRC said. The nine-seater King Air twin-engine turboprop aircraft was on its way to Khartoum and the ICRC said it had permission to make the flight. (BBC News, UK, 10 May 2001) 

Weekly News anb0510.txt - #6/7