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Weekly anb05176.txt #8

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 17-05-2001      PART #6/8
* Rwanda/Belgium. The Brussels trial - 10 May: The trial of the four accused, linked to the 1994 genocide, continues. Sister Solange Uwanyiligara appears as a witness. She was a member of Sister Gertrude's (one of the accused) community. She says their convent in Sovu was well stocked with food, water and wood. Generally-speaking, her testimony is not very favourable towards her former superior in the community, Sister Gertrude. On the other hand, another witness, Sister Véronique Babo, is full of praise for the two accused nuns. Later on, the same day, another witness, Mrs Marie Goretti Mbateye, says she was among those refugees who fled to Sovu, arriving there on 17 April. She states that she saw refugees being refused shelter at the convent by Sister Gertrude and she had seen hundreds of people being burnt alive in the garage at Sovu. She says that people saw Sisters Gertrude and Kizito (the 2nd of the two accused nuns) carrying tins of petrol. 11 May: At the beginning of today's hearing, the defence lawyer for Sister Gertrude says it is clear that everyone concerned in the trial is becoming extremely tired and this has led, this week, to friction, tension and incidents in the court. Three European nuns give their testimony. One of them Sister Joanna Paula, (Polish) says she worked at the health centre adjoining the Convent at Sovu until 18 April 1994. i.e. After the Tutsi refuges arrived but before the first of the three massacres took place. She affirms that the refugees received food and drink at the convent. 14 May: The trial enters its 5th week. It had been foreseen the trial would end at the end of May, then the 8th June. Now it seems certain the trial will not be completed before the middle of June. The two nuns' defence counsel team say they are not happy with the way the presiding judge is conducting the hearings. One of the defence counsel, Alain Vergauwen, says the trial is losing an essential element, its calmness, and calmness is a conditio sine qua non for ensuring justice is done. He is of the opinion that the rights of the defence are in jeopardy. Counsel for the plaintiffs claiming damages, agree with defence counsel. Lawyer Vergauwen says it cannot be accepted that the presiding judge should have refused defence counsel the right to ask a number of questions - this indeed happened in preceeding days. 15 May: The general manager of Sorwal, Martin Dusabe, a firm which manufactures matches, appears in court. Importance is given to a letter written by one of the accused, Alphonse Higaniro, to Mr Dusabe. In the letter, Higaniro writes: "In order to ensure security in Butare, the "cleansing" must continue and completed". 16 May: The court hears evidence in favour of Higaniro. A Benedictine monk. Father Baudouin De Bie who was a member of a neighbouring Benedictime community in Sovu, says he "cannot see the two accused Benedictine nuns as being involved in acts of genocide". (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 17 May 2001)
* Rwanda/Malawi. Renforcement des relations - Le 10 mai, le Rwanda et le Malawi ont convenu de renforcer leur coopération bilatérale dans divers domaines du développement économique, a-t-on appris de source officielle à Kigali. Selon un communiqué conjoint publié à l'issue d'un séjour de trois jours au Rwanda du président du Malawi, Bakili Muluzi, les deux pays vont intensifier leur coopération dans les domaines du commerce et du tourisme. Les deux parties ont convenu également de nouer des liens économiques plus étroits dans le cadre du Marché commun des pays d'Afrique orientale et australe. Les deux chefs d'Etat ont encore promis d'apporter leur soutien au processus de paix en cours au Burundi et au Congo RDC. (PANA, Sénégal, 10 mai 2001)
* Senegal. New government - The Senegalese Prime Minister, Mame Madior Boye, has announced the make up of her new 24 member government. Mrs Madior Boye, who became Senegal's first woman Prime Minister in March, has given several jobs to women as well as members of civil society. Ten of the positions, including the armed forces and finance portfolios, have gone to members of President Abdoulaye Wade's Senegalese Democratic Party. Earlier, Senegal's high court confirmed Mr Wade's Sopi - or Change - coalition as the winner of April's general elections. The beaten party, the Alliance for Progress, has alleged widespread fraud. (BBC News, UK, 13 May 2001)
* Sénégal. Le Premier ministre reconduit - Le 10 mai, le Premier ministre du Sénégal, Mme Madior Boye, a présenté sa démission au président Wade. Le même jour, elle a été reconduite dans ses fonctions par le chef de l'Etat. Le prochain gouvernement sera constitué d'une "équipe assez réduite, où il y aura moins de ministres, avec des femmes, des hommes politiques et des membres de la société civile", a déclaré Mme Boye. Elle a indiqué aussi qu'elle commencera ses consultations après la décision du Conseil constitutionnel sur les élections législatives du 29 avril. Différents partis ont déposé des recours pour contester une partie des résultats du scrutin. - Le 12 mai, le conseil constitutionnel a confirmé les résultats provisoires de la commission nationale pour les élections législatives, qui ont consacré la victoire de la coalition Sopi (au pouvoir) qui a obtenu 89 sièges sur les 120 de la future assemblée nationale. - Ce même jour, Mme Boye a fait connaître la formation de son nouveau gouvernement. L'équipe ne compte plus que 24 ministres, dont 6 femmes. Le parti présidentiel y est très largement représenté: seulement quatre ministres appartiennent à deux autres familles politiques. Le nouvel exécutif compte également des représentants de la société civile. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 14 mai 2001)
* Sierra Leone. D'armes en charrues - La Mission des Nations unies en Sierra Leone (Minusil) devait commencer, ce lundi 14 mai, la destruction de 10.000 armes à feu récupérées par le biais des efforts nationaux destinés au désarmement de tous les belligérants dans le pays, à l'exception de l'armée. Chaque jour, près de 450 armes seront mises en pièces avec des machines-outils et seront transformées en 4.000 socs de charrues, en faucilles, coutelas, pelles, haches et autres outils de jardinage. D'anciens combattants participeront à cette tâche, selon la Minusil. Les outils seront distribués aux bénéficiaires des plans de réinsertion de la Commission nationale pour le désarmement, la démobilisation et la réinsertion. (IRIN, Abidjan, 14 mai 2001)
* Sierra Leone. Church Rescues 86 child soldiers - The Catholic Church has begun to shelter the first group of child-soldiers who, up until now, were fighting with the rebels in Sierra Leone's civil war. Bishop Giorgio Biguzzi of Makeni told the MISNA missionary agency that 86 boys and girls were handed over on 12 May to the diocesan Caritas organisation by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF). Caritas had prepared a place for them in St. Francis Secondary School in Makeni. The RUF command authorized Caritas personnel to visit the diocesan villages in order to accelerate the rescue of minors recruited by the anti-government movement of Sierra Leone. "The handing over of the child-soldiers is a sign of hope for the country," Bishop Biguzzi said. In some instances, the Church has purchased the liberty of children, at a cost of $50 to $100. "I hope that the disarmament of the numerous armed bands spread all over Sierra Leone will take place as soon as possible," the bishop said. "Only then will it really be possible to speak about peace." (Zenith, Italy, 14 May 2001)
* Sierra Leone. Comprehensive peace talks - 16 May: Rebels of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in Sierra Leone have been holding three-way peace talks in the capital, Freetown, with the government and the civil defence militia, known as the Kamajor. These are the first peace talks involving the RUF rebels that take place inside Sierra Leone since fighting broke out again last year. The rebels and the Kamajors have issued a joint statement pledging to abide by the terms of the ceasefire, which has broadly held since it was implemented last November. A spokeswoman for the United Nations in Sierra Leone, Margaret Novicki, told the BBC that the key to progress was an agreement on disarmament. A BBC correspondent in the region says the deal could pave the way for the full deployment of the UN peacekeeping troops. (BBC News, UK, 16 May 2001)
* Sierra Leone. Enfants soldats relâchés - Pendant le week-end du 12-13 mai, les rebelles du Front révolutionnaire uni (RUF) ont libéré un premier groupe de 80 enfants soldats enrôlés dans leurs rangs, qui a été remis à des représentants de l'organisation catholique Caritas, dans la localité de Lunsar, à 80 km au nord-est de la capitale Freetown. Le 16 mai, un autre groupe d'enfants a été remis à la Caritas, portant ainsi à 161 le nombre d'enfants libérés à ce jour. Cette initiative, précise l'agence MISNA, précède de quelques jours celle qui devrait être lancée à échelle nationale par la mission de l'ONU, à partir du 25 mai. Ce qui laisse espérer que le RUF a l'intention de prendre au sérieux ses engagements, souligne l'évêque de Makeni. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 17 mai 2001)
* Somalia. Major clash in Mogadishu - 12 May: Heavy fighting has broken out in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, between forces of the transitional government and fighters loyal to a warlord. A BBC correspondent in Mogadishu said at least nine people have been killed and 30 others injured. The clashes are the first major confrontation between the militia factions which control much of the capital and the transitional government set up by a number of Somali groups last year in an attempt to reunify the country. Both sides were using machine guns and mortars in the Mogadishu port area. It is not known what sparked the fighting. Hussein Mohamed Aidid, whose gunmen were involved in the fighting, is a key member of a council, set up by several powerful warlords that, backed by Ethiopia are seeking to replace the government. They say they will form their own government within six months, to rival the country's transitional administration. The fighting comes on the same day that another warlord in Mogadishu received a convoy of heavy-duty lorries transporting weapons and ammunition. The convoy, consisting of 12 big trucks, was escorted by about 10 battle wagons and more than 100 heavily-armed militiamen. It arrived at the headquarters of warlord Muse Sudi Yalahow who also strongly opposes the new transitional government. 13 May: Reports from Mogadishu say the city has remained relatively quiet after the fierce gunbattle. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 14 May 2001)
* Somalie. Combats à Mogadiscio - Les 11 et 12 mai, 80 personnes ont été tuées dans la capitale somalienne, lors d'affrontements entre les miliciens partisans de Hussein Mohamed Aïdid et des hommes favorables au gouvernement de transition (GNT) de Mogadiscio. Aïdid dirige un front commun de chefs de factions et des dirigeants régionaux somaliens opposés au GNT. Ce dernier, formé après la conférence nationale de réconciliation d'août 2000 à Djibouti, est reconnu par la communauté internationale. (Libération, France, 14 mai 2001)
* South Africa. Ramaphosa warning on black economic advancement - Cyril Ramaphosa, chairman of South Africa's Black Economic Empowerment Commission, gave a clear signal to business on 10 May that the slow advancement of blacks within the economy would lead to "corrective legislative measures. The majority of our population remains excluded from the economy and significant interventions are required to alter the course of this exclusion," he said at a conference on black empowerment. The transfer of economic wealth from white to black people and their involvement in the management of business are seen as critical for the longer term political stability of the country. Mr Ramaphosa, a prominent businessman and a leader of the ruling African National Congress who many expect to make a return to the political stage, believes that stark economic inequalities are retarding South Africa's ability to attract investment and economic growth. Last year, black empowerment had its worst year since 1996. The number of black owned companies on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange fell from a peak of 43 to 26 and market capitalization dwindled to 4.8 per cent of the exchange. New investments by black companies fell to R2.5bn last year compared to R20bn in 1998. Analysts have blamed the reverse in progress on poor market conditions that left financiers carrying debt for over-borrowed black investors. "Certain things need to be done by government. But we are also saying that the private sector can do certain things." Mr Ramaphosa has proposed that, under a Black Empowerment Act, the private sector would be required to draw up sectoral empowerment charters, outlining strategies to foster black participation. The commission has also set targets for black share ownership and procurement from black businesses to solve what it describes as a crisis precipitated by apartheid. (Financial Times, UK, 11 May 2001) 

weekly anb0517.txt - #6/8