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Weekly anb10313.txt #7

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 31-10-2001      PART #3/7
* Egypte. Nouveau tunnel sous le Caire - Le 28 octobre, le président Moubarak a inauguré un tunnel routier ultra-moderne, doté d'innovations dans le domaine de la sécurité, qui relie le centre du Caire aux voies périphériques, en passant sous le quartier historique d'Al-Azhar. (La Croix, France, 29 octobre 2001)
* Ethiopia-Eritrea. Uncertainty at the World Bank - Demands by Ethiopia and Eritrea that their affairs at the World Bank be handled by different departments rather than one Horn of Africa department could delay Bank-supported programmes, including a second tranche of loans to Ethiopia worth US $500 million. The two neighbouring Horn of Africa countries have remained suspicious of each other since ending their war two years ago. On 15 October, the BBC reported that the Horn of Africa department at the World Bank, headed by Oey Meesok, had been disbanded. Management of the affairs of Eritrea has temporarily been handed over to the World Bank's representative in Kenya, Harold Wackman, while a new department is to be created to take charge of Ethiopia and Sudan. However, as a new director has not yet been found for Ethiopia, Meesok will remain in charge of Ethiopia, although she has been appointed head of human development for the Africa region. (IRIN, 17 October 2001)
* Gambie. Election présidentielle - Le 18 octobre, le premier tour des élections présidentielles s'est déroulé en Gambie. Lors de l'ouverture des bureaux de vote, l'opposition a protesté contre les procédures d'identification des électeurs. Selon cette procédure décidée la veille au soir par la Commission électorale indépendante, les électeurs n'avaient pas besoin d'être inscrits sur les listes pour voter sur simple présentation de cartes. L'opposition suspecte la fabrication massive de fausses cartes d'électeurs. - Le 19 octobre, la Commission électorale indépendante a annoncé que le président Yahya Jammeh avait remporté 52,96% des suffrages et était réélu pour un deuxième mandat de cinq ans. La mission des observateurs du Commonwealth a jugé que le scrutin avait été "généralement bon". (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 20 octobre 2001)
* The Gambia. Elections - 18 October: Vote counting has started in the presidential election which took place peacefully despite rising tensions during the campaign. 19 October: Yahya Jammeh is re-elected President for a second five-year mandate. He won 52.96% of votes cast. The Commonwealth Observer Group endorses the result. The Gambia's Electoral Commission officially declares President Jammeh re-elected for a second five-year mandate. 22 October: President-elect Jammeh has granted amnesty to ministers of the erstwhile PPP regime he overthrew in the 1994 military takeover. 26 October: The Independent Electoral Commission has said that Gambian voters could return to the polls on 13 November to vote in a referendum on four bills elating to the country's political and justice system. 30 October: The authorities have closed down the country's main private radio station in what appears to be a crackdown on opposition and media. Baboucar Gueye, head of Citizen FM was told the station is being closed because its income tax had not been paid in full. But Mr Gueye says this explanation is "a pretext" for stopping the station's popular news and current affairs programmes. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 31 October 2001)
* Ghana. Social relief fund disbursed - The Ghanaian government has so far disbursed about US $1.3 million) to more than 3,000 beneficiaries under the Emergency Social Relief Programme (ESRP) aimed at improving people's living conditions, Ghana's JoyFM radio reported on 16 October. It reported Economic Planning and Regional Cooperation Minister, Paa Kwasi Nduom, as saying that the government would spend more money on the programme after the target of 700 billion cedis expected to be disbursed in the next three years has been achieved. Nduom who was speaking at the inauguration of the Central Regional ESRP Committee at Cape Coast, southern Ghana, said that monies derived from the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative would be channelled into poverty reduction. He emphasised that the government would ensure that other poverty reduction interventions are put in place to ensure better living conditions for the population, the radio said. Central Regional Minister Isaac Edumadze gave the assurance that the committee would not interfere with the disbursement of funds but would see to it that implementing agencies make disbursement on merit, along the guidelines and prescribed disbursement procedures. (IRIN, 17 October 2001)
* Guinea-Bissau. Extension of UNOGBIS - 17 October: The UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has recommended that the Security Council extend the mandate of the UN Peace-building Support Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNOGBIS) until 31 December 2002. In a letter dated 12 October to the President of the Security Council, Richard Ryan, Annan said that the overall situation in Guinea-Bissau remained "dangerously unstable. The authorities of Guinea-Bissau, in recent discussions with my Representative, have commended the work of UNOGBIS, and have requested the extension of its mandate until the next legislative and presidential elections," the statement quoted Annan as saying. The UN Office, whose current mandate expires on 31 December 2001, has been open since April 1999. The office, which has been active in peace-building efforts since mid-1999, helps promote reconciliation and strengthen democratic institutions, the UN statement said. 30 October: Parliament's vote of "no-confidence" against President Yala ushers in a new twist to the country's socio-political and institutional crises. This parliamentary defiance, followed a standoff between the Head of State and the magistracy, as well as workers in the country's economic department -- Finance, Customs, Mines, Transport and even the army, which the President recently faulted for interfering in national politics. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 31 October 2001)
* Guinée-Bissau. Le président désavoué - Le 23 octobre, le Parlement a retiré sa confiance au président Koumba Yala. Au cours de deux journées de débats, les députés se sont "indignés" contre des récentes décisions du président, qui a limogé une vingtaine de juges et menace de "mettre à la rue" 60% des fonctionnaires. Il a également menacé les politiciens qui voudraient le renverser et ordonné aux forces armées d'empêcher toute action de ce type. Par 53 voix contre 36 et 4 abstentions, les parlementaires ont adopté une résolution jugeant inconstitutionnels des actes pris par le chef de l'Etat à l'encontre de la magistrature. Le soir du même jour, M. Yala s'est adressé à la nation, invitant les populations à s'engager dans le processus démocratique et affirmant que les maux qui minent la justice déstabilisent le pays. Le lendemain, le Mouvement de la société civile pour la paix et la démocratie a critiqué la façon dont le président gère la crise et a appelé au dialogue. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 25 octobre 2001)
* Kenya/Ouganda. Lutte contre la criminalité - Le 18 octobre, à l'issue d'une réunion de deux jours, le Kenya et l'Ouganda ont décidé de renforcer leurs mécanismes de lutte contre le terrorisme, la criminalité transnationale et l'insécurité sur le lac Victoria. Ils renforceront notamment les mesures de contrôle des services d'immigration, de police et de douane aux frontières des deux pays. La prolifération des armes à feu contribue à une situation d'insécurité. Il a également été fait mention du commerce d'armes et du trafic de drogue sur le lac Victoria. (D'après PANA, Sénégal, 18 octobre 2001)
* Kenya. Courrier contaminé - Pour la première fois, le bacille du charbon sort des frontières des Etats-Unis et fait son apparition en Afrique. Le premier cas de courrier contaminé a été découvert le 18 octobre au Kenya. Quatre personnes d'une même famille ont été exposées à la poudre blanche, testée positive, par une lettre postée à Atlanta (Etats-Unis) trois jours avant les attentats du 11 septembre. Le médecin kényan destinataire de la lettre et des membres de sa famille ont subi des examens et ne sont pas en danger. Deux autres enveloppes, dont une adressée à un responsable du programme pour l'environnement à Nairobi, contenaient de la poudre suspecte et sont en train d'être testées. Ces cas coïncident avec l'annonce de la condamnation à perpétuité de quatre membres d'Al Qaeda pour leur participation aux attentats contre les ambassades américaines de Nairobi et Dar es-Salaam. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 19 octobre 2001)
* Kenya. FBI investigates Kenyan anthrax case - The US Federal Bureau of Investigation is examining a letter containing anthrax spores sent from the US to a Kenyan citizen in Nairobi, which emerged on 18 October as the first confirmed case of bio-terrorism outside the US since the September 11 attacks. According to a statement issued on 19 October by the US embassy, Nairobi-based personnel of the FBI and the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) were in contact with the Kenyan government to "assist investigation of the apparent criminal cases in Kenya, and establish whether any links to anthrax attacks in the United States or the international campaign against terrorism". Sources said they would conduct further tests on the contents of the package -- including possible similarities to the strains found in US anthrax attacks - and investigate their source. "These incidents again show that the threat of terrorism is world-wide,"added Johnnie Carson, the US Ambassador to Kenya. "American assistance and support will be made available to help protect Kenyans from bio-terrorism." Sam Ongeri, Kenya's health minister, announced on 18 October that a letter from Atlanta, routed via Miami, contained a white powder which had tested positive in smear, stain and culture tests for anthrax. Four people had been exposed, but Mr Ongeri said the situation was under control and that Kenya -- a country where anthrax is endemic in cattle -- was prepared for any eventualities. The letter was sent on September 8 -- three days before the US attacks -- but was not received until October 9, and was opened on October 11. It remained unclear why Kenya should have been targeted, but analysts suggested possible links to the August 1998 bombing of the US embassy in Nairobi, in which more than 200 people died and which has been linked to Osama bin Laden. Final test results identifying the sub-strain are expected in the next two or three days. Although Mr Ongeri did not name the recipient -- citing "doctor-patient confidentiality" -- a senior health ministry official said the letter had been sent from Georgia by a US relative via EMS (express mail service) registered mail, containing cloth samples. It later transpired the letter had been routed via Florida. Several other anthrax scares, including a suspicious-looking letter sent to the United Nations headquarters in Nairobi from Pakistan, turned out to be negative. Two further cases are under investigation, including one from TNT courier services received at Nairobi's international airport on 18 October. (Financial Times, UK, 20 October 2001)
* Kenya. "Let Kenyans pick their own leader" - Clergymen and politicians have welcomed President Moi's announcement that he will retire at the end of his term -- but some were quick to point out that Kenyans have the right to choose his successor without any pressure. The President should not be seen to impose a leader on Kenyans when he retires in less than 13 months' time as required by the Constitution, several leaders said in response to his Kenyatta Day declaration. (Daily Nation, Kenya, 22 October 2001)
* Libéria. 300.000 déplacés - Le président libérien Charles Taylor a affirmé, le 18 octobre, que les combats entre troupes gouvernementales et rebelles dans le nord du pays provoquaient une "grave crise", ayant entraîné le déplacement d'environ 300.000 civils. Selon lui, quatre villes du nord (Zorzor, Voinjama et Foya) se sont complètement vidées de leurs habitants. Les derniers combats se sont déroulés autour de la ville de Lolahun, près de la frontière guinéenne. Le Libéria et la Guinée s'accusent mutuellement de soutenir la rébellion de l'un chez l'autre. Taylor a encore salué le travail des agences humanitaires, estimant toutefois qu'il faudrait au moins doubler l'aide. (AP, 19 octobre 2001)
* Liberia. President turns on Amnesty - Liberian President Charles Taylor has rejected accusations from the human rights organisation Amnesty International that his security forces have meted out brutal treatment to critics of the government. Mr Taylor said Amnesty had not been in Liberia to prove what it alleged. He said the country's anti-terrorist unit, led by his son and criticised by Amnesty as committing flagrant rights abuses and rape, was the best trained and most disciplined force in Liberia. Amnesty said in its report earlier this week that the Liberian security forces had used torture on students, journalists and defenders of human rights, and urged an end to what it said was the impunity enjoyed by them. But Mr Taylor said: "I have a problem with some of these Holy Marys and John the Baptists." (BBC News, UK, 19 October 2001) 

Weekly anb1031.txt - End of part 3/7