Weekly anb12193.txt #5

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

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 19-12-2001      PART #3/5

* Côte d'Ivoire. Clôture du Forum de réconciliation  -  Le Forum pour la 
réconciliation nationale, dont le rapport de synthèse a été présenté au 
président Gbagbo le 13 décembre, a demandé aux autorités de "délivrer à 
Alassane Dramane Ouattara un certificat de nationalité" ivoirienne. "La 
fracture politique et sociale dont souffre aujourd'hui la Côte d'Ivoire, 
trouve fondamentalement sa cause dans les controverses sur la nationalité 
de Ouattara", a estimé Ahmed Touré, un des porte-parole du Forum, et cette 
fracture "est de nature à compromettre [...] l'avenir de la nation". 
(Alassane Ouattara avait été évincé de la présidentielle d'octobre 2000 
pour cause de "nationalité douteuse", certains l'accusant de s'être prévalu 
à une époque de la nationalité burkinabé). D'autre part, l'opposition 
ouattariste est priée de laisser au vestiaire son exigence de reprise des 
élections et de reconnaître la légitimité du pouvoir actuel. Par ailleurs, 
les "sages" du Forum, tout en ne condamnant pas directement le putsch mené 
par le général Gueï, ils ont condamné "les coups d'Etat" en général. 
Initiateur du Forum, le président Gbagbo a donc réussi à dégager un minimum 
de consensus entre les Ivoiriens. Mais il a prévenu qu'il se réservait le 
droit de "faire des choix" dans l'application des mesures préconisées. - Le 
18 décembre, à l'occasion de la clôture officielle du forum, le président 
Gbagbo a déclaré que "la révision de la Constitution n'est pas à l'ordre du 
jour" et que la question de la nationalité de M. Ouattara relève de la 
justice. Toutefois, M. Gbagbo a réitéré au RDR, le parti de Ouattara, son 
invitation à entrer au gouvernement d'union nationale.   (ANB-BIA, de 
sources diverses, 18 décembre 2001)

* Côte d'Ivoire. Reconciliation Forum  -  13 December: The Reconciliation 
Forum in Côte d'Ivoire has urged the government to allow former prime 
minister Alassane Ouattara to contest future elections. It said the 
government should accept him as a citizen and grant him a certificate of 
nationality. The forum, which has been meeting in Abidjan for the past two 
months, also called for a national unity government to be formed. Mr 
Ouattara was prevented from standing in last year's presidential elections 
and then banned by the courts from running in parliamentary polls, on the 
grounds that he was from neighbouring Burkina Faso. Both Mr Ouattara, a 
Muslim from the north of the country who now lives in exile in France, and 
the former military ruler, Robert Guei, eventually took part in the forum, 
after initially refusing to do so. The opposition leader has consistently 
maintained he is Ivorian but his opponents have said his nationality 
certificate is a forgery. The ban sparked off bloody ethnic riots which 
resulted in the death of an estimated 300 people and the reconciliation 
committee was set up as a means of healing political and social divisions 
in the country. 14 December: The Forum's steering committee has submitted 
to President Gbagbo, the results of the three-month public debate. 18 
December: In a speech closing the Forum, President Gbagbo has declined to 
comment on the issue of Alassane Ouattara's nationality, saying it was for 
the court to decide. The Ivorian Supreme Court ruled that Mr Ouattara was 
not eligible to stand in presidential elections last year because of 
questionable nationality.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 19 December 2001)

* Egypt. Pound devalued for fourth time this year  -  On 13 December, Egypt 
devalued the pound for the fourth time this year, with an 8 per cent cut 
reducing its value by one-third since January. The measure was aimed 
particularly at compensating for the loss of income from tourism, the 
country's main foreign exchange earner, which has been hit severely since 
the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US. Analysts estimate that 
earnings from tourism will reach $2.2bn-$3bn in the current financial year 
compared with $4.3bn last year. Atef Obeid, the prime minister, said on 
Wednesday that $2bn would be pumped into the economy over the next six 
months -- roughly the shortfall in earnings from tourism. However, analysts 
were yesterday waiting to see if the devaluation would be adequate. Before 
Mr Obeid's announcement, the pound had been trading unofficially at E£4.45 
to the dollar, although it had approached the E£5 level when the government 
tried to impose import controls, which it subsequently relaxed. On 13 
December, the central bank moved the central peg to the dollar from E£4.15 
to E£4.50 and retained a band in which the pound can move 3 per cent either 
side. Egypt's position has been complicated by the fact that the Muslim 
holy month of Ramadan, traditionally a quieter period for tourism, fell 
this year during December, when many tourists would normally visit the 
country.   (Financial Times, UK, 14 December 2001)

* Gabon. Medics tackle Ebola  -  International medical experts sent to a 
remote jungle area of northern Gabon are searching for victims of an Ebola 
outbreak that has already claimed 12 lives. A statement from the World 
Health Organisation said the 14-strong team of international and Gabonese 
medics were "actively tracing suspected cases and contacts". They have set 
up an isolation unit in the town of Mekambo and have launched an education 
programme for local village communities. Four villages have been put under 
quarantine. But there is concern the deadly virus will spread, as health 
workers say they are unable to stop villagers travelling in and out of the 
area. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies 
said 50 Red Cross volunteers from Gabon were also working to contain the 
outbreak. There is no known cure for Ebola, a haemorrhagic fever, and 
between 50% and 90% of its victims bleed to death within days. Early 
diagnosis is difficult because victims suffer symptoms similar to flu. The 
outbreak is in the remote north-eastern province of Ogooue Ivindo, where 
Ebola killed 45 people in 1996-97. The Ebola alarm was raised after medical 
teams discovered an unusually large number of dead primates in the 
region.   (BBC News, UK, 17 December 2001)

* Gabon/Congo. Ebola "sous contrôle"  -  L'épidémie de fièvre hémorragique 
de type Ebola, qui sévit depuis fin novembre au nord-est du Gabon, a 
franchi la frontière avec le Congo-Brazzaville voisin, où la situation est 
"sous contrôle", a indiqué le 18 décembre à Libreville le représentant de 
l'OMS au Gabon. Le ministre gabonais de la Santé a fait état pour sa part 
d'un bilan de 12 morts sur un total de 16 cas avérés.   (Le Figaro, France, 
19 décembre 2001)

* Grands Lacs. Annuaire 2000-2001 - Vient de paraître le livre "L'Afrique 
des Grands Lacs. Annuaire 2000-2001.", sous la direction de S. Marysse et 
F. Reyntjens (Paris, L'Harmattan, 2001). Dans le sommaire, plusieurs 
chapitres intéressants: Evolution socio-économique au Burundi et au Rwanda 
(2000-2001) et la politique financière internationale, par Danny Cassimon 
et Stefaan Marysse; Le Rwanda dans la géopolitique régionale, par Bernard 
Leloup; Organisation des victimes au Rwanda: le cas d'Ibuka, par Heidy 
Rombouts; La contre-résistance dans la zone d'occupation rwandaise au Kivu 
(1996-2001), par Emmanuel Lubala Mugisho; Coltan: pour comprendre, par 
Didier de Failly s.j.; Politique de l'Union europeenne et effets pervers 
pour le conflit dans les Grands Lacs, par Catherine André et Laurent 
Luzolele; et d'autres sujets. L'ouvrage est disponible en librairie ou à 
commander directement chez les éditions L'Harmattan, 5-7 rue de l'Ecole 
Polytechnique, 75005 Paris (e-mail: harmat at worldnet.fr).   (ANB-BIA, 
Belgique, 19 décembre 2001)

* Guinea-Bissau. Bissau leader muzzles media  -  In the past six months, 
Joao de Barros has spent time in prison and seen his newspaper, the Diario 
de Bissau closed down by government decree. But Mr de Barros is 
philosophical. "I think you would have to say that at this moment in time 
there is no freedom of the press in Guinea Bissau," he acknowledges. "We've 
taken a big step backwards. But regimes don't last forever. We're part of a 
struggle going on throughout Africa. Part of our job is to remind 
governments they are there to protect the people, not to serve the 
interests of a small group of individuals," he added. Diario de Bissau was 
closed in October along with the independent weekly, Gazeta de Noticias. Mr 
de Barros says both papers were given 48 hours by the attorney-general's 
office to come up with a series of registration documents, none of which 
had been required previously. "We had never had anything like this before. 
There was no way we could find the documents in that time, so they closed 
us down. It was as simple as that". Mr De Barros and his editor-in-chief, 
Carlos Casimiro, say the documents were simply a pretext and that the paper 
had antagonised Guinea-Bissau President Kumba Yala by its frank coverage of 
the affairs of state. In recent months, President Yala has been engaged in 
very public disputes with parliament, the judiciary and trade unions. There 
have been strong allegations of government corruption and financial 
mismanagement.   (BBC News, UK, 13 December 2001)

* Liberia. Kolahun reconquis  -  A la suite d'une offensive lancée il y a 
deux semaines, l'armée libérienne a reconquis Kolahun, un fief rebelle dans 
le nord du pays, a annoncé le 14 décembre le ministère de la Défense. Des 
milliers de civils ont fui les combats. Kolahun se trouve dans la zone 
diamantifère où se rejoignent les frontières de trois pays, le Liberia, la 
Guinée et la Sierra Leone.   (D'après de Standaard, Belgique, 15 décembre 2001)

* Liberia. Rumours of an attempted coup  -  17 December: A Liberian 
general, General Jang, is being questioned by security agents. Meanwhile, 
Monrovia is awash with rumours of an attempted coup. However, the 
Information Minister, Reginald Goodridge, denies there has been a coup 
attempt and says that this is not why the general has been picked up. 
Monrovia has been buzzing with rumours that members of the elite 
Anti-Terrorist Unit, along with members of opposition parties have been 
arrested. There have been reports that security checks in Monrovia have 
been stepped up but Mr Goodridge says the capital is in festive mood, ahead 
of Christmas. 18 December: President Charles Taylor is refusing to attend a 
regional summit because opponents are plotting to kill him. He also says 
that the intensified fighting in the area near the borders of Sierra Leone 
and Guinea with rebels seeking to overthrow him also makes it impossible 
for him to go to Senegal for the annual meeting of West African 
leaders.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 19 December 2001)

* Libye. 117 prisonniers libérés  -  La Haute Cour de justice a autorisé la 
libération de 177 prisonniers, conséquence des efforts déployés par 
l'Organisation de charité internationale Khadafi pour réformer le système 
carcéral et améliorer les conditions de vie des détenus. D'après les 
organisations de défense des droits de l'homme libyennes basées hors du 
pays, des centaines, voire des milliers de personnes sont incarcérées en 
Libye pour des motifs politiques.   (Le Figaro, France, 15 décembre 2001)

* Madagascar. Elections présidentielles  -  Le premier tour de l'élection 
présidentielle s'est terminé officiellement le dimanche 16 décembre à 18h., 
mais les bureaux sont restés ouverts au-délà de l'horaire, comme prévu par 
le règlement, pour accueillir les derniers électeurs. Le scrutin s'est 
déroulé dans le calme. Mais le collectif des observateurs a constaté de 
nombreuses irrégularités sur les listes électorales dans les provinces. Le 
président sortant Didier Ratsiraka brigue un cinquième mandat. Son 
principal concurrent est le maire d'Antananarivo, Marc Ravalomanana. Selon 
les premiers résultats partiels, ce dernier devance largement M. Ratsiraka 
dans la capitale et les grandes villes, mais selon les observateurs, le 
vote rural est en principe massivement acquis à Ratsiraka. La date d'un 
éventuel second tour n'est pas précisée. Selon les autorités, les résultats 
officiels du premier tour ne seront pas connus avant un mois. -D'après les 
résultats partiels disponibles le lundi soir, M. Ravalomanana arrive en 
tête dans quatre provinces sur les six. Dans la capitale, le maire a obtenu 
74,96% des suffrages exprimés.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 18 décembre 
2001)

* Madagascar. Elections  -  14 December: Stephane Jacob, editor of the Midi 
Madagascar, has expressed fears over the rising tension in the run-up to 
the 16 December presidential election. Also, complaints have been raised 
against the Malagasy National Statistics Institute for numerous anomalies 
observed in the electoral roll and on polling cards. 16 December: People in 
Madagascar are voting in what is expected to be a close presidential 
election, which correspondents say has generated a renewed interest in 
politics. Admiral Ratsiraka -- who has ruled virtually non-stop since 1975 
with the exception of a three-year period in the early 1990s -- warned 
voters of political turmoil should he not be re-elected for a fifth term. 
His strongest rival among the other five candidates is Marc Ravalomana, who 
heads the country's biggest food company, and is backed by the powerful 
Madagascar Council of Christian Churches. 17 December: Early results 
suggest that the current President, Didier Ratsiraka, has failed to win a 
majority of votes in Antananarivo and several other towns. Correspondents 
say he is likely to do better in rural areas and it will not be clear for 
several weeks who has won the most votes nationally. A second round of 
voting seems likely.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 18 December 2001)

Weekly anb1219.txt - End of #3/5