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Weekly anb01108.txt #9

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 10-01-2002      PART #8/9
* Soudan. Alliance des rebelles - Le 7 janvier, les chefs des deux principaux groupes rebelles au Soudan ont annoncé qu'ils unissaient leurs forces en vue d'établir une plus grande autonomie dans le sud du pays qu'ils contrôlent. John Garang, chef de l'armée populaire de libération du Soudan (SPLA), et le commandant Riek Machar, chef du Front démocratique populaire du Soudan, ont signé cet accord à Nairobi, Kenya. Depuis dix ans, la rébellion sudiste n'a jamais pu se rassembler en raison de différends politiques et tribaux. Un porte-parole du SPLA a précisé que l'accord signifiait la cessation immédiate des hostilités entre les deux groupes, qui vont désormais se fondre en une "entité unique" combattant les autorités de Khartoum. En 1997, le commandant Machar avait fait partie des six chefs rebelles à signer un traité de paix avec le président soudanais el-Béchir; mais il devait rompre son engagement en février dernier, affirmant que le traité n'avait pas été respecté. Ce dernier prévoyait un référendum sur l'indépendance dans le Sud pour le 21 avril 2001, qui n'a finalement jamais eu lieu. (AP, 7 janvier 2002)
* Sudan. Sudan-USA aid efforts under way - A senior Sudanese official says local and international teams have begun assessing the humanitarian needs in both government and rebel-held areas. The head of the Sudanese Humanitarian Aid Commission, Khalid Faraj, said his own workers had begun a joint operation in government-controlled areas together with a team from the United States Agency for International Development. Another group from the United Nations had started similar work in areas controlled by the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army. Mr Faraj said the two teams would prepare a joint report on the outcome of a two-week survey which covers agriculture, health and education. Correspondents say the coordinated humanitarian effort is part of an American initiative to end the long-running civil war in Sudan. (BBC News, UK, 3 January 2002)
* Sudan. Rebel groups merge - Sudan's main rebel movement has joined forces with a rival militia group to pool resources in their 19-year war against the government in Khartoum. "We are one and the same again," said John Garang, leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLM/SPLA). Mr Garang's movement is to merge with the Sudan People's Defence Force (SPDF), led by Riek Macher, which split from the SPLM in 1991 amid factional fighting. Sudan has been wracked by civil war since 1983. Rebel groups from the Christian and animist south have not only fought the Muslim government in Khartoum, but have also frequently clashed among themselves. Mr Garang told the BBC the two groups had agreed on "collective leadership" and would elect a leader at a convention to be held this year. Mr Garang said he did not believe Mr Macher's group would again seal its own peace agreement with the government, which it did in 1997. "You are talking about the past, of course nobody can foretell the future," he said after the deal was announced in Nairobi. (BBC News, UK, 7 January 2002)
* Soudan. Visite de Clare Short - Le secrétaire d'Etat britannique au Développement international, Clare Short, se trouve actuellement au Soudan pour une visite de quatre jours, destinée à encourager les efforts de paix dans le sud du pays. Son département a indiqué, dans un communiqué publié à Londres, que Mme Short doit se rendre à Khartoum, à Juba et à Rumbek, où elle va rencontrer des représentants du gouvernement, des factions belligérantes, des responsables de l'Eglise et des représentants de l'Onu et des ONG. Mme Short est le premier membre du gouvernement britannique à se rendre au Soudan depuis plus de 10 ans. (PANA, Sénégal, 8 janvier 2002)
* Sudan. IGAD meeting - 8 January: African leaders are expected to begin arriving in Sudan on 9 January to take part in a regional summit later this week. The meeting of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, IGAD, will concentrate on regional issues, including ways of ending the conflicts in Sudan and Somalia. Foreign ministers of the seven member states, who are already in the capital, Khartoum, were reported to have been discussing recommendations for establishing mechanism to fight terrorism. Sudan and Somalia have been accused by the United States of supporting, or harbouring groups that support terrorism. The meeting will also be attended by officials from the United Nations. Those attending the summit include the British International Development Secretary, Clare Short -- the first British minister to visit Sudan in more than ten years. Member states of the IGAD are: Sudan, Somalia, Uganda, Kenya, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti. 9 January: Ministers attending the meeting have approved a joint initiative to fight terrorism. Drafted by Sudan, the proposal will now be put forward to a summit of all the seven heads of state who are expected to meet tomorrow. There are still a few points to be ironed out, especially in relation to the definition of terrorism. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 10 January 2002)
* Tanzania. Protests at Burundi shelling - Tanzania's Government has sent an official letter of protest to Bujumbura after the Burundi civil war spilled across the border. Three Tanzanian villages have reportedly been shelled but there is no information on any casualties. The affected villages are in a remote area and details may take some time to emerge. Ethnic Hutu rebels have been fighting a Tutsi-dominated government in Burundi since 1993. Tanzania has called on Burundi to confine the fighting to its side of their border. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 5 January 2002)
* Tchad. Signature de paix - Selon Le Soir (Belgique) du 27 décembre, le Mouvement pour la démocratie et la justice au Tchad (MDJT), principal mouvement rebelle tchadien, a décidé d'engager des négociations de paix avec le gouvernement de N'Djamena. Cette décision est intervenue "en réponse à l'appel du dirigeant libyen Mouammar Kadhafi", explique un communiqué du mouvement. Le MDJT harcèle depuis octobre 1998 l'armée tchadienne dans le massif désertique du Tibesti (nord), aux confins tchado-libyens. -Le 5 janvier, le secrétaire du comité populaire général libyen de l'unité africaine, le Dr Ali Turiki, s'est félicité des premiers résultats des pourparlers entre le gouvernement tchadien et le MDJT, qui ont démarré le 3 janvier à Tripoli. Il a ajouté que la Libye a soumis aux deux parties des propositions bien déterminées en vue de réaliser la paix et la sécurité au Tchad, sans toutefois les préciser. -Le 7 janvier, le gouvernement tchadien et le MDJT ont signé un accord de paix. Selon M. Turiki, ils se sont mis d'accord sur un cessez-le-feu immédiat, l'amnistie générale pour les rebelles, et la mise sur pied d'une commission chargée de superviser la mise en oeuvre de l'accord. Selon l'agence libyenne JANA, les parties ont décidé également la participation des rebelles aux institutions gouvernementales et à une commission militaire chargée de déterminer la localisation exacte des combattants. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 7 janvier 2002)
* Chad. Peace deal signed - The Chadian Government and rebels have signed a Libyan-brokered peace deal, ending three years of civil war. The accord provides for an immediate ceasefire, release of prisoners, rebel integration into the national army and government jobs for leaders of the Movement for Democracy and Justice in Chad (MDJT). The deal was signed by MDJT leader, former Defence Minister Youssef Togoimi, and Chadian Interior and Security Minister Abderaman Moussa after three days of negotiations in Tripoli. The MDJT is based in the northern Tibesti region, bordering Libya. Libyan African Unity Minister Ali Abdesselam Triki also signed the peace document on behalf of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who sponsored the talks. Libya is responsible for ensuring that the peace deal is respected. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 7 January 2002)
* Togo. Detention of political opposition representative continues - The detention of lawyer Yawovi Agboyibo, leader of the opposition Committee of Action for Renewal (CAR) party, continues. He was sentenced to 6 months imprisonment, after being found guilty of "defamation and release of false information". Agboyibo's period of imprisonment should end on 3 February, he is however now threatened with a second more serious charge. In fact the investigation of the second inquiry filed against him last September by the Togolese courts continues, following the testimony of a repented criminal, who accused the CAR leader of having instigated a criminal group to carry out raids, in the area of Sedome (Southern Togo) five years ago. As reported by opposition sources, the judges are probably awaiting for his release to arrest him for the second time and begin another trial. This way the politician would be definitively out of the scene for the parliamentary elections, set for 10 March. Agboyibo was brought to judgment based on the complaints presented by Prime Minister Messan Agbeyome Kodjo. (MISNA, Italy, 7 January 2002)
* Tunisie. Le "juge rebelle" révoqué - Le 29 décembre à Tunis, a été annoncée la révocation du juge Mokhtar Yahyaoui. Officiellement, c'est le conseil de discipline des magistrats de Tunisie qui a sanctionné ce juge de 48 ans qui avait osé dénoncer, en juillet, "l'absence totale d'indépendance" de la magistrature tunisienne et souligné le "harcèlement" et les "intimidations" dont les juges sont l'objet. Mokhtar Yahyaoui bénéficie d'un large soutien parmi ses pairs ainsi qu'à l'étranger. Il préside le Centre pour l'indépendance de la justice en Tunisie, récemment créé. (Le Monde, France, 2 janvier 2002) 

WEEKLY anb0110.txt - End of #8/9