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Weekly anb05166.txt #8

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 16-05-2002      PART #6/8
* Mali. 2nd round of voting - 10 May: A coalition of opposition parties in Mali has given its backing to the leading presidential candidate -- former military leader General Amadou Toumani Toure -- in the decisive second round of voting on 12 May. The decision of the "Espoir 2002" grouping, led by former Prime Minister Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, makes Mr Toure a clear favourite, correspondents say. Mr Toure is facing Soumaila Cisse of the ruling Adema party after the first round of voting was marred by allegations of fraud. 12 May: A second round of voting has gone ahead in Mali's presidential elections with voters choosing between two candidates -- Amadou Toumani Toure, or the governing party's candidate, Soumaila Cisse. 13 May: Turnout appears to have been very low in the voting. -- The Government has scheduled parliamentary elections for 14 July. 15 May: With 70% of the votes counted, Amadou Toumani Toure seems set to be named President. Attention is now turning to who he names in his government. More than 40 parties backed him in the second round and they will all be expecting some reward. Mr Toure has 68.35%, against 31.65% for Adema's Soumaila Cisse, according to figures released by the interior ministry. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 16 May 2002)
* Maroc. Appel au boycott des produits américains - Relayés par plusieurs associations et journaux marocains, les appels au boycottage des produits américains pour sanctionner "la complicité criminelle entre les Etats-Unis et Israël" commencent à pénaliser lourdement l'activité de plusieurs multinationales américaines implantées au Maroc. Régulièrement désignés comme cibles de la "guerre économique" déclarée par les réseaux de soutien au peuple palestinien, McDonald's et Coca-Cola sont les principales victimes de cette campagne. De son côté, depuis le 15 avril, le principal quotidien financier du royaume, L'Economiste, appelle régulièrement les opérateurs marocains "à boycotter le dollar pour la Palestine et à opter, chaque fois que cela est possible, pour l'euro". Ces appels au boycottage interviennent alors que Washington a annoncé officiellement, fin avril, à l'occasion d'une visite du roi Mohammed VI, que les Etats-Unis négocient un accord de libre-échange avec le Maroc. "Le gouvernement peut faire ce qu'il veut, c'est le peuple et les consommateurs marocains qui auront le dernier mot", commente Khalil Soufiani, un des initiatieurs du boycottage. (AP, 9 mai 2002)
* Maroc. Visite officielle du président italien - Le 14 mai, le président italien Carlo Ciampi a entamé une visite officielle de deux jours au Maroc, destinée à relancer la coopération bilatérale. 4e client et 7e fournisseur du Maroc, avec un volume d'échanges de 1,2 milliard d'euros en 2000, l'Italie est le quatrième partenaire commercial du royaume après la France, l'Espagne et le Royaume-Uni. La communauté marocaine en Italie est l'une des premières d'Europe avec environ 200.000 ressortissants. Les entreprises italiennes sont largement implantées au Maroc, avec notamment le groupe automobile Fiat. (AP, 14 mai 2002)
* Maroc. Libertés publiques: bilan sévère - Dans son rapport annuel présenté à la presse le 15 mai, l'Association marocaine des droits humains (AMDH) dresse un bilan particulièrement sévère de "l'inaction" du gouvernement socialiste en matière de libertés publiques et pour "l'édification d'un Etat de droit" officiellement souhaité par le roi Mohammed VI. "Les avancées enregistrées, notamment en matière de liberté d'expression, depuis le début des années 90 restent relatives, fragiles et limitées", a expliqué le président du AMDH. Il estime par ailleurs que, compte tenu de "la progression du chômage et de la pauvreté, les droits économiques et sociaux ont régressé au Maroc poussant nos concitoyens à s'aventurer chaque jour plus nombreux vers l'immigration clandestine". L'AMDH estime aussi qu'il y a encore au moins 45 détenus politiques dans les geôles du royaume. (AP, 15 mai 2002)
* Mozambique. Textile factory to close - One of Mozambique's largest textile factories is to shut down despite government and private bail-out attempts. The country's state news agency reported that Textafrica, which once employed 3,300 workers, and its Portuguese parent, Multiplier Group, could no longer afford to buy raw materials. Frederico Magalhaes Multiplier Group Textafrica's failure comes despite Mozambique being given preferential access to the US market for textiles and apparel under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) on 20 February. Last year a number of textile factories shut down leading to the loss of about 9,500 jobs. The Textafrica factory ground to a halt in November 2000 and workers have not been paid their wages since. (BBC News, UK, 7 May 2002)
* Mozambique. Profiting from gas link - Sasol, the South African fuel company, has begun work on the gas fields of Temane and Pande in central Mozambique, an energy project expected to boost higher economic growth. The gas development demonstrates a growing industrial partnership between Mozambique and neighbouring South Africa, and brings an end to the ambitions of Enron, the bankrupt US energy company only two years ago was expected to have been the first to develop one of the southern African country's richest assets. Forecast to boost Mozambique's current economic growth of 3 per cent by 20 per cent, the $1.2bn Project de Gas Natural will create about 1,000 jobs among a local population supported by subsistence farming and work in South Africa's mines. Sasol, in partnership with the Mozambican state energy company, will pipe natural gas along a 865km pipeline to South Africa from 2004. Production is projected at 120 gigajoules of gas a year over 25 years. The natural gas will feed into Sasol's established South African pipeline network stretching from Pretoria to Durban. The network currently supplies gas produced from coal to some of South Africa's largest industrial consumers. The Projecto de Gas Natural will also provide gas to Mozambique's fledgling industrial base and to domestic users along the pipeline's route. (Financial Times, UK, 10 May 2002)
* Nigeria. University expels 206 students - 8 May: Lagos State University has expelled 206 students for offenses including alleged murder, violence, robbery, cult activities and cheating in exams, officials said. The university said the students were expelled following their indictment by a disciplinary committee set up by college authorities. It said 182 students were expelled for examination malpractice and cult activities. Another 18 were found guilty of armed robbery and were handed over to the police for prosecution. The university said the police had also arrested six other students implicated in the murder of a student union leader. The university said the expulsion was with immediate effect and asked those affected to leave the campus immediately. Hundreds of students are either expelled or suspended every year in Nigeria for examination fraud and cult activities. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 9 May 2002)
* Nigeria. Obasanjo campaigns to consolidate democracy - President Olusegun Obasanjo this week launched his attempt to achieve what Nigeria has never done since it won independence in 1960: to hold two successive elections without suffering a military takeover. Mr Obasanjo, elected in 1999 after the death of the dictator General Sani Abacha, is arguing that his government has improved the lot of ordinary Nigerians and helped shape important international initiatives. Nigeria, simultaneously one of the world's largest oil producers and one of its poorest countries, is a principal architect of Nepad, the plan for pan-African development due to be debated by the Group of Eight leading industrialised countries at their summit in Canada next week. "The greatest change of all to my own mind is that Nigerians today feel that they have hope of brighter future," Mr Obasanjo said at the opening of the campaign headquarters. "And nothing can be substituted for hope." Party officials are presenting the election as an opportunity for Nigeria to avoid the disasters of the 1960s and 1980s, when civilian rule was cut short by the military after chaotic polls. (Financial Times, UK, 11 May 2002)
* Nigeria. Man sentenced to death by stoning - 10 May: An Islamic court in northern Nigeria has sentenced a man to death by stoning for the crime of rape. The judge in the state of Jigawa passed the sentence after the man, Sarimu Mohammed, confessed to raping a nine-year-old girl. If carried out, it would be the first such stoning under strict Islamic, or Sharia, laws introduced in the majority Muslim northern States over the past two years. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 11 May 2002)
* Nigeria. Clashes leave 15 dead - 11 May: At least 15 people are reported to have been killed in unrest in south-eastern Nigeria. A political rights group representing the Ogoni people says fighting between two local communities has been ongoing for several days in a dispute that appears to be over access to land. Police have been deployed in the area, but it is not clear whether they have managed to contain the violence. Even local rights campaigners admit that they have been taken aback by the ferocity of the clashes. As so often in this troubled region, the underlying causes of this unrest remain unclear. The dispute began a few days ago between the two rival communities, one group attempting to force the other off the land. Houses have been destroyed and many people have fled the area. Despite intervention by the police, violence continued to erupt sporadically right up to the morning of 10 May. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 12 May 2002)
* Nigeria. Heurts tribaux en Ogoniland - Quinze personnes auraient péri lors d'affrontements inter-communautaires dans la région pétrolière de l'Ogoniland (sud-est), a annoncé le Mouvement pour la sauvegarde du peuple ogoni. Les heurts auraient éclaté à Bori (Etat de Rivers), provoquant la fuite de centaines d'habitants. L'Ogoniland est le théâtre d'une agitation inter-communautaire depuis plusieurs années. Ses habitants exigent des retombées économiques plus généreuses de la part des compagnies pétrolières multinationales opérant dans la région. (La Libre Belgique, 14 mai 2002)
* Nigeria. Ageing aircraft grounded - 9 May: The Nigerian Government has announced that it is grounding all ageing British Aerospace BAC 1-11 aircraft as a precautionary measure, after one of the airliners crashed in Kano on 4 May, killing more than 150 people. The crash has given rise to fears that competition among Nigeria's private airlines -- many of which use the 1-11 -- may have led to cutbacks, including reduced maintenance work. The Aviation Minister, Kema Chikwe, speaking in a radio and TV broadcast, said there would also be a thorough review of the private aviation sector's operations. 15 May: The authorities have announced further drastic measures to improve the safety of air travel. A ban has been announced on all airlines with only one aircraft in their fleet on the grounds that safety considerations are being strongly compromised by the economic necessity of continued business operation. This latest step could force the closure of many of the country's airlines -- including, mortifyingly for the government, the domestic arm of the national carrier, Nigeria Airways. Measures taken already -- even before the official investigation into the Kanu plane crash is completed -- include the dismissal of a host of senior aviation officials and ban on all aircraft built before 1980. These are desperate measures by Nigeria's civil aviation authority to improve the safety and reliability of the airline business. As a direct result, many of the airlines here face instant closure and economic ruin. After years of decline, the national carrier, Nigeria Airways, has only one single aircraft flying domestic routes; the rest of its planes lie in various states of disintegration in a hangar at Lagos Airport. So its domestic arm is a prime candidate for shutdown on safety grounds under the new regulations, although it does still have two leased planes flying international routes. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 16 May 2002)
* Rwanda. Aide belge à la santé - Le secrétaire d'Etat belge à la Coopération au développement, M. Boutmans, a signé avec le Rwanda un accord portant sur la formation de médecins et d'infirmières. Un budget de 10 millions d'euros, répartis sur trois ans, a été affecté à la réalisation de cet accord. Le secteur de la santé rwandais est bien organisé au niveau urbain, mais les régions rurales manquent d'infrastructure et de personnel médical. Certains hôpitaux ne bénéficient même pas de la présence d'un médecin. Le pays manque également de personnel soignant. (Le Soir, Belgique, 13 mai 2002)
* Rwanda. Pluies torrentielles: 59 morts - 9 mai. Au moins 50 personnes ont été accidentellement tuées en moins de dix jours dans des glissements de terrain à la suite de pluies torrentielles au Rwanda, a-t-on appris de source officielle. Ce bilan pourrait encore s'alourdir, a-t-on indiqué. Plus de 1.500 habitations ont été détruites et de nombreuses têtes de bétail tuées. En octobre dernier, des pluies diluviennes avaient déjà fait une vingtaine de morts au Rwanda. Ces deux dernières semaines, 46 personnes sont mortes au Kenya en raison des intempéries, et 7 en Ouganda. - 13 mai. Au moins neuf nouvelles personnes ont été tuées au sud-est du pays durant le week-end dans des glissements de terrain dus aux pluies. Au moins 18.000 personnes sont sans abri, a indiqué le président du Comité national de gestion des catastrophes. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 14 mai 2002) 

Weekly anb0516.txt - #6/8