Weekly anb06135.txt #7

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

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 13-06-2002      PART #5/7

* Libya. Mandela goes back to jail  -  The prison visitor arrived at 
Barlinnie (Scotland) mid-morning in a flurry of cars and police outriders. 
He bypassed the bleak waiting room with its metal benches and chipped 
linoleum and was led, without being searched, straight to a suite of cells 
deep within the grim Victorian fortress on Glasgow's eastern edge. The 
inmate he had come to see greeted him with a handshake. They sat and talked 
for more than an hour. The statesman and the convicted mass killer: Nelson 
Mandela and the Lockerbie bomber. For Mr Mandela, it was a defining 
experience. Emerging to talk to the press, the former South African 
president called immediately for a fresh appeal and for Abdel Baset 
al-Megrahi to be transferred from Britain to a Muslim prison. The Libyan's 
solitary confinement in Scotland's toughest jail was nothing short of 
"psychological persecution", he said. And too many questions had been 
raised about his conviction to let the matter rest. An urgent meeting would 
be sought with both Tony Blair and the US president, George Bush, to plead 
Megrahi's case. Mr Mandela, 83, has long been troubled by Lockerbie. He 
played a crucial role in persuading the Libyan leader, Colonel Muammar 
Gadafy, to hand over the two men suspected of involvement in the 1988 
atrocity which left 270 people dead, and has followed events closely. Last 
week he announced he intended to travel to Glasgow to check on Megrahi's 
welfare.   (The Guardian, UK, 11 June 2002)

* Madagascar. Rivals meet on neutral turf  -  9 June: Madagascar's two 
rival presidents are meeting in Senegal, in an internationally mediated 
attempt to resolve a violent power struggle. Marc Ravalomanana and Didier 
Ratsiraka hold talks separately with regional heads of state who are trying 
broker a settlement. Today, the two leaders meet face to face for the first 
time. Participants decline to comment on the progress of negotiations. The 
diplomatic push follows a surge in fighting between forces loyal to Mr 
Ravalomanana, who was sworn in as president last month, and militants 
aligned with Mr Ratsiraka, who led Madagascar until a disputed election 
last December. The fighting appears to signal the start of a new, more 
violent, turn in the six-month dispute that has split Madagascar between 
rival presidents, governments and armies. 10 June: The talks end without 
agreement, but African heads of state have drawn up a plan aimed at ending 
the crisis. The document calls for parliamentary elections to be held 
before the end of the year and for a balanced transitional government. The 
two presidents were not on hand at the end of the talks to give their own 
opinions on what had been discussed.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 10 June 2002)

* Madagascar. Après Dakar II, affrontements  -  9 juin. Les deux présidents 
rivaux, Ravalomanana et Ratsiraka, se sont de nouveau rencontrés à Dakar, 
sous l'égide du président du Sénégal, qui a réuni pour l'occasion quatre 
autres chefs d'Etat. Chacun d'eux a rencontré séparément les deux 
présidents malgaches. Finalement, le dimanche soir, les deux hommes se sont 
séparés sans avoir conclu un accord, mais avec un "plan de sortie de crise" 
proposé par les chefs d'Etat facilitateurs. Ce plan propose "l'organisation 
d'élections législatives anticipées avant la fin de l'année" ou, en cas de 
difficulté, "à l'échéance normale des mandats des députés, en mai 2003". Le 
plan prévoit que M. Ravalomanana nomme le Premier ministre de la 
transition, les autres ministres devant être nommés partiellement par les 
deux protagonistes. La proposition des chefs d'Etat sera soumise à l'OUA, 
qui devra déterminer une position commune africaine. Elle reste cependant 
vague sur la question essentielle, consistant à désigner le véritable 
président de Madagascar. - 10 juin. Pendant ce temps, de nouveaux fronts 
militaires se dessinent. Selon des sources journalistiques, les troupes 
fidèles à Ravalomanana avanceraient vers Tuléar (sud). Ils chercheraient 
l'affrontement à plusieurs endroits du pays pour diviser les forces de 
Ratsiraka, mieux armées et entraînées. M. Ravalomanana a rallié sous son 
autorité la très grande majorité des effectifs de l'armée malgache mais 
plusieurs unités d'élite, très bien entraînées et armées, sont restées 
fidèles à M. Ratsiraka. Il multiplie le recrutement de jeunes pour gonfler 
les rangs de ses milices. Ses troupes resserrent leurs tenailles autour 
d'Antsiranana, dans l'extrême-nord, grand port-arsenal tenu par les 
militaires d'élite pro-Ratsiraka. Elles ont lancé une offensive depuis la 
région de Sambava, dans le nord-est, et d'Antsohihy, dans le nord-ouest, et 
s'apprêtaient à ouvrir un nouveau front dans le sud, vers Tuléar. Des 
combats entre partisans de Ratsiraka et fidèles de Marc Ravalomanana ont 
éclaté mardi sur l'île Nosy-be, la principale destination touristique de 
Madagascar. De partout, on pouvait entendre les échanges de tirs qui ont 
éclaté sur "l'île aux parfums" située dans le nord-ouest de cet Etat de 
l'océan Indien. - 12 juin. L'armée de Ravalomanana a réussi à briser le 
blocus de la capitale en prenant un barrage stratégique sur le pont de la 
rivière Betsiboka (barrant la route entre Antananarivo et le port de 
Mahajanga) et elle continue son avancée sur Mahajanga. Elle a progressé sur 
tous les fronts, à l'exception de la petite île de Nosy-be, où un de ses 
généraux a été encerclé et capturé.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 12 
juin 2002)

* Malawi. High Court decision upholds Muluzi's ban on demonstrations  -  In 
an about-turn, a Malawian High Court on 6 June overturned a previous court 
ruling declaring unconstitutional a ban by President Bakili Muluzi on 
public protests over his third term in office. The move is seen as a boost 
for Muluzi, who said on Monday he would ignore the previous court ruling as 
it was "irresponsible and insensitive". On 3 June, Malawi's High Court had 
ruled that Muluzi could not ban demonstrations over a controversial 
campaign urging him to stand for a third term in office. The court ruling 
came after influential religious groups, including the Roman Catholic 
Church and the law society of Malawi, applied for an injunction against 
Muluzi's threat to stop demonstrations around the third term issue. Judge 
Dunstain Mwaungulu ruled that Muluzi's ban violated the constitutional 
rights of freedom of expression and assembly. But that ruling was 
overturned following an application by Justice Minister and 
Attorney-General Henry Phoya, who accused lawyers representing groups 
opposing Muluzi's controversial third-term of shopping for sympathetic 
judges.   (IRIN, 6 June 2002)

* Malawi. Permis d'interdire  -  Le 5 juin, un juge du tribunal de grande 
instance du Malawi, Antanazio Tembo, a annulé le jugement prononcé le 3 
juin par un de ses collègues contre l'interdiction par le président Muluzi 
des manifestations contre sa tentative de se présenter à un troisième 
mandat. Le juge Tembo a pris cette décision, suite à l'introduction d'une 
demande par le ministre de la Justice, qui a accusé les avocats d'être 
impliqués dans une coalition hostile au 3e mandat. Viva Nyimba, un célèbre 
avocat de Blantyre, a accusé le ministre de s'ingérer dans les affaires de 
la justice et d'utiliser sa position pour intimider les magistrats. "C'est 
honteux et c'est un jour triste pour l'indépendance de la justice au 
Malawi", a-t-il dit. - 7 juin. L'Eglise catholique du Malawi a ouvertement 
pris position dans la dispute politique concernant la possibilité d'un 
troisième mandat pour le président Muluzi, indique l'agence Misna. Dans un 
communiqué, la Commission pour la paix et la justice (CCJP) a dit être 
"absolument contraire à un troisième mandat", appuyant ainsi le mouvement 
populaire luttant contre une révision de la Constitution.   (ANB-BIA, de 
sources diverses, 8 juin 2002)

* Malawi. Churches pray for term limits  -  Thousands of people prayed on 9 
June for divine intervention to thwart the ruling party's bid to abolish 
presidential term limits. At the interdenominational prayer session, church 
leaders condemned efforts by the ruling United Democratic Front to change 
the constitution in order to allow President Bakili Muluzi to run for a 
third term in 2004. The session, organized by church and civil rights 
groups, and a protest the day earlier defied a ban called by Muluzi against 
gatherings relating to the third term bid. Felix Chingota, one of the 
church leaders, said changing the constitution, which limits a president to 
two five-year terms, amounted to criminal treason. Muluzi, speaking to a 
political rally, the same day, dismissed the prayer session as being 
motivated by politics, not democracy. "My government is for peace but some 
opposition leaders are using churches to fuel political and religious 
tension in the country," Muluzi said.   (CNN, USA, 10 June 2002)

* Mali. New President sworn in  -  8 June: For the first time in Mali's 
history, one elected president has handed over power to an elected 
successor. After 10 years in power, Alpha Oumar Konare welcomed 
president-elect, retired General Amadou Toumani Toure, to the presidential 
palace on a cliff overlooking the capital, Bamako. The two men consulted 
for 40 minutes behind closed doors. Then Konare vacated the palace 
graciously, heading off to a new palatial residence built for him by the 
Chinese Government, on the outskirts of Bamako. Konare was not present at 
the Congress Palace two hours later for the official swearing-in ceremony. 
The official explanation was that protocol could not handle two presidents 
at a time. His absence did not dampen enthusiastic attendance at the 
ceremony. Many thousands of invited dignitaries and Malian citizens tried 
to squeeze into the main auditorium of the Congress Palace, which holds 
only 1,000 people. The official ceremony was delayed by an hour as 
organisers tried to convince Malians to cede their places to foreign 
guests. The congestion in the Congress Palace was exacerbated by the 
presence of 11 African heads of state from Mali's neighbours -- Côte 
d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Guinea, Mauritania and Guinea, as well as 
Gabon, Chad, the Central African Republic, Congo-Brazzaville and Congo RDC. 
It was shortly before midday that Amadou Toumani Toure arrived with his 
spouse, Lobo Toure, and the ceremony could begin. Mali's attorney general 
reminded the incoming president that he was "an ordinary man in 
extraordinary circumstances" and that the country faced serious social and 
economic problems, with the youth "refusing to respect their elders". The 
Supreme Court then officially declared Toure president of Mali.   (BBC 
News, UK, 8 June 2002)

* Mali. Touré prête serment  -  Le 8 juin, le nouveau président malien, 
Amadou Toumani Touré, élu le 12 mai, a prêté serment à Bamako, lors d'une 
cérémonie d'investiture, en présence de onze chefs d'Etat africains. Il 
s'est engagé à "construire un pays qui n'exclue personne, travailler dans 
l'intérêt du peuple et travailler à l'unité africaine". La veille au soir, 
le président sortant Alpha Oumar Konaré avait fait ses adieux au peuple 
malien après ses dix années passées à la tête du pays. Il n'a pas manqué de 
faire une auto-critique, mais a laissé entendre qu'il ne se retirerait pas 
de sitôt de la politique. "Je ne prendrai pas ma retraite", a-t-il affirmé. 
- 9 juin. L'ancien ambassadeur du Mali à Rabat et à Bruxelles, Mohamed Ag 
Amani, a été nommé Premier ministre selon un décret signé par le président 
Touré. Le nouveau Premier ministre, 60 ans, est économiste-statisticien de 
formation. Il fut plusieurs fois ministre sous Moussa Traoré. On ne lui 
connaît aucune appartenance politique.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 10 
juin 002)

* Morocco. Al-Qaeda plot  -  10 June: Reports from Morocco say three Saudi 
members of al-Qaeda have been arrested as they prepared attacks on American 
and British naval ships in the Straits of Gibraltar. There has been no 
formal announcement from the Moroccan authorities, but officials are quoted 
as saying the three had been arrested in May with the help of the 
intelligence services of several friendly countries. The men, aged between 
25 and 35, are reported to have links to the al-Qaeda, the organisation 
suspected of carrying out the 11 September attacks in the United States. 
Officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the suspects 
planned to sail inflatable dinghies loaded with explosives alongside ships 
patrolling the straits. The suspects were planning to sail the dinghies 
from Ceuta and Melillia, the Spanish enclaves on Moroccan territory, the 
officials said.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 10 June 2002)

* Maroc. Cellule Al Qaida démantelée  -  Le ministre marocain de 
l'Intérieur a confirmé, le 12 juin, le démantèlement d'une cellule d'Al 
Qaida infiltrée au Maroc et qui "préparait des actes terroristes contre les 
navires de l'OTAN" dans le détroit de Gibraltar. Les membres de la cellule, 
trois Saoudiens, comptaient mener des opérations à l'intérieur du Maroc et 
à partir des deux enclaves espagnoles dans le nord du Maroc, Ceuta et 
Melilla. L'enquête de la police judiciaire se poursuit.   (PANA, Sénégal, 
12 juin 2002)

* Mozambique. Hunger and Aids stalk Mozambique  -  6 June: The great 
Zambezi flows lazily by the town of Tete, on its way to the Indian Ocean. 
But a mere 40-minute drive away, rivers have dried to a trickle, some are 
mostly mud or reduced to stagnant pools, or simply filled with sand. Hunger 
or drought is stalking southern Africa and Mozambique has not escaped it. 
It has already set in here, right in the province of Tete, wedged in by 
colonial-era frontiers of Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia. Withered stalks of 
maize and sorghum litter the dusty fields. Malaria is rampant and cholera 
killed many here in the first three months of the year. In the village of 
Cachembe, in Changara district, people are desperately scouring the bush 
for wild fruit and nuts as they try to stay alive. But, with everyone doing 
the same, even this source of food is becoming scarcer by the day. Many 
children have bloated stomachs, a classic tell-tale sign of malnutrition. 
The Mozambican Government has already appealed for emergency aid and the 
UN's World Food Programme is sounding the alarm, saying that at least 12.8 
million people in six countries across southern Africa need help. According 
to their latest estimates 515,000 people in Mozambique need food aid. The 
drought in Mozambique has been catastrophic, but thankfully it has not 
covered the whole country, parts of which have had good rains and harvests. 
But the rains have failed in much of the centre and south of the country. 
Many of these areas were already devastated by massive floods at the end of 
2000 and beginning of 2001. The floods washed away crops, houses, bridges 
and infrastructure and also drowned cattle and other farm 
animals.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 6 June 2002)

* Mozambique. Menace de famine  -  Les Nations unies attirent l'attention 
sur la situation de disette dans le sud et le centre du Mozambique. Une 
analyse réalisée par la FAO et le PAM relève que plus d'un demi million de 
personnes aura besoin d'une assistance alimentaire avant les récoltes de 
2003. A l'origine de la chute de la production agricole, il y a la 
sécheresse de cette année qui a frappé particulièrement les zones rurales 
du centre et du sud du pays. Dans les aires de Zambezia, de Tete, de 
Manica, de Sofala et dans les provinces au sud de Maputo, le manque d'eau 
aura pour conséquence un déficit de 70 mille tonnes de récolte. Pour le 
moment, plus de 150.000 personnes nécessitent une intervention humanitaire. 
Mais ce nombre, signalent les deux agences onusiennes, est destiné à 
augmenter dans les mois qui viennent, quand les familles auront épuisé 
leurs réserves de denrées alimentaires.   (Misna, Italie, 7 juin 2002)

Weekly News - anb06135.txt - #5/7