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Weekly anb09124.txt #7

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 12-09-2002      PART #4/7
* Congo (RDC). UN investigates reports of scores killed in Congo - The United Nations is investigating reports that more than 100 people were killed in a new round of bloodletting in war-devastated northeastern Congo. Residents fleeing the town of Nyankunde in Ituri province told UN observers in nearby Bunia their village was attacked on 5 September by tribal warriors and fighters from one of several Ugandan-backed rebel factions. Violence has flared in Ituri over the past month as Ugandan troops have pulled out under an agreement aimed at ending a four-year war in the vast central African country that has left an estimated two million people dead. "It is difficult to know how many people were killed, because in the chaos people were trying to escape," a statement said from the Church Missionary Society in Britain, quoting someone who had been working at Nyankunde. "The dead were abandoned, roads were blocked and many people trapped," she said. Church groups estimated that more than 100 people died at Nyankunde. The trouble there follows killings at nearby Bunia last month, where at least 110 civilians died --many of them women and children hacked to death. News of the attacks at Nyankunde has been slow to trickle from the isolated town, where church groups said communications equipment was destroyed in fighting involving ethnic militias and rebels of the RCD-ML faction. "The villagers told us of atrocities committed by soldiers from the RCD-ML and people from the Ngiti tribe, who now appear to be in control of Nyankunde," UN spokesman Hamadoun Toure told Reuters in Kinshasa. "They said 20 people were killed at the hospital, but we'll have to investigate to find out what really happened," he added. (CNN, USA, 12 September 2002)
* Djibouti. Multiparty politics approved - President Ismael Omar Guelleh has announced the introduction of multiparty politics to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the country's constitution on 4 September. In a speech to mark the occasion, the president hailed the achievements of the Djibouti people over the last 10 years. He described the 10th anniversary as a "new departure" for the country. "In keeping with this law on which our republican institutions are based, our people will, from today [4 September], participate in the process of multiparty politics," he said. He cautioned against tribalism, regionalism, demagogy, disrespect for constitutional rule and violence. (IRIN, Kenya, 5 September 2002)
* Egypte. Islamistes condamnés - Le 9 septembre, un tribunal militaire égyptien a condamné 51 islamistes, accusés de complot pour renverser le gouvernement, à des peines allant de 2 ans de prison à 15 ans de travaux forcés. Le tribunal de Huckstep (au nord du Caire) a acquitté les 43 autres militants comparaissant dans ce procès d'un groupe accusé d'avoir envisagé l'assassinat du président Moubarak. La majorité d'entre eux avait été arrêtée avant les attentats du 11 septembre 2001 (pour avoir illégalement levé des fonds en faveur des combattants tchétchènes et en soutien à l'Intifada palestinienne), mais les charges ont subitement été alourdies après cette date. En Egypte, les associations des droits de l'homme ont plusieurs fois dénoncé ce procès qu'elles estiment monté de toutes pièces et destiné uniquement à démontrer la participation active de l'Egypte à la lutte antiterroriste. (D'après Libération, France, 10 septembre 2002)
* Egypt. Militants jailed - On 9 September, an Egyptian military court passed jail sentences on 51 Muslim militants for plotting to kill public figures and security agents and forming an illegal secret group. Seven were tried in their absence. Another 43, including Nash'at Ahmed Mohamed Ibrahim, a prominent preacher, were acquitted. (The Guardian, UK, 10 September 2002)
* Ghana. Reconciliation Commission receives petitions - The Ghana National Reconciliation Commission started receiving individual petitions and statements on 3 September in preparation for actual hearings. The commission, set up by the government "to investigate state-sponsored human rights abuses under unconstitutional regimes" has established five zonal offices throughout the country to receive the complaints. Two offices -- Tamale in the Northern Province and Bolgatanga in the Upper Eastern Province -- did not, however, open on 3 September. Staff for the two offices "are to be recruited". After receiving the petitions, investigators and researchers will assess them and recommend whether they warrant a hearing by the reconciliation panel. (IRIN, Kenya, 5 September 2002)
* Ghana. Hearing clinic helps thousands - A new hearing clinic in the Ghanaian city of Kumasi is helping to transform the lives of thousands of people both inside and outside the country's borders. The Kumasi Hearing Assessment Centre is providing hearing aids and treatment to 150 patients a day, with some patients travelling from as far away as Nigeria for care. The clinic aims to tackle the high rates of people who are deaf in Ghana. An estimated 1% of the population has hearing problems of some kind while 6% of all school children are believed to have difficulties. Doctors at the clinic say there is high demand for treatment at the clinic. "People come from all over this country, from north and south," says Dr Geoffrey Amadohfu, a clinical audiologist at the clinic. "We see people from Burkina Faso and Mali and even people from Nigeria. The clinic is very busy. It can be very hectic and there is always pressure on staff. We have modest equipment. We don't have the best but we are managing with the equipment we have. It is sometimes difficult but we are trying to cope with it." (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 9 September 2002)
* Kenya. Food prices level out - The latest figures on inflation in Kenya have shown that prices are falling. Kenya's headline inflation rate fell to 1.8% in the year to August, compared to 2.1% in the year to July, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). The news bolstered the government's belief that prices of most commodities in the shops are now fairly stable. Evidence of lower inflation will come as good news to businesses, as they will find it easier to forecast their future costs. The CBS says that prices of most commodities remained relatively stable compared with the previous month. The food index decreased, compared with the previous month, thanks mainly to a slight drop in the prices of tomatoes, onions and Irish potatoes. The CBS also said that a drop in the value of paraffin led to a fall in the indices used to track the price of fuel and power. This also led to lower costs for transport and communications. Meanwhile, Kenya's underlying inflation rate -- which excludes food prices -- fell to 1.5% during the year to August, compared with 2% in the 12 months to July. (BBC News, UK, 5 September 2002)
* Kenya. Mount Kenya dries up - "The mighty Mount Kenya is finally giving way as an inexhaustible water fountain," the Daily Nation newspaper reported on 5 September. Communities on the slopes of Kenya's most important water source have no water to drink and people further downstream on the rivers which flow from it are having to move upstream in search of water. Mount Kenya is one of Kenya's five main "water towers" -- mountains which are the sources of rivers supplying most of Kenya's water. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep), more than seven million people are directly dependent on the mountain's water catchment area. But in recent years a range of problems has affected the water resources, including over-extraction of water from rivers on the mountain slopes, the destruction of forests, marijuana (bhang) cultivation, illegal grazing and the reduction in the size of Mount Kenya's 12 glaciers. The growing water problems are leading to conflicts between small and large-scale farmers, cultivators and pastoralists and "between everybody else and wildlife", according to the Daily Nation. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 5 September 2002)
* Kenya. Nominations' campaign - 29 August: Kenya's Daily Nation reports that Keny's Catholic bishops have warned President Moi that he should "uphold democracy and fair play in the nominations' campaign. 9 September: President Moi has sacked a junior minister and told those KANU party members who oppose his choice of successor to quit the party. On 9 September, the official presidential press service announced that deputy Foreign Minister Peter Odoyo had been relieved of his duties with immediate effect. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 9 September 2002)
* Liberia. Court ruling in human rights defender's case is a huge disappointment - In a Press release, Amnesty International expresses dismay at the recent court decision stating that human rights defender Sheikh K.M. Sackor should be tried under military jurisdiction. Sheikh Sackor is Executive Director of Humanist Watch, a Liberian human rights organisation. He has been held incommunicado since his arrest on 25 July 2002. Although he has not been charged, government lawyers have accused him of belonging to the armed opposition Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) and argued that the case should be handed over to a military tribunal. (Amnesty International, 5 September 2002)
* Libye/Zimbabwe. Discussions bilatérales - Le 7 septembre, le président zimbabwéen Mugabe, accompagné de son épouse et d'une délégation, est arrivé en Libye pour une visite dont la durée n'a pas été précisée. Il s'est entretenu avec le colonel Khadafi de questions africaines et des relations bilatérales, selon des sources officielles. Ils devraient discuter essentiellement d'un contrat pétrolier. Les deux pays ont signé, l'an dernier, un contrat annuel de 360 millions de dollars payables en monnaie locale, mais ce contrat semble être remis en question. Selon des informations de la presse, la Libye aurait menacé de l'annuler, Harare étant revenu sur ses engagements de céder des actions dans les principales sociétés zimbabwéennes. (D'après PANA, Sénégal, 8 septembre 2002)
* Libya. Fresh appeal launched - A new appeal process is to be started on behalf of the Libyan convicted of the Lockerbie bombing. Lawyers for Abdelbaset al-Megrahi will lodge papers, today, at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg. They are expected to cite alleged breaches of Megrahi's human rights during his trial and subsequent appeal at the special Scottish court at Camp Zeist in the Netherlands. Megrahi was jailed for life for the 1988 bombing of Pan-Am flight 103 over the Scottish town, in which 270 people died. He was moved to Glasgow Barlinnie prison in March when he lost an appeal against his murder conviction. The lawyers who represented him during his appeal have since been replaced. His new legal team will lodge papers with the registrar of the ECHR in Strasbourg seeking leave to appeal. The grounds are expected to cite an article of the ECHR dealing with an accused person's rights to a fair trial and provisions for people being tried in a foreign court and language. (BBC News, UK, 12 September 2002)
* Madagascar. Aide, sécurité et transparence - L'aide de l'Union européenne à Madagascar, paralysée pendant le premier semestre de l'année par une grave crise politique, sera de 577 millions d'euros sur cinq ans, a annoncé à Antananarivo le président de la Commission européenne, Romano Prodi, soit une augmentation de 40%. -Par ailleurs, un émissaire de la Commission de l'océan Indien (COI) se trouve actuellement à Madagascar en vue de relancer le renforcement de la sécurité civile dans la Grande Ile. - D'autre part, lors d'une conférence de presse, le président Ravalomanana a donné l'assurance que les prochaines élections législatives se dérouleront dans la transparence la plus totale, avant, pendant et après le scrutin, afin d'éviter toute contestation. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 7 septembre 2002)
* Malawi. Shutting biggest textile factory - Malawi has said it will shut down the country's largest textile factory, putting more than 2,000 people out of work, after plans for privatisation failed. The government has decided to stop subsidising the factory because of heavy financial losses, the Commerce and Industry Minister Peter Kaleso said. Only last month Mr Kaleso said that the government was looking for a strategic partner for the state-owned David Whitehead and Sons (DWS) factory and he was predicting a "booming" future. The closure comes even though Malawi has seen textile exports surge since it signed the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) treaty with the US in September 2001. In the last year the industry's yearly growth rate was reported to be 120%. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 6 September 2002)
* Malawi. Illicit grain deals cost Malawi $40 million - The illicit sale of Malawi's grain reserves, which has compounded widespread food shortages, cost the country at least $40 million, according to an official report released on 8 September. The national auditor's office found that part of the 160,000-ton (176,000-short ton) food reserve was exported to Kenya, and the rest was sold locally, mainly to government officials, at below its market value. The losses on the grain, which had been stockpiled to avert possible food shortages, were incurred mainly by the National Food Reserve Agency. "The maize (corn) was originally bought at a higher price and sold at a low price," the auditor's office said in a report, which was leaked to the media. Aid agencies say the sale of the food reserves, along with failed harvests caused by drought and floods, have left more than 3 million people in danger of starvation. Several officials implicated in the auditor's report are already being probed by the official Anti-Corruption Bureau. (CNN, USA, 8 September 2002) 

Weekly News anb0912.txt - #4/7