Weekly anb0164.txt #8

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

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 16-01-2003      PART #4/8

* Djibouti. Parliamentary elections  -  9 January: The citizens of Djibouti 
are called to vote tomorrow for the first parliamentary elections to be 
held under a multi-party system in the country's history. The voters -- 
nearly 181,000, out of a total population of less than 700,000 inhabitants 
-- will be called to elect the 65 members of the National Assembly, for a 
five year mandate. The main political parties have decided to unite into 
two coalitions: the Union for the Presidential Majority (UMP) and the Union 
for Democratic Alternation (UAD). The UMP regroups four political movements 
supporting Djibouti's President, Ismaël Omar Guelleh --People's Rally for 
Progress (RPP) [the President's party]; the Front for the Restoration of 
Unity and Democracy (FRUD), chaired by Ali Mohammed Daoud; the Democratic 
National Party (PND), led by Aden Robleh Awaleh; and the People's Socialist 
Democratic Party (PPSD) led by Moumin Bahdon Farah. For the Opposition UAD 
-- the Republican Alliance for Democracy (RAD) led by Ahmed Dini Ahmed; the 
Movement for the Democratic Renovation and Development (MRD) led by Daher 
Ahmed Farah; the Djibouti Party for Development led by Mohamed Daoud 
Chehem; the Djibouti Union for Democracy and Justice (UDJ), led by Ismaël 
Guedi Hared. After the nation obtained independence from France in 1977, it 
has always had a one-party political system, followed by a ten-year 
transition period during which the number of political movements recognised 
was limited to four. On 4 September 2002, Djibouti adopted the multi-party 
system. 10 January: Parliamentary elections. 11 January: The Interior 
Ministry in Djibouti says the coalition supporting the president has won 
the general election -the first free multi-party vote since independence. 
It says the UMP has won the biggest constituency -- the capital, Djibouti 
-- guaranteeing it a majority in parliament. It has taken 55% of the votes 
in the capital, with 45% going to the opposition UAD.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 
11 January 2003)

* Djibouti. Premières élections multipartites  -  Le 10 janvier, les 
Djiboutiens ont voté dans le calme pour élire leurs députés. Ces élections 
sont les premières réellement multipartites depuis l'indépendance du pays 
en 1977. Mais le chef de la coalition de l'opposition, l'Union pour 
l'alternance démocratique (UAD), Ahmed Dini, "redoute un hold-up électoral" 
du pouvoir. Une victoire de l'opposition contraindrait le président Ismaël 
Omar Guelleh à une cohabitation inédite et marquerait la fin du règne à 
l'Assemblée du parti au pouvoir depuis l'indépendance, le Rassemblement 
populaire pour le progrès (RPP, ex-parti unique). Plus de 181.000 électeurs 
ont été inscrits. Seuls une douzaine d'observateurs internationaux étaient 
présents. 65 sièges sont à pourvoir, dont 37 dans la seule circonscription 
de la capitale Djibouti, dans laquelle se concentre la moitié des 600.000 
habitants du pays. Les législatives ont lieu au scrutin majoritaire à un 
tour, particulièrement favorable au mouvement arrivant en tête. -- Selon le 
ministère de l'Intérieur, le parti du président a remporté les élections. 
Il a obtenu 55,07% des suffrages exprimés dans la circonscription de 
Djibouti-ville, emportant les 37 sièges; et il est également arrivé en tête 
dans les quatre autres circonscriptions du pays. Il a ainsi remporté la 
totalité des 65 sièges mis en jeu lors de ces élections. Si ce scrutin 
constitue donc une victoire pour le président Guelleh, le bon score de 
l'opposition, l'UAD, à Djibouti-ville (44,93%) et dans l'ensemble du pays 
(37%) rappelle au chef de l'Etat qu'une importante frange de la population, 
notamment au sein d'une jeunesse frappée de plein fouet par le chômage, est 
en faveur d'un changement. Ce mécontentement n'est pas à ignorer avant la 
présidentielle de 2005.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 11 janvier 2003)

* Ethiopie. Croissance démographique  -  La population éthiopienne estimée 
à 65,3 millions de personnes en 2001, devrait augmenter de 2,73% par an 
jusqu'en 2005, selon une enquête faite par le ministère des Finances et du 
Développement économique. L'enquête a montré que la malnutrition était plus 
importante au niveau des femmes et des enfants et que la mortalité 
maternelle restait très élevée. Le rapport indique que les femmes ont peu 
ou pas accès à l'éducation et que les lois et les coutumes freinent 
l'égalité des sexes. 92% des femmes n'utilisent pas de méthodes 
contraceptives.   (PANA, Sénégal, 12 janvier 2003)

* Ethiopia. Probe into Rift Valley break-up  -  Scientists have launched an 
experiment in Ethiopia to find out exactly why the Rift Valley is 
apparently splitting. It is thought a new ocean could eventually form where 
the valley is now. Seventy-two US European and Ethiopian scientists fanned 
out across the Horn of Africa country this weekend to conduct what they 
called Africa's largest ever seismic survey. The "volcanic Rift Valley 
could eventually break off to form an ocean like the Red Sea," said a 
statement from the project, known as Operation EAGLE or the Ethiopia Afar 
Geo-Scientific Lithospheric Experiment. "If the separation does occur 
sometime in the future, the result would be enormously wide -- very similar 
to the one that initially separated Africa from America," the statement 
quoted British geophysicist Peter Maguire as saying. Maguire said the 
Ethiopian section of the 3,500 km valley was at the forefront of research 
on the topic because "it is the only place on earth where molten rock 
bubbles to the surface and a continental split is actively taking place." 
Maguire said the timetable for the possible formation of an ocean was in 
the millions of years. "Understanding how continents break apart is 
fundamental to understanding the plate tectonic processes that control the 
shape of the Earth's surface," the statement added. The valley stretching 
from the Red Sea to Tanzania varies hugely in width -- from 30 km to 2,000 
km. Scientists will drill holes along two 400 km axes running southwest 
along the Rift Valley from Afar in northeast Ethiopia. Some 19 charges will 
be planted and detonated, with 1,000 highly-tuned instruments picking up 
seismic waves coming up from depths of almost 100 km. Analysis of each wave 
caused by the explosions will indicate the types of rock found under the 
earth's surface and preliminary results will be available by July 2003, the 
scientists said.   (CNN, USA, 12 January 2003)

* Ethiopie. Emigration de juifs éthiopiens  -  Plus d'une vingtaine de 
Falashmouras, juifs éthiopiens convertis de force au christianisme au 
siècle dernier, devraient quitter Addis-Abeba via Nairobi pour rejoindre en 
Israël d'autres membres de leur communauté qui y ont déjà émigré. Quelque 
3.000 immigrants venus d'Ethiopie avaient manifesté le 12 janvier à 
Jérusalem devant la présidence du Conseil pour qu'Israël autorise leurs 
proches à les rejoindre, bien que leur judéité soit contestée.   (La Libre 
Belgique, 15 janvier 2003)

* Ethiopie. Aide et coopération  -  Le 15 janvier, les représentants de la 
Banque mondiale, du FMI, de la Banque africaine de développement et 
d'autres institutions donatrices ont commencé à discuter de coopération 
avec les autorités éthiopiennes. Au cours de cette réunion de deux jours, 
les délégués discuteront des questions relatives au financement et au 
développement de l'Ethiopie. - D'autre part, l'Ethiopie et la 
Grande-Bretagne signeront la semaine prochaine un accord triennal de 
coopération d'un montant de 60 millions de livres sterling. Ces moyens 
financiers permettront de relancer les programmes d'éducation, de réduire 
la pauvreté et d'accroître la sécurité alimentaire, a précisé le ministre 
de la Coopération économique.   (PANA, Sénégal, 15 janvier 2003)

* Gabon. Recensement général  -  Le 10 janvier, un recensement général de 
la population et de l'habitat a été lancé à Libreville pour réactualiser le 
fichier actuel de la population gabonaise estimée à 1.014.916 habitants à 
l'issue du dernier recensement de 1993. Ce recensement, qui durera trois 
mois, permettra également de réactualiser les indicateurs 
socio-démographiques (taux de natalité, de mortalité, de croissance de la 
population, PNB...), a indiqué le ministre de Plan. Selon les estimations 
des techniciens, le total de la population du Gabon, qui a une superficie 
de 267.667 km², ne serait pas supérieur à 1.300.000.   (PANA, Sénégal, 11 
janvier 2003)

* The Gambia. Assassination suspect arrested  -  The Gambian authorities 
say they are questioning a man suspected of being involved in an alleged 
assassination attempt on the United States ambassador to the country. The 
Interior Minister, Ousmane Badjie, said the man was arrested on 9 January 
in a motel on the outskirts of the capital, Banjul. The US State Department 
said on 10 January that two men had been arrested in the west African 
country in connection with a possible threat to the US ambassador, Jackson 
McDonald. It was not clear whether the second man had been released. A 
State Department spokeswoman said US officials were travelling to The 
Gambia to assist in the investigation.   (BBC News, UK, 13 January 2003)

* Ghana. Fishermen back fight against child labour  -  A 15-month project 
initiated by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and other 
bodies to help hundreds of child labourers in fishing communities in Ghana 
has received a "fantastic response" from fishermen, according to an IOM 
official. "Initially we thought there would be resistance from fishermen to 
release the children, but I think the strategy we took enabled them to 
understand the project better," IOM Project Coordinator Ernest Taylor said 
on 9 January. "We have been creating awareness amongst them, which includes 
informing them that by using the children they were depriving them of a 
better future that they could get through education, and also on the rights 
of the child," he explained. "They did not think there was anything wrong 
with using children and the parents also did not know how the children were 
used by the fishermen, but through the education they are getting to 
understand and are very cooperative," he added.   (IRIN, Kenya, 9 January 2003)

* Ghana. Commission de réconciliation  -  Le 14 janvier se sont ouvertes 
les auditions de la Commission de réconciliation nationale (NRC) du Ghana. 
Cette commission n'est pas un tribunal pour juger des délinquants et elle 
n'a pas non plus comme but de permettre la vengeance, a expliqué le 
ministre de la Justice, M. Addo. Son but est d'établir la vérité sur les 
allégations des droits humains et de faire des recommandations sur la base 
desquelles le gouvernement pourra prendre des mesures susceptibles de 
réinstaller les victimes dans leurs droits. La NRC reçoit et instruit des 
plaintes pour des abus des droits humains commis sous les anciens régimes 
militaires. Depuis le 3 septembre 2002, elle a été saisie d'un total de 
2.800 plaintes et a finalisé l'instruction de 100 affaires qui devraient 
passer en jugement. La commission dispose de 15 mois pour finaliser son 
travail et déposer son rapport sur la table du gouvernement.   (D'après 
PANA, Sénégal, 14 janvier 2003)

* Ghana. Truth panel begins hearings  -  14 January: A commission set up to 
investigate human rights abuses in Ghana has begun hearing petitions from 
people who say they, or their families, suffered during past periods of 
military rule. The National Reconciliation Commission (NRC), modelled on 
South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, is looking into 
allegations of torture and killings. The commission was created last year, 
and has received some 2,800 separate petitions since September. Many of 
them deal with the period between 1982 and 1992 during the rule of former 
president Jerry Rawlings, when it is alleged that some 300 people 
disappeared. The process has been criticised in some quarters on the 
grounds that it will rake up old disputes. The work began with a two-hour 
opening ceremony at the former parliament house in Accra. The first 
testimonies heard by the nine-member panel were from two of some 40 people 
imprisoned in 1958 for seven and a half years without trail and without 
ever being charged. None of the complaints filed at the NRC can lead to a 
criminal prosecution but the commission can recommend compensation for 
victims.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 14 January 2003)

* Kenya. Rising militancy among Muslims  -  Six weeks after terrorists 
launched attacks on an Israeli hotel and airliner, information deeply 
troubling to Kenya and its Western allies keeps surfacing: some suspects 
were homegrown militants -- born, raised and radicalized in Kenya. 
Investigators still believe the attacks were orchestrated from abroad, most 
likely by al Qaeda. But the apparent level of Kenyan involvement has 
alarmed Kenyan and Western officials, who fear a community once 
characterized by its tolerance is becoming an incubator for radical 
militants. So far, many details about the alleged assailants, who bombed a 
beachfront hotel popular with Israelis and fired shoulder-held missiles at 
the airliner, have been kept under wraps. Only one suspect has been named 
-- Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, a Mombasa native. Unlike al-Qaida's 1998 bombing 
of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, in which no Kenyans played a 
major role and in which 219 were killed, at least three Kenyans are 
believed to have taken part in the November 28 attacks. Islamic radicalism 
has been spreading on Kenya's Indian Ocean coast for the last decade. But 
the apparent willingness of some Kenyan Muslims to work with foreign 
terrorists makes the longtime US ally an increasing security risk, said a 
Western official, speaking on condition of anonymity. Israeli officials 
said the suspected Kenyan involvement underscored al-Qaida's efforts to 
expand its presence in Africa by exploiting sympathetic local 
populations.   (CNN, USA, 9 January 2003)

Weekly anb0116.txt - #4/8