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Weekly anb02275.txt #7

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 27-02-2003      PART #5/7
* Egypt. Police abuse children - Egyptian children are subject to arbitrary arrest by police, who abuse them physically and sexually and extort money from them, Human Rights Watch claims. A report by the international organisation says children are jailed alongside adults, who also maltreat them. Clarisa Bencomo, who helped research the report, said street children are the most vulnerable -- and are often arrested without cause. "Instead of protecting children, the police abuse them and steal whatever money they have," she said. "Children are particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse, both in and out of custody," she said. The report, entitled "Charged with Being Children: Egyptian Police Abuse of Children in Need of Protection", was issued in English and Arabic. It quotes children as young as 11 who have been arrested. One 16-year-old girl, who the report calls "Warda N" to protect her identity, described being sexually harassed by police. An eleven-year-old boy whom the report calls "Yahiya H" said he was handcuffed and put in a transport with adult prisoners. Human Rights Watch says police use the country's Child Law to "clear the streets of children, extort money and information, force children to move on to other neighbourhoods, and bring children in for questioning in the absence of evidence of criminal wrongdoing". (BBC News, UK, 20 February 2003)
* Ethiopia. The West's failure to give aid - On 24 February, Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi called on the West to reform damaging trade policies and increase development aid to help his country break its 20-year-long cycle of poverty and famine. Warning that millions of Ethiopians still face the threat of starvation because of the slow response to the current famine, the prime minister said his country could run out of food by June. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 24 February 2003)
* Ethiopia/Somalia. Ethiopia admits Somali forays - 24 February: Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has admitted he has occasionally sent troops into neighbouring Somalia to attack members of a militant Islamist group, al-Ittihad. Mr Meles said al-Ittihad was linked to al-Qaeda and they had tonnes of captured documents that proved the link to al-Qaeda. "They have engaged in terrorist activities in our country," he said. He also said that several Afghan Arabs had been killed during an Ethiopian attack on an al-Ittihad training camp. Mr Meles insisted that he wanted to see a stable and united Somalia and said "in the end it is for Somalis to decide". But he said they had lists of members of al-Ittihad inside Somalia's parliament and the Transitional National Government (TNG). TNG President Abdulkassim Salat Hassan has consistently denied Ethiopian claims that his government has linked to Islamic extremist groups. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 24 February 2003)
* Ghana. Forests opened to miners - Ghana, Africa's second biggest gold producer, is to grant mining licences in its protected forest reserves to attract new foreign investment. The Mining Minister, Kwadwo Agyei-Darko says: "The government has committed itself to measures that will enhance mining and restore it to its former glory. Ghana produces, annually, about 2.2 million ounces of gold, representing about 45% of foreign currency revenues. Mining licences will be granted to the world's largest gold miner, Newmont, and Ghana's Ashanti, Australia's Red Back and Canada's Nevsun Resources. The move will create about 1,000 jobs directly. (BBC News, UK, 20 February 2003)
* Grands Lacs. Un texte de belles intentions - Le 22 février, la Belgique, la République démocratique du Congo, le Burundi et le Rwanda ont adopté une déclaration commune intitulée "L'engagement de Bruxelles", qui appelle entre autres la communauté internationale à dégager davantage de moyens diplomatiques et financiers en faveur de l'Afrique centrale. Les trois pays africains concernés s'engagent de leur côté à chercher une solution pacifique à leurs conflits. Le texte de cet engagement à été publié à l'issue d'une rencontre entre le Premier ministre belge, le président burundais P. Buyoya, le président congolais J. Kabila, et le ministre rwandais des Affaires étrangères Ch. Murigande. Dans la déclaration commune, les dirigeants africains ont réitéré formellement leur engagement "sincère et total en vue d'un dénouement heureux des processus de paix et de stabilisation en cours au Congo, au Burundi et au Rwanda". (La Libre Belgique, 24 février 2003)
* Guinée-Bissau. Report probable du scrutin - Les élections législatives anticipées du 20 avril prochain, prévues initialement pour le 23 février, pourraient ànouveau être reportées à mai ou juin, a rapporté la radio portugaise RDC-Africa, le 22 février. Pour la plupart des partis politiques de l'opposition, les conditions pour la tenue d'élections "libres, démocratiques, transparentes et crédibles" ne sont pas encore réunies. La Commission nationale électorale, qui doit procéder au recensement de plus de 40.000 nouveaux électeurs avant le début de la campagne, n'a pas encore commencé son travail. En outre, les Nations unies exigent que ce soit la Cour suprême qui contrôle le déroulement du scrutin et en proclame les résultats. Par ailleurs, l'envoyé spécial du secrétaire général de l'Onu, Stephen David, a évoqué la situation préoccupante en Guinée-Bissau. "La Guinée-Bissau se dirige vers des élections et nous avons des preuves que la situation politique s'est exacerbée", a dit le diplomate. La situation politique et sociale y est marquée depuis des mois par des arrestations d'opposants qui viennent s'ajouter à des grèves à répétition. Ainsi, depuis le 24 février, les agents de la Fonction publique observent un mouvement de grève de cinq jours. Les secteurs de la santé, de l'éducation et de la communication sociale sont les plus affectés, mais le secteur privé fonctionne normalement. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 24 février 2003)
* Kenya. Enquête sur scandale financier - Le président Mwai Kibaki a désigné une commission chargée d'enquêter sur l'escroquerie financière Goldenberg, portant sur environ 1 milliard de dollars, soit plus de la moitié du budget annuel du pays. La fraude présumée a été commise il y a 12 ans par des gens de bonne famille, qui auraient réclamé des dédommagements sur une vente d'or qui n'a jamais existé. Selon un communiqué publié le 24 février, la commission, qui comprendra 7 membres, sera présidée par le juge Samuel Bosire, magistrat à la Cour suprême. Le gouvernement devrait suspendre toutes les affaires légales en cours liées au "scandale Goldenberg". Ces affaires traînent depuis des années sans que beaucoup de progrès ne soient enregistrés. (PANA, Sénégal, 24 février 2003)
* Kenya. Hausse des salaires des députés? - Les Kényans sont mobilisés contre un projet visant à accorder aux nouveaux membres élus du Parlement une hausse importante de leurs salaires de 100.000 shillings (1.280 dollars) par mois. Les députés kényans touchent actuellement un salaire net de 350.000 shillings (4.800 dollars) par mois. Les membres du clergé, les syndicalistes et, curieusement, certains membres du Parlement se sont opposés vigoureusement à cette mesure qui va avoir des implications d'une portée considérable sur le budget de l'Etat. Le projet prévoit aussi pour tous les députés une subvention non remboursable de 3,3 millions de sh., ainsi qu'une prime mensuelle pour leur entretien. Ces propositions ont suscité un tollé, une partie de la population les considérant comme immorales. "C'est ce même gouvernement qui a pris le pouvoir en promettant des réformes économiques, qui cherche maintenant à donner aux parlementaires de l'argent gratuit supplémentaire", a déclaré un homme d'affaires. Le porte-parole de la commission parlementaire a préconisé que les Kényans débattent de la proposition avant qu'elle ne soit soumise au Parlement. (PANA, Sénégal, 25 février 2003)
* Kenya. Inquiry launched into export scam - Kenya's new government took a stride towards fulfilling its people's dearest hope yesterday by launching a special commission to investigate the theft of £400m of public funds in the country's biggest ever corruption scandal. Leading figures in former president Daniel arap Moi's ruinous 24-year regime have long been implicated in the so-called Goldenberg scandal which involved the payout of vast sums in compensation for fictitious exports of gold and diamonds. The compensation scheme was ostensibly designed to promote exports of the two precious minerals; though Kenya has negligible reserves of either. Since the scandal broke in 1992, none of the alleged thieves has been found guilty -- and only a handful were charged. "With this commission, finally the Kenyan people will be able to close one of the most ignominious chapters in the nation's economic history," said a spokesman for President Mwai Kibaki, who swept to power in December's election. "This decision was informed by a realisation that these cases have been dragging through the courts for years without any apparent increase in the possibility that justice shall be done for the Kenyan people." The new inquiry was prompted by a recent statement from several of Kenya's most senior judges, castigating the former government for charging only two officials in connection with the scandal, as well as the acknowledged fall-guy, Kamlesh Pattni, a director of the Goldenberg International gemstone company. Kenya's long-serving intelligence boss, James Kanyotu, another director of the company, was among the alleged miscreants who have never been charged. Eric Kotut -- at the time governor of Kenya's central bank -- was another. Yet the investigation will be judged on the rigour with which it examines the alleged role of Mr Kibaki's new education minister in the scandal. George Saitoti, Kenya's finance minister at the time and a long-serving former vice-president, has been dogged by allegations of complicity in the scandal, which he denies. (The Guardian, UK, 26 February 2003)
* Kenya. Death row inmates freed - 25 February: The Kenyan Government has released 28 prisoners on death row and commuted the death sentence of 195 others to life in prison. The Kenyan Minister for Home Affairs and National Heritage, Moody Awori, said most of those released had been on death row for a very long time, and some for more than 20 years. Mr Awori said the 28 were already out and on their way to rejoin their families. One aim of the action was to decongest Kenya's over-populated prisons, said Sylvester Mwaliko, permanent secretary at the ministry of home affairs and national heritage, responsible for Kenya's prisons. The action was also aimed at fulfilling some of the promises made by the ruling National Rainbow Coalition (Narc) during last December's election campaign, he said. The commissioner of prisons, Abraham Kamakil, said his department was against the death penalty, because mistakes could always be made in criminal proceedings, and it was longing for the day when the Kenyan parliament abolished it. Mr Kamakil, now regarded as the most reform-minded prisons chief since Kenya attained independence from Britain in 1963, is urging the government to abolish the death penalty altogether. He says parliament should remove the death penalty from the statute books, stressing there is always a strong possibility that the wrong person could be hanged. The last death sentence was carried out in Kenya in 1987. (BBC News, UK, 25 February 2003)
* Kenya. Chief Justice resigns - 26 February: Kenya's Chief Justice Bernard Chunga has stepped down after a tribunal was set up to investigate alleged misconduct. President Mwai Kibaki, who established the tribunal last week, has accepted his resignation. The tribunal was going to probe allegations that he: had planned, condoned and carried out torture; had been corrupt; had interfered with judges. Legal experts are split on whether the tribunal will continue its investigations following his resignation. The tribunal was portrayed as a key test of President Mwai Kibaki's crusade against corruption, which swept him to victory in December elections. Fresh allegations of Mr Chunga's alleged involvement in the torture of political prisoners in the 1990s surfaced after torture chambers at Nyayo House in Nairobi were opened to the public earlier this month. He was a senior state prosecutor for the previous government of President Daniel arap Moi. Human rights organisations and dissidents who were jailed had called for him to step down. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 26 February 2003)
* Kenya/Somalia. Anger over Somali talks move - 21 February: The controversial relocation of the National Reconciliation Conference for Somalia from the Kenyan town of Eldoret to Nairobi led this week to the airing of many grievances and complaints in various African media outlets. Kenya's special envoy to Somalia, Bethwell Kiplagat, told The East African that the relocation was necessary to cap the escalating costs of the talks. "Initially, 400 delegates were invited but more than 1,000 turned up. The budget was blown out of the ceiling." Mr Kiplagat said the numbers were being cut to a more manageable 360. It is a move which will undoubtedly please some commentators. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 21 February 2003) 

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