Weekly anb03205.txt #6

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

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 20-03-2003      PART #5/6

* Malawi. President appears in court  -  13 March: The President of Malawi, 
Bakili Muluzi, has become the first leader in his country's history to 
testify before a court of law. He appeared before the Lilongwe Magistrate 
Courts as state witness in a case involving the main opposition Malawi 
Congress Party president and his personal secretary. Gwanda Chakuamba and 
Grace Mhango have been charged with forging the president's signature. They 
have both pleaded not guilty. The document in which the allegedly forged 
signature appears, apparently outlines ways in which Mr Muluzi was planning 
to bribe opposition MPs to vote for a constitutional amendment in order to 
allow a sitting presidential a third term in office. The controversial 
third term bill has been shelved in the face of widespread protests against 
Mr Muluzi's bid to seek re-election when his term ends next 
year.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 13 March 2003)

* Malawi. Elections en mai 2004  -  Le Malawi organisera ses troisièmes 
élections générales multipartites le 18 mai 2004, a annoncé le 15 mars à 
Blantyre la Commission électorale. Les élections présidentielle, 
législatives et locales se tiendront le même jour. Les résultats seront 
annoncés deux jours plus tard. La commission a cependant indiqué qu'elle 
manquait de fonds pour préparer ces différents scrutins. On en estime le 
coût à 2 milliards de kwachas (environ 30 milllions de dollars), dont la 
moitié devrait provenir de donateurs, l'autre moitié du 
gouvernement.   (PANA, Sénégal, 15 mars 2003)

* Malawi. Vendors clash with police  -  19 March: Malawi's commercial 
capital, Blantyre was the scene of running battles between the police and 
streets vendors protesting the destruction of their stalls, today. For four 
hours, the main road linking Blantyre city centre and the city's 
international airport was inaccessible after angry street vendors used 
boulders, huge rocks, tree stumps and general debris to block it. Traffic 
leaving the city for the airport or for the central region, including the 
capital, Lilongwe, was forced to use the longer route through townships. 
Trouble begun last night when Blantyre City Mayor John Chikakwiya led a 
team of city workers under para-military police guard to demolish temporary 
stalls erected by the vendors along the roadside. Rioting started as early 
as 0800 local time (0600 GMT) when the angry vendors mobilised themselves 
to hit back at the city fathers after seeing their livelihood go up in 
flames. Armed police officers fired in the air to restore order. In the 
fracas, at least one vendor was arrested.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 19 March 2003)

* Maroc. La mouvance islamiste  -  Le 12 mars, Abdelwaheb Rafifi, dit "Abou 
Hafs", un prédicateur marocain connu pour la virulence de ses prêches et 
ses positions anti-occidentales, a été inculpé et écroué pour "appartenance 
à une bande criminelle". Déjà condamné en juillet 2002 à trois mois de 
prison avant d'être gracié, Abou Hafs est soupçonné d'être l'un des 
principaux dirigeants de la "Salafia Jihadia" (le salafisme combattant), un 
groupuscule islamiste radical clandestin, soupçonné d'avoir des liens avec 
Al-Qaïda. Le groupe est soupçonné d'être impliqué dans une demi-douzaine de 
crimes de sang d'inspiration religieuse. Dans des prêches enflammés 
prononcés dans une mosquée de Fès, Abou Hafs avait notamment déclaré 
qu'Oussama Ben Laden était "un héros du monde musulman" et que le meurtre 
d'un infidèle "ne constituait pas un crime au regard de la charia".   (AP, 
13 mars 2003)

* Maroc/USA. Report de négociations?  -  La seconde session des 
négociations sur la création d'une zone de libre-échange entre le Maroc et 
les Etats-Unis, qui devait commencer le 24 mars à Rabat, a été ajournée 
pour "des raisons sécuritaires", rapporte le quotidien marocain 
L'Economiste le 17 mars. Cette information a été partiellement démentie de 
sources diplomatiques américaines, qui admettaient toutefois que "des 
discussions étaient en cours sur le calendrier". L'Economiste évoque un 
"report" pour "des questions sécuritaires et à l'éventualité d'une guerre 
en Irak". Allié traditionnel diplomatique et militaire des Etats-Unis, le 
Maroc a engagé fin janvier à Washington des négociations officielles pour 
la conclusion d'un accord de libre-échange d'ici à la fin de l'année. 
Bénéficiant de l'aval du congrès américain, un tel accord serait le premier 
du genre conclu entre les Etats-Unis et un pays africain.   (AP, 17 mars 2003)

* Mozambique. Coopération allemande  -  Le 14 mars, le Mozambique et 
l'Allemagne ont signé un accord pour le déblocage de 27 millions d'euros en 
faveur de la réalisation de 10 projets de développement. Ces projets 
couvrent la construction et la remise en état d'écoles, la réparation et la 
maintenance de routes dans la province de Sofala, le financement de deux 
institutions de micro-crédit et l'électrification rurale dans le district 
de Marromeu. Le programme se concentrera sur trois provinces (Sofala, 
Manica et Inhambane) et sur trois domaines, à savoir le développement 
rural, l'éducation de base et l'enseignement professionnel, ainsi que le 
développement d'une économie de marché.   (PANA, Sénégal, 18 mars 2003)

* Namibie. Plan d'acquisition de terres  -  Le gouvernement namibien a 
presque triplé les allocations pour un programme destiné à distribuer des 
terres à 200.000 Namibiens sans terre. Les années précédentes, les 
allocations pour l'acquisition de terres s'élevaient à 20 millions de 
dollars namibiens (2 millions de dollars US), mais pour l'exercice 
budgétaire 2003/2004, le gouvernement les a augmenté à 50 millions. Plus de 
70% des 1,8 million de Namibiens dépendent de l'agriculture pour vivre, la 
majorité d'entre eux pratiquant une agriculture de subsistance sur les 
terres communautaires. Bien que les Blancs ne forment que 6% de la 
population, ils possèdent la plupart des 4.500 exploitations agricoles du 
pays, alors que les populations noires ont été dépossédées de leurs terres 
ancestrales sous le régime colonial. Même si le gouvernement a adopté une 
légistaion destinée à redresser ces injustices, les progrès sont lents en 
raison de la réticence des Blancs à vendre leurs terres.   (PANA, Sénégal, 
14 mars 2003)

* Niger. Water helps Niger's onion mafia  -  19 March: Two years ago, the 
United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) launched a project 
to help Niger's farmers in near the town of Keita, focusing on the use of 
onions as a "cash crop." The FAO helped show the farmers better irrigation 
and soil techniques. And the high-quality vegetables that emerged have 
become a prized commodity 800 kilometres away. "The end result was very 
surprising," Reto Florin, chief of the FAO Water Service, said. In Côte 
d'Ivoire, they have created a sort of Mafia for Keita-produced onions. 
Nowadays, other farmers cannot go and sell onions on the market if they are 
not from Keita.". Mr Florin says there are three reasons why Nigerien 
onions do so well in Côte d'Ivoire: good transportation; effective 
marketing and "good quality product." "Onions just seem to be very popular 
in that area," he said. And the demand for Keita's onions has continued 
despite the six-month conflict in Côte d'Ivoire. The FAO project in Niger 
was one of a number that have been highlighted at the World Water Forum in 
Kyoto as helping farmers in the developing world use water much more 
effectively. Agriculture is very much under the spotlight at the forum, as 
it is by far the biggest use of the world's fresh water reserves.   (BBC 
News, UK, 19 March 2003)

* Nigeria. Red Cross calls for aid  -  13 March: Some 57,000 people 
displaced by violence in Nigeria need food, shelter and medical supplies, 
the Red Cross has said. The head of the Nigerian Red Cross has asked for 
urgent aid from international donors to cope with the fall-out from a 
series of recent outbreaks of ethnic, religious and political clashes. 
Tensions are rising in some parts of Nigeria ahead of next month's 
presidential, parliamentary and local elections. Several thousand people 
have been killed in ethnic and religious clashes since the end of military 
rule in 1999. "Our warehouses are now absolutely empty," Red Cross 
President Emmanuel Ijewere said. He also accused the government of not 
doing enough to help those displaced in fighting. Some 6,000 people fled 
their homes after clashes in the oil-producing southern city of Warri. 
Another 11,000 are displaced after ethnic fighting in the eastern state of 
Adamawa, which left more than 100 people dead, Mr Ijewere said. And 40,000 
are living in schools and public buildings in the northern state of Gombe 
following clashes between ethnic Fulani cattle herders and farmers. Mr 
Ijewere also confirmed that several people had been killed in fighting in 
central Plateau state.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 13 March 2003)

* Nigeria. Respect for human rights essential during and after 
elections  -  In a Press Release issued on 13 March, Amnesty International 
is urging all candidates in Nigeria's upcoming presidential, federal and 
state elections to commit themselves publicly to place the prevention of 
human rights abuses during elections at the heart of their electoral 
campaigns. Amnesty International's plea comes in the aftermath of what 
seems yet another politically motivated killing during the electoral period 
in Nigeria, that of Harry Mashall, a leading member of the All Nigeria 
People's Party. In two open letters to candidates for the federal executive 
and legislature and to candidates for state governorship and houses of 
assembly, Irene Khan, the Secretary General of Amnesty International 
stressed that protection and promotion of human rights should be central to 
their program for the post election period. She pointed out that it is 
during electoral periods in the past that Nigeria has most suffered 
violence resulting, on many occasions, in the military seizing power. 
"Respect for human rights during the electoral process is essential, even 
more so when political stability might depend on it", Amnesty International 
said.   (Amnesty International, 13 March 2003)

* Nigeria. Anti-corruption law dumped  -  13 March: The lower house of the 
Nigerian parliament has voted to repeal the law which set up the country's 
much-criticised anti-corruption commission. President Olusegun Obasanjo set 
up the commission three years ago, promising to make the fight against 
corruption a priority during his term of office. The upper house of 
parliament, the Senate, has already voted to scrap the legislation. Mr 
Obasanjo has said the move by MPs and Senators encourages corruption. 
However, it seems the row over this law is, more than anything else, a 
political battle in the run up to next month's elections. The work of the 
anti-corruption commission has still to lead to the conviction of a single 
senior public official.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 13 March 2003)

* Nigeria. Violences dans le Delta  -  18 mars. Les violences qui se 
poursuivent ont obligé la compagnie anglo-hollandaise Shell, conformément 
aux mesures de sécurité, à fermer deux stations de pompage dans l'Etat du 
Delta du Niger, réduisant ainsi sa production de 30.000 barils par jour. 
Les travailleurs ont été évacués. Les affrontements entre des militaires et 
des jeunes ont commencé le 13 mars, quand ces derniers ont barricadé les 
voies navigables et empêché la circulation des péniches et autres 
embarcations. Un nombre non précisé de militaires et de jeunes auraient été 
tués dans ces combats, alors que certains policiers désarmés et enlevés par 
les manifestants n'ont pas encore été retrouvés. Les jeunes des communautés 
des régions productrices de pétrole, qui accusent les compagnies 
pétrolières de polluer leur environnement et de ne rien investir en retour, 
ont l'habitude de perturber l'exploitation pétrolière en signe de 
protestation. - 19 mars. Le gouvernement a envoyé des troupes au sud de la 
ville de Warri dans la région du Delta, suite aux violences qui ont fait 
une dizaine de morts, dont deux soldats et un officier.   (ANB-BIA, de 
sources diverses, 20 mars 2003)

* Nigeria. Troops sent to oil town  -  19 March: Troops have been sent to 
the troubled oil town of Warri following the death of ten people in clashes 
between youths and security forces. Shell has temporarily shut production 
facilities in the Niger delta following the insecurity. This follows 
violent clashes between Nigerian navy troops and ethnic Ijaw militants at 
the village of Okerenkoko on the Escravos River. The village is close to 
the oil port of Warri, where Shell and other multinational oil firms are 
based. 20 March: A second major oil producer has shut down some of its 
facilities in the southern Delta region of Nigeria following several days 
of clashes which have left 10 people dead. The Nigerian subsidiary of 
Chevron Texaco said it was withdrawing staff from the area to ensure their 
safety. Shell, the largest oil producer in Nigeria, has evacuated 
non-essential staff from the area and closed some of its facilities. The 
two companies are losing more than 150,000 barrels of oil a day, about 8% 
of Nigeria's total production. The government has ordered up to 1,000 
troops to region to end weeks of battles between ethnic Ijaw youths and 
navy personnel in the rivers and creeks south of the town of 
Warri.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 20 March 2003)

* Rwanda. TPIR: accord pour les condamnés  -  Le 14 mars, le Tribunal pénal 
international pour le Rwanda (TPIR) a signé avec la France un accord 
autorisant l'accueil dans les prisons françaises de condamnés rwandais. La 
France est le premier pays occidental à signer un tel accord. Six condamnés 
purgent déjà leur peine au Mali.   (Libération, France, 15 mars 2003)

* Sierra Leone. Tribunal spécial de l'Onu  -  L'ancien chef rebelle 
sierra-léonais Foday Sankoh doit subir des tests médicaux pour déterminer 
s'il est en mesure d'être jugé par le tribunal spécial de l'Onu pour la 
Sierra Leone, devant lequel il a comparu pour la première fois le 15 mars. 
Agé de 70 ans, il est inculpé d'avoir perpétré des atrocités durant la 
guerre civile de 1991 à 2001. Sankoh a fondé et dirigé le Front 
révolutionnaire uni (RUF) qui a déclenché la guerre au cours de laquelle 
des milliers de civils ont été mutilés et furent victimes d'actes de 
violence. - Le 18 mars, deux commandants du RUF, Alex Tamba et le Morris 
Kallon, ont plaidé "non coupables" face à 17 chefs d'inculpation retenus 
contre eux par le tribunal spécial. Et le 19 mars, Samuel Hingha Norman, le 
ministre de l'Intérieur et coordonnateur de la milice de défense civile, 
les "Kamajors", a également plaidé non coupable de huit charges retenues 
contre lui par le procureur. Les Kamajors étaient une milice armée 
recrutant ses membres parmi les chasseurs traditionnels de différents 
groupes ethniques.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 19 mars 2003)

* Sierra Leone. Former minister on trial  -  19 March: Sierra Leone's 
former interior minister has pleaded innocent to war crimes charges in a 
special UN court, the tribunal's chief prosecutor says. Samuel Hinga Norman 
-- the former leader of a pro-government militia -- denied responsibility 
for unlawful killings, terrorising the civilian population and using child 
soldiers, prosecutor David Crane said. The trial is being held at a secret 
location in west Africa for security reasons. The tribunal is also hearing 
charges against rebel leaders, including Foday Sankoh, the head of the 
Revolutionary United Front. Mr Hinga Norman was arrested last week after 
the UN court issued its first seven indictments relating to atrocities 
during Sierra Leone's 10-year civil war. Mr Crane said the trial was being 
held in secret because of fears that Mr Hinga Norman's supporters in the 
Kamajor militia""might seek to put pressure on the court and disrupt the 
trial". Mr Hinga Norman, who is also a former deputy defence minister, 
allegedly organised attacks by the Kamajors during the country's 1991-2000 
civil war. The militia's alleged human rights abuses included torturing and 
summarily executing opponents and recruiting child fighters. But 
correspondents say he is still seen by many in Sierra Leone as a hero who 
stood up to the rebels.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 19 March 2003)

Weekly anb0320.txt - #5/6