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Weekly anb06054.txt #5

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 05-06-2003      PART #4/5
* Maroc. "Fin du laxisme" - Le 30 mai, moins de 15 jours après les attentats de Casablanca, le roi Mohammed VI a annoncé "la fin de l'ère du laxisme face à ceux qui exploitent la démocratie pour porter atteinte à l'autorité de l'Etat". Le souverain a promis de lutter contre "l'obscurantisme", allusion aux islamistes qu'il n'a toutefois pas cités. En dépit de l'assurance que le Maroc ne "dévierait pas de la marche vers la démocratie", cette intervention du monarque semble augurer un sérieux verrouillage des libertés. Les islamistes "légaux" du Parti justice et développement (PJD) semblent tirer la leçon du choc créé par les attentats. Ils ont annoncé qu'ils envisageaient de réduire leur participation aux élections communales prévues en septembre pour "protéger le processus démocratique" et apaiser "la peur" de la classe politique d'un raz-de-marée islamiste. Le PJD, troisième force politique du pays, a cependant dénoncé la "campagne politico-médiatique" menée contre lui. (Libération, France, 31 mai 2003)
* Maroc. Nouveaux suspects - Douze Marocains "impliqués directement ou indirectement" dans les attentats du 16 mai à Casablanca, pour l'essentiel des candidats-kamikazes qui auraient visé d'autres villes marocaines, ont été présentés au parquet le 2 juin, a annoncé le procureur de Casablanca. Onze de ces personnes "affiliées à la Salafia Jihadia" (un groupe intégriste marocain) étaient candidates à des attentats à Agadir, Marrakech et Essaouira, a précisé le procureur. Le douzième, Youssef Ousalah, trésorier du Parti justice et développement (PJD) à Sidi Taibei, "ramassait des fonds pour les terroristes", a-t-il ajouté. (La Libre Belgique, 3 juin 2003)
* Morocco. Anti-terrorist law passed - 27 May: Parliament has overwhelmingly passed a controversial anti-terrorism law. All 89 MPs present in the Upper House voted in favour of the bill, which broadens the definition of terrorism and increases the number of offenses punishable by death. The measures were withdrawn for amendment in April, following strong criticism from human rights groups. The law comes in the wake of the Casablanca suicide bombings 11 days ago. 3 June: The Moroccan authorities arrest a French citizen suspected of being one of the main coordinators and financiers of the 16 May bombings. Robert Richard Antoine Pierre, also known by the nicknames "Lhaj" and "Abu Abderrahmane", is taken into custody in Tangiers, where he has been living with his Moroccan wife for six years. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 3 June 2003)
* Nigeria. 2e mandat d'Obasanjo - Le 29 mai à Abuja, le président du Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, 66 ans, a prêté serment pour son second mandat consécutif de quatre ans, malgré les protestations de l'opposition qui souhaite l'annulation des résultats de l'élection du mois dernier. Les observateurs nigérians et étrangers ont dénoncé des fraudes lors de l'élection, mais les principaux membres de la communauté internationale ont reconnu la victoire du président sortant.-Le 30 mai, le président Obasanjo a annoncé la dissolution du Parlement bicaméral sortant, qui sera effective à partir du 2 juin. Il a déclaré qu'il prévoyait convoquer pour le 6 juin le nouveau Parlement élu. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 30 mai 2003)
* Nigeria. Amina Lawal's appeal is adjourned - Amina Lawal has had her appeal adjourned until 27 August as she seeks to overturn a conviction for adultery. She has been sentenced to die by stoning under Sharia law having been convicted of adultery in March last year in Katsina. President Obasanjo has promised that the sentence will not be carried out but he has chosen his words very carefully. He won't intervene directly, nor will he challenge the right of Islamic courts to impose such punishments. Rather, he says he is confident the appeal courts will quash to conviction. This same week, a couple in the north-central state of Niger, Nigeria, Fatima Usman and Ahmadu Ibrahim, are due to appear in court to plead for their lives. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 3 June 2003)
* Nigeria. Lapidations: procès en appel - Trois Nigérians, condamnés à la lapidation pour avoir eu des relations sexuelles hors mariage, feront appel cette semaine devant la Cour islamique, remettant ainsi sur le devant de la scène la controverse sur la charia, la loi islamique. Amina Lawal, une mère de trois enfants de 33 ans, devait se présenter pour la seconde fois en appel le 3 juin devant la Cour de la charia à Katsina (nord). Le 4 juin, les juges de Minna (centre) commenceront à examiner le premier pourvoi en appel de Fatima Ushman et Ahmadu Ibrahim, d'anciens amants condamnés l'année dernière pour avoir eu des relations hors mariage. L'avocate d'Amina Lawal, Hauwa Ibrahim, a précisé qu'en cas de nouvelle défaite, sa cliente pourrait s'adresser à la cour d'appel fédérale et, en dernière possibilité, à la Cour suprême fédérale. L'avocate a également dénoncé le fait que le tribunal islamique l'empêchait de plaider et qu'elle avait été obligée de faire appel à un confrère masculin. -- Le 3 juin, la cour d'appel de l'Etat de Katsina a reporté le procès d'Amina Lawal au 27 août prochain. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 4 juin 2003)
* Rwanda. Constitution promulguée - Le 4 juin, la nouvelle Constitution de la République du Rwanda a été promulguée par le président Kagame au cours d'une cérémonie officielle au siège du Parlement à Kigali. Cette promulgation met officiellement fin à la période de transition politique qui a débuté en 1994. Cependant, les institutions de la transition, notamment le Parlement et le gouvernement, demeurent en place jusqu'à l'installation des nouvelles institutions qui seront issues des élections prévues vers la fin de l'année. - Le même jour, à Paris, la Fédération internationale des droits de l'homme (FIDH) a dénoncé certaines irrégularités ayant entaché le référendum constitutionnel au Rwanda, et émis des réserves sur la volonté des autorités de Kigali d'ouvrir le pays au pluralisme démocratique. Concernant la Constitution adoptée, l'organisation se dit "préoccupée par certaines dispositions". Elle met notamment en cause celle qui prévoit d'intégrer tous les partis politiques dans un forum de concertation "dont la finalité consensualiste ne peut occulter l'atteinte ainsi portée au pluralisme politique". "La divergence d'opinion fait partie intégrante du jeu démocratique. Mais ce principe ne semble pas partagé par les autorités rwandaises", affirme le FIDH. (PANA, Sénégal, 4 juin 2003)
* Sao Tome e Principe. Planning its oil budget - The West African island state of Sao Tome and Principe has been setting out how it plans to use new oil revenues to tackle poor health and education. The government's priority is "to have these resources go to sectors that deal with the conditions of our people -- health, education, fighting disease like malaria," Natural Resources Minister Rafael Branco sad. Sao Tome and Nigeria began auctioning drilling licences for nine offshore blocks in April. Mr Branco said they hoped to sign the first contract by the end of 2003. "If everything goes as planned, in three or four years we'll have the first oil," he said. Sao Tome's oil fields are managed within a Joint Development Zone (JDZ) agreed with Nigeria. Sao Tome will receive 40% of the revenues from the zone, while Nigeria -- already Africa's largest oil producer -- will get 60%. Mr Branco said Sao Tome had drawn up its plans for spending its oil windfall after studying what other African countries have done in similar circumstances. "You have the benefit of taking advantage of good experience and avoiding at all costs the bad experience, he said. You have very good conditions to develop tourism if you can eliminate malaria, if you can upgrade the level of education and training of our people," he said. Previously, Sao Tome's most valuable export commodity was cocoa. (BBC News, UK, 27 May 2003)
* Sierra Leone. Sam Bockarie - Le 1er juin, à la demande du Tribunal pénal international (TPI) pour la Sierra Leone, le Liberia a livré le corps du chef de guerre sierra-léonais Sam Bockarie, tué début mai par les forces libériennes lors d'une fusillade. Le TPI avait demandé que le corps soit rapatrié à des fins d'identification. (Le Figaro, France, 2 juin 2003)
* Sierra Leone. Body of warlord back in Freetown - 1 June: A body believed to be that of former Sierra Leone rebel commander Sam Bockarie has been brought home from Liberia. Mr Bockarie -- alias Mosquito --was indicted by Sierra Leone's war crimes court in March, but less than a month ago he is believed to have been killed in Liberia. He was a general in the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), which became notorious for its systematic rape of women and abduction of thousands of children who were forced to fight. Due to suspicious circumstances surrounding his alleged death, the special court demanded his body for forensic examination. But only now has the Liberian Government released it. The coffin was opened at Freetown's airport, revealing the body wrapped in a white cloth, except for his face. Those who have seen the corpse and knew Mr Bockarie well say they have no doubt about his identity. But the court has said it will not withdraw the indictment against him until DNA tests are carried out. 2 June: Officials at the Special Court for Sierra Leone take custody of the body. The Court wishes to identify the body. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 2 June 2003)
* Sierra Leone/Liberia. Arrest warrant for Liberia's leader - 4 June: Liberia's President Charles Taylor has been indicted for war crimes by a United Nations-backed court in Sierra Leone. Mr Taylor is currently in neighbouring Ghana, where peace talks with rebels were scheduled to begin today. A warrant for his arrest has been served on the Ghanaian authorities and sent to Interpol, said the court's chief prosecutor, David Crane. He is accused of being the principal backer of Sierra Leone rebels during a brutal 10-year civil war which ended in 2002. The Special Court for Sierra Leone accuses Mr Taylor of crimes against humanity and violations of international humanitarian law. Mr Taylor is already the subject of UN sanctions for his alleged role in the civil war, in which tens of thousands of people were killed. Western and African diplomats say Mr Taylor had agreed to take part in the talks because of the huge gains made by the rebels in recent months. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 4 June 2003)
* Somalie. Combats - Le 29 mai, des combats entre milices rivales ont fait au moins 8 morts et 14 blessés dans la région du Shabelle-Moyen (sud). Le pays est livré à la guerre des clans depuis la chute de Mohamed Siad Barrre en janvier 1991. (Libération, France, 30 mai 2003)
* Somalia. Fact-finding mission ends tour - 3 June: A fact-finding mission from the African Union and the regional Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, sent to look into the security situation in Somalia, have arrived back in Kenya. The 21-member mission, led by Maj-Gen Joseph Musomba of kenya which has been in Somalia for the last 12 days, also included observers from the EU and the Arab League, and Somali delegates. Musomba told IRIN that the aim of the mission had been to prepare the ground "for the future deployment of African Union military observers". (IRIN, Kenya, 3 June 2003)
* South Africa. Economic growth falls short - South Africa's economy is growing more slowly than expected, making early cuts in the country's punishingly high interest rates more likely. Figures released on 27 May showed that the economy grew at an annual rate of just 1.5% in the January to March period, well down on the 2.4% registered in the October-December quarter, and far short of the predicted 1.8% expansion. Combined with suggestions last week that inflation estimates are to be revised downwards, the weak growth figures make an interest rate cut more likely when the Reserve Bank of South Africa holds its next rate-setting meeting on 11-12 June. South Africa's growth prospects have suffered because of the two-year downturn in the global economy. The country's problems have been exacerbated by the extreme volatility of its currency, the rand. (BBC News, UK, 27 May 2003)
* Sudan. Thousands of slaves - A new report says that more than 11,000 people have been abducted in 20 years of slave raiding in Sudan. Some 10,000 of these are still missing and many are being held as slaves. The East Africa and United Kingdom-based Rift Valley Institute, released its report on the basis of thousands of interviews in the Northern Bahr-el-Ghazal province, which it says, is the worst affected. The information will be used by human rights groups to help trace the abductees and reunite them with their families. Many of the abductees are being held by northern, Arab militias. Most of them are young men abducted from cattle camps where they were herding livestock. They were often abducted when they tried to stop the raiders stealing their cattle. The researchers covered the vast area by bicycle and on foot, carrying questionnaires, clip-boards and mosquito nets. They recorded detailed information on each missing person, including their age, sex, village, clan affiliation, the circumstances of their abduction and the names of their surviving relatives. (BBC News, UK, 28 May 2003) 

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