Weekly ANB0821_3.txt #6

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

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 21-08-2003      PART #3/6

* Liberia. Peace Agreement  -  11 August: President Charles Taylor goes 
into exile. 14 August: Rebel forces have handed control of the port in 
Liberia's capital, Monrovia, to West African peacekeepers. Although much of 
the food in the port's warehouses has been looted during two months of 
fighting in Monrovia, deliveries of badly-needed food, water and medicines 
can now be stepped up. Rebel official Sekou Fofana formally handed control 
of the port to Ecomil commander Brigadier-General Festus Okonkwo in a 
ceremony also attended by US Ambassador John Blaney. The rebels are 
expected to move out to the River Po on the city's outskirts. Earlier 
today, the first wave of some 200 US Marines arrived at Liberia's main 
international airport to back up the peacekeeping operation. The US troops 
are supposed to help the Nigerian-led peacekeepers secure the port and 
deliver desperately needed humanitarian aid to the city. Although some 
2,300 US troops are based on ships off the Liberian coast, the US insists 
that the main peacekeeping role in Liberia should be played by Ecomil, 
which currently consists of less than 800 Nigerian troops. Lorry-loads of 
Nigerian troops have entered rebel-held territory, where they were greeted 
by thousands of people cheering, dancing and punching the air. The 
Nigerian-led Ecomil force will stop government fighters moving in as the 
rebels withdraw. -- Chaos has continued for a second day in the port area 
itself, as rebel fighters fired guns in a vain attempt to stop thousands of 
people looting food from warehouses there. There is very little food left 
in United Nations warehouses. Meanwhile, new interim President Moses Blah 
has arrived in neighbouring Ghana for a meeting with rebel leaders. A 
battalion of Nigerian peacekeepers arrived at Sokoto airfield in the north 
of the country, ready to be airlifted to join Ecomil. Meanwhile, new 
interim President Moses Blah has begun talks with Liberian rebel leaders in 
neighbouring Ghana. Interim President Blah, Mr Taylor's former deputy, is 
set to rule Liberia until October. Lurd rebels have rejected his 
appointment but say they will respect the ceasefire. 15 August: Two United 
Nations vessels have docked in the Liberian capital, Monrovia, carrying the 
first shipments of aid to arrive by sea for several weeks. However, the 
first major food deliveries will not arrive until next week. Monrovia has 
been reunited after months of fighting, and thousands of people have been 
streaming across the bridges along the former frontline which divided rebel 
and government-held areas. Most were looking for food, which is more 
plentiful and cheaper around the port. Some Monrovians have also been 
trying to find friends and relatives after weeks of being divided by the 
bitter fighting. A WFP vessel delivered one container of high-energy 
biscuits and will also serve as a communications centre for the aid 
operation. A ship from the United Nations refugee agency has also docked, 
carrying plastic sheets and blankets for the tens of thousands of Liberians 
without shelter. Residents of the government-held southern parts of 
Monrovia had suffered from food shortages for several weeks after the 
rebels captured the port and the surrounding warehouses of United Nations 
food. 17 August: Liberia's interim President Moses Blah has flown home 
after walking out of negotiations in Ghana over the setting up of a new 
Liberian Government. Negotiators had hoped to sign a deal on 16 August to 
create a government that would take over in October and lead the country to 
democratic elections in two years' time. Mr Blah's decision was prompted by 
rebel demands for key positions in the proposed government. On the 
humanitarian front, there is continuing concern over conditions for the 
people of the country's second city, Buchanan, after a missionary who 
accompanied a first truckload of aid described conditions there as 
"disastrous". Thousands of people have been sheltering in a Catholic 
mission in Buchanan, but there is little food or clean water. Tens of 
thousands of Liberians are desperately in need of food after weeks of 
fighting between government forces and rebels. The main rebel group, 
Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (Lurd), is demanding the 
posts of vice-president and speaker in the new administration. 18 August: 
The warring factions in Liberia should sign an agreement to set up an 
interim government later today,, says the United Nations representative to 
the country. Jacques Klein says a peace deal for Liberia is "very close". A 
breakthrough was achieved yesterday, when the country's main rebel group 
dropped its demand for the vice-presidency in a new government. West 
African mediators had threatened to call off the talks in Ghana unless the 
Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (Lurd) gave in. Mr Klein 
said only one group is still holding out. 19 August: Liberia's interim 
government and rebel groups have signed a peace agreement to end the 
14-year civil war that has cost thousands of lives. The deal, signed in 
Ghana, provides for a power-sharing administration, due to take charge in 
October and pave the way for democratic elections to be held no later than 
2005. The factions could soon begin naming members of the transitional 
administration, according to negotiators at the talks in Ghana. In the 
Liberian capital Monrovia, there is cautious optimism about the agreement 
-- and hope that it will bring sporadic fighting to an end. In Washington, 
a White House spokesman said the deal provided Liberians with "an 
unprecedented opportunity to begin the process of healing and 
reconciliation toward a peaceful, stable and prosperous Liberia". 21 
August: Government and rebel delegates have selected a businessman, Gyude 
Bryant, to head Liberia's interim post-war administration. His appointment 
is due to be formally announced shortly by West African mediators in Ghana. 
Mr Bryant was chosen ahead of two other candidates. Interim President Moses 
Blah is due to stand down in October in favour of the new administration, 
which is supposed to organise elections in 2005. Mr Bryant, of the Liberia 
Action Party, is a leading figure in the Episcopal Church, one of Liberia's 
main religious denominations. Under the power-sharing agreement, neither 
Liberia's new leader nor the vice-chairman can come from either of the 
armed factions. The signing of the agreement, has raised hopes that 
Liberia's bitter 14-year war may finally be over. However, there has been 
fighting in Bong County, 100 kilometres north-east of Monrovia, despite a 
ceasefire agreement. Aid agency Médécins Sans Frontieres warns that the 
frontline is now just 45km from camps where some 60,000 people have sought 
refuge.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 21 August 2003)

* Liberia. Accord de paix global  -  14 août. Satisfaits du départ de 
l'ancien président Charles Taylor, les rebelles ont commencé à abandonner 
leurs positions à Monrovia et à se retirer à quelque 20 km du centre. Ceci 
a permis aux soldats nigérians de la force d'interposition ouest-africaine 
(Ecomil) de se déployer dans la capitale, où plus d'une centaine de soldats 
américains ont également débarqué. Pendant ce temps, des pourparlers se 
sont ouverts à Accra (Ghana) entre le président par intérim Moses Blah et 
le chef du mouvement rebelle des Libériens unis pour la réconciliation et 
la démocratie (LURD), Sékou Damate. -- 15 août. Alors que le premier bateau 
transportant de la nourriture est arrivé à Monrovia, des dizaines de 
milliers de Libériens affamés se sont rués vers les ponts de la capitale 
pour rejoindre les secteurs abandonnés par les rebelles dans l'espoir de 
trouver de quoi nourrir leurs familles. Les ponts qui relient le port au 
centre de la ville ont été rouverts et la capitale a été ainsi réunifiée. 
Les bousculades monstres qui s'en sont suivies n'ont heureusement pas fait 
de victimes. -- Le dimanche 17 août à Accra, les rebelles et le 
gouvernement libérien ont signé un accord garantissant le libre accès des 
organisations humanitaires à l'ensemble du pays. Le LURD et le MODEL 
(Mouvement pour la démocratie au Liberia) promettent de laisser l'aide 
accéder à tous les territoires qu'ils contrôlent, soit les quatre 
cinquièmes du Liberia. Le LURD renonce aussi à revendiquer la 
vice-présidence du gouvernement de transition. Cette exigence, assortie 
d'une menace de reprendre les combats, bloquait les pourparlers en cours. 
Le samedi, les délégués s'étaient entendus pour que les élections générales 
soient organisées en octobre 2005, suivies de l'investiture du gouvernement 
en janvier 2006. Ils ont aussi convenu de l'investiture, le 14 octobre 
prochain, d'un gouvernement national de transition, incluant toutes les 
parties, qui remplacera le gouvernement actuel dirigé par Moses Blah. Le 
projet de document devrait être signé lundi. -- 18 août. Un accord de paix 
global et sur la transition politique a été signé dans la soirée à Accra 
entre les deux mouvements rebelles et le gouvernement intérimaire. Les 
discussions devaient reprendre pour choisir le président et le 
vice-président, mais, selon le porte-parole de la CEDEAO, ces postes seront 
attribués à des partis politiques ou des représentants de la société 
civile, les rebelles et les membres du gouvernement en étant exclus. Le 
document signé prévoit aussi la mise en place d'une Commission vérité et 
réconciliation, s'inspirant de l'institution sud-africaine. Il faut encore 
noter que la responsabilité de la communauté internationale et plus 
particulièrement des Nations unies dans le processus de paix, est 
clairement définie dans l'accord. Son rôle sera essentiel tant au niveau de 
la restructuration des forces de sécurité, que de l'organisation des 
élections en 2005. - D'autre part, l'aide humanitaire arrive désormais à un 
rythme régulier dans le port et sur l'aéroport de Monrovia, malgré le 
naufrage d'un navire d'aide affrété par l'organisation américain World 
Vision. La vie normale reprend son cours dans la capitale. -- 19 août. 
Selon l'accord signé lundi, le gouvernement, les deux groupes rebelles, la 
société civile et les partis politiques pouvaient occuper cinq postes 
ministériels chacun. Le gouvernement a ainsi obtenu: la Défense, 
l'Intérieur, la Planification et l'Economie, Santé et Affaires sociales, 
Postes et Télécommunications. Le LURD: les portefeuilles des Finances, 
Justice, Travail, Transport et du ministère d'Etat. Le MODEL: Affaires 
étrangères, Agriculture, Commerce, Energie et Mines. D'autre part, les 
partis politiques et les organisations de la société civile ont proposé 
leurs candidats aux postes de président et de vice-président. -- 20 août. 
Des accrochages ont opposé rebelles et forces gouvernementales dans le 
comté de Bong (à une centaine de km au nord-est de Monrovia), mais aucun 
des belligérants ne se risquait pour le moment de qualifier ces accrochages 
de violations du cessez-le-feu. --21 août. Selon AP, les rebelles et le 
gouvernement, après une nuit de délibérations, ont désigné un homme 
d'affaires de Monrovia, Gyude Bryant, pour diriger le gouvernement de 
transition.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 21 août 2003)

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