Weekly ANB0828_4.txt #6

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

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 28-08-2003      PART #4/6

* Liberia. Many dead in massacre  -  24.: The US Marine rapid reaction 
force of 150 troops heads back to warships off Liberia, ending significant 
American military deployment on the ground after eleven days. A spokesman 
for the Marines says the US forces will wait on the warships for any new 
deployment needed to support the West African peace force. The pullback 
leaves only about 100 US troops in Liberia. 25 August: Many people have 
been killed and villages set on fire in a town in north east Liberia, 
according to reports. General Benjamin Yeaten, deputy head of the 
government army, said that the attack had taken place in an area north east 
of Monrovia. Liberian state radio said rebels from the Movement for 
Democracy in Liberia (Model) had carried out the massacre in the town of 
Bahn, near the border with Côte d'Ivoire. Liberia Broadcasting System 
quoted one source from the area as saying that about 1,000 people had been 
killed but there has been no independent confirmation of the deaths. 
Liberian Defence Minister Daniel Chea said he knew nothing about the 
incident. Although a three-week-old West African peace-keeping force has 
helped stop fighting in the Liberian capital Monrovia, clashes have 
persisted in the countryside. General Yeaten said that both the two main 
rebel groups, Lurd and Model, had carried out attacks in the Bahn area in 
recent days. But he did not attribute the latest killings to them. The 
government and rebel groups have accused each other of being behind recent 
incidents of fighting in the country. 26 August: Liberia's interim 
president has called on West African peacekeepers to deploy outside the 
capital, Monrovia, where fighting is continuing despite a ceasefire 
agreement. Fresh reports are coming in of rebel attacks on north-eastern 
Nimba County, a stronghold of former President Charles Taylor and one of 
the few areas still under government control. Aid agencies say that several 
thousand people are fleeing the latest fighting around the town of Gbatala, 
100km north-east of Monrovia. There are some 1,500 Nigerian troops in 
Liberia, with 700 due this week from other West African nations, however a 
spokesman for the Ecomil force said this was not enough to venture outside 
Monrovia.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 26 August 2003)

* Libya/France. Impasse over deal  -  22 August: France and Libya appear 
close to agreeing new compensation for a 1989 bomb attack on a French 
airliner over Niger. Paris has been threatening to block a deal reached 
between Libya and relatives of victims of the 1988 Lockerbie airliner 
bombing after they received a vastly higher settlement. As a member of the 
UN Security Council, it has the power to veto the lifting of 
Lockerbie-related sanctions on Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's state. But senior 
officials from both states were hopeful of a new deal as talks were held in 
Tripoli between representatives of the French families and Libyan 
officials. 24 August: Relatives of French victims of a 1989 airliner 
bombing linked to Libya have returned from Tripoli empty-handed after 
seeking a compensation deal equal to payments offered in the 1988 Lockerbie 
bombing. "There was no progress made," Guillaume Denoix de Saint Marc, a 
spokesman for families of some of the 170 victims of the UTA airliner 
bombing over Niger, said. France has indicated that it would oppose the 
lifting of United Nations sanctions against Libya if the $34m deal it 
accepted for the UTA case were not revised upward sharply. Britain proposed 
the lifting of sanctions after Tripoli agreed to pay $2.7 billion in 
compensation over Lockerbie.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 24 August 2003)

* Libye/France. Impasse?  -  Paris poursuit son bras de fer avec Tripoli, 
au risque de raviver les tensions avec Washington et Londres. Le dimanche 
24 août, une délégation des familles des 170 victimes de l'attentat contre 
le DC 10 d'UTA en 1989, qui négociait des indemnisations, est rentrée 
bredouille à Paris. Après trois jours de discussions à Tripoli, aucun 
progrès n'a été enregistré. Le jeudi 21 août, la Grande-Bretagne avait 
accepté de reporter le vote de l'Onu sur la levée des sanctions contre la 
Libye (celle-ci ayant reconnu sa responsabilité dans l'attentat de 
Lockerbie et s'étant engagée à verser $2,7 milliards aux familles des 
victimes) jusqu'en début de semaine. Paris devrait essayer d'obtenir un 
nouveau délai. - Mardi 26 août: nouvelle déception. Alors qu'ils 
s'apprêtaient à reprendre l'avion pour la Libye afin de poursuivre les 
négociations, les représentants des familles des victimes -- qui avaient 
"reçu un message de la fondation Kaddhafi marquant sa disposition à 
poursuivre les négociations" -- apprenaient que Tripoli n'autorisait pas le 
vol. Les négociations, cependant, reprendront "dans les prochaines heures", 
informe l'agence PANA citant une "bonne source" parisienne.   (ANB-BIA, de 
sources diverses, 27 août 2003)
août 2003)

* Madagascar. Nouvelle loi foncière  -  Le projet de loi sur la possibilité 
offerte aux investisseurs étrangers d'acquérir des terres à Madagascar, 
qu'examinaient le Sénat et l'Assemblée nationale malgaches en session 
extraordinaire depuis lundi dernier, a été adopté par les députés après 
d'intenses débats. Selon la nouvelle loi, tout étranger peut désormais 
acquérir des biens immobiliers sur présentation d'un programme 
d'investissements minimum de 500.000 dollars américains. Chaque demande 
devra être examinée par un organisme spécialement créé à cet effet et 
chaque autorisation sera prise en conseil des ministres. Le bénéficiaire ne 
peut acheter plus de trois hectares. La loi prévoit que la non-réalisation 
du programme d'investissements dans les conditions et les délais impartis 
par l'autorisation entraîne la déchéance automatique du droit de propriété 
de l'investisseur et le transfert de l'immeuble à l'Etat.   (PANA, Sénégal, 
22 août 2003)

* Mali. Otages: la Libye aurait payé  -  Une rançon globale de 5 millions 
d'euros a été payée par la Libye, "à sa propre initiative", aux ravisseurs 
des quatorze touristes européens détenus pendant plus de cinq mois dans le 
Sahara, ont affirmé des sources diplomatiques à Bamako le jeudi 21 août. 
L'argent n'a transité "ni entre des mains maliennes, ni entre des mains 
allemandes". La Libye avait été citée parmi les pays ayant aidé au 
dénouement de l'affaire, dans un discours prononcé mardi soir à Bamako par 
le président malien.   (La Libre Belgique, 22 août 2003)

* Mali/Germany. Profit warning for freed Sahara hostages  -  24 August: 
Germany has warned 14 European tourists released from captivity in Mali 
against trying to sell their story for profit. Defence Minister Peter 
Struck said the costs for securing their release had been "enormous" and 
any fees for photos and stories should be given to the states involved. 
Speculation has raged about whether Germany or other states paid a 
multi-million ransom to secure the hostages' release. Mali's chief 
negotiator has said that Germany paid no ransom for the 14. Amadou Baba 
Toure, who is governor of the Gao region of eastern Mali, said the team of 
mediators had had to win the trust of the kidnappers by praying, eating, 
drinking and talking together for two days. He said Germany had refused to 
pay money to the captors because it would have encouraged kidnapping around 
the world.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 24 August 2003)

* Mali. Heurts entre groupes musulmans.  -  Fait plutôt rare au Mali, des 
affrontements entre deux groupes musulmans se disputant l'édification d'une 
mosquée dans le nord-ouest du pays ont fait au moins dix morts et sept 
blessés, ont annoncé mercredi les autorités. Ces incidents sanglants se 
sont produits dans le village de Yerere, dans la région de Nioro du Sahel, 
après que la communauté wahhabite -- des musulmans intégristes -- eut 
repris la construction de l'édifice religieux, à laquelle s'opposait la 
majorité sunnite au motif que la localité comptait déjà sept mosquées. Ces 
violences ont eu lieu lundi 25 août, mais la nouvelle n'a atteint Bamako, 
la capitale, que mercredi. M. Koné a reconnu que ses services ne 
disposaient que de peu de détails sur ces affrontements. On sait seulement 
que des témoins ont fait état de coups de feu et que 16 personnes ont été 
arrêtées. Le pays, qui compte parmi les cinq plus pauvres de la planète, 
jouit d'une réputation de modération en matière de politique et de 
religion.   (D'après AP, USA, 27 août 2003)

* Morocco. Peace orchestra makes debut  -  On 24 August, the 
West-eastern-Divan Orchestra, an orchestra made up of young Israeli and 
Arab musicians, played a programme of Mozart and Beethoven pieces in Rabat. 
The concert was conducted by the orchestra's co-founder, the Israeli 
conductor and pianist, Daniel Barenboim. Despite heavy security surrounding 
the event, the concert hall, in the city's Mohammed V Theatre, was full and 
the musicians received a standing ovation. Daniel Barenboim introduced his 
young orchestra to a Moroccan audience that included King Mohammed's 
sisters and the prime minister. He said that Morocco's decision to hold the 
concert made it a pioneer in the Middle East. But he added that the full 
aim of the orchestra would only be achieved when it could play in all the 
countries represented by its musicians (aged 13-26).   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 
25 August 2003)

* Maroc. Procès d'un intégriste français  -  Le procès de Pierre Robert, un 
intégriste français accusé d'implication dans les attentats terroristes 
perpétrés en mai dernier au Maroc, s'est ouvert le 25 août devant la 
chambre criminelle de Rabat. Il est jugé en même temps que 33 "complices" 
marocains présumés liés au groupe islamiste de la Salafia Djihadia. Pierre 
Robert a récusé l'avocat qui lui avait été commis d'office. Le procès a été 
reporté au 29 août.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 26 août 2003)

* Morocco. Drugs gang smashed  -  26 August: The authorities in Morocco say 
they have uncovered a drugs cartel allegedly operated by senior judges, 
police and customs official in the north of the country. Morocco's ministry 
of justice said that 18 judicial figures and businessmen are members of the 
drug-trafficking gang which exports large quantities of hashish to Europe. 
They are now under investigation by the Special Court for Corruption, which 
observers say is likely to prove an acid test for the new King, Mohammed 
Vl. He has made much of his promise to put an end to the corruption which 
tarnished his father's rule. It is an open secret that vast areas of land 
in the north of Morocco are used to cultivate hashish, much of which 
inevitably finds its way into the European market. But never before, have 
the authorities discovered such a well-oiled trafficking gang with links to 
such high echelons within the Moroccan establishment.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 
26 August 2003)

* Nigeria. 100 morts à Warri  -  Les affrontements interethniques entre 
Ijaws et Itsekeri qui ont éclaté à Warri, ville du sud du Nigeria et haut 
lieu de l'exploitation pétrolière, ont fait près de 100 morts et plus d'un 
millier de blessés au cours de la semaine écoulée, a annoncé la Croix-Rouge 
nigériane le vendredi 22 août. Ces heurts ont été les plus sanglants dans 
le Delta du Niger depuis la révolte des Ijaws de mars dernier. Les Ijaws 
considèrent que le pouvoir politique est injustement détourné au profit des 
Itsekeri. Ils demandent aussi un plus grand partage des richesses 
pétrolières de la région. Des centaines de policiers armés et de soldats 
ont été envoyés à Warri.   (Reuters, 22 août 2003)

* Nigeria. Volatile Niger Delta  -  21 August: A heavy army presence in the 
southern Nigerian town of Warri appears to be maintaining an uneasy calm 
following days of intense fighting between local militia. More than 30 
people have been killed, scores injured and thousands made homeless in the 
political and ethnic clashes. The town is unnaturally quiet -- but that the 
grievances that led to the crisis remain unresolved. The violence between 
the Ijaw and Itsekiri people -- two of the main ethnic groups in the 
oil-rich Delta region of Nigeria --has been the worst since March, when 
several multi-national oil companies were force to halt their operations. 
The Delta State governor James Ibori arrived in Warri on 20 August to try 
to resolve the crisis. Following talks with the warring communities he told 
reporters he hoped both sides would heed his appeal to lay down their arms. 
He said he understood that some communities felt excluded from the economic 
benefits of the oil rich delta region but said the solution lay in dialogue 
and not armed confrontation. 22 August: The number of casualties from the 
recent violence in the Delta port of Warri is much higher than previously 
believed, says the Red Cross in Nigeria. After three days of relative calm, 
the Nigerian Red Cross says it has been able to assess the situation more 
accurately and it believes that about 100 people were killed and 1,000 
injured. It says the fighting between militias of the local Ijaw and 
Itsekiri people also drove several thousand residents of the city from 
their homes. Army troops and riot police were deployed in the city, where 
authorities said that they had secured a cease-fire on 21 August between 
the warring groups. 25 August: At least eight people have been killed in 
fresh clashes involving three ethnic Ijaw villages in the volatile Niger 
Delta, Nigerian police say. Police say five men and three women were killed 
on 23 August when people from the villages of Ogodobiri and Oboro in Delta 
state invaded Ekeremor village in southeastern Bayelsa state. "The 
miscreants came in speed boats and burnt stores and houses at the waterside 
before they were repelled by Mobile Police," Bayelsa state police 
commissioner Oliver Osuchukwu said.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 25 August 2003)

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