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Weekly ANB1009_05.txt #9

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 09-10-2003      PART #5/6
* Senegal. Separatist war is over - 7 October: A 21-year secession war in Senegal's southern province of Casamance has finished, says the rebel leader. Jean-Marie Francois Biagui was speaking at a gathering of hundreds of rebel delegates in the Casamance capital, Ziguinchor. However, hardline factions did not turn up to the meeting, raising doubts about whether the fighting will stop. The war has killed hundreds and displaced many thousands from what is dry Senegal's most fertile region. Casamance, with a mixture of Muslims, Christians and Animists and many different ethnic groups, is divided from the mostly Muslim north by The Gambia. Correspondents say that in recent years, much of the violence in Casamance has been robberies, rather than attacks on the army or state institutions. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 7 October 2003)
* Sénégal. Opposant agressé - Le 5 octobre, M. Talla Sylla, président du parti d'opposition, l'Alliance, Jëf Jël et ancien vice-président de l'Assemblée nationale, a été hospitalisé après avoir été blessé par quatre agresseurs à coups de marteau. Il souffre notamment de contusion pulmonaire et de fractures crâniennes. Quelques semaines plus tôt, M. Sylla avait demandé que le président Abdoulaye Wade soit traduit en justice, après les révélations du journaliste Abdou Latif Coulibaly, dans un livre paru en juillet dernier, qui avait critiqué la gestion financière et politique du chef d'Etat sénégalais. M. Sylla avait en outre diffusé une cassette dans laquelle il critiquait le président Wade de façon très virulente. La Fédération internationale des ligues des droits de l'homme (FIDH) a demandé aux autorités sénégalaises de faire toute la lumière sur cette agression et de faire prendre des sanctions appropriées. (FIDH, France, 7 octobre 2003)
* Sénégal. Assises du MFDC sous le signe de la paix - Le 6 octobre, les assises du Mouvement des forces démocratiques de Casamance (MFDC) se sont ouvertes à Ziguinchor, en vue d'harmoniser les positions du mouvement avant une rencontre prévue avec le gouvernement. Le secrétaire général, Jean-Marie Biagui, a déclaré la fin de la guerre entre l'armée sénégalaise et le mouvement indépendantiste, un conflit qui déchire la région depuis deux décennies. "La guerre pour nous est définitivement révolue", a-t-il affirmé. "Dorénavant, la lutte du MFDC sera le combat contre tous les fossoyeurs de la paix en Casamance, afin que nous retrouvions tous une paix définitive", a déclaré pour sa part l'abbé Diamacoune Senghor, président et figure historique du MFDC, sans parler une seule fois d'"indépendance" de la Casamance. Mais M. Biagui a fait remarquer que le combat que mène le MFDC est aujourd'hui plus que jamais légitime pour la poursuite de la lutte politique en faveur de l'"émancipation" socio-économique, politique et culturelle de la Casamance. Cependant, certains parmi les éléments les plus radicaux du MFDC ont fait savoir la semaine dernière qu'ils ne prendraient pas part à ces assises dont les conclusions, disaient-ils, n'engageraient que leurs organisateurs. -- Le 8 octobre, les assises ont pris fin. La rencontre donne mandat aux responsables du MFDC pour entreprendre toute initiative de nature à assurer la cohésion et l'unité du mouvement, et leur recommande de ne ménager aucun effort en vue de la reprise effective des négociations avec le gouvernement. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 8 octobre 2003)
* Sierra Leone. Energising the youth - 1 October: The Firestone community in Freetown is surprisingly a drug-free and crime-free area. Surprisingly, because it was long reputed to be a haven for drop-outs and criminals. Armed robbery, street violence and mugging were all once synonymous with Firestone, which sits in the crowded east end of Sierra Leone's capital city. The rebel invasion of Freetown in 1999 started on this side of town. Much was destroyed and roads are still rough, infrastructure almost non-existent. Thousands of people in this area may go for weeks without electricity and running water. "It is time for young people to take over, since the older generation has failed us", says Sulaiman "Suntus" Kamara who runs a youth organisation in Firestone district. Suntus, at 46, still looks much like the youths he serves. "We have had to take the tough decision of transforming our youths from the bad guys to the good guys," he says. Slender and articulate, Suntus is transforming his marginalised and depressed community. "The goals speak of the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger as well as environmental sustainability. But look at our deprived and neglected community. These goals are purely idealistic," Suntus laments. It was back in 1992 that Suntus' enthusiasm was first sparked by the youthful military take-over of the civilian administration by a 26-year old army officer, Valentine Strasser. At that time, "I organised the youths to clean markets and cemeteries. This apparently got them involved in community development activities." Ten years on, the Firestone community has moved a long way. There is now a primary school. The drug ghetto has been transformed into a skills training centre, including tailoring, carpentry and building skills. (BBC News, UK, 1 October 2003)
* Somalia. More twists in peace process - Members of Somalia's Transitional National Government (TNG) attending peace talks in Kenya have called on the conference organisers not to accept "obstruction and delaying tactics". Prime Minister Hassan Abshir Farah, Speaker Abdallah Derow Isaak and other delegation members said they welcomed attempts to heal the rift in the talks by bringing back key leaders who had walked out. But, they said, in a letter to conference chairman Ambassador Bethuel Kiplagat of Kenya, if the leaders refused to return "we should not accept obstruction and delaying tactics intended to derail the conference". The TNG is effectively split into two factions after President Abdiqassim Salad Hassan returned to Mogadishu, unhappy over the adoption of a transitional charter which will serve as a blueprint for future Somali institutions. In August, he sacked Abshir and Derow, and said the interim government would continue until new institutions were formed through free and fair elections. The TNG's mandate was due to end that same month, in accordance with the provisions of the Arta charter which established it. (IRIN, Kenya, 2 October 2003)
* Somalia. Aid worker shot in Somaliland - An award-winning aid worker has been shot dead in the breakaway northern enclave of Somaliland, officials said on 6 October. Annalena Tonelli, 60, who came from Italy, was visiting a ward for tuberculosis patients in Borama General Hospital late on 5 October when two men walked in and one shot her twice in the head. Witnesses said the men walked out, leaving patients and hospital officials in shock. Tonelli, who ran the 200-bed hospital, won the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) annual humanitarian award in April for her work with displaced Somalis. She had worked with Somalis for 33 years. Her clinic was set up to fight tuberculosis, raise awareness on HIV/AIDS and the harmful effects of female genital mutilation. Such was Tonelli's prestige in Somaliland that other female aid workers were known as "annalenas" after her. (Editor's note: Annalena Tonelli was a lay missionary). On 8 October, police said they had detained four suspects in connection with the killing. (CNN, USA, 6 & 8 October 2003)
* Somalie. Missionnaire laïque assassinée - Une missionnaire laïque italienne, Annalena Tonelli, 60 ans, a été tuée, le dimanche soir 5 octobre, au Somaliland, rapporte l'agence Misna. Médecin, elle vivait depuis 30 ans en Somalie, et travaillait à présent à Borama, dans le Somaliland (province qui s'est autoproclamée indépendante) dans la ville de Merca. Elle y avait remis sur pied un hôpital et un dispensaire pour le traitement et la prévention de la tuberculose, et avait également engagé des projets pour l'alphabétisation. En avril dernier, elle avait reçu pour son oeuvre le "Nansen Refugee Award", le prix le plus prestigieux qui est attribué à ceux qui s'occupent de l'assistance humanitaire. Selon l'agence Fides, Mme Tonelli se trouvait dimanche soir dans son hôpital lorsqu'elle a été agressée par deux hommes armés, dont l'un lui a tiré un coup de revolver dans la tête. On craint que l'assassinat puisse avoir une raison religieuse. (Misna et Fides, Italie, 6 octobre 2003)
* South Africa. Coetzee wins Nobel literature prize - 2 October: South African writer John Maxwell Coetzee has been awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize for Literature. The Nobel Academy's head, Horace Engdahl, said Coetzee "in innumerable guises portrays the surprise involvement of the outsider". The 18 lifetime members of the 217-year-old Swedish Academy made the annual selection in deep secrecy at one of their weekly meetings. The prize includes a cheque for more than 10 million kronor ($1.3m), but it can also bestow increased sales, celebrity and admiration. Syrian poet Ali Ahman Said, better known as Adonis, had been the favourite for the prize. Some literary experts said the academy might lean towards him in an attempt to alleviate bitterness at the US invasion of Iraq. Coetzee becomes the fourth African writer since 1980 to win the prestigious award. In its citation, the academy said his novels were characterised by their well-craft composition, pregnant dialogue and analytical brilliance. "But at the same time, he is a scrupulous doubter, ruthless in his criticism of the cruel rationalism and cosmetic morality of western civilisation," it said. Coetzee was born in February 1940 and is currently on sabbatical from his role as professor of general literature at the University of Cape Town. He was the first writer to win the Booker prize twice, carrying off the prize in 1983 with The Life & Times of Michael K and scooping it again in 1999 with Disgrace. @CITA_1 = (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 2 October 2003)
* Afrique du Sud. Coetzee, prix Nobel de littérature - Le prix Nobel de littérature 2003 a été attribué, le 2 octobre, à l'écrivain sud-africain J.M. Coetzee (63 ans), dont l'oeuvre a été fortement marquée par les années d'apartheid dans lesquelles il a grandi. Coetzee avait déjà été le premier auteur à recevoir deux fois le Booker Prize: pour "Michael K, sa vie, son temps" (1983) et pour "Disgrace" (1999). Il est le sixième prix Nobel sud-africain. Depuis l'année dernière il habite à Adelaïde en Australie, où il enseigne la littérature à l'université. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 3 octobre 2003)
* Sudan. Newspapers suspended - Sudan: On 2 October, Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) deplored the shutting down of the newspaper Al-Azminah and the continued harassment of the independent daily, Alwan, by the state prosecutor in charge of subversion cases. "We call on the authorities to obey the presidential decree that gives the National Press Council the responsibility for overseeing press matters rather than the subversion prosecutor, who continues to shut down newspapers," said the organisation's secretary-general, Robert Ménard. "The prosecutor, Mohamed Farid Hassan, is defying the ministry of justice." Al-Azminah was suspended indefinitely by Hassan on 30 September after a complaint against it by the army. The prosecutor has close ties with the intelligence services, whose authority over the press was ended by a 12 August decree that reaffirmed press freedom and transferred power to monitor the media to the National Press Council. The intelligence services are resisting the order. The army accused Al-Azminah of publishing an supposedly inaccurate report saying pro-government militias had been disbanded after a 25 September peace agreement with rebels of the southern-based Sudan People's Liberation Army aiming to end a 20-year civil war. Alwan was similarly suspended on 2 September pending examination of a complaint against it by the National Security Agency for incitement to sedition. The justice minister gave it permission to reappear on 24 September but two days after it did, prosecutor Hassan banned it again. The daily Al-Sahafa was suspended for three days under the press law from 1 October by the National Press Council for printing an ad by Ethiopian Airlines praising the quality of the wines on its Khartoum-Paris flights. Alcohol has been banned in Sudan since 1983. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 3 October 2003)
* Sudan. Critical stage in peace talks - 2 October: Sudan's foreign minister says he expects his government and rebel leaders to sign a peace agreement by the end of the year, clearing the way for the country to begin its recovery from 20 years of civil war. Mustafa Osman Ismail says negotiators will meet on October 6 and October 15 to develop a draft accord. Once that process is completed, "it means that all we have left is the final signing of the agreement, which would be at any time before the end of this year," he tells reporters at a Washington news conference. Sudan also is hopeful that the peace agreement will lead to its removal from the US list of terror-sponsoring states, and can ease the long list of penalties imposed by the United States for alleged Sudanese involvement in terrorism, human rights abuses, religious persecution and slavery. "We expect, immediately after we sign this agreement, the lifting of sanctions," Ismail says. "Sudan, with its huge resources, is going to be open for the American companies for investment." Rebel leaders are guarded but optimistic. The Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement issues a statement that calls a peace agreement "the easier phase" and points out several remaining issues, including land ownership, control of state finances and the future of the Abeyi, Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile regions. 6 October: Peace talks resume in Kenya today, between government representatives and the Sudan People's Liberation Army. -- Sudan's President Omar Hasan al-Bashir praises the main rebel leader, John Garang, saluting the progress made in peace talks in Kenya. The praise --in a live televised speech - is an extraordinary gesture, unthinkable only weeks ago. "We hail the response of the people's movement (SPLM) and its leader John Garang, who was responsible for the success of the last round of talks," President Bashir says in his speech, at the opening of a new session of parliament in Khartoum. He also thanks the United States, European Union and Kenyan leadership for their mediation. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 6 October 2003)
* Soudan. La réinstallation des réfugiés - Alors que le gouvernement et la SPLA poursuivent les négociations de paix, un groupe de réflexion norvégien estime que le Soudan n'est pas en mesure de faire face à l'afflux des réfugiés et personnes déplacées dont le retour est envisagé à la suite de l'accord de paix global. "Les défis à ces retours massifs sont considérables et les administrations locales ne semblent pas prêtes à y faire face", indique le Projet mondial IDP dans un nouveau rapport rendu public le 6 octobre à Khartoum. Le nombre de personnes déplacées vivant dans les camps au Soudan est estimé à environ 4 millions, y compris les 2 millions de réfugiés dans l'Etat de Khartoum et 1,4 million dans les territoires que contrôle la SPLA. Il ressort d'une récente étude que les deux tiers des personnes déplacées interrogées souhaitent retourner chez elles. En plus d'une demande massive de services de base, un système judiciaire fonctionnel sera nécessaire pour trouver une solution aux conflits fonciers complexes que ne manqueront pas de soulever les réfugiés à leur retour, prévient le rapport. Le système éducatif devra également être renforcé. (D'après PANA, Sénégal, 7 octobre 2003) 

Weekly anb1009.txt - #5/6