weekly anb05254.txt #8

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 25-05-2000      PART #4/8

* Eritrea-Ethiopia. The battle in Eritrea  -  18 May: Hundreds of
thousands of Eritreans are fleeing Ethiopia's military advance into
their country, dashing hopes of a quick and decisive military
defence against its southern neighbour's massed offensive.
Eritrea's government, better known for its defiant independence
from the outside world, is left begging the UN to condemn
Ethiopia's territorial gains and appealing for aid as terrified
civilians pack the roads around Barentu, a newly fallen supply
centre well inside Eritrean borders, pursued by overwhelming
numbers of troops. "Emergency food is desperately needed", says
Abraham Kahsai, a spokesman for the Eritrean Relief and Refugee
Commission. The news of the fall of Berentu has had a devastating
effect in Asmara. There is a small but growing resentment and
suspicion of Ethiopians living in Eritrea, many of whom have been
there for generations. 19 May: Ethiopia's airforce has conducted
bombing raids near Eritrea's main port of Massawa. An Eritrean
spokesman says the port itself has not been hit. The UN says
thousands of Eritrean civilians are fleeing to Sudan. American
diplomats are being evacuated from Eritrea. A statement from the
Ethiopian Government says its troops now control the town of Madima
within 100km of Asmara. 21 May: The Ethiopian army continues its
thrust into Eritrea, capturing the Eritrean town of Om Hajer, on
the borders of Ethiopia and Sudan. Addis Ababa also says it has
carried out bombing raids near the strategic town of Mendefera.
Ethiopian troops are reportedly within 96 km of Asmara. 22 May:
Reno Serri, the EU's special envoy to the Horn of Africa, shuttles
between Eritrea and Ethiopia in a bid to bring to a halt the
conflict between the two countries. Ethiopia's Prime Minister,
Meles Zenawi, has rejected appeals to call an end to his troops'
10-day-old invasion of Eritrea to allow for peace talks. 23 May:
Meles Zenawi predicts that the war could be over very soon with
Ethiopian troops having seized vital command posts in the heavily
defended Zalambessa area. Eritrean forces are now caught in a
developing pincer movement. The Ethiopian foreign minister says
Ethiopia will not sign a ceasefire until it has recovered all the
border areas it says are occupied by Eritrea. 25 May: Eritrea says
it is pulling back its forces to positions they held before the
start of its border war with Ethiopia. Following a request from the
Organisation of African Unity (OAU), the foreign ministry in Asmara
says: "Eritrea has decided, for the sake of peace, to accept the
OAU's appeal for de-escalation".   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 25 May 2000)

* Eritrea-Ethiopia. Catholic Bishops meet in Rome  -  22 May: The
Catholic Bishops of Eritrea and Ethiopia will hold their annual
meeting at a Bishops' Conference on 25 May in Rome. Seven out of
eleven of the Bishops have been able to reach Rome and will
celebrate a special Mass in the Church of St Maria degli Angeli on
26 May. For that occasion, the Bishops are drafting a statement
demanding the immediate ending of the war between their respective
countries. The Catholic Bishops of Eritrea and Ethiopia form one
Conference and last year they also met in Rome. It seems the
Bishops of Barentu and Keren (Eritrea) will not be present. The
president of the Bishops' Conference, Archbishop Berhane-Yesus
Souraphiel, Metropolitan of Addis Ababa, has not arrived. 24 May:
In a Message sent by Pope John Paul II to Archbishop Souraphiel,
the Pope said: "In this time of trial, I am particularly close to
all the Bishops of the Ethiopian and Eritrean Episcopal Conference
and to those entrusted to their pastoral care". The Bishop of
Barentu has launched an appeal for international help through an
interview with Vatican Radio which he managed to get to almost by
chance. Barentu is now in the hands of the Ethiopian army. Bishop
Luca Milesi says: "The world has remained silent -- only a few good
words. We, here, do not want aid; we want help, now, in obtaining
peace so that the war comes to an end, because it is a disaster". 
 (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 25 May 2000)

* Ethiopia. Election results  -  18 May: The ruling Ethiopian
People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) party easily won in
Addis Ababa during the 14 May elections, losing only four of the 23
federal seats allocated to the city. Among the four losers,
however, was the Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Tefera
Walewa. Prime Minster Meles Zenawai won unopposed in his hometown
constituency of Adowa.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 19 May 2000)

* Ghana. As you were  -  The suspense is over. President Jerry
Rawlings told a special convention of his National Democratic
Congress (NDC) on 29 April: "When -- I am not saying if -- when I
step down, let me assure you that I am not going anywhere. Through
some of our good friends I have been receiving signals of
invitation to help out in some aspects of our international
endeavours." Thus he replied to those who doubted whether he, a
two-time coup-maker and twice triumphantly re-elected, would ever
quit. For 17 years, Rawlings has presided, often sceptically, over
programmes of economic reform that were invented, and then hailed
as small miracles, by the International Monetary Fund and World
Bank in Washington. The upshot is that he leaves Ghana's economy
more or less where it was when he started, with its foreign trade
back under tight controls, announced by Finance Minister Richard
Kwame Peprah just three days before the party congress.   (Africa
Confidential, UK, 12 May 2000

* Ghana. Protection de l'environnement  -  L'agence ghaneenne pour
la protection de l'environnement (EPA) a donne a vingt entreprises
industrielles un delai de 30 jours pour reduire leurs niveaux de
pollution, sous peine de poursuites judiciaires, a annonce la radio
le 18 mai. L'EPA demande aux entreprises de soumettre des plans
pour la reduction de leurs effluents industriels, la production de
dechets et eaux souillees depassant le seuil legal.   (IRIN,
Abidjan, 22 mai 2000)

* Ghana. Child health care sees great improvement  -  On 22 May, a
Ghanaian health official said the country has made significant
progress in reducing some childhood diseases that cause high
mortality rate among children. Dr George Amofa, deputy director of
public health, said some of these diseases, such as diphtheria and
whooping cough, may even be close to the elimination stages if the
positive trend continues. "A total of 43,078 cases of measles was
reported country-wide in 1995, but this figure dropped to 11,511 in
1999. Within that same period only five cases of diphtheria was
reported in 1995, and no single case of the disease has shown up
over the past three years. This may be an indication that some of
these diseases may be nearing the elimination stages if the trend
continues and vaccination is sustained," he said. He added that
whooping cough and neo-natal tetanus have also registered
significant reduction. "In 1995, 1,368 cases of whooping cough was
reported but this dropped to 496 in 1999". Also, 216 cases of neo-
natal tetanus were reported in 1995 but there were only 66 cases
recorded in 1999.   (PANA, Dakar, 22 May 2000)

* Guinee. Reprise du proces Conde  -  Le proces de l'opposant Alpha
Conde (arrete en decembre 1998) et de ses 47 co-accuses a repris,
le 22 mai a Conakry, apres trois semaines de suspension. Le
president de la Cour de surete de l'Etat a entame l'examen du
dossier sans demander aux accuses s'ils maintenaient leur decision
de ne pas parler en l'absence de leurs avocats. Ceux-ci avaient
decide de boycotter le proces apres le rejet de plusieurs
"exceptions en nullite" qu'ils avaient soulevees pour demander la
liberation des accuses.   (Le Monde, France, 24 mai 2000)

* Kenya. Violences tribales  -  Le vice-ministre kenyan de la Sante
a accuse le gouvernement et les medias de s'etre mis d'accord pour
minimiser l'importance des massacres qui ont touche la communaute
Borana, dont il est originaire, ainsi que d'autres communautes
pastorales des zones frontalieres du nord du Kenya, limitrophes de
l'Ethiopie et de la Somalie. Selon ce ministre, plus de 500
personnes ont ete tuees dans des violences inter-communautaires au
cours des six derniers mois dans le seul district d'Isiolo, qui est
habite par des Boranas, des Merus, des Turkanas et quatre clans
somali. Le gouvernement a estime le bilan des affrontements a 20
morts, dont trois policiers. En 1998 et 1999, dans la meme region,
173 Boranas avaient deja trouve la mort dans des circonstances
similaires.   (La Libre Belgique, 22 mai 2000)

* Kenya. 67 people acquitted  -  A court in the Kenyan capital of
Nairobi, today discharged 67 people accused of participating in a
protest march against foreign debt. According to our MISNA sources
in the capital, the State decided to not pursue the case, and
discharged the accused with a promise to return the 3,000 shillings
of bail-money paid by each. The accused were Father Flavian
Mwendwa, Vicar General of the Kenyan diocese of Kitui; 7 Catholic
nuns, including two Sisters of the Loreto Congregation, three
Sisters of the Good Pastor, one St. Joseph's Sister and one of Our
Lady of Missions; an American Society of the Divine Word
missionary; two Protestant pastors and numerous laymen involved in
the field of social justice. The demonstration took place on the 13
April in front of the Nairobi branch of the World Bank. After
spending one night in jail, the group was released on bail.  
(MISNA, Italy, 22 May 2000)

* Kenya. Dette: inculpes acquittes  -  Le 22 mai, les 67 personnes,
dont des religieux, accusees d'avoir participe a Nairobi a une
marche de protestation contre la dette (voir ANB-BIA weekly news du
15 mai) ont ete acquittees par un tribunal de la capitale kenyane.
Le groupe avait ete arrete apres la manifestation, le 13 avril
dernier, et apres avoir passe une nuit en prison, avait ete libere
sous caution. Le juge a definitivement classe l'affaire et s'est
engage a restituer la caution. La campagne pour l'annulation de la
dette, dans le cadre de laquelle s'inserait la manifestation, vise
particulierement a denoncer la corruption dans les pays du Sud,
ainsi que le lien entre la dette et la pauvrete.   (Misna, Italie,
23 mai 2000)

Weekly anb0525.txt - End of part 4/8