Weekly News anb06225.txt #6

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

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 22-06-2000      PART #5/6

* Senegal/Mauritania. River dispute resolved  -  On 18 June, the
Presidents of Senegal and Mauritania said they believed they had
resolved a water dispute that had caused migrants from each country
to flee home, fearing ethnic violence. The two Presidents held
talks on 17 June to try to resolve a dispute over the use of water
from the River senegal which marks the water between the two
countries.   (CNN, 18 June 2000)

* Senegal. Le cardinal Thiandoum se retire  -  Le cardinal
Hyacinthe Thiandoum va quitter, a 79 ans, ses fonctions
d'archeveque de Dakar. Le pape Jean Paul II a accepte, le 16 juin,
la demission que le prelat proposait depuis plusieurs annees. Le
pape a designe pour lui succeder Mgr Theodore-Adrien Sarr, 63 ans,
eveque de Koaloack et president de la conference episcopale. Mgr
Thiandoum est ne en 1921, a ete ordonne pretre en 1949 et etait
archeveque de Dakar depuis fevrier 1962. Il a ete cree cardinal par
Paul VI en mai 1976.   (La Croix, France, 19 juin 2000)

* Sierra Leone. Aide  -  L'assemblee generale de l'Onu a approuve,
le 15 juin, un budget de 1,67 milliard de dollars pour les
operations de maintien de la paix et de consolidation de la paix
dans le monde. $504 millions sont attribues aux operations de la
Minusil en Sierra Leone, sa plus grosse operation de maintien de la
paix qui compte actuellement plus de 12.000 hommes. D'autre part,
le Comite international de la Croix Rouge s'occupe de milliers de
Sierra-Leonais deplaces par les combats, notamment sur la peninsule
de Lungi et au nord du pays le long de l'axe entre Masiaka et Mile
91. A Makeni, dans le nord, quelque 40.000 personnes ont ete
deplacees par les combats la semaine derniere, selon le personnel
humanitaire. L'eveque de Makeni a affirme que ces civils deplaces
ne rentreront chez eux que s'ils recoivent les garanties
necessaires de securite.   (D'apres IRIN, Abidjan, 16 juin 2000)

* Sierra Leone. Juger Foday Sankoh  -  Le gouvernement de Sierra
Leone a demande a l'Onu de mettre en place un tribunal penal
international afin de juger le chef rebelle Foday Sankoh et ses
principaux lieutenants pour crimes contre l'humanite, a annonce le
20 juin le ministre de l'Information. Les autorites sierra-
leonaises souhaitent la creation d'une juridiction speciale en
territoire sierra-leonais, operant selon une legislation combinant
les lois sierra-leonaises et internationales, a declare M. Julius
Spencer. "Le travail initial a deja commence", a-t-il indique.  
(La Libre Belgique, 21 juin 2000)

* Sierra Leone. In the hands of a shaky UN  -  15 June: The last
British Royal Marines withdraw from Sierra Leone, as Britain's
deputy-prime minister, John Prescott, visits Freetown to assure the
government of continued backing from London for the war against the
Revolutionary United Front (RUF). But many people in Sierra Leone
are not persuaded that the strengthened UN force which the British
are leaving behind will guarantee security or maintain military
pressure on the rebels. At the core of the continuing British
effort will be the retraining of the Sierra Leone army by soldiers
from the 2nd Anglian Regiment. The Sierra Leone army consists of an
uneasy coalition of several private armies and guerrilla groups,
some of which have been previously fighting each other in the civil
war. The RUF already appear to be testing the UN's resolve, with an
attack on Nigerian peacekeepers near Port Loko, northeast of
Freetown. The UN says the rebels have been beaten off. 17 June: A
minor dispute over stolen cassette tapes degenerates into a gun
battle in the heart of Freetown. Sierra Leone has asked the UN to
set up an international tribunal to try captured rebel leader,
Foday Sankoh. Thousands of Sierra Leoneans are pouring out of
Makeni town before the army arrives in force. 20 June: In a letter
to the members of the UN Security Council, Human Rights Watch urges
decisive action to bring war criminals in Sierra Leone to justice,
and calls for stepped-up UN efforts to protect civilians, plus a
strict enforcement of an arms and diamond embargo against the
Sierra Leonean rebels. 21 June: Lunsar is recaptured by the RUF.  
(ANB-BIA, Brussels, 22 June 2000)

* South Africa. Cronje admits to taking bribes  -  15 June: For two
hours, Hansie Cronje, until two months ago the much-admired captain
of the South African cricket team, sits in a dark suit in front of
Judge Edwin King at the match-fixing inquiry in Cape Town and reads
out his statement. It has a ring of truth in it. Maybe it is not
the whole truth, but the sense of messiness and mixed motives seem
real enough. He tells in plain words how he'd been sucked into the
game's corruption. The Cronje who abases himself before the world,
was greedy, stupid, corruptible and calculating. He was also naive,
indecisive, vulnerable and calculating. Cronje names two other
former national captains: Salim Malik of Pakistan, who has already
been banned for life by the authorities there, and Mohammed
Azharuddin, one of the two great Indian batsman of the last two
decades.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 16 June 2000)

* Sudan. NDA reject amnesty  -  21 June: The main Sudanese
opposition grouping, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), has
rejected a general amnesty offered by President Omar al-Bashir to
all government opponents. However, the northern opposition group,
the Umma party -- which broke away from the NDA earlier this year -
- has tentatively welcomed the step, while calling for concrete
action towards greater democratisation in Sudan. The amnesty covers
anyone who has committed "acts of rebellion" since President Bashir
took power in 1989.   (BBC News, 21 June 2000)

* Soudan. Amnistie  -  Le president soudanais Omar el-Bechir a
decrete une amnistie inconditionnelle a toutes les personnes
coupables d'un acte de rebellion commis entre le 30 juin 1989, date
de sa prise de pouvoir, et le 20 juin 2000. Celle-ci couvre les
actes de "rebellion, mutinerie, sedition, incitation a la guerre
contre le gouvernement et tentative de violation de la
Constitution". L'Armee de liberation des peuples du Soudan (SPLA,
rebelles sudistes) a immediatement rejete cette amnistie.   (La
Libre Belgique, 22 juin 2000)

* Tchad-Cameroun. Les retombees du pipeline  -  Le 6 juin dernier,
le conseil d'administration de la Banque mondiale approuvait le
projet d'exploitation du petrolier tchadien et les deux projets de
renforcement de protection de l'environnement. Ce projet prevoit
que, pour le Cameroun, le pipeline evite la Vallee du Mbere (nord),
"sanctuaire des derniers rhinoceros noirs du monde" selon les
ecologistes, et le massif forestier de Deng Deng, a l'est du pays.
Le consortium petrolier a promis le financement de deux reserves
forestieres (Mbam et Djerem a l'est, et Campo au sud cotier). Est
aussi prevue une fondation pour le developpement des activites
socio-economiques liees au developpement des Pygmees, menaces de
disparition. Enfin, l'amelioration des compensations pour les
paysans victimes du projet petrolier est acquise. Le consortium
petrolier de concert avec le gouvernement camerounais a reajuste
les taux d'indemnisation qui, globalement ont double. Un metre
carre de jeunes plants de mais passe ainsi de 30 fcfa (0,3 ff) a 75
fcfa (0,75 ff). Selon les previsions du cabinet anglais Dames and
Moore, durant toute la periode d'exploitation du projet (estimee a
30 ans), les retombees directes sont estimees a 2 milliards de
dollars pour le Tchad, et a 500 millions de dollars pour le
Cameroun. Pendant la phase d'execution des travaux du pipeline (4
ans), le chantier generera 1000 emplois temporaires, et 250 emplois
stables seront pourvus pendant la phase d'exploitation petroliere.
Mais la manne petroliere beneficiera-t-elle effectivement aux
masses desheritees? Au Cameroun, l'absence d'une loi sur la gestion
des royalties de l'or noir laisse perplexes. Au Tchad, en depit des
dispositions legales, le pessimisme des ONG ecologistes et des
droits de l'homme est de mise.   (J-D.M., Report.assoc., Cameroun,
20 juin 2000)

* Togo. La presse en deuil  -  La presse togolaise est en deuil.
Son doyen, John-Bosco Adotevi, qui fut egalement le collaborateur
d'ANB-BIA, est decede. Il a ete inhume le 16 juin a Lome dans
l'intimite. Nous le recommandons a vos prieres.   (ANB-BIA,
Bruxelles, 19 juin 2000)

* Ouganda/Rwanda. Le ton monte  -  Le 16 juin, le Rwanda a accuse
les forces de securite ougandaises de harceler et d'arreter des
citoyens rwandais en Ouganda, creant un "climat de haine". Selon
les autorites rwandaises, une centaine de personnes parlant le
kinyarwanda ont ete arretees la semaine derniere dans la region de
Kabale (sud). L'Ouganda a rejete ces accusations. Des centaines de
milliers de Rwandais resident toujours en Ouganda, apres l'exil
force de 1959 a 1994.   (La Libre Belgique, 17 juin 2000)

* Uganda. From "The New Vision"  -  14 June: President Museveni
travels to Tanzania for a meeting with President Mkapa over the
Uganda/Rwanda conflict. 15 June: The UN Secretary-General has asked
the Security Council to consider sanctions against Rwanda and
Uganda if their armies refuse to leave Kisangani. However, the
Uganda Peoples Defence Force (UPDF) spokesman. Major Phineas
Katirima, has announced that the withdrawal of UPDF troops from
Kisangani will resume on 16 June. Members of Parliament have urged
President Museveni to mend fences with President Kagame of Rwanda.
President Museveni has appointed a special committee to handle
political and security matters in Africa and the Middle East. 16
June: Yesterday, the Finance Minister presented the year 2000/2001
Budget to Parliament. Salaries are up and taxes are down. President
Museveni says that despite the economic progress that has been
achieved under his government, there are still major problems that
need to be solved. Rwanda and Uganda have begun pulling their
troops out of Kisangani. 18 June: Rwandan troops are said to be
heading northwards, lending fears within UPDF circles of a possible
attack on their troops. 19 June: Uganda and Rwanda yesterday
accused each other of massing troops in Kisangani. Uganda has said
it is ready to go to court if Congo RDC files case for reparations.
The UN Security Council has voted for a resolution ordering all
foreign forces out of Congo RDC. 20 June: Civilians danced with joy
yesterday as calm returned to war-torn Kisangani when the last unit
of Rwandan soldiers withdrew from the city streets. Rwanda is
verifying reports that three Rwandan nationals who came into Uganda
over a week ago are under military detention. Uganda has the
biggest number of orphans in Africa with the registered total of
1.7 million.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 21 June 2000)

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