Weekly anb08314.txt #8

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

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 31-08-2000      PART #4/7

* Kenya. Missionnaire assassiné  -  Le 24 août, le père John Antony Kaiser, 
missionnaire américain de Mill Hill, a été retrouvé mort sur la route entre 
Naivasha et Nakuru (70 km à l'ouest de Nairobi). Après avoir cru à un 
suicide, la police a déclaré enquêter maintenant sur un homicide. Le P. 
Kaiser était un fervent défenseur des droits de l'homme. Il avait notamment 
sollicité un procès contre un ministre accusé de violence sur un mineur, 
accusé le gouvernement d'appropriation de terres illicite et accusé deux 
membres de l'exécutif d'avoir envoyé des hommes en Israël pour un 
entraînement militaire. Au mois de novembre, le religieux avait reçu un 
ordre d'expulsion du Kenya.   (Misna, Italie, 25 août 2000)

* Kenya. Priest shot dead  -  An American Roman Catholic priest known for 
his outspoken criticism of the Kenyan government has been shot dead on 23 
August. Kenyan police said the body of Father Anthony Kaiser, who had 
worked in the country for the past 36 years, was discovered near the town 
of Naivasha, some 80 km from Nairobi. A US spokesman said the Kenyan police 
had promised a full investigation. An ANB-BIA journalist from Kenya, Mr 
Robert Oduol, has sent the following details: "Father Kaiser was a MillHill 
Missionary. He was well-liked, a crusading clergyman and a loud proponent 
for peace, justice and human dignity". The news of his murder has stupefied 
many Kenyans. Because of his outspoken views he frequently clashed with the 
authorities. He particularly came up against the authorities when he 
testified at the Commission of Inquiry into Ethnic Violence -- that rocked 
the country between 1991 and 1994. In his testimony, Father Kaiser pointed 
an accusing finger at three top cabinet ministers, close allies of 
President Moi. Not long afterwards, he was ordered to leave Kenya, 
supposedly because his work permit had expired. However, after a national 
outcry, the decision was rescinded by the authorities".   (ANB-BIA, 
Brussels 26 August 2000)

* Liberia. TV crew set free  -  24 August: Former footballer of the year 
George Weah is to intercede on behalf of the four foreign television 
journalists being held in Liberia on charges of spying. Weah, who recently 
joined Manchester City Football Club, is to fly to Liberia on 26 August 
after their home match with Coventry City. The club confirmed that he will 
represent Liberia in an international match against Mauritius on 27 August, 
and then hopes to meet President Charles Taylor on 28 August. Today is a 
national holiday in Liberia but the journalists are spending it in jail 
awaiting trial. 25 August: The journalists are released after a personal 
apology from the men and the chairman of Channel 4 TV company to President 
Taylor. Interviewed on CNN, Mr Taylor said their release was the result of 
"plea bargaining" between government lawyers and defence council. "We are 
not expelling the journalists but they are free to leave whenever they 
want". Amnesty International has welcomed the journalists' 
release.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 25 August 2000)

* Liberia. Journalistes relâchés  -  Le 25 août, le ministre libérien de la 
Justice, Eddington Varmah, a annoncé que son gouvernement avait "accepté" 
de libérer les quatre journalistes étrangers détenus pour "espionnage". Il 
a indiqué qu'ils avaient présenté des "excuses manuscrites non sollicitées 
pour tout dommage qu'ils auraient pu causer au président Taylor et à la 
nation libérienne". Le soir, les quatre hommes sont arrivés à l'aéroport 
d'Abidjan en Côte d'Ivoire. Travaillant pour la chaîne de télévision 
britannique Insight News, ils réalisaient depuis trois semaines un 
documentaire sur le Liberia, quand ils ont été arrêtés le 18 août à leur 
hôtel de Monrovia. Ils ont été accusés d'avoir filmé des sites interdits et 
d'avoir cherché à établir un lien entre le président Taylor et la 
contrebande de diamants et d'armes qui sévit dans le cadre de la guerre 
civile en Sierra Leone.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 26 août 2000)

* Liberia. Military launching an assault on rebels  -  29 August: The 
government flies dozens of reinforcements to northern Liberia, preparing 
for what military officials says will be an all-out assault on dissidents 
who have occupied Voinjama since July. General Benjamin Yetein, the deputy 
front-line commander, says the rebels have been contained in Voinjama and 
"we are making sure they don't advance or retreat". The insurgents, who the 
government claims are Liberian dissidents based in Guinea, took control of 
Voinjama in early July. 30 August: Wounded soldiers are arriving in 
Monrovia and the main state hospital is running out of beds. Displaced 
citizens say fighting is continuing in northern Liberia. The government is 
giving out little information on the fighting which has been centred on 
Voinjama.   (CNN, 29-30 August 2000)

* Liberia. Epidémie de fièvre jaune  -  L'OMS a annoncé, le 29 août à 
Genève, qu'une épidémie de fièvre jaune, apparue il y a quelques jours dans 
le nord- ouest du Liberia, continuait sa progression. Une importante 
campagne de vaccination destinée à prévenir au plus vite 150.000 personnes 
les plus exposées au risque infectieux, doit démarrer ce 31 août avec le 
soutien de l'OMS, plusieurs ONG et le gouvernement de Monrovia. Ce dernier 
avait confirmé le 16 août l'existence d'une bouffée épidémique de fièvre 
jaune dans la province de Grand Cape Mount, frontalière de la Sierra Leone. 
A cette date, 29 cas avaient été diagnostiqués. L'inquiétude tient 
aujourd'hui au risque d'extension de l'épidémie aux zones urbanisées de 
Monrovia, où vivent environ 1,5 million de personnes.   (Le Monde, France, 
31 août 2000)

* Libya. Man-made river springs a leak  -  One of the world's largest 
construction projects, Libya's great man-made river, is facing 
difficulties, 10 years after it came on tap. the project was designed to 
drill ground water from beneath the Sahara Desert and pipe it to Libyan 
towns, but project directors say the artificial river is now showing 
worrying signs of leakage. After spending more than $10 billion on the 
project, work has begun on only two of the five branches and of those, one 
is running only 20% capacity and the other has begun to leak. The project's 
general manager, Hakim Shwehdi, says the pipes on the eastern stretch of 
the river are so badly corroded that in recent months engineers have been 
forced to shut down the river three times. Mr Shwehdi is not clear who is 
to blame -- the Libyan commissioners, the British designers or the South 
Korean constructors.   (BBC News, 24 August 2000)

* Libye. Victoire diplomatique de Kadhafi  -  Le dénouement partiel de la 
crise de Jolo a offert mardi à Mouammar Kadhafi une victoire diplomatique, 
consacrée par plusieurs ministres étrangers venus à Tripoli chercher leurs 
otages et exprimer leur gratitude au dirigeant libyen, estime l'agence AFP. 
Le retour des otages dans une capitale pavoisée de drapeaux et de slogans 
coïncide avec le 31ème anniversaire de la révolution libyenne, qui sera 
fêté le 1er septembre. Les responsables occidentaux n'ont pu que rendre 
hommage à la médiation libyenne, par le truchement d'une fondation dirigée 
par le fils du colonel Kadhafi, Seif al Islam. Et ils ont reconnu que le 
temps était venu de normaliser les relations avec Tripoli. En dépit des 
sanctions, les Européens ont toujours été soucieux de ne pas couper 
totalement les ponts avec la Libye, de plus en plus active et influente en 
Afrique, ont indiqué des diplomates. La Libye est aussi un des rares pays 
solvables de la région et un marché potentiel sans concurrence 
américaine.   (D'après AFP, France, 29 août 2000)

* Libya. Freeing hostages in the Philippines  -  29 August: The Libyan 
leader, Muammar Gaddafi was last night preparing to stage a welcoming 
festival for the six foreign hostages freed by Muslim rebels in the 
southern Philippines following the payment of millions of dollars. the 
sixth hostage was only freed yesterday morning. A Libyan plane flew the 
French, German and South African nationals from Cebu to Tripoli to thank 
the Libyan leader for the $1 million that negotiators insist his country 
pay for each captive.   (The Guardian, UK, 29 August 2000)

* Malawi. AIDS loan rejected  -  The government of Malawi has turned down a 
loan of $40 million from the World Bank intended to make up for a shortfall 
in funds that Malawi needs to combat AIDS. Deputy Health Minister Philip 
Bwanali said it would be immoral to accept the loan because Malawi is 
already heavily indebted and could not repay it. he said his country takes 
the fight against AIDS seriously, and it would be better if the World Bank 
offered a grant instead of a loan.   (BBC News, 25 August 2000)

* Malawi. Sena New Testament published  -  In an effort to make available 
the word of God to as many people as possible, the Bible Society of Malawi 
(BSM) has published a Sena New Testament Bible. According to a press 
release from the BSM, "Translation work for the New Testament was carried 
out by a South African-based organisation, Word for the World, in 
collaboration with local Sena translators". An initial edition of 6,000 
copies has been printed. The press release also says that the New Testament 
manuscript had been received at the Inter-Regional Translation Services 
office in Nairobi in June 1998. By November 1999, a camera- ready copy of 
the New Testament was sent to Korea for Printing. There are about 1.5 
million Sena Speakers in Malawi. (Malawi's population is about 10 million 
people). In the mid 1970s, some Sena translation work was done by the Bible 
Society catering for both Malawi and Mozambique. But Sena speakers rejected 
it as a poor translation. The press release described how "a revision was 
then planned to cater for both countries under the auspices of the Summer 
Institute of Linguistics. However, in 1992, the Bible Society of Malawi and 
Word for the World, decided to launch the project in Malawi as it was felt 
that the Sena language forms for Mozambique and Malawi were different 
enough to warrant separate translation". To ensure that the current 
translation is not only accurate but also acceptable to the people, the 
translators have done some field testing in the Lower Shire and the results 
show wide acceptability.   (Patrick Mawaya, ANB-BIA, Malawi, 24 August 2000)

* Malawi. MCP on verge of collapse  -  The main opposition Malawi Congress 
Party (MCP) is on the verge of collapse. This is the result of rifts 
between the party's president, Gwanda Chakuamba, and his first 
vice-president, John Tembo. The MCP internal wrangle started in 1999 before 
the June 1999 general elections. Before these elections, Chakuamba failed 
to select his vice-president John Tembo as running rate for the country's 
presidential race. Instead, he chose Chakufwa Chihana, leader of the 
northern-based Alliance for Democracy (AFORD). This was the final straw 
following John Tembo's declaration that only someone from the Central 
Region was capable of leading the MCP. Tembo feels he is the right person 
to be the MCP leader. He comes from the Central Region! In an interview in 
The Lamp (July-August 2000), he said: "My intention is to make the party 
very strong among the grassroots in the three regions". Indeed, Tembo has 
been holding most of his rallies in the Central Region and there have been 
rumours that he has been having secret meetings with President Bakili 
Muluzi. as proof that there are two MCP factions, the party held two 
conventions on 6 August, one led by Gwanda Chakuamba and the other led by 
John Tembo. To make matters even more uncertain, there are a lot of parties 
interested in the conflict, some wanting the MCP to totally collapse so 
that they have peace of mind. (Editor's update on 29 August: The Malawi 
Congress Party and the Alliance for Democracy have called on potential 
voters not to register for the forthcoming local government elections. They 
give as reason -- because the ruling United Democratic Front is suspected 
as conniving with the Electoral Commission to rig the polls).   (Patrick 
Mawaya, ANB-BIA, Malawi, 25 August 2000)

Weekly anb0831.txt - End of part 4/7