Weekly anb09283.txt #7

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

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 28-09-2000      PART #3/7

* Côte d'Ivoire. Uncertain situation  -  22 September: General Robert Guei 
has dismissed his second and third in command as political tension rises in 
the country ahead of next month's election. State television says Generals 
Lassana Palenfo and Abdoulaye Coulibaly have been relieved of their posts 
as ministers of security and transport respectively. No explanation was 
given for the sackings. 24 September: African heads of state arrive in 
Abidjan for impromptu talks with General Guei. He refuses to meet the 
leaders today when they convene a special Organisation of African Unity 
(OAU) summit to discuss Côte d'Ivoire's growing political instability. 25 
September: Guei surprises guests when he walks into the OAU's closed-door 
talks side-by-side with Togo's President Eyadema, chairman of the OAU, and 
an influential figure in his own right among West African leaders. Leaders 
of Algeria, Djibouti, South Africa, Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Senegal are 
also present. Nigeria's President Obasanjo calls for the principles of 
democracy to be applied fairly in Côte d'Ivoire. Côte d'Ivoire's military 
junta wants to stop the main opposition leader, Alassane Ouattara, from 
standing in the elections, on the grounds he is not a Ivorian citizen. 
Ouattara insists he is. 26 September: Côte d'Ivoire's opposition parties 
have responded cautiously to proposals from African leaders for measures 
that will delay elections due in October. The delegation of African leaders 
in Abidjan proposed the creation of a "transitional council" for Côte 
d'Ivoire, including representatives of the ruling juntas and the main 
parties, to prepare the elections. Opposition leader and former prime 
minister Alassane Ouattara said further discussions were needed on "how 
such a council would work, for how long and with what powers". Ivorian 
Popular Front leader Laurent Gbagbo said it would take a "miracle" to find 
a solution. However, the military junta has rejected the proposals. The 
junta spokesman said: "We are a bit surprised. Immediately after 24 
December, the heads of state asked us to return soon to a normal 
constitutional life. We don't understand why they are now asking us to 
shelve this constitution in the name of so-called social peace". The two 
members of the junta, Generals Lassana Palenfo and Abdoulaye Coulibaly, 
dismissed from the government have fled after being implicated in an 
assassination attempt on military ruler General Robert Guei. A statement by 
the National Public Salvation Committee says: "Having measured the 
seriousness of their acts and realised the mistake they had made, these two 
officers, generals, have fled". They are reported to have sought refuge in 
an African embassy in Abidjan. The two generals are from the north. 27 
September: General Coulibaly denies being involved in any plot and says he 
is astonished at the accusations made against him. "This is a ridiculous 
set-up. I am surprised and it fills me with indignation. He (Guei) has 
accused me but he knows full well that we would never have done that 
because he knows me and we have a good relationship". The General has not 
disclosed his whereabouts but says the administration knows where he is 
hiding. State television says weapons were found in the General's house 
during a search on 26 September. The President of Mali says West African 
countries face enormous risks from the crisis in Côte d'Ivoire, and that 
gives them the right to intervene to help find a solution. "You don't wait 
for catastrophe, in order to seek the help of others or for the others to 
make a move. There is a duty today...to intervene in certain situations". 
Nigeria's Vice-President Abubakar says the Generals have taken refuge in 
Nigeria's embassy in Abidjan.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 28 September 2000)

* Djibouti. La présence de l'armée française  -  Avec 2.675 hommes, 
Djibouti est la plus importante base de l'armée française en Afrique, où 
ses militaires sont installés sans interruption depuis 1862. Cette présence 
coûte plus d'un milliard de FF par an, révèle un rapport parlementaire du 
député Jean-Michel Boucheron. Et elle représente "50% de l'économie 
djiboutienne", estime le rapport. Officiellement, la mission de ces forces 
armées est d'"assurer la sécurité extérieure de la République 
djiboutienne", mais en fait elles sont également intervenues dans les 
affaires intérieures. Le protocole interdit aussi à la France d'utiliser 
Djibouti comme base de départ pour une intervention dans un autre pays, 
mais la base sert aujourd'hui pour les interventions dans le Golfe, où la 
France est liée par des accords de défense avec le Qatar, le Koweit ou les 
Emirats arabes unis.   (D'après Libération, France, 27 septembre 2000)

* Egypte. Droits de l'homme et médias  -  Le 24 septembre, le procureur 
général Maher Abdel Wahed a décidé de déférer le militant des droits de 
l'homme Saad Eddine Ibrahim et 27 autres personnes devant la Haute Cour de 
sûreté de l'Etat, pour des délits passibles de peines de prison à vie. M. 
Ibrahim, qui avait mené des actions en faveur d'élections libres, de la 
minorité copte et des femmes, est accusé d'être un espion à la solde des 
Etats-Unis et d'avoir corrompu des fonctionnaires. Le militant, âgé de 61 
ans, a démenti les accusations selon lesquelles il aurait reçu des fonds de 
l'étranger sans l'autorisation du gouvernement, et fabriqué des fausses 
cartes d'électeurs pour un documentaire sur les élections qui ternissait 
l'image de l'Egypte. Incarcéré en juin, il avait été libéré sous caution le 
10 août, sans qu'aucune charge n'ait été retenue contre lui. - Le 26 
septembre, la Cour de cassation a confirmé la peine de deux ans de prison 
prononcée à l'encontre du rédacteur en chef du journal islamiste interdit 
el Chaab, Magdy Ahmad Hussein, pour diffamation envers un ministre. M. 
Hussein est emprisonné depuis 1999, en application d'une loi d'exception 
remontant à 1981. Il s'est toutefois porté candidat aux élections 
législatives qui doivent avoir lieu en octobre ou novembre, a indiqué son 
avocat.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 28 septembre 2000)

* Eritrea. Thousands facing disaster  -  21 September: Aid agencies in 
Eritrea are warning of a humanitarian disaster if the nearly one million 
displaced Eritreans holed up in mountains do not return home soon. The 
Eritreans were forced to flee their homes as Ethiopia seized a string of 
Eritrean border towns and villages after a fierce offensive. With a fragile 
ceasefire a long way from being turned into a peace deal, the Ethiopians 
still hold a wide swathe of Eritrean land. The same day, the UN's special 
envoy to the Horn of Africa, Catherine Bertini, visited drought-stricken 
areas of Ethiopia and said a widespread famine had been averted by a huge 
international operation.   (ANB- BIA, Brussels, 22 September 2000)

* Horn of Africa. Aid response slow  -  The international response to aid 
appeals for some 16 million malnourished people in the Horn of Africa has 
been slow and the crisis is far from over, the UN special envoy to the 
region, Catherine Bertini, said on 26 September. After a six-day visit to 
Kenya and Ethiopia, she said that famine had been averted but people are 
still suffering because of the prolonged drought in the region. "There is 
still a critical need. It is still a crisis for people in the 
region".   (CNN, 26 September 2000)

* Ghana. Cocoa board receives loan  -  The state-owned Ghana Cocoa Board 
has signed in a 260-million-US-dollar Receivables Backed Pre-Export Finance 
Facility for the 2000/2001 cocoa crop season. The facility, which will be 
used for the purchase of cocoa during the season, was syndicated by 19 
banks from nine countries. The agreement was signed in London on 22 
September, according to a statement made available in Accra on 24 
September. It said John Henry Newman, chief executive of the Ghana Cocoa 
Board, and other senior officials signed for the board while 
representatives of the syndication signed for their respective 
institutions. It named the mandated arrangers for this year's syndication, 
the eight of its kind, as Barclays Bank Plc, Commerzbank 
Aktiengesellschaft, Credit Lyonnais, Dresdner Klienwort Benson, Ghana 
International Plc and Standard Chartered Bank. Ghana's High Commissioner to 
the United Kingdom, J.E.K. Aggrey-Orleans, noted that recent times had put 
the country's survival instinct of optimism to a great test. He said the 
dismal international economic landscape and the unkind vagaries of the 
commodities markets could not have posed more frustrating and tantalising 
challenges for the country. "As today dawned, we are forever undaunted in 
our determination to face up to these challenges with prudent financial and 
marketing strategies matched only by our unsleeping vigilance and 
integrity," he added.   (PANA, Dakar, 24 September 2000

* Ghana. 22 pêcheurs noyés  -  Le dimanche 24 septembre, quelque 22 
pêcheurs se sont noyés au large des côtes ghanéennes suite au naufrage de 
leur bâteau. Trois survivants, qui ont réussi à embarquer à bord du seul 
canot de sauvetage, ont donné l'alerte. La marine ghanéenne a lancé des 
recherches, mais n'a pu localiser le navire. Au port de Tema, aucun bateau 
de pêche n'a pris la mer depuis lundi matin. La navire disparu était parti 
avec un nombre insuffisant de gilets de sauvetage et sans aucun appareil de 
communication.   (D'après PANA, 26 septembre 2000)

* Kenya. Thousands mourn murdered missionary  -  Thousands of Kenyans 
joined a service of prayer on 24 September for Father John Kaiser, an 
American member of the Mill Hill Fathers, who was found murdered a month 
ago. Headed by Roman Catholic clergy and singing hymns, the mourners walked 
in procession for 8 kilometres from Naivasha, to the isolated spot where 
Father Kaiser's body was found. Several members of Parliament were among 
the mourners.   (CNN, 24 September 2000)

* Kenya. Suites de l'assassinat du p. Kaiser  -  Le gouvernement kényan 
doit démontrer qu'il est étranger à l'assassinat du P. John Anthony Kaiser 
(cfr ANB- BIA Weekly News du 31 août, et suivants). C'est ce qu'ont 
réaffirmé les évêques du Kenya dans un message lu le 24 septembre, durant 
la messe célébrée le trentième jour après la découverte du cadavre du père. 
21 députés kényans, y compris le leader de l'opposition Mwai Kibaki, ont 
assisté à la messe. Convoqué par la commission d'enquête Akiwumi sur les 
affrontements ethnico-tribaux de 1993, qui avaient coûté la vie à près de 
2.000 Kikuyus, le P. Kaiser avait porté plainte contre deux ministres 
d'Etat, Ole Ntimama et Nicholas Biwot. Depuis environ deux ans, il tentait 
en outre de faire poursuivre en justice Julius Ole Sunkuli, un ministre 
d'Etat accusé d'abus sexuels répétés sur des jeunes filles.   (D'après 
MISNA, Italie, 25 septembre 2000)   (D'après MISNA, Italie, 25 septembre 2000)

* Libéria. Des femmes marchent pour la paix  -  Des centaines de femmes ont 
marché dans les rues de Monrovia afin de manifester leur inquiétude face à 
la tension croissante entre les pays de l'Union du fleuve Mano: le Libéria, 
la Sierra Leone et la Guinée, a rapporté l'agence PANA le 21 septembre. 
Dans une déclaration adressée au président Charles Taylor, les 
manifestantes ont demandé aux dirigeants des trois pays de faire preuve de 
patience et de modération dans la gestion de la crise sous-régionale. Elles 
ont aussi critiqué les pays de l'Union du fleuve Mano qui permettent aux 
dissidents des autres pays de s'y réfugier, une attitude qui, selon elles, 
ne peut que conduire à des destructions et à l'insécurité.   (IRIN, 
Abidjan, 22 septembre 2000)

* Liberia. Too dangerous for cross-border refugees to return  -  "Liberia 
is too dangerous for the UN refugee agency to support the return of 
refugees now living in Guinea", says the agency's second-highest official. 
Soren-Jessen Peterson, assistant high commissioner of the UNHCR has arrived 
in Liberia on a security-assessment mission in West Africa. He says: "We 
are afraid that the time is not ripe for the refugees to return. I clearly 
cannot see the UNHCR being involved in major repatriation to Liberia at 
this time".   (CNN, 26 September 2000)

* Liberia-Guinea. Tensions continue  -  24 September: Liberia says that 
Guinean forces had shelled the border district of Zorzor, 250 kilometres 
northeast of Monrovia on 22 September, wounding several civilians. In a 
statement, the information ministry said heavy artillery had been used in 
the attack, which it described as "an act of provocation and tantamount to 
a full-scale war between Guinea and Liberia". 25 September: The Liberian 
government says it has launched a massive offensive against rebels fighting 
in the north and are pursuing the dissidents to the high hills in a bid to 
destroy them. The area is close to Guinea. The government has also promised 
to repatriate its nationals inside Guinea following reports of attacks 
against Liberians and Sierra Leoneans there.   (ANB-BIA, 25 September 2000)

Weekly anb0928.txt -  End of part 3/7