Weekly anb03155.txt #8

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

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 15-03-2001      PART #5/8

* Maroc. Eradiquer le cannabis  -  Le Maroc a promis d'éradiquer 
définitivement en sept ans la culture du cannabis, qu'il a pu limiter à 
65.000 hectares, soit son niveau de 1994. Depuis 1997, Rabat met en oeuvre 
des programmes importants de lutte antidrogue, avec une enveloppe annuelle 
de 900 millions de dollars pour développer la région du Nord, où 12.000 
familles vivent substantiellement de cette activité.   (Le Figaro, France, 
10 mars 2001)

* Mozambique. Coping with the floods  -  8 March: The United Nations in 
Mozambique is appealing for US $10.7 million to help the country deal with 
the recent floods, which have so far affected an estimated 400,000 people. 
"The objective of the United Nations Inter-Agency Appeal, is to raise funds 
for the immediate emergency relief for people affected by floods in 
Mozambique", the UN said in its appeal document. "The appeal concentrates 
on providing emergency relief to the most vulnerable, particularly those 
left homeless and destitute. It covers the needs for immediate emergency 
humanitarian relief and prevention of secondary problems in health, water, 
sanitation, food and shelter". According to a regional water expert, behind 
the natural flood disaster that has swamped central Mozambique and 
threatens far more damage, is human failure of management and coordination 
between the dams along the Zambezi River. The giant Kariba Dam in Zambia 
and Mozambique's Cahora Bassa Dam "do not talk to each other", says Brian 
Davies, University of Capetown. "They have failed to scientifically manage 
the flow of water along the 258 km stretch of the Zambezi that could have 
helped avert the current crisis in which both dams are full, and are now 
being forced to discharge water into an already flooded river system. There 
is no flow management". 9 March: A South African military team of rescue 
workers will stay an extra week in Mozambique because of reports that a 
storm could be heading for already flooded areas of the country. The 83 
military personnel and eight aircraft originally planned to leave 
Mozambique on 9 March. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan says he is deeply 
concerned at the rapidly deteriorating flood situation in 
Mozambique.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 10 March 2001)

* Mozambique. Le cyclone repart  -  Ni la région de Sofala (centre), ni 
celle de Zambésia n'ont été touchées par le cyclone redouté, qui est 
reparti vers le canal du Mozambique. Il y a quelques jours, la tempête 
tropicale avait entraîné la mort de six personnes dans les environs de 
Nampula (nord). A Lusaka en Zambie, la tentative des autorités 
mozambicaines de faire fermer l'une des trois portes du barrage de Kariba, 
à la frontière entre la Zambie et le Zimbabwe, s'est soldée par un échec. 
La fermeture d'une de ces portes allégerait le débit d'eau qui fait 
pression sur le barrage de Cahora Bassa, dont quatre portes sont toujours 
ouvertes. Officiellement, 75 personnes sont décédées cette année à cause 
des inondations: 44 dans la région de Zambésia, 23 dans celle de Tete, 4 
dans celle de Manica et 4 dans celle de Sofala. Les personnes sinistrées 
sont au nombre de 490.000, dont 81.300 déplacées.   (Misna, Italie, 13 mars 
2001)

* Namibie. Le sida menace l'existence du pays  -  La Namibie pourrait ne 
plus exister dans 20 ans si le fléau du VIH/SIDA n'est pas combattu, ont 
prévenu les militants de la lutte contre la pandémie. Jimmy Amupala, 
président du groupe, a lancé cet avertissement le 10 mars, lors du 
démarrage, dans une paroisse de l'Eglise évangélique luthérienne de 
Namibie, de la campagne de sensibilisation des jeunes sur le sida. 
Rappelant qu'en 1986 seuls quatre cas de VIH étaient signalés dans le pays, 
"une quinzaine d'années plus tard, on pense qu'un Namibien sur cinq serait 
infecté par le virus", a dit M. Amupala. Aujourd'hui, 26% des décès en 
Namibie sont liés au sida, et la majorté des victimes sont âgées de 20 à 40 
ans. Mais, "on peut venir à bout de n'importe quel ennemi si le peuple 
adopte une démarche collective", a-t-il ajouté, précisant que la campagne 
repose sur trois mots: abstinence, fidélité et préservatif.   (PANA, 
Sénégal,  11 mars 2001)

* Nigeria/UK. Fifteen UK banks censured over Abacha money  -  Fifteen UK 
banks have been censured by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) on 8 
March, for inadequate money-laundering controls that emerged during the 
regulator's investigation into the handling of money linked to General Sani 
Abacha, the late Nigerian dictator. The FSA investigation found 42 accounts 
in the 15 banks through which flowed $1.3bn over four years. Some of this 
will involve double counting, since the money sometimes moved from one UK 
account to another. The Nigerian authorities believe that around $1bn of 
the more than $4bn looted from the country during Gen Abacha's rule passed 
through the UK. Investigations by the UK financial regulator, which took 
three months, examined controls at 23 banks in the UK where accounts linked 
to the Abacha family and close associates were identified. The FSA found 15 
with "significant control weaknesses" and is still working with seven to 
remedy these. The other eight have corrected the weaknesses since the 
accounts were opened. The regulator is unable to name the banks under its 
current powers. Later this year it will be given additional powers that 
would let it name and shame banks found to have inadequate controls against 
money- laundering.   (Financial Times, UK, 8 March 2001)

* Nigeria. Obasanjo lists roles for journalists  -  Like a teacher, 
President Olusegun Obasanjo on 7 March took Commonwealth Journalists on an 
indepth lecture on their roles as members of the fourth estate the realm. 
Journalists, said Obasanjo, should, apart from campaigning for free press 
and freedom of expression, help in discovering the best and most efficient 
means to make governance more meaningful to the governed. "A society" said 
the President at the opening of a five-day conference of Commonwealth 
Journalists Association (CJA) in Abuja, "can never truly be free unless it 
has discovered the means of eradicating or at least, minimising the scourge 
of poverty, disease, and social squalor in its midst". Represented by the 
Information and National Orientation Minister, Jerry Gana, Obasanjo stated 
that good governance could neither be limited to establishing and 
sustaining the appropriate constitutional forms nor the freedoms of speech 
and assembly. A hungry and sick citizen, according to him, is only 
nominally free. "His freedom can only be merely theoretical, if he cannot 
have a meaningful job, feed and educate his children, and house himself and 
his family in decent quarters", the President said. "Consequently, the task 
of governance, especially in developing nations like Nigeria, is not 
limited merely to protecting the formal liberties of the citizen. For us, 
the true purpose of good governance is to strive to create for the citizen, 
the political, economic, social and cultural environment in which the 
citizen can sustain a meaningful existence, and thereby, fully enjoy the 
rights and freedom, which are his by law and the constitution. I urge you 
to help us, also, in discovering the best and most efficient means by which 
we can provide for our countrymen and women the amenities of modern life to 
which they are equally entitled".   (Nigeria Media Monitor, 8 March 2001)

* Nigeria. Brûlées vives  -  Vingt-sept collégiennes ont péri brûlées 
vives, le lundi soir 5 mars, dans l'incendie qui s'est déclaré dans leur 
dortoir, dans l'école secondaire publique de Bwal-Bwang-Gindiri, à 60 km au 
sud-est de Jos, capitale de l'Etat du Plateau. Les portes et fenêtres de 
leur dortoir avaient été fermées à clé de l'extérieur, pour empêcher les 
filles de sortir la nuit et de rencontrer les garçons de l'établissement. 
Des villageois des alentours, alertés par les cris des victimes, ont réussi 
à casser les murs pour secourir les élèves. Quelque 165 filles se 
trouvaient dans le dortoir au moment du drame. Plusieurs autres personnes, 
dont la directrice du collège, ont été gravement brûlées. (ANB-BIA, de 
sources diverses, 9 mars 2001)

* Nigeria. Bishops condemn Nigerian Government  -  Catholic bishops in 
Nigeria have issued a strong condemnation of the government of President 
Olusegun Obasanjo. In a statement released at the end of a national 
conference, they said the government was not living up to expectations and 
appeared powerless to stop what they described as a tidal wave of 
corruption. It is a damning indictment of Nigeria's civilian government, 
almost two years after it took power. The bishops bemoan the government's 
failure to stop corruption, despite President Obasanjo's professed 
determination to do so. They point to the high crime rate and the endless 
fuel shortages and power cuts as proof of the government's failure. These 
complaints will strike a chord with most Nigerians. Civilian rule has 
brought a degree of political freedom, but has not led to an improvement in 
living standards. The bishops also attack the spread of Sharia, or Islamic, 
law in the north of the country which they call grossly irresponsible and 
unacceptable. The government, which believes that Sharia is being promoted 
by its political opponents, has preferred to adopt a low profile on the 
issue -- publicly saying little but privately urging Muslim leaders to be 
cautious.   (BBC News, 11 March 2001)

* Nigeria. Les évêques pour une conférence nationale  -  Au terme d'une 
réunion d'une semaine à Abuja, les évêques catholiques nigérians, en 
rupture totale avec la position du gouvernement, ont joint leurs voix aux 
appels en faveur de l'organisation d'une conférence nationale en vue de 
restructurer le pays et de mettre en place un véritable Etat fédéral. "Dans 
l'espoir d'instaurer un climat plus démocratique et de construire l'unité 
nationale sur la base d'un vra<%-3>i fédéralisme, la tenue d'une conférence 
nationale pourrait s'avérer utile", ont déclaré les évêques. Ils ont aussi 
condamné l'application de la loi islamique (sharia) dans dix Etats du nord 
du pays, qualifiant cette mesure de "irresponsable et inacceptable". 
"Beaucoup de Nigérians estiment que leurs droits sont violés", ont-ils 
déclaré. "A cause de la sharia, des milliers de personnes ont été forcées 
de déménager et de changer de travail, ce qui leur a beaucoup coûté. 
D'autres souffrent en silence parce qu'ils sont trop pauvres pour déménager 
ou qu'ils ne sont pas en mesure de demander réparation". Par ailleurs, les 
évêques ont encore condamné le gouvernement du président Obasanjo pour son 
incapacité à freiner la corruption, une promesse faite lors de son 
accession au pouvoir, ont indiqué le 11 mars les organes de presse. 
L'augmentation constante des taux de criminalité et les pénuries de 
carburant sont les signes d'autres promesses non honorées par le 
gouvernement, ont encore dit les évêques.   (ANB- BIA, de sources diverses, 
13 mars 2001)

* Nigeria. Fuel crackdown  -  The Nigerian Government has announced 
measures to tighten the flow of oil reaching the black market as it seeks 
to end its worst fuel crisis in more than a decade. Petrol stations have 
run dry across the country, although fuel is readily available at much 
higher prices on the black market. Information Minister Jerry Gana said in 
a special national television broadcast that those diverting supplies to 
the black market or abroad were sabotaging the economy. "This is no longer 
a question of supplies... It's a question of diversion. It's a question of 
sabotage," he said. Nigeria suffers persistent shortages despite being the 
world's fourth largest oil producer. Many Nigerians are involved in 
smuggling the subsidised fuel across borders or selling it on the streets 
where they can get a much higher price, but Mr Gana has now ordered the 
closure of any petrol station or fuel outlet found to have been diverting 
fuel.   (BBC News, 14 March 2001)

* Rwanda. No contest in Rwandan elections  -  Hundreds of thousands of 
Rwandans voted for local officials in nationwide balloting on 6 March, but 
many had no meaningful choice at the polls, Human Rights Watch said on 9 
March. About 45% of the contests had only a single candidate and more than 
one hundred of the 4,650 races had no candidate at all, according to 
Rwandan government statistics. "This election has been flawed from the 
beginning, and those flaws far outweigh the few election-day irregularities 
that have been reported", said Peter Takirambudde, Executive Director of 
the Africa Division of Human Rights Watch. "Contests with a single 
contender are no contests at all".   (Human Rights Watch, 9 March 2001)

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