Weekly anb04112.txt #6

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

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 11-04-2001      PART #2/6

* Centrafrique. Nouveau gouvernement  -  Le nouveau Premier ministre 
centrafricain, Martin Ziguélé, nommé le dimanche 1er avril par le président 
Ange-Félix Patassé, a annoncé la composition de son gouvernement. Resserré 
autour du mouvement de libération du peuple centrafricain, au pouvoir, ce 
gouvernement compte uniquement des personnalités indépendantes qui avaient 
soutenu M. Patassé lors de sa réélection en 1999.   (Le Figaro, France, 7 
avril 2001)

* Congo-Brazza. L'opposition et le dialogue national  -  L'opposition 
congolaise, regroupée au sein du principal mouvement des exilés, le Front 
patriotique pour le renouveau et la réconciliation nationale (FPRRN), après 
avoir boycotté la première phase du "dialogue national", a décidé de 
participer, le 11 avril, dans la capitale congolaise, à la seconde phase du 
processus, dont l'objectif est de sceller la "réconciliation nationale" 
après trois guerres civiles. Une délégation du FPRRN, basé à Paris, était 
attendue à Brazzaville pour lundi soir, 9 avril. Sur les ondes de Radio 
France internationale, M. Kolélas a déclaré avoir reçu du président 
centrafricain Omar Bongo toutes les garanties de sécurité. Ce dernier a 
toutefois affirmé n'avoir jamais donné de telles garanties et que si M. 
Kolélas devait se rendre à Brazzaville, il le ferait à ses "propres risques 
et périls".   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 9 avril 2001)

* Congo-Brazza. Zones économiques prioritaires  -  Le gouvernement 
congolais envisage de mettre en place des zones économiques prioritaires 
(ZEP) en vue de stimuler le développement national par des pôles 
spécialisés, a indiqué le 10 avril à Brazzaville une source proche de la 
présidence. Une commission chargée d'étudier la création de ces zones vient 
d'être créée. Ces zones seront créées principalement à Pointe-Noire (la 
capitale économique), Brazzaville et Ouesso (centre des richesses 
forestières et minières). Le gouvernement a prévu d'alléger les charges 
fiscales et de faciliter les procédures administratives pour les 
entreprises qui investiront dans les ZEP.   (PANA, Sénégal, 10 avril 2001)

* Congo (RDC). Vers des élections?  -  Le 5 avril, arrivé en Allemagne, le 
président congolais Joseph Kabila a déclaré qu'il espérait former son 
nouveau gouvernement d'ici une semaine. Il compte aussi organiser dès que 
possible des élections libres en RDC afin d'y consacrer le retour à la 
démocratie. Le président a souligné qu'il n'y avait pas eu de véritables 
élections dans son pays depuis 40 ans et qu'il était grand temps que la 
démocratie retrouve ses droits dans l'ancien Zaïre.   (Reuters, 5 avril 2001)

* Congo (RDC) Kabila fosters new drive to end war  -  Joseph Kabila, 
Congo's new president, arrived in Germany on 5 April to promote diplomatic 
efforts to end a two-year civil war that has sucked in the armies of six 
neighbouring states and devastated an already fragile economy. Just hours 
before, Mr Kabila, had dismissed his entire cabinet. The president, who 
came to power in January after the assassination of his father in 
circumstances that remain unclear, said the old administration had been too 
closely associated with the late president and was ineffectual. Speaking in 
Berlin, he said: "We lost the president in an assassination three months 
ago... the government he was leading is considered to have been not 
operational." Congolese officials say a new team is likely to be appointed 
within a week, although the president made no commitment to include 
opposition forces. "Do you want me to include 450 political parties into 
government? It is impossible, it would be chaos," he said. Mr Kabila 
pledged an audit of state-owned companies, regional administrations and 
government ministries, saying donors had offered to support the process. 
"We have a body that will do that, but we also have contacts with the IMF 
and World Bank, who will give us technical assistance." Western governments 
have been anxious to show support for the new president, encouraging his 
efforts to revive a peace process that had flagged under his father. His 
meetings on 5 April with Gerhard Schroder, the German chancellor, and 
Joschka Fischer, the foreign minister, follow similarly high-profile trips 
to Brussels, Paris, Washington and London. "It is high time the region as a 
whole benefits from peace and is not involved in stupid wars," said Mr 
Kabila.   (Financial Times, UK, 6 April 2001)

* Congo (RDC). Rebels pledge to pull back  -  7 April: One of the main 
rebel groups in Congo RDC has agreed to pull back its forces from front 
line positions. The rebel group, the Movement for the Liberation of Congo 
(MLC), made the announcement after senior government ministers met 
representatives of all the warring parties in Lusaka, Zambia. Until the 
meeting, the rebel group's leader, Jean-Pierre Bemba, had refused to 
withdraw his troops from positions in the northern province of Equateur, 
arguing the UN personnel must be deployed first.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 7 
April 2001)

* Congo (RDC). Désengagements  -  Le 6 avril, les ministres de la Défense 
et des Affaires étrangères des pays belligérants se sont réunis à Lusaka 
pour parler du retrait de toutes les forces étrangères de la RD-Congo. Les 
ministres, réunis au sein du Comité politique chargé de superviser 
l'application des accords de Lusaka (1999), devaient également parler du 
désarmement des groupes armés en RDC, a déclaré Stan Mudenge, le ministre 
zimbabwéen des Affaires étrangères. Les ministres vont recevoir les 
rapports de différentes délégations sur le processus de désengagement censé 
avoir pris fin le 29 mars et étudieront les prochaines phases du processus 
de paix. A l'issue de leur rencontre, les ministres ont demandé à l'Onu 
d'autoriser immédiatement le déploiement sur le terrain des 5.537 
observateurs prévus. -D'autre part, le 7 avril, Jean-Pierre Bemba, leader 
du Front de libération du Congo (FLC), a annoncé qu'il acceptait de 
désengager ses troupes du front du nord-ouest du pays, sans toutefois 
préciser de date. Le FLC, soutenu par l'Ouganda, est le seul belligérant à 
ne pas avoir, selon la Monuc, commencé à appliquer l'accord de 
désengagement des troupes de 15 km de la ligne de front.   (ANB-BIA, de 
sources diverses, 9 avril 2001)

* Congo (RDC). Witness to Kabila shooting, held in prison  -  The only 
known witness to the assassination of President Laurent-Désiré Kabila is 
being held in solitary confinement in a Kinshasa jail and is receiving food 
only every other day, according to diplomats and sources in the Democratic 
Republic of Congo. Emile Mota, the late president's economics adviser, was 
briefing Mr Kabila on 16 January when an assassin shot Congo's leader at 
point-blank range. A week later, a terrified Mr Mota gave The Independent 
an exclusive account of events. It is understood that Mr Mota, 44, a doctor 
in mining economics, was arrested on 14 March as part of a security sweep 
including several other men who were close to Mr Kabila. The country is now 
being led by his son, Joseph Kabila. According to sources in Zimbabwe, 
which is an ally of Kinshasa in the war against rebels backed by Rwanda and 
Uganda Mr Mota is being held in Block 1, Cell 5 of the notorious Makala 
prison in the capital. Another source, which contacted The Independent, 
from Congo said: "He is being held under the pretext that he is the only 
witness. During his only contact with the outside, he expressed that his 
case be known to "The Independent. Congo RDC's ambassador to Zimbabwe, 
Kikaya Bin Karubi, said Mr Mota was being held to facilitate investigations 
into Mr Kabila's murder.   (The Independent, UK, 9 April 2001)

* Congo (RDC)/Zimbabwe. Energie électrique  -  La RDC va incessamment 
exporter 700 Mw supplémentaires d'énergie électrique vers le Zimbabwe, au 
départ du grand barrage congolais d'Inga, selon un protocole signé entre 
les deux pays le 3 avril. Cet accord permettra au Zimbabwe de résorber tant 
soit peu son déficit énergétique estimé entre 800 et 1.000 Mw et, à terme, 
de porter à 800 Mw les fournitures qu'il reçoit d'Inga, contre 100 Mw 
actuellement, pour une valeur de $US 800.000. Pour concrétiser l'accord, 
les compagnies d'électricité des deux pays ont été conviées à améliorer 
leurs lignes. On rappelle que la RDC détient 35% du potentiel de production 
annuelle africaine en hydroélectricité et occupe la première place en 
Afrique où elle alimente déjà son voisin immédiat, le Congo Brazzaville. 
Cependant, 3% seulement de ce potentiel sont actuellement 
exploités.   (PANA, Sénégal, 9 avril 2001)

* Congo (RDC)/USA. US involvement in Congo RDC  -  Recently, Congresswoman 
McKinney of Georgia, USA, wrote to President Bush, following a hearing in 
the House, on US involvement in Congo RDC. This is the first part of the 
letter: "I am writing to express my great concern that public comments and 
policy statements in recent years by your new appointee for Assistant 
Secretary of State for Africa, Walter H. Kansteiner III, could be a 
harbinger of a nightmarish US foreign policy for the resolution of the 
tragic war in the Democratic Republic of Congo. I hope that this is not the 
case and I respectfully request your immediate and most forceful assurances 
that these statements do not reflect your view on the resolution of the 
current crises in Congo. As you no doubt know Mr. President, the United 
Nations Security Council has found that the international crisis in the 
Great Lakes region has been brought about by the illegal invasion of 
eastern Congo by the armed forces of Rwanda and Uganda, who are the real 
powers behind various armed Congolese rebel groups. The United Nations has 
resolved that all parties to the conflict should cease fighting and that 
Rwanda and Uganda should unilaterally withdraw from the Congo. Mr. 
Kansteiner's first statement regarding this crisis in Democratic Republic 
of Congo which causes me concern was a written view in an Eastern Zaire 
Issue Brief (10/15/96) for The Forum for International Policy. In this 
issue he posited an idea for the resolution of the war in Congo that he 
himself characterized as "radical." Mr. Kansteiner wrote: "A more radical 
approach would be to divide territory between the two primary ethnic 
groups. Creating homogeneous ethnic lands would probably necessitate 
redrawing international boundaries and would require massive 'voluntary' 
relocation efforts, shifting Tutsis to a newly created Tutsi state and 
likewise for Hutus." (...) (The full text of the letter can be obtained 
from ANB-BIA).   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 9 April 2001)

* Côte d'Ivoire. Fermeture des cités universitaires  -  Le 6 avril, le 
gouvernement ivoirien a décidé de fermer toutes les résidences 
universitaires d'Abidjan, après la mort d'un étudiant tailladé à la 
machette. Les étudiants avaient déjà commencé à quitter les lieux. Des 
affrontements entre étudiants rivaux, le 4 avril, avaient fait un mort et 
plusieurs blessés graves. Il existe une division au sein de la Fédération 
estudiantine et scolaire de Côte d'Ivoire (FESCI), deux personnes se 
proclamant secrétaire général. Leurs partisans ne cessent de s'affronter à 
la machette.   (D'après PANA, Sénégal, 6 avril 2001)

* Erythrée. Rapatriement  -  Le Comité international de la Croix-Rouge a 
rapatrié 226 civils érythréens résidant en Ethiopie, a-t-on appris le 10 
avril de source officielle à Addis Abeba. La plupart d'entre eux vivaient à 
Addis Abeba et ont demandé au CICR d'organiser leur voyage en collaboration 
avec les autorités éthiopiennes. Il s'agit du quatrième rapatriement 
organisé par le CICR. 1.572 Erythréens sont déjà retournés dans leur pays, 
rappelle-t-on.   (PANA, Sénégal, 10 avril 2001)

* Eritrea/Ethiopia. UN optimism over Horn peace  -  The United Nations is 
close to establishing the buffer zone between Ethiopia and Eritrea. Both 
countries had agreed the principle of creating a buffer in February but 
disagreements over its exact borders held back the redeployment of 
troops.The UN representative, Ambassador Legwaila Joseph Legwaila, 
announced on 9 April that "we are talking in terms of days" before a buffer 
zone is finally created. Ethiopia and Eritrea signed a peace treaty to end 
their two-and-a-half year war in December but progress towards its 
implementation has been slow.   (BBC News, UK, 9 April 2001)

* Ethiopia. Naming the war dead  -  Ethiopia has begun the painstakingly 
emotional task of releasing the names of tens of thousands of young men who 
died during the two-and-a-half year border war with Eritrea. Throughout the 
country, the Ministry of Defence is notifying the families of the dead 
soldiers, who are considered to be Ethiopia's national heroes. It has been 
a long and agonizing wait for the families who watched their sons, fathers 
and brothers go off to the frontline almost three years ago. The war ended 
in December last year and a peace process is currently underway. In 
accordance with Ethiopian tradition, elders and community leaders have been 
knocking on doors in the early hours of the morning. In the capital, the 28 
local district councils known as "woredas" began the painful task of 
informing families of the dead at the weekend. The government says that the 
death of these young men is treated with utmost importance as they lost 
their lives defending their country and their people. Community elders are 
assigned to inform the families and carry with them letters of condolences 
from the ministry of defence, and from the local and regional authorities. 
Many of the young men that fought in the war were the only breadwinners in 
the family.   (BBC News, UK, 5 April 2001)

Weekly anb0411.txt - #2/6