Weekly anb05104.txt #7

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

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 10-05-2001      PART #4/7

* Ethiopia. Italy accused over weapons  -  Ethiopia has accused Italy of 
refusing to disclose the location of chemical weapons left in the country 
after it was occupied by Italian fascist forces under Mussolini in 1935. A 
government statement said persistent attempts to get Italy to comply with 
its international obligations had failed. The department responsible for 
implementing the Chemical Weapons Convention estimates that the Italians 
brought about 80,000 tons of chemicals into Ethiopia. It is unclear how 
much remains on Ethiopian territory. A large amount of ammunition was 
discovered last week in Tigray state while digging the foundations for a 
school.   (BBC News, UK, 3 May 3001)

* Ethiopie. Le Parlement examine les griefs des étudiants  -  Le 3 mai, le 
Parlement fédéral éthiopien a commencé à examiner la pétition présentant 
les griefs des étudiants de l'université d'Addis Abeba, pour tenter de 
résoudre la crise actuelle qui les oppose au gouvernement. Ces plaintes 
sont liées aux troubles du 17 et 18 avril qui ont secoué l'université (31 
personnes auraient été tuées et 143 blessées). Les étudiants ont boycotté 
les cours depuis le 10 avril; ils revendiquaient plus de liberté 
académique, la liberté d'expression et de réunion, ainsi que le droit de 
former des syndicats. Dans leur pétition, les étudiants déclarent qu'ils 
poursuivront leur boycott. Par ailleurs, les autorités universitaires ont 
appelé à la création d'un comité ad hoc regroupant enseignants et 
étudiants, en vue de trouver des moyens d'atténuer la crise.   (PANA, 
Sénégal, 3 mai 2001)

* Ethiopia. Academics arrested  -  The crackdown on those believed to be 
responsible for last month's riots has continued, with the arrest of two of 
Ethiopia's leading academics. Professor Mesfin Wolde Mariam and Dr Berhanu 
Nega were arrested by the federal police on the morning of 8 May are now 
being held under heavy police guard in the capital's state prison. In 
recent weeks, they have been accused by the government of instigating the 
student protests which resulted in the deaths of more than 30 people and 
damage worth millions of dollars. They have however constantly rejected the 
allegations.   (BBC News, UK, 8 May 2001)

* Ethiopie/Erythrée. Les religieux et la paix  -  Des responsables 
religieux éthiopiens et érythréens prévoient de visiter les localités 
frontalières à leurs deux pays et de se rencontrer dans ces villes 
stratégiques en vue de promouvoir la paix et la compréhension entre eux. La 
décision a été prise la semaine dernière au terme d'une réunion de deux 
jours à Nairobi, par des leaders chrétiens et musulmans, soucieux de mettre 
fin au conflit qui a opposé leurs deux pays durant plus de deux ans. Des 
dignitaires religieux visiteront, du 19 au 21 mai, la ville frontalière de 
Senate en Erythrée et celle de Zalambessa en Ethiopie, pour une première 
évaluation du processus de paix. Ils organiseront aussi une série de 
réunions dans les deux pays afin de "promouvoir l'amitié et la 
compréhension".   (PANA, Sénégal, 9 mai 2001)

* Ghana. 100 die in football stampede  -  A stampede at a football match in 
Accra, Ghana, killed at least 100 people (Ed.'s note: some sources say 
120), state television reported on 9 May. Hospital officials reportedly 
estimated the death toll at 100. The match, in Accra's main football 
stadium, was played between arch-rivals Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante 
Kotoko. Fights between rival fans broke out towards the end of the game, 
and police responded with tear gas. The stampede followed. The fatalities 
come less than one month after a stampede at a South African league match 
in Johannesburg on April 11 left 43 people dead. On April 30, seven 
football fans were killed and 51 injured in a riot and stampede in the 
Democratic Republic of Congo. Ghana's last football disaster occurred in 
1978 when a wall collapsed, leaving 35 people injured and 15 dead. 
President Kufuor has called an emergency cabinet meeting to discuss the 
tragedy.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 10 May 2001)

* Ghana. 120 morts dans un stade  -  Des bagarres entre supporters rivaux, 
suivies d'une vigoureuse intervention de la police et d'un mouvement de 
panique, ont fait 120 morts et de nombreux blessés dans un stade d'Accra où 
s'affrontaient le mercredi soir, 9 mai, deux clubs de football, les Hearts 
of Oak et Kumasi Asante Kotoko. "Certaines victimes sont mortes asphyxiées, 
mais la plupart semblent avoir été mortellement piétinées", a-t-on déclaré 
à l'hôpital militaire de la capitale. Selon les radios, le mouvement de 
panique, durant lequel de nombreuses personnes ont été piétinées, s'est 
produit lorsque la police est intervenue à coups de grenades lacrymogènes 
pour faire cesser les troubles qui avaient éclatés à moins d'un quart 
d'heure de la fin de la partie, lorsque l'équipe de la capitale venait de 
marquer deux buts coup sur coup. Les partisans de Kumasi ont alors cassé 
des sièges pour bombarder le terrain, et les policiers sont intervenus en 
tirant des grenades lacrymogènes vers les tribunes, qui abritent 50.000 
places. Une enquête sera ouverte.   (Reuters, 10 mai 2001)

* Guinea-Bissau. Detainees released after six months  -  Reports from 
Guinea-Bissau say the authorities have begun releasing some of the military 
personnel detained last November in connection with an alleged coup plot. 
Sixteen soldiers were released at the weekend and more were expected to be 
freed on 8 May. About one-hundred-and-fifty people, including seven 
generals, have been held in detention for six months without any charges 
being brought. A report by parliament on 3 May called for the suspension of 
legal proceedings against three MPs being held and the speeding up of 
procedures against the soldiers.   (BBC News, UK, 8 May 2001)

* Guinée Bissau. Démobilisation des anciens combattants  -  Le 8 mai, un 
programme de démobilisation et de réinsertion économique et sociale des 
anciens combattants a été lancé à Bissau en présence du corps diplomatique 
et de représentants de l'Onu. Le programme en est à sa phase expérimentale, 
a indiqué le secrétaire d'Etat aux Anciens combattants, M. Cabral. Le 
processus concernera d'abord 500 soldats volontaires. Chaque démobilisé 
recevra 100.000 FCFA et des projets seront créés pour eux. Selon le 
représentant du secrétaire général de l'Onu, la stabilité de Bissau devra 
impérativement passer par le règlement du problème des militaires. Les 
institutions de Bretton Woods ont débloqué 25 millions de dollars pour ce 
programme.   (PANA, Sénégal, 9 mai 2001)

* Kenya. Church angered by State inertia  -  "The government has failed", 
says a Church. The Presbyterian Church of East Africa's General Assembly, 
said Kenyans had lost confidence in the government, particularly because it 
appeared to have lost control of the economy. In a wide-ranging criticism 
of the State, the Church urged Kenyans to vote in, at next year's General 
Election, a new government sensitive to their plight.   (Daily Nation, 
Kenya, 1 May 2001)

* Kenya/Somalia. Somalis ordered to leave Kenya  -  Kenya has ordered 
10,000 Somali refugees who've been living in the north-eastern border area 
that they must move. A local official in the town of Mandera Jamlek Mbaruga 
told the refugees they had a week either to go home to Somalia or move into 
existing camps in Kenya. The refugees fled into Kenya after fighting broke 
out amongst rival factions in a border town Buulohaawo a month ago. They 
have so far refused to return home, saying they needed security guarantees. 
Some are also unwilling to move into camps because of experiences at camps 
elsewhere. Correspondents say the presence of the Somalis in Mandera has 
placed a burden on the town's infrastructure.   (BBC News, UK, 10 May 2001)

* Liberia. Liberian timber profits finance regional conflict  -  Recent 
Global Witness investigations have found that two individuals involved in 
the illicit arms and diamond trade to Sierra Leone, also hold high-ranking 
positions within the Liberian government body assigned to oversee Liberia's 
million dollar timber industry. The link between the Liberian timber 
industry and the war in Sierra Leonean is now plain to see. The United 
Nations Security Council must urgently reconsider the imposition of a total 
embargo on Liberian timber exports and immediately implement the diamond 
embargo. Gus Kouwenhoven, identified by the UN Expert Panel Report as 
"responsible for the logistic aspects of many of the arms deals," is on the 
board of directors of the Forestry Development Authority (FDA), the 
Liberian government regulatory body assigned to monitor forest practices 
and exports. Talal El-Ndine, identified by the Expert Panel Report as the 
individual who personally pays "Liberians fighting in Sierra Leone 
alongside the RUF, and those bringing diamonds out of Sierra Leone," is 
also on the board of directors of the FDA. These ties show that it is now 
probable that profits accrued from the export and sale of Liberian timber 
are being used to train and arm the notoriously brutal Sierra Leonean rebel 
group, the Revolutionary United Front (RUF). These practices can continue 
because millions of dollars are being made through the international 
marketing of valuable Liberian timber. The FDA bi-annual report, covering 
the period from January to June 2000, showed that China imported 46.4% 
(worth an estimated 13 million USD) of total Liberian timber exports while 
France imported 17.9%(3) (worth an estimated 7 million USD). These dramatic 
figures shed light as to the possible reasons why both countries were the 
principal objectors to timber sanctions being placed on Liberia in March 
2001.   (Global Witness, 4 May 2001)

* Libéria. Des femmes contre la guerre  -  Le 6 mai, le chef de l'Etat 
libérien Charles Taylor a appelé les pays africains et l'OUA à lui apporter 
leur soutien face aux sanctions imposées par le Conseil de sécurité de 
l'Onu contre son pays. (Les sanctions votées en mars entrent en vigueur le 
7 mai. Ces mesures, dont un embargo sur les armes et les diamants, 
sanctionnent le soutien de Monrovia aux rebelles de la Sierra Leone). -Par 
ailleurs, le 5 mai, plusieurs centaines de Libériennes ont manifesté dans 
les rues de la capitale Monrovia pour dénoncer les combats et réclamer des 
pressions internationales contre les assaillants rebelles. Les 
manifestantes ont dénoncé les attaques rebelles dans la région de Lofa 
(nord), d'où quelque 60.000 personnes ont été déplacées par les combats qui 
se sont intensifiés ces dernières semaines. Elles ont remis une pétition 
demandant à l'Onu, à l'OUA, à la CEDEAO, à l'Union européenne, aux 
Etats-Unis et à la Grande-Bretagne d'intervenir et de "libérer le Libéria 
du fléau de la guerre".   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 7 mai 2001)

* Liberia. Sanctions take effect  -  7 May: United Nations sanctions 
against Liberia are coming into effect -- an attempt by the international 
community to quell the conflict in neighbouring Sierra Leone. The sanctions 
are being put in place because of Liberia's apparent failure to sever ties 
with Sierra Leone's rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF). The movement 
has been accused of killing, raping and mutilating civilians over the last 
decade. Diamond exports from Liberia will be banned, in an effort to halt 
the smuggling of gems from rebel-held areas in Sierra Leone. Foreign travel 
by senior Liberian officials will also be restricted. Britain and the 
United States believe the Liberian President, Charles Taylor, has been 
running guns to the rebels in exchange for so-called "blood diamonds" from 
the rich Sierra Leonean diamond fields. UN officials said the sanctions 
were designed to hit the president and his government ministers, rather 
than ordinary Liberians. The decision was based on a report last week from 
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. He said information indicated Liberia had 
not yet cut ties with the rebels, closed their bank accounts or expelled 
their leaders as the UN Security Council demanded. But some West African 
nations, the very countries which will have to implement the sanctions, are 
opposed to them. They think the measures could put Mr Taylor's back to the 
wall and cause a nationalist backlash in Liberia, which he could exploit. 
The Liberian Government has accused London of backing Liberian rebels. In a 
statement, the government says some of the arms and ammunition given by 
Britain to the Sierra Leone national army are now being supplied to rebels 
fighting in northern Liberia. The British army strenuously denies any 
involvement in the Liberian war, but the BBC's West African correspondent, 
Mark Doyle, says it is quite possible in this chaotic region, that some 
British weapons have reached the Liberian rebels. 8 May: The government has 
restricted foreign diplomats from travelling outside Monrovia and has 
advised them going out at night after 8.30 p.m.   (BBC News, UK, 7-8 May 2001)

* Maghreb. Création d'une banque commune  -  L'Algérie, la Libye, la 
Mauritanie, le Maroc et la Tunisie vont fonder une banque commune dotée 
d'un capital de 500 millions de dollars, dont l'objectif sera d'encourager 
les investissements et les échanges commerciaux dans tout le Maghreb. 
L'Union du Maghreb arabe (Uma) a annoncé que la Banque du Maghreb pour 
l'investissement et le commerce extérieur (BMICE) sera basée à Tunis. 
L'Uma, fondée en 1989 dans le but de créer à terme un marché commun des 
pays d'Afrique du Nord, n'a toutefois pas précisé quand cet établissement 
serait opérationnel.   (Reuters, 4 mai 2001)

Weekly News anb0510.txt - #4/7