Weekly anb05314.txt #8

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

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 31-05-2001      PART #4/8

* Congo (RDC). Rebels warn peace deal collapsing  -  On 29 May, Congo 
rebels warned that a peace agreement to end the country's 2 1/2-year civil 
war could collapse if the government continues to violate key provisions of 
the deal. Azarias Ruberwa, secretary general of the Rwanda-backed Rally for 
Congo Democracy, said the government continues to support Rwandan militants 
who launch attacks on Rwanda from bases in eastern Congo. Many of the Hutu 
extremists were responsible for the government-orchestrated 1994 Rwandan 
genocide, in which more than 500,000 people were killed -- most of them 
Tutsis or politically moderate Hutus. When Tutsi-led rebels stopped the 
killing and took control of the government 100 days later, the Interahamwe 
militiamen and soldiers from the former government fled into refugee camps 
in Congo. They are referred to as negative forces under the 1999 Lusaka 
Peace Accords, and the government is required to disarm them. "The 
situation is really bad," Ruberwa said. "There is a whole brigade of 
negative forces who are beginning to infiltrate into Rwanda after two years 
of peace in the country."   (CNN, USA, 29 May 2001)

* Congo (RDC). Accords de paix en péril  -  Les accords de paix destinés à 
mettre fin à trois ans de guerre en RDC, sont sur le point de s'effondrer, 
a prévenu un dirigeant rebelle. M. Onusumba, chef du RCD-Goma, accuse le 
président Kabila d'avoir fourni des armes et des munitions à des milices 
opérant derrière les lignes rebelles, remettant en cause de cessez-le-feu. 
"La patience a des limites. Nous serons obligés de répondre en ramenant la 
guerre dans son propre territoire", a-t-il ajouté. A Kinshasa, le 
gouvernement a rejeté ces accusations, qualifiées de "manoeuvres destinées 
à déstabiliser le processus de paix". Le responsable de la mission de l'Onu 
au Congo, Kamel Morjane, a fait part de son inquiétude.   (Reuters, 31 mai 
2001)

* Côte d'Ivoire. Reprise de l'aide de l'UE  -  Le 29 mai, la Commission 
européenne a annoncé qu'elle proposait de reprendre son aide à la Côte 
d'Ivoire, deux ans après l'avoir coupée à la suite du putsch du général 
Gueï en décembre 1999. L'exécutif européen a précisé que cette aide 
reprendra progressivement en reconnaissance des efforts faits en matière de 
retour à la démocratie. "Cette proposition est une conséquence logique des 
récents progrès démocratiques", a indiqué le commissaire européen Poul 
Nielson. Avant le coup d'Etat, l'aide annuelle s'établissait autour de 100 
millions d'euros.   (AP, USA, 29 mai 2001)

* Côte d'Ivoire. Réfugiés libériens  -  Plus de 1.200 réfugiés échappant 
aux combats entre les troupes gouvernementales et les insurgés dans le 
comté de Lofa, au nord du Libéria, sont arrivés à l'ouest de la Côte 
d'Ivoire durant ces dernières semaines, selon une source humanitaire. La 
majorité des nouveaux venus arrive à Danane, à 20 km à l'est de la 
frontière libérienne, tandis que le reste pénètre plus à l'intérieur, 
autour de la localité de Guiglo. La Côte d'Ivoire avait hébergé près de 
400.000 réfugiés libériens au plus fort de la guerre civile des années 1990 
dans ce pays. Leur nombre a baissé à environ 120.000 à l'issue d'une 
opération de rapatriement volontaire conduite par le HCR en 1999.   (IRIN, 
Abidjan, 29 mai 2001)

* Egypt. Mubarak's party ahead in elections  -  The National Democratic 
Party (NPD) obtained the absolute majority in the first stage of the 
elections for the renewal of half of the Shura, Egypt's Consultative 
Assembly, held last week in eight Egyptian governorates. The NPD of 
President Hosni Mubarak obtained 25 of the 30 available seats. The vote, 
begun on May 16 will conclude on June 12. It involves 89 of the 264 seats 
that make up the Shura, an assembly analogous to the Senate but without 
legislative powers. Another 44 members of the Shura will be directly chosen 
by the President, who has the powers to name a third of its 
composition.   (Misna, Italy, 24 May 2001)

* Egypt. Human rights storm  -  Foreign governments and local human rights 
organisations have strongly criticised the decision reached earlier this 
week by Egypt's state security court to send to prison a prominent activist 
and critic of President Hosni Mubarak. But Cairo's strategic importance to 
the West --especially the US, but increasingly with Europe as well -- means 
that it is unlikely that the condemnation will affect the nearly $2bn a 
year in aid Egypt receives from Washington. On 21 May a state security 
court sentenced Saad el-Din Ibrahim, a US citizen and founder of the Ibn 
Khaldun Centre for development studies, a think tank, to seven years hard 
labour. He was found guilty of charges including receiving unauthorised 
funding from overseas, embezzlement and forgery. Alongside him, 27 members 
of his Centre were also all found guilty of various counts and received 
sentences ranging from five years hard labour to one year suspended. Most 
observers were stunned by the speed and the severity of the verdict and 
believe it was designed to send the starkest possible message to anyone who 
would gainsay Mr Mubarak's authoritarian regime.   (Financial Times, UK, 25 
May 2001)

* Eritrea/Sudan. Eritrean refugees leave Sudan at last  -  This week, 
convoys of Eritrean refugees started leaving the Shagareb camp in 
north-eastern Sudan in a rekindled repatriation programme. Eritreans have 
returned in the past but these are the first long-term refugees returning 
home. The repatriation programme is being organised by the UNHCR, in 
conjunction with the Eritrean and Sudanese authorities.   (BBC News, UK, 29 
May 2001)

* Ethiopia. 10 years after Mengistu  -  On 28 May, Ethiopians celebrate a 
decade since the overthrow of the Marxist military regime of Mengistu Haile 
Mariam. On 28 May 1991, the rebel movement known as Ethiopian People's 
Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), who are now the ruling party, 
marched into Addis Ababa and took control. Many in Ethiopia flinch at the 
thought of the 17 years of oppression under Colonel Mengistu. He is 
regarded by most as a bloodthirsty psychopath for orchestrating the so 
called Red Terror campaign where tens of thousands of people were killed, 
tortured or disappeared. In 1974 Mengistu led a coup d'etat which overthrew 
Emperor Haile Selassie, who was widely criticised for feudal elitism and 
neglecting a severe famine in the north where millions perished. The 28 May 
will be a time for reflection in the country and an opportunity to look 
back over the past decade of EPRDF rule. Ethiopia's permanent secretary to 
the UN, Ambassador Abdulmejid Hussein, believes much has been achieved. 
"Economically, we have done a lot. We have achieved an average of about 6% 
GDP growth rate," he said.   (BBC News, UK, 27 May 2001)

* Ethiopia. Government cracks down on corruption  -  Eighteen senior 
Ethiopian government officials and prominent businessmen have been arrested 
in a major crackdown on corruption. Amongst those arrested in police raids 
on offices and homes are politicians who were once highly regarded and 
trusted by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. They are being accused of 
embezzling millions of dollars from state coffers. The government has 
warned that this was "just the first step" in its war against corruption. 
Two of those arrested, Seye Abraha and Bitew Belay, were until recently 
senior members of the Tigray People's Liberation Front, the main party in 
the ruling coalition government. The two men and eight others were expelled 
from the party in March after challenging the prime minister's authority. 
Sources say they opposed Mr Meles's attempts to address corruption in the 
country.   (BBC News, UK, 30 May 2001)

* Ethiopia. Russia writes off Ethiopian debt  -  Ethiopian officials say 
Russia has agreed to write off almost $5bn in debt which Addis Ababa owed 
to the former Soviet Union. The agreement was reached after lengthy 
negotiations between the two countries. The money makes up 80% of the total 
debt owed by Ethiopia to Moscow, which was incurred mainly during the 
seventeen-year rule of the former military regime of Colonel Mengistu Haile 
Mariam. The funds were used to purchase arms from the former Soviet 
Union.   (BBC News, UK, 30 May 2001)

* Gabon. Putting Christ at the centre of life via the Media  -  To revise 
pastoral plans for evangelisation and make more use of the media to spread 
the Gospel: these are two major objectives at the beginning of the new 
millennium for Archbishop Basile Mve Engone of Libreville, who is president 
of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Gabon. The country, lying on the 
Atlantic Ocean coast and cut through the middle by the equator, is rich in 
timber and minerals, although most of the population 1,200,000, is excluded 
from the benefits of the nation's economic growth. Catholics in Gabon are 
about 653,000. Mgr Basile Mve Engone, aged 60, was appointed Archbishop of 
Libreville three years ago, after being Bishop of Oyem for 18 years. He has 
played an important role in Gabon's National Sovereign Conference set up in 
1990 to guide a process of democratization after 23 years of one party 
rule. In an interview with FIDES, The Archbishop said that "Our bishops 
must give priority to study and penetration of the Gospel in the 
re-organisation of pastoral work in their dioceses and that the Media 
offers a powerful offers a powerful means of evangelisation. I am convinced 
that every local Church must have its own media: this is essential in our 
pluralist world. We need programmes able to form Christian consciences. In 
Libreville we are still waiting for final official permission for our Radio 
Saint-Marie which all our dioceses will then relay. The radio has a 
contract with Radio Notre Dame based in Paris which has offered us its 
programmes free of charge. The radio broadcasts twenty four hours a day 
contributing to education to peace. Its director is Andre Obame a layman 
who studied in Rome. After the radio I hope to launch a newspaper similar 
to publications started by the Bishops' Conference of Cameroon and Congo 
Brazzaville. At the moment these are only ideas: I am looking for the right 
people to start a Church newspaper for Gabon".   (Fides, Vatican City, 23 
May 2001)

* Ghana. Rawlings loses military guard  -  Ghana's former president Jerry 
Rawlings lost his military guard this week in a move that has angered him 
and his opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC). The NDC failed to 
block the move to replace soldiers with 12 civilian police. They said that 
Mr Rawlings' safety was compromised as the policemen did not know him 
whereas the soldiers had been with him for 20 years. The government says 
that the plan is simply part of their effort to demilitarise civilian 
institutions. Government spokeswoman Ms Elizabeth Ohene said President John 
Kufuor's own security guards were from the police service. She said the 
government would not accept a situation where 24 soldiers from one unit 
were permanently outside the control of their commander.   (BBC News, UK, 
25 May 2001)

* Guinée. Evacuation quasiment achevée  -  Le 25 mai, le porte-parole du 
HCR a annoncé que l'évacuation de dizaines de milliers de réfugiés du Bec 
de perroquet dans le sud de la Guinée est quasiment achevée. Quelque 2.000 
réfugiés restés en petits groupes dans des camps et des villages à 
l'intérieur du Bec, une région instable jouxtant la Sierra Leone, seront 
transférés dans les deux prochains jours au camp de transit de Katkama au 
nord. La majorité des camps de la région sont désormais vides et ont été 
incendiés par les villageois locaux. Jusqu'à présent, 12.000 réfugiés ont 
été évacués du Bec depuis le début de l'opération organisée par le HCR à 
partir du 2 mai.   (IRIN, Abidjan, 25 mai 2001)

* Guinée/Libéria/Sierra Leone. Appel de Kofi Annan  -  Le secrétaire 
général des Nations unies, Kofi Annan, a appelé les dirigeants du Liberia, 
de la Sierra Leone et de la Guinée à engager des pourparlers aussi vite que 
possible afin de mettre un terme aux conflits régionaux qui ont provoqué le 
départ de la Sierre Leone d'un million de réfugiés. Dans un rapport, M. 
Annan a qualifié le déracinement de la population "d'une des crises 
humanitaires et politiques les plus graves qu'ait à affronter la communauté 
internationale aujourd'hui". Selon les derniers chiffres de l'Onu, début 
mai, 2,3 millions de personnes ont été déplacées en Guinée, 400.000 en 
Sierra Leone, et 120.000 Libériens ont fui en Côte d'Ivoire.   (AP, USA, 30 
mai 2001)

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