Weekly anb09135.txt #6

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

_____________________________________________________________
WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 13-09-2001      PART #5/6

* Sierra Leone. Election dates named  -  7 September: The government of 
war-ravaged Sierra Leone has named 14 May 2002 as the day when presidential 
and parliamentary elections will be held, resisting calls from rebels for 
an interim government. Elections scheduled for this year were postponed due 
to insecurity caused by 10 years of civil war characterised by atrocities 
against civilians. Security is gradually being restored by the deployment 
of a United Nations peace-keeping force all over the country, including the 
rebel controlled diamond areas in the east. This is the largest peace 
mission currently being undertaken by the UN. President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah 
had said it was necessary to postpone the elections until the disarmament 
process that accompanies the current ceasefire is complete, because voters 
would not feel secure until this was done. First reactions by the RUF to 
this announcement are negative and in a sign of protest, the rebels boycott 
a meeting scheduled in Makeni with a government delegation and UNAMSIL 
representatives. 10 September: MISNA reports that Parliament in Sierra 
Leone has voted in favour of a six-month extension of the state of 
emergency.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 11 September 2001)

* Somalia. Bomb blast in Mogadishu  -  At least 14 people have been killed 
in Somalia after an abandoned Soviet anti-aircraft missile exploded near a 
market in the capital, Mogadishu. The missile, which was found at a 
military garrison, went off while a man was trying to extract some copper 
from the old weapon. Several people were injured in the blast and taken to 
hospital. The explosion was caused when at about 0500GMT, Saeed Malin Farah 
took his hammer and started hitting the missile in an attempt to extract 
the copper from inside the missile. He was also trying to peel off its 
aluminum cover. Mr Farah has been living in the camp ever since the 
Mohammed Said Barre regime was toppled more than ten years ago. Among the 
first victims of this explosion were Mr Farah's wife and three of his 
children, an 18-year old boy and two girls.   (BBC News, UK, 11 September 2001)

* Somalia. Human Rights issues  -  6 September: The United 
Nations-appointed independent expert on human rights for Somalia, says he 
will write to the UN Secretary-General and the Security Council urging them 
to appoint an independent committee of experts to investigate human rights 
abuses in Somalia. Dr Ghanim Alnajjar, who was appointed by UN 
Secretary-General Kofi Annan, says that such a committee could be the 
prelude to the establishment of a tribunal, but that proper procedure would 
have to be followed. He says he hopes the international community would 
work on any recommendation. "I hope the international community understands 
that this is necessary -- it will add to the reconciliation process". 
Alnajjar says that investigations should cover crimes committed by all 
sides, both before and after the civil war broke out in 1991, including 
alleged crimes committed by UN personnel during the UN's operations in 
Somalia early in 1990. He says most of the political leaders he had met in 
Baidoa and Mogadishu, southern Somalia, and Hargeysa in the self-declared 
state of Somaliland, northwestern Somalia, supported the idea of 
prosecuting war crimes. 10 September: The Transitional National Government 
(TNG) has instituted an investigation into the circumstances surrounding 
the shooting to death of two children by its forces. The children, aged 
eight and 10, were shot while swimming in an area near the former police 
training school in south Mogadishu. The man who fired the fatal shots was a 
former militiaman undergoing training to join the Somali armed forces, and 
not a policeman as had been reported by the local media. The culprit, who 
deserted his base after the incident, is being sought by the police. The 
incident -- which was reported in the local media -- had been denied by 
officials until the UN-appointed independent expert on human rights in 
Somalia, Dr Ghanim Alnajjar, held talks with interim President Abdiqasim 
Salad Hassan, who promised to investigate the deaths.   (IRIN, Kenya, 12 
Sep 2001)

* Somalia. Hijacked ship remains in hands of militia  -  10 September: A 
Kenyan-registered ship and its crew hijacked off the northeastern coast of 
Somalia over a month ago is still being held. The ship, MV Bahari, is being 
held in the coastal town of Eyl, 150 km southeast of Garowe, the capital of 
the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland, northeastern Somalia. The 
captors reportedly brought the crew before a "court" about week ago, 
charged them with illegal fishing, and fined them between US $850,000 and 
$900,000 said Adan Abdirahman Dolar of the Garowe-based Nugal Times. In 
these situations, negotiations usually follow the initial "court" judgment, 
and a compromise is usually arrived at, he explained. Dolar said there had 
been reports that the Kenyan government was sending two prominent local 
Somali businessmen to act as go-betweens. As in the past, "some money will 
probably change hands before these people are released", he added. 
Meanwhile, the Transitional National Government TNG) of Somalia has issued 
a warning to foreign vessels against illegal fishing in Somalia's 
territorial waters. The warning was issued by the TNG Minister of Fisheries 
and Marine Resources, Muhammad Qanyare Afrah, who said foreign vessels 
found illegally fishing in Somali waters risked severe punishment.   (IRIN, 
Kenya, 12 September 2001)

* South Africa. Some reflections on the Durban Conference  -  Durban on the 
east coast of South Africa is fast becoming one of the premier conference 
cities in the world. Over the last two weeks it has been host to the Third 
United Nations World Conference Against Racism, Xenophobia and Related 
Intolerance, and the preceding NGO Forum. While there has been wide 
coverage of the controversial issues, a number of other important 
developments have not been reported. The newspapers and electronic media 
have been abuzz with the Palestinian question and reparations for slavery 
and colonialism. The inter-governmental conference witnessed the walk-out 
by Israeli and United States of America delegations over what they 
perceived as anti-Israel sentiments in the draft declaration. Similarly, 
the NGO Forum experienced the withdrawal of Israeli organisations from the 
process. Many argue that it was an achievement to get the United States to 
the conference in the first place. However, critics maintain that the US 
was not prepared to discuss the equally pressing matter of slavery and 
reparations, and used the Palestinian question as an excuse to avoid it. Be 
that as it may, the Conference did not break down, and it is the hope of 
the host country that significant strides will be made in combating racism 
in all its manifestations. One notable early success has been consensus 
that racism be declared a crime against humanity. The Conference is a story 
in itself, and would bear scrutiny at another time. What was new in South 
Africa was the expression of discontent by groups of civil society 
organisations outside the formal UN and related processes. A disparate 
group of NGOs, civic movements and solidarity organisations staged a 
protest march on the opening day of the inter-governmental conference on 31 
August. This march happened under the banner of the Durban Social Forum, 
with the rallying slogan of "Another World Is Possible". The intention was 
to deepen the discussion on racism and to explore the economic basis for 
its existence. The argument was that racism cannot be seen as a purely 
psychological phenomenon, but has its roots in the unequal power and 
economic relations between peoples. (...) And to add international flavour, 
the Dalit community highlighted the inequity of the caste system in India, 
while the Palestinians sought greater pressure on Israel to cease its 
assault on Palestine. These issues must be understood in the context of 
South Africa's entry into global economics and politics.(...)   (Mojalefa, 
ANB-BIA, South Africa, 6 September 2001)

* Afrique du Sud. Violences contre immigrés  -  Le 10 septembre, un centre 
islamique a été attaqué et au moins 25 boutiques appartenant à des immigrés 
somalis ont été pillées et incendiées, lors d'attaques à caractère 
xénophobe dans la township noire de Kwanobuhle, près de Port Elizabeth 
(sud). Les assaillants reprochent aux Somalis de prendre leur 
travail.   (La Croix, France, 12 septembre 2001)

* Sudan. USA names Sudan peace envoy  -  President George W. Bush has 
announced a new American initiative on Sudan aimed at promoting a peaceful 
resolution of the country's long civil war. He has appointed a former 
senator, John Danforth, as a special envoy to investigate the situation and 
work with other countries to mediate an end to what the president termed "a 
brutal and shameful" conflict. -- At the same time, Ugandan rebels have 
been accused of burning down villages in Sudan in retaliation for losing 
the support of the Khartoum government. The accusation was made by a 
pro-government militia which said the rebels from the Lord's Resistance 
Army, which normally carry out attacks in Uganda, torched the Sudanese 
villages after the Sudanese leader, General Omar Hassan al-Bashir, 
announced he would no longer back them. The leader of the pro-government 
Equatoria Defence Force, Theophilus Ochang, said several people had been 
killed in the violence including his own father-in-law. The Lord's 
Resistance Army led by Joseph Kony has been carrying out attacks for years 
in northern Uganda from bases in Sudan, but Sudanese officials say the 
Ugandan rebel fighters are short of food and clothes and a number have 
deserted in recent weeks.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 7 September 2001)

* Soudan. Le "Khartoum Monitor" suspendu  -  Le 11 septembre, le 
gouvernement soudanais a suspendu la publication du Khartoum Monitor, 
l'unique journal en langue anglaise de la capitale. La sanction, dont on ne 
connaît pas la durée, serait provoquée par l'excessive animosité exprimée 
dans certains articles. Le Khartoum Monitor et ses dirigeants sont depuis 
un certain temps dans le collimateur du gouvernement. Son directeur, Alfred 
Taban, a été plusieurs fois arrêté par les forces de l'ordre et 
emprisonné.   (Misna, Italie, 11 septembre 2001)

* Soudan/Libye. Vers l'intégration économique  -  Le Premier ministre 
libyen, Mubarak el Shamikh, est arrivé le 11 septembre à Khartoum où il 
doit prendre part à une réunion du comité ministériel soudano-libyen sur 
l'intégration des économies des deux pays. Le ministre libyen de l'Union 
africaine M. Triki, également arrivé à Khartoum, a déclaré que le comité va 
renforcer les relations entre les deux pays, notant que les deux Etats ont 
la ferme détermination de réaliser l'intégration, la fédération et l'unité. 
Il a également déclaré que la Libye et l'Egypte, leaders de l'initiative 
prise pour mettre un terme à la guerre civile au Soudan, sont en contact 
permanent avec les belligérants pour trouver une solution pacifique au 
conflit.   (PANA, Sénégal, 12 septembre 2001)

* Tanzanie. L'impasse à Zanzibar  -  Le président tanzanien Benjamin Mkapa 
a écarté ce week-end la formation d'un gouvernement de coalition à 
Zanzibar, ce qui ne serait pas, selon lui, la meilleure façon de mettre fin 
à l'impasse politique découlant de la mauvaise gestion des élections. Cela 
serait "un précédent dangeureux", a-t-il déclaré, reconnaissant toutefois 
que les procédures électorales n'ont pas été respectées dans 16 
circonscriptions de Zanzibar durant les élections de 2000. Affirmant avec 
fermeté qu'on ne peut pas ne pas tenir compte des urnes même s'il y a des 
irrégularités dans le système électoral, il a estimé que se tourner vers 
d'autres alternatives aggraverait le problème. Mais il faut réviser le 
système électoral afin de ne pas répéter les erreurs du passé.   (PANA, 
Sénégal, 10 septembre 2001)

* Togo. Opposition leader says: "New blood needed"  -  Togolese opposition 
leader of the Union of Forces of Change (UFC), Gilchrist Olympio, has 
warned that any attempt by President Gnassingbe Eyadema's regime to tamper 
with the constitution in a bid to extend his hold on power would be met 
with total resistance from the opposition and civil society groups. 
"Eyadema has been de facto in power since 1963. I think we need a new blood 
into Togo's political system", Olympio said on 9 September. Olympio was 
reacting to recent remarks by Togo's Prime Minister Agbeyome Kodjo that he 
was in favour of changing the constitution to enable Eyadema to stand in 
the presidential election due in 2003. But President Eyadema who was 
attending the Durban conference on against racism when his prime minister 
made the remarks, has disassociated himself from the statement saying he 
would respect the constitution on his tenure of office. Olympio charged it 
was "strange" that Eyadema had disassociated himself from the statement. 
"The UFC finds Eyadema's reaction strange as the prime minister is 
appointed by the President and supported by a National Assembly which is 
almost 100 percent composed of members of the President's own political 
party. We think that the prime minister's remarks on the constitution were 
simply aimed at the regime's desire to test the waters to gauge the 
reaction of the international community and domestic public opinion", he 
said. Olympio said that his party did not rule out calling for peaceful 
civil disobedience if President Eyadema sought to manoeuvre his way into 
extending his rule beyond the constitutional mandate.   (PANA, Senegal, 9 
September 2001)

Weekly end of file anb09135.txt on 6