Weekly anb09274.txt #7

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

_____________________________________________________________
WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 27-09-2001  PART #4/7

* Congo (RDC). Paying the price for war - A United Nations team is 
investigating how parties involved in civil war in the Democratic Republic 
of Congo have plundered the country's natural resources. The UN panel, 
which arrived in the capital Kinshasa on 24 September, plans to update a 
report published in April which argued that economic pillaging has fuelled 
the involvement of some nations in the conflict. Rwanda and Uganda were 
singled out for criticism. Both nations were critical of the report, as was 
Britain, as all felt the report was one-sided and lenient on the 
involvement of Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia. The chairman of the UN panel, 
Mahmoud Kassem, said there was further work to be done in examining links 
between the conflict and exploitation of the region's resources. He also 
felt that there were new developments, some positive, which needed to be 
included in a new version. The updated report is scheduled for release in 
October. (BBC News, UK, 26 September 2001)

* Congo (RDC)/Rwanda. Rencontre Kabila-Kagame - Le 26 septembre, les 
présidents Kabila du Congo et Kagame du Rwanda se sont rencontrés à 
Blantyre (Malawi) en présence du président Muluzi du Malawi, au sujet de la 
mise en oeuvre des accords de paix de Lusaka et notamment le retrait des 
troupes étrangères. A l'issue de la réunion, aucun communiqué n'a été 
publié, mais le président Muluzi a qualifié les discussions de "succès". Il 
a révélé qu'une commission ministérielle serait mise sur pied pour assurer 
le suivi des questions abordées. -D'autre part, le mouvement rebelle 
congolais RCD-Goma a menacé de reprendre les armes pour reprendre la ville 
de Fizi (Sud-Kivu) conquise le 7 septembre par des combattants hutu 
rwandais et burundais et des soldats de Kinshasa. Selon le RCD, c'est 
l'armée congolaise qui a fourni aux rebelles hutu les embarcations rapides 
qu'ils utilisent pour traverser le lac Tanganyika (entre le Congo et le 
Burundi). (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 27 septembre 2001)

* Côte d'Ivoire. Cocoa farmers protected - Côte d'Ivoire has adopted new 
proposals to ensure a minimum price for cocoa farmers. The West African 
country's commodity marketing body has voted in a new export system which 
includes quotas for cocoa in order to protect against over-supply. At a 
meeting in the political capital Yamoussoukro, the Coffee and Cocoa Bourse 
(BCC) agreed the principal of minimum prices for farmers for the coming 
season. The West African country is the world's largest cocoa producer 
--accounting for 40% of world supply. It is also Africa's largest coffee 
producer. Farmers have welcomed the decision to guarantee them minimum 
revenues for their cocoa following plummeting world prices for the 
country's main export. Henri Amouzou, head of the National Association of 
Coffee-Cocoa Producers, said the move showed President Laurent Gbagbo's 
wish "to give farmers back their dignity". Cocoa prices were previously 
stabilised by a complex system in which most of the Côte d'Ivoire crop was 
sold before it was actually harvested. But that system was abandoned in 
1999 to fulfil conditions for a loan from the International Monetary Fund 
and World Bank. The current BCC was created in July, with the express 
intention of guaranteeing farmers a price for their coffee. Farmers hold 
two-thirds of the body's seats, with the remainder going to exporters. But 
there is also concern that a quota system could be open to abuse and big 
exporters have opposed it. (BBC News, UK, 24 September 2001)

* Eritrea. Details about officials' arrests - 20 September: The Eritrean 
government has given more details of the role of former members of the 
ruling Peoples Front for Democracy Party who have been arrested over the 
past two-days. The official party website said the group held meetings in 
the United States aimed at recruiting members to join a secret opposition 
group. They were also said to have discussed plans for the creation of 
secret cells to infiltrate various organisations in the country including 
the Eritrean defence forces. The meetings also aimed to organise various 
initiatives to isolate the Eritrean government. About eleven former members 
of the ruling party have so far been arrested for allegedly plotting 
against the government. -- Amnesty International fears the recent arrests 
indicates growing repressing of non-violent dissent by the government. 21 
September: Human Rights Watch calls on the Eritrean Government to 
immediately free recently detained political dissidents, allow the return 
of university students to their classes, and lift the ban it decreed on 19 
September on privately-owned newspapers. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 21 September 2001)

* Erythrée. Nouvelles arrestations d'opposants - Quatre anciens hauts 
responsables érythréens ont été arrêtés à Asmara, ce qui porte à au moins 
onze le nombre d'opposants interpellés par les autorités depuis le 18 
septembre. Le sort d'un ancien ministre de la Défense, Mesfin Hagos, 
également signataire d'une lettre ouverte critiquant le président Issaias 
Afeworki n'était pas connu avec certitude. Au total, quinze dignitaires du 
régime, tous membres du comité central du parti unique au pouvoir, avaient 
lancé une dissidence en mai en critiquant ouvertement une dérive 
autocratique du président Afeworki. Deux d'entre eux se trouvent à 
l'étranger. - Le 21 septembre, le gouvernement a accusé les onze 
réformateurs arrêtés d'avoir commis des "crimes contre la sécurité et la 
souveraineté de la nation", assurant que leur interpellation n'avait "rien 
à voir" avec leurs critiques du président Afeworki. Le porte-parole n'a pas 
précisé s'ils avaient été inculpés, assurant que les informations seraient 
rendues publiques en temps utile. -25 septembre. Neuf journalistes ont été 
arrêtés en moins d'une semaine, alors que les autorités ont fermé tous les 
journaux privés, a-t-on appris de source diplomatique. Des élections 
présidentielles, législatives et municipales sont prévues en décembre. 
(ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 26 septembre 2001)

* Eritrea-Ethiopia. UN worried by truce - The United Nations Mission in 
Eritrea and Ethiopia (UNMEE) has expressed growing concern about the 
situation in the buffer zone between the two countries. UNMEE says that 
both Ethiopia and Eritrea have not kept to the requirements stated in the 
ceasefire agreement signed by both countries. The UN says that (among other 
things), the movement of their peacekeepers is being restricted by the 
Eritreans, and the Ethiopians have not provided all their minefield maps. 
(ANB-BIA, Brussels, 23 September 2001)

* Ethiopia. Government activity - Destroying expired pesticides: The 
Ministry of Agriculture is in the process of collecting expired pesticides 
from rural areas for disposal. The pesticides will be shipped to Finland 
for incineration, since Ethiopia does not have the facilities. The Ministry 
hopes to collect 1,500mt of pesticide, and has budgeted accordingly. The 
Minister says the project will get under way once clearance is received 
from countries that the shipment will have to cross. New industrial policy: 
The Minister for Trade and Industry is planning a new industrial policy 
designed to promote industrial development in the country. The government 
has identified industrial development as one of the highest priorities in 
its current five-year economic plan. Tackling HIV/AIDS in schools: The 
Ministry of Education has allocated about US $1.3 million towards 
controlling the spread of HIV/AIDS in schools. The money will come from the 
World Bank fund against the disease and be used to finance a three-year 
programme. The fund will be used to purchase and distribute appropriate 
literature in the schools, as well as for training teachers and 
administrators. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 21 September 2001)

* Grands Lacs. Aide juridique belge - La Belgique a approuvé une allocation 
de $1,7 million pour aider à l'amélioration du système judiciaire au 
Burundi, au Congo-RDC et au Rwanda, a indiqué le 22 septembre le secrétaire 
d'Etat belge à la Coopération, M. Boutmans. Le programme pour 2001 est 
administré par l'ONG Avocats sans frontières (ASF). L'organisation a signé 
un accord avec la justice du Burundi pour former des avocats et des 
auxiliaires juridiques; l'accord prévoit aussi une aide juridique aux 
femmes détenues et aux enfants. La RDC recevra une aide pour une 
bibliothèque juridique à l'université de Kinshasa; en outre, ASF fournira 
une assistance juridique à la société civile et aidera le pays à harmoniser 
les lois coutumières et nationales avec les traités internationaux. Au 
Rwanda, ASF a contribué au renforcement du régime de droit, a souligné M. 
Boutmans. (IRIN, Nairobi, 24 septembre 2001)

* Guinea. Flood misery in Guinea - Heavy rains in Guinea have left at least 
five people dead and 30,000 homeless in the worst floods for many years. 
Citizens in the western regions of Kankan, Mandiana and Kouroussa have lost 
almost all their property in the rains which not stopped for the past seven 
days. Official reports said that hundreds of mud houses have literally been 
washed away. Guinean President General Lansana Conte, leading relief 
assistance, has ordered an SOS mission to the area, comprising aid workers 
and emergency relief said to be worth about 55 million Guinean francs 
($28,000). Weather officials in the capital Conakry said these floods are 
the worst Guinea has seen in many years, and the material damage it has 
left in its wake is inestimable. The affected regions are usually the first 
to see the start of the rainy season but this year, the rains were late in 
arriving. Rice fields, roads and bridges have been completely inundated, 
and vehicular traffic to the area has been curtailed by the flooding. Huge 
areas of countries such as Chad, Niger and Mali have also recently been hit 
by heavy rains. (BBC News, UK, 21 September 2001)

* Guinée. Inondations et choléra - Des dizaines de milliers de personnes 
ont été affectées par les plus graves inondations en dix ans dans la région 
de Kankan, à l'est de la Guinée, a indiqué le 21 septembre le Bureau de 
coordination des affaires humanitaires de l'Onu (OCHA). Les inondations 
sont survenues après que le fleuve Niger et ses affluents eurent débordé. 
Elles ont affecté quelque 70.000 personnes, dont 40.000 ont été déplacées. 
De nombreuses régions sont toujours inaccessibles. - D'autre part, dans 
plusieurs villages près de Nzerekore, au sud-est de la Guinée, douze 
personnes au moins sont mortes du choléra durant les six semaines écoulées. 
151 cas de choléra ont été enregistrés, surtout des enfants de 3 à 10 ans, 
mais le chiffre réel est probablement supérieur. L'épidémie, provoquée par 
l'utilisation d'une eau contaminée dans des puits traditionnels, semble 
être maîtrisée. (IRIN, Abidjan, 21 septembre 2001)

* Kenya. Needing a transition government - The Chairman of the Kenya 
Constitutional Review Commission, Prof Yash Pal Ghai, has proposed that 
Kenya should have a transition government made up of an appointed 
commission retired judges to run the affairs of the country during the next 
general elections. Ghai said that such a system has worked well for the 
last eight years in Bangladesh. Prof Ghai's sentiments echo those already 
expressed by some radical opposition Members of Parliament and 
non-governmental organizations. The ruling party Kanu, which argues that 
Kenya is not making a shift from military rule to warrant a transition 
government, however, has repeatedly dismissed the idea. Prof. Ghai says 
that the idea should be debated thoroughly by all Kenyans since such a 
government could inspire confidence among Kenyans and ensure that the 
elections are free and fair. He added that Kenyans should also consider 
reviewing the constitutions to create a supreme court that would help 
achieve the independence of the judiciary. (Thomas Omondi, Kenya, 11 
September 2001)

* Kenya. Opposition party welcomes changes in KANU - Kenya's opposition 
National Development Party (NDP), led by Raila Odinga, has said that the 
changes announced by the ruling KANU party were welcome and crucial to the 
planned merger between the two parties. In what was being seen by observers 
to be the final stage for the proposed merger with the opposition National 
Development Party (NDP), the governing KANU party on 18 September, 
announced a major restructuring within its hierarchy. Party Secretary 
General Joseph Kamotho announced the creation of a new post of third 
national vice chairman -- the post most likely to be reserved for Raila 
once the merger between the two parties is complete. Kamotho further 
announced the creation of eight other positions within KANU, although he 
failed to name who are to fill the slots. (PANA, Senegal 20 September 2001)

* Kenya/Tanzanie. Le Kilimandjaro en danger - La Fondation des Nations 
unies et le PNUD vont lancer conjointement une opération de sauvetage du 
site naturel du mont Kilimandjaro qui, dominant la Tanzanie et le Kenya, 
abrite 1.800 espères de plantes et 35 sortes de mammifères. La beauté des 
lieux encourage le tourisme tandis que la richesse des sols favorise 
l'agriculture. Toutefois, l'érosion et la fonte des neiges, la 
surexploitation des terres et de l'eau, les dégradations commises par les 
visiteurs mettent en danger le fragile écosystème du Kilimandjaro et, par 
conséquent, les sources de revenus de la population locale estimée à près 
d'un million de personnes. Le projet des Nations unies prévoit l'arrêt de 
la déforestation, la prévention des feux et... l'éducation des touristes. 
(J.A./L'intelligent, France, 18-24 septembre 2001)

Weekly anb0927.txt - end of #4/7