Weekly anb12136.txt #7

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

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 13-12-2001      PART #6/7

* Nigeria. Conference on Niger Delta  -  10 December: A UN-backed 
conference on the troubled Niger Delta region of Nigeria begins today in 
the southern city of Port Harcourt. The Nigerian President, Olusegun 
Obasanjo, has pledged to raise living standards in the Delta, which is the 
heart of the country's multi-billion-dollar oil industry but also home to 
some of its poorest people. The conference organisers Emmanuel Nyong said 
the gathering, due to be attended by government officials, community 
leaders and development experts, aims to produce a joint strategy to make 
development work.   (BBC News, UK, 10 December 2001)

* Nigeria. Trials start on cheaper AIDS drugs  -  10 December: Nigeria is 
to become the first African country to launch trials using cheap imported 
generic drugs to treat Aids and HIV infection. health officials say the 
treatment programme is to begin today in selected hospitals throughout the 
country. Recent figures published by the Ministry of Health indicate that 
almost 3.5 million Nigerians are believed to be infected with the HIV 
virus. But there is considerable doubt whether such a generic drugs 
programme is the most appropriate way to tackle HIV infection in Nigeria. 
The Nigerian experiment in tackling the Aids pandemic will be closely 
observed across Africa. Over the coming months, 10,000 patients are due to 
be treated with anti-retro viral drugs imported from India. Nigeria's 
President Olusegun Obasanjo has strongly endorsed the trials. However, 
critics of the programme have questioned the ability of the country's 
poorly managed health system to cope with the close monitoring of patients 
required during the administering of the anti-HIV drugs. Moreover, critics 
argue that whatever resources are available should be put into HIV 
prevention. But those in favour of the trials point to the widespread use 
of similar but much more costly drugs in Europe and the United States and 
ask why Africans should be deprived of the chance to live a longer, 
healthier life despite HIV infection.   (BBC News UK, 10 December 2001)

* Nigeria. Abuja market destroyed by fire  -  The main market in the 
Nigerian capital, Abuja, has been almost completely destroyed by fire. 
Eyewitnesses said the fire at the New Market began mid-morning on 10 
December and raged for over 12 hours. Fire-fighters were still standing-by 
late into the evening. A fault in a back-up electricity generator is 
believed to have caused the fire. Foul play is not suspected. Hundreds of 
market vendors have lost their livelihoods, and the fire gutted homes 
belonging to several hundred people for whom the market also doubled as a 
residence. In some places, the fire was still smouldering on the morning of 
11 December, as traders attempted to salvage what they could. The loss of 
the market is expected to have a major impact on local people, who will now 
have to travel to satellite towns to get food supplies.   (BBC News, UK, 11 
December 2001)

* Nigeria. Communicating the Faith  -  The Catholic bishops from the 
Ecclesiastical Provinces of Ibadan and Lagos (EPIL) have commended their 
Directors of Communications and Media for their initiative in coming 
together as a body for the propagation of the Catholic faith more 
effectively in the new millennium, through their various media means. The 
bishops said that such cooperation on a professional level will bring 
blessings to the Church and provide the Church with opportunities for 
living up to present-day challenges. The bishops said this on 5 December 
2001, at Ss Peter and Paul Major Seminary, Ibadan, Oyo State, during the 
formal inauguration of the Ibadan/Lagos regional body, and the launching of 
its magazine called: "EPIL FOCUS". At the same time, awards were presented 
to 30 outstanding Catholics from the region which comprises Lagos, Ibadan. 
Oyo, Abeokuta, Ekiti. Ondo, Osogbo and Ijebu Ode Dioceses, for their 
services to the Church.   (Peter Ajayi Dada, Cath. Secret., Nigeria, 12 
December 2001)

* Rwanda. Les tribunaux "gacaca"  -  Après les élections des juges des 
tribunaux "gacaca" en octobre dernier, la suite du programme établi par le 
Cour suprême a été révélée le 10 décembre à Murambi. Du 4 février au 15 
mars 2002, sera organisée la formation des formateurs, au nombre de 780. 
Les premières sessions de formation des juges élus commenceront le 18 mars. 
Ensuite, les procès seront lancés offiellement en mai 2002. Les premiers 
procès seront organisés en même temps dans douze secteurs différents, comme 
test. Puis le processus sera étendu progressivement.   (Agence Hirondelle, 
Arusha, 10 décembre 2001)

* Rwanda. Rwanda accused of troop build-up  -  6 December: The Democratic 
Republic of Congo's ambassador to the United Nations, Ileka Atoki, has 
alleged that Rwanda is reinforcing its military presence in the east of the 
country. Mr Atoki said the military build-up around the cities of Goma and 
Kalemie was a concerted effort to intensify the war in the central African 
country. He said he had handed in a letter of protest to the UN Security 
Council on 4 December. Mr Atoki said 3,000 Rwandan soldiers were moved 
across the border into the town of Bukavu on the night of 29 and 30 
November this year. UN officials in New York could not immediately confirm 
the Congolese claims. The envoy linked the alleged cross-border movements 
to the stalled peace conference saying that Rwanda's aim is to "undermine" 
dialogue which his government has entered with rebels. The Inter-Congolese 
Dialogue, part of the 1999 Lusaka agreement, is expected to resume in South 
Africa in January with backing from the international community. 7 
December: Rwanda rejects Congo RDC's claims.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 8 
December 2001)

* Rwanda. Bilan du génocide  -  Selon une commission mise en place par 
Kigali, le génocide de 1994 aurait fait "1,07 million de morts". D'après le 
communiqué, on a compté 934.000 victimes dont la population connaît le lieu 
de leur exécution. Les précédentes évaluations variaient entre 500.000 et 
800.000 victimes, issues de la minorité tutsi ou des modérés hutu, 
massacrés par des extrémistes hutu. - D'autre part, le 9 décembre, six 
personnes condamnées pour génocide par le Tribunal pénal international pour 
le Rwanda, dont l'ancien Premier ministre Jean Kambanda, ont été 
transférées au Mali, où elles purgeront leur peine. Le Mali, le Bénin et le 
Swaziland ont signé des accords avec le TPIR pour héberger des condamnés du 
tribunal dans celles de leurs prisons qui rencontrent les normes 
internationales.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 11 décembre 2001)

* Rwanda. Genocide convicts sent to Mali  -  The first six prisoners to 
have been convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda have 
arrived in Mali where they will be serving out their sentences. Amongst the 
six former senior officials are Jean Kambanda, the former prime minister 
and head of the Rwandan Government and Jean-Paul Akayesu, former mayor of 
the Rwandan town of Taba. All of the convicts lost their appeals and will 
serve their sentences in a specially modified jail in the Malian capital, 
Bamako. The prisoners will complete their terms in the west African country 
and, while they will be held under Malian law, the International Criminal 
Tribunal will supervise the sentences. According to Kingsley Moghalu, 
spokesman for the UN tribunal, the security situation and standards of 
jails in Rwanda meant that the convicted could not serve their sentences in 
the country where the crimes were committed. However, he did not rule out 
the possibility of future convicts being sent back to Rwanda. The tribunal 
has been criticised in the past for its lengthy and costly system of trying 
those accused of crimes against humanity in Rwanda. However, Mr Moghalu 
said this latest move represented a new phase that will see those that took 
part in the 1994 genocide punished for their acts. He felt that this was a 
historic move in the creation of a culture of accountability amongst those 
in Africa that, up until now, had considered themselves untouchable.   (BBC 
News, UK, 10 December 2001)

* Sénégal. Les évêques et la Casamance  -  Les évêques de la Conférence 
épiscopale du Sénégal, de la Guinée-Bissau, du Cap Vert et de la Mauritanie 
ont tenu leur première session pastorale à Sindone en Casamance. Par le 
choix de ce lieu, ils ont voulu donner un signal aux autorités sénégalaises 
et aux responsables du Mouvement (séparatiste) des forces démocratiques de 
Casamance (MFDC) en vue d'encourager les deux parties à parler vraiment de 
paix. Dans leur communiqué, les évêques ont lancé un appel aux deux parties 
pour qu'elles se retrouvent autour d'une table de négociation en vue d'un 
dialogue et d'une écoute réciproque. Ils ont aussi invité l'abbé Diamacoune 
à quitter le mouvement rebelle, estimant que la place d'un prêtre n'était 
pas dans un mouvement utilisant la lutte armée. Pour sa part, l'abbé 
Diamacoune a indiqué que son retrait brusque causerait plus de mal que de 
bien.   (D'après Fides, Rome, 7 décembre 2001)

* Sierra Leone. Annulation de dette  -  Le Club de Paris a accepté de 
restructurer la dette publique extérieure de la Sierra Leone en annulant 
environ 72 millions de dollars au titre de celle-ci. "Nous espérons que 
l'accord entrera en vigueur au début de l'an prochain", a indiqué le 
ministère des Finances le 6 décembre. La restructuration devra aussi 
réduire de près de $180 millions à environ $45 millions les paiements de 
service de la dette aux créanciers du Club de Paris entre le 1er octobre 
2001 et le 30 septembre 2004. Le but est de permettre au pays d'allouer 
plus d'argent aux secteurs prioritaires comme la santé, l'éducation et 
l'agriculture. La Sierra Leone émerge lentement de dix années d'une guerre 
brutale entre rebelles et forces gouvernementales, qui a laissé son 
infrastructure économique, politique et sociale en lambeaux.   (IRIN, 
Abidjan, 6 décembre 2001)

* Sierra Leone. Re-building a nation  -  3 December: The head of the UN 
mission in Sierra Leone calls for more international assistance to support 
the reintegration and rehabilitation of former fighters. 4 December: The 
German Development Agency (GTZ), has opened a technical skills centre for 
former fighters in northern Kambia District. 5 December: The Independent 
Media Commission has scrutinised the country's 60 newspapers and approved 
the publication of twenty-one of them.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 6 December 2001)

* Somalie. Vers une catastrophe humanitaire  -  Depuis quatre ans, le 
sud-ouest de la Somalie n'a connu que des pluies dérisoires. Les cultures 
ont séché sur pied et la moitié du bétail serait mort. 800.000 personnes 
basculent dans la disette. Les nomades aux troupeaux décimés ont quitté 
leurs villages pour s'entasser à Lugh, où se trouvent quelques rares 
centres nutritionnels. La sécheresse n'explique pas seule l'hécatombe. Le 
gouvernement national de transition, mis en place à Mogadiscio à l'été 
2000, n'a jamais reçu de la communauté internationale plus que des 
encouragements. Il s'est trouvé acculé, pour survivre, à inonder le pays de 
shillings fraîchement imprimés, entraînant une dévaluation qui a divisé par 
trois la valeur de la monnaie en l'espace d'un an, et d'autant le pouvoir 
d'achat des nomades dans les pays voisins. Enfin, l'opprobre jeté sur la 
Somalie par les Etats-Unis, qui accusent des groupuscules islamistes d'être 
les complices de Ben Laden, a fini par précipiter le pays dans l'abîme. Le 
gel des avoirs de la compagnie Al-Barakaat par les autorités américaines, a 
mis fin à son activité de transferts de fonds de la diaspora vers la 
Somalie, estimés à près d'un milliard d'euros par an.   (D'après Le Monde, 
France, 9 décembre 2001)

* Somalia. US military in talks with Somali rebels  -  US military 
personnel have visited Somalia for the first time since their ill-fated 
peace keeping operation ended seven years ago, to investigate possible 
targets in the wider war on terrorism. According to UN sources, the 
nine-man US team held talks on 9 December with opposition warlords in 
Baidoa, south-western Somalia, focusing on the activities of al-Itihaad 
al-Islamiya (Islamic Unity), a Somali group listed by Washington as a 
foreign terrorist organisation. US intelligence is convinced that al-Qaida 
camps in Somalia are still active and that the country is a prime 
destination for any of Bin Laden's followers able to escape from 
Afghanistan along the mule trails of southern Pakistan. An intelligence 
source said: "They are still active there. We're looking very hard at the 
islands off the coast near the Kenyan border, for example, and the Indian 
Ocean off that coast is being intensively patrolled, mostly by German 
ships" (The same day, IRIN reports that fears of an imminent American air 
strike is gripping Somalia).   (The Guardian, UK, 11 December 2001)

* Somalie. Cible de l'antiterrorisme  -  L'Italie pourrait envoyer des 
troupes en Somalie, s'il s'avère que son ancienne colonie héberge des 
cellules terroristes liées à Oussama Ben Laden, indique Le Figaro le 7 
décembre. Des agents des services secrets italiens se trouveraient déjà en 
Somalie aux côtés de leurs homologues américains et français, et l'Italie 
s'apprêterait à lancer en janvier une opération aéronavale visant à 
"neutraliser" des cellules et des camps d'entraînement de Ben Laden en 
Somalie. -La Somalie pourrait être une des prochaines cibles des 
Etats-Unis, note le même journal le 11 décembre. Le paria de la Corne de 
l'Afrique retient particulièrement l'attention de Washington. 
Diplomatiquement, c'est probablement la cible la plus facile pour les 
Etats-Unis: le gouvernement y est embryonnaire et peu de pays sont prêts à 
le soutenir pour protester contre une intervention. Les services de 
renseignements américains auraient identifié des camps d'entraînement 
terroristes dans le sud du pays, à la frontière du Kenya. Des navires de 
guerre américains patrouillent déjà au large des côtes somaliennes pour 
intercepter des responsables d'Al Qaida qui parviendraient à s'échapper 
d'Afghanistan. - Selon la presse de Nairobi, les forces alliées engagées 
dans la lutte contre le terrorisme international ont demandé à pouvoir 
utiliser les bases militaires du territoire kényan pour poursuivre en 
Somalie, et peut-être au Soudan, la chasse aux hommes d'Al Qaida, rapporte 
l'agence Misna le 12 décembre. Le gouvernement kényan aurait garanti sa 
collaboration, mais uniquement en échange de financements plus importants 
de la part des organismes internationaux (FMI et Banque 
mondiale).   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 12 décembre 2001)

* Somalia. Warlords snub talks  -  13 December: Some key Somali faction 
leaders have announced they will boycott peace talks due to start in Kenya, 
today, unless the interim administration renounces its claims of being the 
legitimate government. The warlords are part of the Somali Reconciliation 
and Reconstruction Council, SRRC, a group that is supported by Ethiopia. 
But the Somali prime minister after a visit to Addis Ababa recently, said 
that his Ethiopian counterpart had promised to ensure that militia leaders 
opposed to the interim administration attend the reconciliation meeting. 
This meeting comes in the wake of a visit to Baidoa in southern Somalia by 
a military delegation from the United States. Ethiopia has consistently 
accused Somalia of supporting al-Itihad al-Islamia, an armed fundamentalist 
Islamic group, which operates inside Ethiopia and which the United States 
says has links to Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network. The interim 
government has always denied the claims. A senior US official now in South 
Africa says Washington is working with Somalia's neighbours to identify 
potential terrorist networks.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 13 December 2001)

Weekly anb1213.txt - #6/7