Weekly anb01108.txt #9

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

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 10-01-2002      PART #8/9

* Soudan. Alliance des rebelles  -  Le 7 janvier, les chefs des deux 
principaux groupes rebelles au Soudan ont annoncé qu'ils unissaient leurs 
forces en vue d'établir une plus grande autonomie dans le sud du pays 
qu'ils contrôlent. John Garang, chef de l'armée populaire de libération du 
Soudan (SPLA), et le commandant Riek Machar, chef du Front démocratique 
populaire du Soudan, ont signé cet accord à Nairobi, Kenya. Depuis dix ans, 
la rébellion sudiste n'a jamais pu se rassembler en raison de différends 
politiques et tribaux. Un porte-parole du SPLA a précisé que l'accord 
signifiait la cessation immédiate des hostilités entre les deux groupes, 
qui vont désormais se fondre en une "entité unique" combattant les 
autorités de Khartoum. En 1997, le commandant Machar avait fait partie des 
six chefs rebelles à signer un traité de paix avec le président soudanais 
el-Béchir; mais il devait rompre son engagement en février dernier, 
affirmant que le traité n'avait pas été respecté. Ce dernier prévoyait un 
référendum sur l'indépendance dans le Sud pour le 21 avril 2001, qui n'a 
finalement jamais eu lieu.   (AP, 7 janvier 2002)

* Sudan. Sudan-USA aid efforts under way  -  A senior Sudanese official 
says local and international teams have begun assessing the humanitarian 
needs in both government and rebel-held areas. The head of the Sudanese 
Humanitarian Aid Commission, Khalid Faraj, said his own workers had begun a 
joint operation in government-controlled areas together with a team from 
the United States Agency for International Development. Another group from 
the United Nations had started similar work in areas controlled by the 
rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army. Mr Faraj said the two teams would 
prepare a joint report on the outcome of a two-week survey which covers 
agriculture, health and education. Correspondents say the coordinated 
humanitarian effort is part of an American initiative to end the 
long-running civil war in Sudan.   (BBC News, UK, 3 January 2002)

* Sudan. Rebel groups merge  -  Sudan's main rebel movement has joined 
forces with a rival militia group to pool resources in their 19-year war 
against the government in Khartoum. "We are one and the same again," said 
John Garang, leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLM/SPLA). Mr 
Garang's movement is to merge with the Sudan People's Defence Force (SPDF), 
led by Riek Macher, which split from the SPLM in 1991 amid factional 
fighting. Sudan has been wracked by civil war since 1983. Rebel groups from 
the Christian and animist south have not only fought the Muslim government 
in Khartoum, but have also frequently clashed among themselves. Mr Garang 
told the BBC the two groups had agreed on "collective leadership" and would 
elect a leader at a convention to be held this year. Mr Garang said he did 
not believe Mr Macher's group would again seal its own peace agreement with 
the government, which it did in 1997. "You are talking about the past, of 
course nobody can foretell the future," he said after the deal was 
announced in Nairobi.   (BBC News, UK, 7 January 2002)

* Soudan. Visite de Clare Short  -  Le secrétaire d'Etat britannique au 
Développement international, Clare Short, se trouve actuellement au Soudan 
pour une visite de quatre jours, destinée à encourager les efforts de paix 
dans le sud du pays. Son département a indiqué, dans un communiqué publié à 
Londres, que Mme Short doit se rendre à Khartoum, à Juba et à Rumbek, où 
elle va rencontrer des représentants du gouvernement, des factions 
belligérantes, des responsables de l'Eglise et des représentants de l'Onu 
et des ONG. Mme Short est le premier membre du gouvernement britannique à 
se rendre au Soudan depuis plus de 10 ans.   (PANA, Sénégal, 8 janvier 2002)

* Sudan. IGAD meeting  -  8 January: African leaders are expected to begin 
arriving in Sudan on 9 January to take part in a regional summit later this 
week. The meeting of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, IGAD, 
will concentrate on regional issues, including ways of ending the conflicts 
in Sudan and Somalia. Foreign ministers of the seven member states, who are 
already in the capital, Khartoum, were reported to have been discussing 
recommendations for establishing mechanism to fight terrorism. Sudan and 
Somalia have been accused by the United States of supporting, or harbouring 
groups that support terrorism. The meeting will also be attended by 
officials from the United Nations. Those attending the summit include the 
British International Development Secretary, Clare Short -- the first 
British minister to visit Sudan in more than ten years. Member states of 
the IGAD are: Sudan, Somalia, Uganda, Kenya, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti. 9 
January: Ministers attending the meeting have approved a joint initiative 
to fight terrorism. Drafted by Sudan, the proposal will now be put forward 
to a summit of all the seven heads of state who are expected to meet 
tomorrow. There are still a few points to be ironed out, especially in 
relation to the definition of terrorism.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 10 January 2002)

* Tanzania. Protests at Burundi shelling  -  Tanzania's Government has sent 
an official letter of protest to Bujumbura after the Burundi civil war 
spilled across the border. Three Tanzanian villages have reportedly been 
shelled but there is no information on any casualties. The affected 
villages are in a remote area and details may take some time to emerge. 
Ethnic Hutu rebels have been fighting a Tutsi-dominated government in 
Burundi since 1993. Tanzania has called on Burundi to confine the fighting 
to its side of their border.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 5 January 2002)

* Tchad. Signature de paix  -  Selon Le Soir (Belgique) du 27 décembre, le 
Mouvement pour la démocratie et la justice au Tchad (MDJT), principal 
mouvement rebelle tchadien, a décidé d'engager des négociations de paix 
avec le gouvernement de N'Djamena. Cette décision est intervenue "en 
réponse à l'appel du dirigeant libyen Mouammar Kadhafi", explique un 
communiqué du mouvement. Le MDJT harcèle depuis octobre 1998 l'armée 
tchadienne dans le massif désertique du Tibesti (nord), aux confins 
tchado-libyens. -Le 5 janvier, le secrétaire du comité populaire général 
libyen de l'unité africaine, le Dr Ali Turiki, s'est félicité des premiers 
résultats des pourparlers entre le gouvernement tchadien et le MDJT, qui 
ont démarré le 3 janvier à Tripoli. Il a ajouté que la Libye a soumis aux 
deux parties des propositions bien déterminées en vue de réaliser la paix 
et la sécurité au Tchad, sans toutefois les préciser. -Le 7 janvier, le 
gouvernement tchadien et le MDJT ont signé un accord de paix. Selon M. 
Turiki, ils se sont mis d'accord sur un cessez-le-feu immédiat, l'amnistie 
générale pour les rebelles, et la mise sur pied d'une commission chargée de 
superviser la mise en oeuvre de l'accord. Selon l'agence libyenne JANA, les 
parties ont décidé également la participation des rebelles aux institutions 
gouvernementales et à une commission militaire chargée de déterminer la 
localisation exacte des combattants.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 7 
janvier 2002)

* Chad. Peace deal signed  -  The Chadian Government and rebels have signed 
a Libyan-brokered peace deal, ending three years of civil war. The accord 
provides for an immediate ceasefire, release of prisoners, rebel 
integration into the national army and government jobs for leaders of the 
Movement for Democracy and Justice in Chad (MDJT). The deal was signed by 
MDJT leader, former Defence Minister Youssef Togoimi, and Chadian Interior 
and Security Minister Abderaman Moussa after three days of negotiations in 
Tripoli. The MDJT is based in the northern Tibesti region, bordering Libya. 
Libyan African Unity Minister Ali Abdesselam Triki also signed the peace 
document on behalf of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who sponsored the 
talks. Libya is responsible for ensuring that the peace deal is 
respected.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 7 January 2002)

* Togo. Detention of political opposition representative continues  -  The 
detention of lawyer Yawovi Agboyibo, leader of the opposition Committee of 
Action for Renewal (CAR) party, continues. He was sentenced to 6 months 
imprisonment, after being found guilty of "defamation and release of false 
information". Agboyibo's period of imprisonment should end on 3 February, 
he is however now threatened with a second more serious charge. In fact the 
investigation of the second inquiry filed against him last September by the 
Togolese courts continues, following the testimony of a repented criminal, 
who accused the CAR leader of having instigated a criminal group to carry 
out raids, in the area of Sedome (Southern Togo) five years ago. As 
reported by opposition sources, the judges are probably awaiting for his 
release to arrest him for the second time and begin another trial. This way 
the politician would be definitively out of the scene for the parliamentary 
elections, set for 10 March. Agboyibo was brought to judgment based on the 
complaints presented by Prime Minister Messan Agbeyome Kodjo.   (MISNA, 
Italy, 7 January 2002)

* Tunisie. Le "juge rebelle" révoqué  -  Le 29 décembre à Tunis, a été 
annoncée la révocation du juge Mokhtar Yahyaoui. Officiellement, c'est le 
conseil de discipline des magistrats de Tunisie qui a sanctionné ce juge de 
48 ans qui avait osé dénoncer, en juillet, "l'absence totale 
d'indépendance" de la magistrature tunisienne et souligné le "harcèlement" 
et les "intimidations" dont les juges sont l'objet. Mokhtar Yahyaoui 
bénéficie d'un large soutien parmi ses pairs ainsi qu'à l'étranger. Il 
préside le Centre pour l'indépendance de la justice en Tunisie, récemment 
créé.   (Le Monde, France, 2 janvier 2002)

WEEKLY anb0110.txt - End of #8/9