Weekly anb01243.txt #7

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

_____________________________________________________________
WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 24-01-2002      PART #3/7

* Côte d'Ivoire. The big four meet  -  22 January: A much talked about 
meeting between the dominant figures in Ivorian politics has taken place in 
Yamoussoukro. President Laurent Gbagbo met with former prime minister 
Alassane Ouattara, former military ruler General Robert Guei and deposed 
President Henri Konan Bedie. Each were reported to have four advisers 
sitting behind them. There was no agenda to the talks and the issues which 
have proved so divisive in recent Ivorian politics are unlikely to be 
resolved. 23 January: The talks go into a second day. No statement has been 
made so far.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 23 January 2002)

* Côte d'Ivoire. Sommet des 4 grands  -  Le sommet de deux jours entre les 
quatre "frères ennemis" de la politique ivoirienne s'est achevé le 23 
janvier sans annonce concrète mais sur fond de congratulations. Pendant 
deux jours, le président Gbagbo, le général Gueï, l'ancien président Bédié 
et l'ancien Premier ministre Ouattara se sont retrouvés dans la capitale 
Yamoussokro pour mettre à plat les problèmes qui minent la Côte d'Ivoire 
depuis deux ans. Ils ont laissé entendre que des "voies de solution" 
avaient été trouvées pour apaiser les tensions, mais se sont gardés de 
s'engager plus avant.   (Libération, France, 24 janvier 2002)

* Egypt. Clerics from 3 faiths confer over Mideast crisis  -  20 January: 
Senior Jewish, Muslim and Christian clerics have opened talks in 
Alexandria, on the Israeli-Palestinian crisis. The representatives are 
meeting to try to come to a common declaration about how to end 
Palestinian-Israeli violence.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 21 January 2002)

* Egypt. France to import Egyptian gas  -  Egypt has made another push into 
the European gas market with a 20-year deal to sell liquefied natural gas 
to France. The contract with state-owned Gas de France amounts to about 10% 
of France's annual gas consumption. Gaz de France has signed a provisional 
deal with four firms -- including the UK's BG Group -- under which they 
will build and operate a $900m natural gas liquefaction plant at Idku, near 
Alexandria. "This is a big step forward for Egypt and good diversification 
of gas supply for Europe," said Robin Baker, head of the oil and gas 
division at French bank Societe Generale. The other three firms taking part 
in the Idku venture are Edison International of Italy, Egyptian General 
Petroleum Corporation and Egyptian Natural Gas Holding.   (BBC News, UK, 21 
January 2002)

* Eritrea/Ethiopia. Move to prevent Horn war reigniting  -  17 January: The 
United Nations is sending a mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea to try to 
prevent a forthcoming ruling on their long-running border dispute leading 
to a resumption of hostilities. An international commission is expected to 
give a final ruling next month on demarcating the disputed border line, 
which led to an armed conflict lasting for nearly two years. "It's a tense 
and important moment in the peace process and we need to make sure this 
goes right", a UN envoy said.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 17 January 2002)

* Ethiopia. Government urges measures to avoid flood damage  -  The 
Ethiopian government has called for an early warning system to help avoid 
catastrophic floods that claim hundreds of lives each year. Mesfin Tegene, 
the deputy minister of water resources says: "An area similar to the size 
of the Netherlands is severely damaged each year. This is of great concern 
to the Ethiopian government.As far as water resources are concerned this is 
one of the most important issues that Ethiopia must address. This is a very 
costly problem. The main reason for an early warning system is to protect 
the lives of people. The second is to protect this area as many investors 
in the country are currently settling there." He said the flooding mainly 
occurs in the Awash basin --which starts around 100 kilometres west of the 
capital Addis Ababa and stretches all the way to Djibouti. The damage is 
mainly in the Afar region of Ethiopia and to the communities who live along 
the banks of the river. The flooding -- which usually happens between June 
and August -- also causes immeasurable damage to agricultural land and 
infrastructure as well as leaving hundreds homeless.   (IRIN, 16 January 2002)

* Ethiopia. Massive animal census to be launched  -  One of the world's 
largest animal surveys will be launched in Ethiopia next month. For the 
first time ever, all the animals in the country are to be counted as part 
of a massive census by the Ethiopian Central Statistics Authority (CSA). 
More than 15,000 people are to take part in the survey that is expected to 
last 10 days. In that time, statistical experts are to travel to all parts 
of the country, using aeroplanes to get to even the remotest parts to 
record animal numbers. Livestock is a vital component of the Ethiopian 
economy, with hides and skins second only to coffee in terms of exports 
contributing tens of millions of dollars to the country. Girma Tadesse, the 
head of Natural Resource and Agricultural Statistics Department at the CSA 
said the census was vital for the future development of the 
country.   (IRIN, 17 January 2002)

* Ethiopie/Erythrée. Frontière tracée par l'Onu  -  Le Conseil de sécurité 
des Nations unies a donné son feu vert à une mission de délimitation de la 
frontière entre l'Ethiopie et l'Erythrée, conformément à l'accord de paix 
signé par les deux pays en 2000, mettant fin à trois ans de guerre 
particulièrement meurtrière. Le tracé fixé par la commission sera 
"définitif" et engagera les deux parties.   (Le Figaro, France, 18 janvier 
2002)

* The Gambia. Poor turnout in polls  -  17 January: Some Gambians have been 
going to the polls, today, in parliamentary elections but the main 
opposition party is boycotting them. The boycott by Ousainou Darboe's 
United Democratic Party paves the way for a landslide victory for President 
Jammeh's party. The ruling Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and 
Construction is running unopposed in 33 constituencies. Mr Darboe has 
accused the government of fraud. 18 January: President Yahya Jammeh has 
predictably sealed his hold on power with a landslide victory in 
parliamentary polls boycotted by much of the opposition. The president's 
ruling Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction took 45 of the 
49 parliamentary seats. Voter turnout for the elections was much lower than 
for last October's presidential elections, which President Jammeh won 
comfortably. Mr Darboe pulled out of the parliamentary elections, accusing 
the government of rigging the vote by transferring massive numbers of 
voters between electoral lists of different constituencies. The opposition 
also accuse the Mr Jammeh of fixing the presidential elections. President 
Jammeh, 36, first seized power in a military coup in 1994, and has made it 
clear he favours one-party rule.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 19 January 2002)

* Gambie. Elections législatives  -  Le parti APRC (Alliance pour la 
réorientation poltique et la Constitution) du président El Hadj Yahya 
Jammeh a confirmé sa majorité aux élections législatives qui se sont 
déroulées le 17 janvier en Gambie. L'APRC a remporté 45 des 49 sièges de 
l'Assemblée nationale. La plupart des partis d'opposition avaient boycotté 
le scrutin. Le début de la prochaine législature est prévu pour le 25 
janvier. Le président Jammeh, arrivé au pouvoir en 1994 suite à un coup 
d'Etat, a été confirmé à la tête du pays en octobre dernier, grâce à des 
élections présidentielles contestées.   (Misna, Italie, 19 janvier 2002)

* Great Lakes. British and French Foreign Ministers in the Great Lakes 
region  -  22 January: "The volcano disaster could help bring an end to its 
three-year war", UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has said. Arriving in the 
capital Kinshasa for a long-planned peace mission, Mr Straw said the 
humanitarian crisis following the eruption highlighted the need for 
co-operation and an end to the fighting. Mr Straw and his French 
counterpart, Hubert Vedrine, have adjusted their agenda to include the 
issue of getting emergency aid to the victims of the Nyiragongo volcano. 
During their visit they are considering a trip to the worst affected town 
of Goma and surrounding areas, where the homes of hundreds of thousands 
were destroyed. From Kinshasa, the two foreign ministers have moved on to 
Rwanda. Following the visits to Congo and Rwanda, both ministers admitted 
they had made no progress in attempts to break the deadlock in Congo's 
civil war. They are now moving on to Burundi. 23 January: The Foreign 
Ministers have been visiting Uganda on the last stage of their joint 
mission. Despite a series of frank discussions with leaders in the region, 
there is little sign that the mission has achieved any 
breakthrough.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 23 January 2002)

* Grands Lacs. Voyage conjoint de Védrine et Straw  -  21 janvier. Du 21 au 
23 janvier, indique La Libre Belgique, les ministres français et 
britannique des Affaires étrangères, Hubert Védrine et Jack Straw, se 
rendront conjointement dans la région des Grands Lacs, passant au Congo, au 
Rwanda, au Burundi et en Ouganda. Les deux ministres aimeraient convaincre 
les pays de la région d'appliquer intégralement l'Accord de Lusaka, signé 
en 1999 mais suspendu depuis, et de trouver le moyen de neutraliser les 
rebelles hutu hostiles au gouvernement de Kigali, afin d'ôter toute 
justification à la présence de troupes rwandaises au Congo. Les deux pays 
sont d'accord sur les principes d'un règlement de la crise des Grands Lacs: 
respect de l'intégrité territoriale du Congo, déploiement d'une force de 
l'Onu, retrait des forces étrangères, démobilisation des factions et, à 
terme, conférence internationale. La principale nuance entre Paris et 
Londres porte sur la superficie de la zone tampon démilitarisée à établir 
le long de la frontière orientale du Congo. Une nuance d'importance puisque 
le maintien d'une zone trop vaste renforcerait le partage de fait du Congo. 
- 24 janvier. Après la tournée des deux ministres qui s'est achevée hier, 
les observateurs parlent d'un bilan plutôt décevant. Aucun des 
protagonistes qu'ils ont rencontrés n'a fait d'ouverture. Les blocages ont 
persisté, surtout au Rwanda. Cependant, le rapprochement des politiques 
africaines de Londres et de Paris pourrait avoir une influence positive sur 
la situation en Afrique centrale, où les antagonismes entre les deux pays 
ont parfois été désastreux dans le passé.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 
24 janvier 2002)

* Kenya. Amélioration des relations extérieures  -  Le nouvel ambassadeur 
de la Grande-Bretagne au Kenya, Sir Edward Clay, a promis d'insuffler un 
nouveau souffle aux relations, restées longtemps assez tièdes, entre 
Londres et Nairobi. Ces relations s'étaient dégradées depuis que les 
Britanniques avaient commencé à insister pour que le Kenya procède à des 
réformes économiques et politiques. Le pays est privé d'aide depuis onze 
ans. Mais selon la presse locale du 19 janvier, M. Clay a affirmé que le 
gouvernement britannique est déterminé à apporter son assistance aux 
projets communautaires au Kenya afin d'améliorer la vie des populations. - 
D'autre part, le 17 juin, lors de sa visite au pays, le ministre français 
délégué à la Coopération, Charles Josselin, a qualifié le Kenya de 
partenaire privilégié de la coopération française avec les pays de 
l'Afrique de l'Est. M. Josselin a indiqué que la France souhaite renforcer 
sa présence en Afrique de l'Est en utilisant le Kenya comme porte d'entrée, 
dans le cadre de sa nouvelle politique africaine qui englobe tout le 
continent. Les deux pays ont signé deux conventions dans lesquelles la 
France va débloquer 2,5 milliards de shillings kényans.   (D'après PANA, 
Sénégal, 18-20 janvier 2002)

* Kenya. Bribery drives up the cost of living  -  Two-thirds of 
interactions with Kenya's public institutions involve paying a bribe, or 
costly consequences for declining to do so, according to Transparency 
International, the Berlin-based corruption watchdog. Monthly bribery 
payments are equivalent to a 31 per cent increase in the cost of living for 
ordinary households, Transparency International said in a report published 
on 18 January. The report, the Kenya Urban Bribery Index, is the first 
attempt in Africa to quantify the extent of bribery in a country that is 
synonymous with systematic graft -- and a case study for international 
donors' efforts to tie aid flows to improved governance. While the 
findings, based on interviews with 1,200 Kenyan urban dwellers, contain few 
surprises to people who face daily requests for kitu kidogo, or "something 
small", the group hopes the study provides a solid statistical basis for 
anti-corruption campaigners to decide where to focus their efforts. "The 
research of corruption is in its infancy and a lot of the discourse has 
been based on perceptions," said David Ndii, who conducted the research. 
One important conclusion, he said, was that the cost of rampant petty 
corruption was "many times bigger" than that of top-level scams, although 
it was also clear that organisations such as the Kenya police had 
institutionalised low-level graft, with senior policemen getting a share of 
shakedowns.   (Financial Times, UK, 21 January 2002)

Weely news - anb0124.txt - #3/7