Weekly anb02213.txt #7

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

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 21-02-2002      PART #3/7

* Congo (RDC). Dozens killed in clashes  -  Reports from Congo say dozens 
of people have been killed in tribal clashes in the north-east. Rebel 
groups which control the area and the Ugandan army which has troops 
stationed there, say the fighting has been between the Hema and Lendu 
tribes. Up to 200 people are thought to have been killed in the latest 
clashes. The Rally for Congolese Democracy-Kisangani/Liberation Movement 
(RCD/ML) says that their troops are now in control of the 
situation.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 18 February 2002)

* Congo (RDC). Leader des Banyamulenge attaqué  -  Le lundi matin, 18 
février, des hommes du Rassemblement congolais pour la démocratie (RCD, 
soutenu par le Rwanda) ont lancé une attaque contre un leader tutsi 
congolais des Banyamulenge, retranché avec plusieurs centaines d'hommes 
dans les hauts plateaux du Sud-Kivu, place forte des Banyamulenge, a-t-on 
appris de sources concordantes. Ancien chef de bataillon du RCD, le 
commandant Masunzu était depuis plusieurs semaines considéré comme 
"déserteur" par les autorités de la rébellion. Les combats ont provoqué le 
déplacement des populations des villages de Gaseke, Rutigita et Kumani. Le 
19 février, l'agence AFP annonçait la mort d'au moins 9 personnes, 6 
militaires du RCD et 3 soldats de Masunzu. Ce dernier serait maintenant 
retranché vers la localité de Mumasha, dans les montagnes, à quatre jours 
de marche d'Uvira.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 19 février 2002)

* Congo (RDC). Dialogue en péril  -  Le dialogue intercongolais qui devrait 
s'ouvrir le 25 février à Sun City en Afrique du Sud est de plus en plus mis 
à mal. Un important obstacle: les listes des délégués. Lors d'une 
conférence de presse, le dimanche 17 février à Kinshasa, l'opposition non 
armée a annoncé qu'elle n'irait pas à Sun City, "sauf modification ultime 
des conditions de participation que lui impose le bureau du facilitateur". 
En cause: l'ajout, à la liste des partis politiques représentés dans la 
délégation de l'opposition non armée, d'une vingtaine d'autres formations 
considérées comme favorables au gouvernement. Le 19 février à Paris, 
Jean-Pierre Bemba, le chef du Mouvement de libération du Congo (MLC), s'est 
joint à cette prise de position. "Plusieurs sont des faux opposants et des 
alliés du président Joseph Kabila", a-t-il affirmé, déclarant que son 
mouvement n'irait pas en Afrique du Sud dans ces conditions. Il a expliqué 
cette absence par la mauvaise définition de la qualité des participants et 
du projet d'ordre du jour. Mercredi 20, à Bruxelles, M. Bemba et sa 
délégation se sont entretenus avec le Premier ministre belge accompagné de 
son ministre des Affaires étrangères. Au sortir de l'entretien, les parties 
se sont déclarées optimistes sur un règlement rapide du problème. Les 
chancelleries s'activent maintenant pour obtenir un compromis. Le Conseil 
de sécurité de l'Onu a demandé à toutes les parties de se rendre à Sun City 
dans un esprit constructif.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 21 février 2002)

* Congo (RDC). Towards the Inter-congolese Dialogue  -  19 February: 
Jean-Pierre Bemba, leader of the rebel Congolese Liberation Movement (MLC), 
has said that he will not go to South Africa next week for talks intended 
to bring political stability to the Democratic Republic of Congo. The talks 
are due to include the government, rebel groups and the political 
opposition. The South African Government has set aside 45 days for the 
talks in the resort town of Sun City.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 20 February 2002)

* Congo (RDC). Goma: Volcano emergency over, rebuilding must start  -  "The 
emergency is over. Thanks to international aid we now have sufficient food, 
water and medicine to meet the needs of the people. But the problem now is 
rebuilding the town". Fr Patxi Otondo, a White Father or Missionary of 
Africa, parish priest at Our Lady of Africa parish in west Goma, refers to 
the situation in the Congolese city a month after the disastrous eruption 
of the Mt Nyiragongo on January 18). The city was devastated by 200 million 
cubic meters of lava spat out by the volcano's two craters. Twelve persons 
were swallowed up by the boiling mass; another sixty died in the explosion 
of a fuel deposit, sacked in the chaos of the aftermath when police lost 
all control of public order. Forty schools (mostly church-run) were 
destroyed or severely damaged, leaving 24,000 children without lessons and 
700 teachers without work. Twenty percent of the city's business 
activities, workshops, shops, fuel deposits were destroyed by the erupting 
volcano or by looting. Lava also covered 1,800 meters of airport runway, 
leaving only a minor runway open for small craft. "We still need 
international help for rebuilding" Fr Ottondo tells Fides. "The situation 
is complicated because Goma is held by guerilla forces not recognised by 
the international community. Rebuilding requires massive investments, but 
no one will think about it until the political situation is clarified". 
Another source of concern is that Mt Nyiragongo may not have finished its 
activity. The International Red Cross Federation has warned that there may 
be another eruption, with the explosion of a vast quantity of natural gas 
resulting in a mortal cloud of carbon dioxide hanging over the city. Goma 
has 500,000 indwellers whose lives are still threatened by the volcano. The 
Church mobilized its aid forces immediately calling in Caritas offices, 
Medical Centres, the Religious Superiors Union, School Coordination office, 
Radio Maria Malkia wa Amani, coordinated by Fr J. M. Balegamire, head of 
the archdiocesan Crisis Committee. The eruption tragedy demonstrated the 
strong sense of national unity among the Congolese whose country is divided 
up and controlled by guerilla groups and foreign armies.   (Fides, Vatican 
City, 20 February 2002)

* Djibouti. Menace d'une catastrophe écologique  -  Djibouti est menacé par 
une catastrophe écologique à cause de fuites, dans le port, de pesticides 
provenant de conteneurs arrivés de Grande-Bretagne, a indiqué la FAO à Rome 
le 20 février. L'organisation des Nations unies a appelé à une intervention 
urgente de la communauté internationale pour éviter une contamination 
supplémentaire du port et des personnes qui y travaillent. Le risque est 
que les pluies ne propagent le produit. S'il venait à se déverser dans la 
mer, l'impact sur la faune serait très grave.   (La Croix, France, 21 
février 2002)

* Egypt. Hundreds die in holiday train fire  -  20 February: A passenger 
train crowded with Egyptians leaving Cairo for a holiday weekend caught 
fire as it headed south early today killing at least 300 people, police 
said. The death toll, earlier reported at 100, rose as rescuers searched 
charred carriages. Egypt's Middle East News Agency reported the cause of 
the fire was a burst gas cylinder used for cooking in the train cafe. Each 
carriage designed to accommodate about 150 passengers was crammed with some 
300 passengers, police said, meaning that there were more than 3,000 people 
were aboard. Police said the fire broke out about 2am on the train from 
Cairo to Luxor, about 300 miles south. Several other carriages caught fire 
and the train travelled in flames for four miles before finally stopping 
near Ayyat. In addition to the dead, 65 people were being treated for 
injuries, police said. Said Fuad Amin, a 22-year-old construction worker, 
jumped from the burning train and was being treated for a broken hand and a 
suspected concussion in Ayyat Hospital. He told The Associated Press the 
train was so full that he and six friends had been unable to get seats and 
were sitting on the floor. The first sign of trouble, he said, were shouts 
and screams he at first attributed to a fight. Then he saw flames and 
people running, including a women whose clothes were on fire. (Editor's 
update -- 21 February: The death toll is now given as at least 373.)   (The 
Independent, UK, 20 February 2002)

* Egypte. Incendie d'un train: plus de 370 morts  -  Le 20 février, tôt le 
matin, un train bondé de monde quittant la capitale pour un week-end férié, 
a pris feu alors qu'il faisait route vers le sud. C'est non loin d'Al 
Ayatt, à environ 70 km au sud du Caire, que s'est déroulé cette catastrophe 
ferroviaire, la plus grosse jamais vécue en Egypte. Elle a fait au moins 
373 morts, selon le sous-secrétaire d'Etat à la Santé. Le feu a pris dans 
un des wagons, dû à l'explosion d'une bonbonne de gaz dans le 
wagon-restaurant ou à un petit réchaud utilisé par un voyageur, et s'est 
rapidement communiqué à d'autres voitures. Sept des seize wagons ont été 
détruits. De nombreux passagers de ce train reliant Le Caire à Assouan, 
retournaient dans leur village d'origine pour passer les fêtes d'Aïd 
el-Kebir, la "fête du sacrifice", considérée comme la plus importante du 
calendrier islamique.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 21 février 2002)

* Eritrea/Ethiopia. Religious leaders meet  -  13 February: Religious 
leaders from Ethiopia arrive in Asmara, Eritrea's capital for peace talks 
with their Eritrea counterparts. Although the talks, mediated by the NGO, 
Norwegian Church Aid, have taken place in their countries, this is the 
first time the religious leaders are meeting in each other's capitals. This 
move represents a breakthrough in peace-building between the two countries. 
The ceremony in Asmara is opened by the first Patriarch of the Eritrean 
Orthodox Church, Abuna Philipos. 14 February: The religious leaders from 
both countries arrive in Addis Ababa for a second day of talks. The 
Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church describes the talks in Asmara as 
"wonderful". 15 February: The decision by an international commission 
demarcating the disputed border between Ethiopia and Eritrea has been 
delayed until the end of March.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 15 February 2002)

* Ethiopia. The country is stronger after purge  -  Ethiopia's prime 
minister said Ethiopia's government was stronger than ever after mounting a 
security crackdown and purging ruling party "dead wood." Meles Zenawi said 
in an interview on 19 February there were no "sacred cows" in a war on 
corruption, denied allegations of human rights abuses against political 
opponents and dismissed reports he had hired thousands of spies to monitor 
them. Meles said he had reshuffled the leadership of the ruling Ethiopian 
People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) coalition and its main 
pillar, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), to make them more 
responsive to the country's needs. "The EPRDF was cleansing itself of some 
dead wood it had accumulated over a decade... Like all cleansing processes 
it tends to be turbulent while it is taking place but in hindsight it 
appears more of a storm in a teacup," he said. "The EPRDF is now on more 
solid ground than it ever was."   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 20 February 2002)

* Ghana. $20 million rice scandal  -  Former Vice-President of Ghana John 
Atta Mills has testified in the country's High Court in a $20 million rice 
plantation case. Five government officials in the administration of former 
Ghanaian President Jerry Rawlings currently on trial over the loss of 
project funds, include two former ministers and the chief of staff at the 
presidency. The money was allegedly given to an African-American business 
woman from the US-based company, Quality Grain, to cultivate rice. 
Professor John Atta Mills, who is currently a visiting scholar at the 
University of British Columbia in Canada flew home to give evidence in 
favour of the former finance minister, Mr Kwame Pepra. He told a packed 
high court on 20 February that in a country where $4 million is spent 
annually on the importation of rice, the administration was eager to see 
that rice was cultivated locally in viable commercial conditions. Professor 
Mills said that the government was so desperate to secure an endurable 
asset for rice cultivation that they were even prepared for Mrs Juliet 
Cotton, the African-American, who initiated the scheme to "walk over us if 
that is what facilitates the project". However, he was not satisfied with 
her conduct, he said, sighting her "rudeness" and some of her demands which 
made him "uncomfortable". He admitted that in 1998 the report from the 
Serious Fraud Office alleged fraud on the part of Mrs Cotton with the 
assistance of two of the defendants. But the investigators failed to 
produce any evidence, on which Professor Mills could take any 
action.   (BBC News, UK, 21 February 2002)

* Liberia. Droits humains  -  Le 13 février au soir, le Conseil de sécurité 
des Nations unies a lancé un appel au gouvernement libérien, l'invitant à 
respecter les droits humains et à s'abstenir de profiter de la situation 
d'exception née de l'instauration de l'état d'urgence, pour restreindre les 
libertés civiles. Le Conseil a déploré la violence qui sévit dans le pays 
et dit sa préoccupation au regard de la situation humanitaire qui y 
prévaut. Il a exhorté les pays de la sous-région à empêcher les groupes 
armés et les individus d'utiliser leur territoire comme base arrière pour 
attaquer leurs voisins, et a lancé un appel à tous les Libériens les priant 
de renoncer à la violence et de résoudre leurs différends par la voie du 
dialogue. En fait, selon l'agence Misna, la condition des civils continue 
d'empirer. Suite aux affrontements survenus la semaine passée à Klay Town 
(35 km de la capitale) entre rebelles du LURD et troupes gouvernementales, 
un grand nombre d'habitants ont pris la fuite, les uns se dirigeant vers la 
Sierra Leone, les autres vers Monrovia, où ils ont été accueillis dans des 
camps d'urgence. Dans la capitale même, la police a créé un climat 
d'intimidation par des perquisitions dans les maisons et des arrestations 
aveugles dans les rues. - Le 20 février, des responsables militaires ont 
annoncé qu'au moins 15.000 civils ont quitté la capitale Monrovia, fuyant 
les combats entre forces gouvernementales et rebelles. La veille, les 
rebelles avaient attaqué les villes de Heindi et Bong Mines, situées toutes 
deux à environ 35 km au nord-est de Monrovia, mais avaient été repoussés, 
selon les autorités.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 20 février 2002)

* Liberia. UN plea for civilians  -  14 February: The UN Security Council 
has called on the Liberian government and rebels to ensure the safety of 
civilians trapped by the renewed conflict. Reports said that council 
members backed Secretary General Kofi Annan's appeal to all Liberians to 
resolve their differences through dialogue, not violence. Thousands of 
Liberians have fled the latest fighting, which erupted last week when 
rebels attacked a town just 35km north of the capital Monrovia. -- 
President Charles Taylor has protested a "conspiracy of silence" by the 
international community, and calls on world leaders to use their influence 
to help end the insurrection. 15 February: Gunfire and unrest is continuing 
north of Monrovia. The residents of Monrovia are frightened and trying to 
work out what is going on. 20 February: A senior UN official says the 
international community should put aside any differences it has with the 
government of Liberia to come to the assistance of some 60,000 people 
caught in the military unrest.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 20 February 2002)

* Libya. Closing submissions  -  14 February: New evidence presented to the 
appeal of the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing points to a 
miscarriage of justice, according to his lawyer. Bill Taylor, QC for 
Abdelbasset ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, told five judges that doubt had been 
cast on the verdict. Mr Taylor QC, said new evidence raised the possibility 
that the bomb which exploded on Pan Am flight 103, had been placed on the 
aircraft at Heathrow and not in Malta, as the trial judges had concluded. 
Mr Taylor said it was regrettable that evidence made available at the 
appeal at Camp Zeish had not been disclosed at the trial. He said there was 
"strong circumstantial evidence" that a security breach allowed access to a 
baggage handling area at Heathrow three hours before the plane took off for 
New York. Defence and prosecution lawyers are giving their closing 
submissions in the appeal, today. The five judges are expected to retire to 
consider their decision, which is likely to take about three 
weeks.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 14 February 2002)

Weekly anb0221.txt - #3/7