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Weekly anb03145.txt #7



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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 14-03-2002      PART #5/7

* Nigeria. Police chief sacked  -  President Olusegun Obasanjo has 
dismissed Nigeria's police chief Inspector Musiliu Smith, replacing him 
with the head of police in northern Nigeria. The dismissal announced on 6 
March at the end of an emergency meeting of the Police Council, presided 
over by President Obasanjo and attended by Vice President Atiku Abubakar 
and some state governors, came five weeks after junior police officers went 
on strike over pay. Inspector General Smith has been replaced by Mr Tafa 
Balogun, the general inspector in the capital, Abuja, who has been in the 
force for over 25 years. The government says the public has lost confidence 
in the police.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 7 March 2002)

* Nigeria. Council of Europe plea on death sentence  -  Europe's top human 
rights body has urged Nigeria not to allow the stoning to death of a woman 
convicted of having a child out of wedlock, calling the penalty 
"barbaric.". In an appeal on the eve of International Women's Day, the 
plight of Safiya Hussaini Tangar-Tudu illustrates how women suffer abuses 
in many countries. She was convicted by an Islamic court in northern 
Nigeria in October and sentenced to be stoned to death while buried up to 
her waist in sand.The Council of Europe's Secretary-General, Walter 
Schwimmer, has appealed to Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo to commute 
her death sentence. He also urged his European colleagues to join him in 
the fight for women's rights in all parts of the world. "International 
organisations, governments and religious authorities must do everything in 
their power to change both laws and attitudes and to bring an end to such 
barbaric practices," he added. The 43-member Council of Europe is the 
continent's premier human rights watchdog and the guardian of the 1952 
European Convention of Human Rights, which bans the death penalty. 
Hussaini's execution was postponed on 2 March after Obasanjo intervened 
amid pressure from the international community. Hussaini's case was also 
discussed at a women's rights conference at the European Parliament in 
Brussels on 6 March.   (CNN, USA, 7 March 2002)

* Nigeria. Students killed  -  At least two students have been killed in 
Nigeria after a rally by the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). They 
were shot dead by police in the south-eastern town of Warri. Violence broke 
out when students began protesting at the rally and were attacked by PDP 
supporters, according to eye-witnesses. Last month, President Olusegun 
Obasanjo warned that violence threatened to engulf the country and derail 
democracy. At least 10,000 people have been killed in religious and ethnic 
violence since Mr Obasanjo was elected to power in 1999, ending years of 
military rule. New presidential elections are due next year. Mr Obasanjo 
has not yet said if he will stand for re-election.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 9 
March 2002)

* Nigeria. Affrontements pour propriété foncière  -  Au moins 40 personnes 
sont mortes durant des affrontements en rapport avec la propriété de terres 
agricoles qui se sont produits il y a une semaine entre communautés Apiapum 
et Ufatura, dans le conseil local d'Obubra de l'Etat de Cross River 
(sud-est du Nigeria), ont informé les autorités policières le 8 mars. La 
police a interpellé plus de 500 personnes et en recherchait d'autres 
considérées comme les cerveaux des affrontements. Elle a aussi invité les 
victimes des violences, dont beaucoup sont des commerçants basés à Apiapum, 
à fournir des informations sur les pertes qui s'élèveraient à environ 5 
milliards de nairas (plus de 43 millions de dollars). Le Nigeria est frappé 
par de nombreux incidents d'affrontements communautaires en rapport avec 
des disputes d'ordre ethnique, religieux ou foncier, depuis que le 
président Obasanjo a été élu en 1999. Les responsables gouvernementaux ont 
parfois attribué les troubles à des ex-officiers militaires qui 
chercheraient à discréditer la démocratie.   (IRIN, Lagos, 11 mars 2002)

* Rwanda. Conférence sur le système juridique  -  Une conférence sur 
l'étude et la réforme du système juridique réunissant des experts venus du 
monde entier s'est ouverte le dimanche 10 mars à Kigali. La conférance, 
organisée conjointement par la Commission rwandaise chargée de la réforme 
juridique et par l'ambassade américaine, "vise à comparer le système des 
lois rwandaises avec celui des autres pays afin d'identifier les éléments 
pouvant être le mieux adaptés dans le contexte rwandais", indique un 
communiqué du cabinet du président. Parmi les participants figurent des 
spécialistes venus de l'Argentine, du Burundi, du Cameroun, du Canada, du 
Kenya, de l'île Maurice, du Sénégal, d'Afrique du Sud, de Tanzanie et des 
USA.   (IRIN, Nairobi, 12 mars 2002)

* Rwanda. Deux accusés transférés au TPIR  -  L'ancien officier de 
l'ex-armée rwandaise et membre du Parlement, le colonel Aloys Simba, et 
l'ex-maire de Gikoro (centre-est), Paul Bisengimana, ont été transférés 
lundi soir, 11 mars, au quartier pénitentiaire du tribunal pénal 
international pour le Rwanda (TPIR). Les deux accusés sont poursuivis 
séparément pour génocide et crimes contre l'humanité en 1994. L'ex-officier 
a été arrêté au Sénégal le 27 novembre dernier, tandis que l'ex-maire a été 
arrêté au Mali le 4 décembre. Les deux s'étaient opposés à leur extradition 
au TPIR, mais ils ont été déboutés par les tribunaux des pays dans lesquels 
ils ont été arrêtés.   (Agence Hirondelle, Arusha, 12 mars 2002)

* Rwanda. Bilan des condamnations  -  De fin 1996 à fin 2001, 660 personnes 
accusées de participation au génocide de 1994 ont été condamnées à la peine 
capitale par les tribunaux rwandais, selon la Ligue rwandaise pour la 
promotion et la défense des droits de l'homme. Au cours de la même période, 
1.795 accusés ont été condamnés à la prison à perpétuité, et 2.566 
acquittés faute de preuves de leur participation au génocide. Les tribunaux 
ont jugé un total de 6.454 accusés de génocide au cours de cette période. 
Les prisons rwandaises abritent quelque 115.000 détenus accusés de 
participation au génocide qui a fait, selon le gouvernement rwandais, un 
million de morts parmi la minorité tutsi et chez les Hutu modérés.   (Le 
Soir, Belgique, 14 mars 2002)

* Sao Tome e Principe. Opposition wins by 51 votes  -  The main opposition 
party of Sao Tome e Principe has won the general election by 51 votes. The 
opposition Force for Change Democratic Movement had been trailing the 
ruling Movement for the Liberation of Sao Tome e Principe by 68 votes after 
last week's election, with one district left to report election results. 
The Folha Fede district, which boycotted last week's election to protest 
poor public infrastructure, repeated its ballot on 10 March, and gave the 
opposition party 15,531 votes compared to the ruling party's 
15,470.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 11 March 2002)

* Senegal. African environmentalists hold talks  -  Environmentalist 
politicians from Africa have been meeting Dakar, in an effort to inject new 
life into Africa's green movements. The Federation of African Ecological 
Parties was created in 1998, but has since been unable to function 
efficiently, because of political instability, lack of resources, and the 
inexperience of member-parties which are relatively young. The outgoing 
secretary-general of the Federation, Adamou Garba, who is head of the Green 
Party in Niger, said the greatest challenges facing the Green movement in 
Africa are chronic poverty, desertification and pollution.   (BBC News, UK, 
9 March 2002)

* Sierra Leone. Plan de paix sous-régional  -  La Guinée, le Liberia et la 
Sierra Leone, qui sont membres de l'Union du fleuve Mano (UFM), ont signé à 
Freetown un plan de paix, après deux jours de discussions sur le 
rétablissement de la paix dans la sous-région, a-t-on appris le 8 mars. 
Dans un communiqué à l'issue de la rencontre dans la capitale 
sierra-léonaise, les participants ont exprimé leur accord pour collaborer 
afin d'éradiquer la rébellion dans la sous-région par des moyens conformes 
aux normes internationales. Un comité d'experts se réunira le 13 mars pour 
constituer une structure judiciaire qui traitera des affaires relatives aux 
mouvements rebelles dans le bassin de l'UFM. Chaque pays membre soumettra à 
ses voisins une liste de personnes vivant sur leurs territoires et 
souçonnées d'être des rebelles, pour permettre d'intenter une action à 
travers cette structure judiciaire. Les trois pays ont aussi mandaté un 
comité stratégique pour entamer la première phase du déploiement de forces 
de sécurité le long de leurs frontières communes.   (PANA, Sénégal, 8 mars 
2002)

* Sierra Leone. Voters registration completed  -  Voter-registration for 
the 14 May 2002 presidential and parliamentary elections has been 
completed. 2,276,518 eligible voters have so far fully registered with the 
National Electoral Commission to cast their ballots in the election. 
Provisional voters' rosters will remain open from 9-13 March for challenges 
and rectification. There will not be any extension to voters' registration. 
-- President Tejan Kabbah has officially announced that he will seek a 2nd 
five-year term in office.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 11 March 2002)

* Sierra Leone. Préparation des élections  -  L'inscription des électeurs 
pour les élections présidentielle et législatives du 14 mai prochain est 
achevée, a confirmé, le dimanche 10 mars à Freetown, le Commissaire 
électoral national, Walter Nicol. Il a indiqué que 2.276.518 personnes en 
droit de voter se sont inscrites. Les listes provisoires resteront 
affichées du 9 au 13 mars pour des rectifications après d'éventuelles 
réclamations. M. Nicol a reconnu certaines imperfections dans le cadre des 
inscriptions, mais les a qualifiées d'insignifiantes. D'autre part, le 
samedi, le président Ahmed Tejan Kabbah a officiellement annoncé sa 
candidature à l'élection présidentielle pour un deuxième mandat de cinq 
ans.   (PANA, Sénégal, 11 mars 2002)

* Sierra Leone. Sankoh murder trial begins  -  Sierra Leone rebel leader 
Foday Sankoh and 49 members of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) have 
appeared in court to answer charges of murder. The charges were brought 
last week, after a state of emergency enabling the government to detain the 
accused without trial was lifted. Most of the civil war's atrocities will 
be dealt with by a United Nations special court. But this case relates to 
an incident in May 2000, when Mr Sankoh supporters allegedly killed 21 
protesters after a peace deal had been signed. There were concerns that 
former members of the RUF might clash with pro-government supporters. But 
the court was cordoned off by armed police and everything went smoothly. 
The main defendant looked frail and bemused as he stood in the dock with 
his RUF colleagues.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 12 March 2002)

* Somalie. Pas le réfuge idéal  -  Les clans qui s'y affrontent et 
l'idéologie pragmatique de sa population font de la Somalie un refuge tout 
sauf idéal pour les militants d'Al-Qaïda, mais les services de 
renseignements américains restent à l'affût des activités terroristes de ce 
pays troublé de la Corne de l'Afrique, ont déclaré le 8 mars plusieurs 
responsables américains. De petits nombres de Somalis qui ont combattu dans 
les rangs d'Al-Qaïda sont retournés en Afghanistan depuis que la guerre y a 
recommencé, ont-ils précisé. Mais la Somalie reste un carrefour 
d'opérations terroristes contre les intérêts américains en Afrique de 
l'Est, a estimé l'un d'eux. L'armée a multiplié les vols de surveillance au 
dessus de la Somalie ces derniers mois et le personnel américain est en 
contact avec de potentiels alliés locaux.   (AP,US, 9 mars 2002)

* Somalia. Security Council debates reconciliation  -  After a closed-door 
session on Somalia on 11 March, the UN Security Council held an extensive 
open debate on the situation in the country. Over 20 countries took part in 
the meeting which, among other issues, discussed "ways of promoting the 
national reconciliation process". Jordan's ambassador to the UN, Zeid Ra'ad 
Zeid, who spoke on behalf of the Arab group of states, underscored the 
importance of the Arta process (which set up the Transitional National 
Government), while at the same urging support for the interim government 
"in its efforts to promote a comprehensive reconciliation process and 
national unity". Zeid called on the Council to send a fact-finding mission 
to Somalia to begin the process of "setting up an observation mechanism to 
verify the arms embargo", imposed by Security Council resolution 733 in 
1992.   (IRIN, Kenya, 12 March 2002)

* Somalia. Proposal to end bank misery  -  Somalia has suggested that a 
United States Bank should take over the operations of the al-Barakaat 
financial network, shut down by Washington for alleged terrorism links. 
Al-Barakaat was used by Somalis overseas to send money home to relatives, 
and many families have struggled as a result of the decision. Mr Yusuf 
Hassan Ibrahim said on 11 March that "the idea is to establish a mechanism 
for the unfreezing of thousands of individual account holders who have no 
links to al Qaeda".   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 12 March 2002)

* South Africa. Land reform proceeds slowly  -  Under the shadows of South 
Africa's beautiful Soutpansberg Mountains, a community is celebrating its 
release from 40 years of pain. Land that was taken from villagers by force 
under apartheid is being returned. A ceremony to mark the occasion is held 
on a football field. Old women dance with joy, men covered in animal skins 
blow into antelope horns. South Africa's Minister of Land, Dr Thoko Didiza, 
is the guest of honour. Her government says it is committed to speeding up 
the process of land redistribution. Just as in neighbouring Zimbabwe, it is 
the white minority that currently owns the majority of fertile land. The 
ANC Government says it wants justice for the millions of black people who 
were forced into crowded homelands during the apartheid years. But Dr 
Didiza says there will be none of the forced seizures which have 
characterised land redistribution in neighbouring Zimbabwe during the past 
two years.   (BBC News, UK, 8 March 2002)

Weekly anb0314.txt -  End of part 5/7