Weekly anb08294.txt #7

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

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 29-08-2002      PART #4/7

* Egypt. Activist to appeal against his sentence  -  A lawyer for a 
university professor and civil rights campaigner sentenced in Egypt to 
seven years in prison, says his client, Saad Eddin Ibrahim, will appeal 
against the sentence. Mr Ibrahim -- who holds dual Egyptian and US 
citizenship --faced charges including tarnishing Egypt's reputation, and 
receiving foreign funds without permission. His conviction has led to 
protests from the US government, which has threatened to cut off new aid to 
Egypt. The state security court in Cairo has now issued full details of the 
verdict. It said Mr Ibrahim was convicted because he had falsely claimed 
that Egypt's Coptic Christians faced religious persecution.   (BBC News, 
UK, 26 August 2002)

* Eritrea/Ethiopia. All POWs to be freed  -  The Eritrean and Ethiopian 
Governments have said they are to release all prisoners of war. The 
announcement came during a visit to the two countries by the president of 
the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Jakob Kellenberger. 
Eritrea and Ethiopia signed a peace agreement in December, 2000, following 
two years of fighting, but few prisoners of war have been released by 
either side, making relations between the two countries extremely strained. 
Although Eritrea has already agreed to release more than 300 Ethiopian 
prisoners of war, until now the Ethiopian authorities have been far more 
reluctant to allow their detainees to go free. The Ethiopian Government had 
said it would not consider returning prisoners of war until it was informed 
of the whereabouts of one of its fighter pilots, Bezabeh Petros, who was 
paraded through the streets of the Eritrean capital Asmara after bailing 
out of his war plane four years ago. But now Ethiopia appears to have 
accepted that Colonel Petros is a special case, and despite the fact that 
he remains unaccounted for, the country has agreed to repatriate more than 
1,300 Eritreans captured during the two-year border war. Ethiopia is also 
demanding to know about 73 Ethiopian militia and police who were allegedly 
captured by the Eritrean army and who are still unaccounted 
for.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 23 August 2002)

* Guinée équatoriale/Angola. Exploitation pétrolière  -  La Guinée 
équatoriale et l'Angola envisagent l'exploitation conjointe du pétrole à la 
frontière maritime entre les deux pays, a-t-on appris de source proche de 
la présidence équato-guinéenne. "Des études sont en cours de réalisation 
par des experts mandatés par les deux pays et la prospection en eau 
profonde devra commencer dans quelques mois. Elle sera suivie en cas de 
découverte importante, d'un accord d'exploitation conjointe entre les deux 
pays", a précisé un conseiller du président. La Guinée équatoriale avait 
signé l'année dernière un accord d'exploitation conjointe des ressources 
maritimes et pétrolières avec le Nigeria. Elle a une production avoisinant 
250.000 barils/jour, et occupe actuellement le rang de 3e puissance 
pétrolière d'Afrique centrale, derrière le Congo et le Gabon qu'elle devra 
dépasser prochainement.   (PANA, Sénégal, 26 août 2002)

* Kenya. Kenya herders accept UK pay-out  -  A group of Kenyan herdsmen 
have accepted a $7 million compensation package by Britain for those 
injured or killed on Kenyan army ranges used by British troops. The money 
-- offered by Britain's Ministry of Defence will be divided among the 228 
claimants. Hundreds of Samburu herdsmen -- many of them children --are said 
to have been killed or maimed by discarded shells left by the British army 
at practice ranges in central Kenya over the past 50 years. But the 
claimants' lawyers say the ranges are still dangerous, and more injuries 
and compensation claims are almost inevitable. John Ole Keshine, who chairs 
the Masai community organisation Osiligi, has earlier said the settlement 
was "fair and appropriate". He said the victims included a farmer with just 
one arm, who will now be able to afford assistance to work his land. 
Another victim, 13-year-old Madewan Lubilim, lost an eye and badly injured 
her leg in 1994 playing with an unexploded shell on the nearby army 
range.   (BBC News, UK 21 August 2002)

* Kenya. Elections en décembre  -  Le 22 août, le président Daniel arap Moi 
a annoncé la tenue d'élections présidentielle, législatives et municipales 
au mois de décembre. Le président Moi, au pouvoir depuis 1978, ne pourra 
pas se représenter, selon la Constitution.   (Le Monde, France, 24 août 2002)

* Kenya. FBI theory of priest's suicide doesn't convince Nuncio  -  The 
papal nuncio in Kenya is among those sceptical of the FBI report that 
claimed the 2000 death of Mill Hill missionary Father John Kaiser was a 
suicide. Mourners who gathered on 24 August at a Mass in memory of the 
priest, believe that the 67-year-old priest, a vocal critic of the 
government, had been assassinated. They demanded a full investigation by 
authorities. Father Kaiser, a member of Mill Hill Missionaries, died on 24 
August 2000, on the road to Nakuru, about 60 kilometres west of Nairobi. 
The Mass was celebrated in the location where Father Kaiser died -- 
brutally slain by unidentified men, many believe. Among those attending 
were five local bishops, 20 priests, numerous faithful and the apostolic 
nuncio, Archbishop Giovanni Tonucci. The Mass honoured the memory of the 
priest who "consistently followed the Lord," the Nuncio said.   (Zenit, 
Italy, 26 August 2002)

* Liberia. L'opposition boude la réunion de réconciliation  -  Les chefs de 
file de l'opposition libérienne et les rebelles hostiles au gouvernement du 
président Taylor, n'ont pas assisté, le 24 août, à l'ouverture de la 
conférence pour la réconciliation et la paix, qui se prolongera pendant un 
mois dans la capitale Monrovia. Des diplomates ont déclaré que la plupart 
des dirigeants de l'opposition, qui vivent à l'extérieur du pays, 
craignaient de se rendre à la conférence car ils n'avaient reçu aucune 
garantie concernant leur sécurité. Des analystes ont noté que les 
arrestations continues sont autant de signes alarmants pour tout chef 
d'opposition qui aurait voulu venir à la conférence. Hormis les 
responsables du gouvernement, les diplomates accrédités à Monrovia, les 
représentants de l'Union africaine et de l'Onu, des groupes de la société 
civile, de la jeunesse et du secteur privé, ont pris part à la conférence 
au Unity Center, dans la banlieue de la capitale. -- 27 août. Mgr. Michael 
Kpakala Francis, archevêque catholique de Monrovia, a déclaré mardi que le 
pays ne connaîtrait pas la paix si les autorités choisissent d'ignorer la 
justice. L'évêque est une des cinq personnalités choisies pour guider la 
conférence de réconciliation nationale. "Lorsqu'il y a une culture 
d'impunité, d'arrogance et de mépris à l'égard des populations, il n'y aura 
jamais de réconciliation", a dit l'évêque. D'après lui, le forum n'aura des 
effets réels que si la volonté de l'ensemble des forces nationales, 
politiques et morales d'appliquer les résolutions de la conférence "est 
ferme et inébranlable".   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverse, 28 août 2002)

* Liberia. Opposition shuns peace talks  -  Leading opponents of Charles 
Taylor, Liberia's controversial president, have failed to turn up to talks 
billed by the government as an initiative to end long-running civil 
conflict and promote political stability. Liberians United for 
Reconciliation and Democracy (Lurd), a rebel group fighting government 
forces, said it would boycott the month-long talks after continued human 
rights abuses by Mr Taylor's regime. The dispute highlights the protracted 
political turmoil in Liberia, which is seen as a potential threat to peace 
achieved in the surrounding west African region after the deployment of 
17,500 United Nations peacekeepers in Sierra Leone. "Having stabilised 
Sierra Leone, we are going to have [to discuss whether] to take a hands-on 
approach to stabilising Liberia," said one western official. "But there are 
some western countries that are very deeply suspicious of Charles Taylor." 
Lurd joined prominent Liberian opposition figures in exile in staying away 
from last weekend's formal launch of talks in Monrovia, the capital. The 
movement, which claims to control the north-west of the country, said it 
would take no part in discussions held under Mr Taylor, who won an election 
in 1997 after leading a faction during the preceding seven-year civil war. 
"We think what is happening in Monrovia is a joke," said William Hanson, 
senior political adviser to Lurd, which has revealed little about its 
membership but claims to have several thousand fighters. "There can be no 
peace and security with Mr Taylor in power."   (Financial Times, UK, 28 
August 2002)

* Libya. Riled by human rights criticism  -  Libya has reacted angrily 
after the United States expressed concern about the possibility that the 
country might chair next year's session of the United Nations Human Rights 
Commission. Comments by the US State Department questioning whether Libya 
was fit to take up such a post because of its own human rights record 
emanated "from a position of enmity", an official statement in Tripoli 
said. US State Department deputy spokesman Phil Reeker said on 20 August 
that should Libya be picked to chair the Commission "that's of concern to 
us because of our concerns about Libya's record on human rights". The State 
Department's latest report on Libya describes the government of Colonel 
Gaddafi as a dictatorship, and accuses it of numerous serious abuses as 
well as a poor human rights record. The UN commission is chaired on a 
rotational basis, with Africa next in turn. Libya was nominated to take up 
the role at the inaugural African Union summit in July, although no formal 
appointment is made until the Commission meets. Last May, the US lost its 
seat on the Human Rights Commission which it had held for more than half a 
century.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 22 August 2002)

* Madagascar. Epidémie de grippe: 671 morts  -  Dans un communiqué publié 
le 23 août à Genève, l'Organisation mondiale de la santé (OMS) annonce le 
décès de 671 personnes à cause d'une épidémie de grippe aiguë qui sévit 
depuis près de trois mois à Madagascar. Cinq provinces sur les six du pays 
sont touchées par l'épidémie, mais la plus frappée semble être la province 
de Fianarantsoa (sud-est), avec 18.808 cas sur les 22.646 signalés dans 
l'île, et 556 décès. Des analyses menées par une équipe de l'OMS, et une de 
l'Institut Pasteur de Madagascar ont permis d'identifier clairement le 
virus comme étant celui de la grippe de type A(H3N2). Le communiqué de 
l'OMS souligne l'état d'extrême pauvreté de la province de Fianarantsoa, 
sans assistance sanitaire et avec d'importants problèmes de malnutrition. 
En collaboration avec le ministère malgache de la Santé, le Programme 
alimentaire mondial (PAM) et l'UNICEF s'efforcent d'apporter une aide 
alimentaire renforcée en protéines, pour renforcer les défenses 
immunitaires des populations.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 27 août 2002)

* Madagascar. Restaurer l'autorité de l'Etat  -  Le 26 août, le président 
Marc Ravalomanana a réitéré sa volonté de restaurer l'autorité de l'Etat 
dans les provinces de la Grande Ile. Recevant les chefs de circonscriptions 
administratives, les présidents des délégations spéciales des 6 provinces 
autonomes de Madagascar, il les a exhortés à prendre leurs responsabilités 
et à faire respecter la légalité. Selon son porte-parole, le chef de l'Etat 
a notamment appelé ces responsables "au respect de la légalité, de la 
transparence et de la neutralité politique de l'administration en attendant 
de nouvelles élections locales". Il s'agit, en bref, de respecter les 
libertés fondamentales garanties par la Constitution et d'être constamment 
à l'écoute de la population, un credo du président Ravalomanana qui a fait 
sien le combat contre la corruption.   (PANA, Sénégal, 27 août 2002)

* Malawi. Cholera ravages famished Malawi  -  22 August: Malawi has been 
hit by its worst-ever cholera epidemic, killing more than 1,000 people so 
far this year. The Ministry of Health says that people are more vulnerable 
than usual due to malnutrition and food shortages. Hundreds of people died 
of hunger earlier this year and food aid is urgently needed for an 
estimated three million people -- more than one quarter of the population 
-- aid agencies warn. Aids is also rife in Malawi, meaning many people are 
less able to fight off both diseases such as cholera and hunger. The high 
number of deaths was a "major anomaly", Habib Somanje, controller of 
preventive health services said. In normal years, around 0.2% of the adult 
population gets cholera, but in 2002, this has risen to 1% and 33,000 were 
infected. Last year, just 2,000 cholera cases were recorded. Only 65.6% of 
Malawians have access to clean water, while only 81.4% of households have a 
toilet or latrine, according to official figures. More than half of rural 
inhabitants obtain drinking water from unsafe sources, while 50% of 
illnesses in the country are water-borne diseases reports a study by the 
United Nations Children's Agency, Unicef. Up to 20% of adult Malawians are 
HIV positive. This has reduced average life expectancy from more than 60 
years, to less than 40.   (BBC News, UK, 22 August 2002)

* Malawi. Choléra  -  Au moins 1.000 personnes sont mortes du choléra et 
33.000 ont été infectées depuis le début de l'année 2002 par l'épidémie la 
plus grave qu'ait jamais connue le pays, ont annoncé les autorités 
sanitaires le 22 août. L'épidémie, provoquée par la consommation d'eau 
souillée, a été aggravée par la disette et la malnutrition qui 
affaiblissent la population. Un adulte sur 100 est malade du choléra, 
estiment les autorités sanitaires. Environ 3,2 millions d'habitants du 
Malawi, sur les 11 millions que compte le pays, sont menacés par la famine 
avant les prochaines récoltes en mars.   (La Croix, France, 23 août 2002)

Weekly anb0829.txt - #4/7