Weekly anb11145.txt #7

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

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 14-11-2002      PART #5/7

* Liberia. Opposition hopes to unite against Taylor  -  12 November: 
Opposition parties in Liberia are trying to unite in order to contest next 
year's presidential election under one banner. The five opposition leaders, 
who are based in the United States, include Harry Moniba, the former 
vice-president of Liberia, and Alhaji Kromah, former vice-chairman of the 
council of the state. Liberian President Charles Taylor announced in 
September that the lifting of restrictions, including an end to a ban on 
political rallies, would pave the way for national reconciliation before 
next year's elections.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 12 November 2002)

* Liberia. Badly-needed aid  -  12 November: The distribution of 
agricultural and health packages has started in Liberia in six camps for 
internally displaced persons under a grant provided by the German 
Government and managed by World Vision's Liberian office.   (ANB-BIA, 
Belgium, 12 November 2002)

* Libya/Zimbabwe. Libyan oil deal with Zimbabwe finished  -  11 November: 
Zimbabwe's oil deal with Libya has reportedly collapsed as the government 
prepares to deregulate the country's oil industry. Libyan ambassador to 
Zimbabwe, Mohammad Azzabi, was quoted by a South African paper as saying 
the deal was terminated for commercial and not political reasons. "It's a 
matter of supply and demand," Mr Azzabi told the Sunday Times. "It's not 
political but maybe it appears semi-political in a way because we are not 
taking out the money which Zimbabwe pays since we are investing it here," 
he said. Economically troubled Zimbabwe has relied on Libya to supply 70% 
of its oil for the last two years. Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has 
offered president Robert Mugabe political and economic support in the face 
of Western criticism of Zimbabwe's land redistribution 
policies.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 11 November 2002)

* Malawi. Aide de la Banque mondiale  -  La Banque mondiale a approuvé une 
allocation de 50 millions de dollars au Malawi dans le cadre du programme 
de relance économique d'urgence afin d'aider ce pays à faire face à la 
crise alimentaire, a indiqué l'institution le 7 novembre. Outre l'achat de 
vivres pour la consommation immédiate, une partie de l'argent servira à 
acheter des semences et des engrais pour les fermiers afin d'éviter une 
nouvelle crise. Au moins 3,2 millions de Malawites sont confrontés à une 
pénurie alimentaire.   (PANA, Sénégal, 7 novembre 2002)

* Maroc. Nouveau gouvernement  -  Le 7 novembre, le roi Mohammed VI a 
finalement nommé un nouveau gouvernement dirigé par le Premier ministre 
Driss Jettou, un gestionnaire sans appartenance politique, qui avait été 
nommé à ce poste le 9 octobre. Composé de 37 ministres et secrétaires 
d'Etat, dont trois femmes, le nouveau gouvernement reproduit largement 
l'ancienne coalition, en regroupant au total 6 formations politiques autour 
de l'Union socialiste des forces populaires (USFP) et de l'Istiqlal. Il ne 
prend cependant pas en compte la nouveauté du scrutin du 27 septembre: la 
percée des islamistes "légaux" du Parti de la justice et du développement 
(PJD), arrivés en troisième position. Ceux-ci constitueront la première 
force d'opposition au Parlement.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 8 
novembre 2002)

* Mauritania. A future free from slavery?  -  On 7 November, Amnesty 
International said that despite the legal abolition of slavery in 
Mauritania twenty years ago, the government is yet to take practical steps 
to ensure its abolition in practice. "The Mauritanian government must stop 
violating its own laws and urgently end slavery, which is an abominable 
attack on human dignity and freedom", Amnesty's report stated.   (Amnesty 
International, 7 November 2002)

* Mauritanie. A.I.: "toujours des esclaves"  -  Vingt ans après l'abolition 
de l'esclavage, la Mauritanie continue de fermer les yeux sur cette 
pratique d'un autre âge. C'est ce qu'a dénoncé Amnesty International dans 
un rapport rendu public le 7 novembre. L'organisation de défense des droits 
de l'homme n'a pas été autorisée à enquêter sur ce sujet par les autorités 
du pays. Mais elle a recueilli ses informations auprès d'autres 
organisations non gouvernementales en Mauritanie et à l'étranger. Amnesty 
exhorte Nouakchott à "adopter une approche volontariste du problème plutôt 
que de nier son existence". Et souligne que "les personnes qui luttent 
contre l'esclavage et ses répercussions ne sont pas reconnues par les 
autorités et sont menacées d'arrestation et d'emprisonnement". (Ndlr.: Le 
13 novembre, le gouvernement mauritanien a déclaré que le rapport d'Amnesty 
"est un mensonge grossier et ne repose que sur du faux").   (Libération, 
France, 8 novembre 2002)

* Mozambique. 6 morts dans des tempêtes  -  Six personnes sont mortes lors 
de pluies torrentielles qui se sont abattues la semaine dernière sur le 
centre du Mozambique, selon des informations diffusées le 7 novembre par la 
radio nationale. Les victimes sont décédées dans la province de Sofala, où 
les tempêtes ont détruit les maisons de quelque 4.000 personnes. Les 
précipitations ont également touché les provinces de Gaza (sud) et de Tete 
(nord-ouest), où les dégâts et les coupures de courant ont affecté des 
centaines de personnes. Début 2000, les pires inondations enregistrées 
depuis plusieurs dizaines d'années au Mozambique avaient fait quelque 700 
morts et détruit environ 150.000 maisons.   (AP, 7 novembre 2002)

* Namibia. Award for schools project  -  An ambitious initiative to provide 
computers and net access for all schoolchildren in Namibia has been 
recognised with a prestigious award. The Africa Hafkin Communications Prize 
was set up by Nancy Hafkin, a pioneer in introducing information and 
communication technology in Africa. SchoolNet Namibia was singled out by 
the judges at a ceremony in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia as an exemplary role 
model for the sustainable introduction of computers in schools across 
Africa. The project introduces computers into schools across Namibia, using 
open source and free software solutions. It sets up free internet services 
in partnership with local government-owned telecom agencies in 
solar-powered computer labs. Its work has been recognised by the Namibian 
Government. It has acknowledged SchoolNet as a key player in rolling out 
technology across all schools in the country. Congratulating the winner on 
its $7,500 prize, Nancy Hafkin called on governments across Africa to 
question what impact their policies on information communication technology 
were having. "Will government provide service subsidies to the poorest or 
to the disabled? Will government encourage the development of software that 
the illiterate can use?" she asked.   (BBC News, UK, 10 November 2002)

* Niger. Nouveau gouvernement  -  Le 8 novembre, le président Mamadou 
Tandja a nommé un nouveau gouvernement. Le Premier ministre Hama Amadou 
reste en charge. La nouvelle équipe est dominée par les trois principaux 
partis de la mouvance présidentielle: le Mouvement national pour la société 
de développement (MNSD), la Convention démocratique et sociale (CDS, parti 
du président de l'Assemblée nationale et ancien président de la République, 
Mahamane Ousmane) et l'Alliance nigérienne pour la démocratie et le progrès 
(ANDP) qui vient de quitter l'opposition pour se rallier au 
pouvoir.   (PANA, Sénégal, 9 novembre 2002)

* Nigeria. Congress on Pastoral Life and the Eucharist  -  500 delegates 
representing the different segments of the people of God from all over 
Niger, including all Catholic Bishops and representatives of the clergy and 
religious, will gather at Sts Peter and Paul Major Seminary, Bodija, 
Ibadan, Oyo State, for the first National Pastoral Congress of the Catholic 
Church, from 11-15 November 2002. The delegates will deliberate on various 
aspects of the life and mission of the Church in Africa under the theme: 
"The Church in Africa: God's People On Mission". Cardinal Arinze will 
represent the Pope.   (Fr. Emm.Adetoyese Badejo, Nigeria, 6 November 2002)

* Nigeria. Court opens up elections to more parties  -  Nigeria's supreme 
court cleared the way on 8 November for more parties to contest the 
country's elections next year, further complicating the faltering process. 
The court ruled some of the stringent requirements set by the Independent 
National Electoral Commission (INEC) when it registered six parties for the 
polls were unconstitutional. Five of 21 political groups barred from 
presidential and general elections early next year had gone to court to 
challenge the guidelines. These included a requirement that a party must 
have offices in at least 24 of Nigeria's 36 states. "The registration of 
political parties in Nigeria is governed by the provisions of the 
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria," Chief Justice Muhammed 
Uwais said, reading a unanimous judgement of seven justices. The 
constitution only requires that parties seeking to field candidates submit 
copies of their constitution, logo, addresses of their offices and names of 
key officials to INEC. INEC is already lagging badly in its preparations 
for Nigeria's first elections since military rule ended in 1999. It has yet 
to compile a voters' register, a fact that forced it to postpone municipal 
polls twice this year. No new date has been set for the local elections, 
which must be held before presidential and general elections.   (CNN, USA, 
9 November 2002)

* Nigeria. Nigeria vows to prevent stoning  -  9 November: Amid growing 
controversy over the staging of the Miss World beauty pageant in Nigeria, 
the government has made it clear that it will if necessary intervene to 
save the life of a woman sentenced to death by stoning under Islamic law. A 
statement issued by junior foreign minister Dubem Onyia said that the 
country's constitution would be used to thwart any negative ruling in the 
case of Amina Lawal. She lost her appeal against a conviction for adultery 
in August and is now taking her case to a higher court. But unless the 
government intervenes directly and actually quashes the conviction itself 
the controversy over her case will remain as strong as ever. This latest 
statement is a clear sign of how apprehensive the Nigerian authorities have 
become to negative publicity over the staging of the Miss World contest. 
They want the event to portray the country in a positive light, but the 
controversy over the stoning sentence threatens to overshadow the glitz and 
glamour of the occasion. The statement makes it clear that, although the 
government is strongly opposed to the sentence handed down by the Islamic 
court, it will not at this stage directly intervene. The Justice Minister, 
Kanu Agabi, has said that, under Nigerian law, it is not possible for 
central government to interfere with the Islamic justice system unless an 
appeal reaches the federal supreme court in Abuja. But legal experts have 
questioned this opinion, saying that the constitution does allow for direct 
challenge by central government at any stage.   (BBC News, UK, 9 November 2002)

* Nigeria. Shoot-to-kill policy in Plateau State  -  13 November: Seven 
people have been shot dead in a clash with security forces in Nigeria's 
central Plateau State. They are the first casualties of a shoot-on-sight 
policy introduced by the state governor two weeks ago in an attempt to stem 
a wave of ethnic and religious violence which has engulfed the state for a 
year. There is little sympathy for the dead among ordinary people, who are 
tired of the fighting. Two months ago, the Nigerian election commission 
temporarily suspended the registration of voters in areas of Plateau State 
because of the violence. Persons who have yet to be identified opened fire 
on a joint patrol of police officers who then retaliated. People looked 
away as the security forces opened fire on the assailants.   (ANB-BIA, 
Belgium, 13 November 2002)

* Rwanda. Projet de nouvelle Constitution  -  Une nouvelle Constitution 
sera proposée au Rwanda en mars 2003 par référendum. Une Commission 
constitutionnelle gouvernementale prépare depuis début 2002, notamment par 
des consultations populaires, cette nouvelle Constitution qui marquera la 
sortie de la période de transition ouverte au Rwanda en juillet 1994. Avant 
d'être soumise au référendum, cette Constitution devra être approuvée par 
le gouvernement en novembre, et votée par l'Assemblée nationale de 
transition en décembre. Les députés à la nouvelle Assemblée et le nouveau 
président de la République seront élus au plus tard le 7 juillet 2003. 
-L'avant-projet a été soumis à 700 délégués de toutes les couches de la 
population et de la diaspora, réunis depuis le 8 novembre. Ceux-ci ont 
proposé des amendements: ils rejettent notamment l'abolition de la peine de 
mort et suggèrent de porter de 5 à 7 ans le mandat présidentiel. Ils 
plaident aussi pour la préservation des droits des personnes vulnérables et 
démunies, et pour la discrimination positive en faveur de la femme. Dans 
l'ensemble, les 7 piliers de la future Constitution sont restés intacts: le 
partage du pouvoir, l'Etat de droit, la lutte contre le génocide, la 
prévention de toute forme de division, la promotion de l'égalité pour tous, 
la justice sociale et la gestion consensuelle du pays, indique l'agence 
PANA.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 11 novembre 2002)

Weekly News - anb1114.txt - #5/7