Weekly anb0515_4.txt #6

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

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 15-05-2003      PART #4/6

* Liberia. International Contact Group must focus on ending human rights 
abuses  -  As the International Contact Group on Liberia meets in Brussels 
on 12 May to continue efforts to resolve the internal armed conflict and 
its regional repercussions, it should give priority to the worsening human 
rights and humanitarian crises afflicting the country. "Concerted and 
sustained efforts are being made by the international community to find a 
viable solution to the crisis in Liberia and the wider region. The 
challenge is to ensure effective and immediate action to alleviate the 
suffering of Liberian civilians," Amnesty International said. "This 
requires the political will to confront those directly responsible for 
human rights abuses as well as those indirectly contributing to the crisis 
by providing political and military support to various parties to the 
conflict", the organization added. Hostilities - which had already exacted 
a terrible toll on the civilian population - have worsened since January. 
Fighting has spread to areas previously unaffected as the armed opposition 
group Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) has advanced 
towards the capital Monrovia. In addition, a new armed group has emerged in 
the east along the Côte d'Ivoire border -- the Movement for Democracy in 
Liberia (MODEL). Extension of the conflict almost throughout the country 
has considerably increased the number of Liberian civilians and refugees of 
other nationalities now at risk. Both government and armed opposition 
groups are committing human rights abuses. Civilians are being killed, 
either deliberately or caught in cross-fire, raped, forced to leave their 
homes, abducted and forced to fight or carry looted goods. Forcible 
recruitment, including of children under the age of 18, has become rampant, 
particularly among displaced people. Those resisting recruitment have been 
killed by government forces.   (Amnesty International, 12 May 2003)

* Liberia. Liberia to investigate warlord's death  -  12 May: The Liberian 
Government has ordered an investigation into the death of Sierra Leone 
rebel leader Sam Bockarie, who was wanted by the war crimes court in 
Freetown. Liberian Defence Minister Daniel Chea says that an investigation 
team of military experts would head to the border town of Bin-Houye where 
he is thought to have died. "It's the right of the people to know what went 
wrong to lead to the death of Mr Bockarie and scores of our operators". 
There have been allegations that Mr Bockarie -- known as Mosquito -- was 
killed to prevent him giving damning evidence about regional figures at the 
tribunal. The reason behind the investigation is to determine whether 
excessive force was used in bringing General Bockarie to book.   (ANB-BIA, 
Belgium, 12 May 2003)

* Liberia. Sanctions prolongées - Appels au cessez-le-feu  -  Le Conseil de 
sécurité a reconduit pour un an les sanctions prises contre le Liberia en 
raison de son soutien aux rebelles du Front révolutionnaire uni (RUF) de la 
Sierra Leone. La résolution 1478 étend ces sanctions au commerce du bois 
qui alimentait la guerre civile. Elle ajoute des restrictions sur les 
déplacements internationaux, déjà imposées aux responsables libériens et au 
mouvement rebelle du LURD. Elle demande que le gouvernement et le LURD 
négocient au plus vite en vue d'un cessez-le-feu. -- D'autre part, 
Abdulsalami Abubakar, le nouvel émissaire de la Communauté des Etats de 
l'Afrique de l'Ouest (CEDEAO) au Liberia, a rencontré le président Charles 
Taylor dans le but également de réclamer un cessez-le-feu immédiat dans ce 
pays pour permettre l'ouverture de négociations de paix. - Et dans un 
communiqué rendu public le 13 mai, 18 partis politiques libériens ont 
appelé à un cessez-le-feu immédiat entre les factions belligérantes, ainsi 
qu'au déploiement d'une force internationale en vue de restaurer la paix 
dans le pays. -- Le 14 mai, la présidence libérienne a annoncé que Monrovia 
était prêt à s'asseoir à la table de négociations avec les rebelles du 
LURD.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 15 mai 2003)

* Libye. Gel des relations avec la Ligue arabe  -  La Libye a décidé de 
geler ses relations avec la Ligue arabe après ce que les experts ont 
qualifié de prélude à la rupture des relations avec cette institution, 
a-t-on appris de l'Agence libyenne de presse (JANA). "Le ministère de 
l'Unité africaine a notifié au secrétaire général de la Ligue arabe, Amr 
Moussa, qu'il préparait une note... sur le retrait de la Libye de la Ligue 
arabe", a affirmé JANA. Amr Moussa avait effectué, le 10 mai, en Libye une 
visite de 24 heures au cours de laquelle il avait tenté de convaincre 
l'Etat libyen de revenir sur sa décision.   (PANA, Sénégal, 14 mai 2003)

* Madagascar. Cyclone Manou  -  Le cyclone Manou est passé, en fin de 
semaine, sur la région côtière de Vatomandry (centre-est de Madagascar). Il 
a détruit à 90% cette localité, a annoncé le Premier ministre malgache, le 
dimanche 11 mai, après avoir survolé la zone sinistrée en hélicoptère. On 
compte 8 morts, 3 disparus et environ 10.000 sinistrés.   (La Croix, 
France, 12 mai 2003)

* Madagascar. Protest turns violent  -  13 May: An anti-government 
demonstration attended by 10,000 people in the Madagascan capital 
Antananarivo has ended in violence. An angry crowd tore up the podium where 
members of the opposition were due to speak. It has been alleged that they 
were paid by the government to disrupt the protest. The government however 
has denied the accusation. "This was a spontaneous and uncontrollable 
reaction in a crowd that became more and more heated as time went on," the 
president's advisor Didier Rakotorisoa said. The 13 May is an important 
date in Madagascar, as it commemorates the overthrow of the first President 
Philibert Tsiranana following demonstrations in 1972. A year ago street 
protests over several months led to the overthrow of President Didier 
Ratsiraka. This year the KMMR movement wanted to use the date to voice its 
opposition to the current regime but it never got the chance to speak. "I 
am sure there are elements here who are working for the authorities... I 
can see people from the president's TIM (party) here. And the military is 
not doing anything at all to intervene," said a student. "What has happened 
here is very bizarre as you can see things haven't turned out as we might 
have expected. People think that democracy rules in our country but for the 
moment it doesn't seem to be working because in a democracy it is very 
important that everyone can say what they want," said another protestor. 
However, some of the pro-government supporters accuse the KMMR of 
sabotaging the rally so they could blame the government and draw attention 
to the demonstration.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 13 May 2003)

* Malawi. Farmers halt tobacco sales  -  7 May: Angry farmers in Malawi 
have shut down the country's economically important tobacco markets because 
of the low prices being offered for this year's crop. Before the sales 
started farmers had hoped for about $2 per kilogramme of tobacco, but 
buyers have been offering less than half that, said George Mituka of the 
Tobacco Association of Malawi. "Farmers have started bringing to auction 
floors high quality tobacco and therefore should attract better prices," Mr 
Mituka said. Tobacco accounts for about 75% of the southern African 
country's foreign currency earnings. Malawi and Zimbabwe are the world's 
two most tobacco dependent economies. The farmers and buyers have been 
locked in talks to restart the sales. The low prices being offered means 
farmers would not be able to pay off loans taken to produce the tobacco 
leaf, but the stoppage brings with it extra storage and security costs. 
Tobacco accounts for over 60% of Malawi's total exports, employs about 80% 
of the workforce and contributes 10% of the gross domestic product. Malawi 
is in the second year of recession due to a freeze of donor aid. Estimates 
from the Commercial Bank of Malawi (CBM) in March put this year's crop at 
145.6 million kilograms, a 5.4% increase on last year, which will earn 
$191m in sales in 2003.   (BBC News, UK, 7 May 2003)

* Morocco. Heir born  -  8 May: Princess Salma Bennani, wife of Morocco's 
King Mohammed VI, has given birth to a son, the royal palace has announced. 
The baby boy, who is named Hassan after his grandfather Hassan II, is the 
couple's first child. Under the Constitution, the boy will be the chief 
heir to the throne, although the King can chose to ordain any future male 
child as his heir. To mark the birth, the King ordered the release of more 
than 9,000 prisoners.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 8 May 2003)

* Maroc. Naissance du prince héritier  -  Le premier fils du roi Mohammed 
VI est né le 8 mai au matin. L'annonce de l'accouchement de l'altesse 
royale Lalla Salma a été saluée par une salve de 101 coups de canon. Le roi 
a donné au nouveau prince héritier le nom de Moulay Al Hassan, du prénom de 
son grand-père, feu Hassan II. Le nouveau-né est appelé à devenir, sous le 
nom de Hassan III, le 16e souverain de la dynastie alaouite. Le roi a 
décidé une grâce totale ou partielle de 47.988 détenus, sur une population 
carcérale de 60.000.   (La Croix, France, 9 mai 2003)

* Mauritanie. Avertissement aux islamistes  -  Le 12 mai, le nouveau 
ministre mauritanien des Affaires islamiques, Lemrabott Mohamed Lemine, 
nommé le 6 mai, a lancé un avertissement aux "ignorants extrémistes qui 
essaient de faire régner la terreur dans les mosquées" et promis de 
"protéger les lieux de culte de leurs menées subversives". Faisant allusion 
dans un discours radiotélévisé à la crise ouverte entre le pouvoir et 
certains milieux islamistes, dont une dizaine de membres ont été arrêtés, 
le ministre a condamné "les auteurs de prêches mensongers qui essaient de 
propager la terreur dans les mosquées et de porter atteinte à l'intégrité 
d'innocentes personnes". La mission première des mosquées est d'être des 
lieux "de culte, d'enseignement et de propagation de valeurs de concorde et 
de fraternité entre les hommes", a-t-il estimé. Deux ministres, dont celui 
des Affaires islamiques, ont été limogés la semaine dernière.   (AFP, 
France, 12 mai 2003)

* Mauritanie. Réduction de la dette  -  Le 14 mai, la France a consenti une 
réduction de la dette pour un montant de 36 millions d'euros en faveur de 
la Mauritanie, a-t-on appris de sources officielles à Nouakchott. Cette 
nouvelle mesure entre dans le cadre des recommandations du Club de Paris, 
précisent les mêmes sources, qui indiquent que les ressources ainsi 
dégagées doivent aider le pays dans sa stratégie de lutte contre la 
pauvreté. La Mauritanie a bénéficié ces derniers mois de plusieurs mesures 
de réduction de sa dette vis-à-vis de ses différents créanciers dans le 
cadre de l'initiative dite des Pays pauvres très endettés (PPTE).   (PANA, 
sénégal, 14 mai 2003)

* Mozambique. Cholera outbreak  -  8 May: At least 44 people have died from 
cholera since January in various parts of Mozambique. Health officials say: 
"The situation is worrying because of the growing number of cholera cases 
in the country despite our efforts to avert it".   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 8 May 
2003)

* Namibia. Aid needed because of floods  -  14 May: Some 5,000 people in 
Namibia have been trapped by rising flood waters in the Caprivi Strip. The 
floods, caused by the Zambezi River bursting its banks, covers 
approximately 400 square kilometres. Officials say Namibia will ask 
neighbouring countries for assistance. So far, 22 villages have been 
submerged and two people have died in the floods. President Sam Nujoma has 
called for an immediate evaluation so as to avoid loss of human 
life.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 14 May 2003)

* Niger. L'esclavagisme devient un crime  -  Les pratiques esclavagistes 
sont désormais un "crime" au Niger, puni de dix à trente ans de prison par 
le nouveau code pénal, adopté à l'unanimité par les députés. Selon l'ONG 
Timidria, qui lutte contre l'esclavage, il y aurait plus de 870.000 
esclaves dans six des huit régions de ce pays sahélien. Quelque 580.000 
"maîtres" pourraient tomber sous le coup de la nouvelle loi, selon l'ONG 
qui espère qu'elle sera appliquée.   (Libération, France, 10 mai 2003)

* Nigeria. MPs curb anti-corruption body  -  8 May: Nigeria's outgoing 
parliament has overturned a presidential veto and passed a bill to reduce 
the powers of the country's anti-corruption body. The House of 
Representatives followed the Senate in passing the bill in defiance of a 
court injunction, a decision criticised by the President, lawyers and 
political commentators. Senate president Anyim Pius Anyim says the court 
that made the injunction could not stop the senators from doing what he 
described as their "parliamentary duty".   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 8 May 2003)

* Nigeria. Amina Lawal campaign "unhelpful"  -  13 May: A group acting on 
behalf of Amina Lawal, sentenced to death by stoning after being found 
guilty of committing adultery, has expressed dismay at a recent campaign to 
quash her conviction. The campaign was triggered by reports that Ms Lawal 
has lost her appeal in the Nigerian Supreme Court and has been sentenced to 
die on 3 June. This was subsequently denied by, among others, the Nigerian 
embassy in Washington and groups on Amina's behalf. Dr Ayesha Imam, from 
the women's human rights group, Baobab, who are campaigning to defend Ms 
Lawal, says: "I don't know how the reports originated -- they're all over 
the Internet, there are a great many of them". In actual fact, the 3 June 
date is only the first day of Ms. Lawal's appearance at the first of 
potentially three appeal courts: Her own State; Federal Sharia; the Supreme 
Court of Nigeria.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 13 May 2003)

* Rwanda. Clampdown denied  -  9 May: The Rwandan Government has denied 
accusations that the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), led by President 
Kagame, has clamped down on the Opposition in the run up to this summer's 
election. A presidential envoy, Charles Mzanpaka, says the report published 
by Human Rights Watch "misrepresents the facts". The report accuses the RPF 
of attempting to eliminate Rwanda's second largest party, the Democratic 
Republican Movement (MDR).   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 9 May 2003)

* Rwanda/Ouganda. Kagame voit Museveni  -  Le 8 mai à Londres, les 
présidents rwandais et ougandais, Paul Kagame et Yoweri Museveni, se sont 
mis d'accord pour "résoudre tous les griefs" qui les opposent, ce qui 
conduira à "une normalisation complète des relations" entre les deux Etats, 
ont-ils déclaré dans un communiqué commun à l'issue de leurs pourparlers. 
Ces discussions, sous l'égide de la ministre britannique du Développement 
international, Clare Short, ont lieu tous les six mois. Les deux pays 
occupent partiellement le territoire de la République démocratique du 
Congo, où leurs armées se sont déjà affrontées à trois reprises.   (La 
Libre Belgique, 9 mai 2003)

* Rwanda. Listes électorales  -  Les listes électorales provisoires 
indiquent que 3.722.804 Rwandais, dont 6.552 vivant à l'étranger, prendront 
part au référendum constitutionnel du 26 mai prochain, a annoncé la 
Commission électorale nationale le 10 mai. Aux termes de la loi, sont 
exclus du vote les réfugiés, les condamnés pour génocide et crimes contre 
l'humanité, les personnes déchues de leurs droits civiques et celles qui 
sont internées dans divers centres. Les résultats provisoires du dernier 
recensement général d'octobre 2002 indiquaient que les Rwandais en âge de 
voter (18 ans) sont au nombre de 4.189.495.   (PANA, Sénégal, 11 mai 2003)

Weekly anb0515.txt - #4/6