Weekly anb0626_4.txt #6

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

_____________________________________________________________
WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 26-06-2003      PART #4/6

* Liberia. The battle for Monrovia  -  19 June: Thousands of frantic 
Ghanaians struggle to board a refugee ship out of war-devastated Liberia -- 
desperate to leave despite a day-old truce with rebels fighting to drive 
out President Charles Taylor. At Monrovia's port, they crowd through a 
fenced-in entrance to board a boat sent by their home country to evacuate 
some of its nationals. Hundreds of Liberians scale barbed-wire-topped walls 
to try to press aboard the ship as well. Security forces wade into the 
crush, lashing out indiscriminately. --International monitors must start 
supervising the fragile ceasefire as soon as possible, says the Liberian 
Government. Making the appeal, Information Minister Reginald Goodridge 
denies rebel claims that government forces had violated the ceasefire 
within hours of it coming into effect on 18 June. The ceasefire agreement, 
signed after two weeks of talks in Accra, Ghana, is part of efforts to 
reach a political settlement to end a civil war that has devastated Liberia 
and destabilised other countries in West Africa. The agreement gives the 
two sides 30 days to design a transitional government that excludes the 
current president, Charles Taylor. "The international standard for all 
ceasefires is that it takes at least 72 hours for such agreements to come 
into place," Mr Goodridge says. 20 June: Ceasefire monitors who will 
oversee the first phase of the Liberian peace accords are gathering in 
Ghana, ready to start for Monrovia on 21 June. They will map the precise 
locations of the various sides in the conflict and report back to West 
African mediators by the end of the month. -- President Taylor says he does 
not intend to step down before his term ends next year and may seek 
re-election, despite his exclusion from power under a peace deal with 
rebels. He was speaking in a radio broadcast just days after his government 
signed a ceasefire deal with rebels, which specifically excluded him from a 
proposed new government. "I said I was prepared to step aside," said Mr 
Taylor in his broadcast, emphasising "prepared". "I didn't say I was not 
going to run." Mr Taylor argued that he had a large following in Liberia 
and that many people in authority, like local chiefs, were protesting that 
he could not step aside without their approval. Mr Taylor's position is 
seen as key to the future peace of Liberia, where fighting has spread chaos 
into neighbouring states. The United States calls on Mr Taylor to abide by 
his commitment to stand down and says there is "no place" for him in the 
Liberian Government. -- Human Rights Watch says that the UN Security 
Council should hold governments in West Africa accountable for their 
support of abusive regimes and rebel groups. 23 June: The Swiss authorities 
have frozen several bank accounts belonging to Liberian leader Charles 
Taylor. The money was blocked in accordance with a request from the United 
Nations-backed war crimes court in Sierra Leone. It is not known how much 
money is involved at this stage. Meanwhile, the government and rebels in 
Liberia have traded allegations over breaches of their ceasefire in the 
civil war signed last week. Liberian Information Minister Reginald Goodrich 
says the town of Ganta, on the border with Guinea, has come under tank fire 
and he alleges that rebels there are being helped by Guinean forces. -- 
Liberia's main rebel faction say it will boycott the negotiations in Accra. 
The boycott follows a row between the rebels and President Charles Taylor's 
government over the exact meaning of a cease-fire accord they signed in 
Ghana last week. Two rebel factions want him to step down much sooner and 
accuse regional mediators, desperate to end a war that has sown chaos 
across West Africa, of favouring the government's interpretation of the 
accord. 25 June: Rebel fighters and government troops have clashed on the 
outskirts of the Liberian capital, Monrovia, witnesses have said. Several 
people have been killed by artillery shells fired into residential areas at 
the edge of the city. Thousands of people have fled the fighting and taken 
refuge in the city centre. The attack on the capital is the latest in a 
series of violations reported by both government and rebels since the two 
sides signed a ceasefire agreement last week. Lurd rebels and government 
troops are reported to be fighting around St Paul's River bridge, about 10 
kilometres from the city centre. Deputy Defence Minister Austin Clark said 
residents fleeing the fighting were hit by shells about five km from the 
centre. As fighting nears the capital, thousands of frightened Monrovians 
head towards the centre, seeking refuge in schools, stadiums and other 
buildings. "We will continue to run and run -- no end to our running," says 
a woman, fleeing from the city's outskirts. -- Later in the day, rebel 
fighters cross the St. Paul's Bridge and fighting is underway between the 
bridge and the port. President Taylor has made a radio broadcast vowing to 
fight until the end and denying rumours that he has fled the city. 26 June: 
Rebels advance deep into Monrovia. Thousands of people have been fleeing to 
foreign diplomatic missions in search of shelter. Sir Jeremy Greenstock, 
the British Ambassador to the UN has proposed that the United States lead a 
peacekeeping force. "It would be broadly welcomed if the US were to lead an 
intervention". He described the US as the "natural candidate" for the 
mission. However, the American Ambassador in Monrovia, John William Blaney, 
said the parties must stop fighting first. Speaking from his embassy 
compound, he said that the international community could think how to 
contribute to the peace process once hostilities have ceased. Yesterday, 
the US embassy compound itself came under fire, leaving three Liberians 
dead. Today, a high level diplomatic mission from the UN Security Council 
is travelling to West Africa. They will hold talks in Ghana with Liberians 
representing various factions.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 26 June 2003)

* Libya. Death in the desert  -  19 June: The Libyan authorities have 
denied knowledge of reports that some 200 Ghanaians have died trying to 
cross the Sahara desert in Libya this year. The Ghanaian Daily Graphic 
newspaper quotes the Ghanaian ambassador to Libya as saying his countrymen 
died as they were attempting to cross the desert in search of greener 
pastures in Europe. "It is usually a pathetic and horrific scene to find 
some of these persons dehydrated and weak". Mr Kumi said that the deaths 
occurred between January and the beginning of June this year, due to 
extreme dehydration and general fatigue precipitated by the harsh weather 
conditions in the desert. But an official in the Ministry of African 
Affairs in Tripoli denies any knowledge of such deaths in the desert. 
According to Mr Kumi, the death toll could even be higher as "most deaths 
of Ghanaians who die on the desert and in the Mediterranean Sea are not 
recorded". The Ghanaian ambassador said that the Ghana Mission in Tripoli 
has had to organise search and rescue operations to save some Ghanaians 
stranded on the desert. "It is usually a pathetic and horrific scene to 
find some of these persons dehydrated, weak and helpless and on the verge 
of death after trekking for more than 300 kilometres on the desert," Mr 
Kumi complained. However those rescued usually refuse to go back to 
Ghana.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 19 June 2003)

* Malawi. Membres présumés d'Al-Qaïda  -  Des agents américains ont sorti 
du Malawi cinq hommes soupçonnés d'être des convoyeurs de fonds pour 
Al-Qaïda, a déclaré mercredi, 25 juin, un haut responsable du Malawi. 
L'avocat des suspects estime que le gouvernement a violé leurs droits 
constitutionnels. Ces étrangers arrêtés au Malawi dimanche par les services 
de renseignement malawites et américains ont été remis aux autorités 
américaines mardi soir. Ce transfert est survenu alors qu'un juge avait 
ordonné soit leur inculpation, soit leur remise en liberté le mercredi 
matin. Avant l'expiration du délai, les hommes ont été sortis du pays en 
passant par le Zimbabwe.   (AP, USA, 25 juin 2003)

* Malawi. Malawi terror suspects block exile  -  23 June: A Malawi court 
has ordered the authorities not to deport five alleged al-Qaeda members. 
Sources privy to the operation said they were arrested in a joint operation 
by the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Malawi's National 
Intelligence Bureau (NIB). Blantyre lawyer Shabir Latif told High Court 
judge Justice Healey Potani that his clients were arrested without being 
told what crime they had allegedly committed. "They were treated without 
dignity as they were handcuffed, blind-folded and transferred to Lilongwe 
where they are being kept in an unknown location and are said to be 
awaiting deportation to an unknown destination on suspicion of being 
members of al-Qaeda," he said. Mr Latif alleged that the Malawi Government 
wants to hand over the five to the CIA who would -- according to him -- 
take them to Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba where other al-Qaeda 
suspects -- especially those arrested in Afghanistan -- are being detained. 
"Security officers without a warrant searched their houses and seized their 
computers and confiscated their money," he said. The lawyer described the 
methods used in the arrest of the five as "unconstitutional and unlawful 
for it violates the right to freedom of movement, the right of all people 
not to be discriminated against on grounds of race or origin or 
nationality". Justice Potani, in his order granting the injunction, ordered 
the government to bring the five detainees before a court of law within 48 
hours to be told of their offence under Malawi laws or any international 
legal instruments or release them on bail. The Directorate of Public 
Prosecutions has since indicated that it would challenge the injunction. 25 
June: The suspects are handed over to the US authorities, despite the 
injunction blocking deportation. It appears they were whisked out of 
Malawi, although the Americans are not saying where they have been 
taken.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 25 June 2003)

* Maroc. Le code en question  -  Yasmina Badou, secrétaire d'Etat marocaine 
chargée de la Famille, monte au créneau. Elle affirme, dans le quotidien 
L'Economiste daté du 18 juin, que "la mendicité, la prostitution et les 
enfants des rues sont des conséquences du code de la famille". Elle ajoute 
qu'une "loi qui jette arbitrairement à la rue une femme avec ses enfants", 
au lieu de les protéger, "n'est pas bonne". Ne craignant pas de provoquer 
l'ire des islamistes, opposés à toute réforme du code, elle condamne la 
polygamie qui, "telle qu'elle est pratiquée, est contraire à l'essence de 
l'islam". Une réforme de ce code est en cours, menée par une commission 
érigée par le roi Mohammed VI.   (J.A.I., France, 22-28 juin 2003)

* Morocco. Editor ends hunger strike  -  23 June: An imprisoned Moroccan 
journalist has agreed to come off a 48-day hunger strike following the 
intervention of a dissident member of the country's royal family. Ali 
Lamrabet was sentenced to four years in prison last month for "insulting 
the king's person" and "undermining [Morocco's] territorial integrity" in 
articles and cartoons. This was reduced to three years on appeal. Mr 
Lamrabet, who is diabetic and has a heart condition, went on hunger strike 
on 6 May but had recently started to drink water again after losing 22kg in 
weight. The cousin of King Mohammed VI, Prince Moulay Hicham al-Alaoui, 
told reporters that he had visited Mr Lamrabet in a Rabat hospital on 23 
June. The prince -- a supporter of liberal reform in Morocco -- said he had 
successfully argued that the cause of freedom of expression "needs him 
alive, not dead". Mr Lamrabet's lawyer, Ahmed Benjelloun, said his client 
would continue to struggle for freedom of expression despite ending his 
hunger strike.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 23 June 2003)

* Maroc. Lmrabet met fin à son jeûne  -  Le 23 juin, au 47e jour de sa 
grève de la faim, le journaliste marocain Ali Lmrabet a arrêté son jeûne. 
C'est le prince Moulay Hicham, cousin du roi, qui a annoncé cette décision 
"prise sans condition" et que Rabat espérait pour sortir de l'embarras dans 
lequel l'a placé la protestation de Lmrabet contre sa condamnation à trois 
ans de prison pour délit d'opinion. Le Conseil consultatif des droits de 
l'homme (désigné par le roi) et Moulay Hicham, dont les relations avec le 
roi sont tendues, avaient rencontré Lmrabet à l'hôpital. - Le 24 juin, 
l'organisation Reporters sans frontières (RSF) a annoncé qu'elle entendait 
poursuivre sa campagne pour la libération du journaliste, notamment en 
direction des touristes qui se rendent au Maroc "pour les alerter sur 
l'envers du décor".   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 24 juin 2003)

* Mauritanie. Nouvelles arrestations  -  Le jeudi 19 juin, la police a 
interpellé Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Hamady, secrétaire fédéral du Parti 
républicain démocratique et social (PRDS, au pouvoir), en liaison avec le 
coup d'Etat avorté du 8 juin contre le président Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed 
Taya. Mercredi, le président de la Cour suprême et la secrétaire d'Etat à 
la Condition féminine, limogés après le putsch raté, avaient été 
appréhendés. Le gouverneur de Nouadhibou, la capitale économique, a été 
limogé et mis en résidence surveillée. Et deux nouveaux gouverneurs ont été 
nommés dans les régions du Hodh El Gharbi, dont est originaire la plupart 
des putschistes, et du Ghidimagha. -- 25 juin. Selon un bilan de l'armée, 
15 personnes ont ete tuées et 68 blessées dans la tentative de coup d'Etat 
du 8 juin. Par ailleurs, le ministre de la Communication a implicitement 
nié toute implication extérieure dans ce coup, alors que des journaux 
locaux continuent d'accuser la Libye de complicité avec les 
putschistes.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 25 juin 2003)

* Niger. Examens de fin d'année  -  Le Syndicat national des enseignants du 
Niger (SNEN), qui regroupe quelque 15.000 enseignants, a décidé de mettre 
fin à son ordre de blocage de notes et tâches administratives, suite à un 
accord signé avec le gouvernement, écartant ainsi toute menace sur le sort 
des examens scolaires de fin d'année. Grâce à cet accord signé in extremis 
cette semaine, les examens sont donc prévus le 25 juin pour le Certificat 
de fin d'études du premier degré et pour le Brevet d'études du premier 
cycle, et le 9 juillet pour le baccalauréat. Le SNEN rappelle cependant au 
gouvernement que "le bon démarrage de l'année scolaire 2003-2004 dépendra 
en grande partie du respect des échéances fixées dans le protocole 
d'accord".   (PANA, Sénégal, 24 juin 2003)

Weekly anb0626.txt #4/6