Weekly ANB0918_06.txt #7

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

_____________________________________________________________
WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 18-09-2003      PART #6/7

* Morocco. Schools teach Berber  -  15 September: The Berber language is 
being taught in Moroccan schools for the first time from today. The classes 
will be taught in just a few hundred primary schools to begin with, but the 
government says the aim is to have Berber classes taught in all schools and 
at all levels within the next 10 years. The move is a sign of increasing 
recognition of Moroccan Berbers, who have long complained of being denied 
their rights despite constituting the majority of the population. As the 
new academic year begins in Morocco, 317 primary schools will start giving 
their first-year pupils lessons in the Berber language. It is the first 
step in the fulfilment of a promise made nearly 10 years ago by the late 
King Hassan to bring Berber into the classroom. Many had doubted it would 
ever happen at all. Although it is estimated that at least 60% of Moroccans 
are ethnically Berber, or Amazigh as they are known in their own language, 
Morocco's constitution enshrines Arabic as the country's only official 
language. The fact that Berbers were the original inhabitants of North 
Africa before the Arab invasions of the 7th century has been seen as a 
potential challenge to their authority by Morocco's Arab rulers ever since. 
In the 20th century, there were several Berber rebellions. As a result the 
freedom even to choose a Berber name for a child has been 
banned.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 15 September 2003)

* Morocco. US joins Morocco medical exercise  -  US military troops are 
conducting joint medical training with Moroccan troops in the largest-ever 
exercise of its kind between the two nations. The training, which does not 
involve live fire, comes four months after radical Islamic suicide bombers 
killed 33 people in Casablanca. Instead, it consists of hospital surgeries 
and medical and dental care for residents of villages located hundreds of 
miles east of Casablanca. US and Moroccan medical troops have treated more 
than 3,800 Moroccans since the exercise started on September 6, US Navy 
spokesman Lt. Corey Barker told CNN. The mission runs until September 20. 
The exercise, dubbed Medflag 2003, was planned long before the May 16 
Casablanca bombings, when a dozen suicide bombers killed 33 people in a 
series of coordinated attacks in Morocco's largest city. The bombers were 
also killed.   (CNN, USA, 16 September 2003)

* Maroc. Communauté juive dans la peur  -  Le 11 septembre à Casablanca, 
Albert Rebbibo, un marchand juif de bois de 55 ans, a été tué de plusieurs 
coups de pistolet devant son magasin par deux hommes masqués. Ils l'ont tué 
dans le dos, froidement, avant de prendre la fuite. "Si on l'a tué, c'est 
parce qu'il était juif", assure sa femme. Selon le président de la 
communauté juive marocaine, il s'agirait bien d'un acte terroriste. 
L'inquiétude est réelle au sein de la communauté juive, qui parle d'un 
climat d'hostilité d'une part de la population. Certains préfèrent partir, 
laissant derrière eux une communauté qui s'éteint à petit feu (guère plus 
de 3.500 personnes pour l'ensemble du royaume). D'autres s'accrochent, mais 
trembent de peur lorsque les enfants partent le matin pour l'école. "S'il y 
a encore un attentat, dit une femme, ce sera la débandade générale". -- 13 
septembre. La communauté juive a été ébranlée par un deuxième asssinat. 
Elie Afriat, 75 ans, a été tué d'un coup de poignard le samedi matin dans 
une ruelle de Meknès (100 km au sud de Rabat), alors qu'il se rendait à la 
synagogue. Son cadavre a été retrouvé en milieu de matinée et son agresseur 
a, semble-t-il, réussi à prendre la fuite sans être inquiété. Ce double 
assassinat survient alors que le Maroc et Israël ont repris un processus de 
normalisation diplomatique. -- 16 septembre. Les deux meurtriers de M. 
Rebbibo ont été identifiés par la police, a rapporté l'agence marocaine de 
presse MAP. Ils appartiendraient au mouvement islamiste Salafia Jihadia, 
déjà mis en cause dans les attentats-suicides de Casablanca en mai 
dernier.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 17 septembre 2003)

* Maroc. Le berbère dans les écoles  -  Jugée "historique" par la presse 
nationale, la rentrée scolaire au Maroc, qui a débuté le lundi 15 
septembre, est marquée cette année par l'introduction de l'enseignement du 
tamazight (langue berbère) dans le cycle primaire. L'enseignement effectif 
de la langue berbère marque une réforme importante dans un pays de 30 
millions d'habitants, dont entre 50 et 60% sont considérés comme 
berbérophones. Après des années d'arabisation à marche forcée au lendemain 
de l'indépendance, le défunt roi Hassan II s'était engagé dès 1994 à faire 
entrer le tamazight dans les écoles. Il aura fallu attendre l'avènement de 
son fils Mohammed VI en 1999 et la création en 2001 de l'Institut royal pur 
la culture amazighe (IRCAM) pour que ce projet se concrétise. Lancé à titre 
expérimental dans 317 écoles du royaume, l'enseignement du tamazight 
devrait être généralisé d'ici 2013, selon les projections du ministère de 
l'Education.   (AP, 17 septembre 2003)

* Mauritania. Torture alleged after coup attempt  -  The mothers, daughters 
and sisters of 129 soldiers detained in connection with a failed June coup 
accused two army officers Sunday of torturing the accused men. Hundreds of 
the soldiers' female relatives staged a sit-in on 13 September outside the 
courthouse in the capital, Nouakchott, demanding to see the detainees. In a 
statement on 14 September, the women said the soldiers were tortured by two 
lieutenant colonels before being taken to prison in the northwest African 
country. They described the treatment as a "serious violation of human 
rights" and demanded the officers be brought to justice. The government has 
denied allegations of torture. The 129 soldiers are charged with "high 
treason, assassinations, sabotage and plotting against the constitutional 
order."   (CNN, USA, 15 September 2003)

* Niger. Journaliste incarcéré  -  Le directeur de publication de 
l'hebdomadaire L'Enquêteur, Ibrahim Soulay, a été interpellé, retenu 48 
heures dans les locaux de la police judiciaire sans droit de visite, avant 
d'être transféré le 16 septembre à la prison de Niamey. La première 
audience du procès a été fixée au 7 octobre. Il lui est reproché d'avoir 
dénoncé des malversations dans l'attribution de marchés publics. 
L'hebdomadaire avait publié un article qui accusait le régime d'avoir 
contribué à l'enrichissement rapide de Djibo Zakou, un homme d'affaires 
connu au Niger. Il faisait état du mécontentement d'investisseurs 
originaires de l'est du pays à propos de l'attribution de "marchés juteux" 
à Djibo Zakou, ressortissant de l'ouest nigérien.   (RSF, France, 17 
septembre 2003)

* Nigeria. "Hope for a better Nigeria"  -  At the conclusion of the second 
plenary meeting of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria, held in 
Owerri, 1-6 September 2003, the Bishops issued a communique in which they 
gave a summary of their deliberations. Main areas of concern are: 
Irregularities in the last general elections; lack of objectives in local 
government reform; the crisis in the Niger Delta; the fuel crisis; the 
deplorable state of Nigeria's roads; the abortion issue; continued 
insecurity in Nigeria; the Sharia controversy. The Bishops called on all 
Nigerians "to actively cooperate with the grace and blessings of God, by 
always seeking to know and do what is right for our country and our 
neighbours".   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 12 September 2003)

* Nigeria. Huge deficit in the state pension fund  -  16 September: The 
authorities have uncovered a huge deficit in the state pension fund, 
confirming what many unpaid former state workers have feared for years. 
Retired civil servants have long complained of non-payment of their 
pensions, with many forced to queue for days to claim what they are owed. 
According to government calculations, the shortfall in the state pension 
fund amounts to at least $14.8 billion. The revelation is likely to stir 
suspicions that some of the money may have been 
misappropriated.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 16 September 2003)

* Nigeria/Liberia. Taylor exercises influence from Nigeria  -  From a 
luxury villa in the coastal Nigerian city of Calabar, Taylor is still 
trying to run Liberia, staying in close touch with his former colleagues in 
government and the military, according to Western and Liberian officials. 
The officials have accused him at news conferences and in interviews of 
violating stipulations of his asylum agreement: that he not travel, give 
interviews without the government's permission, participate in Liberian 
politics or receive visitors from Liberia. They say Taylor controls the 
government's army, keeping in cell phone contact with commanders, and 
receives ministers. He is also accused of collecting millions of dollars in 
kickbacks from Liberia's black market cell phone, fuel and generator 
businesses. "Charles?" said Cecil Brandy, the minister of agriculture and a 
Taylor defender. "Oh, he's still in charge. I'm going to see him next week. 
What's wrong with that? We got business to contend with." But Taylor, who 
told the nation, "I will be back" as he left on Aug. 11, is meddling so 
much that Jacques Klein, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's special 
representative for Liberia, said he is keeping track of which Liberian 
ministers pay Taylor a visit. Klein also accused Taylor of continuing to 
extract funds from the country. "Taylor is clearly rebuilding his network. 
He is like a vampire. Until you drive a stake in his heart, he won't die," 
Klein said. "At some point the Nigerian president will have to ask himself 
if Taylor is behaving himself or not."   (Washington Post, USA, 17 
September 2003)

* Rwanda. Kagame prête serment  -  Le 12 septembre, le président rwandais 
Paul Kagame a prêté serment dans le stade national Amahoro à Kigali, en 
présence de neuf chef d'Etat africains et d'une foule estimée à 50.000 
personnes. Des délégués ministériels de 13 pays d'Afrique et d'Europe, 
ainsi que des dirigeants de nombreuses organisations africaines et 
internationales ont également fait le déplacement. Paul Kagame, 46 ans, a 
été élu le 25 août dernier avec 95,05% des voix pour un mandat de 7 ans, au 
cours de la première élection présidentielle pluraliste de l'histoire du 
Rwanda et à l'issue de 9 ans de transition politique après le génocide de 
1994.   (PANA, Sénégal, 12 septembre 2003)

* Rwanda. Kagame sworn in as President  -  12 September: Paul Kagame is 
sworn in as Rwanda's president for a seven-year term. The ceremony follows 
last month's presidential poll in which Mr Kagame, the candidate of the 
ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), scored an overwhelming victory. The 
presidential elections were the first since the genocide in 1994, in which 
up to one million Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed. Mr Kagame's 
election brings an end to nine years of transitional government, led by the 
RPF. Heads of state from across Africa arrive in Kigali for the 
swearing-in, including two of the continent's political heavyweights, 
Nigeria's Olusegun Obasanjo and South Africa's Thabo Mbeki. Mr Kagame, a 
Tutsi, won 95% of the vote against two candidates from the majority Hutu 
ethnic group in the election.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 12 September 2003)

* Rwanda. New prosecutor starts work  -  15 September: The new prosecutor 
for the International Criminal Tribunal For Rwanda (ICTR), Hassan Bubacar 
Jallow, begins his four-year mandate today. Justice Jallow, a judge from 
The Gambia, replaces Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte who had been chief 
prosecutor for both the Balkans way crimes tribunal and the Rwanda court 
for fur years. She will now be responsible only for the International 
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Mr Jallow (52) brings 
considerable experience to his new job. he has served as a judge both for 
the UN-backed war crimes court in Sierra Leone, and for the war crimes 
tribunal for former Yugoslavia. Mr Jallow also led a UN team looking at how 
to improve the effectiveness of the tribunals for both Rwanda and former 
Yugoslavia.   (BBC News, UK, 15 September 2003)

* Sierra Leone. Diamond raids  -  11 September: Authorities in Sierra Leone 
are reported to have launched raids on illegal diamond trading offices in 
the east of the country. United Nations radio in Sierra Leone says police 
and officials from the ministry of mineral resources seized mining 
equipment and offices in the town of Kenema. It said several shop owners 
were taken in for questioning then released. Correspondents say the 
operation could be extended throughout the eastern region of Sierra Leone 
where diamond trafficking is rife as the gems cross the border to 
neighbouring Guinea or Liberia. In an attempt to combat gem smuggling 
across the border, last month the government of Sierra Leone announced 
plans to restrict the residency rights and movements of foreign nationals 
within designated diamond mining areas. It is believed that the measures 
would affect Lebanese, Guinean, Gambian and Malian diamond dealers, who are 
often accused of benefiting from the illicit trade.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 11 
September 2003)

* Sierra Leone. Former junta commander charged  -  17 September: The 
International War Crimes Court for Sierra Leone is holding a former junta 
commander, Santigie Kanu. The Court says the commander, known as 
"Five-Five", has been indicted for crimes against humanity. He was handed 
over to the International Court in Freetown by local authorities, who had 
earlier detained him on separate charges of treason. He was a member of a 
militia group called the "West Side Boys", which acquired a reputation for 
extreme brutality during the civil war.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 17 September 2003)

Weekly anb0918.txt - End of #6/7