Weekly ANB1120_05.txt #7

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

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 20-11-2003      PART #5/7

* Maroc. Islamistes en procès  -  Le 14 novembre, s'est ouvert à Rabat, le 
procès de onze intégristes arrêtés dans le cadre de l'enquête sur 
l'assassinat d'un juif marocain en septembre à Casablanca. Albert Rebibo, 
un commerçant de 55 ans, avait été tué par balles par deux individus, le 11 
septembre, dans un souk populaire de Casablanca.   (Libération, France, 15 
novembre 2003)

* Maroc. Emigration clandestine  -  Depuis plusieurs semaines, le Maroc 
multiplie les initiatives pour tenter de démontrer à ses partenaires de 
l'Union européenne sa détermination à lutter contre l'émigration 
clandestine et les réseaux mafieux qui l'organisent. Le lundi 17 novembre, 
le ministre marocain de l'Intérieur, Mustapha Sahel, s'est entretenu à 
Bruxelles avec M. Javier Solana, et ce mardi il devait rencontrer à Madrid 
son homologue espagnol. Ce même mardi 18 novembre, la police marocaine a 
arrêté à Tanger 142 clandestins subsahariens, dont 55 femmes, alors qu'ils 
se préparaient à traverser le détroit de Gibraltar. Ces clandestins ont été 
interpellés au cours d'une opération de ratissage dans la banlieue de 
Tanger et n'étaient en possession d'aucun document d'identité. La police 
dit avoir procédé, entre le 10 octobre et le 13 novembre, à l'arrestation à 
Tanger de 709 candidats à l'émigration clandestine, dont 113 ressortissants 
de pays subsahariens.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 18 novembre 2003)

* Maroc. Fortes pluies - 12 morts  -  Depuis le dimanche 16 novembre, des 
pluies torrentielles se sont abattues sur l'ensemble du Maroc. Le mardi, 
dans le nord du pays, elles ont causé la mort d'au moins 12 personnes, 
apprend-on de sources hospitalières. Les 12 victimes, dont au moins deux 
enfants, ont été emportées par les crues de deux oueds entre Nador et Al 
Hoceïma (550 km au nord de Rabat), deux villes situées sur le littoral 
méditerranéen dans les contreforts du massif montagneux du Rif.   (AP, 19 
novembre 2003)

* Mauritanie. Nouveau gouvernement  -  Le jeudi soir 13 novembre, le 
Premier ministre Sghaïr Ould M'Bareck, reconduit la veille dans ses 
fonctions, a formé son gouvernement. Celui-ci compte 18 ministres (dont 8 
nouveaux) et 4 secrétaires d'Etat. -D'autre part, une commission de 
l'Assemblée nationale a levé l'immunité parlementaire du député Ismaïl Ould 
Amar, directeur de campagne de l'ancien chef de l'Etat Ould Haidallah lors 
de l'élection présidentielle du 7 novembre. Ould Amar avait été arrêté 
dimanche en même temps qu'Ould Haidallah, accusés tous deux "d'atteinte à 
la sûreté de l'Etat". -- Le 17 novembre, l'Union des forces de progrès 
(UFP), une formation qui a soutenu la candidature d'Ould Haidallah, a 
estimé que "cette élection a débouché sur une crise politique majeure". 
Elle demande "la libération sans délai d'Ould Haidallah et de ses 
compagnons, le respect des libertés publiques et individuelles, et 
l'ouverture d'un dialogue sérieux avec l'opposition". La veille, le 
procureur de la République avait encore renvoyé pour "complément d'enquête" 
la libération de neuf pesronnes soupçonnées d'avoir participé à une 
tentative de coup d'Etat le 7 novembre.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 17 
novembre 2003)

* Mauritania. Another opponent arrested in crackdown  -  Police in 
Mauritania arrested another opposition figure on 16 November in what his 
lawyer described as a government crackdown after this month's disputed 
election. Incumbent President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya was declared 
winner of the November 7 ballot with two-thirds of the vote. The opposition 
said massive fraud and intimidation rendered the election invalid. On 16 
November, police arrested Cheikh Ould Horma, deputy campaign director for 
the leading opposition candidate, Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla, who was 
himself arrested hours after the election result was declared. "It's an 
attempt to discourage anybody from becoming involved in politics," Brahim 
Ould Ebetty, one of the lawyers defending the arrested opposition figures, 
told Reuters. "They want to eliminate Haidalla's campaign team at any 
cost." Lawyers said Horma was the latest of at least 12 opposition figures 
to be taken into custody in the past month in Mauritania, a country 
stretching from the Sahara to the Atlantic where many hope offshore oil 
deposits will bring riches. Official results showed Haidalla, who remains 
in detention, won just under 19 percent the vote in the country of 2.9 
million, which straddles black and Arab Africa.   (CNN, USA, 17 November 2003)

* Mauritanie. Recherche pétrolière  -  La recherche pétrolière et gazière 
menée en Mauritanie depuis quelques années par la société australienne 
Woodside, a connu d'importantes avancées fin octobre et début novembre, 
a-t-on appris de bonnes sources à Nouakchott. Les fruits de ces nouvelles 
découvertes devraient se traduire par une production de 75.000 barils/jour 
pendant les deux premières années, selon l'hebdomadaire mauritanien le 
"Calame" à paraître le 20 novembre.   (PANA, Sénégal, 18 novembre 2003)

* Mozambique. La Renamo aux élections  -  Pour la première fois dans 
l'histoire du Mozambique indépendant, l'opposition a participé à des 
élections municipales. Celles-ci se déroulent ce 19 novembre dans 33 
villes, dont la capitale Maputo, un an environ avant la tenue des élections 
générales, présidentielle et législatives. Les municipales de 1998 avaient 
été boycottées par l'ex-rébellion de la Résistance nationale du Mozambique 
(Renamo). - En fin de journée, le président Chissano s'est dit satisfait du 
déroulement des élections. Le leader de l'opposition, Alfonso Dhlakama, 
s'est plaint "d'irrégularités", mais s'est dit confiant que la Renamo 
remporterait un nombre significatif de municipalités.   (ANB-BIA, de 
sources diverses, 19 novembre 2003)

* Namibia. Stowaways take wrong turn  -  Nine West African stowaways have 
ended up in Namibia after boarding the wrong ship, immigration officials 
say. The five men and four women were trying to get to Europe from Gabon, 
but instead landed on a beach some 2,500 km in the wrong direction. They 
were discovered by the Chinese crew and cast adrift on rafts made of steel 
drums, with just a small bottle of water and a bag of uncooked rice. After 
spending three days at sea, they were exhausted but have now recovered. 
They were discovered by marine researchers who were fishing in Meob Bay, 
200km south of Namibia's main harbour Walvis Bay. They had nothing but the 
clothes they were wearing. The nine say they come from Cameroon, Nigeria 
and Gabon but immigration official Steven Mulundu says they had no 
documentation so their stories cannot be verified. Instead of greener 
pastures in Europe, the stowaways are now awaiting an immigration tribunal 
in arid, sandy Namibia. A group of people who apparently put out to sea on 
a third raft, is still missing.   (BBC News, UK, 14 November 2003)

* Nigeria. Polio eradication programme to be re-launched  -  The World 
Health Organisation (WHO) says it will re-launch a campaign to eradicate 
polio from Nigeria early next year. Last month's inoculation programme was 
blocked when three northern Nigerian states suspended the campaign. The 
states acted after an influential Islamic leader said the vaccines might 
cause cancer, AIDS or sterility. WHO warns that if the campaign fails, 
polio will spread to Nigeria's neighbours setting back a 15-year campaign 
costing more than $3bn. WHO polio eradication co-ordinator, Dr Bruce 
Aylward, says the new campaign will involve the Nigerian government at all 
levels. A local Nigerian committee set up to investigate the safety of the 
immunisation programme is expected to give its verdict today. Nigerian 
Vice-President Atiku Abubakar says the analysis is necessary to remove all 
doubts about the vaccines. Take up was much lower than hoped in Nigeria 
during the vaccine campaign because of the controversy.   (ANB-BIA, 
Belgium, 13 November 2003)

* Nigeria. Child slaves  -  13 November: Recently Nigerian police rescued 
about 200 "child slaves" from forests in the south-west, where they were 
forced to work in granite mines or digging sand. They have arrested about 
seven members of a syndicate accused of involvement in the trafficking of 
children from neighbouring Benin. The children, mainly aged between five 
and 15, are either snatched from their families or lured away with promises 
that they are being taken to Nigeria to further their education. In the 
forests around the town of Abeokuta, they dig several lorry loads of sand 
and granite every day, which are transported to Nigerian cities to be sold 
as building materials. One of the recently rescued children, Macenia Boha, 
says they were beaten if they did not work hard enough and also if they 
asked for food, even if they were hungry. "You are always hungry," he said. 
"They are bad people. They did bad things to us." Macenia is lucky to have 
lived to tell his story. A number of children are known to have died in the 
forest. Alexis Kesinu, who is about 12-years-old, says while he was in the 
forest he saw six children die. He said the "masters" would not let the 
children take any time off, even if they were ill. "When they went back to 
work they died," he said. But it is not just the harsh conditions and ill 
health that cause deaths among the captive children --they are also at risk 
from wild animals living in the forests. "We were sleeping on the sand and 
we saw an animal. When it came it attacked a child, who died," said another 
of those rescued, Mansua Bokovo. "But I don't know where the corpse was 
taken to."   (BBC News, UK, 13 November 2003)

* Nigeria. Lapidation évitée  -  Le 14 novembre, la Haute Cour de la charia 
de Bauchi (nord du Nigeria) a acquitté un homme de 36 ans, condamné en 
première instance à la lapidation pour adultère. La cour d'appel a estimé 
que l'accusation était devenue infondée, l'accusé étant revenu sur ses 
aveux.   (Libération, France, 15 novembre 2003)

* Rwanda. Exploitation of children  -  Some 340,000 minors (making one in 
10 children) including 170,000 employed in household chores and 2,000 
prostitutes below 17 are exploited in Rwanda, delegates learnt at the 
second national conference on child labour that wound up here at the 
weekend. Besides working as house helps, other areas in which children are 
exploited in the country include brickwork and quarries. Some 3,100 child 
domestic servants have been recorded in Kigali alone, according to the 
final report of the conference, which recommended that the government enact 
measures to get the children back to school. Delegates also proposed the 
creation of a Youth Division within the national police force, as well as 
the strengthening of the capacities of Public Service agents in charge of 
preventing child labour. The first such conference was organised in October 
1997, at the end of which a countrywide probe was launched on child labour. 
Children below 17 account for 48 percent of Rwanda's 8 million inhabitants, 
according to the last general census conducted in August 2002.   (PANA, 
Senegal, 17 November 2003)

* Rwanda. Reddition d'un général rebelle  -  Vendredi soir, le 14 novembre, 
le commandant en chef des milices rwandaises opérant au Congo-RDC, le 
général Paul Rwarakabije, s'est rendu à l'armée rwandaise avec 150 de ses 
hommes, des membres de l'ancienne armée rwandaise et d'Interahamwe 
(miliciens hutu). Rwarakabije dirigeait la branche armée du mouvement 
politico-militaire des Forces démocratiques pour la libération du Rwanda 
(FDLR). Son nom ne figure toutefois pas dans les actes d'accusation 
officiels du Tribunal pénal international pour le Rwanda (TPIR). Sa 
reddition inattendue devrait réduire les menaces d'instabilité dans les 
deux pays. Rwarakabije a franchi la frontière avec ses hommes qui ont 
déposé leurs armes à Cyangugu. La reddition ferait suite à des négociations 
secrètes. Dans un entretien avec PANA, le général Rwarakabije a invité tous 
ses combattants encore présents au Congo à déposer les armes et à regagner 
le pays. -Cependant, le 17 novembre, les FDLR ont publié un communiqué 
annonçant "à toute la communauté internationale et au peuple rwandais 
qu'elles ne sont pas impliquées dans les manoeuvres entre le gouvernement 
rwandais et des individus agissant à leur propre compte". Et elles 
informent que "le haut commandement de l'armée des FDLR continue à diriger 
ses forces". -Pour sa part, le président Kagame a promis, le 18 novembre, 
la réintégration dans la société rwandaise à tous les rebelles qui 
accepteraient de regagner le pays, mais il a assuré que les présumés 
coupables de génocide ne pourront échapper à la justice.   (ANB-BIA, de 
sources diverses, 18 novembre 2003)

* Rwanda. Rebel gives up the fight  -  15 November: The leader of a Rwandan 
Hutu rebel group which includes some of those who took part in the genocide 
of 1994 has surrendered to the government. Militia leader Paul Rwarakabije 
arrived in the capital Kigali on a Rwandan army helicopter after nearly a 
decade in Congo RDC. Accompanied by about 100 militiamen, he said he 
realised that violence was not the answer to Rwanda's problems. He was 
embraced by the army chief, General James Kabarebe. The group which he led, 
the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, brought together 
members of the former Rwandan army and Interahamwe fighters. Many of the 
rebels are implicated in the genocide in which an estimated 800,000 Tutsis 
and moderate Hutus were murdered. The group is estimated to have between 
15,000 and 20,000 troops fighting the Rwandan Government from bases in the 
jungle of eastern Congo RDC. 18 November: The Financial Times reports that 
hundreds of Rwandan Hutu militiamen are gathering in eastern Congo RDC in 
anticipation of a return to Rwanda. There are sill thought to be as many as 
15,000 Hutu rebels at large in Congo. They are made up of disaffected young 
Rwandans as well as the remnants of the former Rwandan army and Interahamwe 
militia.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 18 November 2003)

* Rwanda/USA. Bounty for genocide suspects renewed  -  19 November: The 
United States has relaunched its $5m campaign to capture suspected leaders 
of the Rwanda genocide. Four suspects have been caught after the reward was 
first offered last year. But 10 others named on a "wanted" poster remain at 
large, as US envoy Pierre-Richard Prosper revived the initiative in Rwanda. 
Mr Prosper urged Kenya to do more to apprehend Felicien Kabuga accused of 
funding the genocide. He is due to discuss the case with officials in 
Kenya, where Mr Kabuga is believed to be hiding. "These people need to 
understand that justice will pursue them aggressively and is patient," Mr 
Prosper said.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 19 November 2003)

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