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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 14-12-2000

PART #2/4 - From CONGO RDC to ETHIOPIA

* Congo (RDC). Prolongation de la mission de l’Onu — Le 7 décembre, le secrétaire général de l’Onu Kofi Annan a rendu un rapport au Conseil de sécurité dans lequel il recommande la prolongation de six mois de la mission de l’Onu en RDC, estimant encourageants les engagements des parties en guerre à respecter le cessez-le-feu. Les responsables militaires de la RDC et leurs alliés (Angola, Zimbabwe, Namibie), ainsi que les deux factions rebelles et leurs alliés (Rwanda, Ouganda) ont promis, le 6 décembre, de faire reculer leurs forces d’au moins 15 km du front pour permettre aux casques bleus de contrôler le fragile cessez-le-feu. M. Annan souhaite le déploiement d’observateurs onusiens supplémentaires pour s’assurer du respect des accords et laisse la porte ouverte à des troupes d’infanterie pour soutenir les observateurs. Le conseil de sécurité doit débattre sur ce rapport le 8 décembre. (AP, 8 décembre 2000)

* Congo (RDC). Dialogue intercongolais? — Le 8 décembre, au cours d’une rencontre avec différentes personnalités de la société congolaise, le président Kabila a préconisé la tenue à Libreville (Gabon) d’un forum national sur la démocratisation de la RDC. S’adressant à des personnalités politiques, de la société civile, des confessions religieuses et de mouvements associatifs, M. Kabila a affirmé avoir pris l’initiative de cette rencontre à la demande des Congolais de l’extérieur. Il a demandé aux personnes présentes de réfléchir sur le forum et de déposer leurs propositions à la commission spéciale du Parlement chargée du dialogue intercongolais. La plupart des anciens partis politiques n’ont pas encore été reconnus par le gouvernement. - Le 12 décembre, le porte-parole des rebelles du RCD a rejeté la proposition de Kabila, la qualifiant de “négation du dialogue interconglais” préconisé dans les accords de Lusaka. (PANA, 11-12 décembre 2000)

* Congo (RDC). Liberté de presse — A l’occasion du 52e anniversaire de la déclaration universelle des droits de l’homme, l’association Journaliste en danger (Jel) a rendu public son rapport 2000 sur la liberté de la presse en RDC. Voici un court extrait de ce rapport sur le danger d’exercer le métier de professionnel des médias en RDC: “Ce danger, les journalistes congolais l’ont affronté tout au long de cette année. 42 journalistes au moins ont été privés de leur liberté cette année pour de plus ou moins longues périodes: 40 à Kinshasa, Lubumbashi et Matadi; et 2 dans les territoires occupés de l’Est. Au Nord-Kivu, un journaliste, cameraman free-lance, Crispin Kandolo a été tué (...). Le plus gros scandale de cette année reste l’expropriation de RTKM pour des raisons politiques et le retour en force du culte de la personnalité dans le pur style des années du Parti-Etat. Près de trois heures par jour de messages et de spots de propagande ont été insérés dans la nouvelle grille imposée par le ministère de la Communication à la chaîne rebaptisée RTNC-4 ”.plain + (DIA, Kinshasa, 13 décembre 2000)

* Côte d’Ivoire. Parliamentary elections but violence continues — 6 December: Opposition leader Alassane Ouattara’s personal secretary, Babou Coulibaly, has been beaten to death by paramilitary police in Abidjan. Reports say he was beaten by gendarmes after leaving Mr Ouattara’s house in Abidjan’s Cocody district. 7 December: Reports of gunshots overnight in the northern town of Bondoukou where government forces were battling RDR activists. 8 December: Security reinforcement have been sent into the north as political leaders resume indirect peace talks. 9 December: EU observers will not monitor the parliamentary elections on 10 December. 10 December: Turnout is low in the parliamentary elections, with the main opposition party in the north boycotting the vote and southerners apparently staying at home of fear of violence on the streets. Voting has gone ahead amid tight security in Abidjan and elsewhere. 11 December: Early results show President Gbagbo’s Ivorian Popular Front (FPI) running neck and neck with the former ruling Côte d’Ivoire Democratic Party. Alassana Ouattara has called the election invalid. 12 December: The results so far: The FPI has made large gains in the parliamentary elections. Mr Gbagbo’s FPI has taken 91 seats in the 225-seat assembly. The former ruling Côte d’Ivoire Democratic Party (PDCI) has 70. Other parties have taken 16 seats. The Press agency MISNA, reports that the Diocese of Man in western Côte d’Ivoire is overrun by fear after another attack against the religious personnel. It was only on 11 December, that the local Press reported the brutal attack carried out against the Bishop Joseph Niangoran Teky of Man on 12 October. Others attacks have taken place against Religious working in the diocese. 13 December: The PDCI says it has evidence of substantial irregularities which will be presented to the Electoral Commission. The party says although the irregularities had been found mainly in Abidjan, they have also been discovered elsewhere. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 13 December 2000)

* Côte d’Ivoire. Elections législatives — 7 décembre. A trois jours des élections, les discussions ont repris entre le pouvoir et le RDR qui a décidé de boycotter les élections pour protester contre l’invalidation de son leader, Alassane Ouattara. Depuis plusieurs jours, les pressions internationales se sont multipliées pour inciter au dialogue et mettre un terme aux violences qui ont fait, officiellement, 23 morts et entraîné l’arrestation de 340 personnes. En fin d’après-midi, le porte-parole du RDR a déclaré que les pourparlers avec le gouvernement étaient dans l’impasse. D’autre part, des affrontements ont encore eu lieu dans le Nord, fief du RDR. Deux personnes ont été tuées à Korhogo; et dans le nord-est, les partisans du RDR ont saccagé le siège de l’ancien parti unique, le PDCI. - 8 décembre. L’Union européenne a déploré la mise à l’écart de M. Ouattara et a vivement engagé les autorités ivoiriennes à restaurer la cohésion nationale. Les observateurs de l’UE ne participeront pas aux législatives. - 10 décembre. Elections. Contre toute attente, le scrutin s’est finalement déroulé dans le calme à Abidjan, où les forces de l’ordre étaient massivement déployées. Mais dans 29 des 32 circonscriptions des sept départements du nord classés “à risques”, le scrutin n’a pas pu se tenir. A Korhogo et plusieurs autres villes, le vote a été fortement perturbé, des urnes ont été détruites et des responsables électoraux pourchassés. -13 décembre. Selon les résultats définitifs publiés par la Commission électorale nationale, le parti du président Gbagbo, le Front populaire ivoirien (FPI) obtient 96 élus, contre 77 au Parti démocratique de Côte d’Ivoire (PDCI, l’ancien parti unique). La participation a été faible, ne s’élevant qu’à 33,12 %. Seuls 196 des 225 sièges de la nouvelle Assemblée nationale sont pourvus, 29 circonscriptions du Nord musulman ayant boycotté le scrutin. Aucune date n’a encore été arrêtée pour des élections partielles dans le nord du pays. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 14 décembre 2000)

* Djibouti. Calm restored — Authorities in Djibouti say order has been restored to the capital after police occupied key positions in protest against the sacking of their commanding officer. In a national broadcast, Interior Minister Abdallah Miguil thanked the army, police and people for keeping calm. The national broadcasting headquarters had been occupied by police protesters who also took up positions outside the office of President Ismael Omar Guelleh. But armed troops, reported to be using heavy weapons, regained control of the broadcasting outlets as well as other key installations. Armed policemen surrounded the presidency on the morning of 7 December after a presidential decree was announced sacking the chief of staff of the National Police Force, Yasin Yabeh Ghalib. There were exchanges of fire between the army and the police, but no details of casualties have been made available. The United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, currently in Ethiopia, said he was «surprised that there was an attempted coup in Djibouti» adding that Africa could no longer tolerate coup plotters. Trouble in Djibouti began after a brief announcement on national radio on the morning of 7 December that General Ghalib had been transferred to other functions by presidential decree. No reason was given for the dismissal. Many people assumed that the president and his police chief were good friends because they grew up together. But tension between the two is reported to have been growing. One report said President Guelleh had accused the police chief of not being in control of security in the capital. Colonel Ali Hasan Omar was named as the new interim head of the police. On 8 December the authorities said they have arrested all the police officers who staged the rebellion, except police chief General Yacin Yabeh who is holed up in a foreign embassy. (BBC News, 8 December 2000)

* Djbouti. Mutinerie de policiers — Le 7 décembre, des policiers en armes protestant contre le limogeage de leur chef ont pris position dans plusieurs centres névralgiques de la ville de Djibouti, notamment la radio-télévision nationale et les environs de la présidence et de la résidence du chef de l’Etat. Dans le centre-ville ils n’ont rencontré aucune résistance; par contre, la situation était plus tendue devant le camp militaire, où policiers et soldats armés se faisaient face. Les policiers refusent la mise à l’écart de leur chef, le général de division Yacin Yabeh Galab, chef de la police depuis l’indépendance en 1977. Le 4 décembre, le général Galab a été nommé conseiller au ministère de l’Intérieur et remplacé à la tête de la police par le colonel Ali Hassan Omar. -Dans la soirée, M. Kofi Annan qui se trouvait à Addis Abeba, a annoncé que M. Galab avait été arrêté après avoir tenté un coup d’Etat. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 8 décembre 2000)

* Egypt. Hotel deal «close» — A long-running dispute which has soured relations between foreign investors and Egypt could be on the verge of settlement. An international tribunal awarded a UK hotel company more than $20m in damages against the government for the misappropriation nearly 10 years ago of two hotels, company executives said on 11 December. The Washington-based International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), an affiliate of the World Bank, ruled last week that the Egyptian government was liable after the state-owned Egyptian Hotels Company (EHC) occupied the Nile Hotel in Cairo and the Luxor Hotel in Upper Egypt in 1991. But the question remains whether the Egyptian government which has fought the case tooth and nail will finally accept defeat. «I’m delighted with the outcome of the case but disappointed that we didn’t get all that we were looking for in terms of compensation for loss of business. I just look forward to the government paying up,» said Nael Farargy, the managing director of Wena Hotels, the claimant in the case. Wena, which is now only a shell of its former self, had been granted leases for the two Egyptian hotels in 1989 by EHC. But a dispute over money escalated to the point where Egyptian officials, on the apparent instructions of EHC, simultaneously stormed both hotels in 1991, confiscating documents and violently evicting staff and guests. Despite rulings by Egyptian courts that the hotels should be refurbished and returned to Wena and a brief resumption of business, the Nile Hotel was again confiscated in 1995. The hotel company then took its case to ICSID, citing a bilateral investment guarantee treaty signed in 1975 by the British and Egyptian governments. Wena argued that it had «suffered enormous losses leading to the almost total collapse of its business» and demanded $62m in compensation. The Egyptian government tried to dispute the jurisdiction of the tribunal and argued that the case was being heard too long after the events in question. But ICSID ruled on 8 December that the government had contravened the investment treaty and should pay up. Wena has not, however, gained compensation for the loss of profits and business opportunity that it had been seeking. The company was founded when it opened one hotel near Gatwick airport in the UK. The Egyptian hotels represented its only other assets. (Financial Times, UK, 11 December 2000)

* Egypt. Opposition pushes reform — A new mortgage law designed to boost Egypt’s stagnant real estate market and a bill to reform the capital markets are the centrepieces of legislation in front of a new Egyptian parliament which met on 12 December for the first time since elections in October. The largest opposition bloc in the new assembly is provided by the 17 members of the Muslim Brothers, who have been allowed back in to the parliament for the first time in 10 years. They, in alliance with nearly 40 independents and others, are expected to form a more meaningful opposition than in any of the parliaments of the last decade. The opposition is expected at least to criticise in public emergency legislation that gives the authorities the powers to bypass parliament and also to try to amend other laws that inhibit freedom of association. But the tactics and the cohesion of the bloc, which includes leftist and pro-market elements, has yet to be tested. Nor will the Muslim Brothers and their allies be able to threaten the hegemony of the ruling National Democratic party headed by President Hosni Mubarak, which retains its two-thirds majority in 454-seat assembly necessary to pass legislation and, more important, to nominate the president without an election. The recent vote did however jolt the National Democratic Party (NDP) and the old opposition. Nearly three-quarters of the old assembly lost their seats, an indication of popular disillusion with the stunted party system in Egypt. The NDP has been saved only by the defection of 218 independents. Mr Mubarak has statutorily appointed 10 more members — four of them women and four Copts — to bring the total assembly members elected so far to 452. A run-off between Muslim Brothers and establishment candidates for two seats in the northern port city of Alexandria is expected soon. (Financial Times, UK, 13 December 2000)

* Erythtrée/Ethiopie. Signature de l’accord de paix — Le 7 décembre, le Conseil des ministres et les instances du Front populaire et démocratique des peuples d’Ethiopie (EPRDF, au pouvoir) ont entériné officiellement l’accord de paix global avec l’Erythrée. - Le 12 décembre à Alger, l’Ethiopie et l’Erythrée ont signé un accord de paix global, qui met fin à deux années de guerre et six mois de diplomatie sous la médiation de l’Algérie. L’accord a été signé par les deux présidents et paraphé notamment par la secrétaire d’Etat américaine Madeleine Albright et le secrétaire général de l’Onu Kofi Annan. Le texte prévoit aussi les procédures à suivre pour démarquer la frontière, l’établissement des compensations pour les dommages de guerre, et une enquête sur les responsabilités à l’origine du conflit et sur la situation des prisonniers de guerre. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 12 décembre 2000)

* Eritrea-Ethiopia. Peace Treaty begins a long process — 10 December: Eritrea and Ethiopia will formally end their two-year war on 12 December with a treaty that will begin a long and thorny process of marking their border and sealing the peace. Getting the nations’ leaders to sign the agreement in Algiers, Algeria, took months of diplomatic pressure from the United States, the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity, but the tasks ahead could be more challenging than ending the fighting. The OAU-drafted peace agreement will establish commissions to mark the 620 mile border, exchange prisoners, return displaced people and hear claims on compensation for war damages. In the meantime, 4,200 UN peacekeepers will help consolidate peace along the former front lines. 12 December: Eritrea and Ethiopia sign the peace treaty in Algiers, ending their two-year border war. 13 December: Eritreans and Ethiopians give a low key welcome to the peace agreement and say the bitterness left by the brutal war will take a long time to heal. (Editor’s note: The full text of the Agreement can be found on the BBC News: World: Africa). (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 14 December 2000)

* Ethiopia. Ethiopia and Somaliland sign pact — Though Somaliland is not an internationally recognized country, Ethiopia has signed an agreement with it aimed at boosting trade between the two territories. Through the deal, Ethiopia is expected to become a frequent user of Somaliland’s Port of Berbera. This is after Addis Ababa installs a microwave communication link between Somaliland towns of Burao, Hargeisa and Berbera. At the same time the agreement calls on the two countries to improve the road link between the two territories so as to enable greater use of the Port of Berbera located on the Gulf of Aden. By signing the agreement, Ethiopia becomes the first independent country to enter into any pact with the self-declared Republic of Somaliland. (Nehreen Luhar, T&C Inc, Ethiopia, 30 November 2000

* Ethiopia. Honouring fallen Cubans — Ethiopia plans to build a monument in Addis Ababa to honour some 160 Cuban soldiers killed fighting on the side of Ethiopia during the 1975 invasion by Somali troops, the government press reported last week. According to the Minister of Trade and Industry Mr. Kassahun Ayele who disclosed the plans after returning from the Ethiopia-Cuba joint economic co-operation meeting, which took place in Havana, the monument is to be erected on Churchill Avenue in the vicinity of the Tikur Anbessa Hospital. At the moment, there is already another monument honouring Ethiopian soldiers, which was erected in 1980 along the same avenue. During Somalia’s invasion of parts of Eastern Ethiopia in July 1975, Cuba sent what was termed as an «international» brigade in support of the «fellow socialist government» of former Ethiopian ruler Colonel Mengistu Haile-Mariam. (Nehreen Luhar, T&C Inc, Ethiopia, 30 November 2000)