ANB-BIA - Av. Charles Woeste 184 - 1090 Bruxelles - Belgium
TEL **.32.2/420 34 36 fax /420 05 49 E-Mail: anb-bia@village.uunet.be
_____________________________________________________________
WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 14-12-2000

PART #3/4 - From GHANA- SAHARA OCC.

* Ghana. Elections législatives et présidentielle — Le 7 décembre, les Ghanéens ont voté massivement et dans le calme pour élire un nouveau Parlement et surtout choisir un successeur au président Rawlings, qui a exercé le pouvoir sans partage pendant 19 ans. 10,6 millions d’électeurs étaient appelés à désigner 200 députés et départager les deux favoris pour la course à la présidence: le protégé de Rawlings, John Atta Mills, et le candidat du Nouveau parti patriotique (NPP), John Kufuor. - 10 décembre. Selon les résultats officiels, à la présidentielle, John Kufuor a obtenu 48,44% des voix et John Atta Mills 44,80%; un deuxième tour sera donc nécessaire. Aux législatives, la principale formation d’opposition, le NPP, a échoué de peu pour remporter la majorité absolue, gagnant 97 sièges, contre 93 au NDC au pouvoir. - 12 décembre. La Commission électorale a fixé le deuxième tour de la présidentielle au 28 décembre prochain; (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 12 décembre 2000)

* Ghana. Close result in poll — 7 December: Ghanaians turn out en masse to vote for a new president as Jerry Rawlings, the flamboyant head of state who has dominated the country for the past two decades, prepares to stand down. Mr Rawlings, a former flight-lieutenant who first took power in a coup in 1979, has established himself as the longest-serving Ghanaian president since independence from Britain in 1957. He has served two terms as elected president and is now obliged by the constitution to hand over. Of seven candidates seeking to succeed him the front-runners are John Atta Mills, current vice president and candidate for the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), and John Kufuor, leader of the main opposition National People’s party (NPP). 8 December: First results give an early boost to John Kufuor. Preliminary results released by the Electoral Commission from 25 constituencies show Mr Kufuor and his New Patriotic Party (NPP) leading in 22 of them. 11 December: Final election results in the Parliamentary elections: NPP — 98 seats; NDC —93 seats; Peoples National Convention — 3 seats; Convention Peoples Party — 1 seat; independents — 4 seats. I seat must be decided by a by-election. In the presidential poll: John Kufuor wins 48.44% of the vote; John Atta Mills wins 44.80%. Kufuor thus fails to clinch an outright victory. A second round must now be held within 21 days. The new President takes power on 7 January. 12 December: The presidential runoff is set for 28 December. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 13 December 2000)

* Guinée. Violents combats — Selon le haut-commissaire aux réfugiés, Sadako Ogata, une “catastrophe humanitaire majeure” est imminente dans le sud-est de la Guinée où, depuis septembre, de violents combats opposent forces armées régulières et bandes non identifiées venues de la Sierra Leone et du Libéria. De source gouvernementale à Conakry, on annonce que les combats, le 6 décembre, lors de l’attaque de la ville frontière de Guékédou, ont fait 48 morts, dont 36 civils et 12 “rebelles”. Le gouvernement, qui a accusé les assaillants d’être venus du Libéria voisin, n’a pas diffusé de bilan des pertes côté militaire. Le 10 décembre, lors d’une “importante attaque” lancée contre Kissidougou dans le sud du pays, l’armée guinéenne affirme avoir tué au moins 150 rebelles. La version officielle désigne les rebelles du RUF sierra-léonais et des formations armées libériennes comme responsables des deux assauts, mais ceux-ci ont été revendiqués par un groupe dissident, le Rassemblement des forces démocratiques de Guinée. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 12 décembre 2000)

* Guinea. ECOWAS to discuss the on-going violence — 8 December: As Guinean troops battle in Guinea’s south-west, the UNHCR warns of a looming humanitarian catastrophe. The agency issues the warning after one of its offices, in Gueckedou, was destroyed during fighting between government troops and rebels. 11 December: The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is meeting in Bamako, Mali, for talks expected to focus on the violence in Guinea. A senior ECOWAS official has said that its secretariat will recommend to the Bamako meeting that ECOWAS provide well-trained and well-equipped troops, rather than just observers, if the tension in Guinea worsens. 12 December: The UNHCR says it has lost contact with over 400,000 refugees in Guinea. The refugees, who fled conflicts in neighbouring Sierra Leone and Kiberia, have got caught up in new fighting between Guinean government troops and rebels. Many thousands of them have fled for their lives. All international UN staff have been forced to flee the area in southern Guinea where the fighting is taking place. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 13 December 2000)

* Guinea. Amnesty calls for Conde’s release — The human rights organisation, Amnesty International, has called on the authorities in Guinea to release the leading opposition figure, Alpha Conde, and a number of his supporters. Amnesty said many of Mr Conde’s supporters had been tortured and did not have a fair hearing, adding that the rule of law could never be applied in Guinea while the armed forces continued to act with total impunity. Mr Conde, who’s president of the Guinean People’s Rally, was a leading presidential candidate when he was arrested in 1998. He was convicted of sedition and sentenced to five years in jail. Ten of his supporters were accused of threatening the security of the state were given sentences of up to three years. (BBC News, 12 December 2000)

* Kenya. MP seeks an end to political parties — A Kenyan opposition legislator has moved a motion in parliament seeking the abolishment of political parties and the creation of a partyless state. Social Democratic Party, (SDP) member for Juja, Stephen Ndicho, wants all political party activities in the country to be suspended for at least 10 years in order to curb tribalism. Kenya, which has 47 tribes, ended its single party rule in 1991 and has since held two multi-party general elections. Mr Ndicho insisted that his motion did not advocate for a return to a single party political system but seeks to provide a stop gap measure in the country’s politics to heal tribal and political divisions. «"Since the advent of multi-partyism in this country in 1991, tribalism has really taken a toll order on this country,» Mr Ndicho told the BBC. «Every tribe in Kenya seems to be owning a political party», he said adding that «if this trend continues, you can imagine Kenya will be a disintegrated country.» The member said Kenya should borrow a leaf from Uganda where President Museveni banned political parties when he took power in 1986 in order to restore stability in a country that had been ravaged by war. Mr Ndicho said there was political enmity among Kenya’s different party members, adding that during the 1992 and 1997 general elections, results showed that voting was done along tribal or regional lines. (BBC News, 7 December 2000)

* Liberia. US pushes on Liberia — The US is to intensify pressure on illicit trading in conflict diamonds by pushing for a United Nations embargo on Liberia’s diamond trade, which is blamed for funding conflict in neighbouring Sierra Leone. Washington is keen to impose the embargo before the end of President Bill Clinton’s term on January 20, though diplomats say the initiative is expected to be taken up by the next US administration regardless of who wins the presidential election. The US is expected to link its campaign to a UN report on Sierra Leone sanctions violations that is likely to implicate Charles Taylor, Liberia’s president. Washington is likely to find support for its initiative from the Security Council, especially from the UK which has become increasingly involved in the fight against the trade in diamonds mined in war zones and sold on the international market. These diamonds are blamed for fuelling conflicts in Sierra Leone and Angola, where rebels sell them to buy weapons and fuel, perpetuating some of Africa’s most horrific wars. (Financial Times, UK, 11 December 2000)

* Morocco. Morocco targets dissenters — Moroccan Islamists and human rights activists went on trial on 11 December following a weekend crackdown that dealt a blow to King Mohammad’s attempts to improve the country’s human rights image. Police arrested scores of Islamist and human rights activists after violently breaking up demonstrations. The government said protesters had ignored an Interior Ministry statement banning demonstrations on a weekend marking the 52nd anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The crackdown followed the government’s ban last week of three weekly publications which ran articles implicating Morocco’s left, now in government, in a foiled 1972 coup against the late King Hassan. The measures underlined the limits of tolerance in a country where a new young monarch has made human rights a central plank of his reforms. Since taking over last year, King Mohammad has settled all outstanding high-profile cases of human rights abuses. He promised a new beginning by sacking Driss Basri, long-time minister of the interior and symbol of the repression of the past. The palace’s pledge was given further credibility by the presence of Abderrahmane Youssoufi, the Socialist prime minister who had been a long-time defender of human rights. Moroccans took the regime at its word. Al Adl Wal Ihsan, Morocco’s largest Islamist group and the one that staged the 10 December‘s demonstrations across the country, has stepped up its efforts to win a lifting of restrictions on its activities. These include an effective ban on its publications, the denial of passports to officials, and regular arrests of student activists. (Financial Times, UK, 11 December 2000)

* Maroc. Islamistes et droits de l’homme — Le dimanche 10 décembre, plusieurs centaines d’islamistes se sont rassemblées à Rabat à l’occasion du 52e anniversaire de la Déclaration des droits de l’homme, pour protester contre les “tracasseries” dont ils disent être l’objet et l’interdiction de leur presse. Ils ont été violemment dispersés par la police. A Casablanca et dans d’autres villes du Maroc de semblables rassemblements ont aussi été organisés. Dans l’ensemble, 778 membres du groupe islamiste al-Adl Oual Ihsane (Justice et Bienfaisance) auraient été arrêtés, dont la fille de cheick Yassine, le chef spirituel du groupe. 291 parmi eux seront jugés. D’autre part, 41 militants de l’Association marocaine des droits de l’homme (AMDH) avaient aussi été interpellés le 9 décembre lors d’un rassemblement à Rabat, où ils réclamaient la vérité sur les enlèvements, arrestations et tortures commis sous le règne de Hassan II, et des poursuites contre les auteurs de ces actes. Ils ont été remis en liberté provisoire, mais des poursuites judiciaires ont été maintenues à leur encontre. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 12 décembre 2000)

* Maroc. Message du pape — Le secrétaire du Saint-Siège pour les relations avec les Etats, Mgr Jean-Louis Tauran, est actuellement en visite officielle au Maroc à l’invitation de ce pays, et a transmis au roi Mohammed VI un message du pape Jean-Paul II. Hassan II, le père du roi actuel, avait accordé un statut à l’Eglise catholique au Maroc. (La Croix, France, 14 décembre 2000)

* Mauritanie. Ould Daddah arrêté, puis libéré — Le 9 décembre, la police a arrêté le principal opposant au régime, Ahmed Ould Daddah, à son retour d’une visite en France, ont annoncé ses avocats. M. Ould Daddah, dont l’Union des forces démocratiques-Ere nouvelle (UFD) a été interdite en octobre, a été emmené vers une destination inconnue. M. Ould Daddah avait déjà été arrêté en avril, puis libéré. Son parti a été interdit pour menace à l’ordre public à la suite d’une série de manifestations hostiles à Israël. - Le 11 décembre, M. Ould Daddah a été libéré en fin d’après-midi. Il a déclaré que la police l’avait interrogé sur ses entretiens avec des hommes politiques français. D’autre part, trois jeunes militants de mouvements politiques basés en France ont été arrêtés le 10 décembre pour “atteinte à la sûreté de l’Etat”; ils sont accusés de militer dans des mouvements terroristes basés en France, qui veulent renverser le régime en place à Nouakchott. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 13 décembre 2000)

* Nigeria. Imposition of Islamic Code faces wide opposition — People in the state of Gombe overwhelmingly oppose its plan to impose Islamic law, a state-appointed panel says. Mela Audu Nunghe, chairman of the Shariah Implementation Committee, said that more than 98% of the people surveyed were opposed to the introduction of Shariah, the Islamic legal code, because of its divisiveness. Nunghe said the committee, which included both Muslims and Christians, took into consideration the need to maintain peaceful coexistence among the diverse ethnic and religious groups in the northern state, according to the Christian news agency Compass Direct. «While most respondents recognize and accept the right of individuals and groups to practice and propagate their religion as provided for under Section 38 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, virtually all detest the use of state apparatus, machinery, resources and...discriminations to project the interest of Islam over that of other faiths, especially Christianity,» Nunghe said. The introduction of Shariah led to recent violent clashes between Christians and Muslims and the destruction of property worth millions of dollars. Twenty-five people were killed in Bambam. The violence apparently forced Governor Alhaji Abubakar Habiu Hashidu to set up the committee to further consider the implications of implementing Islamic law. After receiving the committee’s report, Hashidu, a Muslim, said: «The almighty Allah will guide us to do the right thing.» He said his government would work to ensure that «nobody is cheated or discriminated against.» (Zenit, Italy, 10 December 2000)

* Nigeria. Rééchelonnement de la dette — Le 13 décembre, le Club de Paris a décidé le rééchelonnement de la dette extérieure du Nigeria, à hauteur de 23,4 milliards de dollars sur 20 ans. Le service de la dette sera donc réduit à $1 milliard pour l’année prochaine. La totalité de la dette du Nigeria s’élève à près de $30 milliards. L’accord entrera en vigueur à la mi-avril, si Abuja respecte les termes de ses accords passés avec le FMI. Cet accord de rééchelonnement est un pas décisif qui intervient en effet après l’octroi, en août dernier, du premier prêt accordé par le FMI depuis huit ans à ce géant pétrolier, tout juste sorti de la dictature et englué dans d’énormes difficultés économiques. Le Club de Paris a également donné son accord de principe pour un nouveau rééchelonnement après juillet prochain, si le Nigeria négocie entre-temps un nouveau programme de réformes avec le FMI. (AP, 13 décembre 2000)

* Nigeria. Nigeria strikes debt deal — Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo edged closer to his goal of debt forgiveness for his country on 13 December after the Paris Club group of official creditors announced it had rescheduled $29.4bn of foreign debt. The Paris Club countries agreed to reschedule payments due on $21bn of debt arrears, and cut Nigeria’s most urgent debt service charges from $2.4bn to $1bn. The Nigerian government said in a statement that it had agreed to pay the Paris Club $700m in 2000 and $1bn in 2001 as part of the arrangement. Overseas development aid loans will now be repaid over 20 years, with a 10-year grace period and at ‘concessional’ interest rates. Commercial credits, the bulk of the debt, are to be repaid over 18 years, with three years grace and at market interest rates. «While Nigeria is pleased to have achieved this important normalisation of relations with Paris Club creditors, we see this as the first step in a two step process,» said Chief Philip Asiodu, economic advisor to president Obasanjo. «This agreement sets the stage for Nigeria to return to the Paris Club within the next 12 months to seek a cancellation of a significant part of these debts.» The restructuring will take affect on April 15 2001, «unless Nigeria’s track record with the International Monetary Fund and the Paris Club is not considered satisfactory,» said the Paris Club’s statement. Progress on reforms has been patchy this year, with privatisation proving especially controversial in a country where the huge state sector has been at the core of corruption, cronyism, patronage and inefficiency for several years. (Financial Times, UK, 13 December 2000)

* Rwanda. Le TPIR poursuivra les soldats du FPRplain D — Le procureur du Tribunal pénal international pour le Rwanda (TPIR), Carla del Ponte, a annoncé, le 13 décembre, que son bureau préparait des actes d’accusation contre des soldats du Front patriotique rwandais (FPR, l’actuelle armée rwandaise) suspectés d’avoir commis des atrocités pendant la guerre de 1994 au Rwanda. Carla del Ponte a signalé qu’elle a eu récemment des entretiens avec le président Kagamé et qu’ils en ont discuté. “Je suis entièrement satisfaite des résultats de ce colloque dans le sens qu’on a pu obtenir pleine collaboration même pour ces enquêtes”, a déclaré Mme del Ponte. Le TPIR avait jusqu’ici poursuivi des suspects de génocide liés à l’ancien régime hutu au Rwanda, mais n’a arrêté personne du FPR à dominante tutsi, qui a gagné la guerre. Son mandat couvre également les crimes contre l’humanité et les crimes de guerre commis en 1994. (Agence Hirondelle, Arusha, 13 décembre 2000)

* Rwanda. UN to charge Tutsis for war crimes — The United Nations war crimes tribunal says it is planning to charge Tutsi army officers in the Rwandan Patriotic Front with alleged atrocities during the Rwandan civil war. Chief prosecutor Carla del Ponti said it is the first time members of the victorious side in the civil war will be charged for crimes allegedly committed during 1994, the year of the Rwandan genocide. Speaking in Arusha, Tanzania, where the international court on Rwanda sits, Ms del Ponti said she had discussed this with the Rwandan President, Paul Kagame, who had offered full co-operation. Mr Kagame was leader of the mainly-Tutsi rebel force, which came to power in Rwanda following the genocide, when up to a million Tutsis and moderate Hutus were murdered by Hutu extremists. So far, only suspects supporting the ousted mainly Hutu regime have been tried in Arusha. After the war, the Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) came to power in Kigali. Ms del Ponti says two African countries have been sheltering the most wanted suspects. While the prosecutor did not name the countries, official tribunal sources said Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo were the chief suspects. «I depend on the goodwill of the governments in the search, arrest and transfer of these subjects», Ms del Ponte said. She said some of the suspects have been allowed to travel freely to certain countries and have been issued passports with new identities and nationalities. Ms del Ponte said the tribunal may soon issue indictments against RPF soldiers who allegedly took revenge in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide, or while attempting to stop it. The BBC‘s correspondent, Liz Blunt, says there has been a long history of suspicion between the Rwandan Government and the international war crimes tribunal, which has, so far, only convicted seven people. On one occasion, it let a major suspect slip through its fingers because it had not followed correct legal procedures. The Rwandans were so incensed that for a time they would not let Ms del Ponte into the country. (BBC News, 13 December 2000)

* Sahara occidental. Arrestations en Algérie — Dans la nuit du 7 au 8 décembre, douze membres du front Polisario ont été arrêtés près de la frontière algéro-marocaine par une patrouille de l’armée algérienne, rapportait l’agence marocaine MAP le 12 décembre. Selon des “témoignages concordants”, les douze hommes auraient déserté une caserne militaire algérienne dans la wilaya de Tlemcen, où ils effectuaient un stage de perfectionnement, et se rendaient à pied vers le village de Laghlalis-Angad, en territoire marocain. (D’après PANA, 13 décembre 2000)