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: 08-03-2001

PART #3/4 - From LIBERIA to SOMALIA

* Liberia. Liberia says rebels have captured town — The Liberian government has said it is fighting to retake the northern border town of Voinjama from rebels. The defence minister, Daniel Chea, accused Guinea of backing the rebels and said the seizure of the town amounted to an overt declaration of war by Conakry. There has been no independent confirmation that the town has fallen, but Voinjama is reported to have changed hands at least once before in the past year during fighting between rebels and government troops. Liberia and Guinea routinely accuse each other of supporting the other’s rebels. More than a-hundred-thousand refugees, mainly from Sierra Leone and Liberia, are currently trapped by fighting in the region of southwestern Guinea just over the border from Voinjama. (BBC News, 6 March 2001)

* Libéria. Sanctions — Le 7 mars, le Conseil de sécurité de l’Onu a voté à l’unanimité des sanctions contre le Libéria, accusé de soutenir les rebelles du Front révolutionnaire uni (RUF) en Sierra Leone. La résolution votée prévoit un embargo immédiat sur les ventes d’armes. Le Conseil a de plus averti le régime de Charles Taylor qu’il pourrait aussi instaurer un embargo sur les ventes de diamants et sur les déplacements si les autorités de Monrovia ne cessent pas de soutenir le RUF d’ici deux mois. Quelques heures après le vote de cette résolution, le Libéria a décidé de faire un geste en annonçant qu’il suspendait pendant 120 jours ses propres exportations de diamants, le temps de mettre en place un système de certification. (AP, 7 mars 2001)

* Liberia. UN imposes arms embargo — On 7 March, the UN Security Council imposed an embargo on the supply of arms to Liberia, accusing it of fomenting war in West Africa. It also resolved that a ban on the country’s diamonds, and restrictions on the foreign travel of its senior officials and all supporters of armed rebel groups in the sub-region, will come into force, if, in two months, the Liberian government fails to take certain measures to end support for the rebels in the sub-region. Liberia’s Foreign Minister says the sanctions are «not as bad as he had anticipated». (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 8 March 2001)

* Libya. OAU meeting — 1 March: Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi has said there was no excuse for Africa not to unite. He was addressing the opening session of a meeting of the Organisation of African Unity in his home town of Sirte. African leaders have gathered in the Libya for a summit on proposals to set up an African union similar to the European Union. The leaders will go on to discuss the formation of a pan-African parliament, one of the key planks of the proposed African Union, as well as one of the most crucial issues facing the whole continent — its crushing debt. A spokesman for the Organisation of African Unity said that in the face of globalisation Africa must truly unite. There was, he said, «no choice». The summit is taking place in an opulent green marbled complex, specially built for a similar gathering in 1999, at which the Libyan leader first proposed a United States of Africa. Pictures of Colonel Gaddafi line the walls, one shows him holding a map of the entire continent in his hands. Colonel Gaddafi has now found himself a platform in Africa, having turned his back on the Arab world after it failed to break the air embargo imposed on Libya over the Lockerbie bombing. The leaders of Libya’s Arab neighbours, Egypt and Tunisia are notable absentees from the summit, but most of the continent’s other key players are here. The African Union project still has its sceptics but it does now appear to be moving ahead. At preparatory meetings before the summit there were detailed discussions on the composition and powers of a planned African parliament. A total of 44 countries belonging to the Organisation of African Unity have now signed up to the unity plan, but it needs to be ratified by two-thirds of OAU members before it goes into effect. Colonel Gaddafi will have hoped that would have happened before this summit. 2 March: African leaders have agreed on the creation of an African Union. The Union, however, will not come into existence immediately, as not enough countries have formally ratified the treaty. All 53 OAU members have signed up to the declaration. However, in order for the declaration to come into effect, two-thirds of OAU members (36 countries), need to ratify the agreement. At the last count, 31 countries have signed up. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 3 March 2001)

* Malawi. Malawi hit by flooding — 4 March: Heavy rains and flooding throughout the region have caused half of Malawi to be affected by flooding. Although no one has been evacuated so far, officials say there is an urgent need to deliver food and equipment to those affected. Malawi has only four helicopters, and only eight lorries were immediately available for the rescue effort. The government has appealed to all ministries to make other vehicles available. 5 March: An estimated 220,000 people have so far been affected by flooding. 13 of the country’s 27 districts are affected by the flood situation. (ANB-BIA, 5 March 2001)

* Maroc. Condamnations pour “diffamation” — Le jeudi 1er mars, Aboubakr Jamaï et Ali Amar, responsables de l’hebdomadaire Le Journal, ont été condamnés en première instance à trois et deux mois de prison, ainsi qu’à une amende de 2 millions de dirhams (environ 200.000 dollars), pour “diffamation” à l’encontre du ministre des Affaires étrangères Mohamed Benaïssa. Le samedi, ils ont décidé de faire appel. Plusieurs journaux marocains ont exprimé, le week-end, leur solidarité avec leurs collègues condamnés. (D’après La Libre Belgique, 5 mars 2001)

* Maroc. Le statut de la femme — Le 5 mars, recevant des associations féminines, le roi Mohammed VI a annoncé la création d’une “commission chargée de préparer une révision” de la moudawana, le code du statut personnel qui fait des femmes d’éternelles mineures. Cette commission comprendra notamment des docteurs de la loi islamique, des magistrats et “toutes les parties impliquées dans la consultation de la société civile”. C’est la première fois que cette révision est à nouveau envisagée. En 1999, une proposition gouvernementale de révision de la moudawana avait provoqué une imposante manifestation islamiste à Casablanca. La virulence de la polémique avait amené le gouvernement à battre en retraite et à demander l’arbitrage du roi. (Libération, France, 7 mars 2001)

* Mozambique. Inondations — 1er mars. Plus de 100.000 personnes sont toujours menacées dans les régions du Mozambique touchées par les inondations, alors que les secours aériens mis en oeuvre demeurent faibles et que la vallée du Zambèze est menacée de nouvelles crues. Le dispositif de secours aérien va être renforcé dans les jours à venir, a indiqué un responsable de l’Onu. Le niveau des eaux du Zambèze après Mutarara, à la frontière du Malawi, jusqu’à Caia, où le fleuve et son affluent le Shire se rencontrent, est en train de monter après une baisse relative. Le barrage mozambicain de Cahora Bassa a en effet effectué de nouveaux déversements d’eaux. Au Zimbabwe, on compte également 15.000 personnes déplacées par les inondations le long du Zambèze, où au moins trois personnes se sont noyées. - 4 mars. Les opérations de secours se poursuivent. Selon les derniers chiffres gouvernementaux, les inondations ont fait depuis fin janvier au moins 62 morts et ont touché 460.000 personnes, dont quelque 80.000 déplacées. Les centres d’accueil ont accueilli jusqu’à présent 40.000 personnes. - 6 mars. On s’attend à ce qu’un cyclone, en formation dans l’océan indien, frappe la province de Zambezia au centre du pays. 50.000 personnes demeurent encore dans des zones à haut risque le long du Zambèze et devraient être évacuées, selon les autorités. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 7 mars 2001))

* Mozambique. Flooding continues — 1 March: Two South African military transport aircraft carrying support staff to operate helicopters and light planes have arrived in Mozambique to help with flood relief operations. It is expected that more helicopters and planes will follow. Correspondents say the aircraft are urgently needed for ferrying emergency aid and for moving people out of flooded areas, because Mozambique has only two serviceable helicopters of its own. Officials say they’re coping reasonably well; they’ve moved about sixty-thousand people away from areas flooded by the rain-swollen Zambezi river. But a similar number have still to be taken to safety. Much of the town of Marromeu in the central province of Sofala is under water as the water level of the Zambezi River continues to rise. 4 March: An urgent operation is now underway in Mozambique to ferry food and medicines to thousands of flood victims who are resisting appeals to abandon their homes. Eight high-powered boats from Portugal have joined eight South African and two UK-funded helicopters in the relief operation. Officials want to evacuate at least 100,000 people from the Zambezi River Valley. 6 March: South African helicopters sweep through flood-stricken central Mozambique searching for people stranded by the rising river waters. There are fears that a mini-cyclone might hit Mozambique. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 7 March 2001)

* Nigeria. La sharia au Bauchi — La loi islamique sera instaurée à partir du 31 mars dans l’Etat nigérian de Bauchi (nord) à la suite de la signature, le 27 février, d’un décret à cet effet par le gouverneur de l’Etat, M. Ahmadu Adamu Muzua. Cela porte à 10 le nombre des Etats au Nigeria qui ont instauré ou fait part de leur projet d’instaurer la sharia. (IRIN, Abidjan, 1er mars 2001)

* Rwanda. Elections communales — Le 6 mars, les Rwandais étaient appelés aux urnes pour élire les conseillers de 106 districts ou communes, lors du premier scrutin à bulletin secret. 3.312.754 personnes se sont inscrites au cours des trois derniers mois sur les listes électorales, soit 95% de la population en âge de voter, selon un communiqué de la commission électorale. Les électeurs éliront des conseillers communaux qui formeront un conseil de district. Celui-ci sera chargé de désigner un comité exécutif au sein duquel sera choisi le nouveau maire. - Au soir du 6 mars, la participation à ces élections était estimée à 90%. (D’après La Libre Belgique, 6-7 mars 2001)

* Rwanda. First elections since genocide — 6 March: Rwandans are going to the polls today to elect local councillors in the first secret ballot since the 1994 genocide. All candidates must stand as individuals, rather than representatives of political parties. Those chosen will in turn elect mayors, who have traditionally been appointed by the central government. The electoral exercise is said to form part of the government’s programme of decentralising power in an attempt to prevent a recurrence of the genocide, in which eight-hundred-thousand Tutsis and moderate Hutus died in a campaign co-ordinated by the then Hutu government. Correspondents say the legacy of ethnic division has made it difficult for the government to introduce full democracy. 7 March: Rwandans turned out in large numbers to cast their votes. Electoral officials say about 90% of registered voters cast their ballots to elect councillors in a new system of local government. Those elected will in turn choose the first-ever mayors for urban centres — while in rural areas the councillors will select commune heads, who were previously appointed directly by the central government. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 7 March 2001)

* Sénégal. Conseil international de la FIACAT en 2002 — De passage à Dakar, M. Simon Sakibédé, délégué-Afrique de la FIACAT (Fédération internationale de l’action des chrétiens contre la torture) a annoncé au directoire de l’ACAT-Sénégal, représenté par MM. Raphaël Lambal (président) Eugène Diatta et Augustin Adélino (membres), en présence du président fondateur et président d’honneur, M. Alain Agboton, que Dakar a été retenu pour abriter en 2002, le Conseil international, instance importante de cette association des droits de l’homme. Le Sénégal a été choisi pour sa stabilité politique et les progrès de sa démocratie, a souligné M. Simon Sakibédé, qui en a profité pour dévoiler les programmes de formation 2001/2002: entre autres une rencontre-séminaire des ACAT d’Afrique à l’université catholique de Yaoundé du 23 au 27 juillet 2001. M. Sakibédé a proposé à M. Agboton, directeur de SOS-Prisons, d’établir des relations de coopération et de concertation, puisque la FIACAT gère aussi un important volet prisons. (A. Agboton/ANB-BIA, Sénégal, 2 mars 2001)

* Sénégal. Mme Boye Premier ministre — Le 3 mars, à l’approche des élections législatives, le président Abdoulaye Wade a nommé Mme Madior Boye au poste de Premier ministre, en remplacement de Moustapha Niasse (leader de l’Alliance des forces de progrès - AFP), limogé. Mme Boye, qui était ministre de la Justice, est la première femme à la tête d’un gouvernement au Sénégal. Elle n’est affiliée à aucun parti. Elle sera chargée de gérer la (courte) période devant mener aux législatives anticipées prévues le 29 avril prochain. Selon des commentateurs, le président Wade veut faire d’une pierre trois coups: prendre ses distances avec ses alliés, faire taire les critiques qui accusaient son parti de vouloir monopoliser le pouvoir, et séduire l’élèctorat féminin à l’approche d’un scrutin déterminant. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 5 mars 2001)

* Senegal. Wade dismisses his Prime Minister — 3 March: President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal has dismissed Prime Minister Moustapha Niasse. The Justice Minister, Mrs Madior Boye, has been named as his replacement. The move comes only eight weeks before parliamentary elections and follows increasing criticism of Mr Niasse by political rivals close to the President. 5 March: President Wade has re-shuffled his coalition government. Cabinet members from Mr Niasse’s Alliance of Progressive Forces party have been removed, but other ministers retained their posts. Two new parties have been brought into the coalition government. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 6 March 2001)

* Somalia. Warlords opposed to government meet — 5 March: Somali faction leaders opposed to Somalia’s transitional government are having talks in Ethiopia to seek reconciliation and form a common front. Those taking part include three leaders from Mogadishu — Hussein Aideed, Osman Hassan Atto and Musse Sudi Yalahow — who last week said they had decided to resolve their differences and seek to replace the government led by the interim President, Abdiqasim Salad Hassan. Other faction leaders are expected to join the talks in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. Although Ethiopia has said it supports the new government in Mogadishu, relations have been strained in recent months. In January, the Somali Prime Minister, Ali Khalif Galayadh, accused Ethiopia of trying to stoke Somalia’s civil war by arming militias. 7 March: Several more faction leaders have arrived in Ethiopia for the talks. Somalia’s interim government has accused Ethiopia of intervening in Somali affairs by allowing the talks to take place in Addis Ababa. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 7 March 2001)