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: 29-03-2001

PART #3/4 - From LIBERIA to SOUTH AFRICA

* Liberia. Torture and ill-treatment of students — Liberian security officers responsible for torture and ill-treatment of students should be immediately investigated and brought to justice, says Amnesty International in a Press Release on 22 March. Dozens of university students were beaten by the security forces in Monrovia on 21 March, solely for peacefully protesting against the continued detention of four independent journalists of The News, arrested one month ago. (Amnesty International, 22 March 2001)

* Libéria. Comité de contrôle — Le secrétaire général de l’Onu a mis sur pied un comité d’experts composé de cinq membres chargés de contrôler le respect par le Libéria des mesures demandées par le Conseil de sécurité. Le comité a pour mission d’enquêter sur l’embargo sur les armes et le diamant imposé au Libéria, ainsi que sur l’abandon par ce pays de toute forme de soutien militaire aux rebelles sierra-léonais du RUF. Le comité qui devrait achever sa mission dans un délai de six mois, doit également faire des investigations sur les liens existant entre l’exploitation des ressources naturelles au Libéria et l’intensification du conflit en Sierra Leone. (PANA, Sénégal, 27 mars 2001)

* Malawi. Self-repatriation exercise — Some of the 125,000 displaced people in Malawi’s worst-hit flooded district of Nsanje district have decided to go back to their home villages, after spending a month at flood victims camps without receiving any relief items. The sight of thin, crying, half naked children sprawling on the ground outside Nsanje Community Hall where 4,000 people rendered homeless by the floods are sheltering, illustrates the trauma suffered by these displaced persons — hunger, diseases, and lack of proper shelter. The absence of relief items in camps, have prompted some displaced victims to trek back to their ancestral homes where they fled from floods. Most of them are sailing back by boats. Although people are going back to their homes which lie along the Shire River banks, a tributary of the Zambezi, their houses are half-submerged in water. Some displaced Malawians are crossing into the Mozambican districts of Magiza by boats where they believe they will receive food aid. (Brian Ligomeka, ANB-BIA, Malawi, 24 March 2001)

* Mali. Une candidate aux présidentielles — C’est une femme, chimiste et mère de six enfants, qui a été la première à présenter sa candidature aux élections présidentielles maliennes prévues pour 2002. Mme Sidibé Awa Sanogo sera une candidate indépendante “notamment pour améliorer la condition des femmes maliennes”. Le 27 mars, lors d’une rencontre avec la presse, elle a déclaré qu’elle souhaitait “amener un changement dont tout le monde profitera”. La candidate dirige actuellement un projet de formation professionnelle de femmes financé par l’Onudi, et fait partie de l’Association malienne des victimes de la répression, fondée après la chute du dictateur Moussa Traoré en 1992. (Misna, Italie, 28 mars 2001)

* Maroc. Militants sahraouis retenus — Le samedi 24 mars, deux militants d’origine sahraouie du “Forum vérité et justice”, qui devaient assister à Genève à la session de la Commission des droits de l’homme de l’Onu, ont été empêchés de quitter Casablanca, a-t-on appris le 26 mars auprès de la Fédération internationale des droits de l’homme. MM. Brahim Noumri et Mahmoud Elhamed ont été retenus dans les locaux de la police jusqu’au samedi soir; leurs papiers d’identité leur ont été restitués, mais ils se sont vu interdire de quitter le territoire. (La Libre Belgique, 27 mars 2001)

* Mozambique. Floods displace thousands — More than 180,000 people have fled continuing floods in central Mozambique and are living in temporary accommodation centres, according to United Nations and government officials. The Zambezi river has remained at between two-and-a-half metres and three metres above flood level for more than five weeks. Rain is continuing upstream in Malawi and Zambia and flood waters are expected to remain at this level for at least a fortnight. So far 81 people have died. The navy began evacuating people from low ground in January using rubber boats donated for last year’s floods. At first many people refused to leave their homes but with their fields still under water and their food stocks exhausted, thousands are now making their way daily by foot or canoe to the more than 70 accommodation centres. The authorities were well prepared, and evacuations began early. However, Mozambique remains one of the world’s poorest countries and it does not have the resources to cope with the growing number of displaced people. The accommodation centres are largely organised by local government officials, with the help of national voluntary organisations and, increasingly, international non-governmental organisations. But food and other supplies must be brought in by the UN World Food Programme, Unicef, and the International Federation of Red Cross Societies. There are few paved roads in the flood area, and heavy rains have turned dirt roads to mud. It takes two days for a food lorry to travel the 200 miles from the port of Beira to Caia, the town on the south bank of the Zambezi river used as a food distribution centre. It takes another day to reach the three accommodation centres further downstream, near Marromeu, which now contain 24,000 people. At least 80 tonnes of food a day must reach the accommodation centres to feed 180,000 people. Officially, the UN World Food Programme says it is meeting the demand. Privately, however, UN officials admit that the two planes, two helicopters and a small fleet of trucks are not sufficient. Of the displaced, 155,000 are in the Zambezi valley and the rest have fled floods on two smaller rivers, the Lucheringo river, north of the Zambezi, and the Pungue river, south of the Zambezi. The Pungue rose again at the weekend, cutting the main road between Beira and Zimbabwe for the fourth time this year. (The Guardian, UK, 28 March 2001)

* Niger. Students in opposition to the Government — 21 March: Violent clashes take place between Niamey University students and security forces, leaving a gendarme dead and 40 people injured on both sides. 22 March: Opposition Members of Parliament gave called for a vote of «no confidence» in the government. In its motion still to be debated and voted upon, the Opposition indicts the government for its intransigence on measures adopted against demonstrating students, warning that this may lead to another lost academic year. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 23 March 2001)

* Niger. Menace de famine — Le 23 mars, l’Assemblée nationale du Niger a lancé un appel pressant à la communauté internationale pour apporter une aide alimentaire d’urgence aux populations menacées par la famine. Les députés ont également prié les commerçants de céréales d’éviter les spéculations sur les vivres et de ravitailler normalement les marchés pour permettre aux populations sinistrées de pouvoir acheter les vivres. En fait, les prix des céréales ont connu une hausse vertigineuse. Les commerçants ont dû aller acheter les vivres au centre du Nigeria; et à cela s’est ajouté la hausse du prix du carburant. Dans plusieurs régions du Niger, on assiste ces derniers jours à un déplacement massif des populations fuyant leurs villages pour trouver refuge dans les grands centres ou les pays voisins, notamment le Nigeria. En septembre dernier, les autorités avaient annoncé un déficit céréalier de 160.000 tonnes; aujourd’hui ce déficit est estimé à 330.000 tonnes. (PANA, Sénégal, 23-25 mars 2001)

* Nigeria. Lutte contre la désertification — Le gouvernement fédéral a entrepris des mesures pour arrêter la désertification dans la partie nord du pays dans les 5 à 10 années à venir, a annoncé dans son édition du 23 mars le quotidien The Guardian, citant le ministre de l’Environnement, M. Mohammed Kabir Saidu. La désertification et les problèmes écologiques qui y sont associés ont affecté la vie et les biens des habitants des Etats de Bomo, Yobe, Jigawa, Katsina, Sokoto, Kebbi et Zamfara. Baptisé “Green Shelter Belt” (GSB), le projet d’un coût estimé à 3 milliards de nairas (25 millions de dollars) consistera à planter des millions de semis d’arbres cette année et à creuser des trous de sonde pour assurer leur survie et leur croissance. GSB, qui s’étendra sur 1.500 km, servira de protection contre les vents du sahara et agira comme agent de stabilisation des sols fragiles du désert. (IRIN, Abidjan, 23 mars 2001)

* Nigeria. Shell lawsuit closer to a trial — A lawsuit alleging Royal Dutch/Shell’s involvement in the torture and murder of Nigerian environmentalists by the former military regime moved nearer to trial yesterday, when the US Supreme Court refused to intervene to stop it. The justices declined to step into the legal battle between Shell and relatives of Ken Saro-Wiwa — the Nigerian playwright who was executed in 1995 on murder charges —and other victims. Mr Saro-Wiwa led protests against Shell’s operations in the Ogoni region of Nigeria. The Supreme Court refused to consider Shell’s argument that the dispute had no significant connection to the US. The effect of its decision will be to allow the lawsuit to proceed in the US. (Financial Times, UK, 27 March 2001)

* Nigeria. Southern states want more autonomy — The governors of Nigeria’s 17 southern states have called for constitutional reforms towards transferring more power from the central government to the states. They also say they want national resources to be shared more fairly, and the Federal Constitution amended to allow their states the right to form their own police forces. the meeting in Benin City is only their third. (BBC News, 28 March 2001)

* Rwanda. Reports of using forced labour are denied — Rwanda has angrily rejected reports that it is using its prisoners as forced labour in mines in Congo RDC. Rwandan officials say that crimes against humanity committed by Rwandan prisoners ruled out freeing them, and that all prisoners were accounted for and believed to be still in jail. Correspondents say Rwanda is believed to have funded its campaign in Congo RDC through mining. It had been reported that 1,500 Rwandan prisoners had been seen working under armed guard at a columbite-tantalite mine in Numbi. «Col-tan» is a rare mineral which is now a crucial ingredient in the manufacture of mobile phones and other hi-tech goods. (BBC News, 22 March 2001)

* Rwanda. Tribunal lawyers investigated for fee-splitting — United Nations investigators have uncovered evidence that some lawyers defending suspects at the international war crimes tribunal for Rwanda may be providing financial inducements to win clients. A UN report by the Office of International Oversight Services says lawyers paid by the UN to defend poor Rwandans at the tribunal, in Tanzania, have given detainees expensive gifts, such as computers, video cassette recorders and a gold watch. The lawyers had also provided financial support to detainees’ families, extending in some cases to employing suspects’ friends or relatives as case investigators none of whom had gone to Rwanda to collect information. The report — which also looked into similar allegations about the war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia — said such actions suggested an informal system of fee-splitting by lawyers, although there was no direct substantiation of such arrangements. The report quoted some lawyers at the tribunal of complaining that their clients had pressured them for money or an outright share of the legal fees. (BBC News, 28 March 2001)

* Sénégal. Accord militaire en Casamance — Le 23 mars, le gouvernement sénégalais et les rebelles casamançais ont signé un accord de paix, le deuxième en une semaine. Cet accord en quatre points prévoit: “le dépôt des armes, le cantonnement des forces, la restitution et la destruction des armes, et le retour des militaires dans les casernes”. (Libération, France, 24 mars 2001)

* Sénégal. Colloque des Eglises catholiques — Le 27 mars à Dakar, s’est ouvert un colloque sous-régional des Eglises catholiques du Cap Vert, de la Gambie, de la Guinée-Bissau, de la Mauritanie et du Sénégal sur: “Réconciliation et charité dans la sous-région”. L’archevêque de Dakar, Mgr Sarr, a insisté sur la solidarité entre Eglises pour circonscrire les conflits et il a rappelé le mouvement de rébellion de la Casamance. Au cours du colloque, les évêques se pencheront notamment sur la réinsertion des personnes déplacées, la réconciliation et l’éducation à la paix. (PANA, Sénégal, 27 mars 2001)

* Sénégal/Pakistan. Accords de coopération — Le 27 mars, le président sénégalais Wade est revenu du Pakistan après une visite officielle de trois jours. Des accords ont été signés entre les deux parties. Le Pakistan fournira 240.000 tonnes de riz sur financement de la Banque islamique de développement. Par ailleurs, la Société nationale des chemins de fer du Sénégal (SNCS) a signé un accord avec la Rail-Cop du Pakistan portant sur la fourniture de 20 voitures pour le train de la banlieue de Dakar. Le Pakistan recevra aussi en stage de formation une vingtaine d’ingénieurs et techniciens sénégalais. (PANA, Sénégal, 27 mars 2001)

* Sierra Leone. Rentrée de réfugiés — Le HCR a enregistré 3.418 réfugiés arrivés à l’est de la Sierra Leone après avoir échappé aux combats dans la région du Bec de perroquet au sud-est de la Guinée, a informé l’agence dans son bulletin du 20 au 23 mars. Il s’agit essentiellement de femmes et d’enfants, car beaucoup d’hommes sont restés derrière par crainte d’exactions des autorités guinéennes ou des rebelles du RUF. Les refugiés ont dit qu’ils avaient abadonné les camps en Guinée parce qu’ils craignaient une autre attaque rebelle contre la ville-garnison de Nongoa. Les autres raisons invoquées sont le manque de vivres dans les camps, l’hostilité croissante des Guinéens et le fait qu’ils voulaient franchir la frontière avant que la saison des pluies fasse monter le niveau des rivières. (IRIN, Abidjan, 26 mars 2001)

* Somalia. Faction leaders unite — Somali warlords and other groups opposed to the country’s transitional government have joined together to form a unity council. They are calling for a national reconciliation conference in order to form what they describe as a «legitimate» government. Somalia got its first central government for 10 years, at the end of 2000, following a peace conference in Djibouti. This new group argues that, that process was flawed, as not all Somalis were represented. The announcement came at a press conference in Addis Ababa where the Somali leaders have been meeting to try and hammer out their differences. (BBC News, 22 March 2001)

* Somalie. Front des chefs de guerre — Le 22 mars à Addis Abeba, des chefs de factions somaliens ont annoncé la création d’un front commun, nouveau revers pour le gouvernement national de transition (GNT) installé à Mogadiscio. Après deux semaines de négociations dans le sud éthiopien, ces chefs de clans opposés au GNT sont parvenus à se mettre d’accord sur la composition d’un Conseil somalien de réconciliation et de restauration (CSRR) chargé de préparer une nouvelle conférence de réconciliation. Le CSRR, qui a un mandat de six mois et dont la présidence est tournante, est pour l’instant présidé par un chef de guerre de Mogadiscio, Hussein Mohamed Aïdid. Le président Salat, lui, désigné en août lors d’une conférence de réconciliation à Arta (Djibouti) destinée à mettre fin à dix ans d’anarchie et de luttes, est soutenu par la communauté internationale, mais n’est pas reconnu par la plupart des chefs de factions et des leaders régionaux du pays. (La Libre Belgique, 23 mars 2001)

* Somalie. Attaque des locaux de MSF — Le 27 mars, des hommes armés ont attaqué les locaux de Médecins sans frontières à Mogadiscio, alors que des membres des Nations unies s’y trouvaient en mission. Douze Somaliens ont été tués lors de cette attaque lancée par le “seigneur de guerre” Muse Sudi Yalahow, qui contrôle la partie sud de la capitale somalienne. Six représentants de l’Onu et trois membres de MSF ont été enlevés et seraient retenus dans différents endroits dans la ville. Cette attaque met sérieusement à mal la demande faite à l’Onu le 15 mars dernier par le gouvernement de transition, de rouvrir un bureau à Mogadiscio. Même si, selon le porte-parole de l’Onu, “nous ne pensons pas que les Nations unies étaient visées en tant que telles”. - Le 28 mars au matin, cinq expatriés ont été libérés. Quatre autres restaient aux mains des ravisseurs: deux Britanniques, un Français et un Belge. “Nous voulons montrer que Mogadiscio n’est pas un lieu sûr”, a déclaré un porte-parole du seigneur de guerre. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 29 mars 2001)

* Somalia. Gunmen attack MSF compound — 27 March: Gunmen using armoured vehicles have attacked a compound used by Medecins sans Frontières (MSF) in Mogadishu. The attack, in the north of the city, took place as a group of aid workers were leaving the compound to visit a health centre for mothers and children. A number of UN and MSF aid workers are taken captive. They are split into three groups and ferried to different parts of the city. The UN has established contact with Musa Sudi Yalahow, a faction leader, in an effort to secure the release of the captives. Later reports say the gunmen have handed back five of the aid workers, but four are still being held. 29 March: The gunmen are still holding the four UN workers (two Britons,a Belgian and a French Algerian). Negotiations for their release are continuing. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 29 March 2001)

* South Africa. «Colonial compensation» call fuels concern — South Africa, which will host a landmark United Nations conference on racism this summer, is fighting to head off a damaging north-south clash over demands that the US and Europe pay compensation for the past wrongs of slavery and colonialism. The compensation issue has emerged as the most contentious in negotiations under way in Geneva on a draft declaration and plan of action to be issued by ministers at the end of the conference, to be held from August 31 to September 7 in Durban. For instance, a regional preparatory meeting held in Tehran in February called for compensation for «policies or practices based on racial or national superiority such as colonialism, slavery, slave trade and ethnic cleansing... regardless of when they were committed». Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, South Africa’s foreign minister, said on 21 March the west needed to acknowledge an historical injustice, but she hoped that compensation would be discussed in a forward-looking context, perhaps in the form of a development fund. «We need to confront the past but not in a combative or confrontational way,» she said, adding that compensation could be a way of closing the past and moving on. Some western countries have signalled their willingness to discuss a development fund, and many nations have moved or are planning to compensate their own minorities who have suffered discrimination. But there is strong resistance to calls for compensation at an international level that could open countries up to huge financial claims for historical wrongs. «The compensation issue poses enormously difficult problems, and not just for the US,» George Moose, US ambassador to the UN in Geneva, said this week. «We understand the sentiment but hope the conference will focus on how we can effectively tackle the problems that now confront us.» (Financial Times, UK, 23 March 2001)

* South Africa. Sexual violence rampant in schools — In a report released on 27 March, Human Rights Watch charges that in schools across South Africa, thousands of girls of every race and economic group are encountering sexual violence and harassment that impede their access to education. School authorities rarely challenge the perpetrators, and many girls interrupt their education, or leave school altogether because they feel vulnerable to sexual assault. The 138-page report is entitled: «Scared at School: Sexual Violence Against Girls in South African Schools». It is based on extensive interviews with victims, their parents, teachers, and school administrators in Kwa-Zulu, Gauteng, and the Western Cape. The full report can be found at: http//www.hrw.org/reports/2001/safrica.htm (HRW, 27 March 2001)

* South Africa/Zimbabwe. «Quiet diplomacy» — Trevor Manuel, South Africa’s finance minister, yesterday defended his country’s «quiet diplomacy» approach to the political and economic crisis in Zimbabwe, saying there is little point in his government «shouting at its neighbour across the Limpopo. I don’t think we should be asked to apologise for talking in the way that we do. We can’t afford an implosion in any one of our neighbouring states», he said. South Africa has come under pressure to take a more forceful stance towards finding a resolution to instability and democratic infringements in Zimbabwe. (Financial Times, UK, 27 March 2001)