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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 17-05-2001

PART #3/4 - From LIBYA - SOMALIA

* Libye. “Aveux” contestés de Kadhafi — Le dirigeant libyen Mouammar Kadhafi aurait reconnu devant un haut responsable allemand la responsabilité de la Libye dans un attentat anti-américain en 1986 à Berlin et dans l’attentat contre l’appareil de la PanAm à Lockerbie, affirmait le 15 mai le quotidien Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Kadhafi aurait concédé ces “aveux” lors d’un entretien avec le conseiller politique du chancelier Schröder, Michael Steiner. Le gouvernement allemand a répliqué que Kadhafi et Steiner n’ont discuté que du terrorisme en général et non de “cas particuliers”. Tripoli a dénoncé ces aveux présumés comme “un complot suspect”. (D’après La Libre Belgique, 16 mai 2001)

* Malawi. Lilongwe water supply «cut off» — There were running battles in the Malawian capital, Lilongwe, on 11 May as armed police officers in riot gear chased striking workers of the Lilongwe Water Board out of their premises. The workers have been on strike since 10 May after talks with management to improve their working conditions broke down. As part of the strike the workers have cut off the water supply into Lilongwe. The workers are demanding an immediate 100% pay increase and improvements in their working conditions. Workers have fired their union leaders because after a year of negotiation they have failed to convince the management to improve their conditions of service. The workers accuse board members, who are mostly politicians appointed by Malawi’s president, of plundering company resources by allocating themselves expensive cars and hefty perks. Things turned acrimonious when, after the talks broke down, the irate workers locked up senior management and board members in their offices. To seal their anger they deflated tires of a top-of-the-range Toyota Prado belonging to board chair Greenwell Mponela. They also did the same to vehicles of senior management. (BBC News, UK, 12 May 2001)

* Morocco. Activists jailed — A court in Morocco has given jail sentences of three months to 36 human rights activists for organising unauthorised public protests against torture and arbitrary arrests. The activists from the Moroccan Association for Human Rights held their protests last year in the capital, Rabat on International Human Rights Day. The verdict comes less than two months after the organisation released its annual report which stated that —despite promises of reform — the human rights situation remained alarming, with journalists continuing to face regular intimidation -several having been given prison sentences this year. (BBC News, UK, 17 May 2001)

* Niger. Le Premier ministre à Bruxelles — Le 11 mai, le Premier ministre nigérien Hama Amadou, accompagné de ses ministres des Finances et du Plan, entame une visite d’une semaine à Bruxelles, pour faire le point sur la coopération entre l’Union européenne et le Niger. La Commission européenne est très satisfaite du niveau atteint par la coopération entre Bruxelles et Niamey depuis le rétablissement de celle-ci en mai 2000. L’UE avait gelé sa coopération avec le Niger à la suite du coup d’Etat sanglant d’avril 1999. Dans le cadre du 9e Fonds européen de développement, l’UE a mis à la disposition de Niamey un montant global de 345 millions d’euros, ce qui représente un des engagements les plus importants de Bruxelles en faveur d’un pays ACP. Le Niger a aussi bénéficié d’une aide financière de 5 millions d’euros pour lui permettre de faire face au déficit alimentaire consécutif à une baisse des récoltes. (D’après PANA, Sénégal, 10 mai 2001)

* Niger. Recensement de la population — Un recensement général de la population et de l’habitat débutera officiellement le 20 mai sur toute l’étendue du territoire national, annonce-t-on de source officielle à Niamey. L’opération devrait durer 20 jours. Quelque 11.600 agents ont été recrutés et formés et 1.100 véhicules seront mobilisés pour l’opération. Le dernier recensement général estimait la population nigérienne à un peu plus de 8 millions d’habitants. L’opération vise notamment à renforcer la prise en compte des questions de population dans les plans et stratégies de développement. Dans l’immédiat, elle fournira l’effectif et la structure de la population, sa répartition géographique et par sexe, ainsi que les caractéristiques de l’habitat. (PANA, Sénégal, 12 mai 2001)

* Niger. Students switch tactics — Students in Niger have held a peaceful demonstration in the capital, Niamey, after abandoning an 11-day hunger strike at the parliament building. The students are protesting against the continuing detention of 16 colleagues, charged with killing a police officer during a demonstration at Niamey University in February. The leader of the Niger students, Tasiu Dan Lamso, told the BBC they had decided to change their tactics and would now just use marches and demonstrations to make their point. But Mr Lamso said the 16 students in detention remained on their own hunger strike. (BBC News, UK, 13 May 2001)

* Niger. Grève des enseignants — Les 17.000 enseignants du secteur public se sont mis en grève de 72 heures, du 16 au 18 mai, en dépit de l’appel à la modération lancé par le ministre de l’Education nationale. Les grévistes réclament la satisfaction de leur plate-forme revendicative, mais selon le ministre, 6 des 9 points de cette plate-forme ont déjà trouvé solution. Pour les observateurs, ce mouvement de grève participe à une stratégie classique: mettre à profit la période très sensilble des examens scolaires pour faire aboutir des revendications. (PANA, Sénégal, 16 mai 2001)

* Nigeria. Seeking closer ties with USA — President Olusegun Obasanjo is on a diplomatic mission to the United States in order to build up relations with President George Bush. The United States has extensive interests in Nigeria’s oil industry and the American government has described Nigeria’s transition to democracy as crucial for all of Africa’s future. This is the first time the two leaders will have met and President Obasanjo will hope to build the same personal bond with President Bush that he enjoyed with the previous American leader Bill Clinton. Most of Nigeria’s elite were disappointed that George Bush won the American election. They would have preferred a Democrat as that party is generally perceived to have more sympathy for African concerns. But President Obasanjo needs American support in his campaigns for debt relief and for more foreign investment in Nigeria’s struggling economy. President Bush will want to be seen as helpful. This is because he is sensitive to the interests of oil companies like Chevron, Texaco and Exxon Mobil, all of which have big investments in Nigeria. The two men are likely to discuss America’s controversial military assistance to Nigeria. The Americans say they would like Nigeria to consolidate its role as a regional peacekeeper. But some Nigerian soldiers and politicians have criticised an American training programme that they believe has threatened Nigerian sovereignty. (BBC News, UK, 10 May 2001)

* Nigeria. Bombe à retardement — Donald Boham, porte-parole de la compagnie pétrolière Shell, a prévenu les autorités nigérianes que les puits de pétrole abandonnés depuis 1993 dans l’Etat de Delta pourraient exploser du jour au lendemain. Sur quatorze forages, deux seulement ont été correctement scellés avec du béton. Des fuites ont été repérées sur l’un des douzes autres. Le gaz qui s’exhale des fissures pourrait provoquer un terrible incendie. La Shell s’inquiète d’éventuels actes de sabotage de la part des Ogonis, les habitants de la région, particulièrement actifs dans la lutte contre les multinationales qui exploitent les hydrocarbures sans en partager équitablement les bénéfices. (J.A./L’Intelligent, France, 8-14 mai 2001)

* Nigeria. Nigeria rejects foreign debt claims — Nigeria says it has rejected foreign debt demands worth two-hundred-and-forty million dollars. The head of the Nigeria’s Debt Management Office, Akin Arikawe, said after talks with members of the international credit regulatory organisation, the Paris Club, that it emerged that creditors had no proper documentation for one-hundred-and-fifty million dollars. He said Nigeria also rejected a claim from Brazil for ninety-million dollars. Mr Arikawe said at the end of March that Nigeria’s external debt stock stood at twenty-eight billion dollars. (BBC News, UK, 15 May 2001)

* Nigeria. Kaduna: tribunaux différents — En raison des affrontements confessionnels meurtriers de juin dernier, musulmans et non musulmans seront jugés, dès novembre, par des tribunaux différents dans l’Etat de Kaduna (nord), où la sharia est en application depuis mai 2000. Des tribunaux islamiques seront chargés de juger les musulmans; les non musulmans comparaîtront devant des cours de droit coutumier ou civil. (La Croix, France, 15 mai 2001)

* Nigeria. «Power for the people» — After decades of living in darkness, Nigeria expects to be able to generate enough electricity to supply its citizens with light by the end of the year, government officials said on 15 May. Power and steel ministry spokesman Clinton Adebolu Oni said the government aims to increase the supply of electricity to 4,000 megawatts from 1,500 MW by the end of the year. «We have signed contracts with some companies and the refurbishment of the Shiroro, Kainji, Egbin, Ughelli, Jebba and Afam power plants, among others, which have been idle over the years, due to official neglect, has commenced and will soon be completed,» Adebolu Oni said. «The contractors have started work and it is planned that by the end of December the contractors would have completed the job and power generation would have been improved to about 4,000 MW,» he said. Africa’s most populous country with more than 110 million people, needs about 3,400 MW daily but the state-run National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) generates only 1,500 MW because of the poor state of its facilities after 15 years of neglect during military rule. Industry in Lagos, the commercial capital, is running at only 30 percent of its installed capacity due largely to the lack of power supply, according to the Lagos state government. (CNN, USA, 15 May 2001)

* Rwanda. Church members in the dock for role in genocide — Earlier this month, an Anglican Bishop appeared before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) accused of committing genocide and crimes against humanity in Rwanda in 1994. In Belgium, four Rwandans including two Benedictine nuns are currently on trial for their alleged role in the mass murder of Tutsis. Coming after the trial and acquittal last year in Rwanda of Catholic Bishop Augustin Misago, these events are reopening debate about what role the Church played in Rwanda during the genocide, and how it should respond in the aftermath. Such events also raise questions about the relationship between the church, the state and the judicial system, especially in a country like Rwanda which has one of the highest rates of church membership in the world. While reliable figures are hard to come by, at least two-thirds of Rwanda’s population are Christian and about half are Roman Catholic. In Rwanda, the Catholic Church in particular has come under fire for involvement in the genocide. (...) Anglican Bishop Samuel Musabyimana is the second churchman now in the ICTR‘s custody along with Seventh Day Adventist Pastor Elizaphan Ntakirutimana. Appearing before the court in full ecclesiastical robes, Bishop Musabyimana on May 2nd pleaded not-guilty to four charges including genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide and extermination as a crime against humanity. He said he wished to protest his innocence to the Christian community and his colleagues in the Anglican church, including the Archbishop of Canterbury. «They should be assured that there is no blood on my hands,» he said. «My conscience is quiet.» During the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, Musabyimana was bishop of the Shyogwe diocese in central Rwanda. The Prosecutor alleges that he ordered refugees who fled to Shyogwe to be registered according to their ethnic group, and that soldiers and militia used these lists, with his knowledge, to single out Tutsi refugees and take them to their deaths. (...) Musabyimana’s indictment says he held meetings with the Rwandan interim government that presided over the genocide, and that he carried out missions abroad on behalf of that government. Reacting to Musabyimana’s arrest, the Archbishop of Canterbury‘s office said that Archbishop George Carey (head of the Anglican church) «has supported and encouraged the setting up of an independent inquiry into the role of the Church in the genocide. The legal process now in train should be allowed to run its course. Any decision on a Church investigation would need to be taken after appropriate consultation in the Anglican Communion and in the light of the outcome of the legal process». (...) (Hirondelle, Arusha, 14 May 2001)

* Rwanda. Tribunal «racism» row — A leaked letter reveals why seven prosecutors at the UN tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha have controversially not been reappointed. The letter obtained by journalists, written by chief prosecutor Carla Del Ponte, was a response to a complaint made by the seven lawyers to the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. The six African and one Indian lawyer attributed Ms Del Ponte’s decision not to renew their contracts beyond May to racism. Rebuffing the charge, Ms Del Ponte said the lawyers were not suited as prosecutors. Her letter, obtained by the AP news agency, said the lawyers’ complaint to the secretary-general reinforced her decision about their professionalism.«The memorandum is symptomatic of professional incompetence of each of the signatories... instead of directing their energy toward the ends of international justice, they are absorbed in their own narrow self-interest,» the letter said. A spokesman for the tribunal in Arusha would not comment on the letter or the accusations. The Rwandan Government has criticised the Rwanda tribunal in the past for their slow work rate. Very few genocide suspects have been successfully prosecuted since it was set up. More than 750,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed in the genocide. (BBC News, UK, 15 May 2001)

* Rwanda/Belgium. The Brussels trial — 10 May: The trial of the four accused, linked to the 1994 genocide, continues. Sister Solange Uwanyiligara appears as a witness. She was a member of Sister Gertrude’s (one of the accused) community. She says their convent in Sovu was well stocked with food, water and wood. Generally-speaking, her testimony is not very favourable towards her former superior in the community, Sister Gertrude. On the other hand, another witness, Sister Véronique Babo, is full of praise for the two accused nuns. Later on, the same day, another witness, Mrs Marie Goretti Mbateye, says she was among those refugees who fled to Sovu, arriving there on 17 April. She states that she saw refugees being refused shelter at the convent by Sister Gertrude and she had seen hundreds of people being burnt alive in the garage at Sovu. She says that people saw Sisters Gertrude and Kizito (the 2nd of the two accused nuns) carrying tins of petrol. 11 May: At the beginning of today’s hearing, the defence lawyer for Sister Gertrude says it is clear that everyone concerned in the trial is becoming extremely tired and this has led, this week, to friction, tension and incidents in the court. Three European nuns give their testimony. One of them Sister Joanna Paula, (Polish) says she worked at the health centre adjoining the Convent at Sovu until 18 April 1994. i.e. After the Tutsi refuges arrived but before the first of the three massacres took place. She affirms that the refugees received food and drink at the convent. 14 May: The trial enters its 5th week. It had been foreseen the trial would end at the end of May, then the 8th June. Now it seems certain the trial will not be completed before the middle of June. The two nuns’ defence counsel team say they are not happy with the way the presiding judge is conducting the hearings. One of the defence counsel, Alain Vergauwen, says the trial is losing an essential element, its calmness, and calmness is a conditio sine qua non for ensuring justice is done. He is of the opinion that the rights of the defence are in jeopardy. Counsel for the plaintiffs claiming damages, agree with defence counsel. Lawyer Vergauwen says it cannot be accepted that the presiding judge should have refused defence counsel the right to ask a number of questions — this indeed happened in preceeding days. 15 May: The general manager of Sorwal, Martin Dusabe, a firm which manufactures matches, appears in court. Importance is given to a letter written by one of the accused, Alphonse Higaniro, to Mr Dusabe. In the letter, Higaniro writes: «In order to ensure security in Butare, the “cleansing” must continue and completed». 16 May: The court hears evidence in favour of Higaniro. A Benedictine monk. Father Baudouin De Bie who was a member of a neighbouring Benedictime community in Sovu, says he «cannot see the two accused Benedictine nuns as being involved in acts of genocide». (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 17 May 2001)

* Rwanda/Malawi. Renforcement des relations — Le 10 mai, le Rwanda et le Malawi ont convenu de renforcer leur coopération bilatérale dans divers domaines du développement économique, a-t-on appris de source officielle à Kigali. Selon un communiqué conjoint publié à l’issue d’un séjour de trois jours au Rwanda du président du Malawi, Bakili Muluzi, les deux pays vont intensifier leur coopération dans les domaines du commerce et du tourisme. Les deux parties ont convenu également de nouer des liens économiques plus étroits dans le cadre du Marché commun des pays d’Afrique orientale et australe. Les deux chefs d’Etat ont encore promis d’apporter leur soutien au processus de paix en cours au Burundi et au Congo RDC. (PANA, Sénégal, 10 mai 2001)

* Senegal. New government — The Senegalese Prime Minister, Mame Madior Boye, has announced the make up of her new 24 member government. Mrs Madior Boye, who became Senegal’s first woman Prime Minister in March, has given several jobs to women as well as members of civil society. Ten of the positions, including the armed forces and finance portfolios, have gone to members of President Abdoulaye Wade’s Senegalese Democratic Party. Earlier, Senegal’s high court confirmed Mr Wade’s Sopi — or Change — coalition as the winner of April’s general elections. The beaten party, the Alliance for Progress, has alleged widespread fraud. (BBC News, UK, 13 May 2001)

* Sénégal. Le Premier ministre reconduit — Le 10 mai, le Premier ministre du Sénégal, Mme Madior Boye, a présenté sa démission au président Wade. Le même jour, elle a été reconduite dans ses fonctions par le chef de l’Etat. Le prochain gouvernement sera constitué d’une “équipe assez réduite, où il y aura moins de ministres, avec des femmes, des hommes politiques et des membres de la société civile”, a déclaré Mme Boye. Elle a indiqué aussi qu’elle commencera ses consultations après la décision du Conseil constitutionnel sur les élections législatives du 29 avril. Différents partis ont déposé des recours pour contester une partie des résultats du scrutin. - Le 12 mai, le conseil constitutionnel a confirmé les résultats provisoires de la commission nationale pour les élections législatives, qui ont consacré la victoire de la coalition Sopi (au pouvoir) qui a obtenu 89 sièges sur les 120 de la future assemblée nationale. - Ce même jour, Mme Boye a fait connaître la formation de son nouveau gouvernement. L’équipe ne compte plus que 24 ministres, dont 6 femmes. Le parti présidentiel y est très largement représenté: seulement quatre ministres appartiennent à deux autres familles politiques. Le nouvel exécutif compte également des représentants de la société civile. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 14 mai 2001)

* Sierra Leone. D’armes en charrues — La Mission des Nations unies en Sierra Leone (Minusil) devait commencer, ce lundi 14 mai, la destruction de 10.000 armes à feu récupérées par le biais des efforts nationaux destinés au désarmement de tous les belligérants dans le pays, à l’exception de l’armée. Chaque jour, près de 450 armes seront mises en pièces avec des machines-outils et seront transformées en 4.000 socs de charrues, en faucilles, coutelas, pelles, haches et autres outils de jardinage. D’anciens combattants participeront à cette tâche, selon la Minusil. Les outils seront distribués aux bénéficiaires des plans de réinsertion de la Commission nationale pour le désarmement, la démobilisation et la réinsertion. (IRIN, Abidjan, 14 mai 2001)

* Sierra Leone. Church Rescues 86 child soldiers — The Catholic Church has begun to shelter the first group of child-soldiers who, up until now, were fighting with the rebels in Sierra Leone’s civil war. Bishop Giorgio Biguzzi of Makeni told the MISNA missionary agency that 86 boys and girls were handed over on 12 May to the diocesan Caritas organisation by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF). Caritas had prepared a place for them in St. Francis Secondary School in Makeni. The RUF command authorized Caritas personnel to visit the diocesan villages in order to accelerate the rescue of minors recruited by the anti-government movement of Sierra Leone. «The handing over of the child-soldiers is a sign of hope for the country,» Bishop Biguzzi said. In some instances, the Church has purchased the liberty of children, at a cost of $50 to $100. «I hope that the disarmament of the numerous armed bands spread all over Sierra Leone will take place as soon as possible,» the bishop said. «Only then will it really be possible to speak about peace.» (Zenith, Italy, 14 May 2001)

* Sierra Leone. Comprehensive peace talks — 16 May: Rebels of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in Sierra Leone have been holding three-way peace talks in the capital, Freetown, with the government and the civil defence militia, known as the Kamajor. These are the first peace talks involving the RUF rebels that take place inside Sierra Leone since fighting broke out again last year. The rebels and the Kamajors have issued a joint statement pledging to abide by the terms of the ceasefire, which has broadly held since it was implemented last November. A spokeswoman for the United Nations in Sierra Leone, Margaret Novicki, told the BBC that the key to progress was an agreement on disarmament. A BBC correspondent in the region says the deal could pave the way for the full deployment of the UN peacekeeping troops. (BBC News, UK, 16 May 2001)

* Sierra Leone. Enfants soldats relâchés — Pendant le week-end du 12-13 mai, les rebelles du Front révolutionnaire uni (RUF) ont libéré un premier groupe de 80 enfants soldats enrôlés dans leurs rangs, qui a été remis à des représentants de l’organisation catholique Caritas, dans la localité de Lunsar, à 80 km au nord-est de la capitale Freetown. Le 16 mai, un autre groupe d’enfants a été remis à la Caritas, portant ainsi à 161 le nombre d’enfants libérés à ce jour. Cette initiative, précise l’agence MISNA, précède de quelques jours celle qui devrait être lancée à échelle nationale par la mission de l’ONU, à partir du 25 mai. Ce qui laisse espérer que le RUF a l’intention de prendre au sérieux ses engagements, souligne l’évêque de Makeni. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 17 mai 2001)

* Somalia. Major clash in Mogadishu — 12 May: Heavy fighting has broken out in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, between forces of the transitional government and fighters loyal to a warlord. A BBC correspondent in Mogadishu said at least nine people have been killed and 30 others injured. The clashes are the first major confrontation between the militia factions which control much of the capital and the transitional government set up by a number of Somali groups last year in an attempt to reunify the country. Both sides were using machine guns and mortars in the Mogadishu port area. It is not known what sparked the fighting. Hussein Mohamed Aidid, whose gunmen were involved in the fighting, is a key member of a council, set up by several powerful warlords that, backed by Ethiopia are seeking to replace the government. They say they will form their own government within six months, to rival the country’s transitional administration. The fighting comes on the same day that another warlord in Mogadishu received a convoy of heavy-duty lorries transporting weapons and ammunition. The convoy, consisting of 12 big trucks, was escorted by about 10 battle wagons and more than 100 heavily-armed militiamen. It arrived at the headquarters of warlord Muse Sudi Yalahow who also strongly opposes the new transitional government. 13 May: Reports from Mogadishu say the city has remained relatively quiet after the fierce gunbattle. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 14 May 2001)

* Somalie. Combats à Mogadiscio — Les 11 et 12 mai, 80 personnes ont été tuées dans la capitale somalienne, lors d’affrontements entre les miliciens partisans de Hussein Mohamed Aïdid et des hommes favorables au gouvernement de transition (GNT) de Mogadiscio. Aïdid dirige un front commun de chefs de factions et des dirigeants régionaux somaliens opposés au GNT. Ce dernier, formé après la conférence nationale de réconciliation d’août 2000 à Djibouti, est reconnu par la communauté internationale. (Libération, France, 14 mai 2001)