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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 11-10-2001

PART #3/4 - From  ETHIOPIA  to  RWANDA

* Ethiopia. Court clears Mengistu followers — Official newspapers in Ethiopia say a further 23 people accused of crimes under the leadership of Haile Mengistu Mariam have been acquitted and released from jail. However, two others were jailed, for 16 years each, on charges of carrying out summary executions, torture and arbitrary imprisonment. The Supreme Court of Amhara said that, in the case of the 23 acquittals, there was not enough evidence. The trials of Mengistu followers, for crimes of genocide during what has been called the Red Terror period, in 1977 and 1978, began in 1994 and are expected to conclude in 2004. Mr Mengistu, who’s being tried in absentia, now lives in exile in Zimbabwe. (BBC News, UK, 9 October 2001)

* Gabon. Campagne sucrière satisfaisante — Le directeur général de la Société sucrière africaine du Gabon (Sucaf-Gabon), Henri Guinier, a qualifié de satisfaisante la campagne sucrière 2001, qui avoisinerait les 25.000 tonnes. “Notre objectif est d’arriver à baisser le prix de revient de notre sucre et de porter notre production annuelle à 25.000 tonnes”, a déclaré M. Guinier. Sucaf-Gabon jouit du monopole dans la fabrication et la distribution du sucre au Gabon. Au cours des dernières années, la production annuelle avait difficilement atteint 14.000 tonnes. Le groupe américain Coca-Cola vient de décerner à Sucaf-Gabon le certificat de “meilleure qualité de sucre” pour sa production de boissons dans ses installations à Franceville. Sucaf-Gabon est une société à 100% privée, issue de la privatisation en 1998 de la Société sucrière du Haut-Ogooué. Le 7 octobre, le ministre du Commerce a informé le gouvernement que le département américain de l’Agriculture a décidé d’acheter au Gabon plus  de 7.000 tonnes de sucre au titre de l’année 2001. (A. Lawson, ANB-BIA, Gabon, 10 octobre 2001)

* The Gambia. Violence mars election campaign — The opening week of campaigning for the 16 October presidential election in The Gambia has been marred by violence. Police say there have been at least nine complaints of violent incidents since campaigning began on 26 September. According to state television the latest incident was a battle between supporters of the ruling Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) and the opposition alliance which left several people injured. The trouble, which took place in Farafeni in the central part of the country, resulted in the destruction of two shops and injuries to a number of people, the report said. The election is the first since the incumbent President Yayah Jammeh last July lifted a ban on political parties. He had imposed the ban when he seized power in a military coup in 1994. The trouble on 3 October was allegedly started when the APRC‘s supporters threw stones at a convey taking the opposition candidate Ousainou Darboe to a rally in the town. (BBC News, UK, 4 October 2001)

* Gambie. Campagne électorale violente — Des violents incidents caractérisent la campagne électorale de la présidentielle du 18 octobre. Les derniers incidents ont eu lieu à Farafeni, au centre du pays, entre sympathisants du parti au pouvoir et ceux de l’opposition. Plusieurs personnes ont été blessées et des magasins détruits. Cinq candidats sont en lice pour ce scrutin. (Misna, Italie, 5 octobre 2001)

* Guinea. President Conte plans third term — Guinea’s Head of State, General Lansana Conte, has said he would support a referendum to change the constitution to allow him a third term in office. The 1992 constitution, which ushered in multi-party democracy after 26 years of former President Sekou Toure’s dictatorship, limits the presidential mandate to not more than two five-year terms. Mr Conte was elected as a civilian president in 1993 after he had served 10 years as the country’s military head. The opposition alliance, Codem, has accused Mr Conte of wanting to be president for life. In a banquet to mark the country’s 43rd independence anniversary, he urged MPs, members of civil society groups and other interested parties, to work towards a referendum to be held by the end of October. «Such a decision can and will only be made by Guineans and not foreigners or international institutions,» the President said. He added: «It is only Guineans that have the right to say yes or no to this». (BBC News, UK, 4 October 2001)

* Guinée. “Respecter la Constitution” — L’hypothèse d’une modification de la Constitution pour permettre au président Lansana Conté d’être candidat à sa propre succession s’est très nettement confirmée cette semaine. Conté, au pouvoir depuis 1984, vient d’admettre qu’il envisage un référendum pour modifier la Constitution adoptée en 1990, qui limite à deux le nombre de mandats présidentiels. Aussitôt connue, la nouvelle a provoqué une levée de boucliers parmi l’opposition guinéenne. Celle-ci s’organise pour empêcher toute modification et imposer la création d’une Commission électorale nationale indépendante, a déclaré le 5 octobre M. Alpha Condé, président du Rassemblement pour le peuple de la Guinée (RPG). Pour sa part, le président de l’Association des Guinéens de l’étranger, M. Lanciné Camara, a demandé au président Conté de “respecter la Constitution”, soulignant qu’une telle modification aurait des répercussions négatives sur le processus démocratique en cours en Afrique. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 5 octobre 2001)

* Guinea-Bissau. Government angry over UN report — The government of Guinea-Bissau has expressed indignation at a UN report intimating that the situation in the country was alarming. Bissau government spokesman Joaquim Balde dismissed the report compiled by UN representative Nana Sinkam Samuel as «a fake and malicious.» He denied claims in the report about a huge backlog in unpaid salaries, and asserted that government was «making efforts to remedy the situation.» Also reacting to the report, Foreign Affairs minister Antonieta Rosa Gomes said «economic crisis must not be confused with political instability.» While admitting that Guinea-Bissau was going through institutional and economic crises, she said «the Government would accelerate efforts towards a negotiated settlement in the stand-off between Judges and President Kumba Yala.» The controversial report to the UN Security Council had described the situation in Guinea-Bissau as «still precariously unstable despite some positive developments,» adding that «heightening social and economic problems are hindering the democratisation process.» It further blamed the general situation on «an inexperienced government and lack of transparency» in the country, warning of conflict in Guinea-Bissau. The report enjoined protagonists in the institutional crisis to let dialogue take precedence over any act that could endanger national unity and institutional legality. (PANA, Senegal, 9 October 2001)

* Kenya. Zanzibaris seek refuge in Somalia — More than 100 people from the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar have left camps in Kenya to seek refuge in war-ravaged Somalia. They arrived in the capital,  Mogadishu, at the weekend, at a time when most of the agencies who deal with refugees have evacuated their staff out of the country in the wake of the terror attacks on the United States. According to the group, who were mainly young men but included three women and two children, they escaped from the Ifo refugee camp in Daadab, northeast Kenya. They said they were suffering from malnutrition, and faced insecurity and other environmental difficulties there. The Zanzibaris originally fled the semi-autonomous Tanzanian islands early this year when the political riots began between the Tanzanian ruling party and the opposition, Civic United Front, when several people including policemen were killed. They were part of the group of more than 2,000 refugees who were first taken to the Kenyan coastal town of Mombasa. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 8 October 2001)

* Malawi. Environmental concerns — In recent years, there has been a persistent call to take good care of the natural resources lying in abundance in Lake Malawi. In Malawi, the delicious «chambo» fish, a species of the tilapia family, is threatened with extinction together with other types of fish. Lake Malawi with over 500 fish species, is used by two other southern African countries — Tanzania and Mozambique. Environmentalists are worried about the destruction of the lake’s catchment area, its biodiversity and many other forms of environmental degradation. Towards the end of September, authorities from the three countries held a meeting in Lilongwe, Malawi, to harmonise and strengthen rules guiding the use and conservation of the environment and natural resources provided by the Lake, with fish as one of the major items. The meeting follows a previous one between Malawi and Tanzania, about the Songwe River which borders both countries. The meandering Songwe has been a cause of conflict among local people in the frontier district. It was discovered that when it floods, the river destroys the marked frontier, thus making it extremely difficult to determine where exactly the frontier lies. Malawi’s deputy minister of natural resources and environmental affairs, Ludoviko Shati said after the meeting he was concerned with the breaking of fishing regulations by the two neighbours. (Hobbs Gama, ANB-BIA, Malawi, 3 October 2001)

* Malawi. Low key «coup» trial — The trial of four alleged coup plotters in Blantyre has taken a bizarre twist after the prosecution ordered the arrest of one of its own key witness for failing to show up in court. The court had ordered that Aubrey Chimenya, an undercover police informer, be brought before him on 5 October. But the man, who allegedly has in his possession incriminating taped evidence, seems to have got cold feet. Mr Chimenya, described as «a happy-go-lucky man-about-town», sent a telephone message to the prosecution  saying he had been attending to his sick mother in her village about 90 km from the capital, Blantyre. But his continued absence on the witness stand is a severe blow to the state’s case. (BBC News, UK, 4 October 2001)

* Malawi. Several deaths in medical staff strike — A strike by medical staff in Malawi is reported to have resulted in the deaths of at least 14 people. A BBC correspondent in Blantyre said six babies were amongst the casualties at the main Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Senior health official Richard Pendame has denied that the deaths are a direct effect of the strike, which started on Friday. He said he knew of only one death that was connected to the strike. About 200 people are said to be in a critical condition. Negotiations to resolve demands for an increase in salaries and allowances have so far failed to end the strike. (BBC News, UK, 8 October 2001)

* Maroc/Tunisie. Visite du Premier ministre — Le Premier ministre tunisien, Mohammed Ghanouchi, est arrivé à Rabat le 4 octobre, pour une visite officielle de trois jours, axée essentiellement sur le développement de la coopération bilatérale. Plusieurs accords destinés à la coopération bilatérale seront signés lors de cette rencontre, a indiqué M. Ghanouchi, estimant que la priorité devrait être accordée aux échanges commerciaux conformément aux accords conclus entre les deux pays, en particulier celui relatif à la création d’une zone arabe de libre-échange. Des hommes d’affaires tunisiens sont actuellement au Maroc pour explorer des opportunités de partenariat avec leurs homologues marocains. (PANA, Sénégal, 4 octobre 2001)

* Maroc. Prospection pétrolière au large du Sahara occidental — La société américaine Kerr-MacGee et l’Office national marocain de recherche pétrolière ont signé un contrat de reconnaissance pétrolière off-shore au large des côtes du Sahara occidental, apprend-on le 5 octobre de sources gouvernementales marocaines. C’est la première fois que le Maroc autorise la prospection pétrolière dans une zone dépendant du Sahara occidental, annexée par le Maroc en 1975, mais revendiquée par les indépendantistes du Front Polisario, soutenu par l’Algérie. En raison des incertitudes sur l’avenir de ce territoire, les investisseurs étrangers sont quasiment inexistants au Sahara occidental. (AP, 5 octobre 2001)

* Maroc/USA. Accord de “ciel ouvert” — Le 10 octobre à Rabat, le ministre marocain des Transports et l’ambassadrice américaine ont signé un accord de “ciel ouvert” (“open sky”), entérinant ainsi  deux ans de négociations pour la libéralisation des espaces aériens commerciaux entre les deux pays. Cet accord intervient alors que la compagnie nationale marocaine Royal Air Maroc, à l’instar des compagnies américaines et européennes, traverse une très grave crise financière. Les accords de type “ciel ouvert”, que les Etats-Unis ont déjà signé avec une cinquantaine de pays, permettent d’assouplir les réglementations commerciales (choix des dessertes, fréquence des vols, partage de code) entre les compagnies des pays signataires et prévoient l’adoption de règles communes et d’assistance mutuelle. (AP, 10 octobre 2001)

* Maroc. Fatwa — Le mardi 9 octobre, sept théologiens parmi les seize cités comme signataires d’une fatwa contre “toute participation du Maroc à une alliance contre le terrorisme menée par les Etats-Unis”, ont démenti avoir un lien avec cet avis religieux, selon l’Agence marocaine de presse. Dans un communiqué, cinq d’entre eux ont affirmé que l’insertion de leur nom dans la liste des signataires publiée dans la presse marocaine le 5 octobre, relève du “pur mensonge”. Le ministère des affaires islamiques a de son côté indiqué qu’il ferait connaître officiellement mercredi sa position sur cette affaire. (Le Monde, France, 11 octobre 2001)

* Maurice. Elections municipales — La coalition au pouvoir à Maurice a remporté les élections municipales du dimanche 7 octobre, en raflant 115 des 126 sièges à pourvoir dans les cinq municipalités de l’île, indiquent les résultats officiels publiés à Port-Louis. L’alliance de l’opposition parlementaire a néanmoins réussi à faire élire 10 de ses candidats dans la capitale Port-Louis et à Vacoas/Phoenix. A l’annonce des résultats, le Premier ministre a estimé que cette victoire signifie clairement le renouvellement de la confiance des populations des villes mauriciennes à la coalition gouvernementale. Le leader de l’alliance de l’opposition a estimé, quant à lui, que la performance de l’opposition a été bonne au regard des moyens énormes utilisés par le gouvernement, de ses manoeuvres préélectorales et promesses électoralistes. (PANA, Sénégal, 9 octobre 2001)

* Mozambique. 50 escape from jail — Police in Mozambique are searching for about 30 prisoners who escaped from a jail after overpowering their guards. 50 inmates escaped by attacking an armed guard when he opened a door to take one of them away. 20 were subsequently captured. It is not clear whether the incident had to do with overcrowding — an issue which is regularly raised by human rights activists in Mozambique. The jail, in the southern province of Inhambane, was holding double its capacity before the incident. Last year, more than 80 prisoners suffocated to death in an overcrowded cell in the town of Montepuez. (BBC News, UK, 8 October 2001)

* Mozambique. Lutte contre le sida — Le gouvernement américain, par l’intermédiaire de son Agence pour le développement international (Usaid), a accordé au Mozambique un don de 11,5 millions de dollars pour un programme de lutte contre le sida. Outre la prévention, le programme est d’améliorer les soins à ceux déjà atteints par le sida et de lutter contre la discrimination dont ils sont victimes dans leurs propres communautés. De récentes estimations officielles indiquent qu’environ 16% des 17 millions de Mozambicains ont contracté le VIH et que de nouvelles infections frappent chaque jour quelque 700 personnes. (Le Figaro, France, 10 octobre 2001)

* Nigeria. Kaduna: églises incendiées — Des unités militaires et des groupements de forces anti-émeutes patrouillent depuis le 5 octobre dans les rues de Kaduna, au nord du Nigeria. En dépit de cela, trois églises chrétiennes auraient été incendiées le 6 octobre par des extrémistes islamiques. La nouvelle a été révélée aujourd’hui par la presse locale, qui précise que de nombreux magasins gérés par des chrétiens auraient également été incendiés. Selon les autorités, un seul lieu de culte chrétien aurait été détruit par des inconnus. Aucune confirmation n’a encore été apportée par des sources indépendantes. (Misna, Italie, 8 octobre 2001)

* Nigeria. Kaduna fires reignite fears of violence — Police are investigating an attack on at least one church and some shops in the northern city of Kaduna. Witnesses said that police have been patrolling heavily on the streets to prevent a possible outbreak of religious violence. Christians and Muslims have had an uneasy coexistence in Kaduna since two violent outbreaks last year in the city in which more than 1,000 people were killed. Kaduna is half Muslim and half Christian, but the district where the attacks took place is predominantly Muslim and is adorned with posters of Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden, the key suspect in last month’s suicide attacks in the United States. Kaduna residents are reported to have observed a curfew. Two independent newspapers said three churches had been burned by Muslim extremists on 6 October. But government officials said only one church had been damaged in a fire, and the cause was unclear. (BBC News, UK, 8 October 2001)

* Rwanda. Elections des juges populaires — Le 4 octobre, les Rwandais ont voté massivement pour les 260.000 juges des 11.000 juridictions populaires “gacaca”. La participation a été beaucoup plus importante (90%) dans les cellules rurales visitées par l’agence Hirondelle que dans la capitale. On a noté une forte participation de femmes, ainsi que l’élection d’un nombre important de femmes comme juges. Les foules étaient disciplinées. Environ 11.000 tribunaux populaires sont en train d’être mis en place à quatre niveaux politico-administratifs pour juger au moins cent mille présumés exécutants du génocide. Les “gros poissons” relevant de la première catégorie continueront à être jugés par les treize tribunaux de première instance et les tribunaux militaires. (Agence Hirondelle, Arusha, 4 octobre 2001)

* Rwanda. Aiming for «truth and reconciliation» plan — 3 October: Rwandans are embarking on an ambitious and controversial «truth and reconciliation» experiment to overcome the legacy of the country’s 1994 genocide, electing more than 250,000 judges to a traditional people’s court system known as gacaca. With more than 100,000 people in jail awaiting trial, overwrought state structures have been unable to offer the climate of reconciliation which survivors and perpetrators alike say is essential to restoring a degree of normality to Rwanda’s traumatised society. Gacaca, whose reintroduction was first mooted some years ago, is a centuries-old, dispute settlement mechanism where local elders passed judgment on family feuds before fellow villagers but which was watered down under Belgian colonial rule and officially abolished at independence. It is hoped that its openness will help rebuild the country’s once tight-knit communities. «The truth heals,» proclaimed a poster for the awareness campaign, showing Rwandans joining hands with their fellow villagers. Gacaca,due to become operational next year, will try minor crimes at the smallest «cellule» level while more serious crimes will be dealt in higher courts. The most serious cases will be reserved for the state. 4 October: Human Rights Watch says the election of more than 200,000 judges in Rwanda, offers hope of speeding up trials resulting from the 1994 genocide. But the innovative judicial system may be subject to political pressures, and lacks some basic internationally recognised safeguards, such as the right to legal counsel. The Rwandan Government is urged to rapidly complete the legislative and logistical steps needed to make the «gacaca» system operational, including a law on indemnization of victims. 8 October: Rwandans have now elected 260,000 judges. Voting was to have ended on 6 October but was extended to 7 October because of high voter turnout. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 9 October 2001)

* Rwanda. Transfert au TPIR — Le 3 octobre, l’ancien préfet de Ruhengeri (nord du Rwanda), Protais Zigiranyirazo (surnommé “Z”), a été transféré de la Belgique au Tribunal pénal international d’Arusha. Beau-frère de l’ex-président Juvénal Habyarimana, “Z” est poursuivi pour crimes contre l’humanité. Les charges retenues contre lui  portent surtout sur des massacres commis à des barrages routiers. Selon l’acte d’accusation, “Z” a ordonné à des militaires et à des milices Interahamwe de tuer des Tutsi à ces barrages et ordonné, encouragé ou facilité d’autres massacres. - Le 10 octobre devant le TPIR, Zigiranyirazo a plaidé “non coupable”. (La Libre Belgique, 5-11 octobre 2001)