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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 18-10-2001

PART #3/4 - From  GUINEA to  NIGERIA

* Guinée. Référendum constitutionnel — Un référendum constitutionnel, qui modifierait la durée du mandat présidentiel et permettrait au président actuel, Lansana Conté, de briguer un troisième mandat, a été fixé au 11 novembre, ont annoncé les médias le 11 octobre. La décision, prise la veille à l’issue d’une réunion du conseil des ministres, intervient une semaine après l’annonce par M. Conté qu’il était favorable à une telle révision. Les partis de l’opposition et le président de l’Assemblée nationale s’étaient prononcés contre cette révision. L’opposition veut mobiliser les Guinéens à voter contre l’amendement proposé. Le mandat de M. Conté expire en 2003. (IRIN, Abidjan, 11 octobre 2001)

* Guinea. Referendum on third term — The government of Guinea says it wants to hold a referendum to decide whether the constitution should be changed to allow President Lansana Conte to extend his term of office. State-run Radio Conakry said the government had proposed holding the referendum on 11 November. Amending the Guinean constitution would pave the way for President Conte — a former military ruler of the country — to stand again when his second term as an elected president expires in 2003. Guinean opposition groups have been campaigning against any attempt to extend Mr Conte’s mandate. (BBC News, UK, 11 October 2001)

* Kenya. Les exportations de thé plongent — Les exportations kényanes de thé, première source traditionnelle de devises du pays, aujourd’hui concurrencée par l’horticulture, souffrent de la défection de l’Afghanistan, troisième client du pays, qui a pratiquement stoppé ses achats depuis le 11 septembre, selon les professionnels. L’Afghanistan achète pour au moins 30 millions de dollars de thé par an au Kenya. (Le Figaro, France, 12 octobre 2001)

* Kenya. UN concerned over police treatment of street children — The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has said it is concerned over the incidence of police brutality against Kenyan children living and working on the streets. In its «Final Conclusions and Recommendations» on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Kenya, the Committee said there was inadequate enforcement of existing legislation to ensure the «physical and mental integrity» of all children was respected. The Committee added that «greater efforts should be made to prevent all forms torture, inhuman or degrading treatment by police forces». The Committee strongly recommended that all appropriate measures be taken to fully implement the provisions of the Convention. As one of the 191 signatories, Kenya is obliged to submit a report to the Committee, a component of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, on progress on the Convention’s implementation. (IRIN, 15 October 2001)

* Kenya. Sending more Missionaries abroad — In a colorful ceremony held at the Consolata Shrine, 12 new Kenyan missionaries were sent out to the world to evangelize. The African agency CISA reported that two nuns, two religious brothers and eight priests received a mandate to leave their country to proclaim the Gospel. The celebration was presided over by the newly ordained Bishop Virgilio Pante of Maralal and marked the conclusion of the centenary celebrations of the foundation of the Consolata Missionaries. The Nairobi celebration gathered the four Consolata bishops — Ambrose Ravasi of Marsabit, Peter Kihara of Murangia, Auxiliary Anthony Ireri of Nairobi, and Virgilio Pante of Maralal. It also included the ordination of Consolata Missionary Father Joseph Otieno, of Nairobi’s Kahawa West parish. There are more than 250 Kenyan missionaries around the world. More than 70 of them are Consolata priests, brothers and nuns. Two of the new missionaries are going to Korea. They are among the first African missionaries sent to Asia. (Zenit, Italy, 17 October 2001)

* Liberia. Starting to rebuild — Residents returning to this much-fought-over town and surrounding villages have begun cleaning up the debris of war to make the area inhabitable once again. Zorzor, situated on the border with Guinea, has been attacked seven times by Liberian rebels since 1999. «To clean the town is not the problem, the problem is the lack of shelter for the thousands of people still residing in the bush,» said town chief Paul Howard. He heads the clean-up exercise, which is done every Saturday. Gun-toting militiamen fighting alongside regular Liberian soldiers maintain a huge presence in the town since driving dissident forces away in April. Liberian Defence officials have accompanied members of the United Nations Panel of Experts on Liberia to Lofa County to see the effects of the fighting. Youth leader Sumo Gayflor said fighting has stopped but many people are still too afraid to come to town. Changing hands between government and rebel troops has reduced Zorzor to rubble. Buildings are levelled to the ground, vandalised or pock-marked with bullet-holes. One lady selling oranges in the open said that when she returned from hiding, she could not recognise the spot where her home once existed and is now living in her fields. Zubah Johnson, a 75-year-old father of six, represents the elders on the committee to clean the town. He said that food has never been a problem in Lofa County «but because of war we abandoned all our farms and ran for our lives. We can venture into the bushes and return with at least roots to eat, but medication is out. If any sickness grabs you, you just have to bear it.» (BBC News, UK, 9 October 2001

* Libéria. Danger des sanctions — L’imposition de nouvelles sanctions au Libéria, notamment sur ses industries de bois et de caoutchouc, ne servira qu’à affaiblir encore plus l’économie déjà chancelante du pays et rendre plus précaires les conditions de vie des populations, a averti le secrétaire général des Nations unies, Kofi Annan. Dans un récent rapport, M. Annan explique que l’économie libérienne, qui est fortement dépendante de la production et de l’exportation des produits primaires, est restée vulnérable du fait de l’instabilité politique et économique. En mars dernier, le Conseil de sécurité de l’Onu a interdit l’exportation de diamants libériens, décrété l’embargo sur les armes, et apporté des restrictions aux déplacements des principaux responsables du pays, sanctions imposées pour contraindre le gouvernement à retirer son soutien aux rebelles du RUF en Sierra Leone. Analysant les éventuels impacts de l’extension des sanctions à l’industrie nationale du bois, M. Annan a déclaré qu’environ 10.000 emplois risquaient d’être perdus dans ce secteur et le gouvernement perdrait 7,7 millions de dollars de recettes. Les mêmes effets seraient observés en cas d’imposition de sanctions sur l’industrie du caoutchouc. – D’autre part, dans un rapport paru le 15 octobre, Amnesty International a accusé les forces de l’orde libériennes de commettre des violations des droits de l’homme de grande ampleur, notamment la torture, la répression et le viol, et a sanctionné le gouvernement pour son absence de justice vis-à-vis des victimes. L’organisation a exhorté la communauté internationale à continuer à faire pression sur le gouvernement du Libéria pour qu’il mette fin à l’impunité. (PANA et IRIN, 13-16 octobre 2001)

* Libya. Date set for Lockerbie appeal — The Lockerbie bomber’s appeal against his conviction for mass murder is to begin in January next year. At a preliminary hearing at the Scottish court in the Netherlands, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi’s counsel was given four weeks to lodge the outlines of its arguments. The prosecution side will then have four weeks to respond and the Camp Zeist court will begin to hear the case on 23 January. The move came as the sister of an air stewardess killed in the 1988 bombing failed in her attempt to have an independent review of the evidence gathered in the case. Marina de Larracoechea told the preliminary appeal hearing before five Scottish judges the review should be carried out by the court. She said the human rights of the victims’ families had been violated because the prosecutor in the case, Scotland’s lord advocate, was a political appointee. In rejecting her request, Lord Cullen, the presiding judge, said the role of the court was simply to hear the appeal of the man convicted of the bombing. The hearing marked Al Megrahi’s first court appearance since he was jailed for life in January, this year, for the attack which killed 270 people. (BBC News, UK, 15 October 2001)

* Malawi. Hunger set to deepen by December — About 78 percent of Malawi’s rural poor may not have food by December, according to the preliminary results of a World Vision survey. A humanitarian source said on 15 October that the survey also indicated a 33 percent chronic malnutrition rate —determined by a formula using a child’s height and age. «This can be described as pretty bad,» the source said. «To compound matters», he added, 78 percent of rural households visited during the survey won’t have food by December». Malawi’s rural and urban poor have been bearing the brunt of the country’s food shortages as maize prices soar and the staple food becomes more scarce. News reports emerging in recent weeks have painted pictures of starving people scouring through bins for food in the cities and eating animal feed and husks in the countryside. Even though the government has ordered 150,000 mt of maize from South Africa, the maize will not necessarily help feed the poor. It is headed for the commercial market. World Vision relief manager for Malawi, Elton Ntwana, said on 15 October that he did not want to pre-empt the survey. However, he said it seemed as though the southern part of the country — most affected by floods earlier this year — were more severely affected by food shortages. He said that as soon as the final report was ready, the results would be discussed with representatives of the United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) and the government, with a view to drafting a national plan. (IRIN, 15 October 2001)

* Malawi. Politician faces treason charge — A leading Malawi opposition politician has been arrested at his home outside Blantyre, and police say he will be charged with treason. His wife said that eight police officers had arrived and searched their home, before taking her husband, Brown Mpinganjira, away to a maximum security prison in Zomba. His spokesman, Peter Chupa, said: «They found nothing — no guns, no document which could implicate him in treasonable offenses.» Earlier this year, a witness at a treason trial named Mr Mpinganjira as being behind a failed coup attempt in March. At the time the opposition leader, who is a former government minister and former close ally of President Bakili Muluzi dismissed the claim. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 16 October 2001)

* Maroc. Le roi se fiance — Le roi Mohammed VI s’est fiancé, le 12 octobre, avec Salma Bennani, une jeune roturière, qu’il épousera au début de l’an prochain. Il s’agit d’une information inattendue et sans précédent au Maroc, où les affaires de la famille royale sont généralement considérées comme ne relevant pas du domaine public. Le roi, à 38 ans, semblait s’être installé dans le célibat. Sa fiancée “n’est pas de sang royal”, a insisté l’agence officielle. Salma Bennani, 24 ans, serait originaire de Fès; elle aurait obtenu un diplôme d’informaticienne. — Alors que le palais venait d’annoncer ses fiancailles, le roi présidait l’ouverture de la session parlementaire. Dans son discours, il y a annoncé la tenue d’élections législatives générales en septembre 2002, insistant sur la nécessité de garantir des “élections honnêtes et régulières”. Il a mis l’accent sur la réforme de la justice pour veiller à la régularité des échéances électorales à venir. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 13 octobre 2001)

* Morocco. Wedding breaks royal rules — The announcement of King Mohammed VI of Morocco’s wedding early next year breaks a series of royal Moroccan traditions. The royal palace authorities in Rabat confirmed the engagement on 12 October of the 38-year-old king to a commoner, Miss Salma Bennani, and that the wedding will take place in early 2002, though the final date has not been set. Miss Bennani is the daughter of a well-known biologist from the northern city of Tangiers. She is a career woman with qualifications in engineering. The news follows weeks of speculation in Paris-based gossip magazines that the king was soon to announce a bride. However, these reports have been absent from the media in Morocco, where traditionally the private life of the king is not reported on at all. The engagement announcement is in contrast to the custom under Mohammed’s late father, King Hassan II. Muslim tradition allows up to four wives; Hassan had two. The first, Fatima, was the daughter of a Berber chieftain, though she never had children. In fact nobody knew that Hassan was married at all until it was announced in 1961 that his second wife, Latifa, had given birth to the first of five children. Neither woman was ever declared queen and Latifa’s title was simply «mother of the royal children». She was almost never seen in public. This is not likely to be the case with Miss Bennani, though it remains unclear whether she will be declared Morocco’s first queen. King Mohammed is portrayed as a modern, thinking monarch in a country that is reluctant to embrace full democracy. He has just declared that new parliamentary elections will be held in September next year. (BBC News, UK, 14 October 2001)

* Morocco. Secret agent’s sentence cut — An appeal court in Morocco has reduced the prison sentence of a former secret agent who implicated senior officials in the killing in 1965 of the Moroccan opposition figure Mehdi Ben Barka. In August, Ahmed Boukhari, was sentenced to a year in jail for writing bad cheques. That sentence has now been reduced to three months. The appeal court accepted the argument of Mr Boukhari’s lawyer that his client had already served more than a year in prison on an earlier conviction concerning two of the cheques. Human rights groups condemned Mr Boukhari’s sentence as an attempt to pervert the course of justice. He was arrested shortly after telling newspapers that Mr Ben Barka had been kidnapped, tortured and murdered at the hands of Moroccan government officials. (BBC News, UK, 16 October 2001)

* Maroc. Peine réduite pour Boukhari — Ahmed Boukhari, l’ancien agent secret marocain à l’origine de révélations sur la disparition de Mehdi ben Barka en 1965 à Paris, a vu sa peine de prison réduite en appel. Boukhari, qui avait accusé des responsables des services de sécurité d’avoir torturé des opposants politiques, devrait être libéré le 13 novembre après avoir purgé trois mois de prison, au lieu d’un an. (Le Figaro, France, 17 octobre 2001)

* Mauritanie. Législatives et municipales — Le vendredi 19 octobre, les électeurs mauritaniens sont appelés à voter pour des législatives et des municipales considérées comme un test pour le pouvoir du président Maaouya ould Taya, qui a promis la “transparence” à une opposition encore sceptique. Ces élections seront marquées par une participation record des partis d’opposition, dont certains avaient boycotté les précédentes pour protester contre le manque de transparence. Au total 15 formations politiques prennent part aux deux scrutins. (AFP, France, 18 octobre 2001)

* Nigeria. Condamnée à la lapidation — Des groupes nigérians de défense des droits de l’homme se sont exprimés, le 12 octobre, contre la condamnation à la peine de mort par lapidation d’une femme reconnue coupable d’adultère par un tribunal islamique. Safiya Tungar-Tudu, 30 ans, a été condamnée le 9 octobre par la Cour supérieure de la Charia de Gwadabawa, dans l’Etat de Sokoto. L’accusée, qui a plaidé coupable, était enceinte, selon l’accusation, d’un homme avec lequel elle n’est pas mariée. “La sentence ne constitue pas uniquement une violation des droits fondamentaux à la vie, mais illustre également la guerre menée à la Constitution de la République fédérale du Nigeria”, a estimé l’organisation de défense des droits de l’homme Community Development and Welfare Agenda. (La Libre Belgique, 13 octobre 2001)

* Nigeria. Kano: affrontements sanglants — Deux jours d’affrontements religieux provoqués par des manifestations hostiles aux frappes américaines contre l’Afghanistan ont officiellement causé 13 morts à Kano, dans le nord du Nigeria, mais le bilan pourrait être bien plus lourd; un habitant parlait de 200 personnes tuées. Les émeutes avaient débuté après la prière du vendredi, le 12 octobre, lors d’une manifestation à l’appel du Congrès de la jeunesse musulmane, mais les incidents les plus violents se sont déroulés le samedi et le dimanche. Des groupes de musulmans et de chrétiens se sont affrontés dans des quartiers situés à la périphérie de la ville, particulièrement à Zangon. Selon certains témoignages, des membres de la communauté chrétienne Igbo ont tenté de défendre leurs échoppes en pourchassant les émeutiers. Des mosquées, des églises et des maisons ont été brûlées. Plusieurs milliers de chrétiens se sont réfugiés dans les commissariats et les casernes. Le lundi, la ville de Kano se remettait doucement des conséquences des violences. Le bilan officiel est maintenant de 18 morts et de 40 à 100 blessés. La Croix-Rouge annonce plus de 100 personnes tuées. Selon le commissaire de la police, quelque 235 personnes, dont 5 leaders d’une organisation islamique, ont été arrêtées. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 15 octobre 2001)

* Nigeria. Violences interethniques à Taraba — Les autorités militaires nigérianes ont confirmé la mort de 23 soldats, pris en otage la semaine dernière par une milice locale alors qu’ils étaient en mission pour faire cesser les violences entre les communautés Jukun et Tiv, dans la région centrale de l’Etat de Taraba (est du Nigeria). Une enquête a été ouverte pour faire la lumière sur les circonstances de leur mort. Le commissaire de police de Taraba, M. Njom, a indiqué le 12 octobre, que les corps mutilés de 16 soldats avaient été retrouvés dans l’enceinte d’une école à Zaki Biam, un fief tiv. Il a décrit la situation dans la région comme “une totale anarchie”. Des renforts ont été envoyés pour imposer un certain ordre dans cette région en proie depuis longtemps à des violences ethniques. M. Njom a fait état d’accrochages dans plusieurs communautés du gouvernement local de Wukari. Des “camps de réfugiés massifs” ont été créés, a-t-il ajouté. (IRIN, Abidjan, 15 octobre 2001)

* Nigeria. Riots engulf Kano — 14 October: Hundreds of non-Muslims have fled to safety in police and army installations in the northern Nigerian city of Kano after two days of violence between Christians and Muslims left at least 16 people dead. A night-time curfew was imposed on the city, and state police commissioner Yakubu Bello Uba said police had been ordered to «shoot troublemakers on sight». Other reports suggest the death toll in Kano could be much higher. The Reuters news agency quotes fleeing residents as saying that as many as 200 people were killed during the night of 13 October in the suburb of Zangon. Another report said that at least six of the dead were schoolgirls who had been on their way to sit exams. On 12 October, a peaceful protest had been staged against the US attacks on Afghanistan, but violence broke out when youths began setting fire to cars and religious buildings. Although long-running battles between Muslims and Christians in the country have led to thousands of deaths in the past year, officials are playing down religion as the cause of the new violence. Kano state government spokesman Ibrahim Gwawargwa is blaming the rioting on «hoodlums» hijacking the protest and looting shops owned by both Christians and Muslims. 15 October: The Nigerian army is maintaining a heavy presence on the streets of Kano. The situation is very unstable and the scarcity of reliable information is making the situation worse, with rumours of renewed conflicts spreading through the city like wild fire. All have so far proven false. 16 October: Kano is tense. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 16 October 2001)

* Nigeria. Church leaders decry Kano riots — Christian leaders in Nigeria have today deplored the sectarian clashes going on in the city of Kano as been unfortunate while calling on the federal government to act decisively in seeing the carnage is immediately brought to another. In a Statement signed by Father Gabriel Osu, his Communications’ Director, Archbishop Olubumnmi Okogie of the Catholic Diocese of Lagos condemned the non challenging attitudes of the federal government to the wave of the violent clashes that had for some time been rocking different parts of Nigeria. «This attitude by the government gives the impression that it either the government is incapable of effective action or that it is under some kind of pressure.» Father Okogie also affirmed that the war against terrorism is not a religious war, but an attempt to make the world a safer place. «It is time for the federal government to curb the excesses of misguided elements who spill blood in the name of religion,» he said. Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of the Catholic diocese of Jos condemned the activities of those who use religion as a tool to foster selfish, economic, political and ethnic interests which often leads to social disharmony and unrest in the country. The prelate lamented that several lives and much property had in the past been destroyed in different parts of the country as a result of the religious unrest. He warned the perpetrators of such acts to desist, in order not to attract the wrath of God. The bishop attributed ethnic conflicts in Nigeria to poverty, ignorance and the feeling of insecurity. «When one tribe wishes to establish superiority over another, when one religion wants to dominate, when one clan wants to outdo others, the result is social unrest»,he said. He called on the government to fully implement the poverty eradication programme and not use it as «a political gimmick aimed at lining the pockets of some government functionaries.» (...) The Chairman of the World Council of the Methodist Church, and the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Dr Sunday Mbang, expressed worries at the number of deaths in the Kano riots. (...) (Editor’s note: Pope John Paul II has condemned the confrontations between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria. He said: «Another episode of cruel violence has been added to the tragic world situation of these days».) (Cath. Secret. of Nigeria, 16 October 2001)