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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 21-02-2002

PART #2/4 - From Congo RDC  to  LIBYA

* Congo (RDC)/Belgique. La justice belge déboutée — Le 14 février, la Cour internationale de justice (CIJ), chargée des litiges entre Etats, a déclaré illégal un mandat d’arrêt belge lancé contre l’ancien ministre des Affaires étrangères congolais, Abdulaye Yerodia. Cette décision pourrait porter un coup à d’éventuelles poursuites contre (d’autres personnalités comme) Ariel Sharon, visé par une plainte sur les mêmes fondements juridiques pour les massacres de Sabra et Chatila. La plainte se fonde sur une loi belge de 1993 accordant une compétence universelle à ses tribunaux pour les crimes de guerre et crimes contre l’humanité. Le CIJ donne raison à Kinshasa, qui estimait que ce mandat violait l’immunité dont doit bénéficier tout ministre en exercice. Yerodia n’occupe plus de poste, mais était ministre en exercice du président Kabila, au moment des faits: Bruxelles avait lancé un mandat international contre lui pour avoir tenu en 1998 des propos incitant à la haine raciale contre les Tutsi. L’arrêt de la Cour est obligatoire. (Libération, France, 15 février 2002)

* Congo (RDC)/Belgium. Belgian war crimes law on trial — 14 February: Today, the world court is to rule on a Belgian war crimes case, which could halt a spate of lawsuits against world leaders. The International Court of Justice in The Hague will decide whether Belgium can prosecute a former foreign minister from Congo RDC over the 1998 killings of hundreds of ethnic Tutsis. If the court agrees with the Congolese argument that the ex-minister, Yerodia Ndombasi, is immune from prosecution, several other pending cases could crumble. War crimes charges have been brought in Belgium against Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, amongst others. The case focuses on a controversial and unique piece of legislation which allows Belgian courts to hear cases of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity — no matter where they were carried out or by whom. Under that law, a Belgian magistrate issued an arrest warrant in April 2000 for Mr Ndombasi on the basis of complaints by survivors of a Tutsi massacre. But Congo RDC argues that the warrant violates international law and is demanding a formal apology from Belgium. The international court has three options. It could uphold the Congolese case that serving leaders cannot be stripped of their immunity. This would jeopardise the cases against Mr Sharon and Mr Arafat as well as those against others including Cuban leader Fidel Castro and Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. The second possibility is a ruling in favour of Belgium, that public figures’ immunity does not apply to certain human rights cases. This could lead to a further flood of litigation against world leaders. But the court also has the option to rule the case moot -a decision which would allow it to avoid setting a precedent for the treatment of war crimes abroad. Later, the same day, the world court rules that Belgium cannot bring war crimes charges against a foreign government minister who enjoys diplomatic immunity. The decision by the International Court of Justice in The Hague is expected to stymie attempts to bring charges against several world leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. A spokesman for the Belgian foreign ministry says he believes the case against Mr Sharon will now be dropped. A similar action is expected to be taken on other cases — including those against Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, as well as the Cuban leader Fidel Castro and Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Human Rights Watch has expressed its disappointment at today’s decision. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 15 February 2002)

* Congo (RDC). Droits de l’homme — Mme Anto Anella Lulia Motoc, nouvellement désignée rapporteur de l’Onu chargé des droits de l’homme en RDC, en remplacement du Chilien Roberto Garreton, effectue une visite d’une semaine au Congo. Le 15 février, elle a rencontré le ministre congolais des Droits humains, Ntumba Luaba, avec lequel elle a eu des conversations “ouvertes et constructives”. Mme Motoc a aussi révélé avoir évoqué avec son interlocuteur la question de l’établissement, sous son mandat, d’une “Commission Justice et Vérité” devant se pencher sur les cas de violations massives des droits de l’homme au cours des années 1996-97. (PANA, Sénégal, 16 février 2002)

* Congo (RDC). Massacres et mouvements de  troupes — Les 15 et 16 février, près de 200 personnes ont été tuées au cours d’affrontements interethniques dans le nord-est du Congo. Selon un haut responsable du RCD, des membres de la tribu lendu ont attaqué Kparanganza, un village hema au nord de Bunia, nouvelle confirmée par un porte-parole de l’armée ougandaise qui parle d’un grand nombre de tués. Un porte-parole des Hema a parlé à Reuters de 200 victimes. Les heurts entre Lendu et Hema pour le contrôle de terres et de ressources naturelles ont fait des milliers de morts ces dernières années. Le dimanche 17 février, l’Ouganda a déployé dans la zone de Kparanganza des soldats d’un bataillon stationné à Bunia, afin de faire cesser les violences. -D’autre part, le 18 février, le Zimbabwe a terminé le retrait du deuxième bataillon de ses troupes stationnées à Mbuji-Mayi. Il s’agit du premier retrait important de troupes zimbabwéennes, à la veille du dialogue intercongolais qui devrait s’ouvrir le 25 février à Sun City en Afrique du Sud. - Par ailleurs, M. Kofi Annan a demandé au Conseil de sécurité un contingent supplémentaire de 850 soldats pour la Monuc (la mission de paix de l’Onu). Ils devraient s’occuper du désarmement des forces dites négatives et de la démilitarisation de Kisangani. La Monuc ne compte à ce jour que 3.375 soldats, sur les 5.537 prévus. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 18 février 2002)

* Congo (RDC). Dozens killed in clashes — Reports from Congo say dozens of people have been killed in tribal clashes in the north-east. Rebel groups which control the area and the Ugandan army which has troops stationed there, say the fighting has been between the Hema and Lendu tribes. Up to 200 people are thought to have been killed in the latest clashes. The Rally for Congolese Democracy-Kisangani/Liberation Movement (RCD/ML) says that their troops are now in control of the situation. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 18 February 2002)

* Congo (RDC). Leader des Banyamulenge attaqué — Le lundi matin, 18 février, des hommes du Rassemblement congolais pour la démocratie (RCD, soutenu par le Rwanda) ont lancé une attaque contre un leader tutsi congolais des Banyamulenge, retranché avec plusieurs centaines d’hommes dans les hauts plateaux du Sud-Kivu, place forte des Banyamulenge, a-t-on appris de sources concordantes. Ancien chef de bataillon du RCD, le commandant Masunzu était depuis plusieurs semaines considéré comme “déserteur” par les autorités de la rébellion. Les combats ont provoqué le déplacement des populations des villages de Gaseke, Rutigita et Kumani. Le 19 février, l’agence AFP annonçait la mort d’au moins 9 personnes, 6 militaires du RCD et 3 soldats de Masunzu. Ce dernier serait maintenant retranché vers la localité de Mumasha, dans les montagnes, à quatre jours de  marche d’Uvira. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 19 février 2002)

* Congo (RDC). Dialogue en péril — Le dialogue intercongolais qui devrait s’ouvrir le 25 février à Sun City en Afrique du Sud est de plus en plus mis à mal. Un important obstacle: les listes des délégués. Lors d’une conférence de presse, le dimanche 17 février à Kinshasa, l’opposition non armée a annoncé qu’elle n’irait pas à Sun City, “sauf modification ultime des conditions de participation que lui impose le bureau du facilitateur”. En cause: l’ajout, à la liste des partis politiques représentés dans la délégation de l’opposition non armée, d’une vingtaine d’autres formations considérées comme favorables au gouvernement. Le 19 février à Paris, Jean-Pierre Bemba, le chef du Mouvement de libération du Congo (MLC), s’est joint à cette prise de position. “Plusieurs sont des faux opposants et des alliés du président Joseph Kabila”, a-t-il affirmé, déclarant que son mouvement n’irait pas en Afrique du Sud dans ces conditions. Il a expliqué cette absence par la mauvaise définition de la qualité des participants et du projet d’ordre du jour. Mercredi 20, à Bruxelles, M. Bemba et sa délégation se sont entretenus avec le Premier ministre belge accompagné de son ministre des Affaires étrangères. Au sortir de l’entretien, les parties se sont déclarées optimistes sur un règlement rapide du problème. Les chancelleries s’activent maintenant pour obtenir un compromis. Le Conseil de sécurité de l’Onu a demandé à toutes les parties de se rendre à Sun City dans un esprit constructif. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 21 février 2002)

* Congo (RDC). Towards the Inter-congolese Dialogue — 19 February: Jean-Pierre Bemba, leader of the rebel Congolese Liberation Movement (MLC), has said that he will not go to South Africa next week for talks intended to bring political stability to the Democratic Republic of Congo. The talks are due to include the government, rebel groups and the political opposition. The South African Government has set aside 45 days for the talks in the resort town of Sun City. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 20 February 2002)

* Congo (RDC). Goma: Volcano emergency over, rebuilding must start — «The emergency is over. Thanks to international aid we now have sufficient food, water and medicine to meet the needs of the people. But the problem now is rebuilding the town». Fr Patxi Otondo, a White Father or Missionary of Africa, parish priest at Our Lady of Africa parish in west Goma, refers to the situation in the Congolese city a month after the disastrous eruption of the Mt Nyiragongo on January 18). The city was devastated by 200 million cubic meters of lava spat out by the volcano’s two craters. Twelve  persons were swallowed up by the boiling mass; another sixty died in the explosion of a fuel deposit, sacked in the chaos of the aftermath when police lost all control of public order. Forty schools (mostly church-run) were destroyed or severely damaged, leaving 24,000 children without lessons and 700 teachers without work. Twenty percent of the city’s business activities, workshops, shops, fuel deposits were destroyed by the erupting volcano or by looting. Lava also covered 1,800 meters of airport runway, leaving only a minor runway open for small craft. «We still need international help for rebuilding» Fr Ottondo tells Fides. «The situation is complicated because Goma is held by guerilla forces not recognised by the international community. Rebuilding requires massive investments, but no one will think about it until the political situation is clarified». Another source of concern is that Mt Nyiragongo may not have finished its activity. The International Red Cross Federation has warned that there may be another eruption, with the explosion of a vast quantity of natural gas resulting in a mortal cloud of carbon dioxide hanging over the city. Goma has 500,000 indwellers whose lives are still threatened by the volcano. The Church mobilized its aid forces immediately calling in Caritas offices, Medical Centres, the Religious Superiors Union, School Coordination office, Radio Maria Malkia wa Amani, coordinated by Fr J. M. Balegamire, head of the archdiocesan Crisis Committee. The eruption tragedy demonstrated the strong sense of national unity among the Congolese whose country is divided up and controlled by guerilla groups and foreign armies. (Fides, Vatican City, 20 February 2002)

* Djibouti. Menace d’une catastrophe écologique — Djibouti est menacé par une catastrophe écologique à cause de fuites, dans le port, de pesticides provenant de conteneurs arrivés de Grande-Bretagne, a indiqué la FAO à Rome le 20 février. L’organisation des Nations unies a appelé à une intervention urgente de la communauté internationale pour éviter une contamination supplémentaire du port et des personnes qui y travaillent. Le risque est que les pluies ne propagent le produit. S’il venait à se déverser dans la mer, l’impact sur la faune serait très grave. (La Croix, France, 21 février 2002)

* Egypt. Hundreds die in holiday train fire — 20 February: A passenger train crowded with Egyptians leaving Cairo for a holiday weekend caught fire as it headed south early today killing at least 300 people, police said. The death toll, earlier reported at 100, rose as rescuers searched charred carriages. Egypt’s Middle East News Agency reported the cause of the fire was a burst gas cylinder used for cooking in the train cafe. Each carriage designed to accommodate about 150 passengers was crammed with some 300 passengers, police said, meaning that there were more than 3,000 people were aboard. Police said the fire broke out about 2am on the train from Cairo to Luxor, about 300 miles south. Several other carriages caught  fire and the train travelled in flames for four miles before finally stopping near Ayyat. In addition to the dead, 65 people were being treated for injuries, police said. Said Fuad Amin, a 22–year–old construction worker, jumped from the burning train and was being treated for a broken hand and a suspected concussion in Ayyat Hospital. He told The Associated Press the train was so full that he and six friends had been unable to get seats and were sitting on the floor. The first sign of trouble, he said, were shouts and screams he at first attributed to a fight. Then he saw flames and people running, including a women whose clothes were on fire. (Editor’s update — 21 February: The death toll is now given as at least 373.) (The Independent, UK, 20 February 2002)

* Egypte. Incendie d’un train: plus de 370 morts — Le 20 février, tôt le matin, un train bondé de monde quittant la capitale pour un week-end férié, a pris feu alors qu’il faisait route vers le sud. C’est non loin d’Al Ayatt, à environ 70 km au sud du Caire, que s’est déroulé cette catastrophe ferroviaire, la plus grosse jamais vécue en Egypte. Elle a fait au moins 373 morts, selon le sous-secrétaire d’Etat à la Santé. Le feu a pris dans un des wagons, dû à l’explosion d’une bonbonne de gaz dans le wagon-restaurant ou à un petit réchaud utilisé par un voyageur, et s’est rapidement communiqué à d’autres voitures. Sept des seize wagons ont été détruits. De nombreux passagers de ce train reliant Le Caire à Assouan, retournaient dans leur village d’origine pour passer les fêtes d’Aïd el-Kebir, la “fête du sacrifice”, considérée comme la plus importante du calendrier islamique. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 21 février 2002)

* Eritrea/Ethiopia. Religious leaders meet — 13 February: Religious leaders from Ethiopia arrive in Asmara, Eritrea’s capital for peace talks with their Eritrea counterparts. Although the talks, mediated by the NGO, Norwegian Church Aid, have taken place in their countries, this is the first time the religious leaders are meeting in each other’s capitals. This move represents a breakthrough in peace-building between the two countries. The ceremony in Asmara is opened by the first Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Church, Abuna Philipos. 14 February: The religious leaders from both countries arrive in Addis Ababa for a second day of talks. The Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church describes the talks in Asmara as «wonderful». 15 February: The decision by an international commission demarcating the disputed border between Ethiopia and Eritrea has been delayed until the end of March. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 15 February 2002)

* Ethiopia. The country is stronger after purge — Ethiopia’s prime minister said Ethiopia’s government was stronger than ever after mounting a security crackdown and purging ruling party «dead wood.» Meles Zenawi said in an interview on 19 February there were no  «sacred cows» in a war on corruption, denied allegations of human rights abuses against political opponents and dismissed reports he had hired thousands of spies to monitor them. Meles said he had reshuffled the leadership of the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) coalition and its main pillar, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), to make them more responsive to the country’s needs. «The EPRDF was cleansing itself of some dead wood it had accumulated over a decade... Like all cleansing processes it tends to be turbulent while it is taking place but in hindsight it appears more of a storm in a teacup,» he said. «The EPRDF is now on more solid ground than it ever was.» (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 20 February 2002)

* Ghana. $20 million rice scandal — Former Vice-President of Ghana John Atta Mills has testified in the country’s High Court in a $20 million rice plantation case. Five government officials in the administration of former Ghanaian President Jerry Rawlings currently on trial over the loss of project funds, include two former ministers and the chief of staff at the presidency. The money was allegedly given to an African-American business woman from the US-based company, Quality Grain, to cultivate rice. Professor John Atta Mills, who is currently a visiting scholar at the University of British Columbia in Canada flew home to give evidence in favour of the former finance minister, Mr Kwame Pepra. He told a packed high court on 20 February that in a country where $4 million is spent annually on the importation of rice, the administration was eager to see that rice was cultivated locally in viable commercial conditions. Professor Mills said that the government was so desperate to secure an endurable asset for rice cultivation that they were even prepared for Mrs Juliet Cotton, the African-American, who initiated the scheme to «walk over us if that is what facilitates the project». However, he was not satisfied with her conduct, he said, sighting her «rudeness» and some of her demands which made him «uncomfortable». He admitted that in 1998 the report from the Serious Fraud Office alleged fraud on the part of Mrs Cotton with the assistance of two of the defendants. But the investigators failed to produce any evidence, on which Professor Mills could take any action. (BBC News, UK, 21 February 2002)

* Liberia. Droits humains — Le 13 février au soir, le Conseil de sécurité des Nations unies a lancé un appel au gouvernement libérien, l’invitant à respecter les droits humains et à s’abstenir de profiter de la situation d’exception née de l’instauration de l’état d’urgence, pour restreindre les libertés civiles. Le Conseil a déploré la violence qui sévit dans le pays et dit sa préoccupation au regard de la situation humanitaire qui y prévaut. Il a exhorté les pays de la sous-région à empêcher les groupes armés et les individus d’utiliser leur territoire comme base arrière pour  attaquer leurs voisins, et a lancé un appel à tous les Libériens les priant de renoncer à la violence et de résoudre leurs différends par la voie du dialogue. En fait, selon l’agence Misna, la condition des civils continue d’empirer. Suite aux affrontements survenus la semaine passée à Klay Town (35 km de la capitale) entre rebelles du LURD et troupes gouvernementales, un grand nombre d’habitants ont pris la fuite, les uns se dirigeant vers la Sierra Leone, les autres vers Monrovia, où ils ont été accueillis dans des camps d’urgence. Dans la capitale même, la police a créé un climat d’intimidation par des perquisitions dans les maisons et des arrestations aveugles dans les rues. - Le 20 février, des responsables militaires ont annoncé qu’au moins 15.000 civils ont quitté la capitale Monrovia, fuyant les combats entre forces gouvernementales et rebelles. La veille, les rebelles avaient attaqué les villes de Heindi et Bong Mines, situées toutes deux à environ 35 km au nord-est de Monrovia, mais avaient été repoussés, selon les autorités. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 20 février 2002)

* Liberia. UN plea for civilians — 14 February: The UN Security Council has called on the Liberian government and rebels to ensure the safety of civilians trapped by the renewed conflict. Reports said that council members backed Secretary General Kofi Annan’s appeal to all Liberians to resolve their differences through dialogue, not violence. Thousands of Liberians have fled the latest fighting, which erupted last week when rebels attacked a town just 35km north of the capital Monrovia. — President Charles Taylor has protested a «conspiracy of silence» by the international community, and calls on world leaders to use their influence to help end the insurrection. 15 February: Gunfire and unrest is continuing north of Monrovia. The residents of Monrovia are frightened and trying to work out what is going on. 20 February: A senior UN official says the international community should put aside any differences it has with the government of Liberia to come to the assistance of some 60,000 people caught in the military unrest. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 20 February 2002)

* Libya. Closing submissions — 14 February: New evidence presented to the appeal of the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing points to a miscarriage of justice, according to his lawyer. Bill Taylor, QC for Abdelbasset ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, told five judges that doubt had been cast on the verdict. Mr Taylor QC, said new evidence raised the possibility that the bomb which exploded on Pan Am flight 103, had been placed on the aircraft at Heathrow and not in Malta, as the trial judges had concluded. Mr Taylor said it was regrettable that evidence made available at the appeal at Camp Zeish had not been disclosed at the trial. He said there was «strong circumstantial evidence» that a security breach allowed access to a baggage handling area at Heathrow  three hours before the plane took off for New York. Defence and prosecution lawyers are giving their closing submissions in the appeal, today. The five judges are expected to retire to consider their decision, which is likely to take about three weeks. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 14 February 2002)

* Libya. Court rejects HIV plot charges — A court in Libya has said there is no evidence of a plot to undermine state security in the case of seven foreign medical workers accused of infecting children with HIV. The People’s Court in Tripoli, which deals with matters of state security, has referred the case to an ordinary criminal court. The Palestinian doctor and six Bulgarian medical workers on trial have been in detention for three years. The decision makes their case less fraught, but they still face charges carrying the death sentence. Bulgarian public opinion had been alarmed when the Libyan leader, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, spoke about a possible conspiracy by the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad or the American CIA. But in the hearing on 17 February at the People’s Court, attended by foreign diplomats, the Libyan judge said the only incontestable fact so far was that a number of children had died. The Bulgarian foreign minister had visited Tripoli at the end of last year to discuss the case with Colonel Gaddafi and his son, Seif al-Islam. The defendants, who all deny the charges, have been moved out of prison and placed under house arrest. Some of them say they were forced to make confessions under torture. (BBC News, UK, 17 February 2002)

* Libya. Meeting Gaddafi’s son and heir — Dressed in jeans and appearing confident, Colonel Gaddafi’s son, Seif al-Islam, gave short and precise answers to the journalists questioning him. It was a thoroughly modern performance, in sharp contrast to the flowing robes and rambling language preferred by his father. Our group had been specially flown to the town of Sirte on an elegant presidential plane in order to interview him. In one of the vast marble halls in the building where the Libyan General People’s Congress meets, Seif al-Islam sat underneath a portrait of his father. We may have been surrounded by symbols of the Libyan state, fashioned according to Colonel Gaddafi’s ideas, but Seif al-Islam insisted that his agenda is separate from that of the government. «I run a non-governmental organisation, I have my own agenda, I have my own mission, they have their own mission. Sometimes we agree and sometimes not,» he said. The leader’s second son heads the Gaddafi Foundation, a charity which tries to project a new and positive image of Libya. The foundation has been involved in attempts to get Western hostages released in both the Philippines and Afghanistan. More recently it has been trying to fly out of Afghanistan Arab families caught up in the turmoil there. Seif al-Islam’s intervention has also secured vastly improved detention conditions for Bulgarian medical workers accused of  infecting Libyan children with the virus which causes Aids. All this is giving him a high profile in a country where the leader overshadows everyone. Does it mean Seif al-Islam is being groomed for the succession? No, he insists, that would be inconsistent with Libya’s progressive system. (BBC News, UK, 20 February 2002)