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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 21-03-2002

PART #3/4 - From  COTE D'IVOIRE to  NIGERIA

* Côte d’Ivoire. Programme économique — La Côte d’Ivoire vient d’achever la définition d’un programme macro-économique de redressement, qui doit être présenté au FMI le 26 mars. Ce programme doit permettre “la mise en place d’une facilité pour la réduction de la pauvreté et la croissance” sur une période de trois ans. Dès qu’il sera mis en place, la Côte d’Ivoire demandera aux créanciers publics réunis au sein du Club de Paris la renégociation de certaines échéances de sa dette bilatérale. (Le Figaro, France, 19 mars 2002)

* Ethiopia-Eritrea. Peacekeepers stay on — 16 March: The United Nations Security Council has extended the mandate of its peacekeepers on the Ethiopian-Eritrean border for six months.It had been due to expire at midnight on 15 March. The extension will give the 4,000 peacekeepers more time to help clear minefields left littering the frontier region following the end of a border war in 2000. An international boundary commission is due to define the disputed border at the end of this month. The Security Council welcomed recent statements by Ethiopia and Eritrea that they would abide by the commission’s decisions. It also urged the countries to establish an air link between their capitals and release any remaining prisoners. Eritrea gained independence from  Ethiopia in 1993. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 16 March 2002)

* Ghana. Army finds crashed helicopter — The Defence Ministry in Ghana has ordered stringent tests to be carried out on all the country’s military aircraft after a search mission found the wreckage of an army helicopter which disappeared on 16 March. All seven passengers and crew, including two critically ill patients, were found dead in a dense forest reserve in the Eastern Region 110 kilometres north west of the capital, Accra where the helicopter went down. It had been ferrying the two patients to Accra for medical treatment. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 19 March 2002)

* Kenya. Merger shakes up Kenyan politics — Kenya’s ruling Kanu party has absorbed the smaller National Development Party (NDP), revolutionizing Kenyan politics ahead of general elections due later this year. President Daniel arap Moi is due to retire before the elections and Kanu has also revamped its leadership ahead of the poll. Uhuru Kenyatta, the 41-year-old son of Kenya’s founding father becomes one of four party vice-chairmen. This confirms him as a front-runner in the race to succeed Mr Moi. The merger was approved at a Kanu conference in Nairobi — the first in 13 years. Mr Kenyatta has had a rapid ascent through the Kanu hierarchy. This time last year the son of Kenya’s independence leader was not even a member of parliament. But in the last few months President Moi has favoured the younger man. He has been appointed not only as an MP but also as a government minister. The NDP leader, Raila Odinga, is the new party’s general-secretary. The main casualty of these elections was Kenya’s outgoing Vice-President, George Saitoti. He did not even bother to contest his position as vice-chairman after being abandoned by key supporters. The conference was attended by 6,000 enthusiastic Kanu members from across the country. (BBC News, UK, 18 March 2002)

* Kenya. KANU et NDP fusionnent — Le 18 mars, le président kényan, Daniel arap Moi, chef de l’Union nationale africaine du Kenya (KANU), et le leader du parti national pour le développement (NDP), Raila Odinga, ont présidé à Nairobi une cérémonie consacrant l’union de leurs deux partis dans la New KANU. M. Moi conserve son poste de président national, alors que Odinga est élu nouveau secrétaire général. Le nouveau parti dispose au Parlement de 138 députés, contre 80 pour l’opposition. Lors de la première réunion de la nouvelle coalition, le 19 mars, une  des premières décisions a été d’appeler au prolongement des opérations d’inscription des électeurs en perspective de l’élection présidentielle de cette année. (PANA, Sénégal, 19 mars 2002)

* Lesotho. US trade exploits Lesotho workers — A big jump in textiles exports from Lesotho to the US has resulted in worsening working conditions in the southern African country, according to the country’s Clothing and Allied Workers Union. The US International Trade Commission (ITC), which overseas the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), reported a 50% rise in textiles exports to just over 300,000 tonnes in 2001/02. Growth must be seen against the backdrop of appalling working conditions characterised by poor wages and unduly long working hours. It also said the textile industry was now Lesotho’s biggest employer with more than 40,000 workers. But a Lesotho trade union has alleged that the increase was partly thanks to exploitation of textile workers. AGOA gives sub-Saharan countries preferential access to the US market for apparel and textile products as well as a wide range of other goods. Its aim was to transform relations between some of the world’s poorest nations and the US to one of trade partners from aid dependency. (BBC News, UK, 15 March 2002)

* Liberia. Pourparlers — Les pourparlers entre les groupes rivaux libériens, qui devaient s’ouvrir le 14 mars dans la capitale nigériane Abuja, ont été reportés d’un jour parce que la délégation gouvernementale tardait à arriver. Les autres délégués, représentant les partis politiques, les anciennes forces rebelles et les groupes de la société civile, étaient arrivés. Les rebelles des Libériens unis pour la réconciliation et la démocratie (LURD) n’ont pas voulu asister à la réunion invoquant une invitation tardive. Les pourparlers qui se tiennent sous les auspices de la CEDEAO, visent à définir les modalités pour la tenue de la conférence de réconciliation nationale, qui doit avoir lieu au courant de cette année à Monrovia. La réunion a pu commencer le vendredi 15 mars. Souhaitant la bienvenue aux participants, le président nigérian Obasanjo a souligné que “le dialogue a toujours été la seule façon de triompher des conséquences désastreuses d’un différend”. Le 16 mars, les parties en présence ont appelé à un cessez-le-feu immédiat entre le gouvernement et les rebelles du LURD. Les participants ont également demandé que “la sécurité soit garantie, l’Etat de droit et les droits constitutionnels respectés pour tous les Libériens, mais aussi la création d’un environnement favorable à des élections justes et libres en 2003". Les propositions seront soumises à la Commission médiation et  sécurité de la CEDEAO qui se réunira le 29 mars à Dakar. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 18 mars 2002)

* Liberia. New refugee emergency in Liberia — 19 March: A fresh humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Liberia, following operations by government troops against rebel guerrillas in the north-west of the country. Ten of thousands of people have fled their homes in recent weeks, after rebels known as Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (Lurd) stepped up their attacks against the government of President Charles Taylor. Most of those who left now live in camps around the capital, Monrovia. But in Gbarpolu county, 100 kilometres north of Monrovia, thousands of local people have been emerging from the bush as army troops engage pockets of Lurd fighters.Many of the displaced people are said to have been held hostage in rebel hide-outs in the dense Belle Forest, before regaining their freedom when government troops broke through. Liberia’s Health Minister Peter Coleman said there was an outbreak of acute diarrhoea among the returning people — who he said had been surviving largely on wild fruits. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 20 March 2002)

* Libye. Lockerbie: peine confirmée — Le 14 mars, à l’issue du procès en appel des auteurs de l’attentat de Lockerbie, les juges écossais du Camp Zeist (Pays-Bas) ont condamné l’ex-agent secret Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi à la réclusion criminelle à perpétuité. Le verdict confirme la condamnation prononcée par la cour en première instance. “Aucun des arguments d’appel n’a été reconnu valide”, a déclaré le juge lord Mc Cullen. L’accusé purgera sa peine, assortie d’un minimum incompressible de vingt ans, dans une prison écossaise, où il a été transféré dans l’après-midi. La Libye a dénoncé un “verdict politique”. (Le Figaro, France, 15 mars 2002)

* Libya. Libyan protest over Lockerbie trial — 17 March: Thousands of Libyans have held a peaceful protest against a Scottish courts decision to uphold the conviction of a former Libyan intelligence agent in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing. Abdel Baset Ali Mohmed Al-Megrahi was jailed for life for his part in the bombing which killed 259 people on board Pan AM flight 103 and 11 people on the ground in the Scottish town of Lockerbie. The demonstration focused on the United Nations office in Tripoli. In a statement handed to a UN representative, the protesters called on the international body to «interfere to save the political hostage Abdel-Basset al-Megrahi. The sentence contradicts  international laws as it was handed as a result of political pressure aimed at settling account with the Libyan revolution,» said the statement. Al-Megrahi, 49, lost an appeal on 13 March against his 2001 conviction. The judges said «none of the grounds of the appeal are well-founded.» Libya has described the five-judge court’s unanimous decision as a «political verdict» and said it will lodge an appeal to the UK House of Lords and the European Court of Human Rights. (CNN, USA, 17 March 2002)

* Madagascar. La tension monte — 14 mars. La tension monte à Taomasina (Tamatave), le port principal de l’île, fief du président sortant Ratsiraka. Dans la matinée, des individus ont commis des actes de vandalisme, détruisant notamment des magasins. La police et l’armée sont intervenues et ont ouvert le feu. Certaines sources parlent de sept morts, d’autres de deux victimes. Par ailleurs à Antananarivo, le gouvernement du président auto-proclamé Marc Ravalomanana a annoncé le remplacement des principaux chefs de l’armée. Le général de division Dieudonné Andrianome Ranevo remplacerait le général Ismaël Mounibou au poste de chef d’état-major. Cependant, lorsque le ministre de la Défense du gouvernement de Ratsiraka avait démissionné le 8 mars, le général Mounibou était resté en poste, refusant de reconnaître l’autorité de Ravalomanana. Le général Mounibou est réputé pour conserver une certaine autorité dans l’armée. - 15 mars. Les partisans de Ravalomanana ont amené leur “Premier ministre” Jacques Sylla dans l’immeuble de ses bureaux, sans pouvoir toutefois l’y installer. La foule a fait reculer les militaires qui gardaient la primature, mais ont laissé sur le terrain un mort et 38 blessés. - 19 mars. On apprenait dans la soirée qu’une rencontre entre MM. Ratsiraka et Ravalomanana est “prévue sous 24 ou 48 heures”. Cette rencontre “acceptée” par les deux protagonistes aura lieu à la demande “des forces armées légalistes” placées sous le commandement du général Ismaël Mounibou. - 20 mars. Avant de rencontrer M. Ratsiraka, M. Ravalomanana exige que ce dernier fasse “lever les barrages” qui asphyxient la capitale Antananarivo. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 21 mars 2002)

* Madagascar. Rival government installed — 15 March: Supporters of Madagascar’s self-declared president, Marc Ravalomanana, have installed a new prime minister in the capital after a tense stand-off with troops loyal to the incumbent president. Jacques Sylla, proclaimed as the head of the new rival government, is a lawyer who comes from the eastern port of Tamatave in the political heartland of President Didier Ratsiraka. had surrounded the  building. One soldier is reported to have been injured. 19 March: The self-declared government has called an end to the general strike and has urged public and private sector workers to return to work. However, Antananarivo is still being choked by a blockade imposed by President Ratsiraka’s supporters. — About 60 Members of Parliament siding with Ravalomanana «install» Paraina Auguste as pro-tem Speaker of the National Assembly in Antananarivo. 20 March: Marc Ravalomanana says he is prepared to meet President Ratsiraka in an attempt to defuse the crisis, but he will only hold talks if the roadblocks strangling the capital are removed. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 21 March 2002)

* Mali. Modibo Keita Premier ministre — Le 18 mars, le chef de l’Etat malien, Alpha Oumar Konaré, a nommé Modibo Keita nouveau Premier ministre en remplacement de Mandé Sidibé, qui a présenté sa démission et celle de son gouvernement. M. Keita, jusque-là secrétaire général de la présidence de la République, est chargé entre autres de conduire en toute transparence les élections générales de 2002. L’ancien Premier ministre Mandé Sidibé a l’intention de se présenter à l’élection présidentielle du 28 avril, contre l’avis de son parti ADEMA dont le candidat désigné est M. Soumaila Cissé. 13 candidats se sont déjà présentés pour cette élection. (PANA, Sénégal, 18 mars 2002)

* Mali. Prime Minister resigns — 18 March: The prime minister of Mali, Mande Sidibe, has resigned just six weeks ahead of the presidential election, fuelling speculation that he will contest the poll. Correspondents say it is highly likely that he will run, and that his resignation is in line with electoral rules which dictate that presidential candidates should leave the government. Mr Sidibe had previously withdrawn as one of the candidates for the governing ADEMA party to succeed President Omar Alpha Konare who is coming to the end of his second and final term in office. He withdrew when it became clear that ADEMA would choose the former infrastructure minister, Soumaila Cisse, as its official candidate. Thirteen other candidates have declared that they will be running for the presidency. Mali’s constitution bars President Konare from seeking a third term in office.— President Alpha Oumar Konare appoints Modibo Keita as new Prime Minister. He was previously secretary general at the Office of the President. Former Prime Minister Mande Sidibe has, meanwhile, indicated his intention to stand in the presidential election slated for 28 April, against the advise of his party, the Alliance for Democracy in Mali (ADEMA). Thirteen candidates have registered for the election, and more are still expected. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 19 March 2002)

* Mauritanie/Italie. Hommes d’affaires en prospection — Depuis le 16 mars, une mission d’opérateurs économiques italiens est en visite à Nouakchott dans le but de “développer et d’approfondir les relations d’affaires et de partenariat entre l’Italie et la Mauritanie”, selon l’ambassadeur italien. Dans cette délégation, plusieurs secteurs de l’économie italienne sont représentés: le bâtiment, l’industrie alimentaire, les accessoires pour automobiles, la pêche... Les Italiens ont manifesté notamment leur intérêt pour des projets communs dans le secteur de l’achat et de l’élevage de poisson. Les exportations mauritaniennes vers l’Italie ont connu une progression de 16% au cours de l’année 2001. Les importations en provenance de l’Italie ont augmenté de 150% entre 1998 et 2001. (PANA, Sénégal, 18 mars 2002)

* Mauritius. Street educators training programme — The Mauritius government, in conjunction with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and a local NGO dubbed «Passeport,» have signed an agreement for the launching in April, of a training programme for «street educators.» Under the scheme, organisations working with street children would benefit from the services of a specialised educator, Alexis Velna. They would collaborate with the parents to reintegrate street children into their families or in specialised institutions, an official source said. The UN agency will disburse some 13,415 Euros (11,821 US dollars) to the project, which is being experimented for the first time in Mauritius, according to UNICEF representative Stanislav Czplickim. «The educators’ role is to go towards the children, give them basic treatment, advice, education and most importantly, orientation,» he explained. Czplickim noted that once street children trust the educators, the latter would be able to help the kids out of their situation. (PANA, Senegal, 18 March 2002)

* Morocco. Seeking tourism revival — Tourism chiefs in the Moroccan city of Fez are seeking to win back lost trade from holidaymakers who were put off travelling by the events of 11 September. For thousands of workers, including taxi drivers, hotel staff and local craftsman, it is vital that North Americans and Europeans overcome any doubts about travel. «We Fassis all need tourism,» says Mohammed Benouna, a shop owner in Fez, north-eastern Morocco. «Tourism and  agriculture are the two most important things in Morocco,» he points out. His sales to fellow Moroccans have been slow for a year or so now as people hit by the country’s drought have cut their spending on weddings and other celebrations. The sharp fall-off in foreign visitors after the 11 September attacks was a further blow the city could have done without. He is hoping that returning Moroccan emigres based in France will provide some welcome business this summer. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 18 March 2002)

* Nigeria. Court hears stoning appeal — 18 March: A woman in Nigeria convicted of adultery by an Islamic court and sentenced to death by stoning, appears before an appeal hearing. Harsh criminal punishments such as stoning and amputation for theft have been introduced into the legal code in many of Nigeria’s majority Muslim northern states over the past two years. But although amputations have been carried out, no one has yet been stoned to death. The case has attracted a great deal of attention, both inside Nigeria and abroad and worldwide calls for clemency appear to have softened the resolve of the local authorities to carry out the punishment. It is also a very sensitive issue within Nigeria, a country with a large Christian, as well as Muslim, population. Safiya Husaini, who is 35 years old, is not being held in prison. Under Islamic law she is free to live with her family until she either wins her appeal or is taken away to be stoned to death for the crime of adultery. She was convicted because she had borne a child out of wedlock. — The four judges at the Sokoto Court of Appeal, rule that a decision will be made on 25 March. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 18 March 2002)

* Nigeria. Safiya: procès en appel — Le 18 mars, une cour d’appel islamique à Sokoto a ajourné d’une semaine le jugement dans l’affaire de Safiya Hussaini, condamnée en octobre 2001 à la lapidation pour adultère. Après trois heures et demi de séance, le procès a été ajourné au 25 mars. L’avocat de Safiya, Abdu Kabir Ibrahim, s’est montré optimiste: “Les juges ont accepté sans poser de question les arguments de mon plaidoyer. Ils ont reporté leur décision au 25 mars. Je suis confiant”. Safiya Hussaini a toutes les chances d’être sauvée parce que des associations nigérianes ont su galvaniser l’opinion internationale et que son avocat a pu mettre en évidence les carences de son procès. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 19 mars 2002)

* Nigeria. Government declares Sharia illegal — About two years since the Islamic legal code the Sharia, was adopted for implementation by some northern states of Nigeria, the civilian regime of President Olusegun Obasaanjo has formally declared the move illegal. “Indeed, according to the government, further implementation of the Sharia will amount to questioning the very existence of Nigeria”, the Attorney- General of Nigeria and Minister of Justice, Mr. Kanu Agabi, SAN, stated in a letter circulated to all the state governors in the northern part of Nigeria practicing the Sharia. The Minister’s letter dated March18, 2002 read, “the fact that the Sharia law applies to only Moslems or those who elect to be bound by it makes it imperative that the rights of such persons equally with other citizens under the constitution be not infringed. A Moslem should not be subjected to a punishment more severe than would be imposed on other Nigerians for the same offence.’’ The letter stated further that equality before the law means Moslems should not be discriminated against. And as elected state governors, I am certain that you would not tolerate such disparity in the allocation of punishments. It is not only against the constitution but also against equity and good conscience.” Minister Agabi who declared that the letter to the governors were necessitated by several hundreds of petitions from Moslems resident in the states where Sharia is in practice added that punishments imposed by the religious law on offenders violate some sections of the 1999 constitution. Therefore, “states and individuals must comply with the constitution,” he said, while decrying any legal system which imposes discriminatory punishments as deliberately flouting the constitution” and that, “the stability, unity and integrity of the nation is threatened”. Mr Agabi appealed to the governors to secure a workable panacea of all criminal laws in their states so that the courts will not be obliged to impose punishments which derogate from he rights of Moslems under the constitution. He also urged them “not to allow your zeal for justice and transparency to undermine the fundamental law of the nation which is the constitution’. The Catholic Bishops of Nigeria, CBCN, during their last audience with President Obasanjo in February had reaffirmed as they have done many times before that «the non- adoption of any religion as a state religion or giving preferential treatment to one religion, promotes the principle of equality of all religions before the law. Given the existence of the multi religious groups with divergent interests in the country, the violation of the secular nature of our nation cannot occur without grave threats to peace and stability». The Bishops in their memo to the president emphasized also that, «the adoption and the full implementation of Sharia law by some states in the northern part of Nigeria is a flagrant violation of the secular nature of the Nigerian nation. Its introduction and extension into the domain of criminal law have given rise to the trampling of the rights of innocent and law abiding citizens, who cannot seek redress in law courts on accounts of well-founded fear of threats to their lives and property,  and those of their families”. They appealed that in the interest of national peace and harmony, the federal government should heed the “loud and just opposition of many Nigerian Christians and others to the imposition of the Sharia as state law”. In an interview with the Director of Communications of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Fr Emmanuel Badejo after the news broke the President of CBCN Most Rev. John Onaiyekan, Archbishop of Abuja wondered why it took the Government two full years to see what every honest Nigeria saw right from the beginning. In those two years he said lives and limbs have been lost and property destroyed while government waited. He however welcomed the development saying that there is some consolation in the feeling that the fight and sacrifice of the past twenty-four months have not been in vain. He urged the government to be more courageous in living up to its responsibilities in future. (Peter Ajayi Dada, ANB-BIA, Nigeria, 21 March 2002)