ANB-BIA - Av. Charles Woeste 184 - 1090 Bruxelles - Belgium
TEL **.32.2/420 34 36 fax /420 05 49 E-Mail: anb-bia@village.uunet.be
_____________________________________________________________
WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 08-05-2002

PART #3/4 - From  GUINEA to  MOZAMBIQUE

* Guinea. Explosions heard in Conakry — 5 May: Reports from Guinea say loud explosions have been heard in the capital, Conakry. Witnesses said the blasts continued for about 30 minutes and a large column of smoke rose from the vicinity of the main army barracks in the area. There are reports that the electricity supply in the city has gone off. The authorities have not yet commented on the cause of the blast. Last year, an accidental fire at a military base in the city caused an ammunition depot to explode; a number of people were killed. (BBC News, UK, 5 May 2002)

* Guinée. Explosions à Conakry — Une vingtaine d’explosions ont secoué, le dimanche 5 mai, la capitale Conakry, près de la principale caserne de la ville, sans qu’on puisse déterminer leur origine. Des centaines d’habitants paniqués ont fui leur domicile. Après les déflagrations, des pompiers ont pénétré dans le camp Alpha Yaya, où l’incendie d’un dépôt d’armes avait fait plusieurs dizaines de morts en mars 2001. Aucun signe d’une présence militaire renforcée dans la ville, qui suggérerait une tentative de coup d’Etat militaire, n’a été constaté. (La Libre Belgique, 6 mai 2002)

* Kenya. Nairobi parched despite downpour — While rain is causing death and destruction in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, residents are struggling to find drinking water. From the city’s wealthiest estates to its sprawling slums, people are being forced to buy water as they watch the pouring rain literally go down the drain. Residents are frustrated because last year, following water shortages caused by drought, Mayor Dick Waweru asked people to bear with the city council. The situation, he said, would improve if there was some rain. So there were sighs of relief when the heavens opened three weeks ago. But in fact the season of thirst had just begun. The council sounded the alarm this week, saying rains had affected the water supply system. According to water engineer Lawrence Musyoka, the daily supply of 410 million litres per day was 40% down by 3 May. The reason, he said, was that mud has got into pipes bringing water to the city from nearby reservoirs. Mr Musyoka said two teams of engineers were working around the clock trying to unblock the pipelines. Residents welcomed the reports of engineers getting their hands dirty and scooping mud. But for many this won’t wash. (BBC News, UK, 7 May 2002)

* Kenya. Inondations — La vague de mauvais temps qui a touché le Kenya ces deux dernières semaines, a entraîné la mort d’au moins 30 personnes. Les pluies torrentielles de ces deux derniers jours ont causé des inondations et des glissements de terrain dans plusieurs zones du pays. Des familles entières ont été sinistrées et leurs habitations ensevelies par des glissements de terrain. Selon le quotidien Daily Nation du 7 mai, au moins 50.000 personnes ont été contraintes ces dernières semaines de quitter leurs domiciles. Selon les prévisions météorologiques, les précipitations devraient se poursuivre encore pendant au moins deux semaines. (Misna, Italie, 7 mai 2002)

* Liberia. Archbishop mediates release of human rights lawyer — 5 May: The renowned human rights lawyer, Tiawan Gongloe, who was arrested and tortured by the police last week, was released after mediation efforts by Archbishop Michael Francis of Monrovia. Gongloe was arrested on 24 April by police, and questioned about a speech he made in March at a conference in Guinea, on Peace in the Mano River Union, condemning violence as a means of state power. On the same day of his arrest, The Analyst newspaper, which had reported his speech, was ordered to close down. Gongloe said two police officers beat and kicked him throughout the night, causing him to suffer some hearing loss, a bruised eye and other injuries. Lawyers who learned of his condition pressured the police to hospitalize Gongloe. He was then taken to a hospital in Monrovia. The government warned that Gongloe may still be subject to further investigation. A number of arrests have followed the state of emergency imposed on 8 February. (Zenit, Italy, 5 May 2002)

* Liberia. Sanctions prolongées - Nouvelles attaques — Le 6 mai, le Conseil de sécurité des Nations unies a voté à l’unanimité l’extension d’un an des sanctions à l’encontre du Liberia, accusé de soutenir les rebelles de Sierra Leone. La résolution adoptée confirme l’embargo sur les ventes d’armes et de diamants et sur les déplacements des hauts responsables de Monrovia et des forces armées. L’Onu a précisé que les sanctions seraient annulées dès que le gouvernement libérien aura accédé aux demandes de l’Onu, c’est-à-dire dès qu’il aura cessé de fournir des armes et de l’argent aux rebelles du RUF, expulsé tous ses combattants du pays, interrompu les importations de diamants de la Sierra Leone et gelé tous leurs avoirs. - Pendant ce temps, des milliers de civils fuient la ville de Gbarnga, au centre du Liberia, ainsi que les villes voisines, suite à la progression des troupes dissidentes, ont déclaré des témoins le 7 mai. Selon l’un d’eux, les dissidents se seraient emparés de la ville de Wainsue, à la périphérie de Gbarnga, au cours des dernières 48 h. D’autres sources révèlent que les dissidents auraient pris les villes de Gbalatuah et Belefania, il y a une semaine. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 7 mai 2002)

* Liberia. Fighting intensifies in central Liberia — 7 May: Clashes between Liberian soldiers and rebels fighting to oust President Charles Taylor have intensified in the centre of the country. Rebels of the Liberians United For Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) attacked the Niama military camp near the town of Gbanga on the afternoon of 6 May, but there were no details of casualties, a senior military source said. The LURD rebels confirmed in a statement there had been «intensive combat» recently, saying they had captured three strategic towns around Gbanga, which is on the main highway linking the capital Monrovia to the outside world. Liberian Defense Minister Daniel Chea, who visited the area, said that fighting was still going on. He said he would give more details later. There was no independent confirmation of the attack on the military camp, which is in central Liberia near its border with Guinea, and the rebels did not mention it in their statement. (CNN, USA, 8 May 2002)

* Libya. Libya enters Africa airline dogfight — The Libyan Government and Italian airline Blue Panorama have set up a new carrier, Afriqiyah Airways, to fly from Tripoli to West African capitals. Competition on West African routes is intensifying, with Uganda’s AfricaOne making its first flights earlier this week to compete with Kenya Airways, one of Africa’s most profitable carriers. Brussels Airlines, the carrier formed from the rump of bankrupt airline Sabena, last week started flights to many of the Belgium flag carrier’s former African destinations. Cutbacks by airlines after 11 September and the closures of Sabena and Air Afrique left many African routes unserviced. The Libyan state owns 51% of Afriqiyah Airways, with the remainder held by Libyan, African and foreign shareholders. Blue Panorama will supplying the planes and staff. Using two Boeing 737-400s, the carrier will fly from Tripoli to Benghazi (Libya), Khartoum (Sudan), Niamey (Nigeria), Accra (Ghana), Bamako (Mali), Ndjamena (Chad), Bangui (Central African Republic), Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso). Other routes include Dubai, Khartoum, Tunis and Cairo. Afriqiyah Airways’ partner, Blue Panorama Airlines (BPA), which was founded in 1998 and is based at Rome-Fiumicino airport, deals mainly with tour operators. The carrier flies to Italy’s main airports, some European capitals, and Mediterranean tourist resorts and recently began flying to the Ukraine. (BBC News, UK, 2 May 2002)

* Libye. Lockerbie: dédommagement des familles — Un accord est sur le point d’être conclu sur le montant des dédommagements que la Libye verserait aux familles des 270 victimes de l’attentat de Lockerbie, a affirmé le 2 mai un avocat participant aux négociations. Il n’a pas précisé le montant de la proposition. Tripoli n’a fait aucun commentaire dans l’immédiat. L’indemnisation des familles des victimes permettrait à la Libye de revenir sur la scène internationale et de renouer des relations avec les Etats-Unis. Plusieurs résolutions de l’Onu demandent à la Libye de reconnaître sa responsabilité dans l’attentat, de verser des dédommagements aux familles et de renoncer au terrorisme. (AP, 2 mai 2002)

* Libya. Grassroots peoples’ congresses meet — Grassroots peoples’ congresses throughout Libya are holding local sessions which began on 1 May to draw up agendas on various local issues of interest. At the meetings, expected to last several days, participants would discuss environmental protection, housing, general and specialised education, and orientation towards production, which are issues affecting them. They would also seek solution to unemployment and access to bank loans at the grassroots level. Since the proclamation of peoples’ power, in March 1997, Libya has been administered by a direct peoples’ democracy, based on the Green Book (third universal theory) advocated by the leader of the Revolution, Col. Moammar Kadhafi. Under the system, all Libyans are divided into grassroots congresses, which determine the country’s internal and external policies. This regime abolished the Republic instituted in 1969 by the 1st September Revolution which toppled the Libyan feudal monarchy. (PANA, Senegal, 2 May 2002)

* Libya. The USA‘s list of «rogue states» — The Bush administration on 6 May accused Libya, Syria and Cuba of developing chemical and biological weapons and sponsoring international terrorism. The three states form a second series of nations under heightened US scrutiny following President George W. Bush’s condemnation of Iran, Iraq and North Korea as «an axis of evil» earlier this year. The accusations against Libya represent a hardening of US policy towards the regime of Muammer Gaddafi, as negotiations continue with Libyan officials over compensation for the families of the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am jet over Lockerbie, Scotland. John Bolton, under-secretary of state for arms control, said the three states were breaching their obligations under international treaties by pursuing weapons of mass destruction. In a speech to The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think-tank in Washington, entitled “Beyond the Axis of Evil”, Mr Bolton said Libya had improved its access to nuclear technologies since United Nations sanctions were suspended in 1999. He also suggested that Libya was continuing to develop chemical weapons at its Rabta facility, which has already produced at least 100 tonnes of such weapons. «Following the suspension of UN sanctions in April 1999, Libya has re-established contacts with illicit foreign sources of expertise, parts and precursor chemicals in the Middle East, Asia and western Europe,» he said. While crediting the Libyan government for voicing interest in joining the chemical weapons convention, Mr Bolton expressed deep scepticism about its commitment to arms control. He said Libya had joined the biological weapons convention in 1982 but continued to seek biological weapons. «Although its programme is in the research and development stage, Libya may be capable of producing small quantities of biological agent,» he said. (...) (Financial Times, UK, 7 May 2002)

* Madagascar. The 2nd time-round President — 2 May: A province that supports outgoing president Didier Ratsiraka will officially declare independence today. Tamatave is one of four provinces opposed to Marc Ravalomanana, who has been declared the winner of December’s election following a recount. Today’s ceremony in Tamatave coincides with the expected arrival on the island of a delegation from the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), in an effort to end the power struggle between the two men. Mr Ratsiraka does not accept the result of the recount, saying the judges who endorsed them were biased against him. The aim of today’s declaration of independence in Tamatave — where Mr Ratsiraka is based — is to encircle the official capital, Antananarivo, and isolate it from the country’s ports. In his first statement since last week’s recount, Mr Ratsiraka says the results are a «flagrant violation» of a deal the two men reached last month in Senegal. He says an unwritten agreement had been made, that Mr Ravalomanana «should not win the recount», and that there should be a run-off between the two contenders. — A delegation from the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) has met the incumbent leader of Madagascar, Didier Ratsiraka, in his stronghold, Tamatave, as it tries to resolve the four-month old crisis over the country’s presidency. The seven OAU diplomats, including three African foreign ministers, have now gone to meet the rival president, Marc Ravalomanana, in the capital, Antannarivo. It is hoped that a compromise that the two men had reached in the Senegal capital, Dakar, can be revived. Senegalese Foreign Minister Cheikh Tidiane Gadio, who is part of the OAU mission, said: «We are all Africans. All my delegation, and all our brothers and sisters from Madagascar, are frankly believers that the Dakar Accord can help in this situation.» 6 May: President Ratsiraka has called for an extraordinary session of parliament for today. — AFP reports that Ratsiraka and Ravalomanana have agreed to take part in further talks in Dakar, Senegal, in a week’s time. Ravalomanana, however, says he has received no confirmation for the Dakar meeting. — Marc Ravalomanana takes the oath of office as President, in front of a crowd of 100,000 people, significantly including western diplomats, in the capital, Antananarivo. This is the second time that Mr Ravalomanana has taken the oath of office, this time with legal backing. At today’s ceremony, the president of the High Constitutional Court placed the sash of red, green and white, the colours of the Malagasy flag, over Mr Ravalomanana’s shoulders, before declaring him president. Representatives from western powers attended the ceremony. This shows the international community is starting to lean towards Mr Ravalomanana after being largely neutral up to now. However, the ambassadors of former colonial ruler France and the United States were not present. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 7 May 2002)

* Madagascar. La sécession s’aggrave — Le 2 mai, une mission de l’OUA est arrivée à Madagascar en vue de trouver une solution pacifique à la crise. Conduite par une délégation ministérielle des pays facilitateurs de l’accord de Dakar signé le 18 avril, ele doit tenter de ramener les deux prétendants à la présidence à la table des négociations. La lutte pour le pouvoir entre le président sortant, Didier Ratsiraka, et son opposant, Marc Ravalomanana, menace de conduire le pays à la sécession. Après Antsiranana (nord) le 30 avril, Taomasina (centre-est) et Toliara (sud-ouest) le 1er mai, deux autres provinces ont annoncé, le 2 mai, leur intention de se proclamer indépendantes. Fidèles à Ratsiraka, les gouverneurs de ces cinq provinces entendent ainsi protester contre la décision de la Haute Cour constitutionnelle de proclamer Ravalomanana nouveau président de la Grande Ile. -3 mai. Un pont situé à une quarantaine de km au sud de la capitale a été plastiqué; c’est le cinquième depuis le début de la crise. Ravalomanana, après avoir indiqué qu’il serait officiellement investi président lundi prochain, a annoncé son intention de former un gouvernement de réconciliation. Mais il n’a pas évoqué l’idée d’un référendum, pourtant soutenue par l’OUA. - 4-5 mai. Aucun compromis n’a pu être trouvé ce week-end sous l’égide de l’OUA. L’île reste coupée en deux et la capitale soumise à un blocus, empêchant tout ravitaillement en carburant et en nourriture. Cependant, le dimanche soir, la présidence sénégalaise a annoncé qu’un nouveau tête-à-tête entre les deux rivaux aura lieu les 13 et 14 mai à Dakar. -6 mai. A Antananarivo, M. Ravalomanana a été investi à la présidence après avoir prêté serment devant le doyen de la Haute Cour constitutionnelle. Les Etats-Unis, la France, l’Allemagne, le Royaume-Uni, la Suisse et l’Union européenne se sont fait représenter à la cérémonie, toutefois par des personnes de rang inférieur. - 7 mai. M. Ravalomanana a fait savoir qu’il n’irait à Dakar, à l’invitation du président Wade, que “s’il était invité en tant que chef de l’Etat” et si les discussions portaient sur le rétablissement de l’unité nationale. Par ailleurs, deux sessions parlementaires parallèles se sont tenues ce même jour: l’une à Antananarivo (avec 63 députés sur 150), l’autre à Mahajanga, à l’appel de Ratsiraka. Là, les élus de l’Arema et les sénateurs nommés par Ratsiraka se sont penchés sur la manière d’établir la Constitution de la confédération des Etats indépendants formés par 4 provinces. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 8 mai 2002)

* Malawi. Evangelising through IT — Catholic Bishops in Malawi have called on the Church’s pastors and communicators to take advantage of the Internet to spread God’s Message — thus complementing radio, television and the print media. Bishop Felix Mkhori has special responsibility for Communications. He appeals for «adequate material, financial and human resources to be made available, especially in developing countries...In this modern age, we need modern tools of communication to promote the cause of the Gospel. We therefore encourage our faithful to acquire new technologies such as telephones, computers, the Internet, besides reading newspapers and magazines». (Hobbs Gama, ANB-BIA, Malawi, 4 May 2002

* Mali. Vers un second tour — 2 mai. L’ancien Premier ministre Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta a fermement contesté les résultats partiels du premier tour de la présidentielle du 28 avril, portant sur 70% des bulletins dépouillés. Selon la Commission nationale de centralisation des votes, Keïta arrivait en troisième position, derrière l’ex-général Amadou Toumani Touré (28,32%) et le candidat du parti au pouvoir, Soumaïla Cissé (26,10%). Keïta dénonce une “fraude grossière et grotesque”, soulignant que, dans certaines zones, le nombre de votants serait supérieur au nombre d’inscrits. La Commission, elle, reconnaît avoir relevé “certaines anomalies”. - 3 mai. Selon des résultats provisoires annoncés officiellement, mais qui doivent encore être validés par la Cour constitutionnelle, A.T. Touré (27,98%) et S. Cissé (22,74%) sont arrivés en tête du premier tour de l’élection présidentielle. Ils se retrouveront donc face à face au second tour prévu le 12 mai. Cependant, ler 4 mai, les dirigeants de l’alliance “Espoir 2002", qui regroupe 15 partis politiques de diverses tendances, ont demandé l’annulation de la présidentielle du 28 mars, la qualifiant de»mascarade". Plusieurs organisations ont appelé la classe politique à “plus d’apaisement”. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 6 mai 2002)

* Mali. Fraud claims in poll — 2 May: Opposition candidates in Mali’s elections are alleging fraud and vote-rigging, with results still awaited from about 30% of electoral districts. Provisional results released late on Wednesday showed former military strong man, General Amadou Toumani Toure in the lead with 28%, closely followed by the Soumaila Cisse from the ruling Adema party. Partial results Amadou Toumani Toure: 28% Soumaila Cisse: 26% Ibrahim Boubacar Keita: 19% 70% of results declared Backers of former Prime Minister Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, the candidate of Mali’s Islamic groups, are crying foul because he is currently trailing in third place with 19% of votes cast in the 28 April poll. As no candidate is likely to receive the 50% needed for outright victory, a second round will probably be held on 12 May between the two men with the most votes. Unless Mr Keita does extremely well in the areas where results are still to be released — largely in the capital, Bamako — it appears that this will be between Mr Toure and Mr Cisse. 3 May: The Interior Ministry now says that the results released earlier this week, based on 70% of votes, were «trends» and not actual results. — Complete results from the presidential elections take the two leading candidates, Amadou Toumani Toure and Soumaila Cisse on to a second round. The Independent Electoral Commission has criticised the way the count has been handled. 5 May: A former prime minister who came third in Mali’s presidential election demanded on 4 May that the country’s constitutional court annul the vote, alleging irregularities. Former premier Ibrahim Keita urged his supporters to remain calm and not to «fall into the trap of violence and provocation.» 7 May: Mali’s Constitutional Court is deliberating whether to validate the results of the first round of presidential elections. The Court is considering complaints from an unspecified number of parties. If the court accepts the results, there will be a run-off between a former head of state, General Amadou Toumani Toure, and the ruling party candidate, Soumaila Cisse. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 7 May 2002)

* Morocco/Spain. Abuse of child migrants — On 7 May, Human Rights Watch said that Moroccan migrant children in Spain are frequently beaten by police and abused by staff and other children in overcrowded, unsanitary residential centres. Spain also summarily expels children as young as eleven to Morocco, where Moroccan police beat and ill-treat them and then abandon them onto the streets. Human Rights Watch charged that Spain denied education to the vast majority of unaccompanied migrant children in Ceuta and many children in Melilla, and that staff at both public health clinics and residential centres arbitrarily denied health care to ill and injured children in Ceuta. (Human Rights Watch, 7 May 2002)

* Mozambique. A country looks at itself — A Parliamentary Commission set up two years ago to investigate the causes of politically motivated demonstrations that gripped the country on 9 November 2000, has blamed the leader of the opposition Mozambique National Resistance (RENAMO), Alfonso Dhlakama, for what happened. The Commission’s report, released on 3 April, concluded that the demonstrations, organised by RENAMO to protest the outcome of the 1999 general elections, degenerated into clashed with the police. Some 41 people are known to have died as a direct result of the demonstrations, and a further 83 died in the holding cells at a police station in the town of Montepuez, allegedly of suffocation. — Farmers from Zimbabwe, fleeing repression at home and settling in Mozambique, cannot bring in their farming equipment. The Zimbabwean-government controlled newspaper, The Sunday Mail, quoting the Zimbabwean Agricultural Minister, Joseph Made, reported that «all border authorities across the country have been issued with a directive, not to allow farming equipment to leave the borders». (Frederico Katerere, ANB-BIA, Mozambique, 2 May 2002)