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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 19-09-2002

PART #3/4 - From  LIBERIA to SOMALIA 

* Liberia/Italy. Liberian migrants die in Sicilian shipwreck — At least 14 people died yesterday after a boat carrying illegal immigrants from Liberia capsized in a storm off the southern coast of Sicily, the latest in a long roll call of victims who have perished in the quest for a better life in Europe. Another 92 people were rescued by police and coastguards alerted by late night diners in a beachside restaurant who saw the first half-dozen Africans who had managed to swim ashore. Survivors said there were about 150 people on board the nine-metre Tunisian-registered vessel. As many as 40 people may have died. About half the survivors were rescued by boat and helicopter after swimming to a rocky island off the town of Porto Empedocle. The police have arrested an Egyptian man, the only non-Liberian on the boat, and an alleged Liberian accomplice, who are suspected of organising the operation. Five women and a girl aged about 15 were among the dead. One of the survivors told investigators that the boat capsized after being blown on to submerged rocks by a sudden squall. «We waited off the beach for an hour for the storm to pass,» he reportedly told magistrates. «Then the wind blew us on to the rocks near the lighthouse and it was hell.» The man, still draped in a blanket against the cold, said the group had been brought from Africa on a larger ship and then transferred at sea on to the smaller vessel for the last leg of the journey. The coasts of Italy and Spain are two of the favourite entry points for economic migrants attempting to evade border controls and slip secretly into the European Union. (The Guardian, UK, 16 September 2002)

* Liberia. Levée de l’état d’urgence — Le 14 septembre, le président Taylor a annoncé qu’il levait l’état d’urgence imposé depuis huit mois dans tout le pays, affirmant que les forces gouvernementales avaient pratiquement écrasé le mouvement rebelle des Libériens unis pour la réconciliation et la démocratie (LURD). Dans un discours à la nation, M. Taylor a invoqué de récents succès militaires à son actif, dont la reconquête, le 11 septembre, de la ville stratégique de Bopolu (nord-ouest), un important centre diamantifère. Toutes les zones auparavant occupées par le LURD ont  été libérées, a-t-il dit, à l’exception de quelques quartiers de Voinjama (nord). Le LURD a pris les armes il y a trois ans contre le président Taylor. En mai dernier, les rebelles s’étaient dangereusement rapprochés de la capitale Monrovia. Les combats ont chassé sur les routes quelque 165.000 Libériens. - 17 septembre. Le président Taylor a rejeté le principe du déploiement d’une force d’intervention pour rétablir la paix dans son pays, affirmant que son gouvernement s’y opposerait. Il réagissait ainsi aux appels d’un homme politique en exil pour l’envoi d’une force d’intervention par la CEDEAO avec l’aide du gouvernement américain. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 17 septembre 2002)

* Liberia. State of emergency ended — 14 September: President Charles Taylor has lifted the state of emergency imposed eight months ago. Speaking after the recapture of the north-eastern town of Bopolu on 13 September, President Taylor said he had taken the decision because of the reduced danger from rebels. He also declared an end to a ban on all public gatherings and political rallies which he claimed had been imposed as part of necessary security measures against the rebels. 15 September: LURD rebels dismiss the ending of the emergency as a «mockery». They deny that the rebel forces have been all but crushed, saying they are still in control of many areas northeast of Monrovia. 18 September: The government begins moving soldiers from the streets of Monrovia. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 18 September 2002)

* Libya. Going for gold in Central Africa — The Central African Republic (CAR) has signed an agreement giving Libya the right to exploit oil and mineral resources in the country for 99 years. The deal might have been signed as long ago as June during a meeting between Central African President Ange-Felix Patasse and Colonel Muammar Gaddafi in Syrte, Libya. The CAR has oil gold, diamond, uranium and other mineral deposits which are largely unexploited. The deal comes as hundreds of Libyan troops remain in CAR to provide the president with security following coup attempts and military attacks by opponents in May and November 2001. Libyan experts have already visited the country and the African Libyan Investment Company (LAICO) has been established to oversee exploration of the resources. CAR Minister of Mines André Dorogo said: «With regard to oil, it’s a matter of us trying together to profit from Libya’s experience. We need to undertake a study to value our oil reserves in view of future exploitation». (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 12 September 2002)

* Libya. Gadaffi’s caravan treks south of the Sahara — On a visit to Tripoli this year, South Africa‘s President Thabo Mbeki received a gift of a Mercedes armoured limousine from his Libyan host. A little  overwhelmed by President Muammer Gadaffi’s generosity, South African officials said the gift would find a discreet home in the government car pool. A month later, Mr Gadaffi arrived in South Africa for the launch of the African Union (AU), the rejuvenated Organisation of African Unity. He brought with him 40 limousines, a stash of small arms, an entourage of bodyguards and ambitions for a United States of Africa. Over the years Mr Gadaffi has lent his notoriously volatile patronage to African independence and rebel movements. He backed Uganda‘s President Idi Amin and the rebel movements of Charles Taylor in Liberia and Foday Sankoh in Sierra Leone. More recently, he has lost interest in plans for a federation of Arab states and turned peacemaker, promoting initiatives in Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia and Congo. «Libya can no longer depend on the Arabs,» said Mr Gadaffi. «Africa, not oil, is now the hope of Libya.» Mr Gadaffi vies for leadership of Africa with Mr Mbeki. At the launch of the African Union (AU) in July, he bowed to the South African president’s promotion of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad), a plan to build democracy and good governance in return for greater aid and investment from the developed world. He is expected to join the steering committee on Nepad, despite telling the AU‘s founding meeting: «Those who want to give us assistance are welcome, but those who want to impose conditions on us, this will be seen as a humiliation.» (Financial Times, UK, 17 September 2002)

* Libya. Libya denies US allegations over weapons — Libya has denied that it was developing weapons of mass destruction and challenged the US to back up its accusations with proof. Hassouna Chaouch, foreign ministry spokesman, also warned the US stance would undermine the global war against terrorism. He was responding to comments by John Bolton, US undersecretary of state, who this week accused Libya, Syria and Cuba of developing chemical and biological weapons and sponsoring international terrorism. Mr Bolton said that «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». Mr Chaouch insisted that Libya had signed all accords and international treaties banning deadly weapons. «We defy this American official to show any document to back his allegations on Libya’s possession of such weapons or its intent to acquire them,» said Mr Chaouch. The inclusion of Libya on a list of countries of increasing concern to the US appears to be part of a hardening US attitude towards the regime of Muammer Gadaffi. It dashes the maverick leader’s hopes of a resumption of diplomatic relations with the US following Libyan attempts to co-operate in the post-September 11 investigation. Col Gadaffi strongly condemned the attacks on the US and portrayed himself as supportive by  providing information about groups linked with Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda organisation. (Financial Times, UK, 17 September 2002)

* Malawi. Funds for vital railway repairs — Britain and Canada are donating $5.6m for repairs to a railway that provides a vital link from Malawi to the Indian Ocean. The repairs will allow faster transport of emergency aid to the country which is facing a major food shortage. The Nacala rail link runs from land-locked Malawi through Mozambique to the sea and is the shortest and cheapest route for imports to reach the country. Damage to the track during Mozambique’s civil war means trains are forced to slow to 10km an hour on a 77km section of the line, delaying the arrival of vital supplies. The line also links Zambia to Malawi and Mozambique. Mozambique and Malawi are also considering further development along the route of the railway and neighbouring Zambia has expressed interest in becoming involved in the project. Several mining and tourism projects have already been identified for development along the Nacala corridor. But transporting food to the population is the priority at the moment. (BBC News, UK, 13 September 2002)

* Malawi. New bill for Muluzi third term — 16 September: The Malawian government has drafted a bill to give President Muluzi a third term in office. Despite the recent defeat in parliament of the bill to allow him to run for a third term in office, Malawi’s ruling United Democratic Front is still adamant that it will field Mr Muluzi as its candidate in the 2004 election. The new bill is due to be debated in parliament in October. Malawi’s major Christian and civil society leaders have condemned the move as undemocratic. Today, representatives of the main aid donors to Malawi add their criticisms. President Muluzi has rejected the criticisms and instructed the army to halt any demonstrations against his third term bid. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 16 September 2002)

* Morocco. Local Catholics help start Cultural Centre — Beni Mallal, a town in Morocco, will soon have a new Cultural Centre, thanks also to collaboration from the local Catholic community. The Centre will have a library of more than 40,000 volumes including a copy of the first French version of the Muslim holy book the Koran. It will also have a picture gallery with 150 works by Moroccan artists. Fr Jaques Levrat, for 20 years the director of the La Source Catholic Library in Rabat has agreed to oversee the project. For some time now the Franciscan Sisters in Beni Mallal have kept a library which is very popular with local students. The library was started by Fr Jean Delacommune, the local Catholic parish priest between 1973 and 1992 who began by encouraging students to borrow books from his own well stocked library. (Fides, Vatican City, 12 September 2002)

* Maroc. Pas d’islamistes aux législatives — Les islamistes ne participeront pas aux élections législatives du 27 septembre. La principale organisation islamiste Al Adl Wal Ihssane (Justice et bienfaisance) a affirmé, le 12 septembre, que sa non-participation aux législatives vise à éviter au Maroc un raz de marée islamiste et la répétition du “scénario algérien”. (La Croix, France, 13 septembre 2002)

* Morocco. Election campaign opens — 14 September: Campaigning has begun in Morocco for parliamentary elections to be held in two weeks time. A dizzying array of 26 parties will be standing, ranging from former Marxist revolutionaries to the one legal Islamist party. The authorities know their biggest challenge will be to combat voter apathy in a country where parliament has little power. The king appoints the most important government ministers, and the king and his advisors still make all the major decisions in the country. These will be the first general elections since King Mohammed VI came to the throne in 1999, bringing a new era of openness and democracy to the country. Elections in Morocco do not have a very good reputation. Most people here believe that results have always been falsified by a combination of local level corruption and high level interference. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 14 September 2002)

* Maurice. Maurice réclame ses îles — Le Premier ministre mauricien, Sir Anerood Jugnauth, qui est intervenu à la tribune des Nations unies le 13 septembre, en a profité pour prendre l’opinion à témoin et réclamer une nouvelle fois à la Grande-Bretagne et à la France, puissances coloniales, certaines des îles mauriciennes que ces deux pays continuent de soustraire impunément à sa souveraineté. Il a rappelé la souveraineté de Maurice sur l’archipel des Chagos, amputé du territoire mauricien par la Grande-Bretagne avant l’accession du pays à l’indépendance en 1968. Il a également lancé un appel à la France, l’invitant à trouver une solution à la souveraineté de Maurice sur l’île Tromelin, au nord de Maurice, toujours occupée par les Français. (PANA, Sénégal, 13 septembre 2002)

* Mauritanie. Pénurie alimentaire — Pas moins de 60.000 Mauritaniens sont menacés par d’imminentes pénuries alimentaires, a rapporté le 12 septembre le Réseau des systèmes d’alerte rapide sur la famine (FEWS-Net). Le problème est particulièrement aigu dans l’enclave d’Aftout, au sud du pays, qui a souffert de six mauvaises récoltes successives. La Mauritanie est confrontée à un déficit céréalier de 205.000 tonnes, surtout à cause de l’absence de pluie. Mais d’autre part, des pluies torrentielles en janvier ont occasionné la mort de 120.000 têtes de bétail, la destruction de 25% des cultures déjà récoltées, et des pertes humaines et matérielles, indique FEWS-Net. (IRIN, Abidjan, 13 septembre 2002)

* Nigeria. Voter registration hiccups — 12 September: As voter registration gets  underway, today, in Nigeria ahead of forthcoming national elections, President Olusegun Obasanjo has released a statement strongly defending his record in power. It comes in response to a list of charges made by members of his own party in parliament, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). They have threatened to support impeachment proceedings against him unless he can provide satisfactory answers to their accusations of abuse of power and misappropriation of public funds. President Obasanjo is fighting for his political life. Before he even gets the chance to contest next year’s presidential elections, he must first fend off a threatened impeachment debate, driven by members of his own party within parliament. Now Mr Obasanjo has launched his defence, making public a detailed response to a list of impeachable offenses drawn up by his own party. In it, he firmly denies any wrongdoing. He rebuts charges of riding roughshod over parliament and of spending millions of dollars of public money without approval. He also defends the actions of the military during his presidency, in particular, two operations by the army, in which many hundreds of unarmed civilians were killed by soldiers. Mr Obasanjo said in his statement that «such situations demand urgent and decisive action to maintain law and order and save lives and property.» Whether his parliamentary party will accept his explanations remains uncertain. 17 September: Widespread inefficiency and fraud are putting Nigeria’s voter registration at risk, according to opposition parties. The Alliance for Democracy reported «irregularities which can mar the entire exercise and defeat its very purpose». Among the reported problems were the moving of registration stations without notice, a lack of registration forms and the registration of «ghost voters», who were either under-age or had already been registered. The electoral commission itself reported problems in Plateau State where officials were unwilling to ask Muslim women to remove their veils, even when they suspected they were not old enough to register, according to the Guardian newspaper. The massive task of registering voters in preparation for state and national elections began on 12 September and will continue to 10 days. Election officials said on the first day of the process that registration started smoothly at 120,000 centres and they were confident of enfranchising the country’s 60 million voters. — The leader of a Nigerian parliamentary attempt to impeach President Olusegun Obasanjo is to be investigated over alleged misuse of public money. The Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, a body set up by Mr Obasanjo after his election in 1999, says that it plans to probe Ghali Na’Abba, speaker of the House of Representatives. The announcement deepens the political conflict between parliament and the president, who is standing for re-election next year but is threatened with removal over allegations of economic mismanagement and human rights abuses. The anti-corruption commission says it will question Mr Na’Abba over allegations of financial impropriety made against him by another house  member. The commission denies its probe is politically motivated, saying that the complaint against Mr Na’Abba pre-dated an impeachment threat issued by the house last month. «There exists sufficient reason to interrogate the speaker,» the commission says. «Grounds exist for him to be confronted with the issues.» The office of Mr Na’Abba denounces the anti-corruption commission’s «choice of insinuations, innuendoes and foul language» and says the speaker is waiting to be «interrogated and confronted». 18 September: The Independent Electoral Commission has released an additional four million registration forms. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 18 September 2002)

* Nigeria. Factory fire kills dozens — 17 September: A factory fire has killed at least 20 people near the Nigerian city of Lagos — sparking rioting amid rumours that locked doors had prevented workers from escaping. Correspondents say about 200 workers who were on duty at the time of the fire have not been accounted for and may have died. Witnesses said Asian owners of the plastic factory — West African Rubber Products Company — took refuge in their residence when rioters tried to break down the factory gates. The fire follows a massive armoury fire at a barracks which claimed more than 1,000 lives in January. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 17 September 2002)

* Rwanda. Un génocidaire arrêté au Congo — Un ancien maire rwandais soupçonné d’être impliqué dans le génocide de 1994 a été arrêté, le 8 septembre, au nord du Congo-Brazzaville, ont indiqué hier les autorités. Il s’agit de Jean-Baptiste Gatete, ancien bourgmestre de la commune de Murambi (région de Byumba, nord-ouest), installé au Congo depuis 1997. C’est la première fois que les autorités locales arrêtent un Rwandais soupçonné d’implication dans le génocide. Il devrait être prochainement transféré vers le Tribunal pénal international d’Arusha. Gatete est considéré comme un des tueurs les plus cruels, indique MF Cros dans La Libre Belgique. Dès avant le génocide, il s’était fait connaître par son extrémisme et aurait été un des membres du “Réseau Zéro”, sorte d’escadron de la mort lié au pouvoir du président Habyarimana. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 13 septembre 2002)

* Rwanda. Rebelles hutu en visite — La Mission de l’Onu au Congo (Monuc) va accompagner au Rwanda cent militaires du Front démocratique pour la libération du Rwanda (FDLR) désarmés. 1.800 de ces hommes, qui servaient de troupes au gouvernement de Kinshasa, ont été désarmés en 2001. Le FDLR est formé de (présumés) ex-génocidaires et de jeunes Hutu en rébellion contre le gouvernement rwandais. Les cent hommes qui partiront au Rwanda sont des éclaireurs, chargés d’évaluer les conditions d’accueil pour en informer leurs compagnons d’armes, avant de prendre la décision d’un retour définitif ou non, a indiqué la Monuc. (La Libre Belgique, 13 septembre 2002)

* Rwanda. Hate media trial goes ahead — 17 September: The UN war crimes tribunal for Rwanda has ordered three high profile genocide suspects to begin their defence case. rejecting a defence petition calling for them to be acquitted. The defence had wanted the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) to acquit Ferdinand Nahimana, Hassan Ngeze and Jean-Bosco Barayagwiza on the grounds of insufficient evidence. All three have pleaded not guilty to charges that they used the media to fuel the 1994 genocide in Rwanda which left up to one million people dead. However, the court dropped three of the nine charges against Mr Barayagwiza and one of the seven charges against Mr Nahimana. The tribunal — sitting in Tanzania’s northern town of Arusha — ordered them to begin their defence after the prosecution closed its case in July. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 17 September 2002)

* Rwanda. Rapatriement de réfugiés — Le 12 septembre, indique l’agence PANA, le délégué du HCR au Rwanda, M. Kalunga Lutato, a récusé les rapports antérieurs de ses services faisant état de rapatriement forcé des réfugiés congolais installés dans deux camps dans les provinces de Kibuye et Byumba. Au cours d’une conférence de presse tenue conjointement avec la secrétaire d’Etat rwandaise aux Affaires sociales, il a déclaré que les nouvelles selon lesquelles le Rwanda contraindrait les réfugiés à retourner chez eux, résultent de manoeuvres d’une infime minorité de salariés dans les camps. “La décision de retourner est libre et volontaire, et est prise par chaque réfugié sans force ni intimidation”, indique un communiqué, qui ajoute que les réfugiés qui décideront de rester au Rwanda, continueront de bénéficier du soutien concerté du HCR et du gouvernement rwandais. — Malgré cela, selon l’AFP, le HCR à Genève a dénoncé à nouveau, le 17 septembre, les pressions exercées par les autorités rwandaises sur les nombreux Congolais tutsi dans les camps au Rwanda pour qu’ils retournent au Nord-Kivu. Il a aussi déploré les conditions déplorables dans lesquelles ils arrivent. Au cours des deux dernières semaines, 8.000 Tutsi congolais sont retournés au Nord-Kivu. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 17 septembre 2002)

* Rwanda. Withdrawing from Congo RDC — 14 September: Rwanda has announced it is to start withdrawing its troops from Congo RDC next week after four years of war. President Paul Kagame reportedly made the announcement on 13 September at a UN Security Council meeting in New York. His army chief of staff, Major General James Kabarebe, says the withdrawal would start in three of four days’ time from the eastern Congo town of Kindu. 17 September: The first Rwandan troops ready to withdraw from Congo RDC have started assembling at Kindu airport. 18 September: The Rwandan army has now brought tanks and other equipment back to Kigali from Congo. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 18 September 2002)

* Sénégal. Paix entre leaders du MFDC — Le 11 septembre à Ziguinchor, l’abbé Diamacoune Senghor et Sidy Badji, les deux responsables principaux du Mouvement des forces démocratiques de Casamance (MFDC), ont scellé la paix entre eux. Un conflit de leadership les opposait depuis plus d’un an. Ils ont demandé “à tous de s’unir comme eux et derrière eux pour que les négociations soient engagées rapidement avec le gouvernement sénégalais en vue du retour d’une paix définitive en Casamance”. D’autre part, M. Abdoulaye Faye, désigné par le président sénégalais pour diriger la commission gouvernementale pour de futurs pourparlers de paix à Bissau, a rencontré les deux hommes séparément pour préparer la rencontre de la capitale bissau-guinéenne. (PANA, Sénégal, 12 septembre 2002)

* Sierra Leone. Annan suggests scaling down UNAMSIL — United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has proposed that the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) be extended by six months and gradually down-sized before an eventual handover of security and other responsibilities to the government. In his latest report to the UN Security Council, Annan recommended that UNAMSIL‘s military component be reduced from the current level 17,000 peacekeepers to about 5,000 troops by late 2004, before settling on 2,000 troops «depending on need at that time». Annan suggested that the overall civilian presence should also be reduced, but that the number of civilian police be increased to about 185, mostly to help train Sierra Leone’s police force. Sierra Leonean President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, in a letter dated 8 August, asked the UN to extend UNAMSIL‘s mandate by several months beyond a 30 September deadline, before commencing a gradual withdrawal, because of the threat to regional stability posed by continuing conflict in Liberia. Annan said Sierra Leone was making «steady and remarkable» progress in a number of important areas. He commended the government for taking steps to deploy its police and army, and to hold general elections. He also praised the Sierra Leonean authorities’ efforts to establish both a truth and reconciliation commission and a special war crimes court to address past human rights abuses. These encouraging developments, along with a steady improvement in the security situation in Sierra Leone, had created new circumstances in the country that made it possible to consider beginning the gradual draw-down of UNAMSIL. (IRIN, Kenya, 12 September 2002)

* Sierra Leone. Retrait des casques bleus — La sécurité en Sierra Leone s’est améliorée au point que les Nations unies vont pouvoir entamer le retrait de leurs forces de maintien de la paix, après une décennie de guerre civile, a déclaré M. Kofi Annan. Dans un rapport  au Conseil de sécurité (publié le 12 septembre) M. Annan estime que la mission de 17.400 hommes, la plus importante opération de maintien de la paix de l’Onu, pourra être réduite de 600 hommes d’ici à la fin de l’année et, si tout va bien, ramenée à 2.000 militaires d’ici à la fin 2004. Le pays a tenu en mai des élections présidentielle et législatives, après une opération conduite sous l’égide de l’Onu pour désarmer les milices gouvernementales et les rebelles. (Reuters, 13 septembre 2002)

* Somalie. Négociations de paix en octobre — Les négociations pour restaurer la paix en Somalie sous les auspices des six nations de l’Autorité intergouvernementale pour le développement (IGAD) reprendront le 15 octobre dans la ville kényane d’Eldoret, a-t-on appris le 11 septembre de source officielle à Nairobi. 300 délégués représentant toutes les franges de la société somalienne assisteront à la première phase des négociations qui devraient durer plusieurs semaines. Cette réunion tentera d’élaborer un cadre pour un Etat viable pour la Somalie qui n’a plus de gouvernement central depuis 1991. L’IGAD recommandera aux délégués de former des commissions pour se pencher sur des questions cruciales telles que la structure constitutionnelle et le degré de centralisation. Ils délibéreront aussi sur la propriété des terres et la démobilisation des milices armées. (PANA, Sénégal, 12 septembre 2002)