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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 26-09-2002

PART #3/4 - From  DJIBOUTI to MAURITANIA 

* Djibouti. US troops in Djibouti — 19 September: As an American helicopter hovered overhead, several young men said they welcomed US forces in Djibouti a day after the Pentagon said it had sent 800 troops to the tiny but strategically important nation in the Horn of Africa. Acting Foreign Minister Mahamoud Ali said several hundred American troops have been stationed at Le Monier barracks for about five months and that Djibouti has been cooperating in the US-led war against terrorism. The young men sitting in the shade chewing a semi-narcotic leaf known as khat said they’ve seen US forces in town since April, particularly at the small airport. «I’m happy they’re here. There are no problems in Djibouti, the security is very good,» said Abdurahman Moussa Soultan. «I don’t like al-Qaida...they have no intelligence.» Others said they hoped the US presence would mean jobs in this poor country which relies on port fees and foreign aid for survival. «For us it’s good because we can make conversation with them and maybe have some jobs when more of them come,» said Mohamed Said Ali. «We like to have Americans here.» The foreign minister said the US troops have been training «in preparation for the next few months. The US presence is not new; we have been working with them since 11 September. We have been hearing (media reports) these days they are moving to attack Yemen. We have no information on that. We have helped them get the necessary facilities to carry out their manoeuvres». He said US forces have also been flying from Djibouti to a US ship in the Red Sea. Across the water is Yemen, where the United States is stepping up its hunt for al-Qaida operatives. (Editor’s note: US diplomatic officials have denied that their forces are massing near the coast of Yemen in preparation for operations against al-Qaeda elements thought to be inside that country). (CNN, USA, 19 September 2002)

* Egypte. 36 islamistes arrêtés — Trente-six “islamistes membres d’un groupe interdit, qui appelaient à renverser le régime”, ont été arrêtés au Caire, le 24 septembre, par la police égyptienne. Selon elle, des tracts invitaient “à renverser le régime, haïr le dirigeant et nouer des liens avec d’autres organisations extrémistes”. - Le lendemain, le parquet de la sûreté de l’Etat a placé les 36 hommes en garde à vue pour quinze jours pour les besoins de l’enquête. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 26 septembre 2002)

* Egypt/Kenya. Business agreement signed — On 20 September, Kenya and Egypt signed a broad-based economic and business agreement aimed at smoothing and widening the sagging trade and economic relations between the two major states of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). The agreements are contained in a communique signed by Kenya’s Minister of Trade and Industry, Nicholas Biwott, and his Egyptian counterpart, Youssef Boutros-Ghali, at the end of two days of talks in Nairobi. The two countries pledged to prevent further trade disputes by setting up «sustainable structures with in-built mechanisms to safeguard and deepen trade and investment links.» Such mechanisms include the establishment of a joint Trade and Investment Committee within the framework of an economic agreement. The agreement also aims at fostering closer links between the two countries’ business associations, through the setting up of a Joint Egypt-Kenya Business Council. (PANA, Senegal, 21 September 2002)

* Egypt. Mubarak seeks to concentrate minds on Israel — On 25 September, President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt embarked a round of intensive diplomacy to calm tensions over Iraq and refocus attention on the Palestinian and Israeli question. As Arab states prepared to try to influence fresh resolutions in the United Nations on Iraq, Mr Mubarak travelled to Saudi Arabia at the head of a heavyweight delegation to meet Crown Prince Abdullah, the kingdom’s de facto leader. Saudi Arabia said afterwards that the talks had covered developments in the Middle East, including «current fast-developing events that might lead to bad results». The president’s lightning visit to Riyadh was made the day after he met Naji Sabri, the Iraqi foreign minister, in Cairo. Ahmed Maher, the Egyptian foreign minister, said Mr Sabri had reaffirmed to Mr Mubarak Iraq’s commitment to allowing weapons inspectors to operate without conditions and told Mr Mubarak that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction and no intention of developing such devices. Mr Mubarak told Mr Sabri that Baghdad must comply with UN resolutions and allow UN weapons inspectors to operate freely in Iraq. (Financial Times, UK, 26 September 2002)

* Eritrea. Death of a Patriarch — 20 September: Since the early hours of this morning, Eritreans have gathered at the main orthodox church in Asmara to pay their final respects to Abuna Filipos. The first Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Church died after a short illness on 18 September at the age of 101. Inside the church, his body lay in state, dressed in his official robes and a gold crown, as priests led the people in prayer and religious chants. Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki and other top government officials came to the ceremony. The Patriarch of the Egyptian Coptic church to which the Eritrean orthodox is affiliated was also in attendance. Outside women clad in white, stood alongside priests dressed in their bright robes as the prayers were broadcast on loud speakers. Roughly half of Eritrea’s population is Christian, the vast majority belong to the orthodox church, which was established in Eritrea and Ethiopia by the end of the fourth century. The patriarch Filipos began life as Berhane Tewolde and entered into religious life in 1912, at the age of 11, when he moved to the monastery of Debre Bizen, perched atop a high mountain on which women and even female animals are forbidden to set foot. This is where he will be buried on 21 September, his body flown there by helicopter. Made a Bishop in 1927 he served in Ethiopia until 1991. (BBC News, UK, 20 september 2002)

* Ethiopia. Decline in overseas investment — Ethiopia is still struggling to attract overseas investment compared to other African countries, according to the United Nations. The UN‘s Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) revealed that last year Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) amounted to just US $20 million –- the lowest level for almost a decade. The figure shows a marked decline on previous years where Ethiopia attracted over US $200 million per year. But the war with Eritrea sparked a massive downturn. Economists believe that the right economic policies and climate are in place but a world slowdown and the bitter two-year conflict with its neighbour had major implications for the economy. Other Horn of Africa countries have seen major increases in investment, like Sudan which last year attracted some US $574 million -– mainly for the oil business. According to UNCTADs World Investment Report for 2002, sub-Saharan African broke through the US $10 billion mark for the first time ever in attracting overseas investment. «Three countries — Angola, Mozambique and Sudan -– together accounted for the lion’s share of the total increase,» UNCTAD said. The majority of the flows come from the United States, France and the United Kingdom, the report added. (IRIN, Kenya, 19 September 2002

* Guinée/Sierra Leone. Réouverture de la frontière — La frontière entre la Guinée et la Sierra Leone a été rouverte après un peu plus de deux années de fermeture, a rapporté le 24 septembre la radiotélévision guinéenne, citant un décret présidentiel. Cette frontière avait été  fermée au lendemain des attaques des rebelles sierra-léonais du RUF en septembre 2000. La Guinée constitue un des principaux soutiens du régime du président sierra-léonais Ahmed Tejan Kabbah. En revanche, le gouvernement guinéen a décidé de fermer sa frontière avec la Côte d’Ivoire, en proie à une mutinerie. (PANA, Sénégal, 25 septembre 2002)

* Equatorial Guinea. Appeal over arrests — Amnesty International has called for the immediate and unconditional release of jailed opposition member Fabian Nsue Nguema Obono. He is a lawyer and member of the opposition Popular Union and was arrested in Malabo in April for criticising the government. The organisation has also urged that human rights campaigners write letters to President Teodoro Obiang Nguema calling for investigations into allegations of the torture of Nguema Obono, and for the cancelling of a sentence against fellow party member Nsue Mibuy. (IRIN, Kenya, 23 September 2002)

* Kenya. Opposition unites to challenge Moi — Kenya’s opposition has united to name a single candidate for this year’s general election, creating the first realistic prospect of unseating President Daniel arap Moi’s ruling party after four decades in power. Mwai Kibaki, Mr Moi’s former deputy and closest challenger in the last polls in 1997, was elected unanimously by delegates of the National Alliance of Kenya (NAK), which groups 12 opposition parties. Mr Moi, who became Kenya’s second president in 1978, won the 1992 and the 1997 elections with substantially less than 50 per cent of the vote. Undoubtedly aided by electoral fraud he was also helped by the opposition’s failure to unite. In both polls he faced at least seven challengers. Between 1978 and 1992 he ruled as head of an often brutal dictatorship, when his organisation, Kanu, was the only legal party. NAK named Kijana Wamalwa, who came fourth in 1997, as Mr Kibaki’s running mate, and Charity Ngilu, fifth last time round, as its candidate for prime minister. They represent the three main tribes. (The Telegraph, UK, 20 September 2002)

* Kenya. Projet de Constitution — Le 19 septembre, le projet de Constitution, présenté par la Commission de revue de la Constitution du Kenya, a provoqué des sentiments mitigés. Le projet préconise la création d’un poste de président avec moins de pouvoirs, une charge honorifique, et d’un poste de vice-président. Le bon fonctionnement du gouvernement serait assuré par un Premier ministre. Le document propose un Parlement bicaméral, comprenant l’actuelle Assemblée nationale composée de 210 membres élus par des circonscriptions électorales, et une nouvelle Chambre haute de 100 membres élus au niveau des sièges des districts et des provinces. En ce qui concerne le judiciaire, le projet préconise la création d’une Cour suprême et l’établissement d’un code de conduite pour les juges. Le projet sera adopté  30 jours après la Conférence constitutionnelle nationale, puis présenté au Parlement pour devenir une loi. Rappelons que la Constitution actuelle donne au président d’immenses pouvoirs. (D’après PANA, Sénégal, 20 septembre 2002)

* Kenya. Kenyan leaders want elections held under new constitution — Leaders from Kenya’s ruling Kanu party faction, that Rainbow Alliance, and those from the opposition, are demanding the holding of the country’s presidential, parliamentary and civic elections under a new constitution whose draft was revealed last week. The document, drafted by a body known as the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission (CKRC), was launched on 18 September and was currently being debated before it is taken to parliament for enactment. However, there is fear about lack of goodwill on the part of the government, and that the new constitution may not be in place before the elections due at the end of the year, after two of President Daniel arap Moi’s cronies dismissed it as «a fertile imagination of the CKRC». Cabinet ministers Julius Sunkuli and Isaac Ruto said the draft was «imaginative and not what Kenyans want.» However, tourism and information minister Kalonzo Musyoka, while addressing an historic political meeting in Nairobi on 22 September, said Kenyans were eagerly awaiting the new constitution. «Some people have started talking badly about the constitutional draft. This can put our anticipation in great jeopardy. We need to address this problem and we hereby declare that elections be held under the new constitution. We demand the new constitution because we do not want to commit a monumental fraud. A lot of money has been spent in drafting the constitution,» Musyoka said. (PANA, Senegal, 23 September 2002)

* Kenya. Grève des enseignants — Le lundi 23 septembre, les quelque 240.000 enseignants du primaire et du secondaire du Syndicat national des enseignants du Kenya (KNUT) ont déclenché une grève générale illimitée pour obtenir une augmentation de salaire. Ils reprochent au gouvernement d’avoir failli à sa promesse d’une hausse des rémunérations de 200%. (La Libre Belgique, 24 septembre 2002)

* Kenya. Opposition fears reform will be «scuttled» — Kenyan opposition politicians have threatened mass action if proposals for a radical overhaul of the country’s constitution are, as many fear, «scuttled» by the ruling establishment. Kenya’s constitutional review commission last week called for fundamental changes to the country’s system of government, transferring executive powers from the president to a prime minister, decentralising authority and reforming the judiciary. It was welcomed by opposition groups, which want it in place before this December’s elections. But powerful cabinet ministers have condemned the text and on 24 September, two judges sought a High  Court writ to prevent its proposals for judicial reform being debated at a national constitutional conference. Opposition figures also fear parliament will be dissolved before the proposals are discussed. (Financial Times, UK, 26 September 2002)

* Kenya. Reviving the cotton industry — The US government has offered assistance to Kenya’s once thriving cotton industry. The US Trade and Development Agency says it will provide aid worth more than $300 million, as well as advice from American cotton industry experts. Ten years ago cotton was a major foreign exchange earner for Kenya, providing jobs for thousands of people either growing the commodity or working textile factories. But farmers suffered as world cotton prices fell to their lowest for years and the country’s garment manufacturers started buying cotton from other nations. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 24 September 2002)

* Liberia. Nouveaux combats — Le 21 septembre, de nouveaux combats opposaient les forces gouvernementales et le mouvement rebelle des Libériens unis pour la réconciliation et la démocratie (LURD) pour le contrôle d’au moins trois villes (Gorlu, Salayea et Belle Balloma) du nord et du nord-ouest du pays, près de la frontière guinéenne. Ces nouveaux affrontements interviennent une semaine après la levée par le président Taylor de l’état d’urgence qui était en vigueur depuis huit mois. Il avait alors affirmé avoir pratiquement écrasé la rébellion du LURD. - Le 24 septembre, le Conseil de sécurité de l’Onu a demandé un arrêt immédiat des affrontements armés au Liberia et invité les parties à recourir au dialogue pour aboutir à un règlement pacifique du conflit. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 25 septembre 2002)

* Madagascar. La production de vanille — Ce week-end, le président Ravalomanana, en visite dans la région, a encouragé les producteurs de vanille de Sambava, Andapa, Vohémar et Antalaha, les quatre grandes localités productrices de vanille, a intensifier leurs efforts en vue de reprendre leurs parts de marché perdues. La vanille est la principale source de devises de Madagascar, mais elle connaît actuellement de sérieux problèmes de production. M. Ravalomanana a fait des promesses aux populations afin de les inciter à reprendre le travail. L’Union européenne finance les associations paysannes. (PANA, Sénégal, 22 septembre 2002)

* Madagascar. Police capture «most wanted» man — Military police in Madagascar have captured a notorious former army officer accused of having led a campaign of terror under former president, Didier Ratsiraka. Colonel Ancelin Coutiti, the country’s most wanted man, had a price of more than $100,000 on his head. He went on the run, continuing to cause widespread alarm, after the country’s bitter power struggle ended in July. He was finally arrested on the north-east coast of Madagascar. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 24 September 2002)

* Madagascar. Législatives anticipées — Le 24 septembre, le président Ravalomanana a annoncé une prochaine dissolution de l’Assemblée nationale, et a demandé le soutien de la communauté internationale pour les élections législatives anticipées qui s’ensuivront. Celles-ci devraient avoir lieu avant la fin de l’année, a-t-il déclaré. (La Croix, France, 26 septembre 2002)

* Malawi. Opposition politician arrested over third-term dispute — An opposition leader has been arrested in Malawi, accused of inciting people to demonstrate against President Bakili Muluzi’s alleged bid for a third term. Danga Mughogho, the northern region chairman of the Malawi Forum for Unity and Development, was denied bail on Wednesday after his arrest the night before. He had allegedly distributed leaflets that called on Malawians to rise up against renewed efforts to change the constitution to allow Muluzi to run for a third term. Mughogho’s arrest has flown in the face of an appeal by Malawi’s four major donors for the government to allow wider consultation, before going to parliament with a third-term bill. There has been mounting pressure from churches, human rights NGOs and the international community over the third-term issue. In a joint statement on 16 September, issued from the capital Lilongwe, the envoys of Germany, Norway, Britain and the European Union said they were aware the bill on presidential term limits was gazetted for debate during the October session of the National Assembly. «We would again strongly urge that such an important constitutional amendment be considered only after a consultation process that encourages the free expression of views by all interested Malawians, without fear of intimidation or retribution and in accordance with democratic principles,» the envoys said. (IRIN, Kenya, 19 September 2002)

* Mali. Un millier de poids-lourds bloqués — Plus d’un millier de poids-lourds, en partance pour la Côte d’Ivoire, sont bloqués au Mali, à Sikasso (380 km au sud de Bamako) en raison de la situation ivoirienne, a constaté mercredi 25 septembre un correspondant de l’AFP. Sur les conseils des autorités locales, les chauffeurs des semi-remorques et des camions-citernes, bloqués au poste-frontière de Zégoua, à 100 km de Sikasso, sont revenus dans cette ville. La frontière est fermée depuis le 22 septembre. Selon les mêmes sources, les semi-remorques transportent des balles de coton, du bétail et des pommes de terre à destination de la Côte d’Ivoire. Les camions-citernes, vides, devaient se rendre à Bouaké, en Côte d’Ivoire, pour s’approvisionner en hydrocarbures. La Côte d’Ivoire est le principal fournisseur du Mali, qui n’a pas d’accès à la mer. Par ailleurs, plusieurs centaines d’enfants maliens sont bloqués dans les villes ivoiriennes  de Bouaké et Korhogo, où ils ont été surpris par le soulèvement militaire du 19 septembre, alors qu’ils étaient en vacances. (D’après AFP, France, 25 septembre 2002)

* Morocco. Hollywood heads for Marrakech — The second Marrakech international film festival opened on 18 September in Morocco’s southern city. Leading Hollywood film directors Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola will be guests of honour and Scorsese will receive a major Moroccan award. The organisers hope that, in time, the Marrakech Film Festival will grow to become Africa’s version of the Cannes Festival — despite an inauspicious start. It was launched last year only days after 11 September and as a result many participants did not attend. Cinema is important to Morocco as a source of earnings — many films are made on location there. For such a new film festival, the organisers have struck quite a coup by attracting such big name guests as Scorsese and Coppola along with David Lynch. Scorsese will also receive Morocco’s highest honour from the King, the Alaouite Medal, for his work. This year, nine feature films will be in competition and the jury will be presided over by legendary French actress Jean Moreau. There will also be a competition for short films, a spotlight on African and East Asian cinema, as well as tributes to Scorsese, Lynch and Coppola and to Indian Bollywood actor Aamir Khan. Marrakech’s famous central square, the Place Jemaa el-Fna, normally home to snake-charmers and story-tellers, will be turned into an open-air cinema for the four-day festival. Cinema is an important industry for Morocco, not because the country makes many films of its own, but because it earns millions of dollars as the location. A second huge new film studio is currently being built in the south of the country, near Ouarzazate. Next year filming is due to begin there of Alexander the Great, billed as the biggest historic epic since Titanic. It will have a budget of $150 million dollars, $60 million of which will be invested in Morocco. (BBC News, UK, 18 September 2002)

* Morocco. Talks with Spain cancelled — 23 September: Morocco has cancelled talks its foreign minister was due to have with his Spanish counterpart in Madrid, today. The Moroccans say they took the decision after a Spanish military helicopter landed on a disputed island off the North African coast. The territorial issue had already strained relations between the two sides, and was to have been discussed during the Madrid meeting. The island, known to the Spanish as Perejil and the Moroccans as Leila, became an international flashpoint when Moroccan troops landed on it in July. The island, only a few hundred metres off the Moroccan coast, belongs to Spain, but has been uninhabited for many years. US Secretary of State Colin Powell had intervened to settle the dispute, and today’s meeting was to have discussed the issue. Moroccan Foreign Minister Mohamed Benaissa told his Spanish counterpart Ana Palacio that the talks were called off. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 23 September 2002)

* Maroc. Nouvelle tension avec l’Espagne — Le dimanche 22 septembre, les relations hispano-marocaines se sont de nouveau tendues au sujet de l’îlot inhabité de Persil (Leila en arabe), situé à 200 mètres de la côte marocaine. Rabat a annulé une rencontre, prévue le lundi, entre les ministres des Affaires étrangères des deux pays, pour protester contre l’atterrissage d’un hélicoptère militaire espagnol, qualifié de “violation inacceptable de l’espace national aérien et terrestre”. “La réaction est disproportionnée”, répond Madrid, en soutenant que l’hélicoptère n’a fait qu’un vol de reconnaissance à faible altitude. La réunion annulée visait à tenter de normaliser les relations entre les deux pays, après la crise survenue le 17 juillet, lorsque l’armée espagnole était intervenue pour déloger le “poste d’observation” établi par des soldats marocains sur l’îlot. (Libération, France, 24 septembre 2002)

* Maroc. Elections le 27 septembre — Les Marocains sont appelés aux urnes le 27 septembre pour des élections législatives qui visent à élire 325 députés de la Chambre des représentants. Il s’agit du premier rendez-vous électoral depuis l’accession au trône, en juillet 1999, du roi Mohammed VI. 26 partis politiques, dont un islamiste, sont en lice. Le vote, et surtout le taux de participation, des 14 millions d’électeurs aura valeur de jugement sur cinq ans de gouvernement dit “d’alternative démocratique” du Premier ministre Youssoufi. Le gouvernement et le roi se sont solennellement engagés à un scrutin honnête et transparent, en rupture avec les multiples fraudes électorales du passé. Mais les Marocains restent sceptiques, et les partis ont bien du mal à mobiliser la population. La campagne électorale, ouverte le 14 septembre, a été plutôt terne. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 25 septembre 2002)

* Mauritanie. Appui de la Banque mondiale — La Banque mondiale a accordé à la Mauritanie un appui budgétaire de 110 millions de dollars, dans le cadre du programme de lutte contre la pauvreté initié par les autorités de Nouakchott, a révélé le 19 septembre un responsable de la banque. Il a cependant précisé que les décaissements de cet appui feront l’objet d’un accord particulier entre son institution et le gouvernement mauritanien. M. Craig, qui a qualifié la Mauritanie de “pays performant”, a souligné que dans le cadre du programme de lutte contre la pauvreté, tous les indicateurs relèvent une évolution et une croissance soutenues. L’appui budgétaire est remboursable en 40 ans et assorti d’une période de grâce de 10 ans. (PANA, Sénégal, 19 septembre 2002)

* Mauritania. Woodside boosted by success — On 23 September, Woodside Petroleum of  Australia reported a third successful oil well offshore Mauritania. The new find on the Banda prospect follows success at the nearby Chinguetti 4-2 well earlier this month, which was drilled in a move to assess the commerciality of the Chinguetti 1 find of last year. For Woodside, success in Mauritania would help it in the quest to dilute its dependence on Australian assets. North-west Africa is attracting increasing interest among oil explorers. Two weeks ago, South Africa’s Energy Africa increased its interests offshore Mauritania through a deal with Dana Petroleum of the UK, and Australia’s Fusion Oil & Gas. The group announced a placing to raise $3m to help fund further work in Mauritania. To the north, Morocco stirred controversy at the UN last year when it granted recognisance licences to TotalFinaElf and Kerr-McGee in the disputed waters of the Western Sahara. (Financial Times, UK, 24 September 2002)