* Kenya. Life without Moi — 30 December: The young man at the Kenya Airways counter at Mombasa airport seems quite friendly. With a smile, he lets my Somali colleague carry his huge radio set onto the plane. I am leaving behind a town nursing a massive hangover and in a deep slumber after the opposition’s clean sweep in the 28 December poll. It’s a rather jerky flight from Mombasa to Nairobi — but my thoughts are elsewhere. At 27,000 ft above sea level, I can pretend to have a bird’s eye view of this nation, which is on the verge of re-inventing itself. A young, handsome man who promised so much, lost because he was in the wrong party. On the way to State House is a rather old man who was reduced to a wheelchair in the final days of the run-up to the election by a freak car accident. Both men represent what’s old and what’s new in Kenya — the old repackaged as the new and the truly new tainted by a horrible past. In the shadows, a man destined for his rocking chair at his home in the Rift Valley. Three men making history in their own way — Uhuru Kenyatta conceding defeat; Mwai Kibaki taking over majestically; and Daniel Toroitich arap Moi stepping down almost gracefully. — Touchdown. Moi’s official portrait still stares down coldly in the arrival section. A chatty taxi driver rambles on about the Rainbow Coalition’s victory and what a great future Kenya now has. Amazingly, other motorists on Uhuru Highway seem more composed than usual. But in that period, Nairobi has managed to shed its old Moi image and embrace a new, gentle Kibaki face. As they now say here — everything is possible without Moi. (BBC News, UK, 30 December 2002)

* Kenya. New leader announces his government — 3 January: The new Kenyan President, Mwai Kibaki, has announced his new government after being sworn in earlier this week. The new cabinet includes three women ministers. He was the candidate of a coalition of opposition parties and had to balance their demands for jobs in appointing his new team. (Parliamentary election results — Narc: 125 seats; Kanu: 64 seats; Other parties: 21 seats. Presidential elections — Kibaki: 62.2% of the vote; Kenyatta: 31.3% Ford’s Simeon Nyachae was credited with 6% of the vote). David Mwiraria is appointed as the new finance minister, with the key job of restoring relations with the International Monetary Fund, which were suspended in 2000 over corruption allegations. Kalonzo Musyoka, who defected from former ruling party Kanu just before the elections, is the new foreign minister. Lawyer Michael Wamalwa is named vice-president. Earlier, the electoral commission announced the definitive election results, giving Mr Kibaki’s National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) a commanding majority in parliament. Narc has 125 seats in the new parliament, while the party of outgoing President Daniel arap Moi, Kanu, gets only 64 seats. It took the commission several days to collect results from all 18,366 polling stations, many of which were in isolated areas. The Ford party came third in the 27 December general elections, with 14 seats in parliament, while four small parties won the remaining seven seats. In spite of the enthusiasm generated by the polls, which saw the demise of Kanu after nearly 40 years in power, turnout was lower than expected. Just under 56% of registered voters cast their ballot, compared to 69% in the 1997 election. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 3 January 2003)

* Kenya. Mwai Kibaki président — M. Mwai Kibaki, qui a recueilli 63% des suffrages dès le premier tour de l’élection présidentielle du 27 décembre (contre 31% à Uhuru Kenyatta, le candidat de la KANU ), a prêté serment le 30 décembre devant des centaines de milliers de sympathisants (plus d’un million selon la police) qui s’étaient réunis dans le grand parc Uhuru de Nairobi. Son prédécesseur Daniel arap Moi a été hué. M. Kibaki s’est engagé à éradiquer la corruption, tout en écartant une “chasse aux sorcières”. Son parti dispose d’une majorité absolue au Parlement, avec 125 sièges sur 210. Le 3 janvier, il a présenté son nouveau gouvernement, qui compte nombre de ministres ayant déjà occupé de hautes fonctions sous l’ère Moi. Un des premiers engagements de Kibaki est de finaliser la réforme de la Constitution, bloquée par Moi. Le texte, qui prévoit une révision radicale du pouvoir exécutif et judiciaire, est presque prêt. D’autre part, conformément à ses promesses électorales, M. Kibaki a rendu l’éducation primaire gratuite et obligatoire. Il a également révélé que les bailleurs de fonds, qui avaient suspendu leur assistance au Kenya depuis une décennie, ont signalé leur intention de reprendre cette assistance. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 6 janvier 2003)

* Kenya. Scores dead in street clashes — 6 January: At least 22 people have been killed in clashes in Kenya between members of the banned Mungiki sect and public service minibus touts over the control of routes. The violence broke after the sect followers invaded several houses in Nakuru town, about 200 kilometres of the capital, Nairobi. The attackers started slashing people indiscriminately, killing 15 people and injuring 20 others, some of whom are in critical condition. This is not the first time the sect has been engaged in battles with touts, who accuse the sect of running protection rackets and demanding money from minibus operators. The latest outbreak of violence follows last week’s clashes in which six people are believed to have been killed by the sect. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 6 January 2003)

* Kenya. Kenyans rush to take up free primary education — There was hope, confusion and despair in Kenya’s primary schools on 6 January when pupils were admitted free for the first time under a campaign pledge by the new President Mwai Kibaki. In one incident, angry parents previously unable to afford fees tried to enrol their children at a school near Kibera, Nairobi’s largest slum, then threatened to set the principal’s office on fire when told there was no more room. School officials took down names for enrolment next year to placate them. «The government declaration that primary education is free and compulsory does not help us when it has not made preparations for its implementation,» said Andrew Otieno Oyawo, 36, who was trying to enrol his son. Mr Kibaki’s National Rainbow Coalition won a landslide in December’s elections, sweeping the ruling party from power after 39 years. The education minister, George Saitoti, said the state would meet all costs, save for buying uniforms. (The Guardian, UK, 7 January 2003)

* Kenya. Attaques de conducteurs de minibus — Depuis le dimanche 5 janvier, des affrontements pour le contrôle de routes dans le centre du Kenya ont fait douze morts, a-t-on appris de sources officielles kényanes. Les violences ont débuté lorsque des membres de la secte Mungiki, déclarée hors-la-loi depuis le mois de mars, ont attaqué dimanche des conducteurs de minibus dans la ville de Nakuru, à environ 135 km au nord-ouest de Nairobi. Les assaillants ont tué 9 personnes. La police, elle, a abattu deux membres de la secte. Une douzième victime a été recensée lundi après une attaque d’autres conducteurs de minibus dans la ville de Muranga, à 60 km au nord de Nairobi. Les minibus sont le principal moyen de transport au Kenya. Par le passé, les membres de la secte Mungiki ont affronté les propriétaires de ces camionnettes pour le contrôle des arrêts de bus, et donc des routes, dans de nombreuses villes kényanes. Une opération de police a conduit à l’arrestation de 38 membres de la secte, a indiqué lundi le ministre de la Sécurité nationale. (AP, 7 janvier 2003)

* Lesotho. Bizarre weather, ravages crops — The crops here in the rugged mountains of Lesotho are failing because the rain came much too early. And much too late. There were hailstorms and tornadoes, too. Then an early frost killed most of the maize sprouts that had survived the earlier bizarre weather. Now this tiny kingdom of subsistence farmers tucked into southeastern South Africa is in the midst of a famine; the World Food Program estimates that nearly one-third of Lesotho’s 2.1 million residents will need emergency handouts this year. (...) Climate experts say the «extreme weather events» that have plagued countries like Lesotho in recent years are remarkably consistent with predictions for a warmer world. (...) Lesotho is almost entirely dependent on rain-fed subsistence farming; it has virtually no irrigation. And most of the South African mining jobs that once provided livelihoods for its people have disappeared. With the world’s fourth-highest AIDS rate, Lesotho is not well positioned to absorb shocks to its system. And for two straight years, the rudest shocks have come from the weather. (Washington Post, USA, 8 January 2003)

* Liberia. Elections en octobre — Le 2 janvier, la Commission électorale libérienne (ECOM) a publié le calendrier pour la tenue des élections présidentielle et générales prévues le 14 octobre. Les programmes d’éducation des électeurs vont démarrer le 2 janvier. Du 4 au 20 février, l’ECOM amendera les lois et directives et promulguera un code de conduite. L’inscription des électeurs se fera du 15 au 29 avril. Le 11 juin sera le dernier délai pour la soumission des partis et de leurs candidats. La campagne électorale se déroulera du 20 juin au 13 octobre. L’ECOM envisage de procéder aux élections présidentielle, législatives et municipales le même jour (14 octobre) pour “en réduire les coûts”. (D’après PANA, Sénégal, 2 janvier 2003)

* Liberia. USA condemns Liberia election plans — 3 January: A United States official had said that Liberia is not ready to organise the general elections it has announced for October. The US ambassador in Monrovia, John William Blaney, cited the harassment of members of the opposition and restrictions on presidential candidates. The chairman of the electoral commission, Paul Guah, announced on 2 January that presidential and parliamentary elections would be held on 14 October. Incumbent President Charles Taylor has said he will stand for a second term. He led a seven-year rebellion which ended with his election in 1997. Mr Blaney said Washington was concerned that «preparations for the 2003 elections were inadequate, and that necessary conditions do not yet exist to permit free and fair elections. Let me say that the United States wants to see a free and fair election and will not support, nor recognise, the results of any fraudulent one». (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 3 January 2003)

* Liberia. Tracing Liberia’s lost generation — 7 January: A new strategy to reunite children forced into exile by the ongoing rebellion in Liberia has caught the public imagination in the capital, Monrovia. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the local Red Cross society, have posted the photographs of over 600 unaccompanied children around Liberia to be identified and reunited by their parents. Excited people have been queuing up to look at photographs of children, which are on display at hospital and school compounds, market places and camps for people displaced by the fighting. According to a statement distributed by ICRC‘s Head of Mission, Dominique Liengme, more than 1,000 unaccompanied Liberian children have been registered in Guinea and Sierra Leone. Those are children who found themselves in those countries between 2001 and 2002. Under the tracing and reunification exercise, relatives who recognise their children on the posters can contact the nearest Red Cross volunteer, and the process to reunite them then begins. In Monrovia alone, 80 people have so far identified their children since ICRC began putting the posters up at the end of last month. The head of ICRC‘s Tracing Department in Liberia, Marcel Stoessel, told reporters that of the 80, 20 cases have been resolved and «by today or tomorrow, we will go to the parents and give them the good news.» (BBC News, UK, 7 January 2003)

* Liberia. Rebels fight for diamonds — 8 January: Government troops and rebels have been clashing in Liberia for control of the diamond and gold producing north-western towns of Wesua and Wieju. Defence Minister Daniel Chea said fighting spread to the two towns after rebels of Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) were dislodged from nearby Geingba on 4-5 January. Rebel reinforcements have reportedly been using the abandoned railroad track of an old iron mining company in the area to join the Wesua-Wieje battle. Government troops, too, have been drawing reinforcements from Geingba and the town of Bopolu, which was once the rebels’ stronghold, 100 kilometres from Monrovia. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 8 January 2003)

* Libya/USA. US woman given Libyan nationality — A Los Angeles woman who entered a Libyan Internet beauty pageant has been granted Libyan nationality and been appointed Tripoli’s honourary ambassador to the United States. Libya’s Foreign Ministry released a statement on 6 January that «American Miss Net» Tecca Zendik was granted nationality during a special ceremony in Tripoli, where she arrived on 5 January for a four-day visit. The ministry described Zendik as «a beautiful bird of peace that came from the United States to ensure that relations between the Libyan and American peoples are embedded in the roots of history.» Zendik, 23, thanked the Libyan government for granting her citizenship and said she hopes to influence people from around the world to love Libyans, the Foreign Ministry statement said. Libya in November hosted the «Miss Net World,» won by Britain’s Lucy Layton. Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi met the 23 entrants who travelled to Libya for the contest, in which Internet users from all over the world chose the winner. (The Guardian, UK, 7 January 2003)

* Malawi. Floods wash away vital crops — Floods in Malawi have washed away homes and submerged crops adding a new burden to a country struggling to overcome a severe food crisis. News reports said four people died in the flooding last week, and 15,000 were left homeless. «The situation is very bad. Extensive flooding has taken place,» Lucius Chikuni, the commissioner for relief and disaster preparedness said on 5 January after a helicopter tour of affected areas. «Thousands of people are homeless and there has been extensive crop damage.» Heavy rains caused four rivers in the south of the country to burst their banks. A rail bridge collapsed on the line linking Malawi with the Mozambican port of Nacala, along which much of the country’s relief food is transported. Sections of the main highway connecting the commercial city of Blantyre with the administrative capital Lilongwe were under water, and the road from Lilongwe to the north was also cut. (IRIN, Kenya, 6 January 2003)

* Mali. Ivorian war cuts Mali’s cotton profits — 3 January: Mali’s cotton industry has dramatically slashed its profit forecast for 2003 because of increased transport costs caused by the civil war in neighbouring Côte d’Ivoire. The conflict in West Africa has, at times, shut down the main ports in Côte d’Ivoire, affecting not only Mali but most other neighbouring countries. Mali’s state-owned cotton company, CMDT, cut its forecast by 67% from 4.62bn CFA francs ($7.3m), which was based on exporting through Côte d’Ivoire’s main port of Abidjan. «Now, as the chances of this happening are dwindling and as we go to Lome (Togo), Tema (Ghana) and Dakar (Senegal) to export, expected profit has been reduced to 1.52bn (CFA francs),» says a company official. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 3 January 2003)

* Mali. Marchandises bloquées à Dakar — Plus de 100.000 tonnes de marchandises à destination du Mali sont actuellement en souffrance au port de Dakar, a-t-on appris le 6 janvier à Bamako, où se sont concertés sur la question, la semaine dernière, les ministres sénégalais et malien des Transports. La crise qui prévaut en Côte d’Ivoire, où s’effectuaient plus de 70% des transactions commerciales maliennes, a amené les opérateurs économiques maliens à s’orienter de plus en plus vers le port de Dakar, qui est aujourd’hui complètement engorgé. Au cours de leur rencontre le 3 janvier, les ministres ont examiné les voies et moyens de favoriser le développement du trafic toujours croissant, en dépit de la faible capacité d’évacuation des réseaux de chemin de fer des deux pays. (PANA, Sénégal, 6 janvier 2003)

* Maroc/Espagne. Normalisation des relations — La normalisation des relations diplomatiques entre Rabat et Madrid est “sur la bonne voie”, a estimé le 4 janvier Ana Palacio, la ministre espagnole des Affaires étrangères. Le dialogue diplomatique entre les deux pays vient de reprendre après plus de 16 mois de vive tension. Cette tension, amorcée en octobre 2001, avait failli tourner à l’affrontement militaire en juillet 2002 après l’occupation par l’armée espagnole d’un îlot inhabité à moins de 200 mètres des côtes marocaines. Parmi les nombreux contentieux: le conflit du Sahara occidental, la lutte contre l’immigration clandestine et le trafic des stupéfiants, le maintien des enclaves espagnoles de Ceuta et Melilla en territoire marocain et le non-renouvellement d’un accord de pêche. Le premier signe tangible d’un dégel diplomatique a été donné le 13 décembre par le roi Mohammed VI, qui a autorisé les pêcheurs espagnols sinistrés par le naufrage du Prestige à opérer provisoirement dans les eaux marocaines. La prochaine étape de ce rapprochement devrait être la réinstallation d’ambassadeurs dans les deux capitales. (AP, 4 janvier 2003)

* Maroc. Procès islamiste reporté — Le 6 janvier, la cour d’appel de Rabat a ajourné au 6 février l’examen du recours formé par Justice et bienfaisance, le parti islamiste (non légal) de Cheick Yassine, contre la condamnation à quatre mois de prison de seize de ses membres. Ils avaient été arrêtés en décembre 2000 pour “troubles à l’ordre public” au cours d’une manifestation réclamant la légalisation du mouvement. Celui-ci accuse Rabat de faire sciemment traîner les choses. L’épouse de Cheick Yassine, son fils et ses deux filles font partie des prévenus. Plusieurs centaines d’islamistes s’étaient rassemblés silencieusement devant la cour d’appel. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 7 janvier 2003)

* Mauritius. President insists Sugar Protocol is sacrosanct — President Karl Offman of Mauritius has said his country will resist, with the help of other ACP countries, any attempt to jeopardise the Sugar Protocol, insisting it is «a sacrosanct element in the general process of our development». Offman was addressing diplomats on Monday evening at Clarisse House in Vacoas, about 20 km south of the capital Port Louis. He said Mauritius attaches great importance to regional cooperation and will spare no effort, alongside partners in the Indian Ocean Commission, the Common Market of East and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), to protect their common interests. «We will make sure that these economic blocs take a common stance at trade negotiations,» the Mauritian leader stressed. (PANA, Senegal, 7 January 2003)

* Mozambique. Sharp increase in those in need — Mozambique’s national disaster agency claims the number of people who will need food aid in the country over the next few months has risen to 1.8 million. On 6 January, Rogeria Manguele, INGC (National Disaster Management Institute) spokesman, said that the sharp rise from the previous figure of about 600,000 was due to poor rains over the planting season in late 2002. Low rainfall had compounded the effects of a drought which had decimated the previous harvest in food insecure southern and central Mozambique. A further complication was that Mozambique was still battling to come to terms with the effects of wide-scale flooding in 2000 and 2001, Manguele added. Of the thousands of people displaced by the floods, some had returned to their home areas but a large proportion had been resettled. However, he noted that these people still required assistance. (IRIN, Kenya, 6 January 2003)

* Mozambique. Famine — Environ 2 millions de personnes sont menacées de famine au Mozambique suite à la sécheresse, un chiffre bien plus élevé que les quelque 600.000 initialement prévus, selon l’Institut mozambicain de gestion des catastrophes nationales. (La Libre Belgique, 7 janvier 2003)

* Niger. 4 Italiens tués par une mine — Le 3 janvier, trois touristes italiens sont morts quand leur jeep a sauté sur une mine antichar sur le plateau de Djado (nord-est), dans le désert du Ténéré. Le chauffeur a une fracture au bras et trois côtes cassées. Les touristes faisaient partie d’un groupe de douze personnes qui voyageaient en convoi. Leur itinéraire avait été agréé par les autorités militaires locales. Mais ils auraient circulé hors des pistes qui leur étaient réservées. (Le Figaro, France, 6 janvier 2003)

* Nigeria. Obasanjo candidat — Le 6 janvier, le président du Nigeria Olusegun Obasanjo a remporté, sur ses trois concurrents, une victoire écrasante (2.643 voix sur 3.514 suffrages exprimés) lors des primaires de son parti, le Parti démocratique du peuple (PDP), en vue des élections présidentielles. Cette victoire lui permet d’espérer une réélection lors du scrutin présidentiel du 19 avril, malgré le poids de l’opposition, dans un contexte d’aggravation de la violence et de la misère depuis sa première élection en 1999, qui a sanctionné le retour des civils au pouvoir. Le principal rival d’Obasanjo, l’ancien vice-président Alex Ekwueme, a contesté les résultats de ce scrutin interne, affirmant que les délégués du PDP avaient fait l’objet d’intimidations. Il avait obtenu 17,8% des suffrages, alors que les deux autres candidats, Barnabas Gemade et Abubakar Rimi, en avaient obtenu moins de 5%. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 7 janvier 2003)

* Nigeria. Buhari candidat de l’opposition — Le principal parti d’opposition, All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) a choisi l’ancien dirigeant militaire Muhammadu Buhari, comme son candidat à la présidentielle à l’occasion des élections générales de mars/avril 2003. Mais ce choix ne s’est pas fait sans drame ni rancoeur. Le vote des milliers de délégués n’était qu’une simple formalité, car les leaders du parti étaient déjà tombés d’accord sur le choix du général. Onze candidats avaient été sélectionnés pour les élections primaires, mais deux seulement se sont finalement présentés, les autres ont été soit forcés de se retirer, soit se sont retirés de leur propre gré. Cinq candidats du sud du pays à majorité chrétienne sont intervenus devant la convention pour demander d’enregistrer leur désaccord avec le mode de sélection du candidat avant de quitter la salle en guise de protestation. (PANA, Sénégal, 8 janvier 2003)

* Nigeria. Preparing for elections — 2 January: President Olusegun Obasanjo has publicly apologised for the killing of more than 200 unarmed civilians by the army in Benue State in October 2001. He was speaking at a meeting of local Christian groups in the state capital, Makurdi. The army has been accused of several mass killings since civilian rule was restored in Nigeria in 1999. Mr Obasanjo is seeking re-election in April, and on 5 January faces a former minister from Benue State in primaries for the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Correspondents say the apology may be an attempt to win votes. The killing of ethnic Tivs was apparently in retaliation for the abduction and murder of 19 soldiers sent to quash fighting between Tivs and Jukuns, the biggest group in neighbouring Taraba State. The Nigerian Government has been strongly condemned by Human Rights Watch for first encouraging, then failing to condemn, the military action. «I am sorry, it should never have happened,» Mr Obasanjo said. 3 January: More than 3,000 members of Nigeria’s ruling PDP are meeting in Abuja to select their candidate in the April presidential election. The primaries will culminate on 5 January when delegates select their candidate from four contenders, including incumbent President Olusegun Obasanjo. Members of the PDP have accused the party of having an unfair selection process which favours Mr Obasanjo, who is seeking a second and final term under the constitution. There is an atmosphere of anticipation at the Hilton Hotel in Abuja where more than 3,000 PDP delegates arrive from across the country to take part in the convention. Security has been stepped up around the venue, with a heavy police and army presence. The four candidates have submitted various documents, including their birth certificates, to get their accreditation. Committee meetings will then begin. The ballot will be secret. 5 January: Nigeria’s president, Olusegun Obasanjo, is fighting for his political life as the ruling party considers dumping him and selecting one of his rivals to lead it in elections in April. His allies spend today lobbying key delegates at the convention. Mr Obasanjo’s election to power in 1999 ended 15 years of military rule in Africa’s most populous country, but factions in the PDP are unhappy with the southern Christian. They are hoping to end his political career. Dancing troupes and brass bands backing different candidates parade around the streets. The President is behind closed doors, horse-trading with the governors and party luminaries for the delegate votes to secure him a shot at a second term in office, which under the constitution would be his last. Analysts predict that these last-minute deals will stave off a challenge from Alex Ekwueme, who is considered the strongest of Mr Obasanjo’s three rival candidates. Mr Ekwueme, a former vice-president, is said to be backed by the country’s army generals, a powerful political clique, as well as some governors from the Muslim north and the oil-producing south. 5-6 January: In an overnight vote, President Obasanjo wins the overwhelming support of his party, receiving 2,642 votes — a clear majority over Alex Ekwueme, who wins 611 votes. 7 January: Nigeria’s main opposition party is due to choose its presidential candidate today at a convention in the capital, Abuja. Correspondents say former northern military ruler Major-General Muhammadu Buhari is regarded as the favourite to be selected by the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP). 8 January: Nigeria’s former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari will be the main opposition party’s challenger for the presidency. His selection has set up a direct clash with President Olusegun Obasanjo, who was picked as his party’s candidate for the April polls. Both men are ex-generals. Mr Obasanjo is a Christian from the south-west, Major-General Buhari represents the Muslim north. The presidential election will be the first time that a civilian administration has organised elections for 19 years. Thirty parties will contest the poll but General Buhari’s ANPP and Mr Obasanjo’s PDP are seen as the strongest groupings. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 8 January 2003)

* Rwanda. Anger at release of killers — 6 January: Organisations representing survivors of the 1994 Rwandan genocide are unhappy with a plan to free thousands of people who have pleaded guilty to participating in the genocide but have not yet been tried. A spokesman for one of the groups, Ibuka, said that witnesses could be intimidated. On 1 January, the government announced that those who had pleaded guilty, along with the elderly, minors and the seriously ill, would be freed on bail until their cases are heard in court. Some people were alarmed at the measure, believing it to be an amnesty but the justice ministry has confirmed that those set free will still be tried. Rwanda’s prisons are currently massively overcrowded with some 120,000 people awaiting trial for genocide. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 6 January 2003)

* Rwanda. Rapatriements — Au Congo, l’ONG “Life Peace Institute” vient de réaliser son premier rapatriement volontaire de réfugiés rwandais à partir des zones sous le contrôle des combattants Maï-Maï dirigés par le général Padiri Karendo, indique l’agence PANA le 7 janvier. Deux camions transportant une centaine de Rwandais qui avaient fui leur pays en 1994, ont traversé la frontière rwando-congolaise de la Ruzizi à Bukavu pour la province rwandaise de Cyangugu. Cette opération, financée par l’Afrique du Sud, a connu des difficultés concernant la compréhension des véritables intentions des responsables de l’ONG qui sont chargés d’exécuter le projet de rapatriement volontaire des anciens réfugiés rwandais, dont certains sont encore armés. Dans les territoires de Mwenga et de Shabunda, des milliers d’entre eux y résistent. -D’autre part, une ONG belge, AVICA (Assistance aux victimes des conflits en Afrique centrale), fait état d’arrestations arbitraires en Zambie et de rapatriements forcés de réfugiés rwandais, suite à des accords conclus entre les gouvernements rwandais et zambien. Un groupe d’environ 50 personnes aurait été rapatrié vers le Rwanda par la force. L’ONG déplore l’inaction du HCR. (Voir aussi Tanzanie) (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 7 janvier 2003)

* Rwanda. Libération de milliers de prisonniers — Le 3 janvier, le président Kagame a demandé à son administration de mettre en liberté provisoire les détenus accusés d’avoir participé au génocide de 1994 qui étaient mineurs (entre 14 et 18 ans) au moment des faits, rapporte l’AFP. Tous les mineurs détenus sont visés par le communiqué de la présidence, mais l’immense majorité d’entre eux le sont pour des faits liés au génocide. Le président accorde aux autorités compétentes un délai d’un mois pour exécuter cette mesure de clémence. En août 2000, l’Unicef estimait à quelque 4.000 le nombre de détenus accusés d’avoir participé au génocide alors qu’ils étaient mineurs. - Le 8 janvier, le ministre de la Justice a affirmé que plus de 40.000 détenus, suspectés d’avoir participé au génocide, bénéficieront d’une libération conditionnelle d’après un décret signé la semaine dernière par le président Kagame, qui souhaite que la période de détention provisoire des détenus n’excède pas la peine qu’ils auraient eu à purger. Les bénéficiaires de cette mesure sont des mineurs, des détenus âgés ou malades et certains des 31.500 suspects qui ont reconnu leur culpabilité. Les suspects libérés seront jugés dans les tribunaux locaux, appelés “gacaca”. La décision permettra de réduire la surpopulation des prisons, où plus de 115.000 suspects de génocide ont été incarcérés. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 9 janvier 2003)

* Sahara occidental. Tournée de James Baker — Le représentant spécial du secrétaire général de l’Onu pour le Sahara occidental, M. James Baker, effectuera à partir du 14 janvier une tournée maghrébine au cours de laquelle il devrait rencontrer des responsables marocains, sahraouis et algériens, a-t-on appris de source diplomatique à Alger le 4 janvier. Cette visite intervient à la veille de l’expiration, le 31 janvier, du mandat de la Mission des Nations unies au Sahara occidental (Minurso). Le processus de paix se trouve dans l’impasse. La dernière résolution du Conseil de sécurité, votée à l’unanimité le 30 juillet 2002, avait estimé que seul un référendum d’autodétermination était en mesure de résoudre ce conflit qui dure depuis 1976. Par cette décision, le Conseil de sécurité rejetait les options envisagées par le passé, notamment celle dite de “l’accord cadre”, soutenu par le Maroc, qui prévoyait une large autonomie dans les territoires sahraouïs, sous souveraineté marocaine. Cet accord a été rejeté par le Polisario. Il y a eu également la fameuse “quatrième voie” qui prévoyait un partage du territoire entre le Maroc et la République arabe sahrouaïe démocratique (RASD) qui a été, à son tour, rejeté par Rabat, qui avait accusé l’Algérie d’en être l’instigatrice. Le Maroc a toujours rejeté l’idée d’un référendum. (PANA, Sénégal, 5 janvier 2003)

* Western Sahara. Baker to visit Western Sahara — The UN envoy for Western Sahara, James Baker III, is to go on a three-day visit to Western Sahara and neighbouring countries to revive UN efforts to solve the conflict surrounding the former Spanish colony. Baker is expected to hold talks from 14 to 17 January with officials in Morocco, Algeria, Western Sahara and Mauritania, and leaders of the Polisario Front. The UN said in a press release on Monday that Baker would present and lobby in favour of a UN proposal for a political solution to the conflict as requested by Security Council Resolution 1429 of 30 July 2002. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 8 January 2003)