* Erythrée. Sécheresse et famine — L’évêque d’Asmara, Mgr Menghisteab Tasfamariam, a lancé un cri d’alarme au sujet de la grave crise alimentaire que traverse son pays. “Depuis le mois de décembre, les dégâts causés par la sécheresse n’ont cessé d’augmenter de jour en jour”, a-t-il déclaré. Au moins 1,4 million de personnes risquent de mourir de faim, si l’on n’intervient pas par des aides concrètes, et ce nombre pourrait s’élever à 2,5 millions durant l’année en cours. “Nous avons besoin au moins de 601.000 tonnes dé céréales pour faire face à l’urgence. Le gouvernement fait ce qu’il peut, mais il faut que la communauté internationale intervienne tout de suite pour remédier à la sécheresse due aux faibles pluies de 2002". (D’après Fides, Rome, 17 février 2003)

* Eritrea/Ethiopia. Border demarcation to start in east — On 17 February, IRIN reported that demarcation of the contested border between Ethiopia and Eritrea is now due to start from the east, rather than from the west. The move comes after high-level talks between both sides, hosted by the independent Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) in London on 8/9 February. The meeting was also attended by Legwaila Joseph Legwaila, the head of the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE). According to diplomatic sources close to the peace process, Ethiopia was keen for border demarcation to start in the eastern sector of the 1,000 km border. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 17 February 2003)

* Ethiopia. Sharon approves Ethiopian airlift — On 16 February, Ariel Sharon’s government approved the immediate airlift of about 20,000 Ethiopians with Jewish roots who have spent years demanding the right to settle in Israel. The group, known as the Falash Mura, were left behind during the mass evacuation of Ethiopian Jews in 1984 because Israel said they had converted to Christianity. But the government has relented under pressure from the ultra-orthodox Shas party — which controls Israel’s interior ministry and sets immigration policy — after its spiritual leader ruled that the Falash Mura were forced to convert to stave off persecution. The party compared them to Spanish Jews forced to become Christians to avoid the Inquisition. Israel secretly airlifted tens of thousands of Jews from Ethiopia in 1984, and a second group seven years later. But it turned away thousands of Falash Mura who tried to board the planes, saying they were not Jewish, or, if they had once been Jews, it was so long ago as to be irrelevant. But over the past decade, about 18,000 Falash Mura have left their homes across Ethiopia for camps near centres run by activists in the capital Addis Ababa, and the northern city of Gondar. There they have agitated to be allowed into Israel. The 16 February decision was opposed by the housing minister, Natan Sharansky, because some scholars question whether the Falash Mura were ever Jewish or just adopted similar religious rituals. But Mr Sharon is keen to bolster immigration, which has tailed off towards the end of the exodus of nearly a million Jews from the former Soviet Union. He has said he wants another million immigrants before the end of the decade to offset the growth in the Arab population. (The Guardian, UK, 17 February 2003

* Ethiopie. Immigration en Israël — Le 16 février, le gouvernement israélien a donné son feu vert à l’immigration en Israël de quelque 20.000 Ethiopiens d’origine juive. Le décision du gouvernement porte sur l’immigration en Israël de 17.000 membres de la communauté des Falachmoras, des Juifs éthiopiens convertis de force au christianisme, et celle de 3.000 autres Fallashas, Ethiopiens d’origine juive, disséminés dans des villages de l’intérieur de l’Ethiopie. Des émissaires du ministère de l’Intérieur israélien et des représentants du rabbinat devraient bientôt se rendre en Ethiopie pour mettre en place le dispositif de départ de ces immigrants pour Israël. (La Croix, France, 17 février 2003)

* Ghana. President Kufuor wishes he could speak French — From the State of the Nation Address (14 February ) by President John Agyekum Kufuor, as required by the Constitution of Ghana before the House. In his Address, the President spoke about the importance of knowing French. He said: «As part of the government policy to encourage the learning of French, which is the official language of all our neighbours, Bagabaga Training College in Tamale and Wesley College in Kumasi have started training teachers to teach French in schools. This is to augment the effort of Somanya Training College, which has historically produced teachers for French. Mr Speaker, mastering of the French language is of such practical necessity; it should be on the priority list. I can testify to this myself, Mr. Speaker, from the constant embarrassment I come face to face with while I move around the sub-region. There are many times I wish I could do without translators. In this era of ECOWAS, I do not wish this handicap on any Ghanaian child». (AfricaFiles, 18 February 2003)

* Guinea-Bissau. Politicians arrested — 16 February: Police in Guinea-Bissau have detained five prominent opposition politicians — including a former prime minister. The arrests come as the country prepares for early elections on 20 April. All five of those detained are members of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde, or PAIGC, which is the third-largest party. Among them are the former prime minister Carlos Correia and the former economy minister Filinto Barros. The party’s president Carlos Gomes Junior said the incident had caused «deep unease over the current situation in Guinea-Bissau, where the arrests seem to have no end». @CITA_1 = (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 16 February 2003)

* Kenya. Kenya’s secretive Mungiki sect — They pray as they face Mount Kenya, which they believe to be the home of their God, known as Ngai. And their name means «a united people». But Kenya’s Mungiki followers are no ordinary believers. Their holy communion is tobacco-sniffing, their hairstyle that of the Mau Mau dreadlocks and the origin of the sect is still shrouded in mystery. Since the late 1990s, the sect has left behind a trail of blood in its rejection of the trappings of Western culture. Recently, the sect has been back in the news following two days of clashes with police which left at least two policemen dead in Nairobi and 70 of its members in police custody. The clashes were sparked by a dispute over the control of the private minibuses business in some parts of Nairobi, two weeks after 30 people were killed in similar clashes in the Rift Valley province. Police say more than 50 people died last year in clashes involving the sect and owners of private minibuses, known as Matatu, in Nairobi alone. «Mungiki is a politically motivated wing of a religious organisation,» says Ken Ouko, a lecturer of sociology at the University of Nairobi. «The religious bit is just a camouflage. It’s more like an army unit. During the old system, they seemed to be complimentary to the system. In the new government, they seem to be antagonistic.» Inspired by the bloody Mau Mau rebellion of the 1950s against the British colonial rule, thousands of young Kenyans — mostly drawn from Kenya’s largest tribe, the Kikuyu — flocked to the sect whose doctrines are based on traditional practices. One theory has it that Mungiki was formed in 1988 with the aim of toppling the government of former President Daniel arap Moi. The sect was, at one time, associated with Mwakenya, an underground movement formed in 1979 to challenge the former Kanu regime. Other reports say Mungiki was founded in 1987 by some young students in central Kenya to reclaim political power and wealth which its members claim was stolen from the Kikuyu. Its leadership claims to have two million members around the country and to have infiltrated government offices, factories, schools and the armed forces — members who would not necessarily sport dreadlocks but support and finance the sect behind the scenes. (BBC News, UK, 11 February 2003)

* Kenya. Counting on new aid — 13 February: Kenya expects the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to resume lending to the country by June. Kenya’s foreign minister Stephen Musyoka says financial help is expected in response to the new government’s campaign against corruption. Donors had frozen financial support for the country over corruption concerns under its former President Daniel Arap Moi. The country has been ranked by watchdog Transparency International as one of the worst offenders in the world. The cost to its economy has been enormous. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 13 February 2003)

* Kenya. Lutte anti-corruption — Le 18 février, le président Mwai Kibaki a officiellement inauguré la 9e session parlementaire du Kenya en annonçant que les dirigeants du pays, à commencer par lui-même, déclareront publiquement leurs richesses dans le cadre de la lutte contre la corruption. Il a affirmé que la corruption commençait au sommet et que sa lutte devait commencer par le sommet. Il a précisé que son pouvoir a également publié la législation pour la mise en place d’une commission anti-corruption avec de réels pouvoirs d’investigation et de poursuite. Par ailleurs, il a indiqué que la priorité sera accordée à la révision de la Constitution, et il a révélé que 2 millions d’enfants devraient bénéficier du programme de gratuité de l’enseignement primaire. (PANA, Sénégal, 18 février 2003)

* Kenya. A human rights Memorandum to the new Government — In a Press Release on 18 February, Amnesty International said: «As the new Government takes office, Amnesty International calls on the newly-elected leaders to commit themselves to respect and uphold the fundamental rights and freedoms of the people enshrined in domestic law as well as in the international human rights treaties signed and ratified by Kenya». In a Memorandum sent to the new Government, Amnesty International welcomed the positive signs for human rights in Kenya. Amnesty International further urged the Kenyan Government to consider, in particular, the following areas: Impunity; torture and ill-treatment; violence against women; administration of justice and judicial reform; the review of the Constitution; the ratification of International Human Rights Instruments. (Amnesty International, 18 February 2003)

* Liberia. Heavy fighting on 4 fronts — Rebels fighting to oust Liberian President Charles Taylor are battling government troops on four fronts. Speaking to reporters, the Defence Minister says: «As I speak to you presently, there is fighting taking place on four different fronts; Tubmanburg, Gba..., in and around Zorzor and around the Kolahun area,». (CNN, USA, 18 February 2003)

* Liberia. Les rebelles à l’est et l’ouest — 13 février. Les rebelles libériens du LURD (Libériens unis pour la réconciliation et la démocratie) ont pris le contrôle de la ville de Toe, frontalière de la Côte d’Ivoire. Selon des informations concordantes, ils ont attaqué cette localité à partir de l’ouest de la Côte d’Ivoire, contrôlé par des rebelles ivoiriens depuis le mois de novembre. C’est la première fois que le LURD, basé dans le comté de Lofa (nord), mène des actions dans cette zone du pays. En Côte d’Ivoire, plongée dans une guerre civile, on indique que le gouvernement Gbagbo a, de son côté, recours à des Libériens hostiles au gouvernement Taylor. Les rebelles ivoiriens ont, eux, appelé à la rescousse des Libériens de l’ethnie qui fournit le principal soutien au président Taylor. — 14 février. Plus de 500 personnes fuyant les combats dans la région de Roberts Port sont arrivées à Monrovia, après la prise de la ville par le LURD. Par ailleurs, environ 4.000 personnes de différentes nationalités, cherchant à quitter le Liberia pour se rendre en Guinée, sont bloquées à la frontière, fermée depuis le 7 février par Conakry. —18 février. Plus de 30.000 Libériens ont été chassés de chez eux par la recrudescence des combats, la semaine dernière, dans l’ouest du pays, prenant le chemin de la capitale, et 6.000 autres sont entrés en Sierra Leone, a indiqué le HCR à Genève, qui prévoit également de rapatrier par avion 17.000 réfugiés sierra-léonais encore au Liberia. L’ouest du Liberia est, en grande partie, sous le contrôle des rebelles du LURD. On apprenait par ailleurs que 87 soldats libériens en débandade, parmi lesquels 16 blessés graves, se sont rendus aux forces sierra-léonaises. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 19 février 2003)

* Madagascar. Aide française — En visite à Antananarivo, le ministre français délégué à la Coopération et à la Francophonie, Pierre-André Wiltzer, a estimé que la stabilité politique était désormais garantie à Madagascar. Après un entretien avec le président malgache, il a annoncé une aide de près de 15 millions d’euros à Madagascar. (La Croix, France, 17 février 2003)

* Madagascar. Coup arrest — 19 February: The former head of the armed forces in Madagascar has been arrested and charged with an attempted coup against the regime of President Marc Ravalomanana. General Bruno Rajohnson has been remanded in custody along with two other people. Since he took power, the new president has been very worried about attempts to overthrow him. On the night of 6 February a vehicle was stopped outside the ministry of defence in the capital, Antananarivo. Inside were two soldiers heavily armed with grenades. When questioned they said they were acting under the orders of a well known and outspoken critic of the government, Liva Ramahazomanana, and a top general whose identity was not revealed at the time. Now the government say that general was none other than General Rajohnson, a leading army officer who was armed forces chief under former President Didier Ratsiraka. But already one newspaper, La Tribune, is casting doubt on the likely culpability of the general. It says it is unlikely that he would have been involved in such a blatant attempt to overthrow the government. The paper also suggested that it would be a little odd that the general would choose as an accomplice Madame Ramahazomanana who has for a long time been under surveillance by the intelligence services for her anti-establishment views. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 19 February 2003)

* Malawi. Malawi bans third term protest — 17 February: The Malawi Government has obtained a court order against a demonstration planned for today. The Forum for the Defence of the Constitution (FDC) was organising protests against government attempts to change the constitution to allow President Bakili Muluzi to stand for re-election next year. Last month, the government withdrew a bill from parliament in the face of widespread opposition. Shortly afterwards, there were clashes between pro- and anti-third term groups and the government says it obtained the injunction because of security concerns. Justice Minister Henry Phoya refused to give details of the security concerns but said they had been given to the court. Last year, the courts allowed anti-third term protests to proceed, despite a ban by Mr Muluzi. Mr Phoya admitted that those protests had been peaceful but said that circumstances had changed since then. «The people of Malawi have the constitutional right to stage a demonstration but that right has to be balanced with other considerations.» (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 17 February 2003)

* Malawi. Wall of silence surrounding AIDS — The true state of the HIV/AIDS crisis in sub-Saharan Africa was laid bare on 18 February by a Malawian government minister, who took the unusual step of disclosing that three of his children have died of AIDS. While the present Malawian government has campaigned to raise awareness of AIDS since it came to power in 1994, it is rare for African dignitaries to let it be known that the pandemic has affected them personally. On 18 February, Thengo Maloya, the lands and physical planning minister, took the difficult and emotional step of revealing his family’s loss to members of his staff during an AIDS awareness workshop. Mr Maloya, 56, said he had lost two sons and one daughter to the disease in the last 10 years. «It is very painful,» said Mr Maloya. «They would have taken care of me and buried me but instead I have buried them at such an early age.» The minister said it was time Malawians realised the extent of the disease in their country. He said that in the last six years alone his ministry has lost close to 100 key staff members to AIDS. His ministry is now understaffed and many who are still working are themselves ill and too sick to come to the office regularly, he said. Those who are not ill have lost many work days because they are either caring for a sick relative or attending a funeral. (The Guardian, UK, 19 February 2003)

* Maroc. Alphabet berbère — C’est officiel depuis le 10 février: les Berbères du Maroc auront leur alphabet. Sur recommandation de l’Institut royal de la culture amazigh (Ircam), Mohammed VI a décidé que le tamazight s’écrira désormais en caractère tifinagh. Une décision qui intervient un an après la nomination par le roi du professeur Mohamed Chafik à la tête de ce nouvel institut. Longtemps tues sous le règne de Hassan II, les revendications des berbérophones commencent à être entendues, d’autant qu’ils forment un puissant groupe de pression, très organisé et majoritairement composé d’intellectuels. (J.A.I., France, 16-22 février 2003)

* Maroc. Nouveau complexe portuaire — Le 17 février, le roi Mohammed VI a lancé les travaux de construction d’un grand complexe portuaire, qui nécessitera un investissement de plus de 1,2 milliard de dollars. Le complexe, qui sera implanté sur un site à 35 km à l’est de Tanger (détroit de Gibraltar), comprendra un port en eau profonde, une zone franche logistique de 98 ha et des zones franches industrielles qui cibleront principalement des industries de production à vocation “export”. Selon l’agence MAP, le projet consistera également en l’aménagement d’une zone “duty free” commerciale de 140 ha, une zone touristique de 190 ha, des infrastructures de connexions et des travaux hors site qui comprendront des liaisons autoroutières et une connexion ferroviaire avec Tanger. (PANA, Sénégal, 17 février 2003)

* Nigeria. Ex-military dictator eyes power as civilian president — The main opposition candidate in Nigeria’s April presidential elections works in an environment of arcadian plenty that belies his reputation for harsh asceticism. Muhammadu Buhari, a former military dictator famous for launching an authoritarian «war on indiscipline», uses a government-owned office whose lush gardens yield mangos, guavas and papayas. The view of the building from the road is dominated by a strikingly expansive tree from whose branches brown pods hang like socks on a washing line. Gen Buhari, smartly dressed in creamy-yellow traditional robes, brown sandals and a brimless hat, is softly-spoken and easy-going — until a question about how he would like to be addressed arises. «I prefer general,» he replies firmly. «I earned it.» The answer is unsurprising in an election campaign dominated by former senior army officers who present themselves as the most suitable managers of a country in a crisis of corruption, poverty and social volatility. Gen Buhari’s task is to prove he is better equipped than President Olusegun Obasanjo, another former military dictator, to help Africa’s most populous nation and largest oil producer achieve its first successful transition between civilian governments since independence. «The only way now I can check the bad politics in the country, I think, is to be part of it — and see how I can influence it for the better,» he says. (Financial Times, UK, 17 February 2003)

* Nigeria. Oil strike — 16 February: Nigeria’s main oil workers’ union has announced an indefinite strike that could cripple the country’s crude oil exports. Nigeria is the world’s seventh largest oil exporter and the strike, which union organisers will bite on Monday, is likely to push prices higher in the international marketplace. The news may alarm oil importing countries which are already facing high prices and the prospect of supply disruptions from the Middle East. 17 February: A strike by Nigerian oil workers has got off to a slow start and has so far failed to affect the country’s oil exports. The Pengassan union of oil workers had said last week that a strike over a pay dispute could have a «biting effect» on oil exports. But the Nigerian government and oil company officials say the strike has not affected exports. The Nigerian Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) says it has sent staff to export terminals to carry out the supervisory role of its white-collar union members. 18 February: Oil officials have called for talks with striking workers, in a bid to end the threat of mounting industrial action. Nigeria’s Department of Petroleum Resources has invited workers of the senior staff union, Pengassan, for a meeting over complaints of pay and conditions. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 18 February 2003)

* Nigeria. Grève dans le secteur pétrolier — 15 février. Le syndicat le plus important du secteur pétrolier du Nigeria, l’Union Pengassan, a proclamé une grève à durée indéterminée. Un blocus même partiel de la production nigériane pourrait avoir des répercussions immédiates sur le marché mondial. “Nous voulons contraindre le gouvernement à dialoguer”, a dit le vice-président de l’Union. “Les revendications concernent l’adaptation des salaires et le paiement de sommes dues”. Actuellement, la production journalière nigériane est d’environ 2 millions de barils. Les entrées du secteur pétrolier constituent une source irremplaçable de revenus pour les caisses du pays. - Le 18 février, on indiquait à Lagos que le département des ressources pétrolières avait dépêché des agents de haut niveau chargés de maintenir en activité les principaux services afin d’atténuer les effets de la grève, qui est entrée dans son quatrième jour. Déjà, de longues files sont apparues devant les stations service de la majorité du pays. Cependant, la Société nationale des hydrocarbures du Nigeria indique que l’enlèvement des produits pétroliers se poursuit avec la même vigueur. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 18 février 2003)

* Nigeria. ID scheme kicks off — 18 February: A controversial and long-delayed identity card scheme is finally been introduced in Nigeria. Some 60,000 centres are due to open nationwide today for a period of two weeks for an estimated 60 million adults to register in Africa’s most populous nation. However, some northern politicians oppose the scheme, fearing it will be used to cross-check other population records, including the voters roll. Correspondents say that population figures are often inflated in order to increase access to government resources. Some southerners say that the population in the north is far lower than official figures suggest. Such argument have delayed a census, which was supposed to have been conducted in 2001, 10 years after the last one in 1991. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 18 February 2003)

* Nigeria. Diplomat shot dead in Prague — 19 February: Czech police have launched a major investigation after a senior diplomat was shot dead at the Nigerian embassy in the capital, Prague. The dead man has been named as 50-year-old Michael Lekara Wayid, Nigeria’s consul in the Czech Republic. Police say they have arrested a 72-year-old Czech man. According to unconfirmed reports, the man is suspected of opening fire because he was the victim of a financial swindle by a Nigerian group. He is said to have been persuaded to give his bank details to someone posing as a senior Nigerian official. In recent years, Nigerian-based organisations have been suspected of operating fraudulent schemes in several countries, promising large returns on financial transactions. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 19 February 2003)

* Nigeria. 19 candidats à la présidentielle — Le 19 février, la Commission électorale nationale indépendante a annoncé que 19 candidats, dont le chef de l’Etat sortant, Olusegun Obasanjo, participeront à l’élection présidentielle en avril prochain. Ces élections seront les premières organisées depuis le retour à un régime civil en 1999. (Libération, France, 20 février 2003)

* Nigeria/Sao Tome e Principe. Oil dispute resolved — Nigeria and Sao Tome and Principe have resolved a dispute over the sharing of oil resources in the Gulf of Guinea. A statement issued by a Joint Development Authority (JDA) set up by the two countries said disagreements over the implementation of a 2001 treaty were settled at a meeting in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, on 6 February. Under the original treaty Nigeria was to have total rights over Oil Block 246, considered the most prolific in the Joint Development Zone shared by the two countries. In exchange, Sao Tome was to receive 10,000 barrels per day of crude oil and 250 scholarships, and have an oil refinery and a deep water port built for it. Oil produced in the rest of the joint zone was to be split 60:40 in Nigeria’s favour. Following his election last year, President Federico de Menezes expressed reservations about the deal and sought a renegotiation of its terms. This resulted in the suspension of the award of oil blocks, which was to have been done in October last year. Revenue from all the oil blocks will now be shared by the two countries. With the new agreement, the allocation of oil blocks will now begin in May, he said. (IRIN, Kenya, 14 February 2003)

* Rwanda. Suspect arrêté au Congo-Brazza — Le 14 février, un officier rwandais accusé de génocide a été arrêté au Congo-Brazzaville, ont rapporté les organes de presse. Le lieutenant Ildephonse Hategekimana commandait le camp militaire de Ngoma (province de Butare) en avril 1994. Le procureur du Tribunal pénal international pour le Rwanda (TPIR) l’accuse de génocide, crimes contre l’humanité et crimes de guerre. Le TPIR n’a pas encore officiellement confirmé cette arrestation. Hategekimana se trouvait sur la liste des suspects pour lesquels Washington a offert jusqu’à 5 millions de dollars à quiconque fournirait des informations qui permettraient de les appréhender. Hategekimana est le second Rwandais accusé de génocide qui est arrêté au Congo-Brazzaville. (Fondation Hirondelle, Arusha, 17 février 2003)

* Rwanda. Rwanda denies plundering Congo RDC — 18 February: The Rwandan government has denied UN accusations that it is plundering the natural resources of neighbouring Congo RDC. A UN report last year detailed how the Rwandan Government and army, the Ugandan army, and Congolese and Zimbabwean Government officials continued to exploit Congo’s resources. The report recommended financial sanctions against companies and individuals involved, including a number from Rwanda. But Rwandan Commerce Minister Dr Alexandre Lyambabaje, said: «Up to now we have been meeting the UN inspectors and they have not been able to give us evidence of what is in the report». (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 18 February 2003)