* Côte d’Ivoire. Impasse — 20 février. Le centre des discussions sur la crise ivoirienne s’est à nouveau déplacé à Paris, où se tient le sommet France-Afrique. A Bouaké, réagissant à des déclarations du président togolais, le Mouvement patriotique de Côte d’Ivoire (MPCI) a encore réaffirmé être “détenteur exclusif” des ministères de l’Intérieur et de la Défense, ainsi que de cinq ministères ordinaires. Le secrétaire général du MPCI s’est envolé pour Paris, à l’invitation du nouveau Premier ministre, M. Seydou Diarra. D’autre part, l’état-major de l’armée ivoirienne a annoncé que des combats se déroulaient entre rebelles et forces régulières près de Zuénoula, une ville située au niveau de la ligne de cessez-le-feu. — 23 février. Le Premier ministre M. Diarra est rentré à Abidjan, après un séjour à Paris au cours duquel il a continué de travailler à la constitution de son gouvernement toujours inexistant. Sa rencontre avec le chef politique rebelle Guillaume Soro n’a pas permis de surmonter le blocage sur la répartition des postes ministériels. Les rebelles continuent de réclamer la Défense et l’Intérieur, obtenus à Marcoussis. “Nous sommes prêts à reprendre les armes”, a mis en garde le colonel Gueu du MPCI , sans toutefois arrêter de date. Le Conseil de sécurité des Nations unies a encore appelé toutes les parties à appliquer les accords de Marcoussis sur le partage du pouvoir. —24 février. Les rebelles jouent l’apaisement. “Une éventuelle reprise de la guerre n’est pas à l’ordre du jour”, a déclaré à Paris Guillaume Soro. Il a cependant invité le Premier ministre à rendre publique “sans délai” la composition du nouveau gouvernement. — 25 février. Selon le porte-parole du MPCI , le président Gbagbo aurait refusé la liste du gouvernement de réconciliation nationale présentée par M. Diarra, ce qui risque de “mettre le feu aux poudres”. La présidence ivoirienne n’a pas confirmé cette information, mais selon des sources autorisées, M. Gbagbo envisagerait de confier les portefeuilles de la Défense et de l’Intérieur à des techniciens. Dans la soirée, il a présenté le cabinet de son propre choix aux représentants de plusieurs partis ivoiriens. Le nombre de portefeuilles y est augmenté de 36 à 46 — 11 au lieu de 7 revenant au parti présidentiel. Les “ministères de souveraineté” seraient attribués à des “techniciens”, en fait proches du pouvoir. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 27 février 2003)

* Côte d’Ivoire. Massacre imputé aux rebelles — Une soixantaine de gendarmes ivoiriens et une cinquantaine de leurs enfants ont été abattus le 6 octobre à Bouaké par des rebelles du MPCI, a affirmé Amnesty International le 26 février, dans un rapport détaillé. Dans ce rapport intitulé “Côte d’Ivoire: une suite de crimes impunis”, l’organisation affirme que toutes ces personnes ont été conduites de leur caserne où flottait pourtant un drapeau blanc, jusqu’a un camp militaire où elles ont été froidement abattues par des “éléments armés du MPCI”. Les autorités du MPCI avaient affirmé que ces gendarmes étaient morts au combat. Selon Amnesty, le MPCI lui a fait part de sa “surprise sur de nombreux points du rapport”, mais l’organisation fonde son rapport sur des “témoignages directs”. (Ndlr.: Le secrétaire général du MPCI, Guillaume Soro, a démenti mercredi soir sur France 3 les accusations d’Amnesty, dénonçant une manipulation). (La Libre Belgique, 27 février 2003)

* Egypt. Police abuse children — Egyptian children are subject to arbitrary arrest by police, who abuse them physically and sexually and extort money from them, Human Rights Watch claims. A report by the international organisation says children are jailed alongside adults, who also maltreat them. Clarisa Bencomo, who helped research the report, said street children are the most vulnerable — and are often arrested without cause. «Instead of protecting children, the police abuse them and steal whatever money they have,» she said. «Children are particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse, both in and out of custody,» she said. The report, entitled «Charged with Being Children: Egyptian Police Abuse of Children in Need of Protection», was issued in English and Arabic. It quotes children as young as 11 who have been arrested. One 16-year-old girl, who the report calls «Warda N» to protect her identity, described being sexually harassed by police. An eleven-year-old boy whom the report calls «Yahiya H» said he was handcuffed and put in a transport with adult prisoners. Human Rights Watch says police use the country’s Child Law to «clear the streets of children, extort money and information, force children to move on to other neighbourhoods, and bring children in for questioning in the absence of evidence of criminal wrongdoing». (BBC News, UK, 20 February 2003)

* Ethiopia. The West’s failure to give aid — On 24 February, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Meles Zenawi called on the West to reform damaging trade policies and increase development aid to help his country break its 20-year-long cycle of poverty and famine. Warning that millions of Ethiopians still face the threat of starvation because of the slow response to the current famine, the prime minister said his country could run out of food by June. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 24 February 2003)

* Ethiopia/Somalia. Ethiopia admits Somali forays — 24 February: Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has admitted he has occasionally sent troops into neighbouring Somalia to attack members of a militant Islamist group, al-Ittihad. Mr Meles said al-Ittihad was linked to al-Qaeda and they had tonnes of captured documents that proved the link to al-Qaeda. «They have engaged in terrorist activities in our country,» he said. He also said that several Afghan Arabs had been killed during an Ethiopian attack on an al-Ittihad training camp. Mr Meles insisted that he wanted to see a stable and united Somalia and said «in the end it is for Somalis to decide». But he said they had lists of members of al-Ittihad inside Somalia’s parliament and the Transitional National Government (TNG). TNG President Abdulkassim Salat Hassan has consistently denied Ethiopian claims that his government has linked to Islamic extremist groups. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 24 February 2003)

* Ghana. Forests opened to miners — Ghana, Africa’s second biggest gold producer, is to grant mining licences in its protected forest reserves to attract new foreign investment. The Mining Minister, Kwadwo Agyei-Darko says: «The government has committed itself to measures that will enhance mining and restore it to its former glory. Ghana produces, annually, about 2.2 million ounces of gold, representing about 45% of foreign currency revenues. Mining licences will be granted to the world’s largest gold miner, Newmont, and Ghana’s Ashanti, Australia’s Red Back and Canada’s Nevsun Resources. The move will create about 1,000 jobs directly. (BBC News, UK, 20 February 2003)

* Grands Lacs. Un texte de belles intentions — Le 22 février, la Belgique, la République démocratique du Congo, le Burundi et le Rwanda ont adopté une déclaration commune intitulée “L’engagement de Bruxelles”, qui appelle entre autres la communauté internationale à dégager davantage de moyens diplomatiques et financiers en faveur de l’Afrique centrale. Les trois pays africains concernés s’engagent de leur côté à chercher une solution pacifique à leurs conflits. Le texte de cet engagement à été publié à l’issue d’une rencontre entre le Premier ministre belge, le président burundais P. Buyoya, le président congolais J. Kabila, et le ministre rwandais des Affaires étrangères Ch. Murigande. Dans la déclaration commune, les dirigeants africains ont réitéré formellement leur engagement “sincère et total en vue d’un dénouement heureux des processus de paix et de stabilisation en cours au Congo, au Burundi et au Rwanda”. (La Libre Belgique, 24 février 2003)

* Guinée-Bissau. Report probable du scrutin — Les élections législatives anticipées du 20 avril prochain, prévues initialement pour le 23 février, pourraient ànouveau être reportées à mai ou juin, a rapporté la radio portugaise RDC-Africa, le 22 février. Pour la plupart des partis politiques de l’opposition, les conditions pour la tenue d’élections “libres, démocratiques, transparentes et crédibles” ne sont pas encore réunies. La Commission nationale électorale, qui doit procéder au recensement de plus de 40.000 nouveaux électeurs avant le début de la campagne, n’a pas encore commencé son travail. En outre, les Nations unies exigent que ce soit la Cour suprême qui contrôle le déroulement du scrutin et en proclame les résultats. Par ailleurs, l’envoyé spécial du secrétaire général de l’Onu, Stephen David, a évoqué la situation préoccupante en Guinée-Bissau. “La Guinée-Bissau se dirige vers des élections et nous avons des preuves que la situation politique s’est exacerbée”, a dit le diplomate. La situation politique et sociale y est marquée depuis des mois par des arrestations d’opposants qui viennent s’ajouter à des grèves à répétition. Ainsi, depuis le 24 février, les agents de la Fonction publique observent un mouvement de grève de cinq jours. Les secteurs de la santé, de l’éducation et de la communication sociale sont les plus affectés, mais le secteur privé fonctionne normalement. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 24 février 2003)

* Kenya. Enquête sur scandale financier — Le président Mwai Kibaki a désigné une commission chargée d’enquêter sur l’escroquerie financière Goldenberg, portant sur environ 1 milliard de dollars, soit plus de la moitié du budget annuel du pays. La fraude présumée a été commise il y a 12 ans par des gens de bonne famille, qui auraient réclamé des dédommagements sur une vente d’or qui n’a jamais existé. Selon un communiqué publié le 24 février, la commission, qui comprendra 7 membres, sera présidée par le juge Samuel Bosire, magistrat à la Cour suprême. Le gouvernement devrait suspendre toutes les affaires légales en cours liées au “scandale Goldenberg”. Ces affaires traînent depuis des années sans que beaucoup de progrès ne soient enregistrés. (PANA, Sénégal, 24 février 2003)

* Kenya. Hausse des salaires des députés? — Les Kényans sont mobilisés contre un projet visant à accorder aux nouveaux membres élus du Parlement une hausse importante de leurs salaires de 100.000 shillings (1.280 dollars) par mois. Les députés kényans touchent actuellement un salaire net de 350.000 shillings (4.800 dollars) par mois. Les membres du clergé, les syndicalistes et, curieusement, certains membres du Parlement se sont opposés vigoureusement à cette mesure qui va avoir des implications d’une portée considérable sur le budget de l’Etat. Le projet prévoit aussi pour tous les députés une subvention non remboursable de 3,3 millions de sh., ainsi qu’une prime mensuelle pour leur entretien. Ces propositions ont suscité un tollé, une partie de la population les considérant comme immorales. “C’est ce même gouvernement qui a pris le pouvoir en promettant des réformes économiques, qui cherche maintenant à donner aux parlementaires de l’argent gratuit supplémentaire”, a déclaré un homme d’affaires. Le porte-parole de la commission parlementaire a préconisé que les Kényans débattent de la proposition avant qu’elle ne soit soumise au Parlement. (PANA, Sénégal, 25 février 2003)

* Kenya. Inquiry launched into export scam — Kenya’s new government took a stride towards fulfilling its people’s dearest hope yesterday by launching a special commission to investigate the theft of £400m of public funds in the country’s biggest ever corruption scandal. Leading figures in former president Daniel arap Moi’s ruinous 24-year regime have long been implicated in the so-called Goldenberg scandal which involved the payout of vast sums in compensation for fictitious exports of gold and diamonds. The compensation scheme was ostensibly designed to promote exports of the two precious minerals; though Kenya has negligible reserves of either. Since the scandal broke in 1992, none of the alleged thieves has been found guilty — and only a handful were charged. «With this commission, finally the Kenyan people will be able to close one of the most ignominious chapters in the nation’s economic history,» said a spokesman for President Mwai Kibaki, who swept to power in December’s election. «This decision was informed by a realisation that these cases have been dragging through the courts for years without any apparent increase in the possibility that justice shall be done for the Kenyan people.» The new inquiry was prompted by a recent statement from several of Kenya’s most senior judges, castigating the former government for charging only two officials in connection with the scandal, as well as the acknowledged fall-guy, Kamlesh Pattni, a director of the Goldenberg International gemstone company. Kenya’s long-serving intelligence boss, James Kanyotu, another director of the company, was among the alleged miscreants who have never been charged. Eric Kotut — at the time governor of Kenya’s central bank — was another. Yet the investigation will be judged on the rigour with which it examines the alleged role of Mr Kibaki’s new education minister in the scandal. George Saitoti, Kenya’s finance minister at the time and a long-serving former vice-president, has been dogged by allegations of complicity in the scandal, which he denies. (The Guardian, UK, 26 February 2003)

* Kenya. Death row inmates freed — 25 February: The Kenyan Government has released 28 prisoners on death row and commuted the death sentence of 195 others to life in prison. The Kenyan Minister for Home Affairs and National Heritage, Moody Awori, said most of those released had been on death row for a very long time, and some for more than 20 years. Mr Awori said the 28 were already out and on their way to rejoin their families. One aim of the action was to decongest Kenya’s over-populated prisons, said Sylvester Mwaliko, permanent secretary at the ministry of home affairs and national heritage, responsible for Kenya’s prisons. The action was also aimed at fulfilling some of the promises made by the ruling National Rainbow Coalition (Narc) during last December’s election campaign, he said. The commissioner of prisons, Abraham Kamakil, said his department was against the death penalty, because mistakes could always be made in criminal proceedings, and it was longing for the day when the Kenyan parliament abolished it. Mr Kamakil, now regarded as the most reform-minded prisons chief since Kenya attained independence from Britain in 1963, is urging the government to abolish the death penalty altogether. He says parliament should remove the death penalty from the statute books, stressing there is always a strong possibility that the wrong person could be hanged. The last death sentence was carried out in Kenya in 1987. (BBC News, UK, 25 February 2003)

* Kenya. Chief Justice resigns — 26 February: Kenya’s Chief Justice Bernard Chunga has stepped down after a tribunal was set up to investigate alleged misconduct. President Mwai Kibaki, who established the tribunal last week, has accepted his resignation. The tribunal was going to probe allegations that he: had planned, condoned and carried out torture; had been corrupt; had interfered with judges. Legal experts are split on whether the tribunal will continue its investigations following his resignation. The tribunal was portrayed as a key test of President Mwai Kibaki’s crusade against corruption, which swept him to victory in December elections. Fresh allegations of Mr Chunga’s alleged involvement in the torture of political prisoners in the 1990s surfaced after torture chambers at Nyayo House in Nairobi were opened to the public earlier this month. He was a senior state prosecutor for the previous government of President Daniel arap Moi. Human rights organisations and dissidents who were jailed had called for him to step down. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 26 February 2003)

* Kenya/Somalia. Anger over Somali talks move — 21 February: The controversial relocation of the National Reconciliation Conference for Somalia from the Kenyan town of Eldoret to Nairobi led this week to the airing of many grievances and complaints in various African media outlets. Kenya’s special envoy to Somalia, Bethwell Kiplagat, told The East African that the relocation was necessary to cap the escalating costs of the talks. «Initially, 400 delegates were invited but more than 1,000 turned up. The budget was blown out of the ceiling.» Mr Kiplagat said the numbers were being cut to a more manageable 360. It is a move which will undoubtedly please some commentators. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 21 February 2003)

* Liberia. Human rights group criticises introduction of exit visa — Liberia’s Justice and Peace Commission (JPC) has criticized the reintroduction by the Liberian government of a compulsory exit visa for anyone — nationals as well as foreigners — wishing to leave the country. The government introduced the visa requirement on 18 February. According to the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization, the move is aimed at «having a complete data base of those leaving Liberia». However, the Commission said on 25 February that it was a violation of the right to freedom of movement. The measure «contravenes Article 13(b) of the Liberian constitution which guarantees citizens the right to leave and enter Liberia at any time without precondition,» it said. The JPC called on the government to reconsider its decision. (IRIN, Kenya, 26 February 2003)

* Malawi. Many Malawians need food aid — 21 February: The Malawian Government has been defending its decision to sell off 20% of its grain reserves. The Southern African country has been seriously hit by drought and severe food shortages. In February, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) distributed food to 3.6 million Malawians. But Chief Technical Advisor at Malawi’s Ministry of Agriculture, Dr Allard Malindi, said Malawi is being responsible in seeking to sell off the grain because they were expecting a good harvest in three months’ time. «We seem to have a surplus at the moment in the country. Right now the crop looks very good in the field,» he said. Mr Malindi said that their decision was backed by donors, including the European Union, even though donors say the delivery of food aid will have to continue for some time. «The maize which is being sold is that which the Malawi Government bought to be sold commercially in the country,» he said. «Government would like to recover some of the money used to buy the maize. That’s why the decision has been made to sell a small proportion of the commercial maize.» Aid officials say it is important for grain not to flood the market at cheap prices before the harvest begins. A 50 kg bag of maize currently costs about $10 in Malawi, but the average monthly income is only $18. The food crisis in Malawi was partly blamed on a sale by the government of 60,000 tonnes of maize to Kenya two years ago. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 21 February 2003)

* Maroc. 3 Saoudiens condamnés pour terrorisme — Le 21 février, trois Saoudiens, accusés d’appartenir à une “cellule” d’Al-Qaïda, ont été condamnés à dix ans de prison par la chambre criminelle de Casablanca. Ils étaient accusés d’avoir préparé des attentats terroristes dans le détroit de Gibraltar et au Maroc contre des navires occidentaux et des cafés de la place Djema El-Fna de Marrakech. Six “complices” marocains se sont vu infliger des peines allant de quatre mois à un an de prison. Soulignant l’absence de preuve matérielle et dénonçant un “procès politique”, la défense a décidé de se pourvoir en cassation. (Le Monde, France, 23 février 2003)

* Namibia. Nujoma to step down — 20 February: Namibia’s ruling party has confirmed that President Sam Nujoma will not stand for a fourth term, despite calls from some traditional leaders for him to stay on. Head of the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO), Ngarikutuke Tjiriange, said the decision taken at their congress last year, when Mr Nujoma announced his intention to leave office at the end of his third term in 2005, would not be changed. «The congress decision still stands. It is one thing for people to demonstrate and it is another thing how politicians and the country will act,» he said. The latest reports may finally end speculation over whether the 73 year old president really intends to leave office. Speculation has been fuelled by the fact that the president has said he would stand down before and that a successor has still not been nominated. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 20 February 2003)

* Namibia. Targeting land owned by white farmers — The Government of Namibia has taken the first step towards a Mugabe-style seizure of land owned by white farmers.Farmers who fail to disclose details of the number of farms they own by 28 February have been warned that they face five-year jail sentences. Data verification forms were distributed as the government, under President Sam Nujoma, prepares to introduce a land tax in April aimed at farmers owning «excessive» land. But farmers’ representatives say Mr Nujoma, who has threatened to seize white farms in the past, also wants to use the data for his plan to force some farmers to give up their land for resettlement. President Nujoma is the staunchest ally of the Zimbabwean President, Robert Mugabe, and his government appears to be copying the chaotic reforms that have forced most of Zimbabwe’s 4,500 white farmers from their land. Namibia, which became independent from South Africa in 1990, has 4,045 white farmers. The main difference in the two countries’ land reform schemes is that Mr Nujoma, who like Mr Mugabe came to power after leading the fight against white rule, is paying the farmers whose land is acquired for resettlement. Mr Mugabe has flatly refused to do that, saying the British taxpayer must pay to compensate for «colonial settler robbery». The Namibian government says less than a quarter of the country’s white farmers have returned the land data forms. (The Independent, UK, 24 February 2003)