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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 10-04-2003

* Egypt. Anti-war group criticises Mubarak — 7 April: A group of activists in Egypt has called for President Hosni Mubarak to face criminal charges over his government’s crackdown on protests against the war in Iraq. The Hisham Mubarak Legal Centre lodged a formal request with Egypt’s prosecutor general for its claims to be investigated. The group accuses Mr Mubarak and Interior Minister Habib el-Adly of preventing a legally approved anti-war rally and detaining dozens of people without proper authority. Correspondents say such public criticism of the president — who keeps tight control on all political activity under special emergency laws — is almost unheard of and it shows fierce public opposition in Egypt to the US-led war in Iraq. In a statement, the Hisham Mubarak Legal Centre said 37 citizens including human rights and political activists signed the request to the prosecutor general. The group said the claims included government officials stopping a court-sanctioned anti-war protest, detaining 50 people without any legal basis and arresting journalists. However, the group’s leader, Ahmed Seif el-Islam, was quoted as saying that Mr Mubarak and Mr Adly were unlikely to face any charges. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 7 April 2003)

* Erythrée. Vers une lutte armée? — Des groupes d’opposition érythréens impliqués dans de petites activités de guérilla contre le gouvernement, ont fait savoir, à Khartoum, qu’ils envisagent de lancer une action armée conjointe pour mettre un terme à la “dictature” qui règne à Asmara. L’Alliance nationale érythréenne, mise sur pied il y a quatre ans et qui regroupe treize organisations d’opposition, a eu jusqu’à présent peu de succès contre la politique du président Afewerki, accusé de se focaliser sur le renforcement militaire pendant que son peuple meurt de faim. D’autre part, le gouvernement soudanais accuse le régime érythréen d’aider les rebelles soudanais. Il aurait demandé récemment à l’administration américaine de faire usage de ses bons offices pour régler le conflit qui oppose les deux pays voisins. (D’après PANA, Sénégal, 3 avril 2003)

* Eritrea/Ethiopia. Ethiopia regrets Badme ruling — 3 April: The Ethiopian Government has expressed its unhappiness after an International Boundary Commission upheld its ruling that the symbolic village of Badme lies in Eritrea. The village was the starting point of the two and a half year war between the two countries in May 1998. Eritrean troops entered the village, which was then administered by Ethiopia, claiming it as part of Eritrea. But the boundary commission — established to decide where the border lies between itself and Eritrea — has now upheld its ruling on the demarcation of the border. Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi had already warned the United Nations that Ethiopia may reject the boundary commission’s decision if certain adjustments were not made. The Ethiopian-Eritrean war formally ended with the signing of the Algiers peace agreement in December 2000. The agreement established the boundary commission to decide once and for all where the border lies, and both countries promised to abide by the decision. In a public statement, the government here said that the boundary commission did not stick to its mandate as defined in Algiers, and hopes that now it will rectify its mistakes. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 3 April 2003)

* Ethiopie. Badme contestée — Badme, la petite localité entre l’Ethiopie et l’Erythrée par où la guerre a commencé en décembre 2000 entre les deux pays, fait à nouveau l’objet de litiges. Le gouvernement d’Addis-Abeba a officiellement exprimé sa déception à l’égard de la décision arbitrée par l’Onu qui attribue Badme à la souveraineté d’Asmara. Le Premier ministre éthiopien, M. Zenawi, a fait savoir aux Nations unies que son pays est prêt à contester la décision relative aux frontières si quelques ajustements ne sont pas introduits. Une mesure qui pourrait rouvrir le contentieux. La discorde au sujet de Badme, à l’origine sous la souveraineté éthiopienne, n’a en réalité jamais été résolue, vu que la localité n’apparaît même pas sur les cartes géographiques qui ont redessiné les frontières entre les deux Etats. La diplomatie serait à l’oeuvre pour convaincre les autorités d’Addis-Abeba d’accepter la “cession” de Badme, peu significative du point de vue stratégique mais, pour le gouvernement de Zenawi, hautement symbolique. (Misna, Italie, 4 avril 2003)

* Ethiopia. Major resettlement programme underway in north — A major resettlement programme for thousands of people is underway in northern Ethiopia, despite a warning that facilities like water and health supplies are not in place. Some 75,000 people are expected to be moved from central Tigray to western areas of the region within the next five months. Several thousand started moving in late February. But according to the UN‘s Emergencies Unit for Ethiopia (EUE), local officials in charge of the resettlement are cautioning that supplies are not ready for the move. «For the new resettlement programme to be undertaken in West Tigray Zone, resettlement sites have already been selected,» the EUE said. «Nevertheless zonal officials reported gaps in the present resettlement programme such as lack of roof thatching materials for new houses, inadequate water supply and health posts, and shortage of food that should be supplied to the new settlers until they bring in their own first harvest,» it said. (IRIN, Kenya, 7 April 2003)

* Gambie. Le NEPAD, “lieu de bavardages” — Le 8 avril, à l’occasion d’une visite du président du Mali, le chef d’Etat gambien Yahya Jammeh a encore une fois mis en doute la possibilité pour l’Afrique de réaliser des progrès grâce au Nouveau partenariat pour le développement de l’Afrique (NEPAD), qu’il a qualifié de “lieu de bavardages”. Selon lui, les promoteurs du NEPAD et les chefs d’Etat sont plus préoccupés par des théories et des idées que par les réalités du terrain. “Le développement socio-économique de l’Afrique est une responsabilité première des Africains eux-mêmes avant que le reste de la communauté internationale ne suive pour apporter un appui à leurs efforts”, a estimé M. Jammeh, qui a appelé au renforcement du partenariat et de la coopération entre peuples africains à travers la promotion du commerce interne et d’autres efforts conjoints. (PANA, Sénégal, 9 avril 2003)

* Ghana. Missing ship mystery deepens — 4 April: A Nigerian energy company has been blamed for the mysterious disappearance of a ship carrying thousands of barrels of crude oil from one of Ghana’s oilfields last week. Ghana’s Minister of Energy, Albert Kan-Dapaah, blamed Lushann Eternit for the disappearance of the crude oil worth $2m. He said the attorney-general would begin action to temporarily impound the company’s assets. Over the past three years, Ghana has stepped up its search for crude oil. There are international oil companies, exploring off the coast of the Volta Region in the east, as well as off the western shores in joint-venture agreements. But so far only one of them is actually producing oil. Lushann Eternit and the state-owned Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) jointly own the crude oil test production project in the Saltpond Oilfields, in western Ghana, from where the vessel, the MT Asterias, went missing on 28 March. Though the missing crude oil was the joint property of Lushann Eternit and GNPC, Mr Kan-Dapaah said the government held the Nigerian partners responsible because they were the technical managers. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 4 April 2003)

* Kenya. Arap Moi se retire — Le 3 avril, l’ancien président kényan Daniel arap Moi a annoncé son retrait de la vie politique active. Il quitterait bientôt la présidence de l’ex-parti au pouvoir, l’Union nationale africaine du Kenya (KANU). Il a fait savoir qu’il va maintenant se consacrer à la résolution des conflits dans les pays africains sous les auspices de la “Fondation de l’institut Moi pour l’Afrique”, qui assistera également les victimes et les orphelins du VIH/SIDA. Un groupe composé de membres de la KANU avait récemment demandé à la “vieille garde” de se retirer et de laisser la place aux jeunes. (PANA, Sénégal, 3 avril 2003)

* Kenya. Moi to resign as party chief — 4 April: Kenya’s former President, Daniel arap Moi, has announced that he will stand down as head of the Kenya African National Union (Kanu) — following the party’s first election defeat last December. Mr Moi, who has held the position since 1978, told a gathering at the Egerton University in western Kenya he wanted to see power passed on to a younger generation. He did not indicate when he would leave his post, but said he wanted to set up the Moi African Institute to promote peace and help fight HIV/AIDS. Mr Moi has remained Kanu chairman despite not standing for re-election as president in the elections in December which the party lost for the first time in nearly 40 years. He was not able to stand again, having completed two terms in office. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 4 April 2003)

* Liberia. Liberia denies Ivorian rebel links — 3 April: The Liberian Government has rejected reports that it created and still controls two Côte d’Ivoire rebel groups. «It’s impossible... we are not involved,» said a spokesman for President Charles Taylor. Earlier this week, UK-based campaign group Global Witness released a report, accusing Liberian President Charles Taylor of being behind the Mpigo and MJP groups which emerged in western Côte d’Ivoire after the conflict began. Global Witness said the Liberian logging industry was being used to fund illegal weapons purchases. «The Liberian Government is still actively involved in the illegal arms trade, and is the driving force behind the training, arming and deployment of the Ivorian rebel groups Mpigo and MJP, with Liberian President Charles Taylor calling the shots from Monrovia,» said Alice Blondel, Global Witness campaigner. Global Witness also accused Liberia of planning to destabilise neighbouring Sierra Leone, where he backed a rebel group in the 1990s. The group says that Liberian assets worth $3.8bn are being held in Swiss bank accounts — more than held by Africa’s giants Nigeria and South Africa. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 3 April 2003)

* Liberia. New front — 8 April: Rebels of the Liberian United for Reconstruction and Democracy (Lurd) have opened a new front in the civil war with an attack on south-eastern Sinoe County, say the government. The county is next door to Grand Gedeh, which borders Côte d’Ivoire and is the home region of the late President Samuel Doe. Top defence officials are currently busy mobilising fighters in Sinoe County to engage rebels who attacked from neighbouring Grand Gedeh three days ago. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 8 April 2003)

* Liberia. Les réfugiés fuient les combats — Les agences de l’Onu et les ONG internationales opérant au Liberia ont évacué leurs employés de l’est du pays, où de nouveaux combats ont été signalés, jeudi 3 avril, écrit le journal Le Monde. Cette suspension des opérations d’aide humanitaire dans les comtés de Nimba et de Grand Gedeh, proches de la frontière avec la Guinée et la Côte d’Ivoire, renforcent encore la vulnérabilité des milliers de réfugiés et de déplacés qui ont dû fuir ces combats. Selon des sources militaires à Monrovia, des combats opposant les forces gouvernementales à différents groupes rebelles ont de nouveau éclaté à Ganta (comté de Nimba, nord-est), près de Zwedru (Grand Gedeh, sud-est), dans le comté septentrional de Lofa, fief des rebelles du LURD (Libériens unis pour la réconciliation et la démocratie), ainsi qu’à proximité de Monrovia. — Le 7 avril, le Conseil interreligieux et les représentants de 18 partis politiques ont demandé au gouvernement et aux rebelles de mettre fin aux hostilités et de négocier au plus vite un cessez-le-feu, indique l’agence Misna. Ils demandent aussi aux deux parties de “prendre toutes les mesures nécessaires afin que les forces militaires et paramilitaires respectent les droits civils de base”. Une nouvelle phase de négociations avait été prévue en mars dernier à Bamako, mais elle fut annulée après que les rebelles se soient plaints de mesures de sécurité insuffisantes. Par ailleurs, on signale de nouveaux affrontements à Ganta, et également dans le sud-est du pays, à proximité de la frontière avec la Côte d’Ivoire, où serait né un nouveau mouvement rebelle, le Mouvement pour la démocratie au Liberia, dont un des leaders serait le fils cadet du président défunt Samuel Doe. — Le 9 avril, les rebelles du LURD ont ouvert un nouveau front en lançant une attaque contre les positions gouvernementales dans le comté sud-oriental de Sinoe, dans la région frontalière avec le Grand Gedeh, près de la frontière avec la Côte d’Ivoire. Pendant ce temps, des milliers de réfugiés et déplacés ont été rejetés sur les routes. Le centre de transit de Ganta, où 3.000 réfugiés ivoiriens avaient trouvé refuge, s’est vidé de ses occupants. A Saclepea, à une quarantaine de km à l’est de Ganta, on est également sans nouvelles de quelque 20.000 réfugiés et déplacés, essentiellement des femmes et des enfants, qui avaient fui les combats. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 9 avril 2003)

* Maroc. Pseudo-"satanistes" acquittés — Onze acquittements et trois peines d’un an de prison réduites à 45 jours: le verdict rendu le 4 avril par la cour d’appel de Casablanca dans l’affaire des 14 amateurs de hard-rock montre on ne peut mieux l’inanité des accusations de “satanisme” portées à leur encontre en première instance. Onze prévenus avaient bénéficié, dès le 6 mars, d’une liberté provisoire. Cette procédure avait suscité une vive polémique dans le royaume. La presse privée avait dénoncé un “procès de la liberté d’expression et de création”, accusant, à l’approche des municipales, les autorités de vouloir plaire aux islamistes supposés hostiles aux modes “importées” d’Occident. (Libération, France, 5 avril 2003)

* Mauritius. Keeping it keeping it in the family — 10 April: Mauritian Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth has handed leadership of his party to his son Pravind Jugnauth. In an emotional one hour special meeting of the Movement Socialist Mauricien’s (MSM) political bureau, a tearful leader announced that «he had reached the end of this road.» Pravind Jugnauth takes over leadership of the MSM, which is in a ruling coalition with the Movement Militant Mauricien (MMM) Party led by Deputy Prime Minister Paul Berenger. Although Sir Anerood Jugnauth has stepped down from his party, he remains prime minister until September 2003, when he is expected to become the country’s president. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 10 April 2003)

* Mozambique. Floods hit Beira — 3 April: Some 15,000 destitute Mozambicans are living in the open and in need of food aid, medicine and blankets, after being hit by last week’s torrential rains in the central port city of Beira. The Beira authorities say poor drainage has meant their flooded homes are still under water but say they are seeking safe places to accommodate them. At least three people died in the storms which submerged or washed away more than 3,000 houses, according to Beira Mayor Chivavisse Muchangage. In some places, such as schools and shop verandas, where many people took shelter, there is a lack of drinking water and adequate sanitation conditions, which could cause outbreaks of disease. However, Health Minister Francisco Songane, says the health authorities are ready for this and called on the local communities to help by draining pools of rain water and ensuring minimum hygiene conditions are observed. He advised people in flood-prone areas of Beira city to move permanently to safer grounds outside the city. Some flood victims told Mozambican television that they had lost all their belongings, including blankets and food. In addition, they have no water to drink and they claim nobody has, so far, come to help them. But Beira’s mayor says some tents for victims as well as school materials for children had already been gathered. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 3 April 2003)

* Mozambique. 15.000 sans abris — Les pluies torrentielles qui sont tombées sur le Mozambique ont laissé 15.000 personnes sans abri. L’exceptionnelle vague de précipitations du week-end dernier a touché en particulier la province centrale de Sofa. Les sans-abris proviennent essentiellement de quelques quartiers de la ville portuaire de Beira, pratiquement anéantis par le débordement des eaux. Au cours des trois derniers mois, le Mozambique a été frappé par deux cyclones, qui ont fait quelques dizaines de victimes. (D’après Misna, Italie, 4 avril 2003)

* Niger/Tunisie. Accords de coopération — Le 7 avril, la Tunisie et le Niger ont signé quatre accords de coopération, au terme de la 5e session de leur commission mixte de coopération. Il s’agit d’un programme d’échange culturel, d’un accord de coopération dans le domaine de l’environnement et du développement durable, d’un programme exécutif pour la promotion de la femme, de la famille et des enfants, et d’un accord de coopération entre les chambres de commerce de Sfax et de Niamey. Les deux parties ont par ailleurs prospecté les voies et moyens de développer leurs échanges économiques et commerciaux, dont le volume s’est élevé en 2002 à environ 111 millions de dollars, plaçant le Niger au 3e rang des partenaires commerciaux de la Tunisie en Afrique subsaharienne. (PANA, Sénégal, 7 avril 2003)

* Nigeria. Préparation des élections — 5 avril. La Commission nationale électorale indépendante (INEC) a accrédité environ 70.000 observateurs locaux et internationaux aux élections générales prévues les 12 et 19 avril. Ces observateurs représentent le Commonwealth, le Groupe de supervision de la transition, la Mission catholique, l’Union européenne, le Projet d’assistance électorale de l’Onu, les volontaires de l’Onu, les ambassades britannique, chinoise et canadienne. Le secrétaire général de l’INEC a indiqué que les dernières directives relatives à l’observation de ces élections seront publiées le 7 avril. — 9 avril. La police a déployé plus de 250.000 agents dans tout le pays pour les élections du 12 avril, a indiqué son porte-parole Chris Olakpe. Il a ajouté que le personnel des prisons, des douanes, de l’immigration et de la défense civile sera réquisitionné pour aider la police à assurer la sécurité dans les 120.000 bureaux de vote ouverts à plus de 60 millions d’électeurs. De nombreux meurtres politiques et des violences durant la campagne électorale ont fait craindre des perturbations lors des élections. (PANA, Sénégal, 5-9 avril 2003)

* Nigeria. Towards the elections — 3 April: Retired judge Adewale Thompson recalls the hours spent hearing cases of rioting as political unrest swept his home region in western Nigeria in the 1960s. As the country heads for critical national elections this month, Thompson warns his compatriots of a looming «Armageddon» if the polls trigger widespread violence as most Nigerians fear. «If in the 1960s Nigeria was on a precipice, today it has left the precipice and is descending,» said Thompson, referring to spiralling unrest and cracks in the patchwork of some 250 ethnic groups that make up Africa’s most populous country. The unrest likely to erupt around the presidential and legislative elections between April 12 and May 3 will be different, and totally uncontrollable, he said. It will be fuelled by poverty among Nigeria’s more than 120 million people and hijacked by the legions of tribal militia groups that have sprung up across the country since 1999. 4 April: Nineteen candidates are contesting the Nigerian presidential elections on 19 April — the most in Nigeria’s history. This follows a successful legal challenge against registration restrictions imposed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec). 8 April: Election officials in Nigeria have begun handing out an estimated 61m voting cards for the country’s first national legislative election on 12 April. The cards are to be made available in registration centres across Nigeria. Correspondents say in some parts of the country, the distribution did not start on time, and there are concerns that many people will not receive their voting cards before the election date. On 7 April, a spokesman for the Independent National Election Commission, Sam Okpo, said it has removed a total of 6m fraudulent names from the register of voters. On 19 April, Nigerians will vote in a presidential election in which the incumbent, former military ruler Olusegun Obasanjo, is facing 18 challengers, a number of them ex-military officers. — After a two-day meeting in Abuja, the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties reaffirms its call for the postponement of the 12 April elections. 9 April: Candidates of the 30 registered political parties have begun wrapping up their campaigns with election rallies all over the country. — In a report released today, Human Rights Watch says that an upsurge of politically motivated violence is threatening the legitimacy of the impending elections. The 39-page report, entitled: «Testing Democracy: Political Violence in Nigeria», documents numerous cases of political violence across the country and discusses the weak rsponse by government and police to-date. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 9 April 2003)

* Nigeria. Oil groups to restart work — 5 April: The Financial Times says that ChevronTexaco and Royal Dutch/Shell, the oil companies, plan to restart work in Nigeria’s troubled western Niger Delta after social unrest triggered an oil industry shutdown in the region and cut the country’s daily crude output by 40 per cent. Chevron, the worst affected of the oil multinationals operating in the western Delta, said it planned to end its 12-day shutdown and increase production in the area to 310,000 barrels a day, about 70 per cent of capacity. The latest troubles in Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer and one of the world’s top 10 exporters of crude, have caused concern on world oil markets and highlighted the depth of the social problems of the impoverished Delta region. Jay Pryor, managing director of Chevron’s Nigeria operation, said the company had been encouraged by the «recent calm» in the Delta after an uprising by members of the Ijaw ethnic group led to fighting with the country’s armed forces. Shell said that on 3 April it had restored 18,000 barrels of its 320,000 barrels per day of lost production and would reopen other facilities in the next few days. Chevron, TotalFinaElf and Royal Dutch/Shell all shut down facilities in the western Delta, leading the government to estimate that the country was losing about 800,000 barrels of its 2m barrel a day production. The Delta unrest, which came ahead of national elections starting next week, reflects long-held feelings of resentment at the economic underdevelopment of the region despite decades of massive oil extraction. 8 April: In a letter to President Obasanjo and the managing directors of the three oil companies mentioned above, Human Rights Watch says the Nigerian government and multinational oil companies should take immediate measures to prevent further violence and abuses around Warri. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 8 April 2003)