* Madagascar. Projet de loi foncière contesté — Le projet de loi sur la possibilité offerte aux investisseurs étrangers d’acquérir des terres à Madagascar, qu’examiment le Sénat et l’Assemblée nationale en session extraordinaire depuis ce lundi matin, 18 août, fait l’objet de vives critiques. Certains hommes politiques estiment que l’adoption de cette loi marquera le retour de Madagascar à la colonisation. Un député a menacé d’appeler les Malgaches à redescendre dans les rues si le pouvoir persiste à faire passer le projet de loi. Les leaders politiques proches du président de la République tentent de calmer les esprits en expliquant que le projet est uniquement destiné à promouvoir les investissements directs étrangers. Selon la presse malgache, l’ouverture de cette session parlementaire serait la principale raison au retour plus tôt que prévu des Etats-Unis du président Ravalomanana. (PANA, Sénégal, 18 août 2003)

Mali/Algeria. Sahara hostages go home — 17 August: Fourteen European tourists held hostage in north-eastern Mali could soon be freed, a source close to the negotiations with the kidnappers has said. «There is enormous progress in the negotiations, it is very possible that the hostages will be freed on Monday,» the source told the AFP news agency on 16 August. This follows speculation in recent days that their release was imminent. 18 August: All fourteen European hostages held by Algerian militants in the Sahara for more than five months have been freed, Mali’s presidential spokesman has said. «We confirm officially that they have been released, all the hostages,» spokesman Seydou Sissouma announced from the capital, Bamako. The German foreign ministry confirmed the news from Mali. German Deputy Foreign Minister Juergen Chrobog said: «The Malian president told me that all the hostages are freed and they will be in Bamako tomorrow (19 August).» Dozens of journalists are on stand-by at Bamako’s airport to witness the tourists’ arrival. 20 August: The fourteen hostages freed from a five-month hostage ordeal in the Sahara desert have now landed in Germany. The tourists — nine Germans, four Swiss and a Dutchman — left the Malian capital Bamako bound for Cologne just before 0000 GMT. Earlier, the group had flown in from the northern oasis town of Gao, after a journey by road from the desert outpost of Tessalit, a day after being freed by suspected Islamic extremist kidnappers. The group — thin, dirty and many of them wearing ragged desert robes and turbans — attended a welcoming ceremony at Bamako’s presidential palace before leaving Mali. They are reported to be well, but exhausted. Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder hailed their release as a victory against international terrorism. But a row has erupted in Germany over reports that a ransom was paid. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 20 August 2003)

* Mali/Algérie. Les otages du Sahara — 17 août. Le groupe de 14 touristes européens (9 Allemands, 4 Suisses et un Néerlandais), enlevés il y a cinq à six mois dans le Sahara algérien, puis transférés au nord du Mali, ont failli être libérés le dimanche soir. Leur libération avait été annoncée en début de soirée par la chaîne publique allemande ZDF, mais l’opération aurait capoté pour des “problèmes techniques” de dernière minute. La rançon demandée par les ravisseurs aurait été payée et le retour des otages a de bonnes chances de se faire le lundi. Un autre groupe de 17 otages avait été libéré le 13 mai par l’armée algérienne. Une Allemande, mère de deux enfants, est morte d’insolation fin juin. Il y a une semaine, les efforts de négociation s’étaient intensifiés, car quatre des touristes étaient “gravement malades”. Le doute persiste sur l’identité des ravisseurs. Depuis le début des enlèvements survenus entre la mi-février et la mi-mars, Alger dénonce le Groupe salafiste pour la prédication et le combat. Pour les négociateurs maliens, en revanche, les preneurs d’otages seraient plutôt de vulgaires trafiquants, aux mobiles d’abord pécuniaires. — Lundi 18 août. Après 24 heures de suspense, les quatorze touristes ont enfin été libérés et remis aux autorités maliennes qui, en début de soirée, ont officiellement confirmé la libération de tous les otages. - Le mardi, ils ont gagné Gao par la route, d’où ils ont été acheminés à Bamako, avant d’être rapatriés en Allemagne. Dans ce pays, la libération des otages suscitait bien des questions sur le versement d’une rançon et sa justification. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 20 août 2003)

* Maroc. Terroristes: lourdes condamnations — 19 août. Dans la nuit du lundi au mardi, lors du procès des attentats de Casablanca du 16 mai, le tribunal de Casablanca a prononcé de lourdes condamnations, avec notamment quatre peines de mort, confirmant ainsi la volonté des autorités marocaines de mener une guerre sans répit contre l’intégrisme islamiste. 87 prévenus, tous membres du mouvement Salafia Jihadia, étaient accusés d’être les protagonistes des cinq attentats qui avaient causé la mort de 45 personnes. Suivant les réquisitions du parquet, le tribunal a condamné 37 prévenus à la prison à vie, 17 à trente ans de réclusion, 16 à vingt ans, 11 autres s’étant vu infliger des peines échelonnées entre six et dix ans. Les peines capitales concernent notamment les trois kamikazes qui ont renoncé à leur acte au dernier moment. De lourdes peines, très significatives, ont également été infligées aux quatre “théoréticiens” islamistes qui comparaissaient devant le tribunal. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 20 août 2003)

* Morocco. Death sentences for Morocco bombings — 19 August: A Moroccan court has sentenced four men to death in connection with suicide bombings which killed 45 people in Casablanca in May. The four were among 87 defendants accused of membership of a clandestine, hardline Islamist group called Salafia Jihadia. The judges found the four guilty of premeditated murder in the five simultaneous attacks on 16 May. The other defendants received sentences ranging from 10 months in jail to life imprisonment. Twelve suicide bombers were among the 45 people who died as a result of the attacks. Death sentences were handed down to Mohamed El Omari, 23, Rachid Jalil, 27, Yassine Lahnech, 22 and Hassan Taousi — three of whom were believed to have aborted their own suicide missions. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 19 August 2003)

* Maroc. Le Polisario libère 243 prisonniers — Le jeudi 14 août, le Front Polisario a libéré 243 prisonniers de guerre marocains, a annoncé vendredi ce mouvement indépendantiste. Cette libération intervient après le vote, le 30 juillet, d’une résolution à l’Onu qui prévoit que le statut définitif de l’ancienne colonie espagnole du Sahara occidental, annexée par le Maroc en 1995, sera décidé d’ici cinq ans par un référendum. — Le 20 août cependant, le roi Mohammed VI du Maroc a réaffirmé que son pays n’acceptera “aucun marchandage” concernant le règlement du conflit au Sahara occidental qui l’oppose au Polisario, soutenu par l’Algérie. Mais “le Maroc demeure ouvert à tout dialogue constructif et franc pour le régler dans le cadre de la préservation de notre intégrité territoriale et notre souveraineté nationale”, a déclaré le souverain dans un discours télévisé. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 20 août 2003)

* Mozambique. Police trial farce — 14 August: The trial of the seven policemen charged with facilitating the escape of Anibal dos Santos Junior from the Maputo top security prison was suspended on 13 August, only one day after it started. Anibal, best known as Anibalzinho, is one of the six men found guilty of assassinating prominent Mozambican investigative journalist, Carlos Cardoso. The suspension of the trial follows a discovery by the court that the defence lawyer for two of the seven policemen is not registered with the Mozambique Bar Association. The complaint over the defence lawyer’s credentials was raised by the chairman of the association Carlos Cauio. The defence lawyer, Alberto Igrejas, told me that while he did not dispute the court’s decision, he should have been given a chance to legalise his position. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 14 August 2003)

* Mozambique. Aiming for titanium wealth — Mozambique could become a major producer of the rare metal titanium as the result of a mining project that has just won $20m backing from the World Bank. For Mozambique to take its place among the world’s key world mineral producers would be a massive step forward given that it is one of the poorest countries in Africa. An Irish mining company, Kenmare Resources, is putting the finishing touches to a $200m mineral sands project in one of its poorest regions, Nampula Province in the north-east of the country. Mineral sands comprise mainly rare titanium, rutile and zirconium. All three metals are in demand in many industries, but especially in electronics. Titanium is used for many purposes ranging from coating aircraft, turning paper and paint white, to helping women with untreatable ovarian cancer. It is stronger and lighter than steel and is particularly popular in aviation. Kenmare Resources’ project is called Moma. It has received a $20m guarantee from the World Bank’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency. The hope is that when it is fully developed, it should establish Mozambique as one of the world’s foremost producers of titanium. It should also bring much needed infrastructural development to this impoverished region, and should create around 2,000 jobs, directly and indirectly, when it is up and running. (BBC, UK, 20 August 2003)

* Nigeria. Affrontements à Warri — Le samedi 16 août, les autorités nigérianes ont imposé un couvre-feu dans la ville méridionale de Warri, au coeur de la région pétrolière du Delta du Niger, à la suite de violents combats interethniques qui ont fait au moins un mort dans les rangs de l’armée. Des maisons ont été incendiées, des milliers de civils ont pris la fuite, emportant à la hâte quelques effets personnels. Dans un seul quartier touché par les combats, au moins 30 maisons ont été détruites. Les affrontements ont éclaté vendredi soir et se sont poursuivis samedi matin entre les membres des ethnies Ijaw et Itsekiri, qui s’affrontent depuis des années dans la région. Le conflit interethnique porte sur les terres et le pouvoir politique, mais il a été aggravé par la concurrence que se livrent les communautés depuis le boom pétrolier des années 1970. Les ONG dans la région estiment qu’entre 200.000 et 300.000 barrils par jour sont volés par des gangs qui font percer les oléoducs. Les revenus servent à financer des achats d’armes. Les combats entre Ijaw et Itsekiri ont repris de manière sporadique à la mi-juillet, après une accalmie consécutive à la vague d’affrontements de mars dernier. — 18 août. Les affrontements se sont poursuivis pour la quatrième journée. Dans la nuit du dimanche au lundi, au moins dix personnes ont été tuées, selon un officier supérieur de la police. Les combats ont fait au moins 20 morts au total, d’après les témoignages recueillis. L’armée a déployé des véhicules blindés et des renforts de troupes dans la zone. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 19 août 2003)

* Nigeria. Clashes in Niger Delta — 17 August: The authorities in Nigeria have imposed a night-time curfew in the city of Warri, in the Niger Delta, after clashes between rival Ijaw and Itsekiri ethnic groups. In March, dozens of people were killed in ethnic violence and three oil companies shut down about 40% of oil output. The latest fighting began on 15 August and continued overnight into 16 August. It was not clear how the violence started, with both sides blaming the other. Residents fled the clashes, carrying mattresses and boxes of belongings on their heads. Army spokesman Emeka Onwuamaegbu said: «We lost one soldier in the course of maintaining law and order.» 18 August: Street battles have continued for a fourth day in the southern Nigerian town of Warri between heavily armed gangs from two rival communities. Scores of buildings have been burnt and more than 30 people are now known to have died since the fighting began on 15 August. The army is being deployed on the streets, but local residents say there are parts of the town where the clashes have continued without intervention from the security forces. Despite assurances from the army that the clashes have been brought under control it is clear that the situation in some districts of the town remains extremely volatile. 19 August: Clashes in Warri continue. But with a heavy army presence on the streets, the pockets of violence appear to be more localised and gunfire only sporadic. Since the unrest began, at least 30 people have died in street battles between local militia groups, and many thousands have fled their homes. With a tight security presence now in place in Warri town, much of the chaotic and explosive violence of the past few days appears to have abated. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 19 August 2003)

* Nigeria. Stoning verdict quashed — 19 August: An Islamic court of appeal in northern Nigeria has overturned the conviction of a man sentenced to death by stoning for the rape of a nine-year-old girl. Salimu Mohammed Baranda won his appeal by pleading insanity and has been ordered by the court to an asylum for psychiatric evaluation. The punishment of stoning to death has been introduced into the law in Nigeria’s majority Muslim northern states over the past three years but as yet no sentence has been carried out. Salimu Mohammed has never denied he carried out the rape. In fact he pleaded guilty at his trial last year and initially refused to appeal the sentence. But family members intervened and persuaded him to change his mind. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 19 August 2003)

* Nigeria. Une lapidation annulée — 18 août. Un tribunal islamique nigérian devrait rendre son verdict après le pourvoi en appel d’un homme condamné à mort par lapidation en août 2002 pour le viol d’une fillette de 9 ans. Si cette condamnation était confirmée par la Cour, Samiru Mohammed, 54 ans, pourrait devenir le premier Nigérian exécuté par lapidation depuis que douze Etats du nord du pays ont décidé la réintroduction de la charia (loi islamique) il y a trois ans. Le condamné étant décrit comme mentalement attardé, la défense comme l’accusation escomptent néanmoins un verdict de clémence. — 19 août. La Cour islamique d’appel de la ville de Dutse a en effet annulé la condamnation à mort de Samiru Mohammed. Elle a suivi la défense qui plaidait la folie, et a ordonné son placement dans un établissement psychiatrique. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 20 août 2003)

* Nigeria. Closing in on missing cash — 20 August: A long-running legal battle to return billions of dollars which went missing from Nigeria’s central bank when the late military ruler Sani Abacha was in power could at last be making some progress. A lot of the money is believed to be in Swiss bank accounts, and Switzerland has now said it will help to send the money back. Earlier this week, Switzerland’s Federal Office of Justice said it had temporarily lifted the lid on the country’s banking secrecy and handed over bank documents concerning relatives of the former dictator. In return, Nigeria assured the Swiss that the human rights of any Abacha family member would be respected in the event that they would be tried before a court or face criminal proceedings. During Mr Abacha’s rein, from 1994 to 1998, a huge sum of money went missing from Nigeria’s central bank. Some reports put the total amount at several billion dollars. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 20 August 2003)

* Rwanda. Towards the presidential elections — 13 August: Rwanda’s election authorities have accused the main opposition candidate in this month’s presidential poll, Faustin Twagiramungu, of promoting ethnic divisions. The deputy head of the national election commission said that the opposition leader had been summoned to explain himself on 14 August. Mr Twagiramungu — a former prime minister who returned from exile earlier this year — denies the accusations. He says his campaign leaflets had been impounded by the authorities although they contained nothing discriminatory. He also questions impartiality of the president of the national electoral commission, accusing him of being the campaign manager for the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front party. 16 August: The Dutch government has withheld aid intended to ensure the smooth running of Rwandan’s first presidential election since the 1994 genocide, a sign of unease over the disappearance of opposition politicians in the run-up to the poll on August 25. The Netherlands says the Kigali government has failed to explain satisfactorily the disappearance of five opponents of Paul Kagame, Rwandan president. It has frozen $283,000 in aid. It is the first western government to express openly unease over human rights in Rwanda during the election campaign. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 16 August 2003)

* Rwanda. Campagne électorale — La campagne électorale pour le scrutin présidentiel du 25 août s’est ouverte le 1er août et s’achèvera le 24 août au matin. L’actuel président Paul Kagamé y affronte Faustin Twagiramungu, Jean Népomuscène Nayinzira et Alvéra Mukabaramba. Twagiramungu s’est vu accusé de “divisionnisme” et un de ses dépliants de campagne a été saisi. Le 16 août, la radio nationale a aussi fait état de la “défection” de cinq de ses agents de campagne qui l’accusent d’appeler au vote ethnique en sa faveur. En privé, il leur aurait donné comme directive de “faire comprendre aux Hutu qu’ils ne doivent voter que pour leur frère Twagiramungu”. M. Twagiramungu a indiqué ne pas connaître ces personnes et dénonce une manipulation. — D’autre part, le 18 août, Reporters sans frontières a demandé aux candidats de prendre des engagements en faveur de la liberté de presse. “Nous vous demandons de prendre position publiquement sur cette question et de proposer des mesures concrètes pour faire progresser la liberté de presse”, écrit l’organisation. Déplorant que le Rwanda soit aujourd’hui l’un des derniers pays de la région et du continent africain à ne disposer d’aucun média audiovisuel privé, RSF ajoute que “l’information est toujours monocolore au Rwanda et les rares journaux indépendants paraissent dans des conditions difficiles”. (D’après PANA, Sénégal, 16-18 août 2003)

* Rwanda. Kagame thrusts aside fears over poll — Paul Kagame, Rwanda’s president, is «unapologetic» about the role his troops have played in the war in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo. He would send them straight back if his country’s security were at stake. But in an interview with the Financial Times before next week’s presidential election in Rwanda — the first since the 1994 genocide — Gen Kagame said he had asked the country’s prosecutor-general to investigate United Nations reports that his army orchestrated the plunder of resources during its four-year occupation of eastern Congo. Under international pressure, Rwanda withdrew its troops from Congo last year. But reports persist that it continues to arm rebel proxies, undermining prospects for a new power-sharing government in Kinshasa set up to end the war. International concern is also mounting about the manner in which Gen Kagame is running his own country. Last week the Netherlands said it had frozen aid to help pay for the elections because of concerns about the disappearance of opposition politicians ahead of the vote. Dogged as ever in his avowed determination to restore stability to Rwanda, the 46-year-old general, appears unmoved. «We are not responsible for the problems of the Congo,» he says, insisting that turmoil and dictatorship there had been claiming lives long before his troops marched over the border in 1998, sparking a war that has led to at least 3m deaths. «We would not shy away from moving back to Congo if anything threatened our security here. We are not even apologetic about it.» Nor is Gen Kagame concerned that by punching well beyond its weight in the region, tiny Rwanda may have made more new enemies in Congo than it has eliminated old ones. The region’s problems go back decades, he says, underlining that parts of Congo were ruled from Rwanda before Africa’s borders were drawn by colonial powers. «I don’t see why you even think it is important that Congolese hate Rwandans. Maybe we shall hate them also,» he says. «Or why did part of Rwanda have to be carved out and taken to Congo? I am not responsible for that.» (Financial Times, UK, 19 August 2003)