* Centrafrique. Dialogue politique — Le 9 septembre, le président centrafricain, le général Bozizé, a inauguré officiellement à Bangui le Dialogue national, censé mettre un terme à huit ans de troubles politico-militaires. Le dialogue est présidé par le pasteur Isaac Zokoé. Quelque 350 délégués participent à cette réunion pour tenter de mettre fin aux crises à répétition qui ébranlent ce pays depuis 1996. Selon le chef d’Etat, il s’agira, pour les participants à ce forum, de proposer des solutions qui prennent en compte les réalités du pays, sans oublier les raisons qui ont conduit au coup d’Etat du 15 mars dernier. Il a fait un véritable réquisitoire du régime de son prédécesseur, Ange-Félix Patassé, à qui il a reproché “une gestion prédatrice”. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 10 septembre 2003)

* Central Afr. Republic. National Dialogue opens — «The National Dialogue must not be a scene of sterile diatribes or heated debates. It is necessary for the Central African Republic to rise again from its ashes». On 9 September, with these words, President François Bozizé Bangui, officially inaugurated the National Dialogue —the reconciliation initiative that will continue until September 20. The 350 delegates represent all the social and political realities of a nation afflicted by nearly a decade of political instability and coups. The latest coup on 15 March, brought the current President to power, ending 10 years of rule by Ange-Felix Patassé, now in exile in Togo. Bozizé heads a transition government that will lead the nation to the December 2004 presidential election. At the ceremony, the President said: «I pledge to do everything possible to impede the nation from falling back into the sufferance of the past». (MISNA, Italy, 10 September 2003)

* Congo (RDC). “Les enfants font la guerre” — Un nouveau rapport d’Amnesty International rend compte du calvaire enduré par des milliers d’enfants soldats dans la région des Grands Lacs. Bien que le gouvernement de transition du Congo-RDC ait été mis en place, des milliers d’enfants congolais continuent d’être contraints à sacrifier leur enfance, mise au service de la progression politique et militaire des dirigeants des parties en conflit, affirme Amnesty. “Pour servir leurs propres intérêts politiques et matériels, les dirigeants des forces armées se livrent à l’exploitation des enfants congolais. C’est l’une des plus monstrueuses atteintes aux  droits humains qui caractérisent le conflit en RDC”, s’indigne l’organisation. La version intégrale du rapport en anglais, intitulé “Democratic Republic of Congo: Children at war”, peut être consultée à l’adresse: http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/eng620342003 (Amnesty International, 9 septembre 2003)

* Congo (RDC). No respite for child soldiers — Amnesty International says that warring militias in north-east Congo are not honouring promises to stop recruiting child soldiers to fight for them. Amnesty says that the thousands of children have been forced to become soldiers in the army and in militias, and are often forced to kill and rape. In a report titled: «Democratic Republic of Congo: Children at War», Amnesty says that groups in Ituri Province are still recruiting in a conflict that has killed 50,000 people. Amnesty International wants those involved in the recruitment to be investigated and prosecuted. It has also asked French peacekeepers who have been in Bunia, to remain there until a beefed-up UN force is fully up and running. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 9 September 2003)

* Congo (RDC). Etat-major installé — Le 5 septembre, l’état-major général des nouvelles armées du Congo a été solennellement installé à Kinshasa, sous la direction du président de la République, indique l’Agence congolaise de presse. Les officiers ont juré “fidélité à la nation congolaise, obéissance au président de la République du Congo, loyauté aux institutions du pays, soumission à la Constitution, aux lois de la République et aux règlements militaires”. Ils ont également pris l’engagement solennel de défendre, en toutes circonstances, l’intégrité du territoire national jusqu’au sacrifice suprême et de n’entreprendre aucune activité politique. Les officiers proviennent des différentes structures armées qui se sont combattues au Congo. — D’autre part, le 6 septembre, les derniers soldats de la force européenne Artémis ont quitté Bunia, chef-lieu de l’Ituri, où ils étaient déployés depuis juin. La mission de l’Onu a pris la relève. —9 septembre. Trois officiers supérieurs issus du RCD-Goma ont été déférés devant la Haute Cour militaire pour avoir refusé de participer à l’installation de l’état-major général et du commandement de l’armée unifiée, a annoncé le général Liwanga Mata, chef d’état-major de l’armée. Les trois hommes, un général et deux colonels, nommés commandant et commandants adjoints des régions militaires, seront traduits devant la cour “pour indiscipline et refus d’ordre”. Le RCD-Goma n’a pas encore officiellement réagi. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 10 septembre 2003)

* Congo (RDC). Congo’s new army — 5 September: The leadership of the new unified armed forces in Congo RDC has been sworn in as part of a peace agreement signed earlier this year. The  swearing-in ceremony marks another important step towards the reconciliation of the former antagonists in Congo. At a ceremony in the capital, Kinshasa, more than 30 generals made an oath of allegiance to the country and the head of state. President Joseph Kabila, who is the supreme commander of Congo’s armed forces, oversaw the ceremony at which Lieutenant-General Liwanga Maata Nyamunyobo was officially appointed as the head of the new armed forces. Mr Nyamunyobo first served under former President Mobutu Sese Seko in what was then Zaire. Later under Joseph Kabila’s father, Laurent, he headed the country’s navy. The new military command has been drawn from the factions involved in the five-year civil war in which an estimated 2.5 million people lost their lives. 10 September: The leadership of the new unified armed forces in Congo RDC has issued an arrest warrant against three high-ranking soldiers of the former Rwandan-backed rebel movement, now part of the united armed forces. General Laurent Nkunda and his colleagues boycotted the swearing-in ceremony during which they were supposed to take up their positions in the new national army. Congo’s Chief-of Staff said the three high-ranking soldiers are accused of ignoring military orders. Gen. Nkunda’s nomination to a senior post in the new army was surrounded with controversy following claims by human rights groups that he was responsible for the massacre of about 200 people in the eastern town of Kisangani in May 2002. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 10 September 2003)

* Côte d’Ivoire. No names for defence and security ministers yet — On 4 September, Ivorian Prime Minister Seydou Diarra failed to propose candidates for the vacant posts of defence minister and internal security minister, prolonging the six-month old impasse over who should fill these key portfolios. President Laurent Gbagbo, who has rejected all the candidates put forward previously by Diarra’s broad-based government of national reconciliation, had asked him on 29 August to come up with new names by 4 September. A meeting between Gbagbo and the cabinet where the new names were due to have been presented and discussed was delayed until 4 September. But a final communique issued after the said the issue of the two ministerial appointments had been put on hold again until 8 September. (...) Rebel forces occupying the north of the country have said they will refuse to start a process of demobilisation and disarmament until the new ministers have been appointed under the terms of a peace agreement signed in January. The disarmament process was due to have begun on 1 August, but continues to be held up by this sticking point. (IRIN, Kenya, 4 September 2003)

* Côte d’Ivoire. Lent processus de paix — Le 4 septembre, lors d’un conseil des ministres, le président Gbagbo a exigé le “désarmement” des ex-rebelles au cours de ce mois de septembre. Selon un communiqué, il a donné au gouvernement une véritable feuille de route devant aboutir aux élections de 2005, comportant le  “désarmement, la démobilisation et la réinsertion”. Pour lui, l’une des conditions majeures de l’organisation des élections “c’est la réunification du territoire”. Il a soutenu avoir fait lui-même “sa part de sacrifice”.- Dans la soirée, s’adressant aux chefs coutumiers de l’Est ivoirien, M. Gabgbo a réitéré sa volonté de voir libérer les zones toujours sous contrôle des Forces nouvelles, notamment Bouaké (centre) et Korhogo (nord). - D’autre part, le 6 septembre, le Rassemblement des jeunes démocrates pour la paix (RJDP), regroupant les jeunesses des partis de MM. Bédié et Ouattara et du défunt général Guéi, ont appelé le président Gbagbo à “appliquer intégralement, dans l’esprit et dans la lettre, les accords de Marcoussis”. - Le 8 septembre, le président Gbagbo a rencontré des délégations de l’ex-rébellion et du Rassemblement des Républicains (RDR, opposition) dans le cadre des consultations devant aboutir à la désignation des ministres de la Défense et de la Sécurité, deux portefeuilles toujours dirigés à titre intérimaires. - 10 septembre. Le programme DDR (démobilisation, désarmement, réinsertion), dont la mise en activité a été maintes fois reportée, devrait devenir effectif dans les jours à venir. Ce mercredi, le Premier ministre, M. Diarra, a procédé à la mise en place du Comité de réunification qui a pour mission la mise en oeuvre du programme DDR. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverse, 11 septembre 2003)

* Djibouti. Illegal immigrants to be expelled — 5 September: The United States has denied being behind moves by the government in Djibouti to expel illegal migrants. More than 50,000 have already left, but thousands more have congregated in camps and found themselves stranded on borders waiting for transport, with trains and buses overcrowded. Many others are afraid to return home, mentioning continuing conflict in Somalia and fears of repression and persecution in Eritrea and Ethiopia. Warnings by Washington of possible attacks on Western interests in the country are thought to have led the government to clamp down on the foreigners. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 5 September 2003)

* Egypte. Libération d’intégristes — Près d’un millier de membres du mouvement intégriste égyptien Djamaah Islamiyah ont été libérés, a annoncé le ministre égyptien de l’Intérieur, dans un entretien publié par un hebdomadaire égyptien. Les membres de ce mouvement se sont engagés à rejeter la violence. En revanche, 23 membres du mouvement intégriste Al-Djhad ont été arrêtés. (La Croix, France, 5 septembre 2003)

* Eritrea. Fuel rationing — 5 September: The Eritrean Government has introduced rationing at its petrol stations restricting private car owners to just over a tank a month. There has yet to be a full official explanation given for the decision but earlier this year an IMF report warned of the country’s declining level of foreign currency reserves and called its monetary and exchange rate system unsustainable. The usually busy streets of Asmara have almost entirely cleared of private cars as the rationing of fuel bites. The coupon system first announced a week ago has restricted private cars to just 40 litres a month — just over a tank of petrol — and taxis to 150 litres. No explanation of the coupon system has been made in the state-owned media here but the head of the petroleum corporation of Eritrea said that it had been brought in to regularise the amount of petrol being consumed and denied that there was a shortage. Eritrea has no oil of its own and has to buy its petrol using hard currency. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 5 September 2003)

* Eritrea. Eritrea urges end to border delays — 4 September: Eritrea has called on the United Nations and the African Union to take «necessary measures» to ensure that the marking of the border with Ethiopia takes place in October. The demarcation of the border has already been delayed twice this year — almost a year-and-a-half after the Boundary Commission first ruled on the marking of the border as part of the peace process between the two countries. Ethiopians are still trying to change the commission’s decision to award Badme — the village that triggered the war in 1998 to Eritrea — and it is already looking possible that that deadline will come and pass. Patience within the international community is beginning to wear thin — the head of the UN mission here has warned that the situation could turn into a stalemate and urged both parties to begin talking to each other. Acting information minister Ali Abdu Ahmed says it has now reached the point where international organisations need to take action. «The Ethiopian government continues to hinder the border delimitation and demarcation process. Therefore, we feel that all necessary measures should be imposed on the Ethiopian government, by the UN and the African Union,» Mr Ahmed said. So far the start dates which the Boundary Commission set have passed without explanation or blame being attributed to either side. Mr Ahmed says that Eritrea is ready to start and that this «sitting on the fence is no longer acceptable. No one at least on this side is expecting the Boundary Commission to entertain the feeling of individuals. The only option they have is to spell out who is right and who is not — if you don’t do that then the one who is hindering the peace process will continue to do so,» Mr Ahmed said. 10 September: The Secretary General of the United Nations has warned that patience is running thin with the delays in demarcating the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea. Kofi Annan said there had been no progress in improving relations between the two countries and has urged the international community to be more active in helping both countries fulfil their commitments under the peace deal. The start of border demarcation has already been delayed twice this year and a third date set for October now looks likely to pass without  progress. The UN presence in Ethiopia and Eritrea costs well over $150m a year with 4,000 peacekeepers in place on the ground. Nearly three years after the peace agreement that ended the border conflict the UN‘s role here is to maintain a security zone while an independent commission rules and then marks out where the border should be. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 10 September 2003)

* Ethiopia. Still needing aid — 5 September: Ethiopia still requires $40m to help cope with the after effects of last year’s drought, the government says. Just under a fifth of the population need humanitarian assistance this year, and while most of their food needs have now been covered, there was a warning that donors should not become too complacent. There were congratulations all round at today’s meeting of the Ethiopian Government and donors. Everyone agreed that the response to this year’s appeal has been very good and thousands of lives have been saved. But the government and the United Nations have said that no-one should rest on their laurels. The humanitarian agencies are now focusing their attention on the future — next year and beyond. The head of the United Nations emergency unit, Paul Hebert, said great progress had been made to tackle food insecurity but there was still a lot of work to do. — Hunger will remain a threat in the future (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 5 September 2003)

* Ethiopia. Charity fun run to tackle hunger — 7 September: More than 8,000 Ethiopians have taken part in a six kilometre charity fun run in support of the millions of people in the country who need food aid. Leading the runners were two of Ethiopia’s latest track stars — world champions Kenenisa Bekele and Tirunesh Dibaba. The race organisers said they wanted to show the world that Ethiopians can do something for themselves when it comes to poverty and the athletes’ participation was vital. «This is a race against hunger and one we must win,» 10,000-metre men’s champion Bekele told reporters. «If we are committed, we can beat it, but it will be a tough fight — harder than winning world championships.» Cheering crowds gathered at the finishing line in Addis Ababa’s main square where the thousands of runners crossed the finishing line and collected a small medal for taking part. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 7 September 2003)

* Gabon. Oil and wildlife can co-exist — In a rare tribute to the energy industry, scientists have praised one company’s record in exploiting an African oilfield. They say Shell’s field has more wild creatures than the surrounding national parks. The company says its environment policy has changed radically in the last 30 years. It is working with the scientists on an international code of practice for other companies in sensitive areas. The scientists, from the US-based Smithsonian Institution, are completing a two-year study of Shell’s operations in its Rabi oilfield, in Gabon. The  Smithsonian team has been working with local scientists to compile the most detailed study ever undertaken of the Gabonese forest’s biodiversity. (BBC News, UK, 8 September 2003)

* Ghana. Ghana awarded credit rating — On 4 September, Ghana was awarded a credit rating for the first time under a new plan aimed at giving developing countries access to the international capital markets. Standard & Poor’s (S&P), the largest rating agency, assigned Ghana a long-term sovereign rating of B+, four notches below investment grade. Ghana is the first country to receive a rating under the initiative, launched by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and S&P to help sub-Saharan African and other developing countries obtain sovereign credit ratings. UNDP hopes better access to financing would help developing countries achieve the accelerated rates of economic growth they need to reduce poverty. (Financial Times, UK, 5 September 2003)

* Ghana. IOM brings hundreds of child labourers home — A first group of 173 children who had been trafficked for forced labour in fishing communities at Yeji in the Atebubu district of the Brong Ahafo region, will be reunited with their parents in the next two weeks in the Volta, Central and Greater Accra regions. The children, who had been sold by their impoverished parents to local fishermen for up to 1.5 million Cedis (US $180), are staying at the International Office for Migrations (IOM) transit centre in Yeji and are being given medical examinations before completing the final lap of their journey home. They are part of a larger group of 1,002 children due to be released by their former employers. In return, the fishermen will receive training, modern fishing equipment and micro credits to help them improve their fishing techniques or engage in other income generating activities. Interestingly, most of the fishermen who have accepted to release the children, have decided to give up fishing on Lake Volta and to engage in other activities, such as cattle and pig rearing. The IOM has registered a total of 1,002 school-aged children who have been trafficked for slave labour in fishing communities in the Volta and Central regions of Ghana. They are mostly boys aged between 3 and 14 forced to work in the fishing industry. They begin at dawn and work until late afternoon casting and drawing nets. They are poorly fed and never paid. (MISNA, Italy, 8 September 2003)

* Kenya. UK flights to Mombasa resume — 4 September: Flights by UK airlines to the tourist destination of Mombasa in Kenya have been resumed due to improved security arrangements. The news, announced today by the Department for Transport, comes more than two months after the ban on flights to Kenya’s capital Nairobi was lifted. A stoppage had been imposed on  flights to both cities in May following intelligence that British planes could be a terrorist target. But the Foreign and Commonwealth Office travel advice still warns there is a «high threat» from global terrorism in Kenya. A statement from the Department for Transport said: «Earlier this year the review under which we keep the security of UK citizens and interests overseas led us to impose a ban on flights to Kenya by UK airlines. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 4 September 2003)

* Kenya. Mourners crushed in stampede — 5 September: More than 40 people were injured, some seriously, as huge crowds jostled to view the body of Kenya’s Vice-President Michael Wamalwa in his home district of Bungoma, western Kenya. Part of the local stadium where the body had been taken for viewing collapsed, leaving many people with broken limbs and chest injuries. Lavish preparations are underway for the state funeral on 6 September, at which mourners will feast on 100,000 loaves of bread, five to 10 bulls, 300 chickens and around 200kg of rice. Unconfirmed reports say that one person died during the stampede. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 5 September 2003)

* Kenya. Cardinal Otunga dies — Cardinal Maurice Michael Otunga, one of the Church’s outstanding figures in Africa since the Second Vatican Council, died on 6 September. He was 80. The Archbishop Emeritus of Nairobi was hospitalized weeks ago with an illness that resulted in respiratory and kidney complications. Upon learning of the death, John Paul II expressed his sympathy and assured his prayers so that «the Good Shepherd, in his tender love, will bring this dedicated servant speedily to the place prepared for him at the heavenly banquet.» In the telegram to Nairobi’s current archbishop, Raphael S. Ndingi Mwana’a Nzeki, the Pope expressed his gratitude «to Almighty God for the many graces bestowed on the Church through Cardinal Otunga’s long years of generous service as priest and bishop.» Maurice Otunga was born in Chebukwa in January 1923 and baptized at age 12. Ordained a priest at 27, he was named by Pope Pius XII as auxiliary bishop of Kisumu in 1956. In 1969, Pope Paul VI named him coadjutor of Nairobi, and in 1971, archbishop of that city. The same Pope made him a cardinal in 1973. (Zenit, Italy, 7 September 2003)

* Kenya. Row over Prime Minister post — 8 September: President Mwai Kibaki and his key ally in last year’s general election, Raila Odinga, are headed for a major political confrontation. President Kibaki says that he is in full charge of the nation and has openly rejected calls by Mr Odinga’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) that he should share power by appointing Mr Odinga as an executive prime minister. According to a pre-election agreement between the parties that form Kenya’s ruling National Rainbow Coalition (NARC), the post of executive prime minister was to have been created and allocated to the LDP. But President Kibaki has ruled  out the possibility, much to the dismay of Mr Odinga’s followers who played a major role in President Kibaki’s overwhelming victory in the 2002 general elections. Addressing an Anglican congregation on 7 September in the capital, Nairobi, President Kibaki said that the present Kenyan political order will remain in place, raising further the already high political temperature in the NARC. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 8 September 2003)

* Lesotho. Queen Mother dies — Mamohato Bereng Seeiso, the queen mother of the tiny mountain kingdom of Lesotho, died after collapsing in a church outside the capital. She was 62. No cause of death was immediately released, but she had reportedly complained of fatigue shortly before she died on 7 September. The mother of King Letsie III collapsed at the Roman Catholic Church in Mantsoenyane, outside Maseru, and later died at a nearby hospital, a member of the Basotho royal family announced, the South African Press Association reported. Lesotho has 2.1 million people and its borders are encompassed by South Africa. South African President Thabo Mbeki conveyed his country’s condolences. «Our thoughts and prayers are with your majesty and your family, as well as the government and people of the Kingdom of Lesotho during this time of mourning,» said Mbeki in a statement. Queen Mamohato is survived by her two sons, King Letsie III and Prince Bereng Seeiso Seeiso and by two grandchildren. No immediate funeral plans were given. (CNN, USA, 8 September 2003)