* Mauritania. Torture alleged after coup attempt — The mothers, daughters and sisters of 129 soldiers detained in connection with a failed June coup accused two army officers Sunday of torturing the accused men. Hundreds of the soldiers’ female relatives staged a sit-in on 13 September outside the courthouse in the capital, Nouakchott, demanding to see the detainees. In a statement on 14 September, the women said the soldiers were tortured by two lieutenant colonels before being taken to prison in the northwest African country. They described the treatment as a «serious violation of human rights» and demanded the officers be brought to justice. The government has denied allegations of torture. The 129 soldiers are charged with «high treason, assassinations, sabotage and plotting against the constitutional order.» (CNN, USA, 15 September 2003)

* Niger. Journaliste incarcéré — Le directeur de publication de l’hebdomadaire L’Enquêteur, Ibrahim Soulay, a été interpellé, retenu 48 heures dans les locaux de la police judiciaire sans droit de visite, avant d’être transféré le 16 septembre à la prison de Niamey. La première audience du procès a été fixée au 7 octobre. Il lui est reproché d’avoir dénoncé des malversations dans l’attribution de marchés publics. L’hebdomadaire avait publié un article qui accusait le régime d’avoir contribué à l’enrichissement rapide de Djibo Zakou, un homme d’affaires connu au Niger. Il faisait état du mécontentement d’investisseurs originaires de l’est du pays à propos de l’attribution de “marchés juteux” à Djibo Zakou, ressortissant de l’ouest nigérien. (RSF, France, 17 septembre 2003)

* Nigeria. «Hope for a better Nigeria» — At the conclusion of the second plenary meeting of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, held in Owerri, 1-6 September 2003, the Bishops issued a communique in which they gave a summary of their deliberations. Main areas of concern are: Irregularities in the last general elections; lack of objectives in local government reform; the crisis in the Niger Delta; the fuel crisis; the deplorable state of Nigeria’s roads; the abortion issue; continued insecurity in Nigeria; the Sharia controversy. The Bishops called on all Nigerians «to actively cooperate with the grace and blessings of God, by always seeking to know and do what is right for our country and our neighbours». (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 12 September 2003)

* Nigeria. Huge deficit in the state pension fund — 16 September: The authorities have uncovered a huge deficit in the state pension fund, confirming what many unpaid former state workers have feared for years. Retired civil servants have long complained of non-payment of their pensions, with many forced to queue for days to claim what they are owed. According to government calculations, the shortfall in the state pension fund amounts to at least $14.8 billion. The revelation is likely to stir suspicions that some of the money may have been misappropriated. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 16 September 2003)

* Nigeria/Liberia. Taylor exercises influence from Nigeria — From a luxury villa in the coastal Nigerian city of Calabar, Taylor is still trying to run Liberia, staying in close touch with his former colleagues in government and the military, according to Western and Liberian officials. The officials have accused him at news conferences and in interviews of violating stipulations of his asylum agreement: that he not travel, give interviews without the government’s permission, participate in Liberian politics or receive visitors from Liberia. They say Taylor controls the government’s army, keeping in cell phone contact with commanders, and receives ministers. He is also accused of collecting millions of dollars in kickbacks from Liberia’s black market cell phone, fuel and generator businesses. «Charles?» said Cecil Brandy, the minister of agriculture and a Taylor defender. «Oh, he’s still in charge. I’m going to see him next week. What’s wrong with that? We got business to contend with.» But Taylor, who told the nation, «I will be back» as he left on Aug. 11, is meddling so much that Jacques Klein, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan’s special representative for Liberia, said he is keeping track of which Liberian ministers pay Taylor a visit. Klein also accused Taylor of continuing to extract funds from the country. «Taylor is clearly rebuilding his network. He is like a vampire. Until you drive a stake in his heart, he won’t die,» Klein said. «At some point the Nigerian president will have to ask himself if Taylor is behaving himself or not.» (Washington Post, USA, 17 September 2003)

* Rwanda. Kagame prête serment — Le 12 septembre, le président rwandais Paul Kagame a prêté serment dans le stade national Amahoro à Kigali, en présence de neuf chefs d’Etat africains et d’une foule estimée à 50.000 personnes. Des délégués ministériels de 13 pays d’Afrique et d’Europe, ainsi que des dirigeants de nombreuses organisations africaines et internationales ont également fait le déplacement. Paul Kagame, 46 ans, a été élu le 25 août dernier avec 95,05% des voix pour un mandat de 7 ans, au cours de la première élection présidentielle pluraliste de l’histoire du Rwanda et à l’issue de 9 ans de transition politique après le génocide de 1994. (PANA, Sénégal, 12 septembre 2003)

* Rwanda. Kagame sworn in as President — 12 September: Paul Kagame is sworn in as Rwanda’s president for a seven-year term. The ceremony follows last month’s presidential poll in which Mr Kagame, the candidate of the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), scored an overwhelming victory. The presidential elections were the first since the genocide in 1994, in which up to one million Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed. Mr Kagame’s election brings an end to nine years of transitional government, led by the RPF. Heads of state from across Africa arrive in Kigali for the swearing-in, including two of the continent’s political heavyweights, Nigeria’s Olusegun Obasanjo and South Africa’s Thabo Mbeki. Mr Kagame, a Tutsi, won 95% of the vote against two candidates from the majority Hutu ethnic group in the election. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 12 September 2003)

* Rwanda. New prosecutor starts work — 15 September: The new prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal For Rwanda (ICTR), Hassan Bubacar Jallow, begins his four-year mandate today. Justice Jallow, a judge from The Gambia, replaces Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte who had been chief prosecutor for both the Balkans way crimes tribunal and the Rwanda court for fur years. She will now be responsible only for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Mr Jallow (52) brings considerable experience to his new job. he has served as a judge both for the UN-backed war crimes court in Sierra Leone, and for the war crimes tribunal for former Yugoslavia. Mr Jallow also led a UN team looking at how to improve the effectiveness of the tribunals for both Rwanda and former Yugoslavia. (BBC News, UK, 15 September 2003)

* Sierra Leone. Diamond raids — 11 September: Authorities in Sierra Leone are reported to have launched raids on illegal diamond trading offices in the east of the country. United Nations radio in Sierra Leone says police and officials from the ministry of mineral resources seized mining equipment and offices in the town of Kenema. It said several shop owners were taken in for questioning then released. Correspondents say the operation could be extended throughout the eastern region of Sierra Leone where diamond trafficking is rife as the gems cross the border to neighbouring Guinea or Liberia. In an attempt to combat gem smuggling across the border, last month the government of Sierra Leone announced plans to restrict the residency rights and movements of foreign nationals within designated diamond mining areas. It is believed that the measures would affect Lebanese, Guinean, Gambian and Malian diamond dealers, who are often accused of benefiting from the illicit trade. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 11 September 2003)

* Sierra Leone. Former junta commander charged — 17 September: The International War Crimes Court for Sierra Leone is holding a former junta commander, Santigie Kanu. The Court says the commander, known as «Five-Five», has been indicted for crimes against humanity. He was handed over to the International Court in Freetown by local authorities, who had earlier detained him on separate charges of treason. He was a member of a militia group called the «West Side Boys», which acquired a reputation for extreme brutality during the civil war. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 17 September 2003)

* Somalia. Peace talks in jeopardy following announcement of breakthrough — Delegates at the Somali peace talks taking place in Kenya adopted an interim constitution on 15 September in what has been termed «a major breakthrough». However, some political groups have come out against the agreement. According to a statement from the mediators, delegates attending the conference “this [15 September] evening adopted a Transitional Federal Charter”, which will pave the way for the formation of a transitional parliament that would last four years. The statement said its members would be selected by Somali traditional leaders and politicians officially invited to the talks in Kenya by an IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority on Development) Technical Committee that organised the meeting. However, the agreement was rejected by the president of the Transitional National Government (TNG), Abdiqassim Salad Hassan, who, along with a number of faction leaders, had earlier walked out of the talks but returned to Nairobi on 14 September to resume their participation in the discussions. «This is the end of this conference,» Abdiqassim told IRIN. “We arrived here on 15 September in good faith but without being given an opportunity to have our voices heard, we are presented with the so-called adoption of the charter. This is unacceptable and I think whoever is behind this treachery has succeeded in scuttling the peace process. The talks have totally collapsed.» (...) The IGAD-sponsored talks began in October 2002 in the western Kenyan town of Eldoret, but were moved to Nairobi in February this year. The talks have been dogged by wrangles over issues such as the interim charter, the number of participants in the talks and the selection of future parliamentarians. (IRIN, Kenya, 16 September 2003)

* South Africa. Leakey puts wildife at top of tree — On 11 September, The wildlife conservationist Richard Leakey stirred up controversy at the Durban environment congress by saying conservation had to come before the rights of indigenous people. Protected nature areas were too important to be «subjugated» to people complaining of eviction from ancestral lands in the name of biodiversity, said Dr Leakey. Indigenous people deserved compensation but to let them manage the parks where they once lived risked unravelling environmental and economic gains, he said. Indigenous groups reacted with anger, saying his views were out of step with efforts to redress historical injustices borne by ethnic groups such as the Twa and San. «Leakey’s taking us back to the colonial era,» said Edward Porokwa, of Tanzania’s Masai. About 2,500 environmentalists are at the congress, run by the IUCN-World Conservation Union. Gonzalo Oviedo, of the WCU, said Dr Leakey’s words were a step backwards in the effort to balance conservation with people’s rights. But Dr Leakey said that though colonisation had been a disaster, «long before people there was nature, long before people there was climate change, long before people there were mass extinctions. Of course [there] should be compensation for losing land, but these parks belong to the world». (The Guardian, UK, 12 September 2003)

* Afrique du Sud. Ecoles coraniques — De nombreuses écoles coraniques ont récemment vu le jour en Afrique du Sud. Ce phénomène répond à la demande d’étudiants étrangers qui ne peuvent plus se rendre dans des pays comme le Pakistan ou l’Inde, en raison des restrictions imposées sur les visas aux personnes désireuses d’étudier la théologie. La plupart des madrassas se trouvent au Cap, où se concentre l’essentiel de la minorité musulmane du pays (600.000 personnes), à Johannesburg et à Durban. (Le Figaro, France, 12 septembre 2003)

* Sudan. Peace talks run into trouble — 11 September: The Sudanese peace talks which have been continuing in Kenya are reported to have run into difficulties over the security arrangements to be put in place during a post-war transitional period. The big issue is whether Sudan should have one army or two. The negotiations between rebel leader John Garang and Sudan’s Vice-President Ali Osman Taha, taking place in Naivasha, Kenya, are seen as critical for the survival of the peace process. 16 September: Rebels in Darfur, western Sudan, accuse the Khartoun government of violating the truce. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 16 September 2003)

* Soudan. Négociations de paix — Le gouvernement soudanais est satisfait des négociations qu’il mène depuis août dernier avec le Mouvement/Armée de libération du peuple soudanais (SPLA/M) dans la ville kényane de Naivasha, a indiqué le 16 septembre à Dakar son ministre des Affaires étrangères. Selon Mustapha Osman Ismaïl, “un accord pourrait même être signé dans les deux jours qui viennent”, rapporte l’agence PANA. “Les questions qui constituent des points d’achoppement sont en train d’être résolues”, a-t-il ajouté. -L’agence AFP signale toutefois que, selon une source proche des pourparlers, les discussions restaient toujours bloquées sur plusieurs questions. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 16 septembre 2003)

* Swaziland. Police break up pro-democracy meetings — Armed police and army patrols in the tiny kingdom of Swaziland stopped events to mark 20 years of opposition to royal rule by the main pro-democracy group, the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) said on 14 September. «Our intention was to hold a peaceful demonstration, but any expression of political dissent is banned by the authorities,» PUDEMO President Mario Masuku told Reuters. The rally was to have been held in the southern provincial capital Nhlangano this weekend, but police in riot gear stopped the crowds from assembling and mounted roadblocks to keep visitors away from the city centre. (CNN, USA, 15 September 2003)

* Tchad. Pétrole: inauguration reportée — La cérémonie officielle marquant le début de l’exploitation du pétrole tchadien a été repoussée à la mi-octobre, pour une question d’agendas des chefs d’Etat invités. Cette cérémonie marquera l’entrée du Tchad dans le cercle restreint des pays producteurs de pétrole. Le pompage du brut tchadien a débuté à la mi-juillet. La production des trois champs pétroliers du gisement de Doba atteindra des pics de 225.000 barils/jour. (La Libre Belgique, 13 septembre 2003)

* Uganda. Uganda’s push for GM — President George W Bush has said Africa is losing out by not adopting GM, as his government battles with Europe over the sale of genetically modified products there. Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has also made clear that he is convinced of the logic for GM food. Already, steps are underway to put a law in place. But can GM solve the problems the country’s farmers face? In Uganda, there isn’t even a word for gene in the local language, laughs Dr Charles Mugoya of the National Council for Science and Technology. Millions of Ugandans might have a very poor understanding of what genetically modified foods are, but —in one form or another — it looks like GM foods are coming their way. Last month, a national committee presented a draft policy on biotechnology and bio safety to government. This was the first stage of creating a law to govern the introduction, application and commercialisation of GM products in Uganda. (BBC News, UK, 11 September 2003)

* Zimbabwe. Fermeture du Daily News — La police du Zimbabwe a fermé le “Daily News”, le seul quotidien indépendant du pays, souvent très critique à l’égard du président Robert Mugabe. Le 12 septembre au soir, une vingtaine de policiers ont fait irruption dans les rédactions et ont ordonné au personnel de quitter les bureaux. Le directeur a été convoqué au poste central de police d’Harare et trois autres dirigeants ont été emmenés par les policiers. La Cour suprême a déclaré illégale la publication du journal. Selon l’exécutif, ni la société éditrice, ni les journalistes du quotidien n’ont été accrédités par la Commission gouvernementale des moyens de communication, autorité qui habilite ses inscrits à mener une activité de presse. Le Daily News a toujours qualifié d’inconstitutionnelles les nouvelles normes restrictives sur la presse. (Misna, Italie, 13 septembre 2003)

* Zimbabwe. Treason trial postponed — The treason trial of Zimbabwe’s key opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, has been postponed for six weeks, his lawyer said. Tsvangirai is accused of plotting the assassination of longtime ruler President Robert Mugabe. He denies the treason charge, which carries a possible death sentence in Zimbabwe. He was charged with treason last year, just two weeks before his unsuccessful presidential campaign against Mugabe. Tsvangirai lost the March 2003 election by a narrow margin, but independent observers said the outcome was affected by political violence and vote-rigging. He was jointly charged with treason along with Welshman Ncube, his party’s third-ranking official, and Renson Gasela, a senior party member. Ncube and Gasela were acquitted in July for lack of evidence. Tsvangirai’s trial, the longest in Zimbabwe’s legal history, began in February. It had been scheduled to resume on 15 September after a month-long recess. His lawyer, Innocent Chagonda, said the hearing was postponed until October 27, The Associated Press reported. (Editor’s update: On 16 September, police arrested more than 100 opposition supporters in central trying to hold a rally against President Mugabe. The rally was organised by the National Constitutional Assembly). (CNN, USA, 15 September 2003)

* Zimbabwe. Mugabe indésirable au Commonwealth — Le président du Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, ne sera pas autorisé à participer au sommet du Commonwealth prévu à Abuja, au Nigeria, en décembre prochain, en raison de la persistance de violations des droits de l’homme dans son pays. Celui-ci a été temporairement exclu du Commonwealth, un groupe de 54 pays principalement issus de l’ancien empire colonial britannique, en mars de l’année dernière. Robert Mugabe est accusé d’avoir procédé à des fraudes électorales lors du scrutin présidentiel de 2002 et de se livrer à des violations des droits de l’homme. (Le Figaro, France, 16 septembre 2003)

* Zimbabwe. Commonwealth threatened by split — On 16 September, South Africa and Australia clashed over barring Zimbabwe’s president, Robert Mugabe, from a Commonwealth summit. The row threatens to split the group along racial lines. Australia’s prime minister, John Howard, angered Pretoria by announcing that Mr Mugabe would not be invited to the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Nigeria in December because Zimbabwe’s record on human rights had not improved. In a thinly veiled appeal for solidarity among African members, South Africa accused Mr Howard of megaphone diplomacy and called on the Commonwealth to reverse the ban. The row flared as Zimbabwe intensified a crackdown on the Daily News, the country’s only independent daily newspaper and one of the regime’s strongest critics. Police raided the newspaper’s office in Harare and seized equipment, despite apparently having no warrant to do so. Zimbabwe was suspended from the Commonwealth’s decision-making councils after the government rigged the presidential election in March last year which Mr Mugabe won. South Africa wants the 18-month-old suspension lifted in time for December’s summit in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, arguing that the isolation has failed to solve Zimbabwe’s economic and political problems. Mr Howard seemed to surprise the South African government when he said that Don McKinnon, the Commonwealth’s secretary general, and Nigeria’s president, Olusegun Obasanjo, had assured him that Mr Mugabe would be barred. He described the lack of progress in Zimbabwe as a «veritable tragedy», and said: «Its people are starving. Their choice of government has been denied to them. Their economy is in ruins. In these circumstances it would be a travesty if Zimbabwe were to be represented at the Abuja meeting. I welcome the decision that has been taken by Nigeria not to extend an invitation to President Mugabe.» (The Guardian, UK, 17 September 2003)

* Zimbabwe. L’Inde donne du riz — Le 16 septembre, l’Inde a fait don de 50.000 tonnes de riz au Zimbabwe pour aider à nourrir des millions de personnes confrontées à la famine dans ce pays. Le Zimbabwe a demandé aux donateurs internationaux une aide alimentaire de 700.000 tonnes de vivres. Les autorités zimbabwéennes ont fait savoir que l’aide alimentaire indienne serait distribuée aux communautés les plus nécessiteuses dans les régions reculées du pays. (PANA, Sénégal, 17 septembre 2003)

* Zimbabwe. New «currency» launched — 17 September: Zimbabwe has launched a new currency — the bearer cheque — in an attempt to ease the country’s severe economic crisis. The central bank says the cheques are only a temporary measure and will not replace the Zimbabwean dollar. There have been massive money shortages but the government has resisted calls for larger denomination banknotes. The cheque is seen by some as a way of avoiding higher denominations. The bearer cheque will be valid as legal tender until 31 January and will be dispensed from cash machines. The notes can be used to buy goods and services just like banknotes. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 17 September 2003)