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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 02-04-1998      PART #1/  

* Afrique/USA. Voyage du president Clinton  -  26-29 mars. 3e etape
du voyage: Afrique du Sud þ 26 mars. Devant le Parlement reuni, le
president americain affirme que les Etats-Unis veulent une Afrique
du Sud forte, et propose un partenariat veritable, entre egaux,
surtout en matiere de commerce et d'investissements. 27 mars. Lors
d'une visite a Robben Island, l'ancienne prison de Nelson Mandela,
celui-ci reaffirme sa fidelite aux pays qui ont combattu
l'apartheid et, tout en se felicitant du regain d'interet des
Etats-Unis pour l'Afrique, il critique certains aspects de la
politique etrangere americaine. 28 mars. A Johannesburg, devant des
hommes d'affaires, M. Clinton propose d'annuler les dettes a tres
bas taux d'interet de certains pays africains envers les Etats-
Unis, a hauteur de 1,6 milliard de dollars. Il promet aussi 650
millions d'investissements pour les pays qui joueront a fond la
carte du liberalisme economique. 29 mars. Le president Clinton et
son epouse visitent Soweto, avant de s'envoler pour le Botswana. --
Botswana þ 30-31 mars. Apres un safari en brousse, M. Clinton est
present a la ceremonie pendant laquelle le president Masire remet
le pouvoir a son vice-president, Festus Mogae. --Senegal -- 1-2
avril. Visite de la base militaire de Thies, ou des instructeurs
americains forment des soldats senegalais aux operations de
maintien de la paix.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 2 avril 1998)

* Algerie/Soudan. Securite  -  Le Soudan et l'Algerie ont decide de
cooperer en matiere de securite, a la suite d'accusations
algeriennes selon lesquelles Khartoum soutient les islamistes armes
en Algerie, rapporte le 20 mars le quotidien arabe Al-Hayat. Selon
le journal, une delegation de la securite algerienne se rendra
prochainement au Soudan, porteuse de preuves a l'appui des
accusations algeriennes contre Khartoum.   (Marches Tropicaux,
France, 27 mars 1998)

* Algerie. Semaine meurtriere  -  Alors que les violences
semblaient marquer le pas, 72 personnes ont ete tuees, les 26 et 27
mars, notamment au cours de deux massacres dans le sud et l'ouest
de l'Algerie. 51 personnes (dont 27 enfants) ont ete tuees a Oued
Bouaicha, dans la region de Djelfa, et 11 dans la commune de Youb,
dans la region de Saida. En outre, 10 autres personnes (9
islamistes et 1 membre des forces de securite) ont ete tuees au
cours de trois accrochages, faisant du bilan de ce week-end le plus
lourd depuis les tueries du ramadan en janvier. Le 29 mars, la
presse rapportait que les forces de securite avaient tue 70
islamistes au cours d'operations de represailles et qu'ils en
assiegaient une centaine d'autres dans la province de Relizane.
Tous ces massacres surviennent au moment ou la tension sociale est
a son comble, obligeant le gouvernement a faire des concessions
limitees aux syndicats.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 30 mars
1998)

* Algeria. FIS seeking to close ranks  -  30 March: Exiled
officials of Algeria's outlawed Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) name
some members of its new leadership body which is trying to unite
the once powerful movement. The party has been riven by rivalry and
disputes over policy, including whether to maintain a cease-fire by
its armed wing in Algeria. In a statement signed by its chief,
Ahmed Zaoui, the FIS's Coordination Council Abroad set five policy
goals for the new leadership. The Council said it aimed to "regroup
members and sympathizers of the FIS" and "bring support for the
popular resistance...which is working to achieve justice and
peace".   (InfoBeat, USA, 30 March 1998)

* Algeria. The problem -- terrorism or human rights?  -  30 March:
Algerian security forces have killed more than 100 armed rebels in
a week-long offensive in western Algeria, a newspaper close to the
government says. The military operation, in the Ouarsenis mountain
in the western province of Relizane, 270km from Algiers and site of
some of the worse massacres of civilians earlier this year, began
on 24 March, according to the French-language daily L'Authentique.
The latest offensive follows some of the most brutal attacks
against civilians since a series of massacres in January left more
than 1,000 people dead. According to security forces, armed groups
slaughtered 20 adults and 27 children on the night of 26 March in
the region of Djelfa, 250km south of Algiers. Women and children
were reported to have been hacked to death with knives and axes.
Houses were burned and four women abducted, newspapers said. The
latest killings came as France's employers federation wrapped up a
three-day visit to Algiers in which it promised to step up
investment in the former French colony. 1 April: Human rights
organisations are urging western governments to push for the
appointment of a UN rapporteur on Algeria at the UN Human Rights
Commission. However, the Algerian government says the problem is
terrorism by Islamist extremists, not human rights.   (Financial
Times, U.K., 31 March & 2 April 1998

* Algerie. Rapporteurs speciaux  -  Le 31 mars, Mary Robinson, le
haut commissaire de l'Onu aux droits de l'homme, s'est declaree
favorable a une resolution de la "Commission des droits de l'homme"
reunie a Geneve, pour pousser l'Algerie a accepter la visite de
rapporteurs speciaux des droits de l'homme. Les Etats-Unis avaient
declare, la semaine derniere, qu'ils envisageaient de presenter une
telle resolution a Geneve. Le 30 mars, le gouvernement algerien
avait reaffirme son opposition a une telle visite, estimant que le
probleme de l'Algerie etait le terrorisme et non les droits de
l'homme. Toutefois, deux jours apres, Alger a paru assouplir sa
position en acceptant une visite du rapporteur de l'Onu sur
l'intolerance religieuse.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 2 avril
1998)

* Angola. Bases de l'Unita  -  Selon un transfuge haut place de
l'Unita, le colonel Benguela, l'Unita a toujours garde intacts ses
equipements et son artillerie. Il a aussi revele que l'Unita
possede une structure militarisee a travers tout le pays, a declare
le bulletin Angolan Peace Monitor le 27 mars. Selon le meme
bulletin, la Zambie a depeche 500 soldats sur sa frontiere avec
l'Angola pour effectuer une mission conjointe avec l'armee
angolaise dans la recherche des bases de l'Unita.   (IRIN, Nairobi,
1 avril 1998)

* Botswana. Autoroute trans-Kalahari  -  Les autorites du Botswana
ont inaugure officiellement, le 20 mars, l'autoroute du trans-
Kalahari, qui complete la premiere liaison directe du continent
entre l'ocean Indien et l'Atlantique. Ce troncon de 600 km reliera
le Botswana et la Namibie, separes jusque la par l'immense desert
du Kalahari. L'autoroute, dont la contruction a ete decidee en
1993, conclut la liaison entre Walvis Bay, port de l'Atlantique, et
Maputo, la capitale mozambicaine sur l'ocean Indien, et permettra
de developper le commerce dans la region.   (Marches Tropicaux,
France, 27 mars 1998)

* Botswana. Veteran leader steps down  -  31 March: Sir Ketumile
Masire steps down after 18 years as president of Botswana, as US
President Bill Clinton pays tribute to his role in building
Africa's strongest economy. His retirement coincides with the US
president's departure from Botswana, where he has spent three days,
for Senegal. 1 April: Festus Mogae, Botswana's vice-president, is
sworn in as head of state. He uses his inaugural speech to promote
the country's "phenomenal development" but also warns against
complacency after 18 stable years under his predecessor.   (ANB-
BIA, Brussels, 2 April 1998)

* Botswana. Nouveau president  -  M. Festus Mogae, 58 ans, a prete
serment comme nouveau president du Botswana, le 1 avril. La veille,
M. Ketumile Masire, president durant 18 ans, lui avait transmis les
pouvoirs en presence du president americain. M. Festus Mogae,
precedemment ministre des Finances et vice-president, occupera la
charge de chef de l'Etat au moins jusqu'aux elections de l'annee
prochaine. L'opposition demande que le president consacre une plus
grande partie des entrees diamantaires a la lutte contre le
chomage.   (De Standaard, Belgique, 2 avril 1998)

* Burundi. Activites rebelles  -  Les gouverneurs de province, qui
se sont reunis la semaine derniere avec le president Buyoya, ont
souligne qu'en depit de l'amelioration de la situation, les
activites rebelles restent fortement persistantes dans les
provinces de l'ouest et du sud du pays, a rapporte la radio
burundaise. Des infiltrations se produiraient depuis la Tanzanie et
la RDC. Le gouverneur de Bujumbura a particulierement souligne le
fait que des groupes rebelles avaient essaye de faire de la region
autour de la capitale leur place forte. - D'autre part, le 29 mars
des temoins ont declare qu'en trois semaines pres de 17.000
Burundais ont fui la region au nord-est de Bujumbura a cause de
l'intensification des combats entre rebelles et armee.   (ANB-BIA,
de sources diverses, 26-30 mars 1998)

* Burundi. Atteinte a la presse  -  Un magazine proche de
l'opposition hutue du Frodebu, l'Aube de la democratie, a ete saisi
la semaine derniere par des agents de la documentation generale
(services de renseignement). Pour avoir declare cette saisie
illegale, par la voix du president du Conseil de la communication,
une agence independante d'information, Netpress, a ete fermee. Le
Frodebu a ete ecarte du pouvoir, en juillet 1996, par un coup
d'Etat du major Buyoya.   (Liberation, France, 31 mars 1998)

* Burundi. Fresh fighting  -  A fresh wave of fighting in Burundi's
civil war, has forced some 15,000 peasants to flee their homes
north of Bujumbura, said provincial governor Stanislas Ntahobari.
He said the fighting pitting the Tutsi-led army against ethnic Hutu
rebels, had displaced civilians from the Kibuye and Rushubi zones
of Isale commune, and they were grouped in about eleven sites
throughout the area.   (InfoBeat, USA, 2 April 1998)

* Centrafrique. Casques bleus  -  Pour la premiere fois depuis cinq
ans, le Conseil de securite de l'Onu a adopte a l'unanimite, le 27
mars, une resolution creant une force de 1.350 hommes pour la
Republique centrafricaine. Traumatise sans doute par la debacle
somalienne et l'operation militaire au Rwanda, le Conseil avait
notamment refuse le deploiement d'une force pour le Congo-
Brazzaville. La Mission des N.U. en Centrafrique (Minurca)
succedera a l'actuelle mission interafricaine (MISAB) au moment ou
les Francais poursuivent leur evacuation. La force de l'Onu
comprendra des soldats des six Etats africains qui participent
actuellement a la MISAB. Elle est autorisee pour une periode
initiale de 3 mois, avec un mandat limite. La France gardera 200
soldats pour fournir une aide logistique.   (ANB-BIA, de sources
diverses, 29 mars 1998)

* Congo (RDC). L'avant-projet de Constitution  -  L'avant-projet de
Constitution en elaboration continue de susciter des reactions en
RDC, au fur et a mesure qu'il livre ses secrets. Pour l'instant, le
debat le plus brulant s'est deplace de la question de la
nationalite a la forme de l'Etat, de decoupage territorial et la
denomination de certaines villes. Une des reactions les plus
virulentes vient des originaires de la province du Katanga, qui
rejettent d'avance l'unitarisme, et meme le centralisme etatique
preconise par la commission constitutionnelle.   (La Reference
plus, Kinshasa, 16 mars 1998)

* Congo (RDC). Soldat de 13 ans condamne a mort  -  La cour
militaire de Kinshasa a condamne a mort, le 29 mars, un soldat de
treize ans, qui avait tue le meme jour un collaborateur de la Croix
Rouge a un match de football. Le ministere public n'avait cependant
demande qu'un emprisonnement a vie, invoquant des circonstances
attenuantes et l'age du coupable. Il avait egalement signale la
grande responsabilite des officiers "qui n'arrivent pas a tenir en
main les jeunes recrues". Les autorites congolaises ont commence la
demobilisation de nombreux enfants-soldats qui avaient ete recrutes
par l'armee rebelle qui a renverse Mobutu.   (De Standaard,
Belgique, 30 mars 1998)

* Congo (RDC). Boy soldier condemned to death  -  A 13-year-old
Congo boy soldier who shot and killed a local Red Cross volunteer
in Kinshasa on 28 March after a dispute on a soccer pitch, was
speedily condemned to death by a military tribunal. Military
officers in the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
went beyond prosecution recommendations for life imprisonment and
imposed the death penalty on the boy, named Malumu, after a public
hearing held under mango trees. The prosecution said the lack of
control of boy soldiers with guns was as much the fault of their
older commanders and constituted extenuating circumstances.  
(InfoBeat, USA, 30 March 1998)

* Congo (RDC). Massacre probe endangered  -  On 31 March, UN Human
Rights chief, Mary Robinson, accused officials in Congo RDC, of
constant obstruction of the probe into alleged massacres of Rwandan
Hutus. Mary Robinson said the team was now facing problems in Goma,
days after being forced to leave the northern town of Mbandaka. The
UN probe's mandate ends in May.   (InfoBeat, USA, 31 March 1998)

* Congo (RDC). Draft Constitution presented to Kabila  -  On 30
March, a constitutional committee handed President Kabila a draft
document, envisaging a five-year presidency with one chance of re-
election. Committee chairman Anicet Kashamura, said the draft was
close to the US model, with a president with wide powers, a vice-
president and no prime minister, but that it also included
restrictions on who can run for president.   (InfoBeat, USA, 31
March 1998)

* Congo (RDC). Exclusions politiques  -  Pres de 250 personnalites,
dont le chef de file de l'opposition Etienne Tshisekedi, risquent
d'etre exclus de la vie politique en RDC. La liste de noms a ete
presentee le 30 mars au president Kabila, en annexe a l'avant-
projet de Constitution, qui prevoit pourtant un systeme politique
pluraliste. Officiellement, la raison d'etre de cette liste est
d'en finir avec le passe mobutiste, en ecartant les proches de
l'ancien regime. Les personnalites que la commission
constitutionnelle propose d'exclure de toute election sont accusees
d'avoir participe a des assassinats ou d'avoir detourne des biens
publics. Ainsi, Tshisekedi est mis en cause pour l'assassinat de
Patrice Lumumba.   (Liberation, France, 1 avril 1998)

* Congo (RDC). Bilan economique  -  De passage a Bruxelles le 30
mars, le gouverneur de la Banque nationale du Congo, M. Masangu, a
livre un bilan portant sur les dix premiers mois du nouveau regime.
L'inflation a ete stoppee a 14% (elle etait de 657% en 1996). Les
recettes de l'Etat augmentent, mais restent ridiculement basses: le
budget de l'Etat s'eleve a 765 millions de dollars, dans un pays ou
tout est a refaire. Quant a la dette, qui n'a pas servi a financer
le developpement et dont rien n'est reste au benefice du pays, le
Congo devra rembourser deux millions de dollars par mois.
Toutefois, le 1 avril, l'Agence congolaise de presse indiquait que
le gouvernement n'avait pas encore pris de decision definitive sur
le reglement de la dette exterieure et qu'il attendait que les
conditions de remboursement lui soient facilitees.   (ANB-BIA, de
sources diverses, 2 avril 1998)

* Egypte. Criquets  -  L'Egypte a fait face, en janvier et fevrier,
a la plus violente invasion de criquets depuis dix ans et a reussi
a l'eradiquer, a annonce le 19 mars le ministere egyptien de
l'Agriculture. Selon le directeur du departement, quelque 40
milliards de criquets sont apparus dans le sud du pays, ainsi qu'a
l'est, sur le littoral de la Mer Rouge, envahissant pres de 800 kmý
du desert avant d'etre eradiques. S'ils avaient atteint des regions
cultivees, ils auraient detruit 40.000 tonnes de recoltes, a-t-il
ajoute.   (Marches Tropicaux, 27 mars 1998)

* Egypt. Cracking down on the Press  -  On 1 April, the authorities
banned the distribution of 36 newspapers and magazines printed in
tax-free industrial zones, in the latest action against the
country's increasingly outspoken independent media. Newspapers
published in the free zones are subject to censorship both before
and after printing. Only on receipt of a written clearance and
payment of customs duties may each issue be distributed outside the
free zone. Journalists regard the latest action, as an attempt by
political figures opposed to economic liberalisation, to undermine
the media in advance of any liberalisation of Egypt's political
system.   (Financial Times, U.K., 2 April 1998)

* Ethiopie. Proces  -  Les premiers proces de la "terreur rouge"
dans les provinces ethiopiennes se sont ouverts cette semaine
devant la Cour supreme du Harar (a l'est du pays) a l'encontre de
militaires de l'ancien regime du colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam
(1977-1991). Le premier proces national s'est ouvert a Addis-Abeba
en decembre 1994.   (Le Croix, France, 26 mars 1998)

* Kenya. Girls die in boarding school fire  -  On the night of 25-
26 March, twenty-four girls died in a fire that roared through a
boarding school dormitory near Mombasa. One hundred and forty-four
girls board at Bombolulu Girls Secondary School. Superintendent
Peter Kimanthi said an electrical fault had ignited the fire.
Investigators were looking into unconfirmed reports that the
dormitory's doors were locked from the outside.   (The Guardian,
U.K., 27 March 1998)

* Liberia. Taylor reshuffles government  -  On 31 March, President
Taylor reshuffled his government, replacing former warlord
Roosevelt Johnson as Rural Development Minister and naming him
ambassador to India. The President replaced Johnson with retired
General Hezekiah Bowen, who like Johnson is from the Krahn ethnic
group of the 1980 coupmaker and slain president Samuel Doe.  
(InfoBeat, USA, 1 April 1998)

* Madagascar. Locust infestation  -  On 24 March, the FAO said that
Madagascar is facing its worst locust infestation in 40 years. The
country's staple rice crop may be at serious risk. African
migratory locusts now cover wide areas of Madagascar and have
penetrated at least as far as a thousand kilometres on the western
side of the country. The locust infestation is so severe because of
recent heavy rains over recent years brought by cyclones. About 8
million US dollars have been raised so far to help control the
infestation. Five planes and a helicopter are being used for aerial
spraying of pesticides, however there is fear that the spraying
will not eliminate the locusts because they've already started to
spread. An FAO official says the locust problem on Madagascar will
probably continue for another two to three years. He says the
government is taking the problem seriously by putting the military
in charge of the locust control operation.   (VOA, 24 March 1998)

* Madagascar. Victoire presidentielle  -  Les electeurs malgaches
ont adopte par referendum une reforme constitutionnelle qui
renforce fortement les pouvoirs presidentiels de Didier Ratsiraka,
le president en exercice et initiateur de ce nouveau regime
presidentiel. Madagascar prendra la forme d'une republique de type
federal, dotee de six provinces autonomes. La participation au
referendum du 15 mars etait assez elevee (plus de 70%). Le "oui"
l'a emporte de justesse, avec quelques milliers de bulletins
d'avance.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 30 mars 1998)

* Mali. Curbing small arms trade  -  On 1 April, President Alpha
Oumar Konare urged an international drive to curb trade in small
arms, saying they were a bigger threat to many nations than nuclear
weapons. At the start of a two-day conference of about 15 West
African Nations and 20 arms producing countries, he said: "I'd like
to make an appeal to the international community, to wage an
unrelenting battle against this type of arms".   (InfoBeat, USA, 1
April 1998)

* Maroc. Droits de l'homme  -  L'Association marocaine des droits
de l'homme (AMDH) a dresse un bilan sans concession des violations
des droits de l'homme dans son rapport annuel, presente le 26 mars
a Rabat. Cote positif, l'Association observe que personne n'est
decede dans les locaux de la police en 1997 et que les mauvais
traitements y sont en diminution constante. Les contraintes sur la
presse se sont egalement allegees, reconnait le rapport. En
revanche, l'AMDH rappelle que nombre de points noirs subsistent,
notamment l'absence d'informations sur une soixantaine de personnes
disparues entre 1963 et 1995, et l'impunite dont continuent a
beneficier les responsables des disparitions.   (d'apres Le Monde,
France, 28 mars 1998)

* Morocco. Seeking foreign investors  -  Morocco's new government
plans to push harder to attract foreign investment, as a way of
easing social hardship without relaxing spending curbs. The first
government in Morocco to be led by parties in opposition since
independence, took over this month amid high expectations for
change. Morocco's economic reforms have yet to translate into
benefits for the population and the new government's challenge is
to accelerate growth in an economy with urban unemployment of 16%.
The key to the success of Morocco's agreement with the European
Union, which would bring it into a free trade zone with the EU by
2010, is substituting the lost government revenue and public
investment with foreign direct investment.   (Financial Times,
U.K., 31 March 1998

* Mauritanie. Grace  -  Les cinq militants des droits de l'homme,
dont la cour d'appel de Noukchott avait confirme, le 24 mars, la
condamnation a 13 mois de prison ferme, ont ete gracies par le
president Maaouya Ould Taya. Ils etaient notamment accuses de "faux
et publication illegale a l'etranger d'un documentaire sur
l'esclavage en Mauritanie", et de "creation ou appartenance a une
association non autorisee", apres la diffusion par France 3 d'un
reportage sur l'esclavage dans ce pays.   (Le Monde, France, 26
mars 1998)

* Mauritanie. Aide financiere  -  La Mauritanie va recevoir pres de
430 millions de dollars au cours des trois annees a venir (1998-
2001) des bailleurs de fonds internationaux, sous forme de prets a
bas niveau d'interet, a annonce le 26 mars la Banque mondiale. Les
credits mis a la disposition de la Mauritanie sont equivalents a la
moitie de son produit national brut annuel. "La reforme soutenue,
mise en place par la Mauritanie au niveau economique et social,
merite l'appui continu de la communaute internationale", a affirme
le representant de la BM.   (Le Monde, France, 28 mars 1998)

* Mozambique. Untapped tourist paradise  -  A narrow sandy track,
flooded in places to near marsh conditions and winding its way
through thick jungle and vast virgin brushland, is the focus of an
ambitious scheme to revive tourism in Mozambique. The road will
become a main highway, bringing visitors to the pristine southern
tropical beaches of Mozambique, as the governments of the former
Portuguese colony, South Africa and Swaziland try to boost
development and infrastructure in impoverished areas on their
common borders. Peace in Mozambique and the end of minority white
rule in South Africa, acted as spurs to bring the governments
closer, on how best to prompt private tourism and agricultural
investment to alleviate poverty.   (InfoBeat, USA, 30 March 1998)

* Nigeria. "Outraged" ILO  -  On 26 March, the International Labour
Organisation established a commission of inquiry, to investigate
abuses of trade union rights in Nigeria, in a final attempt to
shame the country into changing its labour practices. Nigeria has
repeatedly ignored calls by the ILO's committee on freedom of
association, to release trade unionists, end harassment of trade
unions and respect civil liberties. This week, the committee
expressed "outrage" at Nigeria's refusal to allow a special mission
into the country to investigate trade union rights.   (Financial
Times, U.K., 27 March 1998)

* Nigeria. Lake Chad drying up  -  A major environmental disaster
is looming in the north eastern border of Nigeria -- the drying up
of Lake Chad, the most important source of water for the State of
Borno, located in the arid area of Nigeria. The lake supplies water
for irrigation covering thousands of kilometres of farm land in
Nigeria, and the neighbouring countries of Cameroon, Chad and
Niger. Latest reports from the Lake Chad Research Institute (LCRI),
Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, says the lake has shrunk to
one-quarter of its normal size, posing a serious threat to farming
activities in the lake region. Dr Aminu Kano, an ecologist with the
LCRI says that the lake's water catchment area used to be more than
30,000 sq. kms, some thirty years ago, but by 1995, the area had
shrunk to 8,000 sq. km. He also says that almost all countries
bordering the lake have at least one river dam, thus preventing the
lake from refilling naturally.   (Taye Babaleye, Nigeria, 30 March
1998)

* Rwanda. Violence and its effects  -  25 March: A large group of
suspected Hutu militiamen kill five students and wound seven others
at a school in Gatovu, Nkuli commune. 26 March: Lawyers defending
Jean-Paul Akayesu accused of genocide, urge the Arusha
International tribunal hearing the case, to acquit their client,
saying the prosecution has not proved the charges.   (ANB-BIA,
Brussels, 26 March 1998)

* Rwanda. Clinton says world failed victims  -  25 March. President
Clinton told survivors of Rwanda's 1994 genocide, that the
international community must share the blame for failing to stop
the slaughter of up to one million people. Mr.Clinton told a
carefully vetted audience at the airport in Kigali: "I have come to
pay my respects to all who suffered and all who perished. In
Rwanda, we must hold accountable all those who would abuse human
rights, whether insurgents or soldiers. Mr.Clinton won loud
applause when he spoke of the international community's failure to
stop the genocide. He appealed to the International Criminal
Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, Tanzania, to speed up its
prosecutions of genocide suspects -- some 120,000 are being held. 
 (The Independent, U.K., 26 March 1998)

* Rwanda. Le HCR reduit ses effectifs  -  Le Haut commissariat de
l'Onu aux refugies (HCR) va reduire progressivement ses effectifs
au Rwanda, a declare le 29 mars son delegue general sur place.
"Nous ne nous occuperons plus a terme que des refugies etrangers en
territoire rwandais et du programme de reintegration des rapatries
a Kigali-Sud, dans le Mutara (nord-est), a Byumba (centre-nord) et
a Kibungo (sud-ouest)", a-t-il ajoute.   (La Libre Belgique, 30
mars 1998)

* Rwanda. Religieuses liberees  -  Les deux religieuses espagnoles,
enlevees le 23 mars, ont ete liberees le 28 mars. Les deux soeurs,
en parfaite sante, sont a Goma, en RDC. Sagrario Larralde, une
infirmiere de 62 ans, et Rosa Munoz, un medecin de 33 ans, avaient
ete enlevees, vraisemblablement par un groupe de rebelles hutu, a
Kivumu, pres de la frontiere avec l'ex-Zaire, en meme temps que
cinq religieuses rwandaises, liberees le 24 mars. Les ravisseurs
souhaitaient probablement obliger les soeurs a soigner des blesses. 
 (Le Soir, Belgique, 30 mars 1998)

* Rwanda. Kidnapped nuns released unharmed  -  Two Spanish nuns
have been released unharmed after being kidnapped and held for one
week by Hutu militiamen in Rwanda, the Spanish foreign ministry
confirmed on 29 March. Sagrario Larralde, 62, and Rosa Munoz, 33,
were in good health at the Carmelite mission in Goma, Congo RDC,
and were resting after being forced to walk 50 miles through the
jungle by their captors. The two worked at La Sante hospital in the
Rwandan town of Kivumu and were apparently kidnapped on 23 March by
Hutu militiamen to care for their sick and wounded.   (InfoBeat,
USA, 30 March 1998)

* Rwanda. Massacres et enlevements  -  Au moins 17 Tutsi ont ete
massacres le 23 mars dans le nord-ouest du Rwanda, selon l'Agence
rwandaise d'information. La BBC a cependant rapporte qu'une
quarantaine de personnes avaient ete tuees. Le massacre a eu lieu
dans la commune de Kanama, pres de la ville de Gisenyi. Beaucoup
d'autres ont ete blesses par le groupe rebelle, compose d'une
centaine de personnes, qui a attaque le village. - Le 25 mars, une
attaque contre l'ecole de Gatovu, en commune de Nkuli, a fait 5
morts et 7 blesses graves parmi les eleves, ages de 14 a 18 ans:
ceux qui refusaient de suivre les miliciens ont ete tues ou
blesses. Trois professeurs d'une ecole secondaire a Ruhengeri ont
ete enleves par des miliciens qui ont attaque l'ecole de Kirambo.
Amnesty International a proteste contre le nombre eleve de
disparitions, mettant en cause l'armee et les groupes armes
d'opposition. - Le 29 mars, 20 miliciens hutus ont ete tues et une
cinquantaine blesses, lors d'un raid de la rebellion contre un camp
de refugies a Kinigi, en prefecture de Ruhengeri (nord), selon des
sources prefectorales. Les assaillants ont libere 29 prisonniers. 
 (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 31 mars 1998)

* Senegal. Depart d'Abdoulaye Wade  -  A quarante jours de
l'ouverture de la campagne electorale des legislatives du 24 mai,
la scene politique senegalaise s'anime et s'agite. L'histoire
s'accelere avec le depart du gouvernement de M. Abdoulaye Wade, le
20 mars. Le responsable du Parti democratique senegalais a quitte
le gouvernement de majorite elargie, dont il etait membre depuis
1993 (avec une eclipse de quelques semaines en 1995) et qu'il n'a
cesse de critiquer.   (Marches Tropicaux, France, 27 mars 1998)

* Senegal. Clinton meets President Diouf  -  On 1 April, President
Clinton met Senegal's President Abdou Diouf. At the same time, the
country's main opposition leader said he would protest against
Diouf's policies by not attending a reception for Clinton. Clinton,
on a two-day visit, entered the presidential palace for his meeting
with Diouf, after being greeted by thousands of Senegalese who
lined the motorcade route.   (InfoBeat, USA, 1 April 1998)

* Sierra Leone. Executions  -  Selon les temoignages de
journalistes, dix-huit jeunes gens, qui refusaient d'etre enroles
dans les troupes de l'ancienne junte militaire en deroute, ont ete
executes a Kayima, a l'extreme est du pays. - D'autre part, on
signale qu'il y a toujours plus de 350.000 Sierra-leonais en exil
et, selon le HCR, 26.000 nouveaux refugies ont ete enregistres au
Liberia et 50.000 en Guinee.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 1
avril 1998)

* Sierra Leone. Assistance in the heart of the country  -  On 23
March, an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)-charted
aircraft, flew a team of delegates from Freetown to Kenema, where
they delivered 700 kg of medicines, which had arrived by truck the
previous day, to two clinics run by the Sierra Leone Red Cross
Society, and to the town's main hospital which had been supported
by the ICRC since early 1997. The ICRC has now been able to assess
the medical needs, food situation and clean water supply of
Kenema's residents, displaced people and Liberian refugees, as well
as to some 6,500 people in various public institutions such as
hospitals and orphanages.   (IRIN, Nairobi, 26 March 1998)

* Somalie. La paix dans l'impasse  -  Le processus de paix en
Somalie est dans l'impasse, trois mois apres la signature des
accords du Caire, sur fond de rivalite entre l'Egypte et l'Ethiopie
qui, a travers un reglement du conflit, tentent de s'assurer du
controle de la region. Le Caire et Addis Abeba rivalisent
d'initiatives contradictoires pour tenter de resoudre la guerre
civile somalienne, en accueillant separement des conferences de
reconciliation et en favorisant les chefs de clans qui leur sont
favorables. Pour leur part, les chefs de guerre somaliens se
rejettent la responsabilite de la poursuite du conflit. Les
observateurs ne cachent pas leur pessimisme quant au resultat de la
conference de reconciliation nationale qui doit en principe se
tenir le 31 mars a Baidoa.   (Marches Tropicaux, France, 27 mars
1998)

* Somalie. Combats mortels  -  Au moins 33 Somaliens ont ete tues
et plus de 100 blesses, le 30 mars, au cours de violents combats
entre clans Marehan et Majerteen dans la ville portuaire de Kismayo
(sud-est). La plupart des morts sont des miliciens, les autres des
civils. Les combats se sont arretes, a l'exception du port ou la
tension demeure importante. Les deux camps revendiquent la
victoire, mais la ville est restee aux mains des Majerteen. Les
deux clans appartiennent a la confederation tribale des Darod, mais
sont politiquement opposes.   (Le Soir, Belgique, 31 mars 1998)

* Afrique du Sud. Commission d'enquete  -  Nelson Mandela a cree,
le 27 mars, une commission d'enquete sur un rapport interne
concernant "des activites organisees au sein de l'armee sud-
africaine dans le but de renverser le gouvernement", a indique un
communique officiel de la presidence. Aucun commentaire n'a pu etre
obtenu sur les motifs precis de la creation de cette commission.
Selon des rumeurs persistantes, des hauts responsables de la
police, de l'armee ou des services de renseignements complotaient
pour destabiliser le gouvernement de Mandela.   (Liberation,
France, 28 mars 1998)

* South Africa. Highlights of Clinton's visit  -  26 March:
President Clinton commits the United States to a partnership with
South Africa in pursuit of the dream of an African renaissance. He
tells a joint sitting of parliament in Cape Town that the US needs
and is determined to build, a strong South Africa. 27 March.
President Mandela shows President Clinton the tiny prison cell on
Robben Island, in which for 18 years he nurtured the dream of a
free South Africa. After emerging from the cell, measuring 7ft by
7ft, Mr.Clinton said: "My first thought was to thank God this
person who occupied the cell was able to live all those years in
that way without having his heart turned to stone and without
giving up on his dream for South Africa". The prison was closed in
1996, two years after Mr. Mandela became president, and is now a
museum. The same day, Nelson Mandela attacks Bill Clinton's African
trade policies, and vigorously defended his friendships with the
leaders of Cuba, Iran and Libya. Mandela tells a news conference in
Cape Town, that South Africa has "serious reservations" about the
proposed Africa Growth and Opportunity Act now before the US
Congress. "To us, it is not acceptable", he says. 28-29 March: At
the weekend, President Clinton tells US and South African business
executives in Johannesburg, that he will convene a Washington
summit of the leaders of Africa's "reforming economies" and that
this will be followed up by regular meetings of finance and
economics ministers. He also announces further measures to increase
US investment and aid for Africa.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 30 March
1998)

* Afrique du Sud. Xenophobie  -  A l'occasion de la visite de M.
Clinton en Afrique du Sud, l'organisation americaine Human Rights
Watch a publie son rapport sur les violations des droits de l'homme
dans ce pays. Tout en soulignant les progres remarquables qu'a fait
l'Afrique du Sud depuis 1994, le rapport remarque que "les
etrangers ne beneficient pas, pour l'essentiel, de ces
developpements et restent l'objet d'abus serieux. Les sentiments
anti-etrangers se sont accrus de maniere alarmante. Des
politiciens, la presse et le public sud-africains accusent
communement les etrangers d'exacerber les problemes sociaux comme
la montee de la criminalite, le chomage ou meme le developpement de
maladies (...) malgre l'absence de preuves". Les principales
victimes de cet etat d'esprit sont les immigrants clandestins,
venus principalement du Mozambique, du Lesotho, du Zimbabwe et du
Swaziland voisins.   (La Libre Belgique, 30 mars 1998)

* South Africa. Botha may not be fit for trial  -  30 March: South
African apartheid-era president, P.W.Botha, due in court on
contempt charges, may not be fit to stand trial, two medical
experts said in sworn statements today. "The Commission was today
given affidavits from two eminent, independent medical experts
questioning the capacity of Mr.Botha to stand trial...in view of
the damage caused by the stroke he suffered in January 1989...",
South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) chairman,
Archbishop Desmond Tutu said. Botha, 82, is due in court on 14
April, to face contempt charges for refusing to appear before the
statutory TRC.   (InfoBeat, USA, 30 March 1998)

* South Africa. Steve Biko left chained for 24 hours  -  30 March:
South African interrogators left black activist Steve Biko chained
and untended by a doctor for 24 hours during torturous questioning,
20 years ago, a former security policeman said today. "If he had
been given immediate medical attention, Mr.Biko might have been
alive today", Gideon Nieuwoudt told an amnesty panel of the
statutory TRC. Nieuwoudt, now 47 and one of five former officers
applying for amnesty for the brain damage-induced death of Biko
while in police custody, said he hit the 30-year-old activist with
a stretch of rubber hose to try and restrain him. 31 March: The
family of Steve Biko say the TRC should not grant amnesty to five
former security officers for their role in his death.   (InfoBeat,
USA, 30 March & 1 April 1998)

* South Africa. Mandela suspects complex coup plot  -  29 March:
President Mandela is quoted as saying he has ordered a judicial
probe into an alleged coup in an effort to unravel a complex
conspiracy to destabilize his democracy. 1 April: The President
meets with members of the judicial team. A spokesman for the
President says that elements of the report of a coup might be true
and would be investigated further but the overall premise of the
report --that top ANC officials in the military and government are
involved in a plot to destabilise the government -- are wrong.  
(ANB-BIA, Brussels, 2 April 1998)

* Soudan. Conseil de coordination a Juba  -  L'organe interimaire,
cree par Khartoum afin de gerer le Sud-Soudan pour les quatre
annees a venir, va installer son siege a Juba, selon l'AFP. Un
representant du "South Sudan Coordination Council" a declare que
l'organisme allait commencer a operer a partir de Juba, afin de
superviser la periode de transition qui doit mener au referendum
sur l'avenir du Sud-Soudan.   (IRIN, Nairobi, 26 mars 1998)

* Soudan. Projet de Constitution  -  Le 28 mars, le Parlement
soudanais a approuve le projet de la nouvelle Constitution. Les 298
membres presents ont vote en faveur du projet; les 102 autres
deputes avaient deserte les lieux. Le projet prevoit notamment
l'interdiction de constituer des partis politiques et reaffirme la
suprematie de la loi islamique. Les groupes politiques et
militaires lies a l'opposition ont rejete le projet. La nouvelle
Constitution devrait etre soumise a un referendum national, avant
d'etre formellement approuvee par le president Omar el-Bechir.  
(Misna, Italie, 30 mars 1998)

* Tanzanie. Droits de l'homme a Zanzibar  -  Le 27 mars, le
ministre d'Etat britannique, T. Lloyd, a exhorte le gouvernement
tanzanien a faire pression sur les autorites de Zanzibar afin
d'ameliorer leur bilan de droits civiques. A l'issue d'une visite
officielle de quatre jours, M. Lloyd a declare que le gouvernement
tanzanien etait responsable de ces violations des droits de
l'homme. D'autre part, le meme jour, en signe de desaccord avec
l'actuelle impasse politique, la Norvege a annonce le gel de la
future aide au developpement en faveur de Zanzibar, jusqu'a ce que
le gouvernement tanzanien resolve la crise sur l'ile.   (IRIN,
Nairobi, 28 mars 1998)

* Tanzanie. Tribunal international  -  La Tanzanie s'est declaree
peu disposee a garder sur son territoire les Rwandais reconnus
coupables de crimes de guerre par le Tribunal penal international
pour le Rwanda a Arusha. Le ministre adjoint des Affaires
etrangeres, Sigela Nswima, a fait savoir le 30 mars au journal
tanzanien Guardian que la situation de securite a Arusha etait trop
tendue pour que le gouvernement prenne la responsabilite
d'emprisonner les personnes condamnees pour genocide.   (IRIN,
Nairobi, 1 avril 1998)

* Tchad. Nouvelle prise d'otages  -  Une nouvelle prise d'otages
europeens a eu lieu le 22 mars dans le Tibesti, au nord du pays,
revendiquee par le Front national du Tchad renove (FNTR). Elle
concernait 8 touristes europeens (6 Francais et 2 Italiens). Sept
d'entre eux ont ete liberes le lendemain par les forces de
securite, un Francais etant toujours aux mains du FNTR. -- D'autre
part, dans le sud, le gouvernement est en butte aux vives critiques
des organisations de defense des droits de l'homme pour la maniere
dont il gere la repression contre les FARF, elles-memes accusees
d'exactions. Un collectif tchadien a appele la population a
observer deux journees nationales de deuil, les 27 et 28 mars, pour
protester contre les tueries de civils, les arrestations
arbitraires et les attaques et pillages des villages.   (Marches
Tropicaux, France, 27 mars 1998)

* Togo. Presidential elections  -  Togo will hold the first round
of its presidential election on 7 June, with President Gnassingbe
Eyadema widely expected to stand. The second round, if necessary,
will be held on 21 June. Eyadema, who has the right to one more
five-year term under the Constitution, has not yet said officially
he will stand, but his ruling Rally of the Togolese People (RPT)
has held numerous rallies of support over recent months.  
(InfoBeat, USA, 26 March 1998)

* Uganda. Clinton's visit  -  24 March. President Clinton met the
crown prince of the "new generation" of African leaders. Second
only to President Mandela to an admiring West, President Museveni
of Uganda, who took power by force in 1986, likes to think of
himself as the Bismarck of Africa. He hopes Mr.Clinton's Africa
tour will make the international community take Uganda, showing one
of the highest rates of growth in Africa, more seriously.
Mr.Museveni is a darling of the World Bank and IMF. He brought
peace and economic growth to Uganda, left in ruins by the excesses
of former presidents Idi Amin and Milton Obote. But he has taken
fewer steps towards democracy than Mr.Rawlings of Ghana. Uganda
espouses a "no-party democracy": there are opposition parties and
a free press but they cannot contest elections. Mr.Museveni says
Uganda would degenerate into tribal conflict in a multi-party
system. After the violence of previous regimes and the return of
stability, the international community seems prepared to buy
Mr.Museveni's case. Uganda's opposition newspapers accused
Mr.Clinton of backing the authoritarian regime.   (The Independent,
U.K., 25 March 1998)

* Uganda. Pepsi versus Coke  -  There is a war going on in Uganda,
one that has been fought out in many corners of the globe, pitting
two powerful groups against each other. Welcome to Coke versus
Pepsi, African style. President Clinton's entourage noticed the
battle raging during his visit to Kampala and its environs. Bill
Daley, Clinton's Secretary of Commerce, said he attended a ground-
breaking event for a $23 million Coca-Cola plant in Kampala on 24
March. He went to an event for rival Pepsi-Cola on 25 March, which
has obtained a $23 million loan guarantee to build a bottling
plant. He said Pepsi was expanding and Coke was building a second
plant in Uganda.   (InfoBeat, USA, 26 March 1998)

* Ouganda. Appel du president de l'ADF  -  Le president du groupe
rebelle "Allied Democratic Force" a appele a l'arrestation de tous
"les membres sans foi ni loi au sein de nos rangs, qui ont harcele
et terrorise les civils innocents". Frank Kithasamba a declare dans
un communique que "un mouvement de liberation qui enleve, torture
et tue les gens qu'il est suppose proteger et liberer, n'est en
aucun cas un mouvement de liberation mais une honte". Il a appele
les commandants de l'ADF a relacher immediatement les civils en
captivite.   (IRIN, Nairobi, 30 mars 1998)

* Vatican. Congregation pour l'evangelisation  -  Le P. Marcello
Zago, superieur general des Oblats de Marie-Immaculee depuis 1986,
a ete nomme secretaire de la Congregation pour l'evangelisation des
peuples, en charge de l'activite missionnaire de l'Eglise. De 1983
a 1989, le P. Zago a ete secretaire du Conseil pontifical pour le
dialogue interreligieux.   (La Croix, France, 31 mars 1998)

* Zambia. Political asylum denied  -  On 26 March, the Zambian
government refused to grant political asylum to former Congolese
ambassador to Zambia, Bongo Lega Zongaguza, who is said to be
reluctant to return home after his recall by President Kabila's
government. (See story in Weekly News, 26 March, under Congo RDC). 
 (PANA, Senegal, 26 March 1998)

* Zimbabwe. Tough year for tobacco growers  -  Zimbabwe tobacco
growers are expected to face lower prices when Harare's flue-cured
tobacco auctions start on 31 March. The drop reflects the economic
slowdown in Adia and the impact of the $31bn payout by US tobacco
groups in legal settlements. Zimbabwe tobacco production fell well
short of target in 1996-97 because of heavy rainfall, and the
country is carrying 8m kg more in stocks than it was a year ago.
Tobacco exports are crucial to Zimbabwe's economic stabilisation.
The crop accounts for one-quarter of the country's exports and
could be more important this year because of problems experienced
by exporters of other commodities, such as gold, ferrochrome,
nickel and asbestos. Another problem is the devaluation of the
Zimbabwe dollar from Z$12.6 to the US dollar when sales ended in
October to a low of Z$19 in January. Other uncertainties include
the duration and severity of the Asian setback. Almost one-third of
US tobacco business is with Asia, and the more serious the
slowdown, the greater the knock-on effect will be on leaf exporters
such as Zimbabwe. To cap it all, commercial growers face
uncertainties created by President Robert Mugabe's land
resettlement programme.   (Financial Times, U.K., 31 March 1998)