ANB-BIA - Av. Charles Woeste 184 - 1090 Bruxelles - Belg TEL **.32.2/420 34 36 fax /420 05 49 E-Mail: anb-bia@village.uunet.be _____________________________________________________________ WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 10-02-2000-PART #2/3 (Côte d'ivoire ==> Nigeria) ====> (From Africa to Congo-RDC see 10a_02_2k) ====> (From Rwanda to Zimbabwe see 10c_02_2k) * Cote d'Ivoire/UE. Poursuite de la cooperation - L'Union europeenne a decide de poursuivre sa cooperation avec le regime militaire ivoirien, apres une consultation, le 7 fevrier a Bruxelles, avec une delegation d'Abidjan. Dans une declaration rendue publique le 8 fevrier, la presidence de l'UE a indique avoir "pris note des declarations d'intention et des informations fournies par les autorites de la Cote d'Ivoire en faveur d'un retour a la legitimite constitutionnelle, selon un processus democratique et pluraliste". (PANA, 8 fevrier 2000) * Cote d'Ivoire. Kenya Airways crash - 4 February: Search teams have found both the black boxes from the Kenya Airways Airbus which crashed of Cote d'Ivoire on 30 January with 179 people on board. The devices were retrieved by members of Abidjan's diving club, who also said they saw bodies among the fuselage and debris of the plane. The black boxes are to be sent to France where the information will be analyzed. 6 February: Formalities and "tired" officials in Abidjan, have delayed repatriation of some of the remains of the victims. Kenya Airways officials in Abidjan said that paperwork for only three of the Kenyan bodies had been completed. 8 February: It is reported that a Kenyan diver has died, apparently after having breathing difficulties while searching the wreckage of the plane. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 8 February 2000) * Cote d'Ivoire. Cinq officiers arretes - Cinq officiers de l'armee, accuses de complot contre le regime du nouveau dirigeant de la Cote d'Ivoire, le general Guei, ont ete mis aux arrets et gardes dans un camp de la gendarmerie nationale a Abidjan, a-t-on appris de source militaire. "On les soupconne d'etre des comploteurs. Ils font peur parce que certains d'entre eux sont tres estimes par les hommes de troupe", declare-t-on de meme source. Parmi ces officiers, interpelles le 4 fevrier, se trouve notamment le colonel Faizan Bi Sehi, ancien patron de la Force d'intervention rapide para-commando dont les elements ont ete le fer de lance de la mutinerie qui a abouti au renversement du regime du president Bedie le 24 decembre dernier. Aucune precision n'a pu etre obtenue de source officielle sur cette affaire. (Reuters, 8 fevrier 2000) * Cote d'Ivoire. Pressure on the Govt. - 7 February: Ivorian youths have called on the government to reduce the voting age to 18 years to enable them to get involved in the running of the affairs of the country. The pegging of the voting age to 20, had been a bone of contention between the opposition parties and the government of ousted President Henri Bedie who had insisted that 18-year-olds were not mature to cast votes during the elections. The youths have also asked the military authorities to audit the entire public administration with a view of taking those found guilty of any form of embezzlement and other mismanagement, to the Zambakro to be taught civic lessons. 8 February: The military rulers have detained five army officers on suspicion of plotting against them. The five were arrested on 4 February. They include Colonel Faizan Bi Sehi, former commander of the rapid intervention force whose members spearheaded the 24 December 1999 coup that toppled President Bedie. Officials of the ruling military junta have declined to comment on the matter. (PANA, Dakar, 9 February 2000) * Djibouti. RFI au silence - Radio France internationale (RFI) n'emet plus en modulation de frequence (FM) a Djibouti depuis trois semaines. Selon le ministre djiboutien de la Communication, "La convention signee entre RFI et les autorites a expire et fera l'objet de futures negociations pour son renouvellement". La station de service public britannique BBC serait egalement interessee a emettre en FM aDjibouti. RFI a souvent ete accusee par les autorites gouvernementales de diffuser des informations emanant d'opposants au pouvoir en place. (Liberation, France, 4 fevrier 2000) * Djibouti. Accord de paix - Le 7 fevrier a Paris, le gouvernement djiboutien et l'opposition armee du Front pour la restauration de l'unite et de la democratie (Frud), dirige par Ahmed Dini, ont signe, apres dix jours de negociations, un accord cadre qui prevoit la suspension des hostilites sur le territoire djiboutien et la liberation des prisonniers des deux cotes. (La Croix, France, 8 fevrier 2000) * Erythree. Le HCR reprend ses operations - Le Haut Commissariat des Nations unies aux refugies va reprendre ses operations en Erythree apres trois ans d'interruption. Il va notamment mettre sur pied un programme de rapatriement des refugies erythreens actuellement au Soudan. La reprise des activites du HCR intervient dans la foulee de la reprise des relations diplomatiques entre Asmara et Khartoum. Quelque 147.000 refugies erythreens se trouvent actuellement au Soudan. La plupart avaient fui leur pays dans les annees 1980. (Marches Tropicaux, France, 4 fevrier 2000) * Eritrea/Ethiopia. EU peace mission - 7 February: An European Union (EU) delegation is visiting the Horn of Africa in an attempt to help the peace process between Ethiopia and Eritrea. The EU team, led by Italian Deputy Foreign Minister Rino Serri, aims to assist the on-going efforts of the Organisation of African Unity. Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki met Mr Serri on 6 February. The talks focused on the conflict and the latest moves in the peace process. Mr serri has now left for Djibouti and is scheduled to visit Ethiopia later this week. 8 February: The EU delegation has now met the President's of Eritrea and Ethiopia as well as a number of top officials in the region. Also with the Organisation of African Unity's secretary-general, Salim Ahmed Salim, for consultations on mediation efforts. It had previously discussed the issue with top US officials. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 9 February 2000) * Ethiopia. Former PM convicted of corruption - 3 February: Former prime Minister Tamirat Layne is convicted on three counts of corruption and abuse of power while in office. Tamirat was prime minister between 1991 and 1994 following the overthrow of Marxist dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam. He became deputy prime minister in 1995 when Meles Zenawi became prime minister under a new federal constitution. He was sacked in October 1997 and has been in detention since. The prosecution said Tamirat had abused his powers when he was both prime minister and deputy prime minister. (CNN, 3 February 2000) * Ethiopia. National conference on Malaria - 7 February: A three- day national conference on malaria opens today in Addis Ababa, as part of the global efforts of the World Health organisation on checking the world-wide spread of the menace, described as "a serious problem to socio-economic development". The conference aims at mobilising international and national support to curb the spread of malaria, which affects three-quarters of Ethiopia's land that constitute the fertile areas of the country, thus putting at risk about 40 million of the country's 60 million population. Ethiopia's minister responsible for social and administrative sectors in the prime minister's office, told the meeting that as the third leading cause of death in the country, malaria affects between 4 and 5 million people annually. (PANA, Dakar, 7 February 2000) * Ethiopie. MSF attaque - Le 7 fevrier, l'attaque d'une voiture de Medecins sans frontieres circulant dans l'Ogaden, au sud-est de l'Ethiopie, a fait un mort et deux blesses. En un an, c'est la troisieme action visant des ONG dans la region. (Liberation, France, 9 fevrier 2000) * Kenya. Moi warns on regional war - President Moi has warned that wars in the Horn of Africa are putting at risk the security and stability of the whole region. In a rare appearance before the international press in Nairobi, President Moi drew attention to the conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea and the crisis within Somalia. He said that the situation in the Horn of Africa had continued to worsen and that the United Nations and the Organisation of African Unity should take note of the developments, because they risk turning into something much bigger. President Moi said that Kenya's policy had always been based on the maintenance of good neighbourliness and Kenya could no longer sit and watch the situation worsen. The President dwelt particularly on the flow of arms into the region. he said that Europe and America should take action because the source of weapons was not inside Africa -- they were being shipped in from elsewhere. (BBC News, 3 February 2000) * Malawi. Government taken to Court - In a situation which may be described as a test of democracy in Malawi, over 600 members of the former para-military wing of the Malawi Congress Party have taken the Government to Court, demanding that the Government should pay them their terminal benefits and compensate them for unlawful termination from their employment, contrary to the Public Service's Act 1994. The Malawi Young Pioneers para-military movement was disarmed by the army in 1993, in the exercise dubbed "Operation Bwezani", at a time when Malawi was making efforts towards multiparty democracy, which came about in 1994. The Malawi Congress Party ruled Malawi as a one-party state for over 30 years, under President Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda. The United Democratic Front took over in 1994. (B. Musongole, ANB-BIA, Brussels, 5 February 2000) * Malawi. Changing refugee laws - Malawi is planning to change its laws regarding refugees, to enable them to work, to attend public schools and to operate business ventures. The country's present laws prevent refugees, regardless of their academic qualifications and professional experience, from being employed, attending public schools and engage in business. Chenda Mkandawire, the deputy minister in the President's office responsible for relief and rehabilitation, says the government had decided to review the laws in order to employ and use several professionals among the refugees. He mentioned that among the refugees were recently in Malawi, there was an experienced pilot and a medical doctor, both of whom have now returned to their own countries. Mkandawire said the government had decided to change the laws, to take advantage of the refugees' varied skills, and also to ease the burden of the UNHCR of providing everything for them. (Brian Ligomeka, ANB-BIA, Malawi, 4 February 2000) * Morocco. At odds with EU over tomatoes - Intense lobbying by Moroccan farmers may lead to demands for an overhaul of key commercial aspects of Morocco's trade and political partnership accord with the European Union (EU), due to come into effect on 1 March. The accord allows Morocco tax-free access to the European market for agricultural goods, and will allow a range of European industrial exports tax-free access to Morocco. But a dispute over interpretations of the accord has led some EU officials to raise the possibility that the trade protocols within the partnership agreement signed in 1995, may have to be entirely renegotiated. Violent confrontations between Spanish farmers and lorry drivers transporting Moroccan goods through the Spanish port of Algeciras were sparked off last week, when the EU reversed a decision to demand import licences from European fruit and vegetable traders importing Moroccan tomatoes. (Financial Times, UK, 4 February 2000) * Maroc. Des officiers temoignent - Un ancien officier marocain des renseignements generaux, aujourd'hui a la retraite, a reconnu publiquement, le 6 fevrier, avoir torture des opposants dans l'exercice de ses fonctions et a demande le "pardon" de ses victimes. "Je fais appel a l'indulgence et a la clemence de mes victimes pour me pardonner afin de me delivrer de ma torture morale", a affirme Mohamed Khoulti dans une lettre publiee par le quotidien marocain Liberation. C'est la premiere fois qu'un ex- agent de la securite marocaine brise le silence sur les tortures commises contre des opposants et des dissidents au regime sous le regne du roi Hassan II, decede le 23 juillet 1999. -D'autre part, Mustafa Adib, l'officier qui avait ete place aux arrets debut decembre pour avoir denonce dans la presse des pratiques de corruption au sein de l'institution militaire, doit comparaitre le 8 fevrier devant le tribunal militaire de Rabat. Il sera juge pour offense a l'armee et violation du devoir de reserve. On signale par ailleurs qu'un important mouvement de nominations est attendu au sein de l'armee, dont le roi Mohammed VI est le chef supreme. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 8 fevrier 2000) * Morocco/Spain. Immigrant groups demand protection - Groups representing immigrants in Spain have called for greater protection from the authorities, after three nights of violence. Nearly 40 people were injured in anti-immigrant attacks in El Ejido, near the south-eastern port of Almeira. Some 150 Moroccan agricultural workers held a peaceful protest outside the town's main police station on 8 February, refusing to return home until authorities guaranteed their safety. The violence against North African immigrants erupted on 5 February when a Moroccan man was arrested on suspicion of stabbing to death a Spanish woman in a local market. The death came two weeks after another Moroccan man was arrested in connection with the stabbing to death of two people. In response to the murders, hundreds of Spaniards marched through the town shouting racist slogans. Police reinforcements were called in, after protestors went on the rampage, burning cars and shops belonging to Moroccans. Morocco issued a protest on 9 February. (Editor's update --9 February: The situation is gradually getting back to normal in El Ejido. 100 Moroccan immigrants, however, have peacefully gathered in front of the police station to demand the release of 9 of their fellow countrymen). (BBC News, 9 February 2000) * Mozambique. Norway releases funds - Part of Norway's pledged 24 million dollars to support the Mozambican state budget which has been frozen last year due to a lack of transparency in the use of aid money, has been released. Norwegian ambassador Sigurd Endersen told the independent news sheet Metical that following "relevant information" received from the Mozambican authorities, his government released part of the funds in December last year. "We intend to continue the release of funds in the first half of this year," Enderson added. So far Oslo has released about 12 million dollars. Norway's concern at the lack of transparency was expressed publicly in June last year when Tove Strand, general director of the Norwegian aid agency NORAD visited Maputo and informed the government that Oslo was not satisfied with its internal audits. Strand demanded a proper tracking of aid money at every stage of its journey through the financial system. "We want bank statements for each of the accounts involved as well as any interest earned and on that basis we shall evaluate transparency," Strand said. (Africa Press Bureau, Johannesburg, 4 February 2000) * Mozambique. Relatives abandoned in hospitals - In their desperate struggle for survival, more and more indigent Mozambicans abandon their sick children and elderly at the country's hospitals, leaving it to the welfare authorities to find a place where they can be fed and taken care of. According to Berta Muhai, head of Mozambique's hospital services, an average of at least 15 elderly people are abandoned by relatives every month in Maputo's central hospital. Most had migrated to the capital in the 1980s and 90s from war-torn areas in the countryside. Relatives always accompany the sick when they arrive at the hospital for either treatment of medical check-ups, Muhai says: "Our problems begin when their relatives suddenly stop visiting them and fail to collect them when it's time for them to be discharged," she says. Tracing the relatives with the cooperation of the Ministry of Women's Affairs and Social Welfare is not an easy task. In most cases the patients either refuse to cooperate or pretend not to know where they come from -- for fear of maltreatment by their relatives. "In cases where patients agree to show the authorities where they live, we have found that the relatives sometimes flatly refused to take them back, claiming the patient is a beggar whom they simply accompanied to hospital because he need medical treatment," Muhai says. ((Africa Press Bureau, Johannesburg, 5 February 2000) * Mozambique. Renamo accused - Carlos Reis, a leader of the Renamo-led Electoral Union coalition has been accused of inciting opposition supporters in the Milange district of Mozambique's central province of Zambezia to civil disobedience. The district administrator, Cristene Consula, said that Reis has been inciting Milange residents, with the help of the local "regulos" (quasi- traditional chiefs) not to pay taxes, not to send their children to school, and not to use the health services. Reis is the leader of the Mozambique National Union (UNAMO), one of the ten minor parties allied with Renamo in the Electoral Union. He was elected to the Mozambican parliament in December on Renamo's Zambezia list. Consula said that the Milange government is facing difficulties in certain areas to implement its development programme. He said Reis has been holding rallies in the district, telling opposition supporters that Renamo and its leader Afonso Dhlakama won the elections. "Besides that, Reis has been mobilising local the "regulos" to order people under their influence not to pay taxes and not to take part in social, economic or political activities promoted by the local government," said Consula. He explained that half of the 28 "regulos" in the district are Renamo-Electoral Union sympathizers. He claimed that, thanks to the influence of these "regulos", their areas are characterised by backwardness, unlike areas where "regulos" are Frelimo sympathizers. "All this will only contribute to the poor development of the district," said Consula. Reis, however, denied all the accusations. (Africa Press Bureau, Johannesburg, 9 February 2000) * Namibia. Illegal fencing-off of communal land - 6 February: President Sam Nujoma has condemned the illegal fencing-off of large portions of land by wealthy citizens in the communal areas, saying the practice was depriving the poor of grazing land for their livestock. He stated that communal land is government property, which is administered by traditional leaders on behalf of the government. Therefore, he noted, to acquire land in the communal areas, one should first get permission from traditional leaders and not grab and fence-off large portions of it, as the wealthy seem to be doing. He added: "A nation which does not respect its culture, cannot be respected by other nations". (PANA, Dakar, 6 February 2000) * Niger. Former Tuareg rebels attend summit - 8 February: At least 50 leaders of former Tuareg rebel rebellion fronts are attending a five-day training Workshop on social reintegration at Tahou, 650km north of Niamey. The former rebels will be exposed to the country's fiscal and customs legislation, accounting, management and commercial and administrative matters. After the training, the former rebels are expected to be capable of undertaking basic accountancy, particularly maintaining ledgers, and to appreciate the importance of stick and materials management. The seminar is part of the social reinsertion of the former combatants, as envisaged under the April 1995 peace agreement, that of Algiers in 1997 and the 21 August accord of N'djamena. (PANA, Dakar, 8 February 2000) * Nigeria. IITA scientists killed in Kenya Airways crash - "On behalf of our Director-General, Dr Lukas Brader and the entire International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) staff, it is with great sorrow that we announce that three of our scientists and friends, Drs Dirk Vuylsteke, Paul Speijer and John Hartman, were among those who were killed in the crash of the Kenya Airways airlines at Abidjan on Sunday 30 January. They were working at our eastern and Southern Africa Regional Centre in Uganda, and were on their way to join us for an annual work planning week at our headquarters here in Ibadan, Nigeria. Dirk Vuylsteke of Belgian nationality, was the leader of our Musa (plantain and banana) improvement project. Paul Speijer of Dutch nationality was a nematologist. John Hartman was a banana breeder from the USA. Individually and collectively, the three eminent scientists played major roles in the development of improved plantains and bananas for African farmers. They were all married and leave behind their grieving families". (Taye Babaleye, ANB-BIA, Nigeria, 3 February 2000) * Nigeria. Obasanjo a Paris - Le president nigerian Olusegun Obasanjo sera en visite en France du 6 au 9 fevrier, a la tete d'une large delegation de ministres et d'hommes d'affaires. Son premier objectif sera d'attirer des investissements dans son pays et d'obtenir l'allegement de la dette exterieure du Nigeria, qui s'eleve a quelque 30 milliards de dollars. Il devrait tenter d'arriver a un accord sur l'allegement de la dette vis-a-vis du Club de Paris, une precondition a tout soutien du FMI et de la Banque mondiale, a indique son porte-parole. Apres la France, M. Obasanjo se rendra au Portugal. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 6 fevrier 2000) * Nigeria. Les detournements d'Abacha - Lors d'une conference de presse a Paris, le president Obasanjo a declare que l'ancien dirigeant militaire, le general Sani Abacha, avait vole environ 4,3 milliards de dollars de fonds publics, et a reaffirme sa determination a recuperer tous les fonds pilles. Un milliard de dollars serait notamment alle a des contrats qui soit n'existaient pas, soit ont ete attribues indument a des membres de la famille ou a leurs amis. La Nigeria a recemment adresse une demande officielle au gouvernement suisse pour recuperer plus de 550 millions de dollars geles sur des comptes bancaires lies a l'ancien dirigeant militaire. (D'apres IRIN, Abidjan, 8 fevrier 2000) * Nigeria. Obasanjo in France - 7 February: It is likely that President Obasanjo will seek French support on total cancellation of Nigeria's debts. He is in Paris at the start of an official visit. Nigeria owes more than 30 billion US dollars to mainly the Paris Club of debtor nations. Meeting with French officials, the President says his country's young democracy will not survive -- and that Africa as a whole stands to lose --unless it wins substantial debt relief. 8 February: President Obasanjo says that Nigeria is close to clinching a loan deal with the IMF that would open the way to securing much-needed relief on the country's debt. In Paris, Obasanjo has been keen to drum up foreign investment, pledging to take on board business-friendly policies; to move ahead with Nigeria's often-slow privatisation programme; and to introduce a special investment protection pact with France. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 9 February 2000) * Nigeria. Oil pipeline fire - A youth set fire to an oil pipeline during a dispute, killing 17 people in eastern Nigeria, news reports said on 9 February. Witnesses said a group of people were standing in pit on 7 February in the village of Ogwe siphoning off fuel from the pipeline, when a young man asked to join them. When the group refused to make room, he lit a match that triggered a large explosion. Fire filled the pit and spread for more than 500 yards. 15 people were killed right away and 2 more died on the way to hospital. More than 20 others were injured, many of them seriously. The fire had burned out by 8 February. (The Washington Post, USA, 9 February 2000) END OF PART #2/3 (Côte d'ivoire ==> Nigeria) ====> (From Africa to Congo-RDC see 10a_02_2k) ====> (From Rwanda to Zimbabwe see 10c_02_2k)