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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 24-04-1997      PART #1/  


* Afrique. Espace aerien  -  L'espace aerien au-dessus de l'Afrique
devient toujours plus charge et plus dangeureux. D'apres les
pilotes, une catastrophe aerienne peut arriver a tout instant, le
controle aerien etant virtuellement absent. En cinq ans, le nombre
de vols au-dessus de l'Afrique a augmente de 120%. En fevrier, la
International Federation of Airlines Pilots Associations a defini
le continent comme une "region a hauts risques". Le probleme
principal est le manque de contacts entre les differentes tours de
controle et entre celles-ci et les avions. Les conferences se
succedent demandant des mesures drastiques pour eviter des
catastrophes ou des centaines de passagers pourraient perdre la
vie.   (d'apres De Standaard, Belgique, 23 avril 1997)

* Algerie. Eau rationnee  -  Un plan drastique pour le rationnement
de l'eau est entre en application en Algerie, le 20 avril, en
raison de la secheresse et touchera notamment les grandes villes.
A Alger, Constantine et Oran, les menages ne disposeront d'eau
qu'un jour sur trois et pendant quelques heures seulement. Des
pluies qui se sont abattues sur le pays, les 17 et 18 avril, ont
ete jugees benefiques pour l'agriculture, mais nettement
insuffisantes pour remplir les barrages, pratiquement a sec, et
alimenter les nappes phreatiques. La secheresse sevit depuis plus
de quatre mois a l'est et au centre du pays, depuis plus de sept
mois a l'ouest.   (Le Soir, Belgique, 21 avril 1997)

* Algeria. Worst Algerian killing  -  More than 90 people were
killed in a village outside Algiers, on the night of 21 April, in
the country's biggest single massacre since the outbreak of the
Algerian conflict in 1992. On 22 April, security forces said the
massacres took place in the village of Haouch Boughfi el-Khemisti,
about 25 km from Algiers in the plains of the Mitidja, where
another massacre last week left 32 people with their throats cut.
Armed Islamic groups were blamed for the 21 April massacre.   (The
Financial Times, U.K., 23 April 1997)

* Algerie. Assassinat collectif sans precedent  -  Le village de
Haouch Boughif el-Khemisti, situe a 25 km au sud d'Alger, a ete le
theatre, dans la nuit du 21 au 22 avril, du plus important massacre
collectif qu'ait connu l'Algerie en cinq ans de violence, avec un
bilan hallucinant: selon Alger, 93 morts, dont la moitie de femmes,
de jeunes filles et d'enfants, tues dans des conditions atroces.
D'autres sources (des habitants des villages environnants)
faisaient etat d'un bilan encore plus lourd, variant de 100 a 113
morts. Le massacre, attribue par les autorites a un groupe
islamiste arme, intervient a six semaines des elections
legislatives.   (Liberation, France, 23 avril 1997)

* Algerie. Elections legislatives  -  Apres la cloture officielle
du depot des listes, le 21 avril a minuit, la presse revele que les
principaux dirigeants politiques algeriens seront candidats dans la
capitale, lors des elections legislatives du 5 juin. On peut citer:
le chef du gouvernement algerien, Ahmed Ouyahia, et plusieurs
membres de son gouvernement, sous l'etiquette du RND, le nouveau
parti; Said Saadi, le leader du RCD, et Khalida Messaoudi; Seddik
Debailly, le secretaire general du FFS; Reda Malek, l'ancien
Premier ministre et actuel president de l'ANR; et Louisa Hannoun
pour le PT. Abdelkader Bensalah, le president du Conseil national
de transition et du RND, se presente a Oran.   (Le Monde, France,
23 avril 1997)

* Angola. UN Peacekeeping force  -  16 April: The UN Security
Council unanimously authorised what is likely to be the final
renewal of its peace keeping force in Angola. The mandate was
renewed until 30 June. A smaller observer mission is expected to
take over in two and a half months to ensure continuing
international security. Security Council members urged frequent
meetings between Jonas Savimbi and President dos Santos. The
present UN force is now down to 5,500. The UN plans a phased
reduction over the next two months.   (VOA, 16 April 1997)

* Burundi. Update of events  -  17 April: Burundi's main Hutu rebel
group condemn a "shocking" decision by regional groups to ease
sanctions against Burundi, saying it will jeopardize peace efforts.
Leonard Nyangoma's National Council for the Defence of Democracy,
says that African leaders also made a grave mistake by inviting
Major Buyoya to the summit in Arusha. 20 April: In an interview
with Newsweek, Major Buyoya says he expects former President
Sylvestre Ntibantunganya to leave the US ambassador's residence in
Bujumbura soon.   (Newspot, USA, 17/21 April 1997)

* Burundi. Civils tues  -  L'armee burundaise a affirme avoir
decouvert le 18 avril les corps d'une centaine de civils tues la
veille par des rebelles hutu a Vugizo (au sud du pays). Le
gouverneur de la province de Makamba a de son cote indique que des
combats violents opposaient l'armee a la rebellion hutu dans la
commune. D'autre part, l'organisation Medecins sans frontieres
affirme qu'au moins 300.000 Burundais se trouvent dans les "camps
de regroupement" dans sept des quinze provinces du pays. La
mortalite y est deux fois plus elevee que dans le reste de la
population; en janvier, "50% des deces d'enfants etaient dus a la
malnutrition". Officiellement, ces camps ne sont pas censes se
prolonger plus de trois mois; en realite, certains "existent
pourtant depuis pres d'un an", note MSF. (Ndlr: d'autres sources
parlent de 400 a 800.000 personnes vivant dans 3 sortes de camps:
camps de deplaces tutsis, camps de regroupement hutu et camps de
rapatries hutu du Zaire). Par ailleurs, le colonel Buyoya a declare
que le president Ntibantunganya quittera bientot l'ambassade
americaine pour aller habiter en ville, sous la protection de ses
propres gardes du corps.   (La Libre Belgique, 19 et 22 avril 1997)

* Chad. Rush for oil  -  Chad, one of the poorest countries in the
world, is about to be transformed into a booming oil-rich economy
if the World Bank and three multinational companies have their way.
Exxon, Shell and Elf plan to spend two billion pounds sterling on
developing three Chadian oil fields, and the World Bank will partly
finance a 1,000 mile pipeline to the coast, The Chadian economy is
expected to double in size in 10 years. The oilfields will mean
resettling tribal peoples, and the pipeline will pass through
"areas of varying ecological sensitivity".   (The Guardian, U.K.,
23 April 1997)

* Djibouti. Congres du FRUD  -  Le Front pour la restauration de
l'unite et de la democratie (FRUD), l'ex-guerilla Afar alliee au
regime depuis l'accord de paix du 26 decembre 1994, a tenu son
premier congres a Djibouti-ville, les 15 et 16 avril, en presence
de plusieurs centaines de delegues. Le FRUD a adopte un programme
qui reclame le reequilibrage politique et economique du pays. Au
Comite executif de 21 membres ont ete nommes aussi des non Afar:
quatre Issa, deux Gadaboursi, deux Arabes et un Issaq. Le congres
a adopte une resolution souhaitant la publication de la plate-forme
signee avec le gouvernement lors de l'accord de 1994, ainsi qu'une
traduction dans les actes de l'alliance entre le FRUD et le RPP.
Des listes electorales communes devraient etre constituees pour les
legislatives de decembre.   (D'apres Lettre Ocean Indien, France,
19 avril 1997)

* Grands Lacs. Symposium des eveques  -  Le 19 avril, a la fin
d'une semaine de reunion a Nairobi, les eveques catholiques
africains ont adresse un appel aux leaders africains pour qu'ils
intensifient leurs recherches d'une solution durable aux crises que
connaissent le Zaire, le Rwanda et le Burundi. Le Symposium des
Conferences episcopales d'Afrique et de Madagascar reunissait deux
cardinaux, 10 archeveques et 33 eveques de toute l'Afrique, sous la
presidence du cardinal Gantin. "Il faut mettre un terme aux regimes
militaires, despotiques et corrompus, si notre continent veut
regagner sa place dans la communaute du monde civilise", ont-ils
declare. Ils enverront six eveques au Rwanda et au Burundi pour des
consultations en vue d'apporter une aide pour resoudre les conflits
dans ces pays. "Nous denoncons et condamnons l'ethnicite, une
ideologie qui a provoque tant de souffrances dans notre continent",
ont-ils dit, sans faire reference toutefois aux allegations selon
lesquelles les eveques catholiques du Rwanda n'auraient manque de
proteger les victimes du genocide.   (Reuters, 20 avril 1997)

* Kenya. Tensions avec les ambassades  -  Le ministre des Affaires
etrangeres du Kenya a vivement reagi, le 17 avril, au communique
diffuse la veille par quatorze ambassades dont les Etats-Unis, le
Japon et les principaux pays europeens (sans la France). Ce texte
denoncait de recents actes de violence policieres contre des
leaders de l'opposition. Les signataires voudraient que soient
respectees certaines regles du jeu democratique, en termes de
liberte d'expression et de reunion des candidats de l'opposition. 
 (D'apres Lettre Ocean Indien, France, 19 avril 1997)

* Kenya. Bishops urge greater effort to end crises  -  On 19 April,
Catholic bishops from Africa ended a week-long meeting in Nairobi,
with a call to African leaders to intensify a search for a lasting
solution to the crises in Zaire, Rwanda and Burundi. "Despotic,
corrupt and military regimes must be done away with, if this
continent is to regain its lost glory and reclaim its position
among the civilized world community". They said they would send six
bishops to Rwanda and Burundi, the centre of large-scale ethnic
killings, with a view to helping solve the conflicts there.  
(Newspot, USA, 21 April 1997)

* Libye. Nonce apostolique  -  Le premier Nonce apostolique en
Libye, Mgr. Jose Sebastian Laboa, nomme le 10 mars dernier par
Rome, a presente le 15 avril ses lettres de creances au chef de la
diplomatie libyenne. "Le dialogue, seul langage du croyant, est
l'unique moyen de realiser la paix", a dit dans son allocution Mgr.
Labao. Quelque 50.000 chretiens vivent en Libye, en majorite des
travailleurs asiatiques et arabes.   (La Croix, France, 18 avril
1997)

* Libye. Camp palestinien demantele  -  Des soldats libyens ont
demantele, le 18 avril, un camp de refugies palestiniens situe dans
un no man's land a la frontiere egypto-libyenne et ont force les
Palestiniens a retourner en Libye, selon des temoignages de
voyageurs. La Libye avait procede, en 1995, a des expulsions
massives parmi les 30.000 Palestiniens installes sur son territoire
pour demontrer l'echec des accords israelo-palestiniens. Peu apres,
la Libye avait suspendu sa decision, mais 250 Palestiniens avaient
refuse de revenir en Libye sans garantie d'y recuperer leurs
emplois et leurs biens confisques.   (Le Soir, Belgique, 19 avril
1997)

* Mali. Polls protest  -  17 April: Opposition parties have called
a nationwide day of action for 21 April, to denounce electoral
chaos and demand that this year's polls be suspended. The
elections, which began with the parliamentary elections on 13
April, are the nation's second multiparty national polls since
independence from France in 1960. Members of two opposition
alliances supporting a one-party state, said they would ask the
Constitutional Court to scrap the 13 May results. Early results
point to a lead for President Alpha Oumar Konare's ruling ADEMA
alliance. 18 April: President Konare invites opposition leaders to
talks. 22 April: The parliamentary election results are cancelled. 
 (Newspot, USA, 22 April 1997)

* Mali. Annulation des legislatives  -  Environ 3.000 personnes ont
participe le 21 avril a une marche pacifique a Bamako pour
protester contre la mauvaise organisation du premier tour des
legislatives, le 13 avril. La manifestation s'est deroulee dans une
ambiance sereine, les partis de la majorite presidentielle ayant
propose l'annulation du premier tour du scrutin et le report de la
presidentielle. Le lendemain 22 avril, a l'issue d'une rencontre
entre la majorite presidentielle et l'opposition, les deux parties
se sont mises d'accord sur l'annulation du scrutin du premier tour.
Le president Konare a reconnu que "les elections se sont mal
deroulees".   (Liberation, France, 22-23 avril 1997)
* Morocco. Casablanca Stock Exchange  -  Early hours of the trading
day, see Moroccan stockbrokers on the Casablanca Stock Exchange, at
work in the grey-carpeted hush of electronic trading, in their
nine-story building. The new blue glass home of the bourse,
inaugurated last month, mirrors an eagerness by the exchange, to
start an era of more transparent trading. But at 10.15 a.m. each
day, after trading on computers from 8.30 a.m., the stockbrokers
from the 13 approved firms, hit their final button and head for the
old exchange building to return to the outcry system of buying and
selling.   (Newspot, USA, 21 April 1997)

* Nigeria. Troops deployed  -  On 23 April, the military
authorities said that soldiers had been sent into the troubled oil-
producing town of Warri in the country's mid-west region, to
restore order. Warri residents, reached by telephone from Lagos,
said soldiers were patrolling the streets and manning key sites in
the town. Anarchy has reigned in the town, 300 km west of Lagos,
since 22 March, when clashes between armed youths broke out, over
the transfer of the local council headquarters from an Ijaw-
dominated town, to a town dominated by the rival Itsekiri tribe.
The death toll has risen to about 65 since 12 April when clashes
resumed. A curfew imposed after the March clashes, was lifted last
week.   (The Financial Times, U.K., 24 April 1997)

* Ouganda. Reunion d'Acholis a Londres  -  Une conference de 200
membres de la diaspora Acholi (ethnie du nord de l'Ouganda qui a
massivement vote contre Museveni) s'est reunie a Londres du 6 au 8
avril. Les rebelles du LRA y etaient representes et le president
Museveni y avait egalement envoye des delegues. Cela a donne
parfois des echanges assez vifs. La conference a reflete la fatigue
des Acholis au bout de quatre annees d'une guerre sans issue. Elle
est aussi le resultat des recents succes militaires de l'armee
ougandaise. Ceux-ci pourraient offrir a Kampala l'opportunite
d'ouvrir une negociation politique avec les Acholis en vue
d'etablir une paix durable dans le nord du pays.   (D'apres Lettre
Ocean Indien, France, 19 avril 1997)

* Uganda. Mans oldest ancestor  -  On 18 April, the Press published
a report that scientists have found fragments of man's oldest
ancestor. They say that bits of tooth, face and backbone unearthed
in Uganda over several decades are evidence of a stiff-backed
creature -- forerunner of both apes and humans -- which lived 20
million years ago. Details of the newly named Morotipithecud
bishopi have just been published in the US Journal of Science. The
story began more than 30 years ago, when a scientist called Bishop
found pieces of human-looking material in muddy sediments later
covered by lava in the Moroto region of Uganda. (...) The fragments
at Moroto turned out to be 20.6 million years ago.   (The Guardian,
U.K., 18 April 1997)

* Uganda. Major military operation  -  On 18 April, the Ugandan
army said it had repulsed an attack by Sudanese troops, killing 60
Sudanese soldiers and capturing 114. The state-owned New Vision
newspaper reported that 68 rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army
were also killed in the fighting. The incident took place at
Lelabur, on Uganda's border with Sudan. Uganda's Minister of State
for Defense, Amama Mbabazi, denied claims by Sudan that 306 Ugandan
troops, including the second-in-command of the Ugandan People's
Defense Force Fourth Division, Lt. Col. Nakibus Lakara, had been
killed in a battle 44 miles south of Juba on 15 April. He said Col.
Lakara was still alive and on a mission to northern Uganda. Mbabazi
said that Uganda's interest in Sudan was limited to intelligence
gathering.   (IRIN, Kenya, 18 April 1997)

* Ouganda. Museveni a Bruxelles  -  En visite officielle a
Bruxelles, le president ougandais, Yoweri Museveni, a ete recu, le
22 avril, par les autorites belges avant de se rendre a la
Commission europeenne, ou il a visiblement seduit ses
interlocuteurs. Applaudi a plusieurs reprises par les hommes
d'affaires presents dans la salle, il a brillamment presente les
raisons pour lesquelles ils devraient investir dans son pays. Il a
egalement reconnu les faiblesses qui restent encore; mais il a
laisse dans l'ombre l'existance des trois mouvements de guerilla
qu'il n'arrive pas a reduire. Il s'est montre tres critique vis-a-
vis du Burundi (il a soutenu les sanctions economiques contre
Buyoya) estimant que dans ce pays "nul n'a le sens de l'Etat, de
l'interet superieur de la nation...". Il a reconnu qu'a propos du
Zaire "les pays africains de la region ont pris leurs
responsabilites", et a conseille a Kabila de "former un
gouvernement interimaire, representant les courants politiques
significatifs". Quant a la "fausse querelle" entre la francophonie
et les Anglo-Saxons en Afrique, il a affirme que "le seul reel defi
est le developpement de nos peuples".   (ANB-BIA, de sources
diverses, 23 avril 1997)

* Rwanda. Expulsion de deux missionnaires  -  L'agence Fides, dans
son edition du 11 avril, communique l'expulsion, le 8 mars dernier,
de deux missionnaires laiques francaises, qui travaillaient dans le
diocese de Gikongoro et qui ont ete declarees indesirables, parce
que "elles prechent le negationisme du genocide et repandent
l'esprit divisionniste". Selon l'agence, le gouvernement, par ce
geste, a voulu frapper l'eveque de Gikongoro, Mgr. Misago, accuse
par certains journaux d'avoir soutenu les anciennes Forces armees
rwandaises et de non-assistance a des personnes en danger. Dans un
autre diocese, celui de Byumba, des laiques espagnoles, des
religieuses italiennes et deux pretres italiens, de la paroisse de
Nyarurema, ont ete intimides par les militaires et leur eveque leur
a suggere de prendre des "vacances prolongees". On peut supposer
qu'il y a un plan d'expulsion d'un certain nombre de missionnaires.
En effet, conclut l'agence, "face aux transgressions continues et
violentes des droits de l'homme, specialement dans le nord du pays,
les etrangers sont des >>temoins genants<< pour les "operations de
securite"".   (D'apres Fides, Rome, 11 avril 1997)

* Rwanda. Kagame defends justice system  -  On 14 April, Rwanda's
Vice-President Major General Paul Kagame, said his country was
improving its justice system, now under international criticism. He
said: "Trials are better than no trials. We are better with the
trials (that are going on) and are in the process of bettering
them". At least 18 people have been sentenced to death in Rwanda
courts for involvement in the 1994 genocide. Arriving in Japan for
a six-day visit, Kagame said that Rwanda had been forced to build
a justice system from scratch after the 1994 genocide destroyed the
country's legal structure.   (The Monitor, Uganda, 15 April 1997)

* Rwanda. $12 million loan  -  On 22 April, the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a $12 million loan for Rwanda, to
support the country's 1997 economic programme. The IMF noted the
efforts of the Rwandan government to cope with the aftermath of
civil war, saying more than 2.5 million refugees had returned to
neighbouring countries, and praising the "considerable progress" in
repairing social and economic infrastructures. "The authorities'
medium-term strategy seeks to promote economic and social
reintegration of over two million former refugees, foster economic
and financial recovery, and pave the way for sustained growth and
development", the IMF said.   (Newspot, USA, 23 April 1997)

* Senegal. Plaidoyer pour la monogamie  -  Le president senegalais,
Abdou Diouf, a estime le 21 avril qu'a ses yeux "la famille
equilibree est une famille monogamique". Dans ce pays, ou 95% de la
population est musulmane, la polygamie est largement repandue, meme
si de plus en plus de jeunes optent, pour des raisons economiques,
pour la monogamie. (Ndlr: Depuis des mois, une reflexion sur la
polygamie a ete initiee au Senegal).   (Liberation, France, 23
avril 1997)

* Sierra Leone. Party supporters protest suspension  -  There was
a demonstration by supporters of the leading opposition party, the
United National Peoples Party (UNPP) on 10 April. Demonstrators
stormed State House to petition the President to intervene in the
suspension of their national leader, Dr John Kerefa Smart, in what
political observers say, is a major constitutional blunder. The
demonstrators were prevented from actually entering State House,
apart from ten of their representatives for what was described as
a "consultative meeting" with President Tejan Kabbah on the issue.
The motion to suspend UNPPþs leader on a charge of "contempt of
Parliament" was passed in Parliament on 26 March. 46 Members voted
in favour and 6 abstained. The president has declined to intervene
in the matter saying: "The decision was taken by a parliamentary
resolution and not by Act of Parliament".   (Cyphas Williams,
Sierra Leone, 15 April 1997)

* Sierra Leone. Outbreak of Lassa Fever  -  International
scientists are investigating the worst recorded outbreak of the
highly contagious Lassa fever virus, which has claimed at least 23
lives and infected more than 150 others in eastern Sierra Leone
since the beginning of March. The statistics are based on confirmed
cases admitted to hospital in the eastern provincial capital
Kenema, and physicians believe the number infected may be much
higher. Although Lassa fever is endemic in eastern Sierra Leone,
scientists are baffled by the recent huge increase in cases. About
35 are confirmed each year. There were only 10 reported cases in
March last year.   (The Guardian, U.K., 22 April 1997)

* Somalie. Hussein Aidid au Caire  -  Le leader de la faction
somalienne controlant le sud de Mogadiscio, Hussein Aidid, s'est
rendu au Caire ou il s'est entretenu avec le ministre egyptien des
Affaires etrangeres et avec des responsables de la Ligue Arabe,
auxquels il a demande de proceder a une mediation entre les
differentes factions en vue d'ouvrir la voie a une rencontre
generale de reconciliation. De son cote, le diplomate egyptien a
precise que son pays etait egalement dispose a de nouvelles
initiatives de mediation en Somalie.   (D'apres Lettre Ocean
Indien, France, 19 avril 1997)

* South Africa. ANC and the amnesty  -  18 April: The ANC says that
senior members will seek amnesty for action taken during the fight
against apartheid, but declines to say if President Mandela is
among them. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has set 10 May
as deadline for applications for indemnity from prosecution. 21
April: Judge Piet Combrinck orders the TRC to release testimony
given it in secret. Lawyers for Dirk Coetzee, the former commander
of the covert Vlakplaas police unit near Pretoria, subpoenaed the
TRC for the testimony by Joe Mamasela, who worked as an informer
for the unit.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 22 April 1997)

* Sudan. Attempts to bring peace  -  20 April: Former US president
Jimmy Carter and Sudanese President al-Bashir meet in Khartoum.
They discuss bringing more southern groups into a peace agreement
with Khartoum. Carter has been trying to bring together the
Sudanese government and the rebel SPLA. The government is due to
sign a peace agreement with small rebel groups on 21 April. The
SPLA say that a Mig-23 plane dropped four bombs on the town of Yei,
today, during a visit by Carter's advance team. 21 April: President
al-Bashir signs a peace accord with four minor southern factions
which, if carried out, will allow a referendum on self-
determination for southerners. John Garang's SPLA rejects the
agreement. Faction leaders who have signed, include Riek Mechar of
the South Sudan Independence Movement. The key element of the
agreement, commits all signatories to carrying out a referendum on
southern self-determination within four years, giving all
southerners a vote on whether they wish to create a separate state
in the south or remain a united country. 22 April: Political
analysts say that Sudan's peace deal is no remedy for the civil war
because it excludes the main rebel group. 23 April: The faction
leaders who signed the peace deal with Khartoum, appeal to rebel
leader John Garang to join them in the agreement. Garang replies
that he will continue to fight for the fall of the Arabized and
Muslim government.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 24 April 1997)

* Soudan. Appel du president  -  Le president soudanais, Oumar al-
Bechir, le 21 avril, a appele les autres rebelles a se joindre a
l'accord de paix que son gouvernement islamique a signe avec quatre
petits groupes rebelles du Sud. Cet appel s'adresse surtout aux
differentes factions du groupe rebelle le plus important, le SPLA.
L'accord prevoit que le Sud, en grande partie animiste et chretien,
recevra plus d'autonomie et pourra garder ses propres traditions. 
 (De Standaard, Belgique, 22 avril 1997)

* Tanzania. Round-up of news  -  7 April: Good news for travellers!
The Daily News reports that yesterday, Tanzania and Uganda renewed
their commitment to build the proposed Tanga-Arusha-Musoma railway
line, which has been on the drawing board for several years due to
lack of funds. 9 April: Tanzania's Financial Times says that Budget
measures proposed for the next financial year, will seek to
downsize expenditure on technical assistance which comes with donor
aid packages. 13 April: The Sunday News, quoting the Minister of
Finance, assures its readers that the introduction of Valued Added
Tax will encourage transparency and streamline tax administration
in Tanzania. 14 April: Tanzania's The Guardian describes the
celebrations to mark the 75th birthday for founder-President Julius
Nyerere. "Mwalimu, in a boisterous mood, assured the gathering that
he was in excellent health and expressed guarded optimism that he
would live for another 40 years or so". The same day, The Guardian
carried a feature on drug abuse in Dar es Salaam. The paper has
learnt that crumbling ships near the Old Post Office alongside the
Indian Ocean, are centres of drug abuse. The next day, The Guardian
issued a denial that funds from the Mwalimu Nyerere Foundation had
been used to finance the retired leaders 75th birthday party. 24
April: The U.K.þs Financial Times says that Tanzania's state-owned
telecommunications monopoly will be privatised, probably within 12
months, despite opposition from its management.   (ANB-BIA,
Brussels, 24 April 1997)

* Western Sahara. Baker tries to untie the knot  -  Mr James Baker,
the former US secretary of state, arrives in Morocco on 23 April,
on the first leg of a north African journey seen as the best, and
perhaps last, chance for a peaceful resolution of the often
forgotten and seemingly intractable Western Sahara conflict. Mr
Baker's high profile appointment last month as the UN secretary
general's special envoy has returned the more than 20-year-old
dispute to the spotlight. Mr Baker is visiting Rabat, Algiers,
Tindouf in south-west Algeria and Nouakchott in Mauritania. He is
to report back to Mr Kofi Annan in May on the faltering UN plan to
determine whether the former Spanish colony should be integrated
into Morocco or become an independent entity, as claimed by the
Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el Hamra and Rio de Oro
-- known as Polisario.   (The Financial Times, U.K., 23 April 1997)

* Zaire. The South African connection  -  16 April: President
Mandela of South Africa meets with Laurent Kabila. Mr Kabila
appears not to have retreated from his insistence that negotiations
must focus on Mr Mobutu's abdication. 17 April: South Africa says
it has arranged a summit between President Mobutu and the Zairian
rebels. President Mandela says he has issued a formal invitation to
President Mobutu to attend the meeting. 18 April: Mr Kabila says:
The South African initiative is about transfer of power. When
Mobutu is ready for this, I shall go and attend a short day's
ceremony on the peaceful transfer of power. There will be no
protracted negotiations with Mobutu -- never, never. Maybe we have
been misunderstood. The issue is about transfer of power, otherwise
we march on to Kinshasa". 21 March: Nzanga Mobutu, the President's
son, says that for health reasons, his father cannot journey to
South Africa for the talks with Kabila. A meeting place closer to
Zaire will have to be found. 22 April: Kinshasa braces itself for
a two-pronged military assault. The siege mood is building.
Military experts say that arms deliveries have recently arrived in
Kinshasa.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 23 April 1997)

* Zaire. Negociations?  -  17 avril. Le president Mandela invite
formellement le president Mobutu en Afrique du Sud pour un
entretien direct avec Laurent Kabila. Selon certaines sources,
l'entretien n'aurait plus comme objet la demission de Mobutu, mais
bien des mesures de transition; dans l'attente d'elections libres,
Mobutu resterait chef d'Etat, mais avec des pouvoirs tres limites.
L'opposition radicale de Tshisekedi exige de participer a ces
negociations. 18 avril. Le president Mobutu accepte le principe
d'une rencontre avec Kabila, mais selon celui-ci, l'initiative de
paix du president Mandela est un "malentendu"; il a indique qu'"il
n'y aura pas de negociations prolongees avec Mobutu". 19-20 avril.
Kabila affirme que "au Bas-Zaire, 100.000 jeunes gens ont rejoint
notre cause", confirmant une rumeur selon laquelle des rebelles se
regrouperaient dans l'ouest du Zaire pour couper Kinshasa de
Matadi, son seul acces a la mer. Les Etats-Unis ont ordonne aux
familles du personnel de l'ambassade americaine a Kinshasa de
quitter le Zaire en raison de la situation politique, et presse
fortement tous ses ressortissants a quitter le pays. D'autre part,
plusieurs groupes de la Division speciale presidentielle, qui ont
fui en Zambie, ont ete rassembles par les Zambiens dans un camp,
avec femmes et enfants, sans qu'on ait deja statue sur leur demande
d'asile politique. 21 avril. La perspective d'une rencontre Mobutu-
Kabila s'eloigne a mesure que les jours passent. Le fils de Mobutu
annonce que son pere ne pourra se rendre en Afrique du Sud, vu son
etat de sante; il prefererait une rencontre a Brazzaville, ou au
Togo ou au Cameroun. 22 avril. La rencontre Mobutu-Kabila semble
etre remise sine die. Le mediateur de l'Onu, M. Sahnoun, accuse les
pays occidentaux, et notamment les Etats-Unis, de ne pas faire
suffisamment pression sur les adversaires pour qu'ils jouent le jeu
de la democratie. A Kinshasa, le Premier ministre, le general
Likulia, declare a la television que ses troupes sont pretes a se
battre jusqu'au bout. D'autre part, les tensions semblent monter
dans les regions conquises par les rebelles. A Goma, des echanges
de tirs d'armes automatiques ont eu lieu pendant la nuit. Les
relations entre militaires rebelles locaux et Tutsis seraient en
train de se degrader. "Un malentendu entre soldats", a simplement
commente un responsable de l'Alliance. 23 avril. Les troupes
rebelles s'infiltreraient dans le Bas-Zaire autour de Matadi, le
port qui est d'une importance capitale pour l'approvisionnement de
Kinshasa. Elles ont pris aussi les villes d'Ilebo et de Tshikapa
dans le Kasai occidental. Les pays occidentaux craignent une
explosion de violence a Kinshasa.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses,
24 avril 1997)

* Zaire. Refugies  -  18 avril. Le rapatriement de refugies
rwandais des environs de Kisangani a ete reporte sine die, pour
cause d'epidemie de cholera. 19-20 avril. La situation des refugies
rwandais reste dramatique; les organisations humanitaires ont du
interrompre leur aide durant deux jours en raison du mecontentement
de la population, ulceree de voir une partie de la nourriture etre
utilisee au benefice des Rwandais. 21 avril. Un train charge de
vivres pour les refugies et des entrepots sont pilles par la
population locale pres de Kisangani. Le HCR interrompt son aide aux
refugies, les autorites militaires rebelles ayant demande aux
organisations humanitaires de stopper toutes leurs operations dans
les camps jusqu'a nouvel ordre. Le Haut Commissaire, Mme Ogata,
demande au secretaire general de l'Onu d'intervenir. Selon
certains, les raisons de cette politique d'obstruction se
trouveraient au Rwanda, peu enclin a recevoir encore des nouveaux
rapatries. Selon l'organisation Memisa, on a encore decouvert
40.000 autres refugies dans les environs d'Opala. - D'autre part,
le 'Washington Post' apporte de nouvelles informations sur des
massacres de la part de membres du AFDL dans l'est du Zaire. Des
rebelles y auraient abattu la semaine passee au moins 80 civils
hutu suspectes d'avoir participe au genocide. Ainsi le 19 avril, a
Muja, dans la region de Goma, un groupe de rebelles a ouvert le feu
sur des paysans qui travaillaient leurs champs, tuant 28 hommes et
4 femmes. A un autre endroit, 50 personnes auraient ete tuees. 23
avril. Les Nations unies commencent l'evacuation de refugies
rwandais d'Amisi a Goma. Selon des temoins oculaires, les rebelles
zairois ont massacre des centaines de refugies a Kasese, au sud de
Kisangani. Pres de 55.000 d'entre eux se seraient a nouveau enfuis
vers le sud, dans la direction d'Ubundu, qu'ils avaient quitte il
y a un mois.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 24 avril 1997)

* Zaire. Rwandan refugees  -  18 April: Hundreds of angry Zairians
stop aid workers reaching camps for 80,000 Rwandan Hutu refugees,
and the UNHCR suspends its operations. Tension is whipped up by
aggressive local radio broadcasts about the refugees and
unconfirmed reports that they have killed a rebel, or several local
Zairians. Aid workers say they suspect the rebel alliance is
inciting trouble to prevent the UN airlifting about 100,000 Rwandan
refugees via Kisangani. The first planned airlift of 80 Rwandan
children is cancelled. There is also tension because of the
outbreak of cholera in the makeshift camps and in the bush south of
Kisangani. So far, 327 cases of cholera have been detected at the
encampment of Kasese about 20 miles south of the city. 21 April:
Zairians say that Hutu refugees from Kasese camp, attacked a nearby
village before dawn and killed at least six people. The same day,
villagers attacked a train loaded with 120 tonnes of food intended
for the Hutu refugees near Lula, and then looted a World Food
Programme warehouse further to the south. Also, the Press reports
that no evidence has been found of 30,000 Rwandan refugees reported
last week to be approaching Angola from Zaire. The UNHCR calls on
the Kisangani authorities to take urgent action to airlift Rwandan
refugees home, saying that each day's delay will lead to more
deaths. 22 April: Residents of Kasese village, south of Kisangani,
leave at dawn for two nearby camps with 55,000 Rwandan Hutu
refugees. Armed with machetes, they attack the camps to avenge the
killings which took place on 21 April. The same day it is announced
that UN human rights investigators and forensic experts will travel
to eastern Zaire next month, to probe alleged massacres of Rwandan
Hutus and civilians by Tutsi-dominated rebels. UNICEFþs Executive
Director, Carol Bellamy, issues a strong call for action. She says:
"As the world watches and waits, hundreds of children are at
death's door. But food and medicine are close at hand. These
innocent children can be saved". 23 April: The UN Secretary-General
accuses the rebels of killing the refugees by starving them.  
(ANB-BIA, Brussels, 24 April 1997)

* Zaire. Inside Shaba Province  -  The following are reports taken
from the international media, giving an insight into life inside
Shaba Province under the rebels. 16 April: The rebel Alliance has
embarked on what it calls a re-education programme to teach
Zairians what went wrong during the 32-year rule of President
Mobutu, and how to put things right. More than 6,000 people have
already passed through the programme and the Alliance is spreading
the word in the towns it has captured. The education programme is
based on Marxism, the ideology long favoured by Laurent Kabila. The
same day, it is announced that Laurent Kabila is on his way to
South Africa to meet with President Mandela, where he says he will
talk about the future of his country. The Alliance has begun
signing joint venture agreements with foreign mining companies in
an effort to re-start the economy in the regions they control. The
rebel finance minister says his main objective in signing the
deals, is to create jobs for people who live near the mines. The
Alliance is also eager to tap the vast financial potential of the
region, to fund its war effort. 17 April: Rebel officials in Shaba
Province join most of the country in rejecting large denomination
bank notes (New Zaires) printed by the government in Kinshasa. 20
April: Officials of Anglo American and De Beers, the leading South
African mining groups, fly to Lubumbashi for talks with the rebels,
in a bid to secure their interests in the civil war-torn country.
22 April: Eleven days ago in Lubumbashi, the rebels put out a call
for new recruits, especially young men willing to become officers.
Hundreds of candidates have so far signed up, most of them students
from local universities.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 22 April, 1997)

* Zambia. Press retains freedom  -  The Zambian government has
indefinitely postponed proposed legislation to regulate the press
after public and diplomatic pressure. "In order to allow for
further consultations with all stakeholders, and principally the
electors, the government has deferred the proposed Media Council
Bill," David Mpamba, the Information Minister said in a statement.
Scores of Zambian journalists have staged angry protests against
the proposed law which aims to give the government power to bar
journalists from working.   (The Independent, U.K., 16 April 1997)

* Zimbabwe. Cabinet looted pensions  -  Zimbabwean cabinet members
are accused of looting a huge fund meant to compensate war
veterans, a scandal that has come to a head as the country marks
its 17th anniversary of independence. Many cabinet ministers,
members of Parliament and others close to President Robert Mugabe's
ruling ZANU-PF have claimed more than half the œ22.5 million War
Veterans Compensation Fund, according to allegations in parliament
and reports in the independent press. The government has drafted a
bill to create another fund, this one to pay political detainees
from the Rhodesian era. It is widely seen as another slush fund to
reward those close to the ruling party.   (The Guardian, U.K., 19
April 1997)

* Zimbabwe. Trouble in the air  -  Zimbabwe has accused Britain of
"blackmail" over an air traffic rights agreement, following a
Whitehall threat to ban one of Air Zimbabwe's flight to London
Gatwick airport. Harare had earlier agreed that British Airways
(BA) could increase the number of its weekly flights to Harare from
three to four, thereby matching the frequency of Air Zimbabwe
flights to London. But the Zimbabwe authorities demanded that BA
fly to Harare every Sunday, returning on a Monday to London, rather
than a Tuesday-Wednesday cycle. Harare is opposed to the Tuesday-
Wednesday flights as they compete directly with its national
carrier flights.   (The Financial Times, U.K., 24 April 1997)


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