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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 22-01-1998      PART #1/  

* Africa. Action against the Media  -  Ethiopia: On 16 January
1998, four editorial staff members of the 'Tobiya' newspaper were
arrested. Several hours after the arrests, the offices of
'Tobiya' were burnt down. the fire destroyed office equipment as
well as valuable databases and archive material. Malawi:
According to reports, on 15 January, soldiers stormed the offices
of the 'Daily Times', demanding copies of a story alleging that
the rate of HIV was higher in the army than in society in
general. The Malawian army has formally denied any involvement
in the raid. Sierra Leone: Mohammed Kallon of the 'Herald
Guardian', arrested on 9 or 10 January, was released without
charge about 12 January. He is reported to have been badly
bruised as a result of ill-treatment in custody. Two other
journalists, also with the 'Herald Guardian', remained in
detention. Zambia: On 13 January, the Zambian High Court issues
an order summoning 'The Post' newspaper's editor-in-chief, Fred
M'membe, and senior reporter, Reuben Phiri, as well as two human
rights activists, for alleged contempt of court. They appeared
before the Lusaka High Court on 19 January on alleged contempt
of court charges. The case was rescheduled to 22 January.  
(IFEX, Canada, 19 January 1998)

* Algerie. Reactions internationales  -  14 janvier. La
communaute Sant'Egidio lance, a Rome, l'idee d'une conference
internationale sur l'Algerie, patronnee par l'Union europeenne,
Washington et les pays arabes, qui permettrait un dialogue libre
entre les forces politiques algeriennes (FIS compris) et le
gouvernement. 15 janvier. Apres le refus d'Alger de recevoir une
troika de fonctionnaires, l'Union europeenne s'est resolue a y
envoyer un trio de secretaires d'Etat, comme le souhaitait le
gouvernement algerien. La mission aura lieu les 19 et 20 janvier,
et les discussions pourront porter sur tous les sujets, y compris
celui qui gene les Europeens: la lutte contre le terrorisme. De
son cote, le Parlement europeen a designe sa delegation de neuf
deputes qui ira egalement en Algerie. A Washington, le
departement d'Etat a demande instamment qu'Alger autorise des
"observateurs exterieurs a etudier la situation des droits de
l'homme" et precise que "la communaute internationale avait le
droit de s'informer sur cette situation". 16 janvier. Le
commissaire de l'ONU aux droits de l'homme, Mary Robinson,
condamne la vague de massacres en Algerie; elle croit que "la
dimension des droits de l'homme de la crise algerienne est une
question d'interet international" et souhaite que les rapporteurs
speciaux de l'ONU puissent se rendre rapidement sur le terrain.
Enfin, le numero un iranien, Ali Khameni, a denonce "le silence
des instances internationales dans cette tragedie". 17 janvier.
Selon la presse algerienne, au moins 26 personnes ont encore ete
assassinees le 15 janvier au sud d'Alger, dont 18 egorgees a un
"faux barrage" dresse par des islamistes habilles en tenue
militaire. Par ailleurs, trois jeunes filles, enlevees il y a
huit jours a Sidi Hammed, ont ete retrouvees egorgees. A Ouzera,
pres de Medea, six membres d'une famille ont ete dechiquetes par
l'explosion d'une bombe. Pres de Tizi-Ouzou (Kabylie) une bombe
a fait 4 blesses. 19-20 janvier. Passage a Alger de la mission
europeenne, censee explorer la question de savoir si et comment
l'Europe peut aider a combattre le terrorisme. La mission, qui
a suscite plus d'interrogations que de reponses, est repartie sur
une resolution conforme a son mandat de depart. "Nous souhaitons
enclencher un processus de dialogue avec l'Algerie", a explique
M. Fatchett, ministre des Affaires etrangeres britannique, qui
a cependant qualifie le dialogue d'"extremement utile". Le meme
jour, une bombe a fait un mort et 23 blesses sur les hauteurs
d'Alger; une autre a fait au moins trois morts et trente blesses
a Zeralda, a 20 km de la capitale. 21 janvier. Deux engins
explosifs font au moins deux morts a Alger.   (ANB-BIA, de
sources diverses, 22 janvier 1998)

* Algeria. Foreign diplomacy  -  15 January: Derek Fatchett, the
British Foreign Office minister of state, accompanied by
colleagues from Austria and Luxembourg, will be in Algeria, 19-20
January. The visit has been finalised after talks between the
British Foreign Office Minister Robin Cook, and Ahmed Attaf,
Algeria's Foreign Minister. The two agree that the mission can
discuss "all matters relevant to ending the suffering of the
Algerian people". 16 January: Manuel Marin, responsible for EU
relations with the southern Mediterranean and Middle East says
he is convinced that the Algerian government is not involved in
the recent series of massacres. 19 January: The EU "troika"
arrives in Algiers. 20 January: Algeria's Foreign Minister Ahmed
Attaf tells the EU delegates that his country does not need
outside help. Algeria also refuses to accept an EU request that
UN monitors should be invited to come to Algeria. During the EU
visit, a bomb destroys a bus in Algiers and another explodes in
the town of Zeralda.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 21 January 1998)

* Angola. UNITA backers warned  -  Six southern African states
warned backers of UNITA, they risked punishment if they continued
their support. The warning was included in a communique issued
by the Defense, Security and Home Ministers of Angola, Malawi,
Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe, after a one-day
meeting of the Southern African Development Community (SADC)
inter-state Defense and Security Committee.   (InfoBeat, USA, 15
January 1998)

* Burundi. Hutus vow to fight on  -  On 20 January, Burundi's
main Hutu rebel group vowed to continue its guerrilla war against
the country's military regime. At a news conference in Nairobi,
the local representative for the National Council for the Defence
of Democracy (CNDD), Innocent Nimpagaritse said: "We have no
other solution than to continue (military) pressure on the
putschist army so we can bring back democracy in Burundi". He
denied that the Council's armed wing, the Forces for the Defence
of Democracy, was targeting civilians. (Editor's note: The CNDD
say they will be present, at least at the margins, of a seminar
opening in Arusha, Tanzania, on 21 January, on "Conflict
Resolution in Africa").   (The Guardian, U.K., 21 January 1998)

* Burundi. Affrontements et pourparlers  -  16 janvier. L'envoye
special americain Howard Wolpe arrive au Burundi pour
s'entretenir avec le president Buyoya en vue de faire progresser
les discussions avec le CNDD, le principal mouvement rebelle
hutu. 18 janvier. Des rebelles hutu attaquent une position
militaire dans la banlieue nord de la capitale: 3 rebelles
auraient ete tues et 3 militaires blesses. L'armee annonce avoir
repousse les rebelles au bout de six heures de combats,
entrainant la fuite de 4.000 personnes, principalement des Hutu
craignant des represailles de l'armee. - D'autre part, le
ministre burundais des Affaires etrangeres fait savoir que son
gouvernement participerait a la prochaine reunion d'Arusha pour
discuter du processus de paix. 20 janvier. Selon l'armee, une
attaque de la rebellion a fait 33 morts a Rumonge, a 75 km au sud
de la capitale. Les affrontements auraient fait aussi 12 blesses,
dont 4 militaires. - Un representant du mouvement hutu CNDD
declare que son organisation serait presente, au moins en marge,
a la reunion d'Arusha.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 22
janvier 1998)

* Congo-Brazza. Reconstruction  -  L'Union europeenne est prete
a renouveler sa cooperation avec Brazzaville pour des projets
d'infrastructure, suite a la conference nationale de la semaine
derniere qui a consenti a un programme de transition politique.
Le representant de l'Union, F. Baron, a declare le 19 janvier a
Bruxelles que le soutien ne reprendra que lorsque la securite
sera retablie et que le gouvernement presentera un programme de
reconstruction nationale. Une mission de l'Union europeenne est
actuellement a Brazzaville afin d'evaluer les besoins.   (IRIN,
Nairobi, 20 janvier 1998)

* Congo-Brazza. Report on the 1997 conflict  -  UNICEF says that
the June-October 1997 conflict in Congo-Brazza, devastated
Brazzaville, displaced an estimated 650,000 people and resulted
in the deaths of between 4,000 to 10,000 people. Children and
women were the primary victims. In conjunction with UN partners
and humanitarian agencies, UNICEF launched an emergency programme
upon the outbreak of the conflict, maintained operations
throughout the five-month civil war and mounted special relief
and rehabilitation activities to address the needs of children
in the post-conflict age.   (IRIN, Nairobi, 21 January 1998)

* Congo-RDC. Relance miniere  -  Le Congo-RDC a annonce le 15
janvier la signature d'un pre-accord avec des groupes miniers
internationaux pour constituer, avec la Gecamines, un consortium
charge de relancer la production miniere et metallurgique a
Kolwezi. Ce pre-accord doit etre suivi d'etudes de faisabilite
qui preciseront le volume d'investissements necessaires et les
conditions de financement proposees aux societes privees. Parmi
celles-ci on trouve l'Union miniere (belge), Anglo-American et
Iscor (sud-africaines), et Falconbridge (canadienne). Cet accord
marquerait le retour des compagnies "seniors" et l'entree des
compagnies sud-africaines, tirant profit de l'appui de Pretoria
a Kabila pendant la "guerre de liberation".   (d'apres La Libre
Belgique, 16 janvier 1998)

* Congo-RDC. Monetary and legal reform  -  15 January: a Belgian
newspaper L'Echo reports that plans by Congo RDC to overhaul the
country's monetary system have hit a snag. A subsidiary of
Sweden's central bank, chosen by Congo RDC to print new bank
notes at the centre of the planned reform, has pulled out of the
project. It adds that technical aid due to be offered by the
National Bank of Belgium is also still not certain. L'Echo says
that the Swedish firm which had been due to print the notes had
been chosen ahead of a German printer, Gieseke & Devrient, former
Zaire's traditional supplier. 16 January: The country's business
association urges the government to instigate legal reform,
saying that without it the business sector could collapse. The
Federation of Congolese Enterprises gives Justice Minister Mwenze
Kongolo a long list of grievances saying that the problems
threaten to smother prospects of badly needed foreign and
national investment.   (Reuters, 15 & 17 January 1998)

* Congo-RDC. Conference de reconstruction  -  Le 24 janvier doit
s'ouvrir a Kinshasa une "Conference nationale sur la
reconstruction" (CNR), qui doit degager les grandes lignes d'un
plan decennal. A la difference de la Conference nationale
souveraine de 1991-92, la CNR ne devrait durer que 3 semaines et
elle se realisera a partir de travaux au niveau local et
provincial. Dans toutes les provinces du Congo, des reunions
locales ont deja eu lieu, precedant les conferences provinciales,
qui enverront des delegues a la Conference. La diaspora est
egalement invitee a la preparation. La diaspora d'Europe a ouvert
ses travaux le 16 janvier a Bruxelles. Une centaine de Congolais
expatries y sont inscrits, venant de Belgique, France, Allemagne,
Pays-Bas, Suisse et Luxembourg.   (d'apres Le Soir, Belgique, 17
janvier 1998)

* Congo-RDC. Homme d'affaires en residence surveillee  -  Le
Belge Patrick Claes, ancien administrateur delegue de la
Sizarail, a pu quitter la prison le 18 janvier, cinq mois apres
son arrestation, et est assigne a residence surveillee. Selon des
milieux bien informes, les autorites congolaises n'auraient,
malgre une longue enquete, rien trouve de concret contre M.
Claes, accuse de detournement de fonds. La mesure devrait
rassurer les candidats investisseurs et donner en partie
satisfaction a Bruxelles et a Pretoria. Sizarail est une societe
mixte, dont la partie privee est a 35% belge et a 65% sud-
africaine (Spoornet). En decembre, le directeur executif de
Spoornet avait menace de mettre fin a tout transport ferroviaire
entre l'Afrique du Sud et le Congo, si M. Claes n'etait pas
libere et si Kinshasa n'epurait pas une dette de 200 millions de
rands dues aux chemins de fer sud-africains. - Par ailleurs, un
des dirigeants de l'opposition, Joseph Olenghankoy, a ete arrete
le 20 janvier a Kinshasa, a annonce son parti, le Fonus.  
(d'apres La Libre Belgique, 20-21 janvier 1998)

* Congo-RDC. Ban on party politics  -  16 January: The government
warns that anyone breaking its ban on political activity will be
brought before military courts. 17 January: President Kabila says
that a ban on politics will remain in force, adding that the
alternative was to risk bloodletting among rival political
militias. The same day, police enforce the ban by preventing
opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi from addressing party
militants. Witnesses say that soldiers took away four Tshisekedi
supporters outside his Kinshasa home and that dozens of police
surrounded the headquarters of his Union for Democracy and Social
progress (UDPS) in the same Limete district of the capital. 20
January: Opposition leader Joseph Olenghankoy (FONUS) is arrested
in Kinshasa.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 21 January 1998)
* Cote d'Ivoire. Teachers risk jail  -  Cote d'Ivoire has
declared war on teachers who seduce their students, with the
government proposing a law to jail offenders for up to five
years. In a statement published on 15 January, the government
said that such male teachers were the major cause of girl
students getting pregnant and dropping out of school. "This draft
law aims to prevent and punish sexual harassment in schools, the
main cause of student pregnancies and in a large part,
responsible for disruption and interruption of schooling for
girls".   (InfoBeat, USA, 15 January 1998)

* Equatorial Guinea. Government sacked  -  17 January: Sources
say that President Obiang Nguema has sacked his entire
government. An opposition politician said he had heard an
announcement saying Prime Minister Angel Serafin Dougan had been
reappointed, and he speculated the reshuffle might be linked to
parliamentary elections due by November. Placido Miko, spokesman
for the opposition Convergence for Social Democracy, said the
President had surprised everyone when he announced the move on
14 January. "Even most of the ministers did not know it was
coming".   (InfoBeat, USA, 19 January 1998)

* Ethiopia. Sudanese in Ethiopia rounded-up  -  On 16 January,
the UN relief agency expressed concern over a continuing round-up
of Sudanese refugees and other migrants in Addis Ababa. At least
1,766 Sudanese had been collected over the last week and sent to
a camp in the northwest. They included student refugee students
as well as refugees scheduled to have interviews with
resettlement countries including Canada and the United States.
Ethiopia is host to 60,000 Sudanese refugees who have fled
fighting in their homeland over the years.   (InfoBeat, USA, 16
January 1998)

* Kenya. Elections -- reaction from Church leaders  -  Archbishop
Ndingi Mwana a'Nzeki (Catholic Archbishop of Nairobi) and
Archbishop David Gitari (Church of the Province of Kenya --
Anglican) tell Kenyans it is time to heal the 1997 election
wounds and prepare the country for the challenges of the next
millennium. "We may not respect the results, but we must accept
them...I'm not saying that there were no irregularities, but we
cannot keep looking back. The onus is on us to prepare ourselves
well for the next elections," said Archbishop Ndingi. Archbishop
Gitari said that all Kenyans, President Moi and the Opposition
included, were guilty of irregularities and suspicions that
characterised the General Election...The Opposition was driven
by over-confidence in their bid to win the election, but were
outmanoeuvred by President Moi. The only option left to the
Opposition was to either accept the results or cause chaos. But
with the elections gone, accepting the results remains a better
option.   (Daily Nation, Kenya, 12 January 1998)

* Kenya. Epidemie de fievre virale  -  La fievre de la vallee du
Rift, une epidemie tres rare, a deja fait 450 morts dans le nord-
est du Kenya, a declare M. Tailhades de la Croix-Rouge
internationale. Les inondations ont noye les regions affectees
et favorise l'expansion rapide de l'epidemie; mais surtout, les
habitants sont affaiblis par la malnutrition et le manque
d'hygiene dus au manque d'eau potable. D'autres epidemies virales
menacent la region, en particulier le cholera et le paludisme,
combinees a la famine. Les deputes de la region ont parle, le 15
janvier, de 5.000 morts en un mois. Selon M. Tailhades,
l'epidemie va automatiquement s'etendre. L'OMS a envoye une
mission pour mener une enquete et mettre sur pied une strategie
d'intervention.   (d'apres La Libre Belgique, 16 janvier 1998)

* Kenya. Battered by torrential rain  -  15 January: Thousands
of Nairobi residents are kept at home by torrential rains that
cut off whole districts and threaten the country's tourism and
farm-based economy. The rains have added to a deteriorating
sanitary situation in Nairobi. On the coast, Mombasa residents
say the 500 km highway from Nairobi to Mombasa, is on the verge
of being completely cut in several places. Tour operators from
Mombasa have stopped taking visitors from Mombasa to Amboseli
game-park because the roads are too bad to negotiate. Tea
industry officials say that landslides and impassable roads in
Eastern province are causing delays in delivering tea from farms
to buying centres and from buying centres to factories, causing
some wastage of the crop. 16 January: the World Health
Organisation warn travellers of the health risks existing in
Kenya, especially Rift Valley Fever. 18 January: the Press says
that floods have killed at least 86 people and caused the worst
damage in Kenya's recent history. One-third of Nairobi's
population is left without fresh water supply after a main supply
pipe snapped into two, apparently after heavy rains exposed it. 
 (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 19 January 1998)

* Kenya. New Kenya loan meeting  -  A team from the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) will travel to Kenya on 9 February to resume
negotiations on a suspended multi-million dollar loan programme.
The financial experts are returning at the Invitation of the
Kenyan government, in part to learn how and when Kenya plans to
implement economic reforms which it promised would be carried out
after the 1997 general election. Negotiations between the two
sides -- and a $205 million aid package -- were suspended on 31
July 1997 when the Fund said it was not convinced the government
was committed to ending corruption.   (The East African, Kenya,
12-18 January 1998)

* Lesotho. Water project  -  22 January marks the inauguration
of the first water supply from Lesotho to South Africa. However,
it is not a day to celebrate. Today, as President Mandela (South
Africa), King Letsie III, President Sam Nujoma (Namibia) and
President Kelumile Masire (Botswana) celebrate the transfer of
water from the Katse Dam to South Africa, they are ignoring
serious outstanding social, environmental and economic issues.
This project already has and could continue to adversely affect
a great number of people, directly cause harm to the environment
and set a damaging precedent for water management in southern
Africa.   (Chr. Albertyn, South Africa, 22 January 1998)

* Madagascar. Referendum constitutionnel  -  Le president
Ratsiraka a annonce le 9 janvier a Antananarivo qu'un referendum
constitutionnel aura lieu le 15 mars prochain. Il a precise que
les elections legislatives, prevues "avant le 3 juin", date de
l'expiration du mandat des deputes, seront organisees "apres le
referendum". M. Ratsiraka a laisse entendre que deux projets de
texte seront soumis lors du referendum, sans en preciser la
nature. On estime qu'un des projets sera base sur la formule d'un
Etat federal, l'autre sur celle d'un Etat unitaire "humaniste et
ecologique". Ce second systeme a ete l'un des themes de la
campagne du president, il y a un peu plus d'un an.   (Marches
Tropicaux, France, 16 janvier 1998)

* Mauritanie. Droits de l'homme  -  Quatre militants de la cause
des droits de l'homme ont ete arretes, le 17 janvier, apres la
diffusion d'un reportage sur l'esclavage, realise pendant le
rallye Paris-Dakar et repris par une television francaise, Canal
France International. L'esclavage a officiellement ete aboli en
1980 et le pouvoir politique, aux mains de la communaute maure,
affirme qu'il n'y a plus d'esclaves en Mauritanie.   (Le Monde,
France, 20 janvier 1998)

* Mozambique. An impossible debt  -  The worlds richest nations
are set to scupper a flagship international deal to rescue the
most impoverished countries in Africa from debt, after a bitter
squabble over who should pay the final $350 million to bail out
Mozambique. Aid agencies fear that the much-touted Highly
Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative will collapse next
week, unless the stand-off between the Paris Club of creditor
nations and the two big global funds (IMF/World Bank) is
resolved. But leaked documents from the World Bank reveal that
James Wolfenson, president of the World Bank, and Michael
Camdessus, managing director of the IMF, have both written
strongly worded letters to members of the Club to persuade them
to be more generous to Mozambique. The Club will be discussing
Mozambique's debt on 21 January. Paris Club rules limit loan
write-offs to 80%, not enough to get Mozambique's debt down to
a sustainable level.   (The Guardian, U.K., 17 January 1998)

* Nigeria. Promising markets and votes  -  Nigeria's military
government has produced a budget that it says will deliver the
economic conditions for the return to civilian rule this year.
But many observers say the economic promises are as questionable
as the political ones. General Abacha has pledged to increase
spending on health and education, accelerate economic growth,
reduce inflation and bring down unemployment.   (Financial Times,
U.K., 22 January 1998)

* Ouganda. Deficit commercial en hausse  -  Le deficit commercial
ougandais a connu une brusque hausse en 1997, passant de 875
millions $ a pres d'un milliard $. Selon les dernieres
statistiques, les exportations ont atteint 653 millions $ en
1997, alors que les importations grimpaient a 1,63 milliard $.
Les experts de la Banque mondiale attribuent ces mauvais
resultats aux problemes du secteur agricole qui rapporte a lui
seul 90% des recettes du pays. Les autorites ougandaises mettent
en cause la secheresse suivie de pluies surabondantes. Mais la
nature des importations est egalement preoccupante. Ainsi, 16%
de ces importations sont des voitures, contre 8% seulement pour
les machines outils.   (Lettre de l'Ocean Indien, France, 17
janvier 1998)

* Rwanda. International Tribunal  -  On 14 January, the UN
Secretary-General gave permission for Maj. Gen. Romeo Dallaire
who headed the UN peacekeeping troops in 1994, to testify at the
UN tribunal investigating the genocide in Rwanda. Kofi Annan said
he was waving immunity, but Dallaire could only testify on the
specific case before the Tribunal. Dallaire, in charge of UN
troops in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide, has been critical of
the Security Council's hesitation in sending an adequate number
of troops to Rwanda and then withdrawing them. He has been asked
to testify in the trial against Jean-Paul Akayesu, charged with
genocide in the 1994 mass killings of an estimated 800,000 Tutsis
and moderate Hutus.   (InfoBeat, USA, 15 January 1998)

* Rwanda. Bus ambush  -  On 19 January, Hutu rebels killed 35 bus
passengers and wounded more than 30 others in an ambush near the
northwestern town of Gisenyi. The victims were all part of a
group of 110 employees of the national Bralirwa brewery.
Militiamen asked the workers to separate along ethnic lines,
before opening fire indiscriminately because the workers were
slow to obey orders.   (InfoBeat, USA, 19 January 1998)

* Rwanda. Attaque d'un bus - Kagame a Bruxelles  -  Le 19 janvier
au petit matin, un bus transportant le personnel de la brasserie
Bralirwa a ete attaque a 5 km du centre de Gisenyi, au nord-ouest
du Rwanda. Les assaillants ont demande aux passagers de se
separer entre Tutsi et Hutu. Ces derniers ayant refuse
d'obtemperer, les assaillants ont ouvert le feu, faisant 80 morts
selon la direction de l'usine, une quarantaine selon les
autorites rwandaises. - D'autre part, l'homme fort du Rwanda, M.
Paul Kagame, qui etait a Bruxelles a l'invitation officielle du
Parlement europeen, a ete recu le 20 janvier par les autorites
europeennes et belges. Devant le Parlement europeen il a lance
un appel pour que l'Union europeenne aide son pays a resoudre les
difficultes auxquelles il est confronte. Il a minimise les
derniers incidents au nord-ouest du Rwanda.   (ANB-BIA, de
sources diverses, 21 janvier 1998)

* Sahara occidental. Referendum retarde?  -  Kofi Annan, le
secretaire general de l'Onu, dans un rapport publie la semaine
derniere, estime qu'il sera "difficile" d'achever
l'identification des electeurs pour le referendum
d'autodetermination au Sahara occidental avant la fin mai, ce qui
pourrait retarder le calendrier electoral. L'Onu a fixe au 7
decembre le referendum sense mettre un point final au conflit qui
oppose le Maroc et le Front Polisario depuis 25 ans.   (Le Monde,
France, 20 janvier 1998)

* Senegal. Bataillon de maintien de la paix  -  Le 16 janvier a
Dakar, la France a livre des materiels militaires qui serviront
a armer un bataillon africain multinational de maintien de la
paix en Afrique. Cette cession est le prelude d'une politique
destinee a constituer des forces interafricaines susceptibles de
contribuer, au nom de l'ONU ou de l'OUA, a la gestion de crises.
En fevrier, un important exercice militaire, qui a recu l'appui
logistique de la France, des Etats-Unis et du Royaume-Uni,
permettra de tester la validite du projet.   (d'apres Le Monde,
France, 18 janvier 1998)

* Sierra Leone. Les Kamajors attaquent  -  Les Kamajors
(chasseurs traditionnels) se sont empares, le 18 janvier, du
centre diamantifere de Tongofield. La ville, dont les diamants
sont une source importante de revenus pour l'Etat, est tombee au
terme de quinze jours de siege. Des milliers de personnes ont fui
le centre en direction de camps de refugies. Les Kamajors
s'opposent a la junte qui a renverse en mai 1997 le president
Kabbah, democratiquement elu.   (La Libre Belgique, 19 janvier
1998)

* Sierra Leone. The battle for Tongofield  -  Relief agencies
said on 18 January, that thousands of people had fled from the
diamond town of Tongofield after it was captured from government
forces by the Kamajor (traditional hunters) on 17 January after
a two-week siege. The Kamajor are fighting against the military
junta who ousted President Kabbah. Those fleeing were heading
towards Kenema, the eastern capital. On 19 January, the army
recaptured Tongofield after a fierce battle. Military commanders
said soldiers and their Revolutionary United Front allies killed
50 Kamajors. (Editor's note: A summit of the ECOWAS Committee of
Five will take place in Abuja, Nigeria in February, to review the
political situation in Sierra Leone).   (The Guardian, U.K., 19
& 20 January 1998)

* Somalie. Inondations  -  Le bilan des inondations a atteint,
le 14 janvier, 1.980 morts, tandis que le cholera et d'autres
maladies continuent de se propager dans l'est de l'Afrique. En
outre, pres d'un million de Somaliens sont maintenant entierement
dependants de l'aide alimentaire, selon les agences des Nations
unies.   (Le Monde, France, 16 janvier 1998)

* Somalie. Pas d'aide sans processus de paix  -  Le 19 janvier
a Rome, au cours de la premiere reunion des pays de la Corne de
l'Afrique, regroupes dans l'IGAD (Autorite intergouvernementale
pour le developpement), et des pays occidentaux partenaires, des
doutes ont ete exprimes sur la possibilite de reunir comme prevu,
le 15 fevrier, une conference de reconciliation nationale
somalienne a Baidoa. Les chefs des factions et des clans
somaliens ont ete avertis qu'aucune aide ne sera accordee pour
la reconstruction de leur pays, tant qu'ils ne seront pas engages
dans un processus de paix. Parlant au nom des pays partenaires,
M. Dini, ministre italien des Affaires etrangeres, a appele "les
dirigeants somaliens a laisser de cote l'illusion qu'ils peuvent
regler leurs differents par la force".   (Le Monde, France, 21
janvier 1998)

* South Africa. ANC hit by corruption claims  -  Trocaire, an
Irish charity, has released documents showing that Mathole
Motshekga, who is about to take over as premier of Gauteng, the
province which incorporates Johannesburg and Pretoria, was
accused in the late 1960s of embezzling donor funds from the
European Union (EU). The disclosures may prove damaging to
President Mandela and the ANC leadership, because they reportedly
knew of the scandal but failed to clear up the matter. A legal
expert who investigated the scandal at the time -- after
complaints from Trocaire -- described his activities as
"fraudulent". The allegations against Mr Motshekga stem from his
time as head of the National Institute for Public Interest, Law
and Research, which was funded by the EU through Trocaire. The
charity was tipped off in 1989 about financial irregularities in
the institute. It voiced its concern to the then president of the
National Association of Democratic Lawyers, Pius Langa, and
passed on to him the annual report of the institute's activities
prepared by Mr Motshekga. Mr Langa told Trocaire that the report
appeared to be "extremely fraudulent". Trocaire pulled out of the
project after failing to get a formal inquiry into the scandal. 
 (The Guardian, U.K., 16 January 1998)

* South Africa. Confrontation with Buthelezi  -  16 January: The
TRC, already engaged in a showdown with former president P.W.
Botha, is braced for an even more explosive confrontation with
Chief Buthelezi. Documents fed to the TRC by a former confident
of Chief Buthelezi, has put it under pressure to subpoena the
Zulu leader for questioning about his alleged collaboration with
the apartheid security forces and involvement in the creation of
assassination squads. He may follow Mr Botha's example and refuse
to testify.   (The Guardian, U.K., 17 January 1998)

* Sudan. Former rebels  -  16 January: President al-Bashir has
named a former rebel commander as deputy president of the south.
He has appointed Maj. Gen. Kerubino Kwanyin Bol as deputy
president and minister for local government and public security
in the south. 19 January: Southern Sudanese leader, Riek Machar,
says that 38 people were killed in more than a week of clashes
between members of a government peacekeeping force. Machar, a
former rebel who is now president of the Southern Coordinating
Council, said the fighting started on 9 January between soldiers
who were supporting rival tribesmen contesting a local election.
Machar said the troops, members of the Southern Sudan Defence
Force, had been guarding an oil concession of a Chinese firm just
outside Bentiu town. Clashes broke out after Taban Deng was voted
in as the governor, and the opposition was dissatisfied.  
(InfoBeat, USA, 16 & 19 January 1998)

* Tanzanie. Menace de famine  -  Le ministre de l'Agriculture,
Paul Kimiti, a mis en garde, le 16 janvier, contre une
potentielle menace de famine, suite aux abondantes pluies qui
font augmenter les insectes s'attaquant aux recoltes. Les stocks
alimentaires ont ete considerablement reduits. Les regions les
plus touchees sont: Singida, Dodoma, Tabora, Lindi, Mtwara,
Mbeya, Tanga et Morogoro. Dans la seule region de Singida, 24.000
hectares ont ete devastes.   (IRIN, Nairobi, 19 janvier 1998)

* Tanzanie. Nouveau cardinal  -  Parmi les vingt nouveaux
cardinaux que le pape Jean Paul II a nommes le 18 janvier a Rome,
figure un Africain: Mgr. Polycarp Pengo, 53 ans, archeveque de
Dar es Salaam depuis juillet 1992. Auparavant, Mgr. Pengo etait
coadjuteur du cardinal Laurent Rugambwa, decede en decembre
dernier. L'Afrique compte aujourd'hui 14 cardinaux.   (La Croix,
France, 20 janvier 1998)

* Tanzania. Natural disasters  -  A selection of headlines from
East African newspapers, emphasises the natural disasters which
have hit Tanzania in recent weeks: "Heavy rains pound Tabora --
20,000 homless, 44 bridges washed away, 1,300 tonnes of food
needed" (The Guardian, 6 January. "$1 for Tanzania roads" (The
East African, 5 January. "Train services resume today" (Daily
News, 14 January. "Cholera kills 109 in Mwanza" (The Guardian,
12 January.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 22 January 1998)

* Ouganda. Sommet economique regional  -  Le president ougandais
Museveni accueillera, les 23 et 24 janvier, un sommet de 13
nations sur l'avenir economique de l'Afrique. Pays invites:
Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzanie, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Afrique du Sud,
Botswana, Zambie, R.D. Congo, Senegal, Erythree et Ethiopie. Le
president de la Banque mondiale, M. Wolfensohn, y participera
egalement.   (IRIN, Nairobi, 20 janvier 1998)

* Uganda. Kampala to host 10 Presidents  -  At least 10
Presidents will converge on Kampala on 23 January to attend a
two-day leaders' forum of eastern and southern African states.
Expected are Presidents Laurent Kabila (Congo RDC), Benjamin
Mukapa (Tanzania), Pasteur Bizimungu (Rwanda), Issaias Afwerki
(Eritrea), Frederick Chiluba (Zambia), Joachim Chissano
(Mozambique), Abdou Diouf (Senegal), Daniel Arap Moi (Kenya),
Robert Mugabe (Zimbabwe). Prime Minister Meles Zenawi (Ethiopia).
Vice-Presidents Festur Gontebanye Mogae (Botswana), Thabo Mbeki
(South Africa). The meeting will also be attended by World Bank
President James Wolfenson. According to the President's Office,
the leaders will discuss crucial issues concerning economic
development in the region, and map out possible common strategies
for development.   (PANA, 21 January 1998)

* Uganda/Rwanda. Museveni urges tough action  -  12 January:
Ending a two-day visit to Rwanda, Uganda's President Museveni
said that Rwandese convicted of plotting the 1994 genocide that
killed more than 500,000 minority Tutsis, should be hanged. He
urged justice before reconciliation. He said: "I think you will
have reconciliation if you punish those who were the masterminds
of this historic crime...We Africans have to convince the UN that
even those convicted in Arusha (the International tribunal on
Rwanda) should be hanged. If they are not hanged, then how will
the anger go?" President Museveni also discussed with Rwanda's
President Bizimungu, bilateral and regional issues, including the
economic sanctions imposed on neighbouring Burundi.   (Daily
Nation, Kenya, 12 January 1998)

* Vatican City. Message for end of Ramadan  -  Cardinal Francis
Arinze, President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious
Dialogue, has addressed the Muslim community with the Catholic
community's annual message for the Feast of the Breaking of the
Fast at the end of Ramadan. His letter speaks of what Christians
and Muslims have in common, and points to prayer, fasting and
almsgiving as signs of shared search for God. This search for God
is a sign of hope, and hope creates a desire for good things to
come, as well as allowing us to see the good that exists already
in the world. The Cardinal refers to a number of these signs of
hope that are evident -- growing solidarity, especially with the
poor, the desire for peace and justice, the return of religion,
awareness of human dignity, concern for the environment, etc. He
spoke of the sad situation of Christians and Muslims ignoring one
another and even quarrelling. But he suggests that we must be
realistic and acknowledge what he calls "the dramatic crises of
our world", wars between different countries, civil wars. He said
that Christians and Muslims, "we can work together to give
increased hope to humanity".   (Card. Arinze, Vatican City, 16
January 1998)

* Zambie. Kaunda accuse Chiluba  -  L'ancien president Kenneth
Kaunda a declare le 8 janvier que le coup d'Etat manque d'octobre
dernier etait en realite un coup monte par le president Chiluba.
Devant la Haute cour de justice de Lusaka, M. Kaunda,
actuellement en residence surveillee pour son implication
presumee dans le complot, a accuse le president Chiluba d'avoir
lui-meme prepare le coup d'Etat, organise par de jeunes
officiers. "J'affirme qu'il n'est pas authentique", a-t-il
declare devant la cour, se plaignant par ailleurs de ses
conditions de detention.   (Marches Tropicaux, France, 16 janvier
1998)

* Zambia. Court orders evidence to be released  -  On 20 January,
Kenneth Kaunda's lawyers said that a Lusaka court had ordered the
state to release evidence needed to fight his detention for
alleged involvement in a coup. Kaunda's lawyers believe the state
is hiding crucial audio and visual evidence, and has subpoenaed
the state for their release.   (InfoBeat, USA, 20 January 1998)

* Zimbabwe. Emeutes et repression  -  L'annonce d'une hausse des
produits de premiere necessite, dont la farine de mais,
consequence d'un brusque effondrement du dollar zimbabween, a
provoque deux jours d'emeutes et de pillages dans les banlieues
populaires de Harare. Le 20 janvier, le president Mugabe a menace
de recourir a l'etat d'urgence et le gouvernement a decide de
deployer l'armee pour controler les milliers de manifestants,
mais a promis de reetudier la montee des prix. Deja debut
decembre dernier, apres l'annonce d'une augmentation des taxes
pour pouvoir payer une pension aux anciens combattants, une greve
generale avait oblige le gouvernement a reculer. Le 20 janvier
dans l'apres-midi, des incidents ont egalement eclate en
province: a Masvingo (300 km au sud de Harare), a Gweru (250 km
al'ouest) et a Chegutu (100 km a l'ouest). Le 21 janvier, la
situation restait tendue dans la capitale.   (ANB-BIA, de sources
diverses, 22 janvier 1998)

* Zimbabwe. Riots against price rises  -  19 January: Police
helicopters tear-gas homes in black townships south of Harare,
as riots against price rises spread from the centre of Harare.
Earlier, police fired tear-gas and wield clubs to force more than
1,000 demonstrators out of central Harare to stop protests that
left a trail of vandalised and looted shops. The strike forces
the government to order millers to rescind a 21% increase in the
price of maize meal, the staple food. 20 January: President
Mugabe says he is prepared to decree a state of emergency if the
rioting and pillaging continues in Harare. The army is ordered
onto the streets of Harare to restore order. 21 January:
Zimbabwean officials accuse the country's white minority of
funding the present unrest. Riots and looting spread to Mutare.
President Mugabe orders an emergency cabinet meeting to set up
a ministerial price control panel.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 22
January 1998)


COUNTRY