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: 04-02-1999 - PART #1/ * Africa. Action against the Media - Cote d'Ivoire: Two journalists, accused of defamation, have been given a six-month suspended sentence each and fined 500,000 CFA francs each. They are Diegou Bailly, director and publisher of Le Jour, and his reporter, Joachim Beugre. Kenya: A high court in Kenya has restrained Finance magazine, owned by opposition politician Njehu Gatabaki and published by Finance Institute Limited, from carrying articles insinuating that Cabinet Minister Nicholas Biwott was involved in the murder of former Foreign Affairs Minister Robert Ouko and British tourist Julie Ward. The order was made on 28 January 1999 and will remain in force until the final determination of a suit filed by the Minister against the magazine, its publisher, and editor-in-chief Njehu Gatabaki. Mozambique: On 28 January, RSF protested the arbitrary arrest of journalist Fernando Quinova, who was arrested and arbitrarily detained for 23 days. Sierra Leone: On 9 January, Mabay Kamara, a free-lance reporter was abducted by RUF rebels from his residence in Freetown. He has not been seen since. The same day, Paul Mansaray, deputy editor of the Standard Times, two young children and an unnamed nephew, were all murdered by RUF rebels in Calabar Town. On 25 January, journalist Javier Espinosa of Spain's El Mundo newspaper was kidnapped by RUF rebels, together with Patrick Saint-Paul of France's Le Figaro. Saint-Paul was liberated the same day, Espinsona on 27 January. Tunisia: According to Reporters sans Frontieres (RSF)'s information, journalist Taoufik Ben Brick, a correspondent with the French press agency Syfia in Tunis, was once again the victim of intimidation tactics and telephone threats. At 8:30 p.m., five men in a white car (with curtains) came and vandalised his car, tearing off the steering wheel and smashing the windows. At 1:00 a.m., he was insulted by a telephone caller and threatened: "You haven't seen anything yet!". Ben Brick had recently written an article for the Syfia agency concerning bread subsidies, a strategic commodity in Tunisia. (IFEX, Canada, 28 January-1 February1999) * Afrique. Poliomyelite - La directrice generale de l'OMS, Mme Brundtland, a declare que grace a "une ultime mais puissante campagne", la poliomyelite peut etre supprimee dans le monde entier dans les deux annees qui viennent. Les progres accomplis ces dix dernieres annees ont ete remarquables, et seules trois grandes zones de transmission demeurent encore: l'Asie meridionale, l'Afrique de l'Ouest (principalement le Nigeria) et l'Afrique centrale (principalement la R.D. du Congo). Le reste de la campagne se concentrera sur 14 pays et regions dont l'acces a ete rendu difficile par des conflits armes ou des carences d'infrastructures publiques, a precise Mme Brundtland. (IRIN, Abidjan, 1er fevrier 1999) * Afrique. Conference du PNUD - Organisations internationales, ministres et representants residents du PNUD (Programme des Nations unies pour le developpement) en provenance de 45 pays se rencontrent a Cotonou, au Benin, du 1er au 5 fevrier pour s'entretenir des besoins de l'Afrique en matiere de developpement a l'aube du nouveau millenaire. Selon Thelma Awori, directrice du bureau du PNUD pour l'Afrique, la conference doit marquer un tournant: "Elle va permettre le dialogue entre le siege central, qui prend les decisions, et les directeurs de programme sur le terrain, qui se trouvent au contact des realites quotidiennes vecues par les populations desservies par le PNUD". (IRIN, Abidjan, 2 fevrier 1999) * Afrique de l'Est. Chemin de fer regional - Un nouveau service de fret ferroviaire mis en conteneurs, reliant la Tanzanie et le port sud-africain de Durban, vient d'etre lance. Il devrait etre etendu afin de couvrir l'Afrique centrale et de l'Est. Trans Africa Railways, compagnie privee enregistree en Tanzanie, a commence en decembre dernier a transporter des marchandises depuis l'Afrique du Sud jusqu'a Mogororo en Tanzanie. Les lignes de Kidato a Kampala (Ouganda) pourraient entrer en service d'ici la fin de l'annee. Une partie du projet implique la modernisation du port de Dar es- Salaam, qui serait incorpore dans ce nouveau reseau regional. "L'idee est de creer un lien entre Durban et les regions du centre et de l'est du continent, en reactivant les lignes entre Kampala et Kasese au Rwanda, et de construire une extension ferroviere au Congo et au Sud-Soudan", a ajoute le directeur de la compagnie. (D'apres IRIN, Nairobi, 30 janvier 1999) * Afrique de l'Ouest. Sommet de l'UEMOA - Les pays membres de l'Union economique et monetaire ouest-africaine (UEMOA) ont acheve, le 28 janvier, leur 3e sommet, en lancant un "appel solennel" a leurs partenaires au developpement pour qu'ils "etendent a l'ensemble des pays africains en general, et aux pays de l'UEMOA en particulier, l'initiative en faveur des pays pauvres tres endettes et de reduire de facon significative le stock global de leur dette". Le niveau de l'endettement exterieur pese lourdement sur les perspectives d'investissement et de croissance, ont-ils indique. Le service de la dette exterieure des huit pays membres represente un cinquieme de leurs recettes d'exportations. L'UEMOA regroupe huit pays de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Guinee Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal et Togo) qui ont en commun la meme monnaie, le franc CFA, garanti par le tresor francais. (D'apres AFP, France, 28 janvier 1999) * Africa-Sahel. Food aid programme ending - A food aid programme supported by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in the Sahelian countries is coming to a close after helping tens of thousands of people survive in the lean period between harvests, a Federation report said. In the report, the Federation said 130,000 food rations had been distributed to children and other vulnerable groups by national Red Cross societies in Burkina Faso, Chad, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal, where each year food shortages are at the root of outbreaks of disease, malnutrition and migration to urban areas. Relief activities did not take place in Nigeria, where effects of the drought were less drastic than anticipated, it said. Chronically, poor harvests in the Sahelian belt were made worse in 1998 by the El Ni¤o phenomena, affecting an estimated three million people. (IRIN, Nairobi, 29 January 1999) * Algerie. Plate-forme pour la presidentielle - Le 31 janvier, cinq partis politiques, dont le FFS d'Ait-Ahmed, le RND (parti presidentiel) et le MSP (ex-Hamas), ont signe une plate-forme insistant sur la necessite de "respecter le libre choix du peuple", la "neutralite des institutions de l'Etat" et la "non-violence". Appelant au "refus de l'exclusion et de la culture de la haine", les signataires s'engagent a "oeuvrer pour consacrer l'Etat de droit". Ahmed Taleb Ibrahimi, Mouloud Hamrouche et Youssef el- Khatib, trois candidats au futur scrutin, assistaient a la signature de cette plate-forme. (Liberation, France, 1 fevrier 1999) * Algerie. Succession de massacres - Les massacres se multiplient dans l'ouest algerien. Quatorze personnes ont ete assassinees dans la nuit du 31 janvier au 1er fevrier dans un double massacre a El- Merdja et Saharidj, deux localites du departement de Chlef, a 200 km a l'ouest d'Alger. Deux jours auparavant, cinq enfants de 5 a 14 ans avaient ete egorges a Bekhaitia, dans la meme region. La recrudescence des violences, qui touchent aussi la Kabylie, s'est accompagnee d'operations de ratissage de l'armee, ou un groupe de dissidents des GIA serait encercle et ou 20 islamistes auraient ete tues le 31 janvier. Une operation a ete egalement declenchee le meme jour a l'ouest, dans les regions de Relizane, Mascara et Tiaret, ou 15 islamistes ont ete tues dans les maquis de Belefgaa. (Liberation, France, 2 fevrier 1999) * Algerie. Retour d'Ait Ahmed - Le 2 fevrier, le responsable d'un des principaux partis d'opposition, le Front des forces socialistes, Hocine Ait Ahmed, est arrive a Alger apres trois ans d'exil en Suisse. Il a souligne qu'il ne revenait pas pour regler des comptes, mais pour aider a sortir de la crise et apporter une solution aux problemes qui secouent le pays depuis 1992. Survivant du groupe des peres de la revolution algerienne, M. Ait Ahmed assistera le 4 fevrier au congres extraordinaire de son parti, qui devra y designer son candidat aux presidentielles. (Le Soir, Belgique, 3 fevrier 1999) * Angola. UN seeks fresh donor funding - UN agencies providing humanitarian relief in Angola have said that they will need extra donor funding because of a huge increase in the number of internally displaced people and because growing insecurity has forced them to deliver all food, medical and other relief by air. In its report on the Angolan crisis, it said WFP had estimated food aid needs for 1999 to be in the order of 79,000 mt based on a total of 530,000 beneficiaries. To assist this large number of people, and taking into account a carryover of 40,000 mt from 1998, WFP had appealed for 39,000 mt of food supplies through the 1999 UN Consolidated Appeal. (IRIN, Nairobi, 29 January 1999) * Angola. UN mission to leave - The Angolan government wants UN peacekeepers to leave the country but is willing to let UN aid workers stay, a senior official said. Higino Carneiro, deputy minister for Territorial Administration, told Angola's parliament the government will reject a Security Council resolution to keep some peacekeepers in the southwestern African country. The peacekeepers were sent to monitor the implementation of a 1994 peace accord, which disintegrated last month. Fighting has spread throughout the country, prompting the UN to pull all its personal back to the capital, Luanda. (AP, 29 January 1999) * Angola. Pleins pouvoirs - 27 janvier: l'Unita annonce s'etre empare de la ville de Mbanza-Congo, au nord-est, non loin de la frontiere avec le Congo-Kinshasa, ce qui lui ouvre l'acces a Soyo, terminal petrolier et ville strategique pour l'exportation de petrole. La nouvelle est confirmee par le gouvernement angolais. - 28 janvier: l'armee angolaise a pris le controle de Nharea, un des fiefs de l'Unita situe a 40 km de son quartier general a Andulo. - 29 janvier: le president Dos Santos, dans un message lu au Parlement, a decrete une "periode exceptionnelle", durant laquelle il assumera pleinement les pouvoirs de chef de l'Etat, du gouvernement et de l'armee. Le poste de Premier ministre est supprime et remplace par une "commision permanente". Le lendemain, le president constitue un cabinet de guerre de 28 membres, dans lequel le poste de ministre de la Defense est occupe par Kundy Payama, un general connu pour sa determination. D'autre part, a l'issue d'une assemblee extraordinaire, les eveques catholiques de l'Angola ont lance un Mouvement pour la paix, attirant l'attention des responsables sur "le supplice du peuple, qui continue a etre la seule et la vraie victime de la guerre" .- 1er fevrier: l'Unita annonce avoir conquis la petite ville de Tomboco, a environ 150 km de Soyo, et affirme que les troupes gouvernementales commencent a quitter Lufico, qui se trouve en face du port de Matadi en RDC. - 2 fevrier: un avion Antonov 12 s'ecrase a Luanda, apres avoir pris feu peu apres son decollage; trente corps ont ete retrouves dans les decombres. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 3 fevrier 1999) * Angola. Update on the war - Western diplomats in Angola this week confirmed reports that the UNITA rebel movement led by Jonas Savimbi had seized a strategic northern town which can be used as a base to attack government-held oil installations. They say that UNITA had already broadcast warnings that foreign oil workers should leave the area. Angola's Defence Minister Pedro Sabastiao told the National Assembly that M'banza Congo, the capital of Zaire Province some 500 km north of the capital Luanda, had been taken on 26 Jan. after several days of heave fighting. The diplomats in Luanda said UNITA had warned foreign oil workers to leave the nearby town of Soyo where Texaco has oil installations. The government, however, has pledged to defend the oil installations at all costs, the diplomats said. The capture of M'banza Congo follows the resumption of war in Angola last month which shattered the UN- brokered Lusaka Protocol peace accords between the government and UNITA. On 29 January, UNITA rebel group said it was battling a heavily armed government regiment for control of the central highland town of Catabola, 100 km from its headquarters at Andulo. Andulo is the political and military headquarters of veteran guerilla leader Jonas Savimbi's UNITA since 1996. On 2 February, humanitarian officials reported that the government controlled town of Malanje had come under "particularly heavy shelling from long- range UNITA artillery guns. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 3 February 1999) * Burkina Faso. Commission d'enquete - La commission independante d'enquete a designe un magistrat pour conduire l'enquete sur la mort controversee du journaliste Albert Zongo, retrouve mort le mois dernier sur une route dans des circonstances suspectes. Le ministre de la Justice a declare, le 28 janvier, que le juge Kassoum Kambou, specialiste des droits de l'homme, prendra la tete de la commission de 10 membres regroupant des representants des pouvoirs publics, des groupements de defense des droits de l'homme et des syndicats nationaux de journalistes. (D'apres IRIN, Abidjan, 1er fevrier 1999) * Burundi. Nombreux tues - 178 civils ont ete tues au cours des deux dernieres semaines dans trois communes de la province de Makamba, selon divers temoignages. Les victimes ont ete tuees soit par des rebelles hutu, soit lors d'affrontements entre l'armee et les rebelles. (Le Soir, Belgique, 29 janvier 1999) * Burundi. 185 killed in fighting - At least 185 civilians have been killed in southern Burundi in the past two weeks, villagers said, accusing the army of murdering most of them. But the army vigorously denied it had killed civilians and blamed ethnic Hutu rebels for the attack. The killings, in the southern province of Makamba, coincided with the resumption of peace talks aimed at ending Burundi's five-year ethnic conflict. Residents of Makamba commune in the same province told Studio Ijambo radio journalists on Jan.28 that government solders burned 30 civilians alive in a house on Jan.30 and killed 36 others after an attack by Hutu rebels. The violence followed two attacks by rebels on Jan. 14 in other communes in which the rebels killed 43 people, they said. A senior Burundi army officer said rebels entered from Tanzania and killed around 20 people over three days starting on Jan.20th before the army intervened. (Reuters, 30 January 1999) * Comoros. Ministers charged with embezzlement - Three former government ministers in the Comoro islands have been charged with embezzling state funds during the administration of the late President, Mohammed Taki. A government spokesman said police had arrested the former finance and justice ministers, Ali Moiba Mze and Mohamed Adbou Madi, and were searching for the former planning and housing minister Said Said Hamadi. He said the three would be asked to account for the disappearance of more than three-hundred and fifty thousand dollars (a hundred and fifty million Comoran francs). The Prime Minister, Abbas Djoussouf, who was formerly the main opposition leader, said last month that his government would fight corruption. (BBC News, 27 January 1999) * Congo-Brazza. Liberations - Selon des renseignements parvenus a l'agence Fides le 28 janvier, les deux missionnaires disparus dans la region de Dolisie, un Francais et un Suisse, sont arrives sains et saufs a Pointe Noire. D'autre part, les sept autres Europeens, portes disparus depuis le 25 janvier, sont entre les mains des forces rebelles et devraient bientot recouvrer leur liberte, a indique le 29 janvier le colonel Mouleri, qui se presente comme le porte-parole du Mouvement national pour la liberation du Congo (MNLC), une organisation qui a vu le jour il y a deux mois pour sceller l'alliance entre les milices "cocoyes" et "ninjas". L'intensite des recents combats fait penser que le conflit est loin d'etre termine, signale-t-on de sources humanitaires. - Le 2 fevrier, les sept Europeens qui etaient aux mains des rebelles ont pu quitter le pays et sont arrives a Libreville au Gabon. Le meme jour, l'agence Fides annoncait que deux peres salesiens d'une paroisse de Makelele, quartier sud de Brazzaville, dont on etait sans nouvelles depuis le 21 janvier, avaient ete liberes. Cinq religieuses de Mere Teresa sont toujours bloquees dans le meme quartier. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 30 janvier 1999) * Congo-Brazza. WFP to begin airlift - 28 January: WFP is to begin an airlift of 1,000 mt of food aid from Pointe-Noire to Brazzaville. A WFP spokesman says the operation will last one week and that part of the supplies will go to Kinshasa. This is a fifth extension of WFP's airlift into both Congos over the last few months. Aid agencies have been hamstrung in distributing assistance in Congo-Brazzaville due to the continued instability. 31 January: Rebels have abducted seven European forestry workers. Rebel leader Paul Mouleri, leader of the National Movement for the Liberation of Congo, says they will be released safely at a future date. 1 February: Heavy fighting has continued over the weekend in Congo- Brazza, with reports that Ninja and Cocoye militia have infiltrated Brazzaville. 2 February: The seven kidnapped workers are freed. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 3 February 1999) * Congo (RDC). Tutsi citizenship - Rebels trying to oust Congo's president say they will grant Congolese citizenship to that country's ethnic Tutsi minority once they take power. The decision on 25 January, an apparent attempt to end decades of political violence in Congo, came a day after clashes among Tutsi rebel soldiers and other rebels in Uvira, Congo, rebel leader Wamba dia Wamba said. Rwandan troops stationed in Uvira, 120 miles south of the eastern rebel stronghold of Goma, intervened in violence that a senior Rwandan government official said, stemmed from a lack of discipline among rebel troops. At least one person died in the clashes. (AP, 27 January 1999) * Congo (RDC. Partis politiques autorises - Le 31 janvier, le gouvernement congolais a annonce la levee d'interdiction des partis politiques, imposee depuis l'arrivee au pouvoir de Laurent Kabila en mai 1997. Selon un decret-loi lu a la television officielle, les partis doivent organiser un "congres constitutif" reunissant au moins 300 delegues provenant des onze provinces du pays. Chaque parti doit en outre avoir au moins 10 membres co-fondateurs dans chacune des provinces, afin de barrer la route aux formations "tribalistes". Le ministre de l'Interieur devra delivrer son agrement aux partis. Si ces conditions ne doivent pas presenter des problemes majeurs aux principales formations d'opposition, notamment l'UDPS, elles risquent en revanche d'etre fatales a nombre de petits partis. Plus de 400 partis etaient reconnus au Zaire avant la prise de pouvoir par M. Kabila. - D'une part, cette mesure repond a l'aspiration populaire et aux voeux de la communaute internationale; elle enleve aussi un argument majeur a la rebellion, qui justifiait volontiers son recours aux armes par la necessite de retablir les activites politiques. D'autre part, le texte du decret-loi, publie le 1er fevrier, apparait extremement restrictif et la liberalisation, telle que prevue, est rejetee par l'ensemble des partis d'opposition. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 2 fevrier 1999) * Congo (RDC). Guerre rampante - Le 28 janvier, le HCR a annonce que des milliers de Congolais se refugient a Kigoma, en Tanzanie, fuyant les combats entre les rebelles et les forces gouvernementales, notamment a proximite de Kalemie. Les rebelles ont annonce avoir pris le 27 janvier la ville de Lubao, progressant ainsi dans la direction de Mbuji-Mayi, la capitale diamantaire du Kasai oriental, qui semble etre leur objectif. -Le 2 fevrier, le president zambien F. Chiluba, mediateur dans le conflit, s'est entretenu avec le president Kabila des tractations en cours sur un cessez-le-feu dans le pays. - Le 3 fevrier, s'est ouverte a Lusaka, en Zambie, une nouvelle reunion africaine pour la pacification du Congo, regroupant des representants de la Zambie, du Rwanda, du Burundi, de l'Ouganda, du Congo-Kinshasa, ainsi que de l'OUA, de l'ONU et de la SADC. Mais la rebellion n'etant pas presente et le president Kabila repoussant toute negociation digne de ce nom, peu d'espoirs accompagnaient ces nouvelles discussions. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 4 fevrier 1999) * Cote d'Ivoire. Nouvelle centrale - La Cote d'Ivoire vient de s'enrichir d'une nouvelle centrale thermique. Situee a Abidjan, la centrale d'Azito, qui fait partie d'un vaste programme d'infrastructures lance en 1996, aura a terme une capacite de 420 MW. Elle vise a satisfaire une demande ivoirienne d'electricite en hausse de 8% par an depuis 1995. L'ensemble du projet aura coute 185 milliards de francs cfa. (D'apres Marches Tropicaux, France, 29 janvier 1999) * Ethiopia-Eritrea. Urging restraint - The UN Secretary General is "very, very concerned" about the simmering conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea, UN Special Envoy in Africa, Mohamed Sahnoun, speaking from New York. The two men met in Geneva on 26 January. Sahnoun was formally assigned by Kofi Annan on 15 January to support diplomatic efforts to resolve the eight-month Horn of Africa border dispute. Sahnoun said he would spend time being briefed on the situation -- including a meeting with US facilitator Anthony Lake -- before deciding his next move. "I am in contact with Asmara and Addis Ababa," he said, but declined to comment further on the situation. Since border clashes and air raids erupted in May and June 1998, the two countries have been involved in heavily reinforcing their frontiers, recruiting troops and importing weapons and aircraft, news report say. Large scale voluntary and involuntary conflict-related population movements have left hundreds of thousands of people displaced. Apart from occasional contained artillery exchanges, an uneasy truce has ensued. The US State Department authorised the voluntary departure of US embassy families from Eritrea and Ethiopia "in response to the continued build-up of troops and equipment along the border". Diplomatic sources said embassies in Addis Ababa were reviewing their security arrangements in response to increased tension. France has strengthened its forces in the Red Sea port state on Djibouti, AFP reported, sending a squadron of Mirage fighters and an anti-aircraft destroyer to the area. A second meeting of church leaders from the two countries was set to take place in Germany last weekend, an Eritrean newsletter ENIC, reports, but no progress was announced. (IRIN, Nairobi, 27 January 1999) * Ethiopie/Erythree. Guerre ou paix? - Le secretaire general de l'Onu s'est declare "tres, tres preoccupe" par le conflit qui couve entre l'Ethiopie et l'Erythree, a declare le 27 janvier a New-York l'envoye special pour l'Afrique, Mohamed Sahnoun. Depuis le debut des affrontements en mai et juin derniers, les deux pays ont depeche d'importants renforts a la frontiere, recrute des troupes et achete armes et avions a l'etranger, ont rapporte les agences de presse. Le Premier ministre ethiopien, Menes Zenawi, a dit que la situation "penchait lentement vers la guerre" et a rejete tout "nouveau compromis". Mais les mediations diplomatiques se poursuivent. -D'autre part, Amnesty International a accuse l'Ethiopie d'avoir deporte 52.000 Erythreens depuis le debut de la guerre; les deportes ont ete maltraites et separes de leur famille, selon AI, avant d'etre abandonnes a la frontiere. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 30 janvier 1999) * Gabon. Nouveau gouvernement - Le 26 janvier, le Premier ministre gabonais Jean-Francois Ntoutoume-Emane a forme son gouvernement fort de 42 membres. La Defense, poste hautement strategique, a ete attribuee au propre fils du president de la Republique, Ali Bongo. Aucun responsable de l'opposition ne figure dans la nouvelle equipe. (D'apres Marches Tropicaux, France, 29 janvier 1999) * Ghana. Cholera outbreak - Some 240 cholera cases were reported in the capital Accra between 1 and 26 January, a regional WHO official said. Nine deaths have been attributed to the disease, he said. News reports said the disease had surfaced in the western part of the city. (IRIN, Nairobi, 29 January 1999) * Guinea. Call to release political prisoners - 29 January: Amnesty International has urged President Conte to free all political prisoners and prosecute those responsible for torture and ill-treatment. In a "solemn appeal" to the president, following dubious polls in December, Amnesty deplored "the arrest of hundreds of people during both the campaign and the election itself". The appeal said many political detainees had been tortured in secret detention centres, including the notorious camp Boiro. Prominent detainees include Marcel Cros and Alpha Conde respectively leaders of the two main opposition parties, Parti democratique africain de Guinee and the Rassemblement du peuple de Guinee. The same day, Lansana Conte, took the Oath of Office for his new presidential term, following his victory in the elections held on the 14 December. The Opposition which is contesting the results of the elections, said it would boycott the ceremony. Ba Mamadou, who was the most favoured opposition candidate, has declared: "We urge all opposition members of parliament and all opposition parties to boycott the ceremony, and instead, to gather in the mosques and churches to pray for our rights. Ours is a gesture of solidarity with all the political prisoners arrested following the presidential elections, particularly Alpha Conde, arrested two days after the polling". Thirty-four members of the Senegalese Parliament have signed a petition requesting that the Guinean President, liberate Alpha Conde. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 29 January 1999) * Guinee-Bissau. Nouveaux affrontements - Des tirs a l'arme legere, puis a l'arme lourde, ont repris dimanche matin, 31 janvier, a Bissau sur la ligne de front entre forces gouvernementales et troupes rebelles. La junte militaire a accuse les forces gouvernementales d'avoir provoque la reprise des hostilites. Ces echanges de tirs sont les premiers enregistres depuis l'accord de paix signe le 1er novembre dernier. Apres une accalmie, les tirs ont repris le 1er fevrier, faisant planer la menace d'un rechute dans la guerre civile. Plusieurs milliers d'habitants fuient les combats. D'autre part, pres de 300 soldats ouest-africains ont quitte Dakar pour Bissau, le 31 janvier au soir, a bord d'un navire militaire francais, pour remplacer les troupes senegalaises et guineennes, venues soutenir en juin 1998 le president Vieira. Arrive devant Bissau, le navire s'est vu donner l'ordre de croiser au large en raison des affrontements en cours dans la capitale. Le 2 fevrier, des sources hospitalieres faisaient etat de 35 personnes tuees et 220 blessees depuis la reprise des combats. Le Portugal, la France et la Suede ont engage des demarches diplomatiques, et le general Eyadema, president en exercice de la CEDEAO, a envoye une delegation pour tenter de mettre fin a la crise. Le 3 fevrier, un accord de cessez-le-feu a ete signe. Selon cet accord, les parties en conflit autorisent l'entree a Bissau des troupes de la force d'interposition ouest- africaine, et leurs etats-majors se rencontreront pour definir les modalites pratiques du cessez-le-feu, qui sera un prelude a de nouvelles negociations de paix. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 4 fevrier 1999) * Guinea-Bissau. Back into war - 28 January: The Gambian parliament has approved the deployment of between 100 and 150 troops to take part in an ECOMOG peacekeeping force for Guinea- Bissau, news organizations reported. The 600-strong force, which also comprises contingents from Benin, Niger and Togo, is due to take over from Senegalese and Guinean peacekeepers next month. 1 February: Artillery shells continue to rain on rebel positions in Bissau for a second successive day, threatening to plunge the country back into full-scale civil war. Thousands of residents flee. 2 February: A fierce battle between government forces and rebels takes place in Bissau. 35 people are killed and 220 wounded. 3 February: Residents of Bissau are beginning to experience serious food shortages, as fighting continues there for a third day. The same day, the warring sides sign a Togolese-mediated ceasefire agreement. Details have not yet been released but diplomatic sources say they expect ECOMOG forces, including some 300 from Benin and Niger waiting in a French navy ship off Bissau, to go in immediately. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 4 February 1999) * Kenya. Attribution de terres protegees - Une campagne contre l'attribution par le gouvernement de terres protegees a degenere en emeutes a Nairobi avec l'entree en lice de centaines d'etudiants qui se sont heurtes trois jours durant avec la police. Le 2 fevrier, le calme etait revenu dans la capitale apres la fermeture de tous les campus de l'universite de Nairobi. La question de l'attribution des terres se pose avec acuite au Kenya, dont la population a ete multipliee par dix en 70 ans, passant de 3 millions dans les annees 1920 a pres de 30 millions aujourd'hui et les accusations se multiplient contre les ventes de terres publiques, qui beneficient souvent, selon l'opposition, a des proches du pouvoir. (D'apres AFP, France, 2 fevrier 1999) * Kenya. MPIs held by police - On 2 February, three Kenyan opposition Members of Parliament were arrested and charged with inciting university students to riot in three days of proests about plans to build a luxory housing estate in the Karura forest on the outskirts of Nairobi. David Mwenje, James Orengo and Njehu Gatabaki, who were released on bail, have been involved in a four- month campaign to save the forest. In October last year, they led a protest march on the forest which resulted in the destruction of construction machinery. (The Guardian, UK, 3 February 1999) * Liberia. Dysentery confirmed - Laboratory tests have confirmed the presence of dysentery in Nimba county, a regional WHO official in Abidjan. He said the strain of dysentery found in Nimba was resistant to many antibiotics and further tests were underway to determine the best treatment for patients. A total of 39 deaths have been attributed to the disease, the official said. He said the disease had spread into several districts due to poor hygiene and sanitation practices, which had led to the contamination of food and drinking water. (IRIN, Nairobi, 29 January 1999) * Mauritanie. Elections municipales - Le Parti republicain democratique et social (PRDS, au pouvoir) a ete declare vainqueur, le 30 janvier, dans 191 communes sur 208. Seules deux ont ete laissees aux partis d'opposition en lice lors des municipales du 29. A Nouakchott et dans les autres communes, les elections ont ete annulees en raison, officiellement, de constat de fraudes. Les autorites auraient juge insuffisant le taux de participation. (Le Monde, France, 2 fevrier 1999) * Nigeria. Expected to buy 500,000 mt of oil products - European traders said that Nigeria is expected on the market soon to buy about half a million tonnes of oil products over three months starting in March. The purchase would be carried out under the terms of Nigeria's new liberalised petroleum scheme, though tendering for the contracts is unlikely to be open. An announcement was made by the Nigerian authorities earlier this week, signalling a near end to the fuel crisis. (Reuters, 29 January 1999) * Nigeria. Scrutin au Bayelsa - Les elections pour le poste de gouverneur de l'Etat petrolifere de Bayelsa, reportees de trois semaines suite a des affrontements, ont finalement eu lieu le 30 janvier. Le candidat de PDP a ete declare vainqueur. Moins de 20% des inscrits ont pris part au scrutin; ce taux d'abstention tres eleve s'explique au moins en partie par l'appel au boycott lance par les groupements de l'ethnie ijaw pour protester contre les strictes mesures de securite mises en place. D'autre part, durant le week-end du 30 au 31 janvier, des affrontements se sont encore produits entre jeunes de la communaute Ogulagha et forces de l'ordre a proximite du terminal d'exportation de petrole de Forcados et auraient fait jusqu'a 19 morts, rapportait Reuters en citant la presse nigeriane. (D'apres IRIN, Abidjan, 1er fevrier 1999) * Rwanda. Commission de l'OUA - Pres de cinq ans apres le genocide rwandais, une commission de l'Organisation de l'unite africaine se trouve au Rwanda pour enqueter sur les conditions du massacre de plus de 500.000 personnes au printemps 1994 et en particulier sur l'attitude des pays etrangers et de l'Onu. La commission est composee de sept membres dirigee par l'ancien president du Botswana Ketumile Masire. Elle est arrivee le 31 janvier au Rwanda pour une visite de cinq jours. (D'apres AFP, France, 1er fevrier 1999) * Rwanda. OAU probe into genocide - Nrealy five years after at least 500,000 people died in Rwanda's genocide, the OAU has sent in a panel to determine how the slaughter occured. The seven-member OAU commission will meet government officials and genocide survivors. (AP, 2 February 1999) * Sahara Occidental. La MINURSO - Le 29 janvier, le secretaire general de l'Onu a recommande de proroger le mandat de la force des Nations unies au Sahara occidental (MINURSO) jusqu'au 28 fevrier, pour poursuivre les discussions avec le Maroc sur le processus de paix en peril. La veille, le Conseil de securite avait deja prolonge ce mandat, qui venait a echeance le 31 janvier, jusqu'au 11 fevrier. Dans son rapport, M. Annan indique que l'Onu et le Maroc sont engages dans des discussions detaillees sur un compromis visant a permettre l'organisation en decembre du referendum d'autodetermination. Il affirme que si, a la fin fevrier, les perspectives de paix restent vagues, il demandera de reevaluer la situation et la viabilite de la MINURSO. (D'apres AFP, France, 29 janvier 1999) * Sierra Leone. Journalistes assassines - Selon un communique de Reporters sans frontieres du 28 janvier, cinq journalistes, quatre Sierra-leonais et un cameraman nord-americain, ont ete tues entre le 9 et le 11 janvier. Deux autres ont ete enleves, dont on est sans nouvelles. Selon RSF, les rebelles du Front revolutionnaire uni (RUF) continuent a s'en prendre deliberement aux journalistes, menacant aussi leurs familles. Par peur de represailles, la majorite des journalistes ont fui leur domicile et se cachent dans des quartiers a l'ouest de la ville de Freetown. (D'apres RSF, France, 28 janvier 1999) * Sierra Leone. Situation sanitaire catastrophique - 28 janvier. Le president Abubakar a annonce que le Nigeria souhaitait une paix rapide en Sierra Leone, ce qui lui permettrait de retirer ses troupes de ce pays d'ici a la fin du mois de mai, date prevue pour l'instauration d'un pouvoir civil au Nigeria. Par ailleurs, le ministre sierra-leonais de la Sante a qualifie la situation sanitaire a Freetown de "catastrophique"; le pays a lance un appel pressant a la communaute internationale, car les hopitaux manquent de tout. 29 janvier. L'Ecomog procede a des operations de "nettoyage": des executions sommaires de civils soupconnes d'etre des rebelles ou des collaborateurs se poursuivent a Freetown. D'autre part, les ONG sont accusees de collaboration avec la rebellion; Medecins du monde a ete interdit d'activite, et Medecins sans frontieres et la Croix-Rouge ont ete declares hautement suspects, ce qui rend l'aide a la population extremement difficile. D'autre part, un missionnaire italien et trois soeurs de la Charite, ainsi que neuf employes indiens d'une usine de plastique, ont ete liberes par les rebelles; mais deux autres soeurs de la Charite ont ete tuees dans les combats. Les missionnaires etaient retenus en otage par les rebelles depuis le 14 janvier. 1 fevrier. Un porte-parole de l'Ecomog a fait etat d'intenses fusillades la nuit precedente, destinees a chasser les rebelles embusques dans les collines qui surplombent la capitale. Selon lui, la rebellion bat en retraite. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 30 janvier 1999) * Sierra Leone. "Siege mentality" - 27 January: The West African intervention force ECOMOG carries out more bombing raids against rebels in hills near the capital Freetown. The town of Waterloo, southeast of Freetown, is now in ECOMOG hands, effectively preventing rebels "from escaping to Liberia". Meanwhile, a "siege mentality" has taken hold in Freetown, with checkpoints set up at strategic locations by ECOMOG troops on the lookout for rebels who have mixed among civilians. Many other checkpoints have been erected by civilian "vigilante groups" who stop and search all passing vehicles and pedestrians, news agencies said. 1 February: MISNA reports that rebels have attacked the Catholic Mission of Madina, Makeni Diocese. A young man is killed and the mission and the residential area are looted. It is estimated that the number of dead in Freetown is about 3,000. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 3 February 1999) * Somalia. 30 killed in fighting - At least 30 people were killed and another 50 wounded in factional fighting northeast of the Somali capital of Mogadishu, a witness said on 28 January. The fighting between Eli-Omar and Abdalle-Aroneh sub-clans on 27 January occurred in the village of Gabaho, 40 miles from Mogadishu, the witness reported by radio, speaking on condition of anonymity. He said the combatants fought with machine guns, mortars and pickup trucks mounted with weapons, including old anti-aircraft guns. The sub-clans belong the larger Abgal clan which supports Ali Mahdi Mohamed, a leading faction leader who controls the northern part of a divided Mogadishu. (AP, 28 January 1999) * Somalie. Course a l'armement - Les chefs de guerre somaliens se sont lances dans une course a l'armement qui laisse presager de nouveaux combats, ont indique des sources diplomatiques a Nairobi le 29 janvier. Les armes entrent massivement en Somalie, faisant craindre des affrontements plus meurtriers que jamais dans un pays livre depuis 1991 aux luttes inter-claniques. Plusieurs factions s'accusent mutuellement de recevoir des armes en provenance de l'Ethiopie et d'Erythree. - D'autre part, la famine menace les populations du sud de la Somalie. Le 3 fevrier, le PAM a alerte sur la situation de ce pays, soulignant que la Somalie necessite d'importantes livraisons de vivres, de semences et d'outils, apres cinq annees successives de mauvaises recoltes. (D'apres AFP, France, 29-01 et 3-02-99) * Afrique du Sud. Attentat au Cap - Le 28 janvier, l'explosion d'une bombe au centre de la ville du Cap, non loin des bureaux du president Mandela, a fait onze blesses, selon la police. L'attentat n'a pas encore ete revendique. On pense qu'il est le fait d'un groupe islamiste radical, qui a deja manifeste contre la visite du Premier ministre britannique et assassine un officier de police charge de l'enquete. (D'apres De Standaard, Belgique, 29 janvier 1999) * Afrique du Sud. Accord avec l'UE - L'Union europeenne et l'Afrique du Sud sont parvenues a un accord commercial apres plus de trois ans de difficiles negociations, a annonce le 29 janvier a Davos le ministre sud-africain du Commerce et de l'Industrie. Commencees en 1995, les discussions butaient encore ces dernieres semaines sur les appellations Porto et Xeres pour des vins d'Afrique du Sud. L'accord doit ouvrir les marches europeens a 95% des exportations sud-africaines sur dix ans, tandis que l'Afrique du Sud doit autoriser 86% des produits europeens a penetrer librement chez elle sur la meme periode. (La Libre Belgique, 30 janvier 1999) * South Africa. European Union close to trade deal - The European Union and South Africa reached a draft compromise intended to speed conclusion of their difficult four-year negotiations of a free trade agreement. Officials said the deal might still face obstacle on the EU side. It must still be approved unanimously by the European Commission, which will consider it on 22 February, and be backed by the Council of Ministers. The most contentious feature of the compromise is an agreement that South African producers of fortified wines should be allowed to continue to use the names port and sherry in export markets for a further 12 years, after which the arrangement would be opened to fresh discussions. Although Portugal is believed to be prepared to accept the proposal, it is expected to face criticism from Spain, whose wine producers are demanding that they should have sole use of the name sherry. If approved, the free trade agreement would be likely to take effect almost immediately. It would eliminate tariffs on more than 90% to EU-South Africa trade after 12 years. (Financial Times, UK, 31 January 1999) * South Africa. Fear of resurgence of violence - The murder of a notorious political leader has brought fears of a resurgence of the violence seen before the 1994 election in South Africa. It has also laid bare the forces still working to destabilise KwaZulu-Natal. Sifiso Nkabinde, the murdered warlord was buried in the town of Richmond on 31 January, with eulogies praising him as a visionary political leader and a "jolly fellow". But some of KwaZulu-Natal's most feared killers quietly testified to a man who will be remembered by many as a butcher of innocents before he was shot dead nine days ago. Nkabinde was responsible for much of the violence that has plagued Richmond for the past two years as he sought to exert UDM influence in a mainly ANC town. But while Richmond became one of the most notorious killing grounds, political murders have continued in the province. There have been thousands of deaths since 1994 hidden behind the veil of gangsterism and faction fighting. (The Guardian, UK, 1 February 1999) * South Africa. Amnesty Committee - The Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Amnesty Committee continues its work. On 2 February, a Press Release indicated that four people had been granted amnesty. Among the four is Willem Hendrik Willemse, a high-ranking official of the Department of Correctional Services who had applied for amnesty in connection with the aiding and abetting of the escape from prison of former Ciskei strongman, Brigadier Charles Sebe. (TRC, South Africa, 2 February 1999) * South Africa. Tension in Cape Town - On 28 January, a bomb exploded outside police headquarters in the busy heart of Cape Town, injuring 11 people. The blast struck two blocks from President Mandela's offices in an area dense with government and office buildings at a time when the streets were filled with lunchtime passers-by. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Police detained two suspects at the scene. 2 February: Six members of an Islamic anti-crime vigilante group are arrested in Cape Town. (AP, 3 February 1999) * Sudan. Humanitarian law seminars - In mid-January the ICRC organized a four-day course on the law of armed conflict which brought together 31 senior officers of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in the Bahr al-Ghazal region. At the same time some 230 members of the Sudanese government armed forces and 180 policemen attended presentations on international humanitarian law in Bentiu, in western Upper Nile state, an ICRC statement said. Two sessions were also organized in Leer and Bentiu for 760 members of the government-supported Southern Sudan Defence forces. Similar programmes are under way in the government-held towns of Wau and Juba as well as in a number of SPLA-controlled areas. (IRIN, Nairobi, 29 January 1999) * Soudan. Mille esclaves rachetes - Une ONG suisse, Christian Solidarity International (CSI), a declare le 28 janvier avoir recemment rachete au Soudan plus de mille personnes soumises a l'esclavage. L'organisation a paye 50 dollars par tete pour la liberation de 1.050 esclaves noirs. Le 31 janvier, les autorites soudanaises ont dementi l'existence de l'esclavage dans les territoires qu'elles controlent, et ont rejete le rapport de CSI, selon lequel l'ONG a rachete plus de 5.000 esclaves au Soudan au cours des quatre dernieres annees. Par ailleurs, au cours d'une conference de presse de sensibilisation, le senateur americain Sam Brownback, Kansas, a accuse le gouvernement Clinton de ne "rien faire" pour des dizaines de milliers d'esclaves soudanais "vendus, frappes, affames et violes au gre de la volonte de leurs maitres". De son cote, Caroline Cox, militante des droits de l'homme et membre de la Chambre des Lords en Grande-Bretagne, a denonce l'esclavage comme faisant "partie integrante de la politique d'arabisation forcee des Soudanais du sud et d'islamisation des chretiens parmi eux". (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 2 fevrier 1999) * Tanzania. Charges not dropped in bombing case - A Tanzanian magistrate rejected a defense request that charges against two defendants in last year's bombing of the US be dropped because the trial should have began earlier. Egyptian Mustapha Mahmoud Said Ahmed and Tanzanian Rashid Saleh Hemed were charged on September 21 with 11 murder counts each in the Aug.7 bombing. Eleven people, all Africans, were killed. An almost simultaneous bombing in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi killed 213 people, including 12 Americans. (AP, 29 January 1999) * Tanzania. Congolese refugees in Tanzania - Thousands of Congo RDC refugees are streaming back into Tanzania barely one year after their repatriation, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said in Nairobi. About 800 refugees have been arriving at the Lake Tanganyika port of Kigoma daily, according to UNHCR. At this rate, the Federation estimates that one of their camps run specifically for Congolese refugees could be filled to its 40,000 capacity within a month. The Federation says that more refugees were waiting to cross into Tanzania and that thousands who could not afford the crossing price of US $10 a head charged by private boats, were said to be stranded in the Congolese bush. (IRIN, Nairobi, 27 January 1999) * Togo. Droits de l'homme et reconciliation - Le 26 janvier a Paris, la Ligue des droits de l'homme (FIDH) a publie un rapport sur la situation au Togo, suite a la visite en ce pays de deux magistrats du 26 novembre au 5 decembre 1998. Le rapport denonce les detentions arbitraires, tortures et proces illegaux, et le fait que de nombreuses personnes sont emprisonnees depuis des annees sans proces regulier. Toujours selon le rapport, il existe en outre dans le pays des centres de detention echappant totalement aussi bien au controle de l'administration penitentiaire que du ministere de la Justice. -D'autre part, dans un aide-memoire adresse au gouvernement et publie le 29 janvier, l'Union europeenne a invite la classe politique togolaise a un dialogue entre l'opposition et le pouvoir, a la suite du scrutin presidentiel controverse de juin dernier. Mais a Lome, au cours d'un entretien preliminaire, qui s'est deroule le meme 29 janvier, le pouvoir et l'opposition n'ont pas reussi a s'entendre sur l'ordre du jour du "dialogue interne" cense les reconcilier, l'opposition souhaitant que soit inscrit en priorite "le contentieux ne des elections de juin dernier". (ANB- BIA, de sources diverses, 29 janvier 1999) * Togo. Authorities deny torture - Togo had "categorically" denied accusations of detention and torture by a human rights group, describing them as "fallacious". A report by the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH), claimed Togolese citizens were being arbitrarily detained and tortured. But the chief prosecutor of Lome's Court of Appeal said FIDH investigators "who benefited from all facilities during their stay in Togo....never told the authorities of their observations and conclusions...so that an immediate verification could be conducted in their presence". (IRIN, West Africa, 28 January 1999) * Tunisia. Amnesty's "hoax" website - Amnesty International today 4 February launched a new Internet site entitled: "Rhetoric Vs Reality" (www.amnesty.org/tunisia), in order to counteract the official Tunisian Internet propaganda about human rights issues in Tunisia. This is the first human rights website of its kind. Using the unique medium of the Internet, Amnesty International is able to screen both the Tunisian propaganda website (www.amnesty- tunisia.org) and Amnesty International's description of the human right situation in Tunisia (www.amnesty.org/tunisia). (Amnesty International, 4 February 1999) * Uganda. Insisting on multi-party referendum - President Museveni said he would stick to plans for a referendum next year on a return to multi-partyism and attacked critics calling for political reform. "The referendum is a constitutional matter and not a mere dictate of government." A referendum on multi-partyism every five years is stipulated in the 1995 constitution. Catholic Church leaders have joined opposition groups insisting that democracy is a human right which does not need ratification through a referendum. (IRIN, Nairobi, 27 January 1999) * Uganda. Food shortages - Food shortages are being reported in parts of Kibungo prefecture, eastern Rwanda, according to WFP. Local authorities report that a total of 70,000 people are affected by the failure of the bean crop and are subsisting on cassava, stocks of which are dwindling. WFP is considering food-for-work programmes rather than general free food distribution. Meanwhile, local authorities have confirmed a decreasing number of malnutrition cases in the northwestern prefecture of Gisenyi. Supplementary wet feeding is to be phased out in most centres during February, WFP said. (IRIN, Nairobi, 27 January 1999) * Uganda. Bank chief's warning - Emmanuel Lule, deputy governor of Uganda's central bank, has warned that regional leaders must provide "more decisive and timely political approval of recommended policy changes", if monetary criteria to underpin the proposed East African Community (EAC) are to be effective. "Without resolve at the level of political leadership, implementation of the otherwise good monetary policy recommendations would be stifled or delayed, to the detriment of the desired changes and impact," he said. The community is scheduled to be launched in July. The three-nation grouping of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda intends to attain stable single-digit inflation by the year 2000, reduce budget deficits to less than 5% of gross domestic product, and build foreign exchange reserves to a level equal to six months imports. (Financial Times, UK, 29 January 1999) * Zambia. Telecommunications project - The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) secretariat has put in place the licensing and regulatory requirements for the telecommunications project (COMTEL) to start operation in the 20- member countries as soon as possible. COMESA's Secretary-General, Erastus Mwencha, said in Lusaka that the COMTEL project was expected to start operations in April after the Steering Committee meeting in March. The registration requirement of the offshore holding company in Mauritius and the business plan, including the information memorandum inviting strategy equity partners and private investors, was being finalised. COMESA has obtained US $300 million from project countries and the African Development Bank, and funds were being overseen by the Kenyan based COMESA PTA Bank, Mwencha said. According to Mwencha, 45% of the funding is from the private sector, 30% from the strategic partners and 25% from national telecommunications operators. (Fred Chela, Zambia, 28 January 1999) * Zimbabwe. Protests against torture - Western diplomats formally protested the illegal detention and torture of two Zimbabwean journalists by military police. Envoys from the European Union -- which includes Britain, the country's former colonial power -- Australia, Canada, Japan and USA delivered a protest note to acting Foreign Minister Nathan Shamuyarira. The statement called on the Zimbabwean government to demonstrate its commitment to international standards of human rights, investigate the torture charges without delay and punish any perpetrators. (AP, 29 January 1999) * Zimbabwe. Mugabe asked to denounce torture - The judges of the Zimbabwe supreme court have challenged the president, Robert Mugabe, to account for the detention and torture of two journalists by military agents last week, the Standard newspaper reported on 31 January. In a five-page letter, they called on Mr.Mugabe to make an unequivocal statement against all torture by government agents and to reaffirm the authority of the courts. It said that the treatment of the two Standard journalists had had a negative impact on the rule of law in the country. "What is of great consequence is the public perception that the military and the Central Intelligence Organisation can operate with impunity in breach of the law", it said. (The Guardian, UK, 1 February 1999)