Weekly anb03293.txt #6



WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 29-03-2001      PART #3/6

* Congo (RDC)/Zimbabwe. Kabila au Zimbabwe - Le 26 mars en début de matinée, le président congolais J. Kabila est arrivé à Harare pour une visite officielle de 48 heures. Le Zimbabwe est le principal allié militaire de la RDC dans sa guerre civile. Les discussions entre les deux présidents devraient porter principalement sur le processus de paix en RDC. Le président Kabila, qui est accompagné d'une importante délégation de ministres et de hauts responsables militaires, s'adressera également au Parlement zimbabwéen. (PANA, Sénégal, 26 mars 2001)

* Congo (RDC). Rapports sur les occupations - Le rapport d'une commission des Nations unies sur le pillage des richesses congolaises, qui aurait dû être publié le 27 mars, ne le sera que le 4 avril; les experts ont été appelés à New York pour sa rédaction définitive. Selon le journal Le Monde, qui en a pu voir les conclusions, on y parle de "pillages systématiques" par diverses parties. - D'autre part, dans un rapport publié le 28 mars, l'organisation Human Rights Watch accuse les autorités ougandaises d'attiser les conflits politiques et ethniques qui touchent l'est du Congo, ce qui entraîne des conséquences désastreuses pour la population locale. Le rapport de cinquante pages intitulé "L'Ouganda dans l'Est du Congo: une présence qui attise les conflits politiques et ethniques" décrit comment les autorités ougandaises se trouvent impliquées dans les rivalités qui divisent les diverses factions du Rassemblement congolais pour la démocratie (RCD). Certaines de ces querelles ont dégénéré en accrochages militaires. Ainsi la guerre Hema-Lendu, où les soldats ougandais sont intervenus, a coûté la vie à plus de 7.000 personnes et en a déplacé quelque 200.000. (Voir le rapport: www.hrw.org/reports/2001/congo.htm) (HRW et De Standaard, 28 mars 2001)

* Congo (RDC). The Government must end the torture and killing of suspects - In a new report, "Deadly Conspiracies", published on 28 March, Amnesty International challenged President Joseph Kabila to publicly demonstrate his commitment to human rights and the rule of law, by putting an immediate end to the torture and killing of suspected opponents, and to account for alleged government opponents who were reportedly executed in late 2000 of whose whereabouts remain unknown. Amnesty International says over 100 people from the Kivu region of eastern Congo are currently held incommunicado and are at risk of torture and execution. Most of them have been detained without charge since late 2000 in connection with an alleged coup plot. Several dozen others were arrested in the wake of the assassination of President Laurent-Desiré Kabila in January 2001. Amnesty International fears that some of these individuals are being arbitrarily detained simply because they are from the Kivu region. (Amnesty International, 28 March 2001)

* Congo (RDC). Casques bleus - Ce 29 mars, on attend en RDC l'arrivée du premier contingent de casques bleus: une centaine de soldats urugayens. Le nombre total de casques bleus attendus est estimé à 2.000. D'autre part, le recul des belligérants à 15 km de leurs positions achoppe dans deux zones, selon le commandant de la force de l'Onu au Congo (Monuc), le général Diallo. Dans la zone de Kananga (Kasaï occidental) ce sont les forces gouvernementales qui "n'ont pas bougé". Dans l'Equateur, une des factions rebelles, le MLC, a posé deux conditions: d'une part, que la Monuc déploie ses troupes pour protéger les populations; d'autre part, le démarrage du dialogue intercongolais. (La Libre Belgique, 29 mars 2001)

* Côte d'Ivoire. Opposition takes poll lead - Early results in Côte d'Ivoire's (25 March) local elections shows that President Gbagbo's Ivorian Popular Front (FPI) has suffered major defeats. Correspondents say the voting passed off peacefully in Abidjan, but a number of violent incidents were reported in the north and the west of the country. (BBC News, 26 March 2001)

* Côte d'Ivoire. Elections municipales - Le dimanche 25 mars, les électeurs ivoiriens ont voté dans le calme pour les élections municipales. Un climat contrastant avec les violences des dernières consultations présidentielle et législatives. Tous les grands partis politiques participaient à ce scrutin, y compris le Rassemblement des républicains (RDR) d'Alassane Ouattara. Ces élections, qui devaient marquer la fin du processus de retour à un régime constitutionnel normal, constituaient aussi un test pour la reprise des relations politiques et économiques d'Abidjan avec ses partenaires étrangers. -26 mars. Alors que quelques incidents ont eu lieu à l'heure du dépouillement des votes, des résultats provisoires indiquent que le RDR a réalisé une importante percée: le parti de Ouattara l'emporterait dans au moins 67 municipalités sur 197. Selon Reuters, les résultats portant sur 185 municipalités, communiqués par la Commission électorale, créditent le RDR de la victoire dans 61 communes. Il est suivi du PDCI avec 56 municipalités, et du FPI du président Gbagbo avec 33 communes. 35 autres municipalités ont été remportées par des candidats indépendants. Gagnoa, le fief du président Gbagbo, est tombé aux mains du candidat du RDR, à la consternation des militants du FPI. -- Le 27 mars au soir, la commission électorale a rendu publics les résultats officiels concernant 195 communes sur 197. Le RDR de Ouattara vient toujours en tête avec 64 communes, contre 58 à l'ancien parti au pouvoir PDCI, 34 pour le FPI du président Gbagbo et 38 pour des candidats indépendants. Cette victoire du RDR fait de M. Ouattara un leader incontournable, estiment les observateurs. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 28 mars 2001)

* Egypt. Indian meat banned - India is expecting its exports of meat and meat products to fall by half after Egypt, its biggest single customer, banned Indian imports for fear of the spread of foot-and-mouth disease. Saudi Arabia has also suspended Indian imports and Jordan is considering similar measures. Outbreaks of the disease, which has appeared sporadically in the country despite efforts to eradicate it, have been reported in the states of Haryana and Rajasthan. The Indian industry, which exports 30,000 tonnes of meat and meat products each month and is worth an estimated Rs10bn (£149m) annually, is expecting volumes to fall to less than 15,000 tonnes following the ban, which came into effect on March 20. Egypt imports 14,000 tonnes of Indian meat and meat products each month - mainly buffalo. The Indian Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority, the government body responsible for the industry, is sending a delegation to Egypt to try to reverse the ban set to last until April 28. Officials were, however, tight-lipped on 27 March. "The Egyptian government is in the process of reviewing their existing protocols for imports," said Irfan Allana, president of the All India Meat and Livestock Exporters' Association. "But our buffalo products are de-boned and de-glanded and kept at a pH level of less than six, so they are entirely risk-free." (Financial Times, UK, 28 March 2001)

* Ethiopia. Plot within ruling party alleged - 25 March: The Ethiopian prime minister, Meles Zenawi, says he's thwarted an attempt to cause political upheaval by a dissident group in the dominant Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF). Mr Meles said the party had cleared up the mess and embarked on the right track. Correspondents say left-wingers in the TPLF have objected to what they see as a cave-in by Mr Meles to Eritrea in their border dispute, as well as bowing to demands by the IMF and the World Bank for an economic austerity programme in Ethiopia. (BBC News, 25 March 2001)

* Ethiopia. Popular newspaper closes - One of Ethiopia's most popular newspapers has been closed down. Eletawi Addis had only been in circulation for eight months, but had rapidly become one of the most respected papers in the country. The closure was caused by a dispute between the editor of the paper and its owner over the reporting of a dispute within Ethiopia's main political party. The news has shocked the country's media industry. Most of Ethiopia's tabloid and broadsheet press have given prominence to the story of the political crisis within the Tigray People's Liberation Front, the dominant party in the ruling coalition government. It has been the talk of Addis Ababa and the media's willingness to report the story has dispelled the shroud of secrecy often associated with politics in Ethiopia. It has therefore come as a surprise to many to learn that the story has led to the closure of Eletawi Addis, Ethiopia's largest daily private newspaper. Editor-in-Chief, Solomon Abate and his deputy, Dereje Desta resigned over what they say are "violations of editorial freedom by the owner of the paper, Dr Fisseha. We wanted to cover this story but Dr Fisseha didn't want us to cover it. We however took it as immoral and unethical to remain silent on this issue as a daily paper. So against the orders of the publisher we printed the story", says Solomon Abate. This led to the Dr Fisseha sending a letter of reprimand to Solomon and fining him for publishing the story. Solomon Abate and his deputy resigned as a result. He believes Dr Fisseha should never have interfered. Solomon says the paper's closure has wider implications. (BBC News, 28 March 2001)

* Guinea. Refugee camps "deserted" - The United Nations refugee agency is surprised to discover camps in southern Guinea completely empty of the hundreds of thousands of Sierra Leoneans they once housed. Aid deliveries were halted by the UNHCR to an area of southern Guinea that juts into Sierra Leonean territory known as the Parrot's Beak 10 days ago after heavy fighting. UNHCR official Fatoumata Kaba told the BBC her team was astonished when they resumed visits. "We realised that there are fewer refugees than we thought in the Parrots Beak. To see that most of the camps are empty - that was a discovery." She said it appeared many Sierra Leoneans had returned home, mainly directly across the land border, in a process that has been going on for several months. But Ms Kaba said there others that will have gone inland further into Guinea. There are still more than 100,000 Liberian refugees and displaced Guineans in refugee camps. The Sierra Leonean authorities announced that almost 1,000 refugees had returned by foot to Daru, northeast of Kenema, at the weekend. In Kenema, more than 300 returnees are being registered at the UNHCR field office every day. They are then being taken to UNHCR temporary settlement sites in Jembe and Gerihun in Bo district in southern Sierra Leone. The fighting in southern Guinea is mainly between the government army and rebels made up of local forces and mercenaries recruited in neighbouring countries. Last year, hundreds of thousands of refugees were forced from their camps in the border region after fighting erupted between the Guinean army and rebels. Only last month the UNHCR estimated that about 140,000 mainly Sierra Leonean refugees were sheltering in refugee camps in Parrot's Beak. (BBC News, 22 March 2001)

* Guinée. Camps vides - La plupart des camps de réfugiés de la "languette de Guéckédou" (ou "bec de perroquet") sont vides, a-t-on appris le 22 mars auprès du Haut-Commissariat des Nations unies pour les réfugiés. Le mois dernier, le HCR estimait à environ 140.000 le nombre de réfugiés, principalement sierra-léonais, répartis dans une douzaine de camps situés dans cette zone. Le HCR n'a pu préciser où les réfugiés étaient partis. (La Croix, France, 23 mars 2001)

* Kenya. Espoir dans l'impasse constitutionnel - Après presque quatre années de tiraillements pour déterminer les modalités de réforme de la Constitution, il semble que la crise soit en train de s'estomper. La semaine dernière, le groupe Unfungamano, un organisme parallèle de réforme dominé par des groupes religieux, a voté en masse en faveur d'une fusion avec l'initiative officielle du gouvernement pour mettre en oeuvre un processus unifié. Il ne resterait aux deux groupes qu'à désigner leurs représentants respectifs au sein de la Commission de révision de la Constitution. (PANA, Sénégal, 26 mars 2001)

* Kenya. Dortoir en feu - Dans la nuit du 25 au 26 mars, 58 élèves ont péri brûlés dans un dortoir près de Machakos, à 60 km de Nairobi. La police privilégie la thèse d'un acte criminel. Le feu a pris à 1h40 dans un dortoir où dormaient plus de 130 garçons, pensionnaires à l'école de Kyanguli, à 3 km de Machakos. Plus de 58 adolescents âgés de 15 à 18 ans sont morts et au moins 28 ont été blessés, certains grièvement brûlés. Selon un policier, les témoins ont fait état d'une odeur de pétrole. L'une des deux portes du dortoir était fermée à clef. Six gardiens étaient sur place, mais ils sont intervenus trop tard. -- (Ndlr - 27 mars. Le responsable provincial de l'éducation, Samson Kisuke, annonce que le nombre d'étudiants péris dans l'incendie est de 68. (Libération, France, 27 mars 2001)

* Kenya. Horror of a school fire - 26 March: Police say they suspect a fire that killed almost 60 schoolboys as they slept, was started deliberately. They said people at the scene had reported smelling petrol before the fire broke out. 58 boys died in the blaze and 28 are seriously injured. It is feared that the blaze was started with petrol by former pupils protesting about the cancellation of their exam results for cheating.It started in the early hours of the morning at Kyanguli Mixed Secondary School, not far from Nairobi. Most of the injured are in Machakos District Hospital, although six boys who are badly burnt have been rushed to Nairobi's main hospital, some 60 km away. President Moi later arrived to inspect the site. -- 27 March: The number of students killed in the fire has risen to 68. The new figure is given by the provincial education chief, Samson Kisuke. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 27 March 2001)

Weekly anb0329.txt - End of part 3/6