Weekly anb02204.txt #7

[anb-bia <anb-bia at village.uunet.be>]

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 20-02-2003      PART #4/7

* Côte d'Ivoire. Trêve précaire  -  Jeudi 13 février. Le Premier ministre 
"de consensus", Seydou Diarra, a obtenu un début de compromis du président 
Gbagbo. Celui-ci, selon des sources diplomatiques, ne s'opposerait plus à 
l'entrée au gouvernement des représentants des rebelles, à condition que 
les portefeuilles qui leur seront confiés soient purement honorifiques. M. 
Diarra devrait rencontrer sous peu les responsables des rebelles, au Ghana 
ou au Nigeria. Les rebelles du Mouvement patriotique de Côte d'Ivoire 
(MPCI) ont menacé d'attaquer Abidjan si l'accord de Marcoussis n'est pas 
appliqué. -- 15-16 février. M. Diarra et des responsables du MPCI se sont 
rencontrés le samedi à Accra (Ghana), mais sans succès. Aucun représentant 
des deux mouvements rebelles de l'ouest (MPIGO et MJP) n'était présent. Le 
MPCI réclame toujours les ministères de la Défense et de l'Intérieur, comme 
prévu à Marcoussis, et maintient son ultimatum à dimanche minuit. Il a 
cependant affirmé qu'aucune décision n'avait été prise concernant la 
reprise des combats. Une délégation de rebelles a quitté dimanche le Ghana 
pour le Nigeria, pour y rencontrer le président Obasanjo, avant de gagner 
le Niger, le Burkina Faso, le Mali, le Bénin et probablement le Sénégal. -- 
17 février. Le MPCI a annoncé qu'ils suspendaient leur ultimatum pendant la 
tournée des capitales ouest-africaines et qu'ils respecteraient la trêve 
jusqu'au sommet franco-africain qui se tient les 20 et 21 février à Paris. 
De son côté, le président Gbagbo a annoncé qu'il ne participera pas à ce 
sommet, où il sera représenté par son Premier ministre, M. Diarra. -- Le 18 
février, le secrétaire général du MPCI a affirmé que les présidents 
ghanéen, nigérien, nigérian, malien et burkinabé avaient assuré la 
rébellion de leur détermination à faire appliquer intégralement l'accord de 
Marcoussis. --19 février. Lueur d'espoir: l'état-major de l'armée 
ivoirienne a donné son aval à l'entrée des rebelles dans le gouvernement de 
réconciliation. Interrogé par la télévision nationale, le lieutenant Jules 
Yao-Yao, porte-parole de l'état-major, a affirmé que les Forces armées 
nationales (FANCI) sont prêtes à accepter des rebelles au sein du nouveau 
gouvernement "si c'est un certain prix à payer pour la paix". Mais il a 
insisté pour que les ministères des Armées et de la Police soient confiées 
à des figures "neutres".   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 20 février 2003)

* Egypt. Future of Arab leaders' summit in doubt  -  The future of a summit 
of Arab leaders, due at the end of this month, was thrown into doubt on the 
night of 16 February after foreign ministers meeting in Cairo condemned 
states that helped the US in military operations against Iraq. The final 
statement from the meeting, reached after hours of wrangling, was stronger 
than expected, even if it stopped short of naming those Arab states that 
are hosting growing numbers of US and British troops -- notably Kuwait, 
Bahrain and Qatar. The text urged the 22 member states of the Arab League 
"not to provide any kind of assistance or facilities that can be used to 
threaten the safety and territorial integrity of Iraq". If the summit does 
not go ahead, it will be a considerable embarrassment to Egypt, whose 
President Hosni Mubarak called on 14 February for an emergency meeting of 
Arab leaders. Amr Moussa, the Arab League's secretary-general, said that 
the timing of the summit was now being "studied". Egyptian newspapers had 
reported earlier that the meeting was due to be held in Sharm el-Sheikh on 
February 27-28. The disarray at the 16 February meeting is indicative of 
deep differences between Arab capitals over how to deal with the Iraq 
crisis and of profound disquiet on the Arab street about co-operation with 
the US. But it is unlikely to sway the US or its Gulf Arab 
allies.   (Financial Times, UK, 17 February 2003)

* Egypte. Enfants de la rue  -  L'organisation de défense des droits 
humains Human Rights Watch a appelé à la fin de ce qu'elle a qualifié 
d'arrestations et de détentions systématiques des enfants de la rue par la 
police égyptienne. Lors d'un conférence de presse au Caire, Mme Bencomo de 
HRW a présenté un rapport sur les abus commis par la police sur les jeunes, 
l'accusant de "battre systématiquement les enfants à l'aide de bâtons, de 
fouets, de tuyaux de caoutchouc et de ceintures". Ces enfants "ne sont 
coupables d'aucun crime et sont en général sans abri ou des mendiants ou 
des enfants en rupture avec l'école", a-t-elle affirmé. La police utilise 
l'accusation de "vulnérabilité à la délinquance" comme prétexte pour 
débarrasser les rues de la présence de ces enfants. Mme Bencomo a également 
affirmé que dans les postes de police, les enfants "sont victimes de 
bastonnades, d'abus sexuels et de racket par les policiers et les adultes 
en garde à vue". "La plupart de ces enfants sont de retour dans la rue une 
semaine après, dans des situations pires que celle qu'ils vivaient avant", 
a-t-elle ajouté. Avec près de 18 millions d'habitants, le Caire a 
enregistré une explosion du nombre des enfants qui vivent dans la 
rue.   (D'après PANA, Sénégal, 19 février 2003)

* Egypt. Mubarak pushes for co-operation  -  On 19 February, President 
Hosni Mubarak of Egypt yesterday warned that war in Iraq would be 
inevitable in the next two to three weeks unless Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi 
leader, started co-operating fully with UN weapons inspectors. Visiting 
Berlin for talks with Gerhard Schröder, the German chancellor, on the Iraq 
crisis, Mr Mubarak said the inspectors should be given adequate time to do 
their jobs. "But it must be a limited time," he added.   (Financial Times, 
UK<D, 20 February 2003)

* Erythrée. Sécheresse et famine  -  L'évêque d'Asmara, Mgr Menghisteab 
Tasfamariam, a lancé un cri d'alarme au sujet de la grave crise alimentaire 
que traverse son pays. "Depuis le mois de décembre, les dégâts causés par 
la sécheresse n'ont cessé d'augmenter de jour en jour", a-t-il déclaré. Au 
moins 1,4 million de personnes risquent de mourir de faim, si l'on 
n'intervient pas par des aides concrètes, et ce nombre pourrait s'élever à 
2,5 millions durant l'année en cours. "Nous avons besoin au moins de 
601.000 tonnes dé céréales pour faire face à l'urgence. Le gouvernement 
fait ce qu'il peut, mais il faut que la communauté internationale 
intervienne tout de suite pour remédier à la sécheresse due aux faibles 
pluies de 2002".   (D'après Fides, Rome, 17 février 2003)

* Eritrea/Ethiopia. Border demarcation to start in east  -  On 17 February, 
IRIN reported that demarcation of the contested border between Ethiopia and 
Eritrea is now due to start from the east, rather than from the west. The 
move comes after high-level talks between both sides, hosted by the 
independent Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) in London on 8/9 
February. The meeting was also attended by Legwaila Joseph Legwaila, the 
head of the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE). According to 
diplomatic sources close to the peace process, Ethiopia was keen for border 
demarcation to start in the eastern sector of the 1,000 km 
border.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 17 February 2003)

* Ethiopia. Sharon approves Ethiopian airlift  -  On 16 February, Ariel 
Sharon's government approved the immediate airlift of about 20,000 
Ethiopians with Jewish roots who have spent years demanding the right to 
settle in Israel. The group, known as the Falash Mura, were left behind 
during the mass evacuation of Ethiopian Jews in 1984 because Israel said 
they had converted to Christianity. But the government has relented under 
pressure from the ultra-orthodox Shas party -- which controls Israel's 
interior ministry and sets immigration policy -- after its spiritual leader 
ruled that the Falash Mura were forced to convert to stave off persecution. 
The party compared them to Spanish Jews forced to become Christians to 
avoid the Inquisition. Israel secretly airlifted tens of thousands of Jews 
from Ethiopia in 1984, and a second group seven years later. But it turned 
away thousands of Falash Mura who tried to board the planes, saying they 
were not Jewish, or, if they had once been Jews, it was so long ago as to 
be irrelevant. But over the past decade, about 18,000 Falash Mura have left 
their homes across Ethiopia for camps near centres run by activists in the 
capital Addis Ababa, and the northern city of Gondar. There they have 
agitated to be allowed into Israel. The 16 February decision was opposed by 
the housing minister, Natan Sharansky, because some scholars question 
whether the Falash Mura were ever Jewish or just adopted similar religious 
rituals. But Mr Sharon is keen to bolster immigration, which has tailed off 
towards the end of the exodus of nearly a million Jews from the former 
Soviet Union. He has said he wants another million immigrants before the 
end of the decade to offset the growth in the Arab population.   (The 
Guardian, UK, 17 February 2003

* Ethiopie. Immigration en Israël  -  Le 16 février, le gouvernement 
israélien a donné son feu vert à l'immigration en Israël de quelque 20.000 
Ethiopiens d'origine juive. Le décision du gouvernement porte sur 
l'immigration en Israël de 17.000 membres de la communauté des Falachmoras, 
des Juifs éthiopiens convertis de force au christianisme, et celle de 3.000 
autres Fallashas, Ethiopiens d'origine juive, disséminés dans des villages 
de l'intérieur de l'Ethiopie. Des émissaires du ministère de l'Intérieur 
israélien et des représentants du rabbinat devraient bientôt se rendre en 
Ethiopie pour mettre en place le dispositif de départ de ces immigrants 
pour Israël.   (La Croix, France, 17 février 2003)

* Ghana. President Kufuor wishes he could speak French  -  From the State 
of the Nation Address (14 February ) by President John Agyekum Kufuor, as 
required by the Constitution of Ghana before the House. In his Address, the 
President spoke about the importance of knowing French. He said: "As part 
of the government policy to encourage the learning of French, which is the 
official language of all our neighbours, Bagabaga Training College in 
Tamale and Wesley College in Kumasi have started training teachers to teach 
French in schools. This is to augment the effort of Somanya Training 
College, which has historically produced teachers for French. Mr Speaker, 
mastering of the French language is of such practical necessity; it should 
be on the priority list. I can testify to this myself, Mr. Speaker, from 
the constant embarrassment I come face to face with while I move around the 
sub-region. There are many times I wish I could do without translators. In 
this era of ECOWAS, I do not wish this handicap on any Ghanaian 
child".   (AfricaFiles, 18 February 2003)

* Guinea-Bissau. Politicians arrested  -  16 February: Police in 
Guinea-Bissau have detained five prominent opposition politicians -- 
including a former prime minister. The arrests come as the country prepares 
for early elections on 20 April. All five of those detained are members of 
the African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde, or 
PAIGC, which is the third-largest party. Among them are the former prime 
minister Carlos Correia and the former economy minister Filinto Barros. The 
party's president Carlos Gomes Junior said the incident had caused "deep 
unease over the current situation in Guinea-Bissau, where the arrests seem 
to have no end". @CITA_1 = (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 16 February 2003)

* Kenya. Kenya's secretive Mungiki sect  -  They pray as they face Mount 
Kenya, which they believe to be the home of their God, known as Ngai. And 
their name means "a united people". But Kenya's Mungiki followers are no 
ordinary believers. Their holy communion is tobacco-sniffing, their 
hairstyle that of the Mau Mau dreadlocks and the origin of the sect is 
still shrouded in mystery. Since the late 1990s, the sect has left behind a 
trail of blood in its rejection of the trappings of Western culture. 
Recently, the sect has been back in the news following two days of clashes 
with police which left at least two policemen dead in Nairobi and 70 of its 
members in police custody. The clashes were sparked by a dispute over the 
control of the private minibuses business in some parts of Nairobi, two 
weeks after 30 people were killed in similar clashes in the Rift Valley 
province. Police say more than 50 people died last year in clashes 
involving the sect and owners of private minibuses, known as Matatu, in 
Nairobi alone. "Mungiki is a politically motivated wing of a religious 
organisation," says Ken Ouko, a lecturer of sociology at the University of 
Nairobi. "The religious bit is just a camouflage. It's more like an army 
unit. During the old system, they seemed to be complimentary to the system. 
In the new government, they seem to be antagonistic." Inspired by the 
bloody Mau Mau rebellion of the 1950s against the British colonial rule, 
thousands of young Kenyans -- mostly drawn from Kenya's largest tribe, the 
Kikuyu -- flocked to the sect whose doctrines are based on traditional 
practices. One theory has it that Mungiki was formed in 1988 with the aim 
of toppling the government of former President Daniel arap Moi. The sect 
was, at one time, associated with Mwakenya, an underground movement formed 
in 1979 to challenge the former Kanu regime. Other reports say Mungiki was 
founded in 1987 by some young students in central Kenya to reclaim 
political power and wealth which its members claim was stolen from the 
Kikuyu. Its leadership claims to have two million members around the 
country and to have infiltrated government offices, factories, schools and 
the armed forces -- members who would not necessarily sport dreadlocks but 
support and finance the sect behind the scenes.   (BBC News, UK, 11 
February 2003)

* Kenya. Counting on new aid  -  13 February: Kenya expects the 
International Monetary Fund (IMF) to resume lending to the country by June. 
Kenya's foreign minister Stephen Musyoka says financial help is expected in 
response to the new government's campaign against corruption. Donors had 
frozen financial support for the country over corruption concerns under its 
former President Daniel Arap Moi. The country has been ranked by watchdog 
Transparency International as one of the worst offenders in the world. The 
cost to its economy has been enormous.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 13 February 2003)

* Kenya. Lutte anti-corruption  -  Le 18 février, le président Mwai Kibaki 
a officiellement inauguré la 9e session parlementaire du Kenya en annonçant 
que les dirigeants du pays, à commencer par lui-même, déclareront 
publiquement leurs richesses dans le cadre de la lutte contre la 
corruption. Il a affirmé que la corruption commençait au sommet et que sa 
lutte devait commencer par le sommet. Il a précisé que son pouvoir a 
également publié la législation pour la mise en place d'une commission 
anti-corruption avec de réels pouvoirs d'investigation et de poursuite. Par 
ailleurs, il a indiqué que la priorité sera accordée à la révision de la 
Constitution, et il a révélé que 2 millions d'enfants devraient bénéficier 
du programme de gratuité de l'enseignement primaire.   (PANA, Sénégal, 18 
février 2003)

* Kenya. A human rights Memorandum to the new Government  -  In a Press 
Release on 18 February, Amnesty International said: "As the new Government 
takes office, Amnesty International calls on the newly-elected leaders to 
commit themselves to respect and uphold the fundamental rights and freedoms 
of the people enshrined in domestic law as well as in the international 
human rights treaties signed and ratified by Kenya". In a Memorandum sent 
to the new Government, Amnesty International welcomed the positive signs 
for human rights in Kenya. Amnesty International further urged the Kenyan 
Government to consider, in particular, the following areas: Impunity; 
torture and ill-treatment; violence against women; administration of 
justice and judicial reform; the review of the Constitution; the 
ratification of International Human Rights Instruments.   (Amnesty 
International, 18 February 2003)

Weekly anb0220.txt - #4/7