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IRIN-WA Update 112-97 of Events in West Africa, (Thursday-Monday) 25-29 December 1997
[As a supplement to its weekly round-ups of main events in West Africa, IRIN-WA will produce a daily synopsis of reports on the region. IRIN issues these reports for the benefit of the humanitarian community but accepts no responsibility as to the accuracy of the original source.]
SIERRA LEONE: Clashes between AFRC and Kamajors
Meanwhile, AFRC forces clashed on 25 December with Kamajor militias loyal to ousted President Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, AFP reported. Quoting Sierra Leone state radio, it said the clashes occurred in the south and east of the country. The radio did not provide the number of casualties. AFP also said government troops based in Bo, 170 km east of Freetown, had dismantled a Kamajor roadblock intended to disrupt traffic between Freetown, the capital, and the Largo mining area.
NIGERIA: Special investigation panel set up
An official military source announced on Monday that the government had set up a panel to investigate those arrested for their alleged involvement in a failed coup to overthrow General Sani Abacha, AFP reported. Defence Ministry spokesman Colonel Godwin Ugbo said that the special investigation panel set up at the weekend would be headed by an army general.
Following the completion of preliminary investigations into the plot, the 12-member panel has one month to complete its assignment. General Oladipo Diya, Abacha's deputy, and General Abdulkarim Adisa, former minister of works and housing, were arrested last weekend along with nine other military officers and a civilian for their alleged involvement in the foiled coup.
Prayers and fasting for alleged coup plotters
The head of the Anglican church in Nigeria, Bishop Abiodun Adetiloye, on 28 December called on Nigerians to embark on seven days of fasting to save the country from a crisis, according to AFP. The bishop's statement came less than a week after the military authorities announced they had uncovered a coup plot. Diya and Adisa's families had held a "marathon prayer session" for the detainees over the Christmas weekend, according to local press reports.
Opposition group says coup plot "move" to arrest opponents
In a 26 December statement reported by opposition Radio Kudirat, the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) said the foiled coup was "a move" to imprison Abacha's opponents. NADECO chairman Anthony Enahoro said the foiled coup attempt "came on the heels of the assassination attempt on Diya (two weeks ago) and the unexplained death of former General Shehu Musa Yar'adua in his prison cell". Yar'adua was gaoled in connection with an alleged 1995 coup attempt.
The NADECO chairman warned that the country could not continue "to be stable with the unresolved crisis in the country". He appealed for those arrested to be given a fair trial and called on Abacha to begin talks with the opposition led by imprisoned Chief Moshood Abiola. Abiola is widely believed to have won the 1993 annulled elections.
EU calls for fair conditions for detainees
The European Union (EU) appealed to the Nigerian government on Friday to treat those arrested according to international legal norms, Reuters reported. The EU said that it would not accept a repetition of events in 1995, adding that the detainees should benefit from a legal procedure guaranteeing them the right to defend themselves.
The EU imposed sanctions on the Nigerian government following the execution of activist and writer Ken Saro-Wiwa in November 1995.
SENEGAL: Casamance tense
Two separatist attacks over the Christmas period exacerbated tensions in Senegal's southern Casmance region, according to media reports on Monday. The attacks were reported in the northern sector of Casamance near Thionk Essyl. Radio France Internationale reported that Thionk Essyl city hall had been destroyed in a bomb attack on 25 December. No-one was hurt. In an earlier incident, two people were killed and five wounded when an anti-tank mine was detonated.
Separatists hold talks
Meanwhile, various factions of the separatist Mouvement des Forces Democratiques de Casamance (MFDC) held talks in the regional capital, Ziguinchor, at the weekend in a bid to "restructure" the movement, AFP reported. The meeting, chaired by the MFDC secretary-general, Augustin Diamacoune, was aimed at finding a common approach to peace negotiations.
Last week, President Abdou Diouf said his government was ready for direct talks with the MFDC in a bid to end the 15-year separatist rebellion. On Saturday, AFP quoted Amath Dansokho, leader of the opposition Parti de l'Independence et du Travail (PIT), as accusing the MFDC of turning Casamance into a "theatre" of smuggling operations run by roving armed bands with increasingly sophisticated weapons.
Arms ban announced
The Senegalese government announced a nationwide arms ban during the general election campaign period from 1 January to 30 June, AFP reported. It said the ban would apply to all Senegalese citizens and foreigners even if they held permits for weapons.
LIBERIA: Journalist charged with treason
Liberian journalist Alex Redd was released on bail on Monday by a Liberian court which reduced a felony charge to one of misdemeanour, AFP reported. Judge Stephen Wah told the Monrovia magistrates court Redd was now charged with providing "false and conflicting information about his alleged abduction". Bail was fixed at 300 Liberian dollars (US$ 7.5).
Sources in Monrovia told IRIN on Wednesday that Redd had reportedly been investigating the murder this month of the opposition leader Samuel Dokie at the time of his arrest.
GUINEA: Government closes two newspaper groups
Two independent newspaper groups in Guinea, Le Lynx and l'Independant, were closed down by the government on Friday, AFP reported. In a brief dispatch reporting that no official reason had been given for the action, it said that their production equipment had also been confiscated.
Together, the two groups publish five titles. The action followed the expulsion on Monday of Louis Esperant Celestin, an Ivorien who edited one of the titles, "l'Oueil". Another journalist, Foday Fofana, a correspondent of Reuters and the BBC, has been detained without charge since 23 October.
CAMEROON: Newsman detained
The director of the newspaper, 'Le Messager', was still held in detention this week after the publication of an article about the health of President Paul Biya, sources told IRIN. The arrest of Paul Niawe, held at the New Bell prison in Douala, followed the publication of an article on 22 December alleging that Biya might have heart problems, according to AFP. Reporters sans Frontieres said he was being held for "the propagation of false information".
WEST AFRICA: Louis Farrakhan visit
United States "Nation of Islam" leader Louis Farrakhan visited Niger, Liberia and Ghana this week as part of the African leg of his 54-country "world friendship" tour, media sources reported on Monday.
Speaking in Niger, Farrakhan called for a strengthening of the Islamic faith to bring about a "great Islamic power" acting for peace, morality and justice. "Islam is the religion of the 21st century," he said. Farrakhan offended Washington last week when he met Libya's Colonel Mu'ammar Qadhafi on the ninth anniversary of the bombing of a US airliner over Scotland. Washington blames the bombing on Libyan agents.
Abidjan, 29 December 1997, 18:30 gmt
[ends]
[The material contained in this communication comes to you via IRIN West Africa, a UN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. UN IRIN-WA Tel: +225 21 73 66 Fax: +225 21 63 35 e-mail: irin-wa@africaonline.co.ci for more information or subscription. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this report, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. IRIN reports are archived on the Web at: http://www.reliefweb.int/emergenc or can be retrieved automatically by sending e-mail to archive@dha.unon.org . Mailing list: irin-wa-updates]
Date: Mon, 29 Dec 1997 18:46:56 +0000 (GMT) From: UN IRIN - West Africa <irin-wa@wa.dha.unon.org> Subject: IRIN-West Africa Update 112-97, 97.12.29 Message-Id: <Pine.LNX.3.95.971229184533.376A-100000@wa.dha.unon.org>
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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