UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER
IRIN-West Africa Update 197, 98.4.29

IRIN-West Africa Update 197, 98.4.29


U N I T E D N A T I O N S Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Integrated Regional Information Network for West Africa

Tel: +225 21-73-54 Fax: +225 21-63-35 e-mail: irin-wa@africaonline.co.ci

IRIN-WA Update 197 of Events in West Africa, (Wednesday) 29 April 1998

NIGERIA: Appeals for clemency

Church and human rights groups in Nigeria called on military ruler General Sani Abacha to grant clemency to those sentenced to death for allegedly plotting a 1997 coup, news sources reported. Nigeria's former number two, General Oladipo Diya, and five other defendants were sentenced Tuesday to death by firing squad. The Methodist Archbishop of Abuja, Ola Makinde, warned that if carried out, the executions would be ominous for Nigeria, the BBC reported. The opposition National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) said the trial had not been fair, according to Nigerian 'News du Jour'. NADECO also said judging from the government's past performance, it was futile to plead for clemency.

International reaction

The South African government, in a statement Wednesday, strongly warned Nigeria of an "adverse reaction" from the international community should the six alleged coup plotters be executed, AFP reported. It urged Abacha to consider the effects of carrying out the sentence "at this critical juncture in her history".

The Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, said the Commonwealth would be "seriously concerned" at the prospect of the death sentences being carried out, Reuters reported. He pleaded for Abacha's government to show "utmost restraint and humanitarianism". A British Foreign Office spokeswoman voiced unhappiness that the trial was "mainly conducted in private" and called for the defendants to be treated in line with international conventions on civil and political rights. This included the right to seek pardons and the right to appeal, she added.

Trial "grossly unfair", Amnesty International says

Human rights groups also criticised the authorities for conducting the military tribunal in secrecy. Noting that there were 26 defendants at the start of the trial and 30 at the end, the London-based human rights agency Amnesty International (AI) said the trial had been "grossly unfair" and in contravention of Nigeria's own Constitution and international commitments.

AI quoted unofficial reports suggesting senior military officials may have devised the coup plot to entrap Diya and other senior officers, mainly Yorubas. The tribunal had reportedly not inquired into who had initiated the conspiracy, AI added. It also noted that 79 people had been executed following treason trials by special military tribunals since 1986. Correspondents told the BBC that Abacha, who seized power in 1993, had on more than one occasion purged the military of potential threats by alleging that senior officers were plotting against him.

SIERRA LEONE: Food shortages for aid programmes likely

Several NGOs implementing food aid and development programmes are in danger of running out of food by June or July, a humanitarian source told IRIN Wednesday. Vulnerable group feeding programmes, food-for-work agricultural programmes and seeds-and-tools programmes may all grind to a halt if donors are not found soon. An NGO source said when planning estimated food needs last year, the emphasis was on development and resettlement programmes, not emergency feeding. However, the number of internally displaced people (IDPs) had risen dramatically following last May's coup and the continuing fighting. USAID, the primary donor for most of these programmes, has not yet approved its 1998 food commitment.

WFP said it was unable to loan food to other agencies because of its own low reserves. WFP estimated there are some 90,000 to 100,000 new IDPs in Sierra Leone. 48,000 vulnerable persons received food in Makeni and 14,000 in Massinge. Vulnerable group feeding programmes required 135 mt daily to feed 100,000 people, WFP added. Humanitarian agencies said their activities were also constrained by security and access problems in the east. Retreating junta forces still control several towns in the area and have blown up key bridges, hampering the delivery of humanitarian aid.

Militia under ECOWAS

Sierra Leonean President Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah announced Tuesday that Civil Defence Forces (CDF) had been placed under the command of ECOMOG, AFP reported. Kabbah said the the aim was "to make them more effective and make their demobilisation easier in the future".

Meanwhile, a Kamajor leader, Allieu Kondowa, speaking on state radio Wednesday, called for the registration of all CDF fighters because of growing "acts of lawlessness" among them, AFP reported. Kondowa told a meeting of paramount chiefs and CDF leaders in Bo, 170 kms east of the capital, that all militia must be registered and those not deployed in Bo must return to their respective bases. He added: "ECOMOG has been mandated to arrest all roving Kamajors and send them back to their operational areas." Militias, such as the Kamajor, have been fighting alongside ECOMOG against the junta which staged the May 1997 coup. At present, Kamajor fighters make up the bulk of the CDF, a humanitarian source told IRIN.

Deputy Education Minister Abass Collier said Wednesday students who fought with ECOMOG would receive government handouts of between US$ 100-150, AFP reported.

New chief justice sworn in

The former foreign minister and ambassador to Germany, Desmond Luke, was sworn in Tuesday as the new Chief Justice, AFP reported. His first test will be the treason trials of some 59 Sierra Leoneans charged with alleged collaboration with the junta, the agency said.

CHAD: Youths protest planned Gaddafi visit

Hundreds of stone-throwing youths clashed Tuesday with paramilitary police in Chad's capital, N'Djamena, during a demonstration against a planned visit by Libyan leader Mu'ammar Gaddafi, news organisations reported. Students erected barricades and a number of people were wounded, police said. Gaddafi is due in N'Djamena on Friday and is expected to lead prayers at the main mosque. According to the Libyan news agency quoted by the BBC, Gaddafi and the Chadian president had invited 11 other African leaders to attend the prayers. Church groups also expressed concern Gaddafi's visit and the prayer meeting compromised Chad's status as a secular state.

Anti-Gaddafi sentiments stem from the invasion of Chad by Libyan troops on several occasions in the 1970s and 1980s over territorial disputes.

NIGER: President warns opposition

Nigerien President Ibrahim Bare Mainassara announced Wednesday his "strong determination" to stop the wave of violence affecting Niger since the opposition launched a series of protests earlier this month demanding his resignation, AFP reported. Regional authorities were given firm instructions not to give in to any agitation and to take all necessary steps to ensure peace.

MALI: Opposition rejects Carter mediation recommendation

The Carter Centre, in an official communique, said Tuesday that a valuable opportunity for constructive dialogue in Mali's current political crisis had been missed when the radical opposition rejected the Centre's mediation. President Alpha Oumar Konare had agreed to an initial meeting under the Centre's auspices between the opposition Collectif des partis politiques de l'opposition (COPPO) and the pro-Konare Mouvance Presidentielle, the parliamentary opposition and himself to clarify some of the issues prior to full-scale discussions. However, the root cause of disagreement continued to be COPPA's continued rejection of the 1997 election results and recognition of Konare as president.

The radical opposition boycotted the July 1997 elections and rejected the results, charging they were fraudulent. International observers, while noting that the elections were poorly organised, declared them to be free and fair.

WEST AFRICA: Regional security meeting

Interior and defence ministers from ten countries met in Gabon Tuesday to begin a three-day meeting to define strategies and common actions against insecurity and the circulation of arms in the region, AFP reported. Participating countries included Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Chad, Sao Tome e Principe, Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo (former Zaire). Although invited, Rwanda did not attend. A UN Permanent Committee was instrumental in organising the meeting.

Most of the measures for discussion focus on controlling the sale and circulation of illicit arms, which, according to the meeting's working document, prolong conflicts and aggravate banditry, drug trafficking and criminal activity. The document also noted that 3.5 million people had died in African conflicts between 1990 and 1995 and that 14 of 53 African counties were affected by war in 1996. The meeting is part of an ongoing process initiated at the 1996 sub-regional summit in Cameroon.

The meeting follows a special session of the UN Security Council last Friday on the prevention of Armed conflicts in Africa in New York.

Abidjan, 29 April 1998, 19:45 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: Wed, 29 Apr 1998 19:54:12 +0000 (GMT) Subject: IRIN-West Africa Update 197, 98.4.29 Message-Id: <Pine.LNX.3.95.980429195251.23287A-p://www.reliefweb.int/emergenc

Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar

Previous Menu Home Page What's New Search Country Specific