UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER
IRIN West Africa Update 206, 98.5.13

IRIN West Africa Update 206, 98.5.13


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 206 of Events in West Africa, (Wednesday) 13 May 1998

SIERRA LEONE: US condemns rebel terror campaign

The US State Department, in a statement on Tuesday, called for an immediate end to the violence being wreaked on the Sierra Leonean civilian population by remnants of the ousted Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF). The US strongly condemned the rebels' "horrific actions" and urged the rebel leadership to end the "senseless slaughter". The statement added there were distressing rumours that the rebels were being assisted in their campaign of terror by other governments. "It should be clear that any government or other party which is found to be helping the rebels to prolong the war will face the strongest condemnation of the US and the international community," the statement warned.

According to AFP, the State Department also called for urgent US funding to provide trucks and other logistical support to the West African intervention force, ECOMOG.

UN denounces terror in east

The United Nations on Tuesday said refugees fleeing fighting in eastern Sierra Leone had been tortured and raped and were suffering from malnourishment and disease. Speaking at the daily UN press briefing, UN Spokesman Juan Carlos Brandt said fighters of the remnant junta maimed civilians by hacking off limbs and ears, and gang-raped women for months. Five people had died of starvation upon arrival in a UNHCR refugee camp. The medical NGO, Medecins Sans Frontieres, reported that its clinics had treated some 140 maimed patients since April. Amnesty International also reported incidents of rape, mutilation and other atrocities.

150 junta supporters killed in assault, local radio claims

Some 150 remnant supporters of the ousted junta were killed when ECOMOG staged a surprise assault on two towns, Koindu and Buedu, in the eastern district of Kailahun on Monday, AFP reported, quoting a local radio station in Makeni. The report quoted witnesses as saying that the assault came as junta supporters were "merrymaking" in a makeshift nightclub. Kailahun district has been a stronghold of the RUF.

Bishop denies Koroma surrender offer

The bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Makeni in northern Sierra Leone denied reports that he has been in contact with the deposed junta leader, Johnny Paul Koroma, Star Radio reported on Wednesday. George Biguzzi said he had never met Koroma and described the reports as "mere rumours". He added that he had no idea about Koroma's plans to surrender. However, the bishop said he was willing to help Koroma surrender if this was sanctioned by the Sierra Leonean president, Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah. News organisations reported at the weekend that Koroma had contacted the bishop offering to surrender.

British minister denies arms "conspiracy"

British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook on Tuesday denied any "conspiracy" by the Foreign Office to permit arms sales to Sierra Leone by a British security firm, Sandline, in violation of a UN arms embargo, news organisations said. The BBC quoted Cook as telling the House of Commons that an inquiry would establish the truth. He "angrily denied" any kind of conspiracy and said there was no evidence that Foreign Office officials were involved with Sandline, or that there was prior approval for a breach of the UN embargo. Lawyers acting for Sandline issued a letter dismissing allegations that the company had been warned it would be breaching UN sanctions, the BBC said.

Meanwhile, a coalition of trade unions and civic groups in Sierra Leone called for pro-British marches on Saturday to express support for Britain's role in restoring Kabbah's government, Reuters said. Representatives of the various groups meeting on Tuesday described the British High Commissioner (ambassador) to Sierra Leone, Peter Penfold, as a "national hero" for his role in restoring democracy. Penfold was summoned to London to assist in the arms investigation.

NIGERIA: Activist calls for oil embargo

Nigerian writer and activist Wole Soyinka on Wednesday called for a "complete embargo" against the regime of Nigerian leader General Sani Abacha, AFP reported. Speaking to the French parliamentiary foreign affairs committee, Soyinka called for the complete isolation of Nigeria by the international community at all levels - cultural, sports, political and the imposition of an oil embargo. He said oil was the main source of income for the government's "machinery of terror".

Soyinka singled out the Anglo-Dutch oil company, Shell, as the most guilty party in the "ecological tragedy" in the southern delta areas, but said it was not the only oil company involved. He also called for peaceful symbolic protests during Nigeria's appearances at the World Cup in France in June 1998.

Soyinka fled Nigeria in 1994. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1987.

Church leaders warn government

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) on Tuesday warned that the country is on the brink of a crisis over Abacha's nomination as sole presidential candidate in August, news organisations reported. The Christian group appealed to Abacha to reject the nomination. It said the nomination had caused "considerable doubt" among Nigerians over the effectiveness of the phased transition to democracy, according to AFP. The BBC said the association also appealed for clemency towards General Oladipo Diya, Abacha's former number two, and five others sentenced to death for allegedly plotting to overthrow Abacha's regime.

Meanwhile, the National Reconciliation Committee appealed to the citizens of Ibadan in southwest Nigeria to desist from inflammatory statements on the May Day protest, state radio reported on Wednesday. The Committee was in Ibadan to show its "concern over the ugly incident", the radio said.

Rights group calls for activist's release

The US-based NGO, Human Rights Watch (HR), on Tuesday called for the release of Nigerian activist Olisa Agbakoba arrested last week, AFP reported, quoting a HR statement. It said Agbakoba's arrest was part of a "pattern of harassment" of human rights activists aimed at preventing them from exercising their right to free speech. Agbakoba is president of the United Action for Democracy (UAD), a coalition of 26 pro-democracy groups.

Posters in Lagos demand Muslim leader's release

Posters calling for the release of radical Muslim leader, Sheikh Ibrahim al-Zak Zaky, were plastered in strategic parts of Lagos, AFP reported on Tuesday, quoting local sources. The posters were issued by a "committee for the release of Zak Zaky". The Sheikh has been in detention since September 1996 in northern Nigeria, charged with illegal assembly and inciting anti-government feelings.

SENEGAL: Student unrest spreads

Student unrest in Senegal spread to the capital, Dakar, where students smashed cars and disrupted traffic, news organisations reported. According to the BBC, the home of a cabinet minister was ransacked. Police fired teargas to disperse rampaging students in Dakar. Clashes between high school students and police were also reported in the central town of Kaolack. There were no reports of injuries or arrests in either town, Reuters said. The students said they wanted to express support for their colleagues at Saint Louis, where nine students were wounded in clashes with police last week. The government denied accusations that the police had used live ammunition.

Opposition leader calls for investigation

Meanwhile, the leader of the opposition Parti Democratique Senegalais (PDS), Abdoulaye Wade, on Tuesday condemned last week's violent repression of the student demonstration in Saint Louis, news organisations reported. He said he had written to the US and French ambassadors requesting an international investigation to establish whether the security forces had used live bullets against the students. He also warned against a repeat of such "gratuitous" violence, according to AFP. Minister of state and leader of the ruling party, Ousmane Tanor Dieng, said the situation should be examined "with more serenity, objectivity and goodwill", Radio France Internationale reported.

NIGER: Fuel price rise

Fuel prices rose by about 10 percent on Tuesday in Niger, AFP reported. Similar price hikes were feared for lantern fuel, supplies of which are exhausted, the report said. There has been a serious fuel shortage for several months in northern and south-central Niger because of supply difficulties in neighbouring Nigeria. According to AFP, the price rises are expected to aggravate living conditions.

The national minimum wage in Niger has remained unchanged since 1994 and wages have generally failed to keep pace with inflation. Civil servants have gone unpaid for several months. Niger came bottom of the 174 countries surveyed in the UNDP's Human Development Index.

LIBERIA: Police receive human rights training

Over 100 members of the Liberia National Police are undergoing human rights training, independent Star Radio reported on Tuesday. The training covers international instruments governing human rights practices, protection and promotion as well as arrest procedures and treatment of prisoners. This first training course is sponsored by the UN Peace Building Support Office.

Abidjan, 13 May 1998, 17:45 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]

Subject: IRIN West Africa Update 206, 98.5.13 Message-Id: <Pine.LNX.3.95.980513180442.9075D-p://www.reliefweb.int/emergenc

Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar

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