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IRIN-WA Update 209 of Events in West Africa, (Saturday-Monday) 16-18 May 1998
SIERRA LEONE: World Food Programme concern for refugees
The WFP said on Sunday it was concerned about the worsening plight of thousands of exhausted and ailing Sierra Leoneans fleeing civil war into neighbouring Guinea. In the past two weeks 27 refugees, 16 of them children under five, have died of malnutrition and disease, it said.
"Since early March more than 160,000 Sierra Leoneans have crossed the Guinean border," WFP said in a statement issued by its regional headquarters in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire. As troops of the West African intervention force, ECOMOG, battle rebels supporting the ousted military junta, the report said, hundreds were arriving daily in the southwestern Guinean border town of Guekedou.
A Reuters dispatch cited stiff rebel resistance in the eastern town of Kailahun, their last major stronghold near the borders of Guinea and Liberia. WFP said the refugees arriving in Guinea included badly mutilated civilians who said rebels had used machetes to amputate the limbs of people accused of backing ECOMOG. "We are very concerned about the growing number of refugees, especially children, dying from diseases and malnutrition a few days after their arrival in Guinea," said Paul Ares, WFP's regional manager for West Africa. More than 1,600 children had been admitted to health clinics and therapeutic feeding centres in the last two months and their number was rising sharply, he added.
WFP said it had food supplies of 3,000 mt sufficient to feed 250,000 people for one month.
UK role praised in Freetown
In the Sierra Leone capital, Freetown, parliament passed a unanimous motion thanking the British government for supporting the country's struggle for democracy, AFP reported at the weekend. The motion on Friday also condemned Lord Avebury for "attempts to tarnish the image of the Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, officers of the British Foreign Office, the British High Commissioner in Sierra Leone (ambassador), Peter Penfold, and President Kabbah by alleging that these parties colluded in securing the services of Sandline International and mercenaries to restore the government of Tejan Kabbah in Sierra Leone." AFP quoted officials in Freetown as saying that President Kabbah had hired Sandline "unilaterally" without the help of the British government.
On Saturday, meanwhile, AFP reported that thousands of people marched through Freetown in a show of support for Penfold even though his exact role in Kabbah's re-installation remains unclear. It said most people regarded him as a hero.
Rebels arrested
Several dozen combatants loyal to the ousted military junta who tried to pass themselves off as refugees have been arrested in Guinea, AFP reported on Monday. Quoting a source in Gueckedou, 600 km south of Conakry, where they were held by Guinean army troops, it said those arrested included Mohamed Conteh, a key rebel leader who had evaded capture in Sierra Leone.
NIGERIA: Protests to be banned
The Nigerian police have said that a series of "mass action" protests against the government of General Sani Abacha would be banned, AFP reported on Sunday. The protests were planned by the Joint Action Committee of Nigeria (JACON), a coalition of 35 human rights and pro-democracy organisations. The first protest was scheduled for 4 June. Others were set for 12 June to mark the 1993 anniversary of the civilian presidential election which was annulled by Abacha, and for 1 August, when a presidential election is scheduled under Abacha's pledged return to democratic rule in Nigeria.
Catholic bishops concerned
Catholic bishops in Nigeria have expressed "grave" concern at the political situation, Reuters reported on Sunday. Political tension has increased in recent weeks after five registered political parties last month chose Abacha to run as the sole candidate in the August election. A group of 34 veteran politicians, including former civilian vice-president Alex Ekwueme have urged him not to accept the nomination
The bishops were quoted as saying in a statement: "The latest developments in our long and tedious transition programme are leading us in a direction that gives us grave cause for concern. Now our worst fears are coming to pass before our very eyes. And so we call on all Nigerians - watch out, there is danger ahead." Recalling the visiting of Pope John Paul II in March and his appeal for the release of political prisoners, the bishops also urged "all Nigerians" to "embrace the path of true reconciliation". Reuters reported that other Christian groups in Nigeria made similar statements at the weekend.
Presidential aspirant launches fresh challenge
A former Nigerian police chief, Mohammed Yusufu, has taken court action in a bid to overturn his party's decision to nominate Abacha as its presidential candidate, Reuters reported on Friday. His party, the Grassroots Democratic Action Movement, is one of the five parties authorised to participate in the election. "We are hoping that eventually we will get a court decision which will bring back our hope for another convention that that we can nominate a proper presidential candidate," he told Reuters. Abacha has yet to confirm that he will run in the election.
Liberia: Taylor seeks relocation of ECOMOG HQ
Liberian President Charles Taylor has said he will ask the summit meeting next month of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to relocate the headquarters of the ECOMOG peacekeeping force, Star Radio reported on Sunday. He would only ask ECOMOG to maintain its headquarters if it clarified its role.
The independent radio station recalled that President Kabbah of Sierra Leone had hinted last month that ECOMOG might transfer its headquarters to Freetown. The ECOMOG force commander, General Timothy Shelpidi, has said any such decision had to come from ECOWAS. Meanwhile, the former faction leader, Roosevelt Johnson, who is now ambassador-designate to India, told Star Radio on Sunday that security in Liberia could only be guaranteed if ECOMOG can undertake its mandate of restructuring the Liberian army and security apparatus. This was a role assigned to ECOMOG under the Abuja peace plan for Liberia, Johnson said.
Speaking in a telephone interview with Star Radio from the United States, where he is undergoing medical treatment, Johnson said he would only decide on his diplomatic appointment once he returns to Monrovia.
Former soldiers receive benefits
The Liberian government said it had started paying retirement benefits to an estimated 2,500 disgruntled former solidiers and fighters, some of whom were blamed for shooting in Monrovia last week, Reuters reported on Friday.
In a brief dispatch quoting Taylor's military advisor, Thomas Doeway, it said cheques had been handed to them at an army barracks. Two people were killed last week when ex-soldiers wielding knives and machetes clashed with security forces in a protest demanding their benefits.
Human Rights Commission cites delays
Liberia's National Human Rights Commission said its work was being hampered by the government's delay in confirming the appointment of some of its members, Star Radio reported on Monday. Commissioner Kormah Bryemah said that two of the five members of the commission were still awaiting Senate ratification of their appointments. He said the ratification was important because it ensured that decisions taken by the commission are legally binding. But until the matter was cleared, he said, it could not make any progress with 10 cases currently under consideration.
WEST AFRICA: G8 leaders to offer debt relief
Leaders at the annual summit of the Group of Eight (G8) leading industrial nations at the weekend pledged their support for the "speedy and determined extension" of debt relief to more nations under the terms of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. In a joint statement after the summit in Birmingham, England, the G8 leaders did not list the countries involved. But they said: "We will work with the international institutions and other creditors to ensure that when they qualify, countries get the releif they need, including interim relief measures whenever necesssary, to secure a lasting exit from their debt problems.
"We expect the World Bank to join the future financial effort to help the African Development Bank finance its contribution to the HIPC initiative," the statement said. The G8 leaders also sought to strengthen conflict resolution: "We see a particular need to strengthen Africa's ability to prevent and ease conflict, as highlighted in the UN Secretary General's recent report. We will look for ways to enhance the capacity of Africa-based institutions to provide training in conflict-prevention and peacekeeping." The statement also pledged to boost post-conflict help in political, social and economic spheres in a manner consistent with democratic values and respect for basic human rights.
Abidjan, 18 May, 1998, 16:45 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: Mon, 18 May 1998 17:21:15 +0000 (GMT) Subject: IRIN-West Africa Update 209, 98.5.18 Message-Id: <Pine.LNX.3.95.980518171522.10063A-p://www.reliefweb.int/emergenc
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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