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IRIN-WA Weekly Roundup 22-97 of Main Events in West Africa covering the period 7-13 November 1997
[The weekly round-ups are based on relevant information from UN agencies, NGOs, governments, donors and media. 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: ECOMOG, AFRC agree on some issues
Sierra Leone's military authorities and the west African peacekeeping force ECOMOG reached agreement on several issues Tuesday, following a day of talks near Freetown. The meeting, postponed from last Friday, centred around the recently-signed Conakry peace deal between the AFRC and west African states which provides for the restoration of democratic rule in Sierra Leone. The head of the delegation representing the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), Colonel James Mani, said agreements had been reached in principle "but these are subject to further discussion". ECOMOG commander General Victor Malu said the two sides were in accord on all but three issues which would be dealt with by special committees.
The three sticking points, according to Malu, were the release of Foday Sankoh, the leader of the ex-rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF) allied to the AFRC, disarmament and Nigeria's role within ECOMOG. Agreement was reportedly reached on such issues as demining, suspension of "unnecessary checkpoints", reopening the ferry service between the capital and the airport, and protection for UN and aid agency premises.
AFRC rules out disarmament
However, the concept of disarmament remained a thorny issue. Sierra Leone defence ministry spokesman John Milton on Thursday reiterated the AFRC view that the regular army could not be disarmed. Earlier, Eldred Collins, RUF third-in-command and trade minister in the AFRC government, ruled out any disarming and stressed that only Sankoh had the authority to tell fighters to disarm. Malu, on Wednesday, warned the AFRC any refusal to disarm "will be tantamount to challenging the whole world". Ousted president Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, on Wednesday in Conakry, said the regular army had to be disarmed and rejected any compromise with the AFRC.
Aid organisations discuss humanitarian deliveries
Humanitarian aid deliveries were due to resume to Sierra Leone on Friday (14 November) as stipulated by the Conakry peace accord. However this was later postponed to next Tuesday. Humanitarian sources told IRIN a mission from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) had been in Conakry, Guinea, since last weekend meeting UN agencies to evaluate the level of preparedness for cross-border operations. The sources pointed out that humanitarian aid would be delivered to rural areas in the Kambia region and Kambia itself would be used as a relay point for food distributions to other areas. Kambia's UN security rating was eased from maximum phase five to three. The sources described the current food situation in Sierra Leone as critical and basic commodities were escalating in price. The number of displaced people throughout the country is estimated at 157,000, mainly in Bo, Kenema, Port Loko and Kambia.
Concern over lack of fuel
Relief agencies expressed concern over the lack of fuel in Sierra Leone for distributing humanitarian aid. Humanitarian sources told IRIN Freetown has mostly been without power over the last month. The effects of a good harvest would be negated if the harvested crops could not be moved around the country, the sources pointed out.
According to the Conakry agreement, fuel sanctions will remain in force until the restoration of the democratic government. Earlier this week four cargo vessels trying to enter Freetown port turned back after ECOMOG threatened to attack two of them. ECOMOG had accused the two ships of heading for Freetown in violation of the fuel and arms embargo.
LIBERIA: Taylor wants ECOMOG out by February
President Charles Taylor said ECOMOG peacekeepers would no longer be required by February. Speaking at the end of a visit to Taiwan on Tuesday, he said his government would run its own multinational security force and any further ECOMOG presence would be based on bilateral arrangements with Liberia. He described as "unacceptable" a warning by ECOMOG commander General Malu on Monday that the rearming of Liberian soldiers risked triggering the kind of violence that devastated Monrovia last year.
Local humanitarian sources told IRIN that there had been a number of standoffs between ECOMOG and Liberian security forces recently. They also said it was "common knowledge" Taylor had rearmed 1,000 of his ex-fighters "who are not soldiers at all". In Monrovia, people generally were said to be apprehensive about the security situation. Meanwhile, a US embassy statement in Monrovia said Washington still wanted to help restructure the national police "but regrettably the US and Liberia have different views on police restructuring". According to PANA news agency, the US would therefore no longer assist in police training.
NIGERIA: Thousands attend opposition gathering
On Wednesday, thousands of people turned out to take part in Nigeria's largest opposition gathering since the military seized power four years ago. The gathering, held on Wednesday to commemorate the late opposition leader Michael Adekunle Ajasin, was allowed to go ahead by the government of General Sani Abacha. About 6,000 people attended the meeting in a private Lagos club. Speakers paid homage to Ajasin, who died of heart failure in September, and called for the restoration of democracy in Nigeria. Ajasin was leader of the country's largest opposition group, the National Democratic Coalition, NADECO.
Earlier, the Nigerian authorities had banned all demonstrations and meetings planned for Monday, the second anniversary of the execution of writer Ken Saro-Wiwa. Gabonese radio said security forces "armed to the teeth" had been deployed in Gokana, the chief town of Saro-Wiwa's Ogoni community in southeast Nigeria.
Call for Abacha to stand alone in presidential poll
Nigeria's Minister for Special Duties Wada Nas called on the country's political parties to let military leader General Sani Abacha stand as sole candidate in next year's presidential elections. Nas described the idea as a power-sharing arrangement, saying the five registered political parties should share five of the other senior executive positions. BBC radio commented there was widespread support within the parties for Abacha's candidacy. General Abacha has not yet declared whether he will contest the elections.
Opposition journalists arrested
The editor of the Nigerian weekly 'The News', which is critical of the government, was arrested by security agents last weekend. No reason was given for the arrest. In a related incident, the editor of 'Tell' magazine, Onome Osifo-Whiskey, was abducted in Lagos on Sunday as he was on his way to church. His colleagues said he was taken to an unknown destination.
Twelve killed in communal violence
Twelve people were killed and 10 injured in further communal violence between Ife and Modakeke youths in south-western Nigeria on Sunday, according to local press reports. This brings to 97 the number of people injured in violence between the two rival ethnic groups since mid-August. The last major clashes were in 1983 when hundreds of residents on both sides were killed and property was extensively burned or vandalised.
Oil wells closed in compensation-for-land row
Over 3,000 angry members of the Ekakpamre community in southern Delta state shut down 12 oil wells on Wednesday, accusing the Shell oil company of failing to pay compensation for land. Shell announced on Thursday it hoped the situation would be resolved after talks with Ekakpamre representatives. The Ekakpamre community said Shell had not given it compensation for land acquired to build a flow station in the region.
SENEGAL: UN committee concerned over Casamance situation
The UN Human Rights Committee expressed concern over the situation in the troubled Casamance region. At the end of its autumn session in New York, the Committee stated that continuing violence and unrest in Casamance had resulted in persistent violations of human rights. It said it had received allegations of "indiscriminate killings" of civilians by the army and police and of "disappearances, ill-treatment and torture" against suspected members of the separatist Mouvement des forces democratiques de Casamance (MFDC).
NIGER: Riot police put down student demos
Riot police were deployed in Niamey on Thursday as thousands of students and schoolchildren demonstrated to push demands for unpaid allowances. The schoolchildren were also calling for more classrooms and teachers. A student sit-in outside the national treasury was dispersed by tear gas and two students leaders were arrested. Meanwhile, a three-day teachers' strike over pay arrears, which began on Monday, closed down most of Niger's state schools.
Nearly 30 dead in clashes
Nearly 30 people were killed after the Niger army raided rebel bases in northern Niger last Saturday, Defence Minister Issoufou Ousmane Oubandawaki announced. He said the clashes had left 27 rebels and one soldier dead. Three more soldiers were reported wounded. The minister did not say exactly where the fighting occurred nor against which group, but noted the army had been conducting clean-up operations. Northern-based Tuareg and Toubou rebels formed an anti-government coalition in September. According to BBC radio, the minister said the authorities launched the raid after rebels ignored appeals for a dialogue.
EQUATORIAL GUINEA: Amnesty concerned over fate of opposition leaders
The human rights organisation Amnesty International expressed concern over the "disappearance" of two opposition leaders who were forcibly repatriated from Gabon last week after initially being granted political asylum. Amnesty said it had reason to believe Felipe Ondo Obiang and Guillermo Nguema Ela were in danger of being tortured by the Equatorial Guinea authorities. The country's president, Teodoro Obiang, has cracked down on political adversaries since uncovering a coup plot last May, Amnesty added.
Abidjan, 14 November 1997, 15:00 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-weekly]
Date: Fri, 14 Nov 1997 15:19:42 +0000 (GMT) Subject: IRIN-WA Weekly Roundup 22-97 of Main Events in West Africa Message-Id: <Pine.LNX.3.95.971114151415.13018A-100000@wa.dha.unon.org>
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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