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IRIN-WA Update 244 of Events in West Africa, (Saturday-Monday) 04-06 July 1998
GUINEA BISSAU: New diplomatic initiatives amid heavy fighting
The conflict in Guinea Bissau entered its fifth week running on Monday with international news organisations again reporting heavy artillery fire in the capital, Bissau, as diplomatic efforts to end the showdown between army mutineers and Senegalese-backed government forces intensified.
Diplomats told IRIN the key diplomatic initiative came from foreign and defence ministers of the 16-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) which agreed at the weekend to use force if necessary to stop the conflict.
In a communique issued after three days of talks in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, news reports said the ministers had agreed to extend the mandate of the regional peacekeeping force, ECOMOG, to Guinea Bissau. They also appealed to both sides to end the fighting which has devastated Bissau and sent hundreds of thousands of people fleeing. The statement recommended a three-pronged course of action - dialogue and negotiations, sanctions, and only then military force.
In Dakar on Monday, IRIN was told by both African and western diplomats that although the ECOWAS countries had recommended using force in Guinea Bissau, they were careful to refer the matter to the UN Security Council, thus making it appear unlikely that there would be any ECOMOG intervention. ECOWAS Executive Secretary Lansana Kouyate, at the end of the meeting, also stressed the importance of member countries' contributions, a PANA report said.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, speaking at a news conference in Accra on Friday before the ECOWAS initiative was announced, said he would work closely with ECOWAS to seek a solution: "But obviously the answer is not just the deployment of troops. There has to be diplomatic and politicial initiative parallel to the deployment of troops and that will also have to be pursued."
The fighting
Portuguese Antena 1 radio and AFP said weekend shelling continued in the strategic Bra district overlooking Bissau and at the international airport as Senegalese troops launched a fresh offensive against rebel positions. Sunday's shelling was the worst to date in the conflict which began on 7 June, when former armed forces chief Ansumane Mane rebelled after his sacking for alleged arms trafficking to separatists in neighbouring Senegal, the Associated Press and Portuguese television reported.
Witnesses said shells fell over north and south Bissau, hitting buildings housing diplomatic missions. According to Antena 1 radio, government forces made a slight advance, though other agencies said positions remained unchanged
President says foreign troops confined to capital
Meanwhile, in television and radio interviews at the weekend, Vieira denied that 95 percent of the army had joined forces with Mane's rebellion. Vieira told RTP reports that Senegalese troops had been involved in fighting inland last week were false. "There are no Senegalese troops inside Guinea Bissau, apart from the capital," he said.
The Portuguese newspaper, 'Publico', citing the same interview, said on Monday that Vieira also blamed Portugal for not condemning the rebels firmly enough. But in Lisbon, a government spokesman denied the allegations. "Portugal has always denounced the coup because Portugal has always defended democracy," Jose Lello was quoted as saying.
Bishop, Cape Verde also urge dialogue
When asked whether he though the conflict could be resolved through the intervention of a third force, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Bissau, Settimio Ferrazzeta, told 'Publico' in an interview: "No. This would be a disaster for this country. You can see this with the Senegalese intervention. Conflict can never be resolved through force. I told the president openly that the Senegalese force cannot resolve this. He decided of his own accord to call in the Senegalese, thinking that it would be a quick affair, which is what everybody thought."
In Cape Verde, also a former Portuguese colony, Parliament Speaker Antonio Espirito Santo told diplomats on Sunday: "bringing more foreign troops into Bissau would entail the grave risk of perpetuating the conflict and further destabilising the sub-region," according to 'Publico'.
World Food Program: First food aid
UN sources told IRIN on Monday that the WFP on Saturday delivered 46 tonnes of emergency food to displaced people in Guinea Bissau. The food was sent overland from Guinea Conakry.
NIGERIA: Abubakar appoints allies to key security posts
Two senior Nigerian officers, described as close to new Nigerian leader General Abdulsalam Abubakar, have been appointed to previously vacant posts at the head of the armed forces, AFP reported, quoting a presidential statement late on Friday.
Rear Admiral O.M. Akhigbe was appointed Chief of General Staff, the military government's number two position, to replace Lieutenant-General Oladipo Diya, who was convicted earlier this year of plotting a coup and sentenced to death. Air Vice Marshal A.M. Daggash was appointed Chief of Defence Staff. The new appointments were to take immediate effect, the statement said.
In a related development, the Associated Press reported on Sunday the replacement last week of the powerful chief of security, Major Hamza al-Mustapha, who headed the bodyguards of Abubakar's predecessor, General Sani Abacha, and wielded immense power as an adviser. AP quoted officials as saying his job had gone to a Major A.M. Aliyu.
Abiola's release awaited
The Lagos home of Nigeria's most prominent political prisoner, Moshood Abiola, was deserted at the weekend when his family headed to the capital Abuja in anticipation of his release, AFP reported.
Expectations have soared since the announcement last Thursday by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan that Nigeria's new leader, Abdulsalam Abubakar, would soon be releasing all political detainees, including Abiola. Abiola was arrested and jailed by Abacha who annulled the 1993 presidential election which Abiola was widely presumed to have won.
Since Abdulsalam's take-over, he has received cautious praise from the international community for his apparent departure from Abacha's hard-line military rule. Already he has freed some political prisoners and pledged to return the country to civilian rule.
Former leader wants Abubakar to stay on
Meanwhile, AFP, quoting 'The Sunday Concord' of Lagos, said another former military ruler, Ibrahim Babandiga, was plotting a come-back and urging Abubakar to stay in power until 2000. Babandiga, described as a close ally of Abubakar, was backing a group called "The New Millennium", which has recently begun taking out advertisements in local papers urging Abubakar to stay, the report said. The 'Sunday Concord' is owned by the Abiola family.
Other news reports suggested that Abubakar, who took over after Abacha's death on 8 June, also indicated he might stay on at least until 1 January. An AFP report on Monday quoted the state-backed 'Daily Times' as saying "the extension would allow the laying of a solid foundation for genuine Democracy".
With Abubakar expected to make a broadcast to the nation later this week on his reform plans, he was scheduled to meet on Tuesday the most important American delegation to visit the country since the 1993 political and human rights crackdown, a State Department spokesman said. The delegation will be led by Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Pickering and follows visits last week by Annan and the Commonwealth Secretary General, Emeka Anyaoku.
LIBERIA: President accuses world of turning back on Liberia
President Charles Taylor has accused the international community of turning its back on Liberia, Star Radio reported. Speaking on his return from Nigeria and Burkina Faso on Saturday, Taylor accused non-African countries of only giving Liberia "promises", adding that they wanted to see the country "torn apart again". He claimed that countries recovering from war, like Mozambique, were fully funded by the international community. A donors' conference in Paris in April pledged US$ 230 million to Liberia.
Call to Liberian fighters in Sierra Leone to come back home
The Liberian government has urged its nationals involved in the Sierra Leone conflict to return home, Star Radio reported on Sunday, citing remarks by Taylor following his talks with the Sierra Leonean president in the Nigerian capital last Thursday. According to the radio, Taylor warned the government would not intervene on behalf of any Liberian fighters arrested by the Sierra Leone government.
TOGO: Constitutional court rejects opposition motion
The Togolese Constitutional Court on Friday rejected a motion brought by three opposition parties calling for the cancellation of the 21 June presidential election in which the incumbent, Gnassinbe Eyadema, was declared the winner, PANA reported.
In a ruling in the capital, Lome, it said the court upheld the interior ministry's actions in gathering and disseminating election results after four senior members of Togo's National Electoral Commission resigned while the vote was still being counted, the report said. The court said the interior ministry had acted rightly to avoid a "legal vacuum". The opposition parties had 48 hours to lodge an appeal.
SENEGAL: New government announced
The government of Senegal at the weekend announced a new cabinet to be led by Mamadou Lamine Loum, a 46-year-old former economics and finance minister in the outgoing government of Habib Thiam, which resigned on Friday. This IRIN update is accompanied by a full list of the new cabinet. Subscribers who may not have received it can request the list by e-mail to irin-wa@africaonline.co.ci with "senegal list" in the subject line.
WEST AFRICA: Leaders travel to Libya for Muslim prayers
Presidents Yahya Jammeh of The Gambia, Alpha Konare of Mali and Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah of Sierra Leone have arrived in Libya to participate in a Muslim prayer meeting organised by Libyan leader Muhammad al-Khaddafi, BBC reported on Monday. It was not immediately clear how they travelled to Libya because of a UN embargo banning flights to the north African nation. Last month, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) called for the international isolation of Libya to be eased.
Others on the guest list included the American Nation of Islam leader, Louis Farrakhan, and the heads of state of Chad, Libya, Niger, Nigeria, Mali and Burkina Faso. The prayers will take place in the Mediterranean town of Bayda, 1,300 km east of Tripoli, the report said.
Abidjan, 6 July 1998, 22:00 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-updates]
Subject: IRIN-West Africa Update 244, 98.7.6 Message-Id: <Pine.LNX.3.95.980706215638.29116A-Mime-Version: 1.0
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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