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Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs Integrated Regional Information Network for West Africa
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IRIN-WA Update 276 of Events in West Africa, (Wednesday) 19 August 1998
GUINEA BISSAU: Peace talks scheduled for Wednesday
Peace talks between Guinea Bissau's government representatives and army rebels were scheduled to open on Wednesday in the West African Cape Verde islands after the two sides failed to meet on Tuesday, news agencies reported, quoting diplomatic sources.
Wednesday's meeting was to be the first face-to-face talks to be held between both sides since the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP) negotiated a ceasefire on 26 July.
However, the office of the Executive Secretary of the CPLP in Lisbon told IRIN on Wednesday that it could not confirm a Reuters report that the meeting had actually got under way.
The CPLP contact group leader and Cape Verde oreign minister, Jose Luis de Jesus, said it was a "positive sign that they had decided to come here because there cannot be dialogue without the people involved being present," Reuters reported. Meanwhile, Portugal's foreign minister, Jaime Gama, quoted by the Portuguese radio station TSF, said the Portuguese government had put "substantial logistical support" at the disposal of the two warring sides in an attempt to push the peace process forward. Portugal is a leading member of the CPLP contact group.
The BBC reported that the government of Guinea Bissau had boycotted Tuesday's mediation efforts, under the auspices of the CPLP, and denied a Portuguese helicopter the permission to ferry a rebel delegation to the talks. The spokesman for the rebels, quoted by Portuguese RDP radio, said they were "looking for an alternative route" to enable them attend the meeting in the island of Sal, Cape Verde.
The mutiny started on 7 June after Guinea Bissau President Joao Bernardo Vieira sacked his former armed forces army chief of staff, General Ansumane Mane.
ECOWAS approves talks, Ivoirian minister says
The ECOWAS mediation leader and Cote d'Ivoire foreign minister, Amara Essy, quoted by Reuters, said on Tuesday that ECOWAS had "encouraged the government and rebel (junta) to go (to the peace talks). Because we believe all this is positive". However, on Monday, Essy had reportedly dismissed the CPLP talks as a waste of time. There was no explanation for the change of position. The Reuters dispatch quoted diplomatic sources as saying that ECOWAS had proposed a reduction in the 3,000 troops that Senegal and Guinea had sent in to back government forces. It added that ECOWAS did not want the CPLP to take the lead role in a military buffer force, as agreed to in the cease-fire agreement. Rebel leader Mane had initially rejected an ECOWAS role in the mediation process.
CPLP calls for meeting with ECOWAS
A government official in Abidjan told IRIN on Wednesday that the problems between ECOWAS and the CPLP had been overcome during recent talks and that both organisations were now harmonising their peace strategies.
Meanwhile, Portuguese Foreign Minister Jaime Gama announced in Cape Verde that the CPLP and ECOWAS mediation teams would meet again soon to resolve any outstanding problems that could impede progress towards peace in Guinea Bissau, news reports said. Luis de Jesus, the CPLP mediator, said the next meeting between ECOWAS and the CPLP would probably take place before the end of the week.
Human rights NGO calls for President's removal
A local NGO Human Rights League in Guinea Bissau has demanded the "removal" of Vieira from political office in a bid to restore peace in the country, Portuguese news agency Lusa reported on Wednesday. Fernando Gomes, president of the League, said in Lisbon he was in favour of the formation of a government of national unity. He said the removal of Vieira from office and the army's return to the barracks were "essential conditions" to finding peaceful solutions to the present conflict in Guinea Bissau. Gomes also said the CPLP should lead the mediation in Guinea Bissau and ECOWAS should act as an observer.
SIERRA LEONE: Government rejects RUF ultimatum
Sierra Leone's civilian government has rejected an ultimatum from the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF) to release its gaoled leader, Foday Sankoh, media reports said on Wednesday.
But Reuters quoted government spokesman Septimus Kaikai as saying the RUF was not in a position to dictate its terms, and Sankoh would stay in gaol. On Monday, the RUF announced it would launch what it called "Operation Spare No Soul" unless Sankoh was set free within seven days.
Kaikai also said the government had more than enough evidence to charge Sankoh with war crimes. "He will not be released until he has gone through the due process of law," Kaikai said.
In July, the RUF leader was extradited to the capital, Freetown, from Nigeria, where he had been held for over a year on possession of firearms charges.
Sankoh's RUF, which took up arms against a previous military government in 1991, however rallied to a second military junta, which toppled President Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah's elected government in a May 1997 coup.
Kabbah was returned to office in February after armed intervention by the Nigerian-led West African intervention force, ECOMOG. ECOMOG forces have since contained the RUF in the north and northeast of the country, but have been unable to finally crush the rebels.
NIGERIA: Abubakar ends Lagos visit
Nigeria's new military ruler, General Abdulsalam Abubakar, ended his first visit to the commercial capital, Lagos, on Tuesday, marking what media reports described as a groundbreaking tour of the opposition's main stronghold.
Reuters said Abubakar focused his attention on convincing military personnel to support the need for presidential elections in May next year as part of the promised transition to democracy.
"I will not let you down, but do not do anything to let me down," Reuters quoted him as telling troops.
Thousands of civilians also turned out to greet him at Lagos airport as he shuttled between bases in the south of the country, Reuters said. In contrast, Abubakar's hardline predecessor, General Sani Abacha, never visited Lagos during his four years in power.
Human rights activist appointed
In a further move towards democracy, the Nigerian military authorities have appointed a prominent opposition human rights lawyer to the influential position of Senior Advocate of Nigeria, AFP reported on Wednesday.
The news agency quoted justice ministry officials as saying United Action for Democracy's Olisa Agbakoba was among 11 other lawyers appointed to the position. Agbakoba's appointment has been seen as a signal Nigeria's new government would be more tolerant of human rights advocacy, AFP said.
Agbakoba was detained several times during Abacha's rule.
CAMEROON: Heavy flooding kills four people
Heavy flooding in southwest Cameroon over the past two weeks has killed at least four people and left hundreds homeless, AFP reported on Tuesday.
The news agency quoted Cameroon state radio as saying electricity, water and telephone services had been cut in the port city of Kribi, some 200km southwest of the capital, Yaounde, after the river Kienke burst its banks.
Key bridges linking the two halves of the city had also been destroyed cutting off Kribi from its hinterland and threatening food shortages, AFP reported. Meanwhile, WFP told IRIN on Wednesday that Cameroon's rains had failed to reach the north of the country which was still suffering from the effects of a prolonged drought.
Last month, WFP distributed some 774 mt of maize to 30,000 families in northern Cameroon to help maintain household food security levels.
NIGER: Water shortages hit capital
Parts of Niger's capital, Niamey, have been without water for nearly two weeks despite heavy rains last month. Humanitarian sources in Niamey told IRIN on Wednesday that thousands of people were affected by the lack of water, which had been caused by heavy flood damage in July to the city's infrastructure.
Some 2,000 - 3,000 people were also made homeless during the downpour, media reports said. A lack of government funds meant repairs to water conduits had still not been made, one source said, adding that much of the system had already been allowed to fall into disrepair.
Nevertheless, humanitarian agencies did not expect to see an increase in diseases such as cholera, the source said, because emergency water trucks were providing a minimal service. People were also reportedly making a brisk trade in water imported from unaffected areas of Niamey.
Abidjan, 19 August, 1998 17:50 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 or can be retrieved automatically by sending e-mail to <archive@ocha.unon..org> - mailing list: irin-wa-updates]
Date: Wed, 19 Aug 1998 17:55:41 +0000 (GMT) From: UN IRIN - West Africa <irin-wa@wa.dha.unon.org> Subject: IRIN West-Africa Update 276, 98.8.19 Message-Id: <Pine.LNX.3.95.980819175351.14496A-100000@wa.dha.unon.org>
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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