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IRIN-WA Update 277 of Events in West Africa, (Thursday) 20 August 1998
GUINEA BISSAU: Peace talks scheduled for 25 August
The representatives of Guinea Bissau's government and army rebels agreed in Cape Verde at separate meetings with the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP) to continue to respect the ceasefire, news agencies reported on Thursday. They also approved a joint mediation effort by the CPLP and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in the peace process. The CPLP negotiated a ceasefire in Guinea Bissau on 26 July.
Portuguese Foreign Minister Jaime Gama announced after a meeting on Wednesday with Senegalese President Abdou Diouf that both mediation teams had scheduled a meeting for 25 August at which the two warring sides would be represented. The Portuguese news agency, Lusa, quoted Gama as saying that the CPLP "could be more useful" in finding an internal solution to the conflict in Guinea Bissau, while ECOWAS would be "better suited to a regional solution to the crisis". He stressed that Portugal was not seeking a "leading role or hegemony" in the peace process in Guinea Bissau, Reuters said.
Guinea Bissau's acting foreign minister, Joao Cardoso, quoted by Portuguese RDP radio, reaffirmed that only a common effort between both mediation teams would "guarantee that lasting peace would be attained" in Guinea Bissau. Meanwhile, the spokesman for the rebels, Zamora Induta, said the goal was to achieve a peaceful resolution to the conflict. He added that the rebels did not want to inflict further suffering on the civilian population. An estimated 350,000 people were forced out of their homes as a result of the fighting, according to UN figures.
A mutiny broke out on 7 June, when Guinea Bissau President Joao Bernardo Vieira sacked his former armed forces chief of staff, General Ansumane Mane. Senegal and Guinea, ECOWAS members, sent 3,000 troops to help Vieira quell the rebellion.
SENEGAL: Government begins to explain Guinea Bissau intervention
The Senegalese government this week said that its troops would remain in neighbouring Guinea Bissau for the foreseeable future as the vanguard of an eventual West African ECOMOG peacekeeping mission. The announcement, accompanied by statements published by the official press and in parliamentary responses, explained some of the motives behind its decision to intervene, but stopped short of giving precise figures on casualties or the cost of the operation.
In a no-confidence debate which the government easily defeated, Prime Minister Mamadou Lamine Loum said on Monday a force of 2,300 men were currently deployed in Guinea Bissau, where they had prevented a coup d'etat and thus succeeded in the main aim of their mission. "We will not repatriate them," he told the National Assembly. They would in fact constitute part of the ECOMOG contingent due to deploy in the country, he added. [For detailed information, see separate IRIN item issued today]
NIGERIA: Political groups criticise elections process
Political groupings in Nigeria have criticised the proposed arrangements for the conduct of elections under civilian rule, media reports said on Wednesday.
The BBC reported that at their first major meeting with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) since its inauguration earlier this month, over 50 groupings said the requirement for political parties to register with the body would open the political system to manipulation.
Under the leadership of Nigeria's late hardline ruler, General Sani Abacha, the military used the registration process to prevent critics from forming political parties.
The BBC said the new government feared that without registration, Nigerian political parties might be ethnically based, but if it prevented certain groups from registering, it could be accused of interfering in the civilian political process.
Government lifts ban on business with Abiola family
The Nigerian government has lifted a four-year ban on government contracts being awarded to business linked to deceased opposition leader Chief Moshood Abiola, AFP reported on Wednesday.
The news agency quoted the politician's eldest daughter as saying Abubakar had confirmed the ban had been lifted when he paid a condolence visit to the family in Lagos earlier this week.
"We thank the government for this gesture," she said.
AFP said the previous administration placed the ban on all business with the multi-million Abiola empire after he protested against the military's refusal to award him victory in the annulled 1993 presidential elections, which Abiola was widely assumed to have won.
Abiola died from a heart attack in July, just days before he was due to be released by Abubakar.
Missing journalist blew himself up
Nigerian police authorities have claimed that a missing journalist in fact blew himself up while attempting to bomb a hotel in the north of the country two years ago, AFP reported on Wednesday.
The news agency quoted the police as saying James Bagauda Kalto from the Independent Communications Network Limited (ICNL) was the sole victim of a blast that destroyed the Durbar Hotel in Kaduna in January 1996.
The police did not say why they had waited until now to release news of Kalto's death, but the police had recently come under increasing public pressure to release journalists arrested by the previous government, AFP reported.
ICNL has always maintained that Kalto was arrested on the orders of Abacha's former chief security aide, Major Hamza el-Mustapha, and was innocent of any bomb charge. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the group again accused the police of hiding the truth and called for the new military government to set up a panel to investigate the case.
"It is curious that the police have suddenly recognised the body of a man they said was burned beyond recognition 32 months ago," AFP quoted ICNL as saying.
Dozens of reporters have been set free since Abubakar came to power in June, but Kalto was a notable exception, the agency said.
New clashes in southwest
At least 14 people, including two pregnant women and a five-month-old baby, have been killed in southwest Nigeria's Ife region, media reports said on Thursday.
Reuters quoted 'The Daily Times' as saying they were killed by unknown assailants in Ogudu village on Tuesday. One of the victims was reportedly beheaded.
According to media reports, scores of people have been killed over the past two years in a feud between rival communities in Ife and Modakeke, which was triggered by the question of where to site government offices after changes to local boundaries.
NIGER: Prime minister appeals for aid
Niger's prime minister, Ibrahim Assan Maiyaki, appealed on Wednesday for international assistance to help flood-stricken parts of the country, AFP reported.
The news agency quoted Maiyaki as telling a meeting of diplomats and heads of international agencies in the capital, Niamey, that his government was "profoundly concerned" at the damage wrought by the July floods, which reportedly killed five people and destroyed over 6,000 homes.
Government revenue had also been badly affected by the unexpected drop in commercial activity, he said.
For his part, Niger's finance minister, Yacouba Nabassoua, added likely government expenditure on repairing infrastructure could jeopardise Niger's current round of financial reform. The government estimates some CFA 1.5 billion (FFr 15 million) would be required just to repair the damage to Niger's road system, AFP reported.
So far only Libya, Morocco and Egypt have sent any additional help to Niger in the form of foodstuffs, clothes and medical teams.
TOGO: Government resigns
Togo's Prime Minister, Kwassi Klutse, has submitted his government's resignation to President Gnassingbe Eyadema following his election in June, media reports said on Thursday.
The BBC said that a statement from the president's office said he had accepted the resignations and that consultations were under way to form a new government soon.
Earlier this month, Eyadema called for a government of unity. However, the opposition has challenged his election as fraudulent, saying Gilchrist Olympio from the Union des forces du changement (UFC) was the true winner, media reports said.
MALI: UN Secretary-General visits Mali
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan arrived in Mali's capital, Bamako, on Tuesday on a four-day private visit, which would also include some "semi-official duty".
UN Central News reported that Annan was expected to pay his respects to the family of his former Special Representative for Angola, Alouine Blondin Beye, who died in a plane crash in Cote d'Ivoire in June.
Annan would also pay courtesy calls to Mali's President
Alpha Konare and Prime Minister Ibrahim Boubakar Keita.
Abidjan, 20 August 1998, 19:00 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 or can be retrieved automatically by sending e-mail to <archive@ocha.unon..org> - mailing list: irin-wa-updates]
Date: Thu, 20 Aug 1998 19:05:12 +0000 (GMT) ubject: IRIN-West Africa Update 277, 98.8.20 Message-Id: <Pine.LNX.3.95.980820190335.22688A-D N A T I O N S
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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