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IRIN-WA Update 280 of Events in West Africa, (Tuesday) 25 August 1998
GUINEA BISSAU: Peace talks under way
An official in the ministry of foreign affairs in Cape Verde told IRIN on Tuesday that a new round of peace talks between Guinea Bissau's government representatives and army rebels began on Tuesday in Praia, the capital. The talks, aimed at bringing an end to a military rebellion, were under the auspices of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). News organisations reported that delegations from both warring sides arrived on the same plane in Cape Verde and had expressed optimism that the talks would produce positive results. The foreign minister of Guinea Bissau, Joao Cardoso, described the meeting as "another positive step" in finding a peaceful solution to the crisis, Reuters said.
A mutiny broke out on 7 June, when the president of Guinea Bissau, Joao Bernardo Vieira, sacked his armed forces chief of staff, General Ansumane Mane, for alleged arms trafficking.
According to news reports, the CPLP planned to table a proposal on the establishment of a government of national unity, which would remain in place until supervised elections were held. Meanwhile, the Portuguese daily 'Diario de Noticias' said the ECOWAS and CPLP mediation teams were expected to define the terms for monitoring the 26 July ceasefire and "draw up a schedule for talks" between the two warring sides.
ECOWAS and the CPLP had agreed last week to harmonise their peace strategies in seeking a durable solution to the conflict in Guinea Bissau. The ceasefire was negotiated by the CPLP.
Parliament wants to debate arms traffic
The speaker of the parliament of Guinea Bissau, Malam Bacai Sanha, called for the establishment of a special parliamentary commission to inquire into allegations of arms trafficking in the country, the Portuguese news agency, Lusa, reported on Tuesday. The report said the commission would be set up as soon as the situation in Guinea Bissau has been normalised. Sanha also called for the establishment of a national election commission.
The speaker also urged all parliamentarians to return to Bissau, the capital of Guinea Bissau, "as soon as possible" so that it could reconvene as soon as peace was restored. Mane was accused of gunrunning to the separatist Mouvement des Forces Democratiques de Casamance (MFDC) in neighbouring Senegal.
French minister supports ECOWAS role
Meanwhile, the French cooperation minister, Charles Josselin, said on Monday he supported the leadership by African states in the quest for a peaceful solution to the conflict in Guinea Bissau, AFP reported. Speaking after a meeting with Senegalese President Abdou Diouf in Dakar, Josselin said the French government supported ECOWAS's involvement and strong presence in the ongoing peace talks in Cape Verde.
NIGERIA: Presidential polls slated for February 1999
The Nigerian authorities announced that presidential polls would be held on 27 February 1999, two months ahead of the date set for the military to hand over power to a civilian government, the BBC reported on Tuesday. Speaking at a news conference, Ephraim Akpata, the chairman of the electoral commission, said the electoral process would only succeed with the cooperation of politicians. He added: "We cannot afford to fail."
The last elections in Nigeria were held in 1993, but the military annulled the poll before the results were announced. Chief Moshood Abiola, who died in July 1998 while in detention, was widely believed to have won the majority of the votes.
Canada to restore diplomatic presence
Canada announced the re-establishment of a Canadian "diplomatic presence" in Nigeria in light of the steps taken by Nigeria towards establishing democratic rule in the country, AFP reported on Monday. The Canadian foreign minister, Lloyd Axworthy, announced that a Canadian diplomat would be stationed in Nigeria as of September, but added that the Canadian High Commission (embassy) would not reopen until further notice. The embassy was closed in March 1997 in protest over the former regime's abuse of human rights.
AFP reported that the Canadian secretary of state for Africa, David Kilgour, would visit Nigeria in September for talks with government officials.
Mandela hails Abubakar as man to usher in democracy
South African President Nelson Mandela praised efforts by Nigeria's ruler, General Abdulsalam Abubakar, to return the country to civilian rule, news agencies reported on Monday. According to the South African news agency, SAPA, Mandela expressed confidence in Abubakar's ability to restore democracy to Nigeria. Mandela said: "We are confident this is the leader who is going to help us achieve that." He welcomed the establishment of an independent electoral commission as well as lifting the ban on political parties in Nigeria. Reuters quoted Abubakar as thanking Mandela for South Africa's support for his reforms and promised to forge stronger ties with South Africa.
Abubakar is on a three-day official visit to South Africa in a bid to renew ties between Nigeria and South Africa, which have been strained since 1995, when the Nigerian government executed several political opponents despite Mandela's plea for clemency.
Abubakar addresses parliament
In an address to the South African parliament on Tuesday, Abubakar said his government had chosen democracy as the "preferred option of governance", news organisations reported. Reuters quoted Abubakar as saying that "Nigerians want nothing less than true democracy in a united and peaceful country". He added that South Africa's transformation into a democratic state in 1994 showed the way forward for the continent.
The Nigerian leader emphasised that the relationship between Nigeria and South Africa should be one of "cooperation and not rivalry", Reuters reported. Abubakar said: "I am confident that working together and collaborating fully on all the pressing issues of our time, Nigeria and South Africa, along with all other countries in our region, can help create an African renaissance". Citing Nigerian interventions in conflicts in Liberia and Sierra Leone, Abubakar reiterated that Nigeria would "never abandon its quest for peace and security in our continent".
Nigeria has been a key player in the West African peacekeeping force, ECOMOG.
LIBERIA: Taylor rival seeks talks
A former wartime rival of Liberia's President Charles Taylor, Roosevelt Johnson, has reiterated a call for talks with Taylor following a search of his home last week by security men, independent Star Radio reported on Tuesday.
In a dispatch quoting an interview with the Voice of America, it said Johnson had criticised the search as a violation of his rights. Analysts described the issue as particularly sensitive because some of the worst fighting during the Liberian civil war had resulted from an attempt to arrest Johnson in April 1996. More recently, local residents fled the neighbourhood in March this year during an incident in which presidential guards were alleged to have attacked Johnson's home. At the time, soldiers of the West African peacekeeping force, ECOMOG, had to intervene with armoured vehicles to keep the calm.
When his home was searched last week, Johnson alleged: "I authorised ECOMOG to search my house, but my guards prevented the police from entering my residence with weapons." AFP reported that his supporters set up barricades and threatened to attack any government vehicle approaching the house.
Johnson, the wartime leader of the Krahn wing of the United Liberation Movement for Democracy in Liberia (ULIMO-J), also told the radio interviewer he wanted to report back to Taylor on a visit abroad. He said he had returned to the country secretly in recent weeks because of reports linking him to a coup plot which he denied.
Market stalls closed down
On Monday, Star Radio reported that police in the Liberian capital, Monrovia, had demolished an estimated 1,500 city market stalls as part of a controversial month-long operation.
It said the police had been breaking down "makeshift" structures and pavement stalls, prompting calls by the Liberia Marketing Association to stop the operation. Although no reason for the operation was given, it said the association had urged the government to help relocate its members to other sites.
Sierra Leone envoy meets Taylor
A special envoy of Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, president of neighbouring Sierra Leone, held talks with Taylor this week to consolidate ties between the two countries following a pledge last month by both leaders that they would not support subversion against each other. In a brief report on Tuesday, Star Radio said the envoy, Deputy Foreign Minister Sahr Maturi, described his meeting as "rewarding".
WEST AFRICA: Gabon concerned at DRC crisis
President Omar Bongo of Gabon has said he was "deeply concerned" at the crisis in his giant neighbour, the Democratic Republic of Congo, AFP reported, quoting a presidential broadcast on Monday night. He hoped both sides could negotiate a peaceful solution to the crisis.
AFP quoted diplomats as saying his remarks were "the first by a leader of a neighbouring francophone nation to the west or the north (Congo-Brazzaville, the Central African Republic, Cameroon and Chad) which up to now have observed a cautious silence on the hostilities". It said Bongo had made "discreet" contacts with the warring sides and was ready to help mediate an end to the crisis.
SIERRA LEONE: Treason trials
The high court in Sierra Leone delivered the first verdict in one of several treason trials to follow the overthrow of the military government in February by the West African intervention force, ECOMOG, news organisations reported on Monday. Sixteen defendants, including a former member of parliament and several journalists, were found guilty of collaborating with the government. The court has not yet passed sentence. The penalty for treason is death, but lawyers were debating whether this was mandatory. Some of those convicted apologised to the nation and appealed for mercy.
The former junta spokesman, Alieu Kamara, the Central Bank governor, Christian Kargbo, and Hilton Fyle, a former presenter with BBC's radio Africa Service, were found guilty, Reuters reported. Felix George, former director-general of the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation, was also found guilty.
Abidjan, 25 August, 1998 17:30 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: Tue, 25 Aug 1998 18:00:22 +0000 (GMT) Subject: IRIN West-Africa Update 280, 98.8.25 Message-Id: <Pine.LNX.3.95.980825175814.25023B-D N A T I O N S
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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