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IRIN-WA Update 328 of Events in West Africa (Friday 30 October 1998)
GUINEA-BISSAU: Rival leaders to table peace plan at ECOWAS summit
Guinea Bissau President Joao Bernardo Vieira and rebel leader, General Ansumane Mane, were expected later this afternoon (Friday) in Abuja, Nigeria, to put a reconciliation plan to end a four-month old mutiny before the summit of West African leaders in Abuja, media reports said.
Vieira and Mane yesterday (Thursday) held their first direct talks in Banjul, the capital of The Gambia. The talks hosted by Gambian President Yahya Jammeh resulted in an "accord" on ending the mutiny, AFP said, quoting Gambian Foreign Minister Sedate Jobe.
The talks revolved around an extension of a ceasefire, the establishment of a national unity government and the withdrawal of foreign troops from Guinea Bissau, Reuters said, quoting official sources.
Jobe, quoted by AFP, said the draft accord was "a great success for Gambia and a great success for Africa".
The talks had been postponed twice this week because of disputes over venue and security concerns.
Call on combatants to respect ceasefire
Both Vieira and Mane called on their supporters to respect the ceasefire, media reports said. AFP quoted Vieira as calling for an end of the suffering, "so that the country can go back to work".
Meanwhile, Mane, quoted by AFP, said: "I am completely in agreement that hostilities should end. The details of the accord do not depend on me but on President Jammeh and President Vieira... My sole condition is the withdrawal of foreign troops".
Senegal and Guinea sent over 3,000 troops to bolster Vieira's government. The news agency added that the issue of troop withdrawals would be addressed later within the framework of the joint mediation by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP).
The mutiny erupted on 7 June, when Vieira sacked Mane, his former army chief of staff, for alleged arms trafficking to the separatist province of Casamance in Senegal.
French supplies to Senegal not linked to Guinea Bissau
The French embassy in Dakar told IRIN today that it supplies the Senegalese army with arms, ammunition and uniforms as part of a standing defence agreement signed between France and Senegal. This arrangement has nothing to do with the fighting in Guinea Bissau.
The embassy added that France had not been informed beforehand of Senegal's intervention in Guinea Bissau.
The Senegalese newspaper, 'Wal Fadjri', earlier this week reported that Paris had supplied the Senegalese army with arms and uniforms for use in Guinea Bissau. It also said the French military unit in Cap Skiring had flown medevac missions for the Senegalese troops.
WEST AFRICA: ECOWAS summit opens today
West African leaders of the 16 member countries of ECOWAS opened an annual summit today in Abuja during which it is expected to strengthen plans towards a common market and sign a conflict resolution treaty, media agencies reported.
South African President Nelson Mandela, a special guest of the summit, was expected to address leaders on conflicts within southern Africa. It is the first time that a leader outside West Africa has attended an ECOWAS summit.
The BBC said West African leaders would take the first concrete steps towards setting up a body to prevent and manage regional conflicts. The new body would try to prevent conflicts from breaking out in the first place and have a wider brief for managing existing crises. The situation in Guinea Bissau is also expected to be high on the agenda.
Meanwhile, it is expected that an ECOWAS travellers' cheque will be launched at the summit, constituting a first step towards establishing an ECOWAS single monetary zone, according to Reuters. The cheques will be denominated in West African Units of Account. The summit would also discuss the fight against illegal drugs in the region.
[Today's update is accompanied by a Background briefing on the ECOWAS summit.]
NIGERIA: EU poised to ease sanctions
The European Union (EU) said it was poised to ease sanctions against Nigeria in a move to encourage democracy under the Nigerian leader, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, news organisations reported.
The EU's new policy would take effect as of 1 November. The sanctions to be lifted would include a ban on high-level visits to Nigeria, the issuing of visas to Nigerian government officials and the resumption of sporting ties. A ban on military cooperation and an embargo on arm sales would remain in place.
An EU official quoted by Reuters added that if there was any deterioration in respect of human rights and democracy, the EU would immediately "review its policy with a view to adopting additional measures".
The EU said it would also resume its normal cooperation programmes in Nigeria.
UN calls for more on human rights
Meanwhile, a UN report said yesterday human rights violations had continued in Nigeria despite gains made under Abubakar's administration. Soli Sorabjee, a UN special rapporteur for the UN Human Rights Commission, in a report issued yesterday, said Abubakar's pledge to respect fundamental rights and freedoms "seem to have resulted in a much less tense political environment".
Sorabjee said while the government had released several political prisoners, trade union leaders, human rights advocates and journalists, others were still in detention, including those convicted in connection with previous coups. He added that the Nigerian legal system did not provide effective protection of human rights because of the suspension of the human rights provisions.
Referring to the elections scheduled for later this year, Sorabjee said certain criteria must be fulfilled for a meaningful transition to a civilian government by fully "respecting the rights to freedom of opinion, expression and association, freedom of the press, and the rights to peaceful assembly".
Sorabjee added that he had been unable to visit Nigeria despite requests to the present Nigerian government.
Ijaw militant group rejects peace deal
A statement issued by an Ijaw militant group, the Federated Niger Delta Ijaw Communities (FNDIC), said it rejected a peace accord signed by Ijaw elders with leaders of the rival Itsekiri community group, AFP reported.
"The ceasefire agreement is merely a statement of people with mutual distrust... The terms of the agreement are without due regards to the 19-point demands collectively signed by accredited representatives of the consultative assembly of the volunteer force of the FNDIC," the statement added.
Some 15 Shell flow stations and five Chevron have remained shut by the armed Ijaw youths.
The youths from the Ijaw ethnic community are demanding a local government for their area to ensure control of their own development and resources.
WEST AFRICA: Roll back malaria campaign launched
A health campaign called "Roll back Malaria" was launched today at the UN headquarters in New York in a bid to cut the number of deaths from malaria by 40 percent through the introduction of new drugs and new treatment. The programme, sponsored by four UN agencies, would focus first on Africa, where 90 percent of all malaria cases occur. It is estimated that 1 million children die from malaria alone in Africa. WHO also announced a new method to protect against malaria, which would consist of treating bed netting with a new insecticide, permethrin.
The WHO campaign is supported by the World Bank, UNICEF, and UNDP.
Abidjan, 30 October 1998, 17:45 gmt
[ends]
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Date: Fri, 30 Oct 1998 17:50:54 +0000 (GMT) From: UN IRIN - West Africa <irin-wa@wa.ocha.unon.org> X-Sender: irin-wa@wa.dha.unon.org Subject: IRIN-West Africa Update 328 for 1998.10.30 Message-Id: <Pine.LNX.3.95.981030174344.10001A-100000@wa.dha.unon.org>