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IRIN-WA Daily Media Update 35-97 of Events in West Africa, 26 August 1997
[As a supplement to its weekly roundups of main events in West Africa, IRIN-WA will produce a daily synopsis of international media reports on the region. IRIN issues these reports for the benefit of the humanitarian community but accepts no responsibility as to the accuracy of the original source.]
SIERRA LEONE - AFRC preparing for rough summit ride
The Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) said it is preparing itself for a rough meeting at the regional summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) slated for Tuesday and Wednesday in Abuja. AFRC spokesman Allieu Kamara complained that the ECOWAS leaders have not given them the chance to state their case and have only listened to President Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, who was toppled in a coup d'etat in May. In an attempt to present its case, the AFRC faxed a letter over the weekend to the ECOWAS heads-of-states explaining it had seized power to end six years of bloodshed and murder. ECOWAS has invited Kabbah rather than the AFRC leader Major Johnny Paul Koroma to represent Sierra Leone at the meeting. Sources close to the Freetown regime said that it would not send a delegation to Abuja for fear of being snubbed or even detained by authorities in Nigeria. The Revolutionary United Front's (RUF) leader Foday Sankoh has been detained in Nigeria since March 1997.
A meeting of the ECOWAS Committee of Four on Sierra Leone took place yesterday (Monday) to prepare for the sumnmit. Nigerian Foreign Minister and Chair of the committee Tom Ikimi announced that it would recommend strict measures that would ensure the restoration of President Tejan Kabbah's government. In an interview given to AFP, economist Paul Kamara in Freetown, meanwhile, described Nigerian military ruler General Sani Abacha's involvement in resource-rich Sierra Leone as a "personal relationship with an economic interest". Source: AFP.
SIERRA LEONE - US and UK urge peaceful solution
US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright sent an envoy, Ambassador John Hirsch, to Abuja to press for the reinstatement of President Tejan Kabbah. State Department spokesman James Rubin said that his government "fully supported" ECOWAS efforts to restore the elected president, including mediation and the use of sanctions. Rubin added that if negotiations did not succeed in the near future, he was concerned that force could be used instead. The British ambassador, Peter Penford, in a telephone interview with the clandestine pro-Kabbah radio station echoed the same opinion, advocating "a peaceful resolution of the crisis". Source: AFP.
SIERRA LEONE - Aid agency complains of looting/harassment
The NGO, World Vision (WV) programme director for Sierra Leone Tim Andrews visited Freetown last week where he met with senior members of the AFRC to seek an end to looting of aid supplies and harassment of NGOs, including WV. Prior to Andrews' visit, WV had lost 85 MTs of food. Following last week's meeting, WV acting country director Hameed Mansarray was informed that Koroma had met with members of the AFRC instructing them to keep away from food warehouses. On food security, Andrews noted that food was in short supply in rural areas with the vast majority of people living on bush yams, wild fruits, cassava and bush meat.
A senior official of the AFRC had earlier accused three aid agencies in Sierra Leone of playing politics against humanitarian aid and diverting assistance. Agencies say the complaints are baseless. Source: World Vision & AFP.
SIERRA LEONE - ICRC withdraws staff from Zimmi
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reported that it had withdrawn staff from its Zimmi office as their security could not be guaranteed. An ICRC clinic in Freetown was also closed following menacing behaviour towards staff and the arrest of a nurse. In a positive development, the ICRC reported that for the first time since the beginning of the year, it had carried out a distribution of food to 21,016 beneficiaries in the former RUF-held area of north Kailahun. Source: ICRC.
LIBERIA - Chief Justice pledges to maintain judicial integrity
Speaking during the induction of the Supreme Court judges on Monday, Chief Justice Gloria Scott pledged to maintain judicial integrity. The Supreme Court has entered a contract with the Liberian people to resist interference from other branches of government, she stated. The Chief Justice noted that the Supreme Court had an opportunity to lay the foundation for democratic growth. Associate Justices inducted along with the Chief Justice were N. Wilkins Wright, John N. Lewis, Soko Sakkor and Elwood Jangaba. Source: Star Radio (Foundation Hirondelle).
MALI - Opposition hunger strike ends
The Malian opposition leaders who have been in prison for two weeks suspended their one-week old hunger strike on Monday. Oumar Baba Diarra, one of the lawyers, said that the suspension of the strike demonstrated the opposition leaders' willingness to maintain an open dialogue with the government. He said that the ten leaders of the Malian opposition groups had asked to be regrouped in the same area in order to allow them access to the prosecutor's office and their lawyers. The leaders were arrested in connection with the killing of a police officer during a rally organised by the opposition on 10 August. The hunger strike was initiated to protest "their detention conditions and the lack of respect for legal process". After only two days of the hunger strike the health conditions of three of the detainees had rapidly deteriorated, necessitating their relocation to emergency care units. Source: AFP and Radio France Internationale via BBC Monitoring.
SENEGAL - Army denies general mobilisation in Casamance
The Senegalese army denied reports that it has sent troop reinforcements to the troubled southern area of Casamance. Separatist rebels of the Casamance Movement of Democratic Forces killed 25 government troops in an ambush last week. The director of information and public relations of the Senegalese military, Lt.Col.Meissa Tamba, told PANA that there had been no general mobilisation of troops in the area. Reports of the reinforcement, carried by the Dakar newspaper 'Wal Fadjri', said that the army had sent planeloads of soldiers to Ziguinchor, 450 kms south of Dakar. The newspaper claimed that included amongst the reinforcements were soldiers recently trained by United States Army instructors for peacekeeping duties. AFP reported that three more soldiers were killed when their vehicle hit a landmine in Kamaracuounda, 17 km from Ziguinchor.
The growing resurgence of rebel activity in the agriculturally rich tropical rain forest Casamance region could also pose a serious food security problem. Violence could hinder access to and disrupt agricultural activities in the country's breadbasket; a situation that would could only aggravate the effects of the current drought affecting most regions in Senegal (refer to IRIN Weekly Roundup No.10). Source: PANA.
THE GAMBIA - Assessment mission in drought-stricken areas
A joint government, WFP and NGO mission is scheduled in The Gambia for 27 to 30 August to assess the evolving drought situation, said a local source. Assessment missions were also to have been scheduled in the other affected countries: Mauritania and Senegal. Their aim is to provide useful indications of current crop conditions and the possible needs for assistance to affected farmers and herders, reported the FAO. (refer to IRIN Weekly Roundup No 10) Source: Humanitarian sources & FAO report Abidjan, August 26 1997-08-26
[ENDS]
[Via the UN Department of Humanitarian Affairs Integrated Regional Information Network for West Africa (IRIN-WA) Reports mailing list. The material contained in this communication may not necessarily reflect the views of the UN or its agencies. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts from this report should be attributed to the original sources where appropriate. For further information: e-mail irin-wa@africaonline.co.ci, Tel: +225 217367 Fax: +225 216335.]
Message-Id: <199708270909.MAA06233@dha.unon.org> Date: Wed, 27 Aug 1997 11:50:32 +0300 From: UN DHA IRIN - West Africa <irin-wa@africaonline.co.ci> Subject: IRIN-WA Daily Media Update 35-97, 26 August 1997 97.8.26
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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