UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER
IRIN-West Africa Update 410 for 1999.2.25

IRIN-West Africa Update 410 for 1999.2.25


U N I T E D N A T I O N S Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Integrated Regional Information Network for West Africa

Tel: +225 21 73 54 Fax: +225 21 63 35 e-mail: irin-wa@ocha.unon.org

IRIN-WA Update 410 of Events in West Africa (Thursday 25 February)

SIERRA LEONE: Rebels reportedly willing to hold talks, lay down arms

Rebels in Sierra Leone have expressed willingness to hold peace talks with the government and take part in a UN-monitored ceasefire, Reuters reported. It cited a joint statement by the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and UN Special Representative for Sierra Leone Francis Okelo following weekend talks in Abdijan, Cote d'Ivoire.

The RUF said a meeting should first be held between its jailed leader Foday Sankoh and his commanders, as suggested by President Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, and proposed either Ouagadougou, Abidjan or Lome as a venue. The statement added that the RUF wanted Sankoh to be freed after these talks.

"The RUF delegation expressed the readiness of the RUF to consider a ceasefire with the government of Sierra Leone and ECOMOG at the beginning of the internal RUF consultations, provided UN military observers were immediately deployed to monitor and verify strict compliance," the statement said.

It added that the RUF condemned all human rights violations, and any members found guilty of such abuses would be punished.

Ouagadougou again rejected as venue

Presidential spokesman Septimus Kaikai told IRIN today (Thursday) he had not yet seen the document, but reiterated the government's position that Ougadougou would be unacceptable as a venue "given that the Burkina Faso president is implicated in the Sierra Leone crisis". He also said the rebels had rejected a proposal that they meet Sankoh offshore on board a British ship near Guinea. "We are now waiting to hear from them," he said, adding that other venues had not been discounted. A dialogue between the rebels and Sankoh must take place ahead of negotiations with the government, he stressed.

National Security Adviser Sheka Mansaray meanwhile said the government was still in favour of talks, despite continued fighting with the rebels in eastern Sierra Leone, according to the Sierra Leone news website. "The government is not retreating from the proposed peace negotiations with the rebels," he said.

Waterloo free of rebels, access to east easier

The West African intervention force ECOMOG has flushed rebels out of Waterloo, some 18 km from Freetown, ECOMOG spokesman Chris Olukolade said, according to media reports. He said the battle for Waterloo began on Saturday, and the fact that ECOMOG had managed to repulse the rebels meant Freetown was currently safe from attack.

The UN Observer Mission in Sierra Leone (UNOMSIL) confirmed that Waterloo, which had been under rebel control for weeks, was now secure. This affords greater access to the east, although caution is still advised, humanitarian sources told IRIN today.

Concern over situation in north

However, the humanitarian community has expressed concern about the situation in northern Sierra Leone which is mostly inaccessible to relief organisations. The Kailahun area in particular is giving cause for concern because it is a meningitis zone, and cases have already been identified among displaced people arriving in Kenema.

The sources also said about 1,749 children had been reported missing by family members in the Western area. This could be either due to separation, wilful abduction or unknown deaths. Tracing is slow, as many children are still held by the rebels in areas where ECOMOG is not fully deployed.

LIBERIA: Government deports "mercenaries"

The government has ordered the deportation of two foreigners, accusing them of being mercenaries, Star radio reported today. They are among 10 people arrested recently on suspicion of collaborating with Sierra Leonean rebels. The two were named as Briton Richard Ratcliffe, the general manager of Red Deer International, and Sheikh Ahmed Kompah, a Sierra Leonean. The other eight were freed for lack of evidence. Sources in Liberia told IRIN the premises of Red Deer International were now closed and sealed up pending the outcome of the investigation. The company was believed to be primarily a rubber buying organisation, and was said to be close to the government.

A Sierra Leonean diplomat was also ordered out of the country, the radio said. The Liberian authorities accused David Saysay of being an intelligence officer posing as an information officer at the embassy of Sierra Leone. According to Justice Minister Eddington Varmah, he had organised a covert operation to "discredit the government". Liberia has been accused of helping the rebels in Sierra Leone.

New finance minister in mini reshuffle

In a mini cabinet reshuffle, Liberia's finance minister and minister of state for presidential affairs have been replaced, news organisations reported. The finance minister, Elias Saleeby, was replaced by a former finance minister, John Bestman, who served in the administration of the late Samuel Doe. Jonathan Taylor, a cousin of President Charles Taylor, becomes the new minister of state for presidential affairs, replacing Ernest Eastman.

NIGERIA: Presidential campaigning winds up

Campaigning for Nigeria's presidential polls was due to end today, news organisations reported. Up to 40 million people have been registered for Saturday's vote pitting Olusegun Obasanjo of the People's Democratic Party (PDP), against Olu Falae of the Alliance for Democracy/All People's Party (AD/APP).

Brushing aside allegations that he is sponsored by the military Obasanjo, who ruled as an army general from 1976 to 1979, told supporters at a thinly-attended rally in Lagos yesterday (Wednesday): "I am a candidate for all Nigeria. I am a civilian candidate, not a military candidate." He said if elected he would restore Nigeria to the state in which he left it as ruler. He promised implementation of social-oriented policies such as providing education, jobs, investment and health.

Falae, a former finance minister under the military government of Ibrahim Babangida, has been campaigning in the north, considered a PDP stronghold. He is due in Lagos before heading for his home town of Akure, AFP reported today.

US, Carter urge free and fair elections

Former US president Jimmy Carter, who leads an observer group, yesterday called for free and fair elections, especially after "widespread irregularities" in the legislative polls, AFP reported.

Despite these setbacks, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said the US was hopeful the elections would result in a more stable democracy in Nigeria. According to AFP, she told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Nigeria could expect additional US aid to build democracy.

Local monitoring group urges better voter education

Nigeria's Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), a coalition of local human rights and civil society bodies, has published a four-point recommendation to ensure greater legitimacy for Saturday's poll.

In an interim report received by IRIN today, the TMG said intense voter education and mobilisation was needed to increase voter participation in contrast to the legislative polls. Considering that only two parties are contesting the presidential election, it called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue ballot papers bearing symbols of the two parties. This, it said, would eliminate or reduce the confusion of voters. Two of Nigeria's lesser parties have teamed up to fight the frontrunner, the PDP. The TMG also called for high level security for ballot boxes and election officers, election monitors and party agents during the polls. It urged "increased efforts to protect the privacy of voting".

The recommendations stem from a number of concerns the TMG highlighted in its report on the legislative polls. It cited low voter turnout, the selling of blank result sheets by some electoral officials, the lack of civic education on the election, polling stations without voting booths, bribery and harassment, and demands by voters for money.

BBC on FM throughout Nigeria

BBC World Service programmes in English and Hausa will be available on FM throughout Nigeria for the very first time, just ahead of Saturday's presidential elections. According to a BBC press release issued today, key daily current affairs programmes as well as three daily transmissions in Hausa will be relayed by more than 30 state broadcasters in Nigeria.

"This new partnership exemplifies Nigeria's moves towards more open communications and democracy," said Barry Langridge, the BBC's World Service regional head for Africa.

GHANA: Clinton reiterates support for Africa

US President Bill Clinton yesterday reiterated his administration's support for closer ties with emerging democracies in Africa, AFP reported. In a joint news conference with visiting Ghanaian President Jerry Rawlings, Clinton said that on 16 March the White House would hold a three-day US-Africa conference in Washington for foreign, finance and trade ministers of some 46 African states. Despite the administration's efforts, AFP noted that the US Congress had still not approved a White House proposal to boost US-Africa trade by eliminating quotas and customs duties.

At the news conference, Clinton also encouraged African states to cl as three daily transmissions in Hausa will be relayed by nflicts. He pledged US $1.9 million to Ghana toward the creation of the force. Rawlings, for his part, called on the US to help Africa fight hunger and conflict. "All we're asking for is a little logistic support," he said.

US firm announces multi-milllion dollar electricity contract

The US firm, CMS Energy Corporation, yesterday announced that its independent power subsidiary, CMS Generation, and its Ghanaian partner, the Volta River Authority (VRA), had signed a US $44 million engineering, procurement and construction contract with Black & Veatch to build a 110 megawatt electric generating unit in Ghana, PRNewswire reported. The unit will be located at the Takoradi Thermal Power Plant, near Aboadze. VRA, which generates, transmits and distributes electricity, also sells power to neighbouring Togo and Benin, and operates a network with Cote d'Ivoire.

CAMEROON: Central African security meeting

Eleven member states of a UN consultative committee were due to meet in Yaounde, Cameroon, today to discuss security issues in central Africa, AFP reported. According to a statement issued by the Cameroonian presidency, the meeting would group the leaders of Gabon, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic, Congo-Brazzaville, Congo-Kinshasa, Burundi, Angola, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, and Cameroon. AFP said it was likely some leaders would not attend, but would send representatives instead.

Abidjan, 25 February 1999, 18:00 gmt

[ENDS]

Date: Thu, 25 Feb 1999 18:15:05 +0000 (GMT) From: UN IRIN - West Africa <irin-wa@wa.ocha.unon.org> Subject: IRIN-West Africa Update 410 for 1999.2.25

Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar

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