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IRIN-WA Weekly Roundup 05-98 of Main Events in West Africa covering the period (Friday) 23 January to (Thursday) 29 January 1998
LIBERIA: Liberians say farewell to ECOMOG
Liberians this week bid farewell to the West African ECOMOG peacekeepers who are scheduled to leave the country on 2 February. Residents lined the the streets along a military parade route to wave goodbye. Many waved banners with slogans such as, "ECOMOG, we love you" or "ECOMOG we are proud of you". Their departure will mark the end of a seven-year west African peacekeeping mission in Liberia.
ECOMOG chief-of-staff, Brigadier General Abdul-One Mohammed, standing in for Commander Major General Timothy Shelpidi, called on Liberians to "put hands together and consolidate the peace we have put together". Shelpidi told IRIN on Monday that some ECOMOG contingents would remain in Liberia after 2 February for logistical reasons. In the phased withdrawal of ECOMOG forces from Liberia, 1,205 troops left the country on 22 December. They were followed by an estimated 300 Guinean troops, and over the past month, the departure of 2,497 Nigerian troops. The Nigerian contingents have comprised three quarters of the ECOMOG force in Liberia.
Taylor turns 50
The farewell ceremonies for ECOMOG were followed by
a series of celebrations to mark the 50th birthday
on Wednesday of President Charles Taylor. A newspaper
said it hoped his birthday would be an occasion for
him to foster new friendships with independent journalists,
human rights activists and other "well-meaning"
people.
First Ambassador presents his credentials in post-civil
war
The new Egyptian Ambassador, Farouk Ghoneim this week became the first foreign envoy to formally present his credentials since Taylor's victory in the presidential election last July.
NIGERIA: Panel delivers "coup plot" findings
The Nigerian military authorities said they had completed an investigation into an alleged plot last month to overthrow the country's leader, General Sani Abacha. Its findings would determine whether any of the 50 people arrested for plotting a coup will stand trial. The detainees include Abacha's former deputy, Lieutenant-General Oladipo Diya. "We will now see if there will be any trials," said army spokesman Colonel Godwin Ugbo. He declined to give further details.
New Nigerian envoys appointed
On the diplomatic front, the Nigerian government announced the appointment of new envoys to the United States and several European countries in what diplomatic sources said signalled a thawing of Nigeria's relationship with the outside world. The new envoys were appointed to Paris, Bonn, Brussels, Dublin, Geneva, Madrid, the Hague, Stockholm, Vienna, Washington and New York. The country's relationship with the outside world became strained following the execution in 1995 of the human rights activist Ken Saro-Wiwa. The incident resulted in Nigeria's suspension from the Commonwealth and the temporary recall of several Nigerian ambassadors and Western ambassadors in Nigeria.
Nigerian fuel imports to continue
The Nigerian government said this week that it would have to continue oil imports for the foreseeable future. Imports would continue until local refineries, currently undergoing maintenance work, are again able to meet local demand. The Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC) said about US $600 million had been budgeted for petroleum purchases.
Jailed rights activist hospitalised
A prominent Nigerian human rights activist, Dr Seko Ransome-Kuti, has been admitted to hospital this week from a prison where he is serving a 15-year sentence after suddenly taking ill. He was sentenced in March 1995 for allegedly plotting to overthrow the Nigerian leader, General Sani Abacha. No details of the reported deterioration in his health were given. But his family were reportedly likened his plight to that of a another political prisoner who died in jail last month. The prisoner, General Shehu Yar'Adua was also sentenced to a heavy jail term on the same coup charges in 1995.
In a related development, another prominent human rights activist, Chima Ubani was released on bail this week to face charges of "incitement against the person" of Gen. Abacha. Ubani is secretary general of the Democratic Alternative movment. A trial date was set for 11 March.
Papal visit
The Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria announced that Pope John Paul II will make a two-day pilgrimage to Nigeria on 21 March.
EQUATORIAL GUINEA: Separatist tensions in Bioko island
Bioko island off the coast of Equatorial Guinea saw heightened tensions during the week as clashes broke out following a crackdown on separatists. The government blamed the Movimiento para la Autodeterminacion de la Isla de Bioko (MAIB) of launching the first terrorist attacks in the island last week. Amnesty International said the authorities had rounded up at least a dozen people following the attacks in which eight soldiers and a civilian were killed.
"They are feared to be at risk of torture and ill-treatment, which are routine in Equatorial Guinea," Amnesty said. "All the detainees are Bubi, the ethnic group native to Bioko Island." Those held included a Catholic priest, Father Eduardo Losoa, a teacher Victor Buyaban and his wife, a member of parliament, Marcelo Lohoso, and Cristino Meda Sericha, who until recently was director of the prime minister's office.
The MAIB is a Bubi politicial party seeking self-determination for Bioko. Amnesty said since Equatorial Guinea's independence from Spain in 1968 "many Bubi people had been killed or arrested for expressing their desire to be independent." The Bubi minority in now number an estimated 5,000 of the island's 90,000 people.
SIERRA LEONE: Convoy ambushed
The ruling Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) in Sierra Leone said 47 people were killed this week in a Kamajor ambush in the east of the country. The Kamajors, fighters loyal to ousted President Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, attacked a government convoy on the main road between the capital, Freetown, and Bo, 170 kms to the east. An AFRC statement said three soldiers, 15 civilians and 29 Kamajors were killed in the incident. The report did not say when the attack occurred. In recent weeks reports have shown an increase in skirmishes between the Kamajors and AFRC troops.
In related incidents this week, further sporadic fighting between the AFRC and the Kamajors was reported. The violent clashes were centered around three villages in Bambara chiefdom near Kenema, 230 km from the capital Freetown. A source in Kenema confirmed to IRIN there had been fighting nearby. According to the source, an undisclosed number of wounded people were brought to a local hospital. "Getting into and out of Kenema is very difficult now," the source said.
Earlier in the week, Major Johnny Paul Koroma, the AFRC chairman reiterated an amnesty offer to Kamajor militias if they lay down their weapons. "Any Kamajor who gives up their arms will not be harmed and will be amnestied," Koroma said.
Reports of AFRC clashes with ECOMOG denied
There were conflicting reports of fighting this week between AFRC and ECOMOG forces. However, sources in Freetown told IRIN they doubted any such clash had occurred. An aid worker based near Jui, the site of the alleged fighting 24 km southeast of the capital Freetown, said no shots had been heard in the vicinity. A similar report last month that ECOMOG jets had bombed Freetown had also turned out to be untrue, another source recalled.
NIGER: Uranium miniers ransack homes
Irate miners ransacked the homes of their managers this week at a remote uranium mine in the desert near Arlit, 880 km northeast Niger's capital, Niamey. In the incident at the Compagnie Miniere d'Akokan (COMINAK), the army was called to restore order. The miners have been on strike since 22 January to protest the dismissal of 18 employees allegedly fired for trying to organise a union meeting and inciting a "false strike". COMINAK is one of two major uranium mining companies in the area.
In a related move, civil servants in Niger started a two-day strike on Tuesday January in support of the miners' demands as well as the payment of seven months of salary arrears for civil servants, AFP reported.
TOGO: Student strike ends
Meanwhile, In Togo, students at the University of Benin ended a three-day strike this week called to protest the way riot police had broken up an earlier demonstration over academic grants. At the behest of President Gnassingbe Eyadema, 11 students arrested during the clash with police were released.
GHANA: Former president dies
Hilla Limann, the president of Ghana from 1979 to 1981, died last Friday after suffering from heart complaints for several months. Limann was overthrown by Ghana's current Head of State Flight Lieutenant Gerry Rawlings in a military coup.
UNITED NATIONS
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan this week approved a new structure to replace the UN Department of Humanitarian Affairs. The department will be headed by Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Sergio Vieira de Mello. His deputy is Martin Griffiths who was formerly head of DHA's Geneva office. The department has been renamed the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
NOTE
The IRIN West Africa office this week released a special report looking at the background and the prospects of the Conakry Peace Accords designed to pave the way for the return to civilian rule in Sierra Leone. (See: SIERRA LEONE: IRIN-West Africa background briefing on the Conakry Peace Accord, 28 January 1998).
Abidjan, 30 January 1998, 10:50 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/emergenc or can be retrieved automatically by sending e-mail to archive@dha..unon.org. Mailing list: irin-wa-weekly]
Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 10:58:26 +0000 (GMT) From: UN IRIN - West Africa <irin-wa@wa.dha.unon.org> Subject: IRIN-WA Weekly Roundup 05-98, 98.1.30 Message-Id: <Pine.LNX.3.95.980130105243.915A-100000@wa.dha.unon.org>
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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