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IRIN-WA Weekly Roundup of Main Events 41 in West Africa covering the period (Friday-Thursday) 20-26 March 1998
LIBERIA: Tensions defused
Monrovia was tense for much of this week following an attack on Monday night on the home of Liberia's Rural Development Minister and former faction leader, Roosevelt Johnson, news agencies reported. Johnson said members of the Presidential Guard had attacked him home. ECOMOG troops and armoured vehicles subsequently patrolled the streets and guarded Johnson's home, news agencies reported. Media sources said local residents fled the neighbourhood in panic.
After a meeting on Wednesday with Justice Minister Eddington Varmah and Defence Minister Daniel Shea, organised by the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission (JPC) in collaboration with the Liberian National Bar Association (LNBA), Johnson appealed to his supporters to remain calm and return to their homes, independent Star Radio reported. He said he had no intention of bringing war to Liberia again. The meeting agreed all national security personnel would be withdrawn from the vicinity of Johnson's residence, where members of the West African peacekeeping force (ECOMOG) were to deploy instead. It also agreed that Johnson's supporters return home. Following the attack, heavily-armed presidential guards and Johnson supporters roamed the streets, news agencies reported.
At the meeting, Varmah denied the government wanted to arrest Johnson, Star Radio said. Information Minister Joe Mulbah on Wednesday also denied suggestions that presidential guards were behind the attack, the BBC reported. The attack was believed to have been carried out by individuals unrelated to the security forces, he said.
Fierce factional fighting and looting broke out in Monrovia in April 1996, when Charles Taylor's forces attempted to arrest Johnson.
Kromah appeals to ECOWAS
The chairman of Liberia's National Reconciliation Commission,
Alhaji Kromah, in a statement issued Wednesday in the
USA, called on the Economic Community of West African
States (ECOWAS) not to abandon Liberia to its current
confusion and insecurity, Star Radio reported. ECOWAS
had an obligation to provide national security, which
only ECOMOG could guarantee, he stressed. Kromah also
warned former members of his disbanded faction, ULIMO-K,
against involvement in criminal activities and expressed
disquiet at reports they were involved in the attack
on Johnson. Earlier this month Kromah, who has never
officially taken up his post, said he would not return
to Liberia from the US because of threats to his life.
ECOMOG branded "occupational force"
Last Monday, however, a resolution by Liberia's two legislative chambers authorising President Charles Taylor to negotiate the continued status of ECOMOG branded it "an occupational force", Star Radio reported. They noted that ECOMOG was still in the country despite the expiry of its mandate last month. They stressed that ECOMOG could not stay without the government's consent, further calling on the government to seek military assistance from "friendly" governments.
UN arms embargo violated, says ECOMOG chief
ECOMOG commander Major-General Timothy Shelpidi, last Saturday accused the Liberian government of violating a 1991 UN arms embargo on Liberia, news agencies reported. On Monday, Shelpidi told IRIN Liberian security forces had been armed with new weapons, mainly AK-47 rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers (RPGs). He called this "a highly dangerous situation" as the security forces were "overarmed" for their assigned tasks and not properly trained.
But in a speech to police officers in Monrovia last weekend, Taylor said the government was responsible for the state's security and "will secure what it requires to protect its sovereignty against internal and external threats", news sources reported. He refused to say whether Liberia was importing weapons but said he was waiting for the lifting of the embargo.
Police apology to ECOMOG
Liberia's police director Joe Tate apologised for falsely arresting a senior Nigerian army officer and a group of Nigerian journalists in Monrovia on 14 March, Reuters reported on 20 March. Shelpidi had previously warned that the arrests had been an act of provocation.
Press regulations scrapped
In the face of mounting protests from the media and pressure from Taylor, Information Minister Joe Mulbah dropped stiff media regulations on Wednesday, AFP reported. Requirements for a minimum US$ 10,000 bank balance, a circulation of at least 4,OOO for newspapers as well as academic qualifications for editors, were all scrapped, AFP said. A 5,000 Liberian dollar (US$ 125) registration fee would be halved.
SIERRA LEONE: Refugee "disaster waiting to happen"
The number of Sierra Leonean refugees in Lofa county, Liberia, rose to 35,000 over the last week, a humanitarian source told IRIN on Thursday. Some 24,000 were recent arrivals, while 11,000 had been in Vahun prior to the recent upsurge in fighting between ECOMOG and fleeing rebels in eastern Sierra Leone. 5,000 refugees had crossed the border on Wednesday alone. Makeshift camps were already twice the size of Vahun. The source said that local food, water and sanitation resources were under enormous strain and access to the remote area would be totally cut off by the upcoming rainy season. The source warned that the situation was "a disaster waiting to happen".
The location of camps so close to the border also raised concerns of general security for the refugees and NGOs. According to the source, there were fears that retreating rebels might infiltrate camps close to the border or turn them into operations bases. Another humanitarian source expressed concern that refugees might become a pawn in any ensuing conflict and warned of the need to avert a destabilising situation in eastern Sierra Leone and Liberia comparable to that of the Hutu refugee camps in the former eastern Zaire.
Rebel stronghold taken, ECOMOG claims
ECOMOG Wednesday captured the rebel stronghold of Daru in eastern Sierra Leone, Reuters reported. Earlier this month, AFP also reported ECOMOG as having secured control of Daru. ECOMOG Commander Colonel Maxwell Khobe said ECOMOG was now heading for the town of Koindu, on the border with Liberia and Guinea. AFRC leader Major Johnny Paul Koroma was in Koindu, fleeing civilians told AFP earlier in the week. Khobe added that once the area was secured, ECOMOG would encircle the rebels and take the diamond town of Koidu, an area of intense fighting this week. AFRC/RUF rebels were reportedly massed in Kono and Kailahun districts. On Wednesday, AFP quoted witnesses saying towns in Kono, especially Koidu, had been turned into "killing grounds" by the rebel forces. RUF deputy leader Sam Bockari was reportedly in Gandorhun, to the south, after he overran Bunumbu and Pajewa near Kailahun, AFP reported.
New cabinet; parliament meets
A new cabinet, including nine members of the previous government, was announced on 20 March. As promised, it was scaled down from 45 to 15. [Refer to IRIN Special Report "Sierra Leone: New Government Members 98.03.25" for list of government members.]
Meeting for the first time on Wednesday, a cross-party parliamentary committee met the attorney general to discuss the state of emergency declared last week by President Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah. Committee members said they were determined to avoid the tension that marked parliament's relations with the president at the start of his term in 1996.
ECOMOG to help restructure army
Kabbah has been working closely with the ECOMOG command in Sierra Leone on the restructuring of the new national army, Reuters reported Sunday. The programme is expected to start in the next couple of weeks. The army numbered around 14,000 before the 1997 military coup .
Annan calls for help in disarmament
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in a report
to the Security Council last Friday, called on the
UN to send up to 10 military liaison officers to Sierra
Leone to help ECOMOG design a disarmament plan and
assist in reconciliation. He also said he wanted to
strengthen the office of his Special Envoy in Freetown
and was looking at the possibility of deploying human
rights observers to the country. In the meantime, the
UN was sending a human rights officer to Freetown.
Press watchdog protests press registration
In a letter to Kabbah on Wednesday, the London-based press watchdog, Article 19, said government-imposed registration of newspapers constituted censorship and violated international covenants. Some 22 newspapers have been banned for lack of formal registration. Since no newspapers were currently registered, any ban appeared to discriminate according to editorial content, it said.
UNICEF challenges
Cholera prevention and rehabilitation of child combatants were among the major challenges facing Sierra Leone, UNICEF Representative in Sierra Leone, Anthony Bloomberg, told a press conference in New York on Tuesday. Some 3,000 RUF child combatants had retreated with the rebels. UNICEF also stressed the need to prepare for cholera prevention over the next few months, as the risk was highest during the June-October rainy season.
NIGERIA: Threat over Bakassi
Nigeria's air force Wednesday warned that aircraft flying over the southeastern Bakassi peninsula would be "brought down", news agencies reported quoting the independent 'Guardian' newspaper.
Last Friday, Cameroon denied Nigerian claims it had mounted a helicopter attack against a Nigerian stronghold on the peninsula. The two countries have clashed sporadically over the oil-rich peninsula since 1994. A decision from the International Court of Justice at The Hague on the issue is expected in four months' time.
Pope ends visit
Pope John Paul II wrapped up his three-day visit to Nigeria on Monday. At an open-air Mass attended by an estimated 100,000 to 250,000 people, the Pope called for "concerted and honest efforts to foster harmony and national unity, to guarantee respect for human life and human rights". A confidential list of 60 detainees the Vatican wants freed was presented to the government at the beginning of the week. The pontiff also repeated earlier calls for mutual cooperation between Christians, of which Nigeria has the largest constituency in sub-Saharan Africa, and Muslims, who are a majority in the country. AP news agency noted the pontiff had left Nigerians with "inspiring words" but "no indication of change from the military government".
Lagos police on alert over fuel shortages
Throughout the week, Lagos was swept by violent protests over mass fuel shortages caused by inefficient refineries and distribution problems. AFX news agency, quoting the 'Daily Times', said the state military administrator in Lagos placed hundreds of police on full alert on Monday and ordered filling stations to remain open 24 hours a day. The move came after motorists reportedly assaulted troops sent to quell mounting frustration at fuel shortages. On Wednesday, the Defence Ministry announced armed troops would also escort tankers from depots to filling stations, AFP said.
The fuel crisis also forced Lagos State police on Wednesday to withdraw permission for a rally in favour of Nigerian Head of State Sani Abacha, news reports said. The police said they lacked the manpower to maintain law and order, and monitor the distribution and sale of available petrol.
CHAD: Last hostage released
The last of eight European hostages abducted in Chad's
northern Tibesti area was released on Friday, AFP reported.
The eight tourists, seven of whom were immediately
released, were abducted last weekend. The Front National
du Tchad Renove (FNTR) claimed responsibility but these
claims were dismissed by Chadian Communications Minister
Haroune Abadi, who told IRIN two discontented Chadian
soldiers and four civilians had carried out the kidnappings.
GHANA: US President starts African tour
During his ten-hour visit to Ghana on Monday, US President Bill Clinton told a cheering crowd of tens of thousands in the capital, Accra, that it was time for Africa to become more prominent in the eyes of Americans and the world, AFP reported. Ghana was the first stop in a ten-day, six-country African tour in which Clinton was to focus on development through trade.
Ghanaian pressure group Action For Change (AFC) said it had delivered a petition to the US embassy prior to the visit, warning of serious human rights abuses in Ghana.
Power crisis mounts
As Ghana's energy crisis worsened, the authorities announced increased power rationing on Wednesday. Power will be supplied for 12 in every 36 hours, as against 12 hours in every 24 previously. In Accra, cuts would leave two-thirds of the 1.7 million inhabitants without electricity at any one time.
Akosombo dam, Ghana's main power source, has been badly affected by drought. The power shortages have also affected neighbouring Benin and Togo. Representatives from Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana and Togo met in the Ivoirian capital on 20 March to discuss the growing crisis.
GUINEA: Police clash with civilians
The Guinean government held emergency meetings on Monday following clashes with security forces, which left six dead and several people seriously wounded in Kaporo, a shanty town in the capital, AFP reported. Thousands of residents refused to relocate so that the area could be cleared and rebuilt. Security forces responded with tear gas and rubber bullets. The government subsequently lifted immunity for Assembly members suspected of having instigated the riot. MP and Mayor, Mamadou Barry, of the opposition Union pour la Nouvelle Republique was arrested Tuesday and a warrant was issued for MP Thierno Ousmane Diallo, AFP reported.
MAURITANIA: Human rights militants pardoned
Four of five human rights militants sentenced to 13 months in prison and fined for involvement in a French television documentary on slavery were pardoned by presidential decree on Tuesday, news media reported. A Nouakchott court had earlier that day rejected an appeal by the five.
Abidjan, 27 March 1998
[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, 27 Mar 1998 21:53:09 +0000 (GMT) From: UN IRIN - West Africa <irin-wa@wa.dha.unon.org> Subject: IRIN-West Africa Weekly roundup 41, 98.3.27 Message-Id: <Pine.LNX.3.95.980327213503.10132A-100000@wa.dha.unon.org>
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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