IRIN-West Africa Weekly Roundup 42, 98.4.3

Tel: +225 21-73-54 Fax: +225 21-63-35 e-mail: irin-wa@africaonline.co.ci

IRIN-WA Weekly Roundup of Main Events 42 in West Africa covering the period (Friday-Thursday) 27 March-2 April 1998

SIERRA LEONE: Commonwealth delegation meets president

A five-member Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) led by Zimbabwean Foreign Minister Stan Mundenge arrived Monday in Sierra Leone for talks on national reconstruction and lasting peace with President Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, media organisations reported. In a statement Tuesday, Mundenge said he would urge member states to contribute to a UN Trust Fund for Sierra Leone.

Kabbah appealed to the Commonwealth to provide judges and lawyers to help his government ensure fair trials for junta collaborators. On 26 March, parliament unanimously ratified the two-week old state of emergency decree allowing the authorities to detain without charge junta collaborators for up to 30 days, AFP reported. Around 1,600 suspects had been detained, of which some 200 would face "serious charges", Reuters added.

ECOMOG claims to control 90 percent of country

Kabbah told CMAG the West African intervention force, ECOMOG, had cleared junta forces from 90 percent of Sierra Leone and expected to clear the remainder within the next 10 days, news agencies reported. But a humanitarian source told IRIN that junta forces at a conservative estimate numbered around 20,000 well equipped men and, more importantly, had a command-and-control structure.

Speaking to IRIN on Monday, ECOMOG Commander Major General Timothy Shelpidi confirmed that remaining junta forces were massed in the eastern districts of Kono and Kailahun, where ECOMOG troops were preparing an offensive. ECOMOG forces, in collaboration with the Kamajor Civil Defence Force, were advancing, but he anticipated logistic problems. Bridges needed to be repaired and roads de-mined. ECOMOG was also moving further east from Daru, which it took last week, towards the town of Pendembu, and was preparing to attack junta forces in the diamond town of Koidu, Reuters added.

Meanwhile, AFP reported ECOMOG had occupied the northern border towns of Tambaka, Wahidala, Falaba and Wara Wara in Bombala and Koindugu districts near the Guinean border last weekend.

Reports of atrocities continue

Reports of junta atrocities continued to mount. A mass grave containing over 550 corpses, mainly women and children, was discovered on Sherbro island, 140 km southeast of the capital, Freetown, AFP reported Wednesday. Mass graves were also found recently in the southern districts of Bo and Mattru Jong as well as in eastern Kenema District, AFP added.

On Thursday, AFP reported junta members killed seven people in an ambush near the town of Dankawalie, 250 km north of Freetown. The assailants were carrying identification documents issued to surrendered soldiers and rebels. State radio reported junta forces had abducted seven girls, aged seven to fifteen, and raped others from the Ben Hirsch Child Centre in Kenema, 140 kms east of Freetown. Victims of a brutal attack in Jaiama Sewafe, 50 kms north of Kenema, told AFP that junta forces had gathered civilians together then "systematically hacked" their limbs. Ten civilians with amputated limbs were evacuated to Freetown. Over the weekend, junta members reportedly killed 18 youths, who refused to be conscripted, in Kayima, Kono district, AFP reported.

Meanwhile, AFP reported a senior police official telling journalists Tuesday that some 33 police officers had been killed since mid-February in Kenema and Bo, east of the capital, by fleeing junta forces as well as Kamajor militias loyal to Kabbah.

Schools, banks re-open

Schools and two major commercial banks resumed operations on Monday, news organisations reported. Although schools have re-opened, the education system faces a lack of resources, understaffing, pay arrears for teachers, and needs to replace essential infrastructure looted or destroyed by retreating junta soldiers. Universities and other higher education institutions are expected to resume classes next month. In the economic sector, several industries said they would resume activities slowly since their factories had been massively looted.

Foreigners restricted in gold and diamond mining

A statement from the President's office last Friday ordered licensed gold and diamond traders to "relocate" to Freetown, and restricted foreigners in the industry, AFP reported.

LIBERIA: World Bank praise for Liberia

World Bank Vice-President for Africa, Jean-Louis Sarbib, Wednesday praised Liberia's efforts to re-build the country, Reuters reported. Sarbib was speaking at the end of a five-day assessment mission in preparation for the 7 April Paris donor conference at which Liberian will present a US$ 438 million national plan for reconstruction. The US-based Friends of Liberia (FOL), in a statement to the donor conference, warned that the successful completion of the democratic process needed the international community's investment and political will, but also recommended that assistance be conditional on respect for human rights. The Paris meeting is co-sponsored by UNDP, the World Bank and the Netherlands.

Johnson named ambassador to India, other appointments

In a cabinet reshuffle Tuesday, Liberian President Charles Taylor appointed General Hezekiah Bowen to replace Rural Development Minister Roosevelt Johnson, who was nominated ambassador to India, news agencies reported. Johnson had refused to comply with a government request Friday to move for his own safety, following his claim that members of the Presidential Guard had attacked his home on 23 March, media organisations reported. Taylor Tuesday also ordered the finance ministry to release sufficient funds for medical treatment abroad for Johnson, AFP reported. Diplomatic and news sources told IRIN he had suffered a mild heart attack some weeks ago.

Opposition politician and former faction leader, Alhaji Kromah, was also replaced by Victoria Reffell as head of the National Reconciliation Commission. Kromah had refused to return to Liberia from the US because of threats to his life.

Senate told ECOMOG status must be legalised

The President of the Liberian Senate, Charles Brumskine, speaking at a Senate hearing on security Saturday, said a "status of force agreement" was necessary to legalise ECOMOG's presence. However, an Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) source told IRIN there was no consensus among ECOWAS leaders as to whether ECOMOG should remain in Liberia. On Monday, Taylor added his government would ignore future utterances by ECOMOG and set its own requirements for assistance to restructure the armed forces, Star Radio reported.

Following Monday's Senate request that ECOMOG Commander Major General Timothy Shelpidi appear before it, ECOMOG referred matters relating to the force to ECOWAS. ECOMOG also said security issues were discussed through the appropriate Liberian Defence Ministry committee, Star Radio reported Wednesday.

Repatriation and reintegration

The first 400 of some 2,000 Liberian refugees registering for voluntary repatriation returned home from Guinea on Monday, news agencies reported. A UNHCR official said by 27 March only 18,481 of the projected 480,000 refugees had returned from Guinea and Cote d'Ivoire with UNHCR assistance. Meanwhile, in Monrovia, more than 2,000 internally displaced people asked the government to help resettle them, Star Radio reported on Tuesday.

In a related development, local media reports from Lofa County said resettlement problems were escalating into violent clashes between the Lorma, Lofa's largest ethnic group, and returning Mandingo refugees. According to Star Radio, a government special investigation team was due to leave for Lofa mid-week.

Refuge promised to fleeing Sierra Leoneans

Liberian Defence Minister Daniel Chea said all unarmed Sierra Leoneans seeking refuge would be given refugee status, Star Radio reported Thursday. However, Chea warned that Liberian territory could not be used to wage war against its neighbours.

Meanwhile, British aid agency Medical Emergency Relief International (MERLIN) warned that the number of Sierra Leonean refugees fleeing the fighting in eastern Sierra Leone to Liberia could double to more than 100,000, adding there was no sign of the arrival rate of 5,000 a day letting up.

NIGERIA: Coup trial extended

The military trial of General Oladipo Diya, military ruler General Sani Abacha's former deputy, and 25 other people for treason is not over, news organisations reported. There was no comment on why the trial had been extended. The local press has remained silent on the proceedings following repeated warnings. The defendants are charged with having allegedly plotted to overthrow Abacha on 21 December 1997.

Parliamentary election details announced

Nigeria's National Electoral Commission (NECON) Tuesday released details on the elections for the country's new parliament scheduled for 25 April, news agencies reported. Grants were distributed to each of the five official political parties and conditions for prospective candidates announced.

US adviser clarifies position on Abacha presidential candidacy

Meanwhile, US presidential national security adviser, Sandy Berger, last Saturday told journalists that the US would be watching to see if Nigeria "makes a genuine true, credible transition to civilian rule and holds an election that is free and fair," AFP reported. This presupposed the release of political prisoners and access to the media by the opposition, Berger stressed. If these conditions were met, Nigeria's military ruler General Sani Abacha could "theoretically" be elected under conditions acceptable to Washington but, Berger said, the situation so far was "not encouraging". Last week, Clinton had said the US would accept an Abacha candidacy if he were to stand as a civilian.

Fuel shortage to continue

The three-week old fuel shortage continued to plague Nigeria with warnings from Petroleum Resource Minister Chief Dan Etete Friday that it might not ease as soon as expected, AFP reported. He further cautioned that individuals demonstrating over the lack of fuel would be viewed as disturbing public order. The government blamed the current crisis on speculators selling fuel on the black market instead of the open market, AFP reported.

Meanwhile, oil giant Anglo-Dutch Shell, in an official statement Monday, reported an oil spill in one of its fields in Nigeria's southern Delta State affecting four villages in Warri, news agencies reported. The cause of the spill was still being investigated.

Human rights pressure increases

Two major Mobil Oil Corporation shareholders said Monday they would move a resolution for the board of directors to review and develop guidelines for company investments in countries with a record of human rights violations, such as Nigeria, a press release from the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM) said. The president of one of the shareholders said Mobil also had a responsibility to use its influence to seek the release of two Nigerian trade union leaders, Frank Kokori and Milton Dabibi. Mobil is one of the three largest companies operating in Nigeria.

Meanwhile, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) last week said it was appointing an independent commission of inquiry to investigate allegations of abuses of trade union rights in Nigeria.

Press watchdog notes 1997 crackdown

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said conditions for reporters in Nigeria worsened sharply during 1997. In its annual report, CPJ said last week the most disturbing trend of 1997 was the accelerated crackdown on Nigeria's struggling independent media by the government, which is now holding 17 journalists in prison. According to the International Freedom of Expression and Exchange (IFEX) Thursday five more Nigerian journalists were arrested late last month, three of whom were being held in undisclosed locations.

SENEGAL: Clinton's final stop

US President Bill Clinton arrived Tuesday in Senegal, the only francophone country on the itinerary of his six-nation Africa tour and his last stop. Clinton announced plans for an African Centre for Security Studies (ACSS), AFP reported. Referring to the US-sponsored African Crisis Response Initiative (ACRI), he stressed the need to strengthen Africa's peacekeeping capacity, news agencies reported. Senegal was the first African country to participate in ACRI which aims to train 10,000 to 12,000 African peacekeeping troops.

Earlier in his African tour, Clinton pledged US$ 80 million to help protect Africa's environment, especially desertification, BBC reported. The UN Environment Programme estimates that in the next 10 years at least 135 million people, especially from the Sahel region, could be forced to migrate because of desertification, PANA reported.

Opposition dissent

Senegal's main opposition leader, Abdoulaye Wade, boycotted Wednesday's reception for Clinton. He said he wanted to avoid giving a false impression of national unity, Reuters reported. He also criticised the ruling Parti Socialiste du Senegal's (PS) economic policies. Former Foreign Minister Djibo Ka and several other senior politicians Wednesday resigned from the PS, the BBC reported. Legislative elections are due in May.

GUINEA: More arrests

Guinean judicial officials Monday said some 60 people had been arrested following last week's violent clashes between security forces and residents of Kaporo, a northern district of the capital Conakry, news agencies reported. Three deputies of the opposition Union pour la Nouvelle Republique (UNR), including UNR leader Mamadou Ba, were charged with helping "plan and carry out" incidents of a "flagranly criminal" nature, AFP reported.

Over 120,000 residents are being forced out of Kaporo, an opposition stronghold, which the government claims is an illegal settlement in a non-residential area, to make way for a road project and a government office complex. According to a local media source, the settlement is a lower-middle class neighbourhood not a shantytown. The opposition claimed the neighbourhood had been built with government help and even had elected government officials.

CAMEROON/EQUATORIAL GUINEA: Amnesty fears deportation

Twelve Equatorial Guinean nationals arrested six months ago by a Cameroon anti-terrorist unit remain incommunicado in Cameroon, the human rights NGO Amnesty International (AI) reported Wednesday. AI said it was concerned that the 12, members of political opposition parties in Equatorial Guinea, face deportation to their home country, where they are in serious danger of being ill-treated. According to AI, at least eight of the twelve have been granted refugee status by the UNHCR.

MALI: Opposition leaders acquitted

Ten leaders of Mali's radical opposition collective were acquitted of charges of inciting violence and complicity to murder, news sources reported on Wednesday. The charges stemmed from the August killing of a police officer following an opposition rally.

CHAD: Libyan oil to the rescue

Libya, on Saturday, promised some 33 million litres of petrol to Chad, whose economy has been paralysed since the beginning of this year by a fuel shortage, news agencies reported. Nigeria's refinery problems, along with poor transport links to Cameroon, have aggravated the situation for land-locked Chad, which normally receives 60 percent of its fuel imports from Nigeria.

Human rights activities banned

Last week, Chad banned until further notice the "destabilising" activities of a coalition of seven national human rights groups, Reuters reported. The agency said this was an apparent bid to foil three days of human rights protests late last week. Meanwhile on Wednesday, the Chadian government deplored the police detention and beating last Sunday of Dieudonne Djonabaye, editor and chief of the Chadian weekly 'N'Djamena Hebdo' weekly, AFP reported.

Abidjan, 3 April 1998, 19:00 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, 3 Apr 1998 19:05:11 +0000 (GMT) From: UN IRIN - West Africa <irin-wa@wa.dha.unon.org> Subject: IRIN-West Africa Weekly Roundup 42, 98.4.3 Message-Id: <Pine.LNX.3.95.980403185651.27577A-100000@wa.dha.unon.org>

Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar

Previous Menu

Home Page

What's New

Search

Country Specific