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IRIN-WA Weekly Roundup of Main Events 48 in West Africa covering the period (Friday-Thursday) 8-14 May 1998
SIERRA LEONE: "Severe" humanitarian situation in north and east
The humanitarian consequences of the ousted junta's campaign of terror in the north and east of Sierra Leone have been "severe", a UN report said on Wednesday. It said despite the intensification of the military campaign by the West African intervention force, ECOMOG, against remnant fighters of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), clusters of RUF fighters had moved north from Kono in a well-coordinated campaign to re-establish some of their former bush camps. Many of the villages on the road from Kabala to Kono and to the north of Makeni in central Sierra Leone had been attacked and many civilians wounded and amputated.
The report said one of the difficulties in developing an appropriate humanitarian response was gauging the scale of the crisis due to a lack of reliable information. Initial reports indicated that there were some 14,000 internally displaced people in Masingbi, 15,000 in Makeni and 5,000 in Magburaka and Kabala. However, security conditions had hindered interagency verification of the figures.
The report warned that displacement resulting from insecurity in northeastern Sierra Leone would have "dire" consequences in the agricultural sector. If farmers were unable to plant rice by June, the harvest in the north would be lost and large quantities of food aid would be needed. Meanwhile, a nationwide assessment of health facilities in Sierra Leone estimated that 60 to 70 per cent of hospitals, and peripheral health units had been destroyed. The hospitals in Kabala, Makeni and Magburaka were overwhelmed by an influx of war-wounded. There was a lack of beds, drugs and fluids.
UN denounces terror in east
The United Nations on Tuesday said refugees fleeing fighting in eastern Sierra Leone had been tortured and raped and were suffering from malnourishment and disease. Speaking at the daily UN press briefing, UN Spokesman Juan Carlos Brandt said fighters of the remnant junta maimed civilians by hacking off limbs and ears, and gang-raped women for months.
Amnesty International, last Friday, said there was an urgent need to protect civilians and called on the international community to establish a human rights presence to independently monitor human rights violations.
US condemns rebel terror campaign
The US State Department, in a statement on Tuesday, called for an immediate end to the violence being wreaked on the Sierra Leonean civilian population by remnants rebels. The US urged the rebel leadership to end the "senseless slaughter". The statement added there were distressing rumours that the rebels were being assisted in their campaign of terror by other governments. It warned any government or other party found helping the rebels to prolong the war would face the strongest condemnation of the US and the international community.
Britain did not supply arms, Kabbah says
Sierra Leonean President Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah on Tuesday denied he had received any military backing from Britain, Reuters reported. In a letter to British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Kabbah recalled that junior Foreign Office Minister Tony Lloyd had told him at the Commonwealth Summit in October 1997 that "while the British government would continue to give diplomatic and other support to my government it could not provide it with lethal materials or weapons". Kabbah said as far as he was concerned the matter was closed. Arrangements were made by third parties to enable the British security firm, Sandline, to make a "single delivery of light weapons for use in our civil defence units only after the removal of the illegal regime".
Earlier, Information Minister Julius Spencer said it was felt the UN arms embargo only applied to the military regime and not Kabbah. However, the United Nations said on Monday the UN arms embargo against Sierra Leone applied to both sides - the junta as well as the democratically-elected regime, AFP reported.
British minister denies arms "conspiracy"
Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook on Tuesday again denied any "conspiracy" by the Foreign Office to permit arms sales to Sierra Leone, news organisations said. He said there was no evidence that Foreign Office officials were involved with Sandline, or that there was prior approval for a breach of the UN embargo.
NIGERIA: Thirty-eight activists charged with rioting
A Nigerian opposition leader and 37 activists were charged on Wednesday with rioting and arson after a May Day protest in the southwestern city of Ibadan, news reports said. Seven people were killed and a number of buildings were set ablaze during the protest. Property reportedly valued at US$ 7.1 million was destroyed. The next hearing is scheduled for 18 May.
Meanwhile, the military administrator of Oyo State, Colonel Ahmed Usman, said security forces had been placed on red alert to stop any protest in the state capital, Ibadan, Nigerian state television reported on Wednesday.
Activist calls for oil embargo
Nigerian writer and activist Wole Soyinka on Wednesday called for a "complete embargo" against the regime of Nigerian leader General Sani Abacha, AFP reported. Speaking to the French parliamentary foreign affairs committee, Soyinka called for the complete isolation of Nigeria by the international community at all levels - cultural, sports, political - and the imposition of an oil embargo.
Politicians and church leaders ask Abacha not to run
A group of 34 Nigerian politicians, including former civilian vice president Alex Ekwueme and former ministers, urged Abacha not to stand for president, news organisations reported last Saturday. The group, in an open letter published in the Nigerian press, urged Abacha to "categorically decline" to stand as sole candidate. The letter, quoted by AFP, added that Abacha's acceptance of the candidacy would bring the entire transition process and the head of state himself "to ridicule and disgrace".
In a related development, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) on Tuesday warned that the country was on the brink of a crisis over Abacha's nomination as sole presidential candidate in August, news organisations reported.
Rights group urges G8 to take action against Nigeria
A London-based human rights organisation, Article 19, urged the Group of Eight (G8), a gathering of industrialised countries, to coordinate international action against the Nigerian regime, Reuters reported on Thursday. Article 19's deputy director, Malcolm Smart, said the human rights situation in Nigeria was "appalling" and denounced the international community's wait-and-see approach. It was apparent that the transition process was flawed, he said.
Voter turnout 37 per cent, Nigerian paper says
The voter turnout in Nigeria's 25 April legislative elections was 37 percent of the registered voters, AFP reported on Monday, quoting the pro-government 'Daily Times'. The paper quoted the government's National Electoral Commission as saying the large variations in turnout across Nigeria had been "erroneously" interpreted by the media as a sign of voter apathy.
SENEGAL: Student unrest spreads
Student unrest in Senegal spread to the capital, Dakar, where students smashed cars and disrupted traffic on Tuesday, news organisations reported. According to the BBC, the home of a cabinet minister was ransacked. Police fired teargas to disperse rampaging students in Dakar. Clashes between high school students and police were also reported in the central town of Kaolack. There were no reports of injuries or arrests in either town, Reuters said. The students said they wanted to express support for their colleagues at Saint Louis, north of Dakar, where nine students were wounded in clashes with police last week. The government denied accusations that the police had used live ammunition.
Opposition leader calls for investigation
Meanwhile, the leader of the opposition Parti Democratique Senegalais (PDS), Abdoulaye Wade, on Tuesday condemned last week's violent repression of the student demonstration in Saint Louis, news organisations reported. He said he had written to the US and French ambassadors requesting an international investigation to establish whether the security forces had used live bullets against the students.
Mine kills one, wounds seven in Casamance
One person was killed and seven injured, three seriously, on Tuesday when the public transport vehicle they were in struck an anti-tank mine in the southern province of Casamance, AFP reported. The incident took place at Mangadouka, 30 km east of the provincial capital, Ziguinchor.
NIGER: Ten papers shut for tax debts
The authorities in Niger on Wednesday closed down 10 private newspapers over non-payment of taxes, AFP reported. Almost all the independent press were affected by the move. However, President Ibrahim Bare Mainassara intervened personally and suggested the National Lottery pay all the arrears in return for advertising space, Gabonese Africa No 1 radio reported. It was not clear how many papers would accept the arrangement, the radio said.
Meanwhile, the private Nigerien radio station, Anfani, closed down last week after it broadcast a petition against censorship and press intimidation, was back on air on Monday, AFP reported. The BBC's Keita Souleyman was also released.
Opposition supporters released
Eight students accused of rioting were released on Tuesday, AFP reported, quoting reliable sources. The interior ministry claimed the eight were acting on behalf of opposition groups calling for Mainassara's resignation. According to the police, several opposition supporters detained in late April during violent demonstrations in the southern city of Zinder were also released, AFP said. Official sources quoted by AFP also said six other suspected "rioters", including several students, were still in detention. The opposition launched a campaign of demonstrations calling for Mainassara's resignation in mid-April
Fuel price rise
Fuel prices rose by about 10 percent on Tuesday in Niger, AFP reported. Similar price hikes were feared for lantern fuel, supplies of which are exhausted, the report said. The price rises are expected to aggravate living conditions.
LIBERIA: ECOWAS chief says ECOMOG agreement to be signed soon
The Liberian government and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will shortly sign an agreement on the status of ECOMOG, Star Radio reported on Monday. ECOWAS Executive Secretary Lansana Kouyate said the signing of the status of forces agreement would follow a review of the protocol of the agreement. Kouyate was speaking at a diplomatic reception in Monrovia last Saturday.
Demobilisation of soldiers not ethically-biased
Liberian Defence Minister Daniel Chea denied the retirement and demobilisation process was not targeting any particular ethnic group, Star Radio reported on Saturday. Testifying before the joint Senate and House committee on defence, Chea said Liberia could not afford a large army. There were some 12,000 soldiers before the current retrenchment exercise began, but only half would be retrained. Some 2,000 Krahn have been demobilised since the retrenchment began.
GHANA: Togo and Ghana to forget past differences
Ghanian President Jerry Rawlings and his Togolese counterpart, Gnassingbe Eyadema, signed a memorandum of understanding on economic, political and security cooperation at the conclusion of Eyadema's two-day visit to Ghana on Wednesday, news organisations reported. They also agreed to put past "misunderstandings and irritants" behind them and stressed their commitment to "the sustenance of democracy", according to Reuters. In the past, Togo has accused Ghana of supporting subversive activities by the opposition.
BENIN: Civil servants launch strike
Civil servants in Benin widely followed a strike call over unpaid salaries on Monday, AFP reported. Benin's five major trade unions were demanding payment of wage bonuses promised in February, scrapping of value-added tax and an end to privatisation of public services.
The strike came just after last Friday's resignation by Prime Minister Adrien Houngbedgi and the withdrawal of his Parti du Renouveau Democratique (PRD) from the ruling coalition.
CAMEROON: Government denies Nigerian allegations
The Cameroonian government on Saturday denied Nigerian allegations that it was massing troops on the disputed Bakassi peninsula, according to AFP. A foreign ministry statement said the accusations were aimed at "conditioning public opinion for a future Nigerian attack". However, informed sources, quoted by AFP, said troop reinforcement had been deployed to the disputed peninsula. The Nigerian defence ministry charged last week that some 2,000 soldiers had been sent to the Bakassi peninsula in violation of an International Court of Justice (ICJ) resolution.
Abidjan, 15 May 1998, 16:00 gmt
[end]
[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, 15 May 1998 16:23:20 +0000 (GMT) Subject: IRIN-West Africa 48, 98.5.15 Message-Id: <Pine.LNX.3.95.980515162006.23472A-p://www.reliefweb.int/emergenc
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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