UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER
IRIN-West Africa Weekly Roundup 58 24.7.98

IRIN-West Africa Weekly Roundup 58 24.7.98


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@africaonline.co.ci

IRIN-WA Weekly Roundup of Main Events 58 for West Africa covering the period (Friday-Thursday) 17 July - 23 July 1998

NIGERIA: Abubakar unveils new democracy plan

The Nigerian military ruler, General Abdulsalam Abubakar, this week announced that he would hand power over to an elected civilian government by the end of May 1999. Abubakar's speech was received with caution by world leaders, while in Nigeria the reaction was mixed.

Abubakar in a nationally televised broadcast on Monday, he said: "After all necessary consultations government has decided that the election of a civilian president would be held in the first quarter of 1999. The new elected president will be sworn into office in May 1999." Calling for a new start, the Nigerian ruler said it was important to admit that mistakes have been made by the previous military regime adding that "our most recent attempt at democratisation was marred by manoeuvring and manipulation of political institutions, structures and actors." But he ruled the idea, raised by the opposition, of forming a transitional government of national unity, in the meantime saying he would not "substitute one undemocratic institution for another."

Abacha parties disbanded

The Nigerian leader said the five discredited political parties established under his predecessor, General Sani Abacha, would be abolished. The government would also replace the National Electoral Commission with "a new independent electoral body." Abubakar also cited a new law and the "necessary funds" for the conduct of free and fair elections " to be monitored by the United Nations and Commonwealth. Under the new dispensation, Abubakar said every Nigerian would have equal opportunity to form or join any political party of his or her choice and that political parties would no longer be funded by the state.

Key opposition disappointed

The day after his speech, Gani Fawehinmi, leader of the opposition Joint Action Committee of Nigeria (JACON), called it "disastrous" saying that his promises were "old wine in new bottles", news organisations reported. In an interview with the BBC, Fawehinmi announced that JACON would not participate in the forthcoming elections. Meanwhile, chairman of the human rights group, Constitutional Rights Group, Clement Nwanko conceded that there seemed to be "good intentions" although one had to wait and see the implementation of the programme, Reuters said. Former Nigerian leader Olusegun Obasanjo also gave Abubakar's speech a guarded welcome. But the exiled Nigerian opposition member and Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka said he was unconvinced by the military government's promise to restore democracy. In an interview with AFP, Soyinka said the military would select its own leader and deny voters a chance to elect the president. "This is very disappointing," he said.

Cautious welcome by world leaders

The Commonwealth Secretary-General Emeka Anyaoku welcomed the announcement of elections in 1999, but said Nigeria could only be readmitted to the Commonwealth once it had returned to a democratic form of government, the BBC reported. In London, British Foreign Office Minister Tony Lloyd, said it was time to re-establish dialogue between Nigeria and Britain, and in Washington the State Department described the Abubakar announcement as "a step" towards credible transition. President Nelson Mandela said the South African government supported the "new initiatives" and urged Nigerians to seize this "window of opportunity." AFP reported.

Human rights group says 404 political prisoners held in Nigeria

Femi Falana, leader of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, has claimed that the Nigerian government was holding 404 political prisoners, AFP reported at the weekend. Falana said they included those accused of plotting to overthrow the government, pro-democracy and human rights activists. He said his organisation had written to the police on the plight of the detainees presently "languishing in various prisons and detention camps in the country". Last month, Abubakar ordered a complete list of the country's political prisoners, and last Wednesday he ordered the release of hundreds of prisoners, whose prison term had expired or who had not been sentenced.

GUINEA BISSAU: More destruction as shelling continues

Amnesty International this week accused both sides in Guinea Bissau's six-week civil war of widespread human rights abuses. It charged troops backing the elected government of President Joao Vieira, including forces from neighbouring Senegal, had tortured prisoners and carried out ``deliberate and arbitrary killings.''

Amnesty said rebels, led by a former armed forces commander General Ansumane Mane had been guilty of beating prisoners captured since his army mutiny started on June 7.

In a report released in Lisbon, it said rebels were holding more than 200 civilian prisoners, most of them Senegalese, who had been subjected to severe beatings. Vieira has said that Mane, his former comrade-in-arms in the fight to end Portuguese rule, must lay down his arms as a condition for talks.

The new contact group of foreign ministers from five Portuguese-speaking countries were due in Bissau in the latest attempt to negotiate a ceasefire and end the daily exchanges of artillery fire which have damaged much of the capital of the impoverished country. The rebels are entrenched in the airport on the outskirts of the capital.

Guinea-Bissau's West African neighbours in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), have called for dialogue and plan to meet U.N. Security Council members in New York at the end of July, media reports said. They would then decide whether to intervene militarily and what further steps can be taken to help the 350,000 people the UN says have been forced to flee the fighting.

Heavy shelling reported

Efforts to find a neotiated solution to the crisis were further complicated on Tuesday by the bombing of the Portuguese embassy, one of the last diplomatic missions left in Guinea Bissau, the Portuguese news agency, Lusa reported. Fresh shelling during the week forced the Bishop of Bissau, Monsignor Settimio Arturo Ferrazzetta to suspend his own attempts to neogitate a ceasefire. The Missionary news agency, Misna, said the shelling near his residence and the Portuguese embassy had been such that had been forced to seek refuge.

In a dispatch on Thursday from Bissau, Misna said: "Today, our MISNA sources reported, the troops of President Joao Bernardo Vieira opened fire, shooting seven to eight rounds every half-hour, against the rival post that has not yet returned fire. Just another day to add to the 6 long weeks of conflict as the number of dispersed people continues to increase." It quoted a Misna source elsewhere in the country as saying: "We are right in the middle of the rainy season and all these people are living under the rain without shelter. The area is infested with mosquitoes and goodness knows what elseÖ"

In a statement at the weekend, the Secretary of State of the Vatican, Angelo Sodano, told Misna the Catholic Church sought three things in Guinea Bissau -- a ceasefire, the opening of humanitarian corridors and negotiations. He added that the Church would not take a position for or against any side and would not indicate any "political solutions to the conflict".

SIERRA LEONE: ECOMOG transfers headquarters

The Nigerian-led West African intervention force, ECOMOG, completed preparations this week for the move of its headquarters from Liberia to neighbouring Sierra Leone, media reports said.

An ECOMOG spokesman in the Sierra Leone capital, Freetown, was quoted by AFP as saying all logistical arrangements were now "in place" for the arrival of the 3,500 additional on Thursday. They are to reinforce the 9,000 ECOMOG troops already in the country and battling with rebels of the ousted military junta.

Eastern town captured

In another key development this week, news organistions quoted an ECOMOG statement as saying the key town of Kaiyama, in eastern Kono had been captured from rebel forces. AFP quoted ECOMOG commander, Brigadier General Maxwell Khobe, on Monday as saying the town's capture "is indeed a relief to the large population" of surrounding districts.

Khobe added that ECOMOG was now in control of the eastern districts of Kailahun, a traditional rebel stronghold, Kono, a diamond mining centre, and Koindadugu.

Clash near the the capital

In what was described as the first clash near the capital Freetown since its recapture in February, ECOMOG forces arrested 15 rebels of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) after an hour-long gun battle early on Sunday, AFP reported. The fight in the suburban Malama district, near the homes of foreign diplomts, followed increasing reports of armed robberies in the area. An ECOMOG spokesman said troops had to chase rebels into thick forest and deploy artillery fire before they were able to capture the 15 whom, it said, were handed over to police.

Junta trial

In a related development, media reports on Thursday said the trial of several members of the former military junta was due to start. Those expected in the dock by the week's end included several senior officers, among them Brigadier Samuel Koroma, the brother of the junta leader Lieutenant-Colonel Johnny Paul Koroma, who is still at large.

News reports said the defendants face the firing squad if found guilty. The coup leaders seized power from the democratically-elected president, Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, in May 1997, forcing him into exile until the Ecomog intervention five months ago enabled him to return.

LIBERIA: National Reconciliation Conference

As a National Reconciliation Conference got underway in Monrovia on Tuesday after a 24-hour delay, humanitarian sources told IRIN that the ECOMOG headquarters move to Freetown would alarm many Liberians.

"ECOMOG has been one of the most important checks and balances on government power in post-war Liberia," the source said. "Its departure will not be welcomed by ordinary people."

Curfew lifted

Despite such concerns however, the Liberian Government considered the situation secure enough to lift a curfew which has restricted free overnight movement in Monrovia for six years since its imposition at the height of the civil war. Media reports said the curfew abolition formally took effect at midnight on Wednesday.

Taylor remarks

In another key development this week, Kabbah paid a one-day visit to discuss mutual security concerns with Liberian President Charles Taylor. Taylor, accused by Sierra Leone of supporting the RUF, pledged that he would do "everything within our powers" to achieve a ceasefire in in neighbouring Sierra Leone.

He also told the National Reconciliation Conference his administration had failed Liberia, independent Star Radio reported. According to the Monrovia-based station, Taylor said he had wanted to do more for the people, but that a lack of funds had "tied his hands" and the international community had "failed to deliver".

Taylor called on Liberians to forget their differences and "unite in nation building". However, senior diplomatic sources in Monrovia told IRIN on Wednesday that Taylor's comments were "misleading".

The sources said Liberia had already defaulted on some US$ 3 billion it owed to international lending groups. "The reality is there is no new money until they can service this debt," a diplomat said. "The government has to get its house in order and implement sound macro-economic policies, control its security forces and attend to human rights before the international community releases funding," he added.

Taiwan aid

Taiwan pledged US $ 1 million dollars this week to renovate Monrovia harbour, AFP reported Taiwanese ambassador Patrick Chang said the donation was the result of bilateral agreements reached in Taipei on reconstruction efforts in Liberia which is one of the few countries that recognises Taiwan as a sovereign nation.

BENIN: Child labour

The traffic of small children from poor families sold as virtual slaves in neighbouring countries had reached "disturbing" proportions in recent years, Benin's minister of justice, Joseph Gnonlonfoun said this week. In a statement carried by AFP, he said that in the last three years alone, police in Benin had stopped traffickers from taking 1,630 small children to neighboring states as farm labourers.

"Poor families hand over their children to smugglers from Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Togo, Gabon and Cameroon offering sums of up to 25,000 CFA francs (about US$ 40 US) for each child and undertaking to educate them," the report said. "The dealers then take the children to their home countries and sell them to farmers for sums of up to 400,000 CFA francs (about 650 US dollars.) Once in the new country, the children are put to work on coffee, cocoa and sugar cane plantations."

CHAD: Parliamentarian imprisoned

A member of parliament in Chad was sentenced on Monday to three years in prison and ordered to pay CFA 500,000 (FFr 50,000) for defamation following accusations of bribery against a collegue, AFP reported. Ngarledjy Yorongar, the only member of parliament of the opposition Federation d'Action pour la Republique (FAR), had earlier been deprived of his parliamentary immunity.

The action stems from a newspaper interview nearly a year ago in which Yorongar accused the assembly president, Wadal Abdelkader, of receiving the equivalent of FFr 15 million from the French oil giant, ELF. The editor of the newspaper, 'Observateur' and a reporter who carried an interview with Yorongar were each fined CFA one million (FFr 100,000) for "complicity" and given two-year suspended sentences. They were given until the middle of next week to appeal.

GABON: Opposition splits

Gabon's main opposition party, the Rassemblement National de Bucherons (RNB), has split into two factions ahead of presidential elections in December, media reports said on Monday. According to the BBC, the division became apparent at the weekend when a dissident group met to endorse the sacked first secretary, Pierra Andre Kombila, as the party's candidate for the poll. The gathering also described the RNB's leader, Father Paul Mba Abessole, as a "dictator", who was guilty of high treason. Father Abessole, who founded the party in 1990, has dismissed the rival gathering. His supporters were due to nominate him next weekend as the TNB challenger to President Omar Bongo.

WEST AFRICA: New regional gas deal

Shell Nigeria Gas said a feasibility study for a pipeline to transport gas along the West African coast was being planned for later this year. A Reuters dispatch on Thursday quoted Michael Weston, managing director of Shell's local gas subsidiary in Nigeria as saying Shell, Chevron, state-run Nigerian Gas Company and state oil firms of Ghana and Benin would next week sign a deal with German firm PLE to carry out the research.

"The studies will cover a whole lot of things and should be complete by end of the year,'' Weston told reporters in the southeastern city of Aba. The gas project is being floated by Nigeria, Ghana, Togo and Republic of Benin. Natural gas that would otherwise be flared will be piped from Nigeria's oil fields to supply her neighbours. It also said the project, which it is estimated would cost $260 million, had been slow to take off due to funding and bureaucratic problems on the part of the countries involved

Mali extradites Rwandan accused of genocide

Mali has extradited a Rwandan accused of genocide to the UN international criminal tribunal in Arusha in Tanzania, AFP reported on Monday. It quoted a government statement as saying Mathieu Ngiroumpatse, a former head of Rwanda's ruling party at the time of the 1994 genocide, had been arrested in Mali's capital, Bamako, last month.

Mali has reportedly insisted it will not harbour any of some 20 other Rwandan suspects believed to be in Bamako.

Abidjan, 24 July, 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, 24 Jul 1998 09:23:50 +0000 (GMT) From: UN IRIN - West Africa <irin-wa@wa.dha.unon.org> Subject: IRIN-West Africa Weekly Roundup 58 24.7.98 Message-Id: <Pine.LNX.3.95.980724091214.4830A-100000@wa.dha.unon.org>

Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar

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