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 22-40-4440 Fax: +225 22-41-9339 e-mail: irin-wa@irin.ciWEST AFRICA IRIN-WA Weekly Roundup 41 6-13 October 2000
CONTENTS: COTE D'IVOIRE: Five out of 19 presidential hopefuls approved COTE D'IVOIRE: European Union suspends election aid GAMBIA: Gambians face prosecution for FGM GUINEA: Loan to strengthen health system GUINEA: Concern over refugees GUINEA-BISSAU: New state council replaces military junta LIBERIA: Mixed review from IMF team LIBERIA: Fighting spreads LIBERIA: Mission to assess displaced LIBERIA: US hardens position on Liberia NIGERIA: New army division for troubled southeast NIGERIA: IRIN Focus on growing concern over Sharia law NIGERIA: Northern state modifies Sharia SIERRA LEONE: Group asks for prosecution of child recruiters SIERRA LEONE: Details on special court SIERRA LEONE: More British assistance for army SIERRA LEONE: Security Council team visits SIERRA LEONE: Diamond exports to resume WEST AFRICA: UN agencies seek to improve coordination WEST AFRICA: Ghanaians, Nigerians return home WEST AFRICA: Polio vaccinations to begin COTE D'IVOIRE: Five out of 19 presidential hopefuls approved There were mixed reactions to the disqualification in Cote d'Ivoire of 14 presidential hopefuls and the approval of five. The results were announced on Friday by the president of the Supreme Court. Those disqualified include Rassemblement des Republicains (RDR) leader Alassane Dramane Ouattara and the official candidate of the former ruling Parti Democratique de Cote d'Ivoire (PDCI), Emile Constant Bombet. The Court approved the candidature of military ruler General Robert Guei, as well as Laurent Gbabgo, head of the Front Populaire Ivoirien (FPI), one of two major parties in the government led by Guei's Conseil National de Salut Publique (CNSP). COTE D'IVOIRE: European Union suspends election aid The European Union (EU) has suspended its assistance to the upcoming presidential elections in Cote d'Ivoire following the rejection of 14 of the 19 presidential hopefuls by the Supreme Court, French Cooperation Minister Charles Josselin announced in Paris on Tuesday. The EU, he said, "can only regret a decision which, although within the sphere of responsibility of the Cote d'Ivoire judicial authorities, severely limits the choice open to the Cote d'Ivoire electors and threatens the credibility of the elections on 22 October." GAMBIA: Gambians face prosecution for FGM Two Gambian Imams and a Somali face prosecution in Norway for allegedly promoting female genital mutilation (FGM), 'The Independent' of Gambia reported on Tuesday. The three, including the local leader of the Muslim Council in Oslo, are to be brought before Norwegian courts in a trial that many believe will help set a precedent in Europe for the campaign against FGM. The story originally appeared in Norway's 'Dagbladet' newspaper. GUINEA: Loan to strengthen health system The African Development Fund (ADF) has approved a US $9.3 million loan to finance the third phase of a project to strengthen Guinea's health system. "The objective of the project is to help upgrade the state of health of Guinean populations in general, and mother and child health in particular," the ADF said on Wednesday. The project aims to improve access to health services in the suburbs of Conakry, Tougue, Gaoual and Koundara. GUINEA: Concern over refugees The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Tuesday that it had expressed concern to a visiting delegation of the UN Security Council about the safety of Liberian and Sierra Leonean refugees in Guinea and those fleeing to insecure areas. An 11-member Security Council team was in Conakry on Monday on the first leg of a five-nation trip to West Africa aimed at reviewing UN operations in Sierra Leone and exploring ways to promote stability in the region. The team is expected to return to New York on 15 October following stops in Sierra Leone, Mali, Nigeria and Liberia. GUINEA-BISSAU: New state council replaces military junta Guinea-Bissau's president, Kumba Yala, has nominated a new State Council to advise him on key decisions such as declaring war or a state of emergency, AFP reported officials as saying on Tuesday. The council includes members of all political parties represented in parliament and civic organisations. The council is to take over the political role played by the former military junta led by ex-army chief General Ansumane Mane after it ousted president Joao Bernardo Vieira in a May 1999 coup and co-governed Guinea Bissau with civilians until elections in November of that year, AFP said. LIBERIA: Mixed review from IMF team An IMF team that visited Liberia in September found that following "broadly satisfactory" implementation of a January-June 2000 programme in the first quarter, overall performance "deteriorated significantly" in the second quarter of the year. "The deterioration largely reflected the weak fiscal policy stance in the second quarter, as extrabudgetary expenditure rose sharply," the report said. "In addition, key structural measures related to the liberalisation of rice and petroleum imports were not implemented as planned, though in part this reflected a delay in the provision of donor technical assistance." LIBERIA: Fighting spreads Fighting in the northern Liberian county of Lofa spread south at the weekend to the town of Zorzor, about 210 km north of Monrovia. Gunfire and shelling were reported and an unconfirmed number of people fled south towards Gbarnga, a town 150 km east of the Monrovia, humanitarian sources in the Liberian capital told IRIN on Tuesday. It was unclear who was behind the attack. LIBERIA: Mission to assess displaced A team of 13 non-governmental organisations plan to travel to Liberia's northern Lofa county on Thursday to verify the number of people displaced by fighting last week and assess their needs, a humanitarian source told IRIN on Wednesday. He said it was unclear how many people had been displaced from the fighting on Friday and Saturday in and around the town of Zorzor, about 210 km northeast of the capital, Monrovia. Government officials said on Wednesday that more than 10,000 people had been displaced. LIBERIA: US hardens position towards Liberia The United States has hardened its position towards Liberia amidst persistent allegations that President Charles Taylor is involved in diamonds and arms smuggling with Revolutionary United Front (RUF) fighters in Sierra Leone. The State Department on Wednesday imposed a visa ban on Taylor and other Liberian officials, their families and close supporters. "I call upon the Liberian government to end immediately Liberia's trafficking in weapons and illicit diamonds, which fuels the war in Sierra Leone, and instead to use its influence with the RUF to restore peace and stability in Sierra Leone," President Bill Clinton said. State-run radio in Liberia on Thursday quoted "political observers" as saying that they believed the visa ban was imposed because because the United States had failed to influence the UN sanctions committee to impose sanctions on Liberia. NIGERIA: New army division for troubled southeast Nigeria's President Olusegun Obasanjo has created a new army division responsible for the volatile Niger Delta region, further raising tension and fears of a military crackdown. The unit, to be known as the 83rd Mechanised Division, will be headquartered in Benin City, located between Lagos and the Delta. It will draw men and logistics from military formations in key Delta towns including Port Harcourt, Warri and Akure, senior military officials told IRIN on Monday. NIGERIA: IRIN Focus on growing concern over Sharia law As more state governments adopt Sharia law in northern Nigeria, groups opposed to it are increasingly voicing concern that the imposition of the Islamic legal system threatens constitutional order. However, President Olusegun Obasanjo maintains that no urgent action is needed to stem what many see as imminent danger to the stability of multi-ethnic, multi-religious Nigeria, Africa's most populous country with more than 110 million people. NIGERIA: Northern state modifies Sharia The governor of the northern state of Kaduna in Nigeria said on Wednesday that a modified form of Islamic Sharia law was being introduced. Governor Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi was quoted by 'The Guardian' newspaper of Lagos as saying that Sharia courts would co-exist with customary courts so that one religion would not have more weight than the other. SIERRA LEONE: Group asks for prosecution of child recruiters The Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers says a proposed Special Court for Sierra Leone should focus more on the recruiters of child soldiers, rather than the children themselves. "Thousands of children have been abducted by the Revolutionary United Front, the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council and other groups, subjected to brutal treatment and forced to fight against their will," Jo Becker, chairperson of the Coalition, said on 5 October. "The court must hold responsible those who have exploited children as weapons of war." The Coalition welcomed the inclusion of the recruitment of children under 15 as a war crime under the proposed court's jurisdiction. It was included in a proposal presented by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to the Security Council. SIERRA LEONE: Details on special court UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has outlined the parameters for the Special Court on Sierra Leone, which is to try suspects for war crimes, crimes against humanity and other violations. Annan submitted a report on 5 October that said the court's jurisdiction would cover the most egregious practices of mass killing, extrajudicial executions, widespread mutilation, sexual violence against girls and women, the abduction of children and adults, forced labour, forced recruitment into armed groups, and looting and setting fire to large urban dwellings and villages. SIERRA LEONE: More British assistance for army Britain is to train an additional 3,000 Sierra Leonean troops as part of a package of assistance for the West African country's army and the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL). The package also includes equipment for the Sierra Leone Army and an offer to provide officers to fill staff appointments at UNAMSIL headquarters. Britain has further offered to provide a rapid reaction force of up to about 5,000 troops. British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said the force would be based in Britain but would be able "to deploy very rapidly in response to changing situations in Sierra Leone". SIERRA LEONE: Security Council team visits Officials from the UN Observer mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) told a visiting team from the UN Security Council that the situation in the country was "complex, unpredictable and volatile", according to a UN spokesman in New York. The Security Council delegation was briefed in the eastern town of Kenema. The spokesman said Tuesday that concerns "include the issue of border security and the need to close the porous borders to the outflow of diamonds and to stop external support for the Revolutionary United Front (RUF)". SIERRA LEONE: Diamond exports to resume Sierra Leone is expected to resume diamond exports on Thursday after a three-month ban aimed at preventing rebels from selling gems to buy weapons. A group of international diamond experts is to hand over export certificates and a communications system to authorities, the BBC said. The equipment is designed to ensure that no diamonds going to the international market come from mines controlled by Revolutionary United Front (RUF) fighters. Such stones have become known as "blood diamonds" because of atrocities carried out against civilians - such as cutting off limbs - in the RUF's quest for the gems. WEST AFRICA: UN agencies seek to improve coordination UN agencies operating in West Africa met in Accra on 5-6 October to improve their preparedness, at the subregional level, to deal with contingencies linked to Guinea, Liberia, Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone. "The meeting was initiated because of the worsening security and economic situation in the subregion," David Bassiouni of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) told IRIN. "The feeling is that we should be prepared for any eventuality and all indicators point to the fact that the region is going through a very difficult period," added Bassiouni, who is interim director of OCHA's Complex Emergency Response Branch. WEST AFRICA: Ghanaians, Nigerians return home Ghanaian President Jerry Rawlings flew home from Libya with more than 200 Ghanaians on Sunday, while 425 Nigerians arrived in Lagos on Monday, following attacks on mainly West African immigrants that have left an unconfirmed number of people dead. Ghanaian officials were quoted by PANA as saying that at least 5,000 Ghanaians had been listed for evacuation from Libya, while some 10,000 Nigerians were scheduled to return home. Nearly 5,000 have already arrived in Lagos. Some of the deportees said they had been robbed and beaten. Nationals from other countries, such as Nigeria, Chad, Niger, Cameroon and Sudan, were also targeted in the attacks, which appeared to stem from a dispute between groups of Nigerians and Libyans in September, reports said. WEST AFRICA: Polio vaccinations to begin The United Nations is preparing for a five-day immunisation campaign to begin on 16 October in 14 West African countries, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said Tuesday in Geneva. UN agencies hope to immunise up to 70 million children in Benin, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. A second-round of immunisations will take place in Cameroon, Chad and Cote d'Ivoire in November. 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