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 45 4-10 November 2000
CONTENTS: SIERRA LEONE: Peace talks begin SIERRA LEONE: Secretary-General to visit SIERRA LEONE: Russia bans import of uncut diamonds SIERRA LEONE: Limited freedom of movement for abducted missionaries SIERRA LEONE: Nigerian appointed deputy commander of UNAMSIL SIERRA LEONE: UN hails proposal for coordinating mechanism MALI: African ministers to meet on small arms LIBERIA: Carter Center closes GUINEA: Food distribution resumed COTE D'IVOIRE: People killed in post-election violence commemorated COTE D'IVOIRE: Generals arrested COTE D'IVOIRE: Number of parliamentarians increased COTE D'IVOIRE: World Bank announces suspension of disbursements GHANA: Clashes between rival parties reported GHANA: NGOs form health coalition NIGERIA: Road accident claims dozens of lives NIGERIA: Shell cuts production NIGERIA: Curfew lifted in northern state NIGER: Demonstration against fashion festival CAMEROON: Mass grave discovered MAURITANIA: Amnesty criticises use of force against demonstrators EQUATORIAL GUINEA: Independent weekly confiscated SIERRA LEONE: Peace talks begin The Sierra Leonean government and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) began talks on Friday in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, with the aim of achieving peace in Sierra Leone. The discussions, which also involve the United Nations and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), were to have started on Thursday. They were delayed by the late arrival of the RUF delegation, which Nigeria flew from the Liberian capital, Monrovia, to Abuja late on Thursday. Key issues on the agenda include disarmament, the return of seized UN weapons, a ceasefire, restructuring Sierra Leone's armed forces and free movement of people, according to officials close to the talks. ''It is expected that considerable progress will be made during the talks towards ending this needlessly running conflict,'' an ECOWAS official told IRIN. SIERRA LEONE: Secretary-General to visit UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan is to visit Sierra Leone for two days in the first week of December. He will be accompanied by senior UN officials as well as his wife, a spokesman for the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) said on Monday. The visit is to take place around 2 December. SIERRA LEONE: Russia bans import of uncut diamonds Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree banning the import or transit of uncut diamonds from Sierra Leone into the Russian Federation, ITAR-TASS news agency reported on Thursday. The report said the decree was aimed at implementing measures envisaged by the July UN Security Council resolution against the import of illegal diamonds from Sierra Leone. The Russian decree will take effect on 17 November and remain in force until 5 January, 2002, the report said. SIERRA LEONE: Limited freedom of movement for abducted missionaries Two Roman Catholic missionaries who were abducted by Revolutionary United Front fighters in an attack on a Guinean border town in September are able to move freely within their parish, but have not been allowed to leave for security reasons. Franco Manganello, 62, and Vittorio Mosele, 65, are being treated with respect in their parish of Madina, 112 km north of Freetown, and are permitted to carry out their ministerial work, the Missionary Service News Agency (MISNA) quoted the bishop of Makeni, Monsignor Giorgio Biguzzi, as saying on Monday. SIERRA LEONE: Nigerian appointed deputy commander of UNAMSIL UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has appointed Maj-Gen Martin Luther Agwai of Nigeria as deputy force commander of the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), a UN spokesman said in New York on Monday. Agwai is to replace outgoing Deputy Force Commander Mohammad Garba, also of Nigeria, said spokesman Fred Eckhard. Nigeria is the largest troop contributor to UNAMSIL. SIERRA LEONE: UN hails proposal for coordinating mechanism The UN Security Council expressed support on 3 November for a proposal to establish a continuous, UN-based mechanism to coordinate an overall strategy for Sierra Leone. The proposal was among the recommendations of a recent Security Council mission to Sierra Leone. The coordination mechanism would bring together Security Council members, the UN Secretariat, the Economic Community of West African States, the Sierra Leonean government and troop contributors to the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL). The council said only a "comprehensive regional approach" could restore security and stability in West Africa. The Sierra Leone conflict is linked to fighting in neighbouring Liberia and Guinea. MALI: African ministers to meet on small arms African foreign ministers are to meet in Bamako on 27-30 November to come up with a common position on small arms, an expert with the Togo-based UN Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa told IRIN on Thursday. Their position will be presented in March 2001 at the UN Conference on Small Arms, the disarmament expert, Napoleon Abdulai, said. Meanwhile, delegates from Mali's army and civil society, neighbouring countries, Canada and France participated this week in a debate aimed at working out a national policy to retrieve small arms, PANA reported. There are an estimated eight million light arms circulating in West Africa, including countries such as Mali, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau, Abdulai said. LIBERIA: Carter Center closes The US-based Carter Center has closed its office in Liberia, where it worked for a decade to promote human rights and democracy through local nongovernmental organisations and other groups. Former US President Jimmy Carter said in a letter to President Charles Taylor that ''prevailing conditions and the actions of your government have made it increasingly difficult for the center and others to be effective in supporting democracy, human rights and the rule of law''. ''Much to our dismay, Liberia is a country where reports of serious human rights abuses are common, where journalists, human rights organisations and political activists work in an atmosphere of fear and intimidation, and where there is little political space for meaningful democratic debate,'' Carter said. GUINEA: Food distribution resumed Food distribution resumed on 2 November in Kolomba camp, southeastern Guinea, following a six-week interruption, UNHCR spokesman Kris Janowski said on Tuesday in Geneva. Kolomba, located in the Gueckedou area, hosts some 26,000 refugees. The refugees received a 30-day ration including oil and cereals. This distribution will test the feasibility of further ad-hoc deliveries to other camps in the Gueckedou area, which has over 200,000 refugees. Janowski said. The camps have not received any aid since mid-September, when the killing of a UNHCR worker prompted the agency to suspend its field operations in Guinea. COTE D'IVOIRE: People killed in post-election violence commemorated Cote d'Ivoire's government on Thursday commemorated the some 200 people who died in post-election violence on 24-26 October. It also decreed 24 October Martry's Day in their honour. The violence started when military leader General Robert Guei claimed victory in the 22 October presidential election. Many people were killed by members of the armed forces as popular protests forced Guei to step down. However, the opposition Rassemblement des Republicains (RDR) party, whose presidential candidate was one of 14 disqualified by the Supreme Court, demonstrated on 25 and 26 October to press demands for new elections. Some people were killed in clashes between supporters of rival parties. RDR supporters and people from northern Cote d'Ivoire, where the RDR draws much of its support, were reportedly attacked, detained and killed by gendarmes. COTE D'IVOIRE: Generals arrested Two generals, ex-members of the former ruling junta have been arrested in connection with an alleged assassination attempt against General Robert Guei, Radio France Internationale reported on Wednesday. Generals Abdoulaye Coulibaly and Lassana Palenfo, considered close to the opposition Rassemblement des Republicains (RDR), had gone into hiding after Guei accused them of organising an attack on his home on 18 September. They resurfaced in early November, after popular protests forced Guei from power. COTE D'IVOIRE: Number of parliamentarians increased Cote d'Ivoire's government has increased the number of seats in parliament from 174 to 225 ahead of legislative elections to be held on 10 December. The decision, taken at an extraordinary cabinet meeting on 5 November, was based on recommendations by the national electoral commission, Minister of the Interior and Decentralisation Boga Doudou Emile said. COTE D'IVOIRE: World Bank announces suspension of disbursements The World Bank announced on Monday that it recently informed Cote d'Ivoire's government of its decision to suspend disbursements on ongoing operations in the country due to outstanding debt service obligations. As of 30 October, Cote d'Ivoire's payments had fallen 60 days in arrears and totalled approximately US $35.7 million. GHANA: Clashes between rival parties reported About 19 persons were wounded when supporters of rival parties clashed recently in central Ghana, state radio reported on Tuesday. Four cars had their windscreens smashed during the clashes between supporters of the opposition New Patriotic Party and the ruling National Democratic Congress in Berekum, an area in Brong Ahafo region, according to the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation. Each party blamed the other for the violence. Presidential elections are to be held in Ghana on 7 December. President Jerry Rawlings is ineligible for reelection. GHANA: NGOs form health coalition Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Ghana have formed a coalition to help improve health care, the 'Ghanaian Chronicle' reported on Tuesday. The Coalition of NGOs in Health was launched on 2 November in Accra, although it was created in March. It comprises 103 local and international NGOs and civil society organisations, the daily reported. NIGERIA: Deadly road accident More than 100 people died on Saturday when a petrol tanker slammed into a queue of vehicles on the Ife-Ibadan expressway in southwest Nigeria, news organisations reported. Large traffic accidents are common in Nigeria, where poor roads and heavy traffic make driving dangerous. NIGERIA: Shell cuts production The Royal Dutch Shell oil company has cut production in Nigeria's southern Delta region because of acts of vandalism against its installations, news reports said. A Shell spokesman was quoted by the British Broadcasting Corp. as saying that the company would reduce production by about one-third until the end of November. Shell said youths threatening sabotage had been demanding money, jobs and other benefits. NIGERIA: Curfew lifted in northern state Nigerian authorities have lifted an evening curfew they imposed in the northern city of Kaduna following ethnic and religious clashes in May that left more than 100 people dead. The curfew had been in effect from midnight until 6 a.m. daily. NIGER: Demonstration against fashion festival Hundreds of Muslims demonstrated in Niger this week against a fashion show that opened on Thursday just outside the capital, Niamey. Police used teargas and batons on Wednesday to break up the demonstration and encircled mosques on Thursday. A group calling itself the Muslim Brotherhood said the International African Fashion Festival was ''satanic''. The crowd erected barricades, destroyed state lottery kiosks and night clubs, and harassed women wearing Western attire. The festival, scheduled to end on Monday, aimed to raise funds for Niger's poverty eradication project. CAMEROON: Mass grave discovered A mass grave has been discovered in a forest outside of the Cameroonian port city of Douala, diplomatic and media sources reported. The site contained at least 36 bodies, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) said. Suspicion has fallen on an anti-crime unit called the Operational Command, although a diplomatic source told IRIN the investigation was continuing. MAURITANIA: Amnesty criticises use of force against demonstrators Amnesty International on Monday condemned Mauritanian authorities for using force to break up demonstrations and cautioned that the recent banning of a key opposition party could lead to further repression. The rights group said several people had been injured in demonstrations last week in the capital, Nouakchott. A 55-year-old woman died when she inadvertently was caught up in a demonstration on 4 November. The interior ministry denied that she had been overcome by teargas and said her death was due to natural causes. EQUATORIAL GUINEA: Independent weekly confiscated Hundreds of copies of an independent weekly, 'La Opinion' were seized on Saturday by the authorities in Mongome, a town in the east of Equatorial Guinea, AFP reported the director general of the newspaper as saying. One of the weekly's vendors was dismissed because of his link to the newspaper, which the government sees as close to the opposition, Pedro Nolasco, the director-general, said. 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