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WEST AFRICA
IRIN-WA Weekly Roundup 129
29 June - 05 July 2002


CONTENTS:

LIBERIA: Opposition leaders call for ceasefire
LIBERIA: Arrested journalist fails to appear in court
LIBERIA/SIERRA LEONE: Update on Liberian displacement
COTE D IVOIRE: Local elections for Sunday
GAMBIA-SENEGAL: Food for the newly displaced
WEST AFRICA: New initiative against child labour
BURKINA FASO: World Bank to fund anti-AIDS campaign


LIBERIA: Opposition leaders call for ceasefire

A Liberian opposition leaders conference has called for an "unconditional
ceasefire" between the government and the rebel Liberians United for
Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD).

In a report released after the meeting in Bethesda, United States, on
28-29 June, the delegates said the government and LURD should declare a
ceasefire and embark on a process of dialogue to enhance the process of
democratisation in the country.

They also called for the immediate deployment of an international
intervention and stabilisation force, similar to that constituted for
Sierra Leone. Such a force, they said, should have a clearly defined
mandate to take control over Liberia, separate the warring parties,
disarm, disband, demobilise and rehabilitate all rival armed groups in the
country.

The report said this would create an enabling environment for peace,
stability and security in the country and the West African region and the
holding of free and fair elections in Liberia in October 2003. It called
for enforcement of further sanctions and the immediate imposition of
additional sanctions against the government of Liberia and LURD.

The participants recommended follow-up meetings bringing together
political, civil society organisations and religious leaders to continue
the process of reconciling political differences.

The meeting, which brought together more than 30 opposition figures and
three observers, voiced its support for next week's leadership forum to be
held in Burkina Faso's capital, Ouagadougou.

The Ouagadougou meeting, sponsored by the Burkina Faso government, aims to
bring Liberian opposition politicians, civil society and religious leaders
together to reach a consensus on issues relating to security, peace,
stability and the democratisation process in Liberia. It is a follow-up to
a meeting held in Abuja, Nigeria, in March.

LIBERIA: Arrested men fail to appear in court

Once again, the Justice Ministry failed on Friday morning to produce in
court a journalist and two other people who were arrested on 24 June for
allegedly plotting to kill Liberian President Charles Taylor.

Friday's no-show was the fourth time this week that the ministry had
failed to produce the men in court. Early in the week, Amnesty
International, because of the first two failed appearances, issued a
statement fearing that the three men could be dead. But a source told IRIN
on Thursday that human rights advocates had received information that the
three men were fine but were being held in separate, undisclosed
locations. On Friday, the source added that they had been moved to another
undisclosed location.

Journalist Hassan Bility, editor of the Analyst Newspaper in Monrovia, and
two other people Ansumana Kamara and Abubakar Kamara were arrested by
plainclothes security men on suspicion of "operating a LURD terrorist cell
in Monrovia". LURD is the rebel group that has been fighting since 1998 to
overthrow the Taylor government.

The court was supposed to reconvene at 2:00 p.m. local time on Friday.
IRIN was unable to confirm whether the court reconvened.

LIBERIA/SIERRA LEONE: Update on Liberian displacement

Although the number of Liberians crossing into Sierra Leone had reduced,
the situation remains volatile because the number of vulnerable cases was
on the rise, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said this week. Those
crossing were being diagnosed with health conditions such as malaria,
malnutrition, and gynaeocological infections.

Medecins sans frontiers-Belgium, one of UNHCR's partner agencies, has been
operating a border clinic to help the newcomers. In cases where it
infection was too severe, MSF-Belgium transferred the patients to the
Kenema Hospital, UNHCR said on Tuesday.

Since the 20 June attack of Sinje, 8,500 Liberians have crossed into
Sierra Leone. However it is estimated that thousand more cross at
unofficial points.

According to the US Committee for refugees, this latest influx is
threatening Sierra Leone's weak capacity to cope as the country is already
struggling to deal with tens of thousand of returning Sierra Leoneans.
USCR appealed to the UNHCR to commit greater staffing and financial
resources to deal with the unfolding crisis. The US government and other
international donors should also support these efforts, the U.S-based
organization said.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the UN High Commissioner for refugees,
Ruud Lubbers, added their voices by appealing to the combatants in the war
to give safe passage to civilians not involved in the fighting.
Additionally, relief workers and humanitarian workers should be granted
access to assist the needy, they added.

Fighting has flared up in Liberia in recent weeks as the Liberians United
for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) have engaged Liberian security
forces in their attempt to overthrow President Charles Taylor.

COTE D'IVOIRE: Local elections slated for Sunday

For the first time since independence in 1960, Cote d'Ivoire is slated to
hold its first local council elections on Sunday. However the polls take
place within a climate of uncertainty and tension.

An incident took place three days after the two-week campaigning in the
town of Daloa, 400 northwest of Abidjan, on 25 June when youth of the
opposition Rassemblement des republicains (RDR) clashed violently with
youths supporting the alliance FPI/PDCI, respectively ruling and former
ruling party, as the latter was trying to hold a rally.  Five people died
and some 50 were injured.

This violent event led to a meeting on 27 June between political parties
and the interior ministry during which Minister Emile Boga Doudou appealed
to the politicians to ensure a campaign of non-inflammatory statements,
respect for law and order and respect for competing parties.

There have also been calls by some parties, particularly the main
opposition parties, to their followers to vote on Sunday with the
documents (passports, driver license and others) used to vote in previous
elections such as the presidential elections. The new electoral code
stipulates that only the green-colored national ID be used for the polls.
But there is a glitch.

The glitch is that since 2000 the former transitional government and the
current government have not delivered the green I.D. cards thus a large
portion of eligible voters would be barred from voting. The parties argue
that voters should not suffer because of the government's failures. The
parties also urged the electoral commission to soften the voting criteria.
As at 6 p.m. on Friday, it remained unclear if the commission would change
its stance.

The polls would represent the first installment of the new government's
decentralization programme.

Another development, not directly related to Sunday's polls, was the
delivery of a certificate of nationality to opposition leader Alassane
Ouattara. It had been one of the main recommendations from the National
reconciliation Forum. Ouattara, a former prime minister and head of RDR,
has been the center of controversy in Ivorian politics because of
questions over his Ivorian citizenship. While he claimed he was a citizen,
his detractors said he was a citizen of neighbouring Burkina Faso. In
October and December 2001, the Constitutional Court barred him from
competing in presidential and legislative elections.

However as soon as the announcement was made on Saturday, pockets of
protesters took the street in Abidjan to protest.

Meanwhile the youth wings of RDR and UDPCI, the party led by former junta
leader General Guei, have postponed a rally, which they had planned for
Tuesday, to press for the application of the recommendations drafted by
the reconciliation forum. In a statement on Thursday, the Rassemblement
des jeunes republicains (RJR) said it postponed its rally because there
had been progress in the application of the recommendations.

GAMBIA-SENEGAL: Food for new displaced

The World Food Programme ended on Wednesday a two-day food distribution
activity to residents of Casamance, southern Senegal, who fled to The
Gambia because of insecurity in their home area, WFP told IRIN.

In total 2,047 people, the majority being women and kids received dry food
items including sugar and vegetable oil.

The newly displaced have been living in border villages along The
Gambia-Senegal border and until WFP's aid, had been assisted by the
locals, regional public affairs officer Ramin Rafirasme said on Wednesday.

This latest displacement was triggered by what the army described as an
operation to flush out criminals and bandits from the Casamance area,
which has been a fighting ground since 1982 between Senegalese armed
forces and the Mouvement des forces democratiques de Casamance, which is
fighting for self-determination for Casamance.

News agencies also reported Gambian officials as saying that the number of
those who had crossed far outnumbers those who received WFP's food aid.

WEST AFRICA: New initiative against child labour

Chocolate-manufacturing companies, NGOs and other stakeholders on Monday
set up a new institution, the International Cocoa Initiative, as their
latest effort against child labour in the cocoa industry.

The initiative would allow the industry to support field projects, act as
a clearinghouse for best practices and help enforce such practices, CMA
said on Monday. It would also contribute to the establishment of
appropriate, practical and independent mechanisms for monitoring and
public reporting, The Chocolate Manufacturers Association, one of the
participating institutions, said in a statement on Monday.

The establishment of the initiative is part of an October 2001 protocol,
which some West African countries have signed, that maps out a series of
international efforts to curb child labour. The protocol also includes
pilot programmes and studies to be launched in various West African
countries.

The World Cocoa Foundation, the Chocolate, Biscuit and Confectionery
Industries of the European Union, the Cocoa Merchants Association of
America are also participating, as well as international human rights
organizations such as The Child Labor Coalition, Free the Slaves. The
International Labour Organization, the world's body that regulates global
labour practices, will act as an advisor.

[CMA's full statement and relating documents is available at
http://www.chocolateandcocoa.org/News/labor_issue.htm]

BURKINA FASO: World Bank to fund anti-AIDS campaign

The World Bank and Burkina Faso's National Council against HIV/STD on
Wednesday signed an agreement granting US $856,944 to seven ministries to
conduct AIDS awareness before their respective personnel. The money will
be used for activities such as prevention, sensitisation and care for the
infected workers in the ministries of: environment and well-being;
agriculture and water resources; defence; basic education and literacy;
animal resources; the promotion of women; and secondary and higher
education.

The agreement was signed in Burkina Faso's capital, Ouagadougou, by the
Bank's representative in the West African country, Jean Mazurel, and
Joseph Tiendrebeogo, permanent secretary of the National Council against
HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases.

Statistics from health organizations estimate Burkina Faso's HIV/AIDS
prevalence rate at 7.17 percent.


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