U N I T E D N A T I O N S Department of Humanitarian Affairs Integrated Regional Information Network for West Africa
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IRIN-WA Weekly Roundup 26-97 of Main Events in West Africa covering the period (Friday) 5 December - (Thursday) 12 December 1997
[The weekly round-ups are based on relevant information from UN agencies, NGOs, governments, donors and media. IRIN issues these reports for the benefit of the humanitarian community but accepts no responsibility as to the accuracy of the original source.]
NIGERIA: An election favourable to Abacha
Despite a low voter turnout, the United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP), which supports the presidential bid of military ruler General Sani Abacha, this week took the lead in nationwide state assembly elections. With final final results still to be announced, figures published in the media showed that the party had already taken 67 percent of the 838 seats in the country's 36 states. Analysts said the election, planned as the first phase of a new transition towards democracy pledged by Abacha, showed that Nigeria could be on the road to a one-party state. Up to now, Nigeria's states, like the central government, have been run by military administrators. In the next phase of the transition, Nigerians will vote twice next year. On 25 April, deputies and senators in the two houses of parliament will be elected with the process culminating on 1 August with a presidential election.
Low turnout
Curfew restrictions imposed on voting day, a lack of information on the election and delays in getting election officials and documents to voting booths resulted in a poor turnout. Analysts also blamed a loss of faith in politicians and scepticism about the transition. In one example of the mood, 'The Post Express' said the Lagos voting station near the residence of detained opposition leader Moshood Abiola had recorded a turnout of only 27 of the 600 registered voters. Abiola has been held for claiming the presidency after the 1994 election which he was widely believed to have won.
Jailed former vice president dies
As the election results came in, the country learned of the death on Monday of the imprisoned former military vice president Shehu Mausa Yar'Adua after what was described as a "brief illness". Yar'Adua, 54, was among several people, including ex-military ruler General Olusegun Obasanjo, who were sentenced to death in 1995 for plotting a coup. The sentences were later commuted to lengthy prison terms after a public outcry. Analysts said the issue of political prisoners remained a source of embarrassment to Abacha. They also cited it as a factor behind scepticism over his pledge to return Nigeria to civilian rule next year.
Death prompts calls for release of detainees
Within hours of the state radio announcement, the United States voiced its "profound sadness", saying it particularly regretted the "circumstances leading to the death" of Yar'Adua. Washington further urged Abacha to release political detainees as a key step towards "endowing the transitional process with credibility". Recalling his pledge last month to amnesty detainees whose release did not pose a security threat, it noted that none had been freed so far. The American appeal was backed the prominent Nigerian lawyer and human rights activist, Gani Fawehinmi. He demanded an independent UN inquiry into the former vice president's death.
SIERRA LEONE: A tense week
Tensions between Sierra Leone's military government, the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC)and West African ECOMOG peacekeepers were marked this week by a new round of accusations and warnings by both sides. The AFRC called a news conference on Wednesday to accuse the Nigerian-led ECOMOG forces of planning a Christmas invasion. Colonel Abdul Sesay, the AFRC secretary general, charged: "Sufficient funds have been provided to ECOMOG and the organisation has already brought in 18 amphibious vehicles for the operation." He also accused ousted president Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah of "backing" the ECOMOG plan.
ECOMOG, however, reminded the AFRC of its commitment to a peaceful return to civilian rule by Kabbah under the Conakry peace accords. Its Sierra Leone commander, Colonel Max Khobe, called the AFRC accusations "malicious propaganda". Outstanding issues, he added, had to be resolved at the negotiating table and not on the battlefield.
Chinese seamen apprehended
ECOMOG forces, maintaining the UN's oil and arms embargo against Freetown and ECOWAS sanctions, this week apprehended a Chinese oil tanker in Sierra Leone coastal waters. The 'Haigon You-301' was escorted to the Liberian capital Monrovia, where the 17 crew were held for questioning. The crew had been assured of their "safety and comfort" while allegations that they were providing fuel to Chinese fishing vessels off the West African coast were being checked. ECOMOG added in a statement: "Our relationship with the People's Republic of China is very cordial. We shall not allow procedural breaches to strain it."
LIBERIA: Suspects arrested in Dokie killing
As the Liberian authorities announced the arrests of four people in connection with the murder of opposition leader Samuel Dokie, the United States condemned the killing. State Department spokesman James Foley said Liberia had to send a clear signal of its commitment to the rule of law and human rights. "These killings do a great disservice to a nation trying to heal its wounds," Foley said.
The murder was also protested by hundreds of women who gathered to mourn the killing of Janet Dokie, who was murdered with her husband, and other female victims of the seven-year civil war in Liberia. The Liberia Women Initiative (LWI) said they wanted to draw attention to the plight of women and appealed for an end to disappearances and murders.
Taylor rival offered government post
In what the news organisations called a bid to defuse tensions over the murder, President Charles Taylor appointed a rival former faction leader to his government. Alhaji Kromah, leader of the Mandingo wing of the former United Liberation Movement for Democracy in Liberia (ULIMO-K), was appointed chairman of the National Reconciliation Council. Liberian authorities investigating the murder had not set any trial date by Friday.
Archbishop's warning
Liberia's Archbishop Michael Francis, in the meantime, warned the government that any attempt to close down the Catholic broadcasting station would be regarded as a challenge by the world's 1.2 billion Catholics. He was reacting to a statement by Post and Telecommunications Minister Maxwell Kaba that radio stations were "operating contrary to law". The Archbishop said there more urgent problems in Liberia than attacking radio stations.
NIGER: Humanitarian security concerns
Deteriorating security conditions in north Niger have prompted two non-governmental organisations this week to announce a temporary suspension of their operations. The decision came after an Africare driver was wounded by armed men trying to hijack his vehicle and an armed robbery at a CARE project manager's home. According to CARE in Niamey, the situation in north Niger was being monitored for any improvement. "We are looking forward to going back once the previously adequate security conditions have been restored," CARE said.
Journalist released
The director of the weekly 'Alternative', Moussa Tchangari, was provisionally released from prison. Arrested last October and sentenced to three months imprisonment, Tchangari was the first journalist arrested under the new press laws which forbid the publication of internal government communications. International press watchdogs such as Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF) had protested the new law and Tchangari's arrest as a violation of freedom of the press.
BENIN: Another week of strieks
For the second week running, the Benin government's Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) was the target of a major civil service strike. The civil service union called a three-day strike on Monday claiming the SAP would erode workers' benefits. In the fourth such action by major unions since 25 November, it demanded the payment of "salary arrears" dating back to 1992. The government countered that the cost would be so high that international lending institutions would simply turn any such measure down because Benin was committed to an IMF Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility (ESAF). School teachers, too, started a week-long "warning" strike. They wanted the government to introduce a system of renumeration based on their qualifications.
MALI: Death sentence on former president commuted to life term
Malian President Alpha Oumar Konare commuted the death sentence served on the country's former leader, Moussa Traore, to life imprisonment and granted similar reprieves to 20 other members of the former Traore administration. "I am absolutely opposed to the death penalty and I pray to God never to give me the strength to apply it," President Konare said in a broadcast marking the 49th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Traore was overthrown in a 1991 coup. Konare also pledged to abolish forced labour and invite human rights monitors to the country.
MAURITANIA: The presidential election
President Maayouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya said on the eve of the Friday's presidential election that he was convinced Mauritanians would not heed opposition calls to boycott the polls. He denounced criticism that the election, in which a black candidate is running for the first time, lacked credibility. The candidate, Kane Amadou Moctar, 57, is a retired hospital administrator running as an independent. Taya further denounced opposition charges that he had allowed slavery to continue unchecked - an issue which has constantly tarnished the country's improved relationship with Europe and the United States. Slavery was formally abolished in Mauritania in 1980. The polls mark the second presidential election since Taya,seized power in a 1984 coup.
WEST AFRICA: Grim statistics at African AIDS conference
Two out of every three people around the world infected with AIDS lives in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a report presented this week at the 10th African Conference on AIDS in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire. The report, published jointly by the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Family Health International and the Harvard School of Public Health, said that people in sub-Saharan Africa were ten times more likely to contract the disease than those in North America and 20 times more susceptible than in Western Europe. Of every 10 infected women in the world, eight live in sub-Saharn Africa. It also said that 90 percent of the estimated 530,000 children in the world born with AIDS, are in Africa.
Abidjan, 12 December 1997, 17:40 gmt
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