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IRIN-WA Update 413 of Events in West Africa (Tuesday 2 March)
NIGERIA: South Africa ready to work with Abuja
South African Foreign Minister Alfred Nzo said yesterday (Monday) Pretoria was ready to form a close continental partnership with a strong and democratic Nigeria, the South African news agency SAPA reported today (Tuesday).
He was speaking after Olusegun Obasanjo of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) was elected Nigerian president at the weekend. His comments mark a high point - after a period of estrangement - in the steadily improving relations between South Africa and Nigeria since the death of military ruler General Sani Abacha last year.
Describing the elections as a victory for the people of Nigeria, Nzo said South Africa was looking forward to Nigeria's return to the Commonwealth.
Annan hails return to civilian rule
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he attached the "highest importance" to Nigeria's return to civilian rule. The UN has been giving technical aid to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) throughout the electoral porocess.
Commonwealth pledges support
Commonwealth Secretary-General Emeka Anyaoku said the international community looked to Obasanjo's leadership in "restoring the image of Nigeria to its accustomed respectability". Anyaoku also said the Commonwealth would give Obasanjo every possible support in the challenges ahead, Nigerian television reported.
People's will "broadly reflected", US says
US State Department spokesman James Foley said the elections "broadly reflected" the people's will. However, he urged the Nigerian authorities to investigate electoral irregularities "in a fair and transparent manner" and called for an orderly transition until the handover of power on 29 May.
Obasanjo to visit France
French President Jacques Chirac vowed to personally oversee the strengthening of friendly bilateral relations between Abuja and Paris, AFP reported. Reflecting this bond, Obasanjo is due to visit Paris on 8 March, his first official foreign trip as president-elect, French officials were quoted as saying.
Falae wants government of national unity
Defeated presidential candidate Olu Falae of the joint Alliance for Democracy/All People's Party (AD/APP) called yesterday for a government of national unity comprising nominees of the three political parties. He earlier dismissed the election results as a "charade".
The BBC today said Obasanjo agreed to form a government of national unity and that Falae "would be welcome to join".
National unity government could be "divisive"
However, Theresa Ilegbune, executive director of the Civil Rights Concern in Nigeria, told IRIN a government of national unity could be quite divisive given the number of tensions in Nigerian society. But once there was economic security and a crime-free society, Nigerians could then talk about a government of national unity, she said.
Obasanjo's immediate task, she added, should be to reconcile Nigeria's divergent political and ethnic groups by ensuring basic services such as reliable electricity, water, good hospitals and caring for the poorest of society. "It should be quite high up on his list of priorities," she said.
SIERRA LEONE: RUF cautiously welcomes Kabbah's offer
The spokesman for the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF), Omrie Golley, has cautiously welcomed President Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah's talks offer. The Sierra Leone president on Sunday proposed Lome or Bamako as venues for RUF commanders to meet their jailed leader Foday Sankoh, prior to a dialogue with the government. Speaking in a BBC interview, Golley said if the government was "serious for peace and for peaceful dialogue, then it's a process which we cautiously welcome".
He denied the rebel forces had abducted some 2,000 children, claiming the pro-government Kamajor militia and other civil defence militia were recruiting child soldiers. "We say that the issue of children as child soldiers is one that has to be thoroughly investigated," he added.
Burkinabe president denies helping rebels
The president of Burkina Faso, Blaise Compaore, has denied supporting the rebels in Sierra Leone. In an interview with Radio France Internationale, broadcast yesterday, he said the rebels had been in touch with Burkina Faso in its capacity as OAU chairman. "But we always tell them that the problem must first of all be dealt with at the regional level," he said. "Burkina Faso is neither directly nor indirectly involved in this conflict."
Organisations told to declare comms equipment
International organisations have been requested to declare their communications equipment to the Sierra Leone authorities. A communications ministry statement, read out over state radio, warned of possible legal implications if the requisite authorisation was not obtained, AFP reported.
Students urged to register
Meanwhile, the education minister today called on students to register for classes due to being next Monday. Speaking over state radio, Alpha Wurie said many schools had been destroyed by the rebels earlier this year, but they would be rebuilt and in the meantime improvisations would be made. "If your uniforms and books have been burned during the crisis, don't hesitate to re-register in any school near where you now live," he said.
GUINEA BISSAU: New pullout date for foreign troops
Guinean and Senegalese troops, who supported Guinea Bissau President Joao Bernardo Vieira in trying to put down a military insurrection, will now leave the country by 16 March at the latest, news reports said.
The missionary news agency, MISNA, quoted Military Junta spokesman Indutta Zamorra as saying yesterday that the new troop withdrawal deadline was reached by the Junta, the government, the West African peacekeeping force ECOMOG and the Senegalese army.
Withdrawal of the troops, which has been a major demand of the Junta and of Prime Minister Francisco Fadul, was initially due for completion on 28 February. Their departure has been linked to the arrival of ECOMOG troops, sent by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). So far, 600 of the expected 1,450 ECOMOG troops have arrived.
ECOWAS Director of Legal Affairs Roger Laloupo told IRIN today the community had not yet been informed of the new pullout date. He said the initial date for the withdrawal had not been set by ECOWAS, but was a proposal made by the parties to the conflict.
LIBERIA: Local counties sue human rights groups
Two Liberian human rights organisations have been taken to court following allegations of child slavery in four counties, Star radio reported today. It said the suits were filed by Sinoe, Maryland, Grand Kru and Bong counties against the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission (JPC) and Focus. In a report issued recently, the two organisations claimed forced labour and child slavery were being carried out in southeastern Liberia, which prompted the government to send a fact-finding team to the region. The four counties concerned said the allegations "gave a wrong impression to the international community", making it difficult for them to obtain assistance.
CHAD: 35 officers dismissed
President Idriss Deby yesterday dismissed 35 army officers, including four colonels, news organisations reported. No official reason was given, but military sources said they were suspected of links with Chadian rebels. Among the most prominent were the former director-general of the National Security Agency, Colonel Beshir Ali Haggar, and former army chief-of staff Colonel Mahamat Garfa who took up arms against Deby three years ago.
Abidjan, 2 March 1999, 18:30 gmt
[ENDS]
Date: Tue, 2 Mar 1999 18:39:24 +0000 (GMT) From: UN IRIN - West Africa <irin-wa@wa.ocha.unon.org> Subject: IRIN-West Africa Update 413 for 1999.3.2
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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