Uganda Rural Community Support USA

A delegation of the Inter-Faith Council of Liberia has
arrived in Nimba County.

The team is on a fact-finding mission regarding reported incidents of
Mosque-burning. The team will visit Bahn in Zoe-Geh District where a
mosque is alleged to have been burnt by unknown persons. The inter-
religious delegation is expected to consult with local government
officials, security personnel, and people of the area. The inter-faith
team will be in Nimba for three days. The team is headed by Reverend
William Browne. Other members include Imam Habid Sheriff and Reverend
Kumeh Togba. The team is expected to issue a report on its finding upon
its return to Monrovia.

* Former Council of State Chairperson Ruth Perry is accusing the
July organizers of the forthcoming national conference of deceiving
President Charles Taylor. Mrs. Perry says little is known about the
conference by most rural dwellers. She said the conference organizers
should have involved more grassroot citizens in the planning process.
Mrs. Perry was speaking to journalists yesterday at her Paynesville
residence. But the conference Chairman, Dr. Roland Massaquoi, said there
is a massive educational campaign about the conference. Dr. Massaquoi
said consultative meetings are continuing with various groups in
preparation for the conference.

* Citizens in Nimba County are requesting tribal leaders and
government mediation in the tribal dispute in the county. The citizens
said an early mediation would prevent an ethnic conflict. They believe
the tribal groups concerned can be brought together for a quick
resolution of the problem.

* Claims against the Bong Mining Company will be one of the major
issues at a meeting to be held in August. Workers of the company have
not received their severance benefits since the company ceased operation
in 1990. The company is also reported to be owing a huge tax arrears to
the Liberian government. Land, Mines and Energy Minister Jenkins Dunbar
said the formal dissolution of the Bong Mining Company will also be
discussed. He said the meeting of shareholders will either take place
either in Liberia or Germany. The Bong Mining Company was the second
largest mining concession in Liberia prior to the civil war.

* A Liberian clergyman has called for the empowerment of parents. He
says unless this is done there is little the youth can achieve in
education. The pastor of the St. Paul Union Baptist Church, Arthur
Somah, said government can empower parents by providing them job
opportunities. Rev. Somah was speaking at the graduation ceremony of the
Elwuo Educational Institute in Paynesville. He said it is painful for
parents to see their children going astray because of the lack of
support.

* A local Islamic organization is calling the executives of the
Concerned Muslim Youth to a meeting today. The League of Islamic
Missionary and Scholars said the meeting is intended to seek amicable
solution to their concerns. The meeting will be held at the Salafia
Mosque on Ashmun Street at ten o’clock this morning, according to a
release.

* A local human rights group has expressed fear about the security
of its staff. The Catholic Justice and Peace Commission says it staff
has been placed under security surveillance. The commission claimed
strange men are frequenting the home of its director and inquiring about
his whereabouts. The JPC Director Kofi Woods is currently out of the
country on an official visit. The commission alleged that security
officers have threatened to arrest him upon his return. The JPC is
warning those behind what it called this “evil plan “to desist. It
called on government, the international community and human rights
groups to ensure the act is not carried out. There has been no response
from government so far. Meanwhile, a children’s rights advocacy group
has spoken out against the alleged plan to arrest the JPC Director. The
group known as FOCUS, is calling for a collective effort to discourage

the alleged arrest plan.

* A prominent Liberian Muslim is urging Muslim youths not to go
ahead with a planned demonstration. Dr. Vamba Kanneh said any
demonstration without government’s approval would be illegal. He said
Muslims are to obey state authority as required by the teachings of the
Quaran. Dr. Kanneh believes that there are elements who want to use the
demonstration to their advantage. A group calling itself Concerned
Muslims Youths of Liberia said it would be holding a mass demonstration
this Wednesday, July 1st. The group said the demonstration is to protest
the burning of the mosque in Bahn, Nimba County. Justice Minister
Eddington Varmah on Friday warned against any demonstration. He said the
police have been put on maximum alert to arrest any person or group
caught demonstrating.

* The United Nations is appealing for twenty million U.S. dollars
for assistance to Sierra Leonean refugees. The U.N. said there are over
two hundred forty thousand Sierra Leonean refugees in Liberia and
Guinea. The world body noted that continuing fighting and increasing
ruthlessness of rebels were increasing the number of refugees. The U.N.
humanitarian affairs officer said there are over fifty thousand people
roaming the countryside. The U.N. called for life sustaining aid for
those people in distress. The United Nations said the Sierra Leone
government has brought stability, but peace consolidation remains a
difficult task

* A contingent of three hundred French trained Gambian troops has
been sent to Sierra Leone. The troops will re-enforce the West African
Peace-keeping Force in its efforts to clear the country of rebels. The
United States Government has also provided four million dollars in
military equipment to ECOMOG. The U.S. assistance followed an appeal by
ECOMOG for additional manpower and logistics to flush out remnants of
junta fighters. The rebels are reported to be committing atrocities
including the maiming of civilian captives.

* An organization in Rivercess County has begun the training of two
hundred youths. The training program is sponsored by the International
Labor Organization. The Rivercess Educational and Agricultural
Development Services is training the youths in various trades including
masonry and carpentry. The project is targeting former combatants,
displaced persons and returnees. The program is part of an effort to re-
integrate war-affected youths and make them productive.

NOTE FOR EDITORS: Star Radio is staffed by Liberian journalists and
managed by the Swiss NGO Fondation Hirondelle with financing from the
U.S. Agency for International Development through the International
Foundation for Election Systems. Non commercial redistribution is
allowed, providing that the source is quoted and no editing other than
reformatting is made.

New York/Geneva,(Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs)
- The United Nations today appealed for $20.2 million to meet the urgent
humanitarian needs of populations affected by the crisis in Sierra
Leone, including those displaced within the country as well as those who
have sought refuge in the neighbouring States of Liberia and Guinea.

Although the return of the democratically elected Government in
February has brought a level of peace and stability, the consolidation
of peace remains a difficult task. In the western area and in the
southern and eastern provinces, with the exception of Kailahun district,
aid agencies have started to reactivate programmes as a result of
improved security and access. In Kono district and the north, however,
there has been a serious deterioration in the humanitarian situation as
groups of retreating Junta forces have embarked on a campaign of terror
through the indiscriminate killing and mutilation of civilians and the
burning of villages.

In the last three months, more than 237,000 Sierra Leoneans have fled
into Liberia and Guinea, bringing the total to over 500,000, and over
50,000 internally displaced people have sought shelter in camps and
towns in the north. The deteriorating condition of the refugees is
particularly alarming. New arrivals are suffering from exhaustion,
disease and malnutrition, and their situation is likely to worsen in the
near future. Consideration must also be given to their other needs,
including preventive and curative health care, water and sanitation
facilities and shelter materials.

The overall humanitarian response to the crisis in the north has been
undermined by security and access constraints. Road travel from Freetown
into the northern provinces is severely restricted and most of these
areas can only be reached by helicopter. In spite of these difficulties,
the humanitarian community has attempted to respond to the situation.
Last month, United Nations agencies, the International Committee of the
Red Cross (ICRC) and Medecins sans frontieres began to charter
helicopters to conduct humanitarian assessments in previously
inaccessible areas. The continuation and expansion of these missions are
necessary to enable relief agencies to best respond to the humanitarian
needs.

In addition to securing life-sustaining support to the affected
populations, the United Nations consolidated inter-agency appeal for
humanitarian assistance to Sierra Leone also seeks to support the
emergency assistance priorities and objectives of the Government of
Sierra Leone, as well as efforts to facilitate peace and reconciliation.

26 June 1998

Following is the text of the White House announcement
made in Beijing, China on June 26, 1998:

The president today announced his intention to nominate Joseph H.
Melrose, Jr. to be U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Sierra Leone.

Mr. Melrose, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a career member of the
Senior Foreign Service, class of minister-counselor. He helped with the
establishment of the Multinational Force and Observers in the Sinai
Peninsula and served as executive secretary of the U.S. Delegation to
the Conference on Disarmament in Europe. In addition, he was appointed
executive director of the Near East and South Asian Bureau at the State
Department in l986. Mr. Melrose worked for several years in the State
Department in the Office of the Under Secretary of Management and, in
l995, he was named to his current position as deputy chief of mission at
the American Embassy in Nigeria.

Mr. Melrose received his B.A. from Ursinus College in Collegeville,
Pennsylvania, and his M.A. in journalism from Temple University in
Philadelphia. Mr. Melrose speaks Vietnamese and is a past vice president
of the American Foreign Service Association.

I was not impressed by the article “Ugandans Angry At World
Cup ‘Rigging’ Against Africa” (The Monitor, June 25). It was so
disappointing to learn that Ugandans, like other Africans, were crying
foul over Cameroon’s and Morocco’s early exit from the World Cup.

They alleged that various irregularities, especially biased
refereeing, had worked against the African teams. We as Africans should
blame ourselves, and not the referees, for our early elimination from
the World Cup.

Had the African teams done what was expected of them in their
preceding matches, there wouldn’t have been any of these baseless
allegations of biased refereeing.

Cameroon takes the biggest blame among the four African teams that
were eliminated in the preliminary rounds. They were so unprofessional
to throw away a match (against Austria) they had been leading by letting
in a lousy goal in the last minute Had they won this match, things would
have been different.

The Moroccans, who played so well against Scotland in their last
match also lost an early lead in their earlier match to draw with
Norway. So they were praying for Brazil to beat Norway in order to
qualify for the next round.

The South Africans too had a chance to qualify but they threw it
away. Had they beaten Saudi Arabia, they would have qualified for second
round since France beat Denmark. But they could only manage a draw

against the Saudis.

This shows how unserious African teams are and the blame should not
go to the referees.

The only serious African team in France is Nigeria. From the word go,
they were a determined side. In their first match, they beat Spain 3-2
and managed a narrow 1-0 win over Bulgaria in their second game. Those
two wins assured them of a place in the next round. That is why they
could afford a smile in their last game although they were losing to
Paraguay.

Ugandans should also remember that during the 1994 World Cup in the
United States, Nigeria played the Cameroon way when it allowed Italy to
equalise in the dying minutes of their second round game.

Leading 2-1 and with only a few minutes to go, they thought they had
clinched a win and relaxed. Instead of taking the ball to the Italians’
half, they started playing inside their own half and ended up handling
the ball in their penalty box. What followed, as they say, is history.

Africans should stop blaming referees whenever they lose. They should
blame themselves for poor game reading. I agree with Harriet Namusoke
who was quoted in the story as saying: “These Africans know whites hate
them, so let them score ten goals so that the referee can disallow six
and they remain with four.” Had the Cameroonians scored ten goals
against Chile, they would have made it to the second round.

The situation is not any different on our local scene. Teams tend to
relax when they have a one-goal lead. The other team scores an equaliser
or winning goal and fans start pelting referees with missiles.

In most cases, such deplorable scenes are caused by the players who
put to waste several scoring chances.

Fans should start blaming players instead of referees whenever their
teams lose.

Sunday’s 4-1 humiliating defeat of Nigeria’s
Super Eagles by their Danish counterparts at the ongoing World Cup
championship has provoked angry reactions at home, with many fans
blaming it on inadequate preparation.

Several commentators were emphatic that the country’s poor soccer
administration is responsible for the dismal outing in the nation’s
second World Cup appearance.

“This drives home the point that we are not organised
administratively,” said a disappointed soccer fan, in reaction to the
outcome of the match, which Lagos-based Vanguard newspaper Monday called
a “disaster.”

The comments captured the subdued mood of a soccer-loving nation.

“As far as I am concerned, the World Cup is over. These players
raised our hopes only to dash them,” said Kate Nwachukwu, a Lagos
housewife.

She said she had abandoned everything to cheer the national team in
the match broadcast live by Nigerian television stations.

But some critics are not surprised that the Eagles crashed out so
early in the competition, going by the team’s poor build-up to France
‘98.

After conceding several defeats in their international friendlies
against Germany, Holland and Yugoslavia, the Eagles surprisingly raised
the hopes of Nigerians and African in France, being the only team from
the continent that qualified for the second round.

This was when they defeated favourites Spain and Bulgaria. But the
Nigerians lost to Paraguay in questionable encounter.

“It was after the 3-1 loss to Paraguay that it dawned on most
Nigerians that we have no team,” one commentator said.

Yet, in a show reminiscent of their lack-lustre performance in the
same stage during U.S.A ‘94, when Nigeria lost to Italy, the Eagles were
a shadow of themselves against an impressive Danish side Sunday.

Their porous defence and slippery goal-keeping were not helped by a
blunt attack and non-existent midfield.

While goalkeeper Peter Rufia is criticised for letting in cheap
goals, some fans say Nigeria’s Serbian coach, Bora Milutinovic, did not
demonstrate a good reading of the match by failing to introduce new
players from the bench.

“A good coach would have made substitutions when his team is down 2-
0,” sports commentator Tunde Ajayi said.

But others like journalist Kola Danisa saw the defeat as a blessing
in disguise.

“It is better, so we can stop day-dreaming because we did not take a
good team to France,” he said.

The popular opinion is that Nigeria should go back to the drawing
board by overhauling its soccer administration and instilling discipline
in the professional players.

With an efficient administration and committed set of players, the
Olympic Champions are capable of winning the World Cup, the pundits
added.

Nigeria Sunday failed to measure up to the
performance of Cameroon, the only African team to have reached the
quarter-finals of the World Cup in 1990 in Italy.

The “Super Eagles” were Africa’s last hope, following the elimination
of Morocco, Cameroon, South Africa and Tunisia from the 1998 World Cup
tournament.

But the reality suddenly dawned on the thousands of supporters,
Africans and non-Africans alike, who had been dreaming of seeing Nigeria
reach the finals of the competition.

Beyond this elimination, the way Africa’s last hope was shattered was
even more painful. Nigeria conceded four goals, leaving the impression
of a very weak team compared to the opponent, Denmark, whereas most
observers considered them as the favourites.

A goal by Muller in the 2nd minute, followed by a second one by Bria
Laudrup in the 12th minute, completely knocked off the Nigerians.

For the Danes, the rest of the game became a question of managing
time and organizing counter tactics in order to use the free spaces
created by the opponent.

Two other goals scored by Ebbe Sand (59th minute) and Thomas Helveg
(76th minute) confirmed victory for the Danes. Even Nigeria’s lone goal
by Babangida could not turn the table.

Victor Ikpeba, the hope of the Eagles, said Nigeria paid for its lack
of concentration in the early stages of the match, and particularly for
its lack of tenacity.

“We were naive in the beginning of the match. Denmark exploited our
weaknesses in the defence. We have talent but we were over confident. We
did not mount a united attack. That explains why we obviously had
problems when we met a well-organized team,” the Monaco-based player
said.

In fact, some observers foresaw the defeat right from the second half
of the match played against Bulgaria.

But the Nigerian side did not pay heed to the warning signals.

Nigeria suffered a 1-3 defeat in its encounter with Paraguay. The
outcome had no effect in their group since they had already qualified,
following their two victories over Spain (3-2) and Bulgaria (1-0).

Although their victories over Spain and Bulgaria appeared as bright
spots, the Eagles paid dearly for not having been adequately prepared
for the World Cup.

The Malawi national football team will take
on their Mozambican counterparts, the “Mambas”, during Malawi’s republic
day celebrations 6 July, Football Association of Malawi has said.

The association’s general secretary, Steve Padambo, said Malawi will
play the first of three games against the Mambas in Mzuzu, the northern
city where the celebrations will be held.

The second and third games will be played in the Malawi capital,
Lilongwe, and in the commercial city of Blantyre, southern Malawi.

Padambo said the association has also invited the Zimbabwe national
team to play two friendly games 25 and 26 July.

The two games will help Malawi tune up before playing against Namibia
in August in two African championship games, Padambo added.

He said the association will need at least 140,000 U.S. dollars to
prepare for the games with Namibia.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan
is expected in Abuja to cap the list of high profile visitors to
Nigeria, in reaction to the conciliatory posture of the country’s new
military government.

Annan’s four-day visit was scheduled to begin Monday, the foreign
ministry said in a statement.

The visit would include talks with the new leader, Gen. Abdulsalam
Abubakar, on how to end the international isolation of the country.

Both men would also discuss sub-regional peace and security.

“The government and people of Nigeria look forward to the visit of
the (UN) Secretary-General and to its successful outcome,” the ministry
said.

Already, Annan’s Commonwealth counterpart, Emeka Anyaoku, is in
Nigeria for talks with Abubakar, whose government has pledged to rid the
country of human rights abuses and to bequeath it with a viable
democracy.

Nigeria is under suspension from the British-led organisation over
democratisation and human rights issues.

The twin-subjects constituted a source of Nigeria’s frosty relations
with the international community, prompting wide ranging sanctions
imposed on the country by the United States and the European Union
countries.

But things have started to look bright again for the country
following reconciliatory moves by the Abubakar government, which is now
engaged in broad consultations on how to solve the nation’s lingering
political crisis.

High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson is to
travel to South Africa this evening to participate in the Second
Conference of African National Institutions for the Promotion and
Protection of Human Rights.

The High Commissioner will be one of the keynote speakers at the
opening of the Conference, which will run from 1 to 3 July in Durban.

>From South Africa the High Commissioner will travel on 2 July to
Botswana for a two-day visit. On 3 July Mrs. Robinson is scheduled to
meet with senior Government officials and with officials of the Southern
African Development Community (SADC). The following day she will meet
with representatives of civil society organizations. She will leave
Gaborone on Saturday, 4 July.

29 June 1998

A meeting of officials in charge of
coordinating the food, agriculture and natural resources sector in the
12-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) opened in Lusaka
Monday, ahead of Friday’s agriculture ministers conference.

Organisers said Monday’s meeting would review various technical
matters related to the food, agriculture and natural resources situation
in the region.

It will be followed Wednesday by another meeting of senior officials
who would prepare an agenda for the ministers conference.

Sources told PANA that the ministers’ major subjects of discussion
would include the need for closer cooperation among SADC governments in
the management of food security, the agriculture industry and the
region’s natural resources generally.

The ministers would also endorse the establishment of the SADC
regional food security training project to be based in Harare, Zimbabwe,
which also coordinates the region’s food security sector.

SADC states jointly operate several agriculture-related projects,
including the Regional Early Warning System, also based in Harare.

Its major objective is to contribute to the overall goal of food
security by providing the region with a capacity to generate and
disseminate information and forecasts on food production and marketing.