Uganda Rural Community Support USA

Togolese communication minister Koffi Panou said
Tuesday in Brussels that parliamentary elections held on 21 March in Togo were
“perfectly valid and representative of all political forces.”

With a voter turnout of 66 percent despite the opposition’s call for a
boycott, “the maintenance of EU sanctions can hardly be justified,” Panou said
at a news briefing.

Panou, who is also the spokesman for the government, thus called on the
European Union “to resume cooperation with Togo.”

But observers in Brussels said that this call from the Togolese government
may not be heeded for some time due to the crisis in the EU commission following
the recent collective resignation of its members.

The same sources added that after resigning collectively following
allegations of cronyism against some members, the European Commission will not
take any political initiatives soon.

Moreover, the new commission will not be set up before September at the
earliest. The first meeting of the new European assembly is set for 25 July
after the European elections of 13 June.

Since last August is a month of recess, the new commission will start its
work in September at the earliest.

The commission is to hear each of the new members nominated by the
governments before the new commissioners are sworn in.

Therefore, the case of Togo will not be discussed by the European body for
several months.

Sources in Brussels noted that the EU decided to suspend cooperation with
Togo in 1993. Later on, in November 1998, it decided not to resume cooperation
with that country.

A process of consultation provided for in the Lome Convention was opened
after the Togolese presidential election of June 1998, following reservations
expressed by the EU mission of observers about the results of that election.

Other members of the Togolese delegation in Brussels include Harry
Octavianous Olympio, minister in charge of promoting democracy and human rights,
and Ouattara Natchaba, a former foreign minister.

The Togolese ministerial delegation came to Brussels to abreast the
international media on the results of the parliamentary elections of 21 March
and the status of relations between Lome and Brussels.

The delegation failed to have a single meeting with European or Belgian
officials.

The Organization of African Unity (OAU) has donated over one million US dollars to Ethiopia and Sierra Leone to help them implement drought-relief and water and sanitation projects.

The OAU said in a statement Friday that 750,000 dollars of the total amount was given to Ethiopia for the implementation of drought-relief and water supply projects in the eastern and north-eastern parts of the country affected by the failure of rains in the last three years.

It said 300,000 dollars were given to Sierra Leone for water supply and sanitation projects. The donations were made in line with the decision taken by the policy committee of the OAU special emergency assistance fund, the statement added. (PANA)

Meanwhile, the organization’s secretary-general said on Monday that he was “gravely concerned over the humanitarian situation prevailing in Angola following the resumption of war in the country, and called on OAU member states as well as the international community at large “to the gravity of the unfolding humanitarian situation in Angola.”

The following document was released by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (Geneva) on 25 March 1999: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata and Nigerian President-elect Olusegun Obasanjo today discussed future collaboration and the plight of refugees in Africa when the President-elect visited the UNHCR office in Geneva.

Ogata congratulated the President-elect on the results of elections that brought most welcome democratic changes to Nigeria.

The meeting was also “a vital opportunity to share our dismay over the continuing mayhem in Sierra Leone,” Ogata said afterwards. She recalled her recent mission to West Africa, during which she spoke with civilian victims of rebel atrocities.

The President-elect blamed economic deprivation for many of Africa’s refugee crises, and urged that initiatives to prevent and resolve conflicts should go hand in hand with steps to address poverty and injustice.

Obasanjo emphasized the importance of “strong and moral leadership” in resolving Africa’s problems. He pledged to support UNHCR when he takes office in May of this year, saying his good offices would always be available to the High Commissioner.

Ogata commended Nigerian-led efforts to restore peace in several West African countries. She expressed hope that nations in the region will continue their pursuit of peace, warning that “a backslide in many areas would be catastrophic. Hundreds of thousands of people have had to leave their homes and many more could be chased into exile.”

Obasanjo, one of Ogata’s informal group of advisors since 1994, was never able to participate as he was imprisoned for over three years by military regimes in Nigeria. The group of eminent persons from different backgrounds counsels the High Commissioner on a range of policy matters.

Ogata intervened with authorities in Lagos on several occasions between 1995 and 1998 in an effort to secure Obasanjo’s release, but the retired General was never allowed to leave the country.

Defense authorities have ordered the arrest of two Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) commanders. The Ministry Monday ordered the arrest and detention of the military police and alert force commanders. Colonel Edward Zamay and Captain Ricks were held for “negligence”.

Defense officials say the two commanders failed to stop the looting of the Barclay Training Center. The authorities also arrested 16 soldiers in connection with the looting. A Defense spokesman said the AFL soldiers would be tried by the Court Marshal Board. The spokesman said the soldiers were involved in looting of the Barclay Training Center. The looting started after a Defense Ministry decision to transfer soldiers from the Monrovia barracks. The soldiers looted furniture, plumbing fixtures and doors. Military officials at the barracks said anyone caught looting would be shot on sight.

* The Minister of Information says Liberia and its neighbors have been talking. Mr. Joe Mulbah said these on-going discussions have been “frank, concrete and fruitful”. He said the discussions were geared towards confidence-building to ensure regional stability. Liberia and its neighbors, Guinea and Sierra Leone, have traded accusations. Each has accused the other of allowing its territory to be used to destabilize it.

Minister Mulbah said Liberia’s relations with its neighbors would be characterized by dialogue. He said the time for accusations and counter-accusations should be over by now. Mr. Mulbah said mistakes of the past should be put behind. He said Liberia and its neighbors were finding “a new way forward”. The Liberian Information Minister spoke in an interview with Star radio. Mr. Mulbah was questioned about frequent reports of subversive activities. He said government discloses reports of alleged subversive activities to create public awareness. Mulbah said this was also to discourage such activities.

* An opposition politician has called on President Charles Taylor to drop charges against people being tried for treason. Mr. Alhaji Kromah also wants the President to release the accused from detention. Kromah said this would show “a good beginning of true national reconciliation”. Mr. Kromah made the request in a press statement Monday. The former faction leader currently resides in the United States. He said he’s pleased that government has released two security officers it held.

The government said Alieu Donzo and William Jarbee were being questioned in connection with ammunition arrested. Mr. Kromah further requested that former “NPFL” fighters recently arrested be released. He said the ex-combatants were arrested in Sanniquellie, Nimba County. The former “ULIMO-K” leader observed that human rights violations in Liberia could be reduced. He said this could be done if former fighters were used as “agents of development”.

* A former Minister of State without Portfolio is undergoing investigation. Mr. Isaac Johnson is facing investigations for allegedly holding clandestine meetings. Johnson was arrested Sunday at his residence in Clara town by the police. Mr. Johnson claimed he was informed by the Police that Grand Gedeh County Senator Nathaniel Williams had ordered his arrest. The Police have declined to comment. Senator Williams has also not commented.

* The Freetown High Court has postponed RUF leader Foday Sankoh’s appeal hearing. The hearing was scheduled to have taken place this week. Sierra Leone’s Justice Minister Solomon Berewa blamed the postponement on Sankoh lawyers. He said the lawyers have not shown their preparedness for the hearing. Mr. Berewa also said Sankoh’s pending travel to Togo was responsible for the deferment. Sankoh is due to travel to Togo to consult with his commanders. Attorney General Berewa said President Tejan Kabbah wants the peace process to succeed. Sankoh was convicted of treason last year. He appealed against his death sentence.

* A Liberian has died in custody in Zambia. The Liberian, Augustine Lewis, was held in Kamwala prison. Lewis was charged with possession of a forged Zambian currency. “The Post” of Zambia reported that Police arrested Lewis January 14 this year. He appealed for bail 10 days later. Lewis told the court he was a refugee and had nobody to look after him. Magistrate Edward Zulu ruled that Lewis would be granted bail only if he brought the people taking care of him. Lewis said all his relatives were in the United States and Germany. The case was pending until his death. Magistrate Zulu is now asking prosecutors to obtain a death certificate. He said this will enable the court to dispose of the case.

* Police in Maryland County have detained a man for impersonating as a “G-2″ officer. Angry traders arrested Otis Hne. They arrested him as he tried to escape. The traders arrested Hne for his alleged past criminal activities. Hne is known for extorting money and valuables from traders. Our Maryland correspondent said Hne and some Ivorian security officers were accused of robbing a trader. He and his accomplices allegedly robbed a Mr. Daniel Potter and his fiancee of 20 grams of gold. The incident reportedly occurred in the Ivorian border town of Plakay.

* The Labor Party says its leader has not been imprisoned. The party in a statement said former Health Minister Gbatokai Fahn-Boah Dakinah was never jailed. It claimed there were rumors circulating that Doctor Dakina was imprisoned. The party threatened legal action against anyone who circulates falsehood about its leader. The Monrovia City Court Friday released Doctor Dakina on bail. His release followed the filing of a bond by his lawyers. The former Health Minister was arrested Friday last week. He was taken to court on charges of bigamy. Hearing into the case is scheduled for today at the Monrovia City Court.

* State lawyers in the theft case involving officials of the First Commercial and Investment Bank in Monrovia want a separate trial. The lawyers want the trial to go ahead despite the absence of one of the defendants. The court’s officers say they are unable to arrest defendant Levi Dargbah. The officers said they’ve not yet located Dargbah. Defendant Dargbah is one of six people charged with theft. The six include three FCIB officials. They are accused of illegally withdrawing over 300,000 U.S. dollars from government’s account. Lawyers representing the accused have rejected the state’s request. The defense argued that the court had earlier denied a similar request by it. The court is expected to pass judgment on the matter today.

* Judicial authorities say they’re concerned about debt court judgements not enforced. The authorities said there are nearly 10 major debt judgments that haven’t been enforced. They said the Supreme Court of Liberia has ordered the enforcement of some these judgments. A lawyer told Star radio failure to enforce court judgments was “frustrating”. The lawyer cited a 600,000 U.S. dollar debt judgment against a local bank. He also made reference to a 51,000 U.S. dollar judgement against a public corporation. Court officers said these were just two of the many judgments pending enforcement. They said the Debt Court was finding it difficult to have its judgments enforced. The court officers said even some lawyers obstruct the enforcement of court judgements.

* Renovation work at the United Methodist elementary school in the provincial city of Robertsport has started Work on the building started last month. The school was at the point of collapse. It has not been used for eight years. The United Methodist Church of Liberia is paying for the renovation work.

* 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.

STAR radio, Sekou Toure Avenue, Mamba point, Monrovia, Liberia. Tel: (+231) 226820 Fax:(+231) 227360; E-mail:star@liberia.net. Fondation Hirondelle 3, rue Traversiere 1018 Lausanne, Suisse Tel: (+4121) 647 2805 Fax: (+41 21) 647 4469; E-mail: info@hirondelle.org; Visit our World Wide Web site: www.hirondelle.org

The counting of votes in Tuesday’s legislative
elections in Benin, began in Ernest Wednesday in Cotonou, with officials saying
early results could be available by the close of the day.

Party leaders and agents as well as election observers converged at the
headquarters of the Autonomous National Electoral Commission in Cotonou, the
economic capital, to count and collate the votes from 2.8 million people who
voted for 83 deputies across the country from dusk to dawn Tuesday.

Major hitches were associated with either poor geographical distribution of
polling stations or the newly introduced single ballot system which some voters
did not understand, in spite of an awareness campaign conducted by the
commission.

In central Benin, about 150 km north of Cotonou, some people refused to
travel the distance of five to 25 km to cast their votes. They insisted on
voting in their respective localities where they were registered but the
commission decided otherwise.

Some voters had difficulty stamping the logo of their choice on the single
ballot paper, observers said, noting that this is understandable in a country
where 70 percent of the population is illiterate.

Nigeria’s president-elect, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, ended a roster of high level meetings in Washington Tuesday with a call on US president Bill Clinton.

Obasanjo described the meeting as very encouraging, noting that Clinton had expressed understanding of the Nigerian situation.

During the 40-minute meeting, the Nigerian leader said he discussed with Clinton about Nigeria’s democratisation process as well as the situation in Sierra Leone.

Obasanjo noted that Clinton reaffirmed US interest for democracy in Nigeria since a successful democracy in Nigeria would serve as a catalyst for democracy in the rest of Africa.

He also reiterated the position that Nigerian troops in Sierra Leone would remain there until it becomes necessary for them to leave.

On the possibility of Clinton attending his inauguration on 29 May, Obasanjo said he did not raise the matter during the meeting because he was aware that Nigerian head of state Gen. Aabdulsalami Aabubakar had extended an invitation to that effect.

In response to a question Obasanjo, who was elected president on 27 February, said his government would ensure that the Nigerian military performed its constitutional role and that the government would provide for their needs within the limit of national resources.

In the course of the day, Obasanjo also met with the US secretary of state Madelaine Albright, the secretaries of defence and treasury, William Cohen and James Rubin, respectively.

He also met with World Bank president James Wolfensohn. Obasanjo arrived in the US on Saturday and has since visited Atlanta and New York. In New York on Monday he met with UN secretary general Kofi Annan and US business leaders.

British and American embassies in South Africa have increased their security following threats by the Serbian Liberation Front (SLF) to bomb them in retaliation for the Nato air strikes against Yugoslavia.

An anonymous caller phoned a Johannesburg newspaper and declared that the SLF will bomb the British and American embassies unless the attacks on Kosovo are stopped.

US embassy officials in Pretoria on Wednesday confirmed that extra precautions are in place and police say they are taking the threats seriously.

In Cape Town, about 100 Yugoslavian citizens on Tuesday protested outside the United States’ consulate against the Nato bombing of their country.

The protesters demanded the immediate stoppage of the attacks, saying the bombings were killing innocent people who had nothing to do with politics.

They claimed that Albanians who were supposed to be protected from Serbs by the bombing raids have instead become targets.

In a letter addressed to President Nelson Mandela, the protesters expressed their gratitude at the government’s condemnation of the Nato attack on Yugoslavia.

“Your action has served to provide our people with hope that someone sees what is really happening. The conflict in Yugoslavia is more an issue for power disguised in a humanitarian wrapping,” the letter said.

Mandela said the Kosovo crisis had resulted in innocent people being slaughtered like animals and called on political leaders to seek a peaceful solution to the crisis.

“We hope the world will reach a stage when it realises that the use of violence against any community is something that puts us next to animals,” he said.

Mandela, who received the credentials of Belgrade’s new ambassador to South Africa on Thursday, called for a speedy end to the crisis.

The South African government on Friday expressed its anger at the Nato intervention in the former Yugoslavia, saying it is in violation of the United Nations Charter and accepted norms of international law.

“The intervention has exacerbated the situation in the Balkans. The South African Government would like to stress the need to resolve disputes by peaceful means and in this context it strongly emphasises the primary responsibility of the United Nations Security Council in the maintenance of international peace and security.

“The erosion of the United Nations Charter and the authority of the United Nations Security Council cannot be tolerated by the international community,” it said.

The government further called on all parties to the conflict to respect United Nations Security Council resolutions 1199 and 1203 and to actively explore a diplomatic solution to the crisis.

Following is the White House text of President Clinton’s meeting with Nigeria’s President-elect Olusegun Obasanjo on March 30:

Today, President Clinton met for the first time with Nigerian President-elect Olusegun Obasanjo. The meeting covered a range of bilateral and regional issues, including Nigeria’s peacekeeping efforts through the Economic Community of West African States’ Monitoring Group (ECOMOG), its ongoing economic reform and its progress building democratic institutions. The President underscored our commitment to continue to work on these and other challenges and opportunities that face Nigeria with the current Government of Nigeria and with President-elect Obasanjo’s new government, to be inaugurated on May 29, 1999.

The meeting highlighted the broad and rapidly increasing cooperation between our two governments. The United States is determined to help Nigeria take its place as a democratic and economic leader in Africa.

The Frank Fredericks Invitational meeting will
take place on 10 April in Windhoek to scout for young athletes who will
represent the country in future competitions.

Speaking at a news conference Tuesday, world 200-metre champion and host
Frank Fredericks said “everything is running smoothly and teams are to be
arranged finally.” He said each region will be represented by each event.

Fredericks said the aim of the meeting will be to give opportunity to juniors
to take part in all activities that they do not have the chance to engage in.

“I want to help the youth especially to get the opportunity to display their
talents,” he said, adding that the Coca-Cola-sponsored event will be for the
Under-19 athletes.

Meanwhile, the Namibia National Amateur Boxing Federation (NNABF) has
announced that the Zone Six Boxing championship will take place in Pretoria,
South Africa from 12 to 18 April 1999.

NNABF Secretary-General Ellison Hijarunguru said the Zone Six championship
will serve as a qualifier for the All-Africa Games in September 1999 in
Johannesburg.

The NNABF has selected a 14-member preliminary team to participate in the
championship.

The young Crocodiles will host Zambia U-23 soccer team on Sunday at Setsoto stadium in the qualifying games of the Africa Champions. Lesotho qualified after beating Namibia 2-1 on aggregate two weeks ago.

Though Lesotho made it to the next rounds, the team under Coach Mahao Matete did not appear very impressive failing to make the most out of the scoring chances they create. If Lesotho makes it past Zambia, they will go to the finals of the Africa Youth Champions that will come out with the qualifying team for the Olympics.

Coach Bomber’ Matete will be dependant on the experience of senior team horses, Eric Makara (Vaal Professionals), Lehlohonolo Seema (Bloemfontein Celtics), Thabang Mahlakajoe (Matlama) and Motlatsi Shale (Liphakoe). He might also recall LDF striker Majara Masupha who has just finished duty for his team in the CAF competitions.

The U-23 may also get some boost of some youngsters who have proved very strong when the Premier league kicked-off last week in the country, most of them based at the Matlama camp and served the U-17 and U-20. The Lesotho U-23 and the Senior team Likuena are the only teams still left with some international duty.

Likuena is still awaiting for the qualifying COSAFA games to be played after they kicked out Namibia 1-0 in the knockouts. Lesotho will now play the likes of Zambia in the round-robin mini-league.