I get these almost daily.  are L-ers interested enough for me to forward
them all or is that just clogging up everyone's mailbox?  Best, Ylva

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: 19 Sep 2000 10:21:45 -0700
From: International Bicycle Fund <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: News September 19, 2000
To: Will Cusack <[log in to unmask]>
From: Will Cusack <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Tue, 19 Sep 2000 10:21:16 -0400

From Washington Post	
	Attack on Home of Ivory Coast Leader Repelled	
From NY Times	
	Ivory Coast Ruler Tells of Assassination Attempt	
	Racism Alleged in S. Africa Military	
	Doubts Grow Over Burundi Cease - Fire	
	Peace - Keepers Coming to Ethiopia	
	Unrest Threat Looms in Ivory Coast	
	Ivory Coast Assassination Attempted	
From LA Times	
	Loyalists Say They Foiled Attempt on Life of Ivory Coast Junta
Leader	
From Baltimore Sun	
	Rwandan journalists accused of genocide role	
	Ivory Coast loyalists stop assassination attempt	
From Various African Sources	
	Nigeria Battles Italy for Leadership	
	Traders Wage Abortive Battle Over COMESA Pull Out	
	Health Minister Offers No Challenge to Mbeki's AIDS Stance	
	Obasanjo Begs On Fuel Scarcity	
	Burundi's Buyoya, Museveni threaten military action	
	Nigeria to Receive $100m World Bank Assistance for Environmental
Management	
	Musoke Out of Sydney Games Without Playing	
	Kassim Goes, Too	
	Sudan to Free Ugandan Kids	
	Liberia's Attire Rated Among the Best -As Nancy Johnson Wins
First Gold Medal	
	Surprisingly, Inflation Rate Nosedives to 0.9%	
	Swaziland's HIV-Positive Seek Safety in Prestige	
From CNN	
	South African unions slam Mbeki over economy, AIDS	
	Burundi rebels, government set to begin talks	
	Trial of Rwandan 'hate radio' organizers adjourned	
	Ivorian leader, Gen. Guei, escapes assassination attempt	


From Washington Post

Attack on Home of Ivory Coast Leader Repelled
By Douglas Farah Washington Post Foreign Service Tuesday, September 19,
2000; Page A18 

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, Sept. 18 -- Army troops stormed the house of Ivory
Coast's military leader today but were driven back by loyal troops after
heavy fighting, according to witnesses and government officials. 

The attack, apparently aimed at ousting the nine-month-old government of
Gen. Robert Guei, was the latest in a series of army revolts in this
nation, once a bastion of stability in the troubled West African region.
The heavy fighting, near Abidjan's central business district, began
about 3 a.m. and lasted until after 5 a.m., leaving at least two
soldiers dead and a dozen wounded.

For the rest of the day, most businesses in this port city of more than
2 million people stayed closed.

Today's attack appears to continue an erosion of civil peace that for
decades helped Ivory Coast build the region's most prosperous economy.
In December, enlisted men overthrew the elected government in a dispute
over arrears in their pay and put Guei into office. Guei promised new
elections but has moved to keep power by declaring himself a
presidential candidate as his administration acts to sideline rivals.


Before today, enlisted men had mutinied twice since the coup, demanding
large bonuses. Also, communal violence has spread as Guei has blamed
predominantly Muslim northerners and immigrants from nearby
countries--many of them also Muslims--for the country's problems.

Guei initially promised to hold the presidential vote this month, then
postponed it until Oct. 22. While professing to have no personal
ambitions, Guei announced his candidacy last month. Leaders of all major
political parties--and the French and U.S. governments--condemned the
move, arguing that Guei could not oversee fair elections if he were a
candidate.

In a televised news conference following today's attack, Guei said a
group of young soldiers had been "more or less invited by certain people
known to me, to try to kill me," but he declined to say who the alleged
plotters were.

In the past two weeks, Guei's administration has moved to have his two
main rivals for the presidency declared ineligible. Government lawyers
have told the constitutional court that Alassane Ouattara, a former
prime minister, may not run because his parents were not born in Ivory
Coast, as is required under a constitution that Guei's government
instituted in July. Ouattara says the allegation is false.

After a mutiny in July, Guei's government briefly accused Ouattara's
party of plotting a coup, and a party spokesman, Aly Coulibaly, voiced
concern today that Guei might try to blame Ouattara for today's attack.
Ouattara originally supported Guei but has said recently that the
general is moving Ivory Coast toward a military dictatorship. In
response, military officials have threatened to have Ouattara arrested.

Also, the government has begun criminal proceedings against Emile Bombet
of the formerly ruling Democratic Party, accusing him of corruption.
Those charged with criminal offenses cannot run for the presidency.


Guei said his government would not tolerate further disorder and would
deal severely with those causing unrest. He sought to assure foreigners,
who are leaving the country in large numbers, that the government will
protect them and their businesses. France, which maintains a garrison of
600 troops here, recently beefed up the force by several hundred and has
stationed a warship off the coast.

The assailants today used an armored vehicle to plow through the gates
of Guei's heavily guarded home as most of the presidential guard was
sleeping. The attackers fired into the compound before guards regrouped
and drove them out, officials said. The house was pocked by bullets, its
windows shattered. It is not clear whether Guei was in the house at the
time.

Throughout the morning, heavily armed troops blocked many of the city's
main roads and patrolled highways. Occasional shooting was heard until
about 10 a.m., and most businesses, stores and embassies remained
closed.


Diplomats and sources close to the military said Guei's position remains
precarious. The military, especially its leadership, is deeply divided
over Guei's candidacy, and the once-vibrant economy of the world's
largest cocoa producer is now a shambles. Foreign aid has dried up since
the coup; cocoa prices are at their lowest point in decades; and the
political uncertainty has dried up foreign investment.

Following a revolt by soldiers in July, Guei promised enlisted men
bonuses of about $1,600 each. But with the state coffers bare, in early
September Guei was able to make only a down payment of $220 to $380 per
soldier.

"The army is fragmented and discredited, and Guei has little support
there and less among the general public," a veteran diplomat said.
"There are military leaders who oppose Guei's candidacy, and there are
enlisted men who want the money Guei promised them but can't deliver.
Guei needs elections for legitimacy but can't win without massive fraud.
The economic situation is desperate. Who knows how Guei can survive?"

From NY Times

Ivory Coast Ruler Tells of Assassination Attempt
By REUTERS 

BIDJAN Ivory Coast, Sept. 18 - Ivory Coast's military ruler, Gen. Robert
Gueï, said today that he had escaped an assassination attempt at his
residence during the night but that two of his bodyguards had been
killed. 

General Gueï, who came to power after a coup last December, said a
presidential election would go ahead as planned on Oct. 22. 

"Some young military people were more or less invited by certain people
who are known to me to make an attempt on my life," he said at a news
conference. Military sources said as many as 10 people from both sides
had been killed. 

He declined to say who those "certain people" were, but colleagues of a
political rival, former Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara, said they
feared that the military government would use the attack as an excuse
for a crackdown on Mr. Ouattara. 

Communications Minister Henri César Sama said members of the
presidential guard were involved in the attack. He said the operation to
round up the attackers was continuing tonight.

Until the December coup, the first since independence from France in
1960, Ivory Coast had been a rare haven of stability in a violent,
volatile part of West Africa. 

The coup was preceded by a pay mutiny and months of ethnic tension,
whipped up in part by President Henri Konan Bédié, who was trying to
turn the country against Mr. Ouattara and was ousted in the coup. 

Some in the military are known to be unhappy with General Gueï's
decision to run for president in October. At the time of the coup he had
said that he had no interest in political power. 

U.N. Is Unsettled After 4 Recent Killings of Staff Workers
By CHRISTOPHER S. WREN
NITED NATIONS, Sept. 18 - The killing of a fourth United Nations refugee
worker in less than two weeks is prompting the United Nations high
commissioner for refugees to reassess how best to safeguard staff
members worldwide who come to the aid of refugees trapped in the vortex
of war, violence and chaos.

The latest victim, Mensah Kpognon, a Togolese who directed the refugee
agency's office in Macenta in southeastern Guinea, was killed on Sunday
by unidentified attackers who tried to rob him first. His colleague,
Sapeu Laurence Djeya, from Ivory Coast, was abducted and remains
missing.

The United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan, said in a statement
today that he was shocked by Mr. Kpognon's killing. Mr. Annan appealed
to West African leaders to do whatever they could to secure Ms. Djeya's
release.

The high commissioner for refugees, Sadako Ogata, was in Herat,
Afghanistan, when she learned of the attack. "Why are innocent, unarmed
humanitarians like Mensah Kpognon - a father of four children who was
simply trying to make the world a better place - being struck down in
the most brutal way?" she said in a statement released here.

Mr. Kpognon, 50, had worked for the United Nations refugee agency since
1994. He held a master's degree in urban and regional planning from the
University of Iowa.

On Sept. 6, three United Nations refugee workers - one from Puerto Rico,
one from Ethiopia and one from Croatia - were killed in their office in
West Timor by rioters suspected of belonging to a militia opposed to
independence for neighboring East Timor. The United Nations has since
withdrawn its staff from West Timor, where 120,000 refugees from the
eastern part of the island remain in camps.

Now, following Mr. Kpognon's killing and the abduction of Ms. Djeya, the
refugee agency began scaling back operations in Guinea, where 460,000
refugees, most of them from Sierra Leone and Liberia, are living. The
agency's nonessential employees were told to stay home, and dependents
of international workers were being evacuated to Guinea's capital,
Conakry.

"These killings over the last two weeks are going to prompt an overall
review of security worldwide," Ron Redmond, the refugee agency's
spokesman, said by telephone from its Geneva headquarters.

Since 1992, 50 internationally recruited civilians and 148 local
employees of the United Nations have been killed in line of duty. Thirty
of those, including Mr. Kpognon, worked for the refugee agency.

Of the 198 fatalities, 21 were caused by aircraft accidents, 107 by
gunshot wounds and 16 by bombings, land mines and other malicious acts.
Another 52 died in ethnic violence in Rwanda and Burundi, and 2 were
killed during a hostage episode.

Nicolas Bwakira, the director of the refugee agency's liaison office to
United Nations headquarters, said about 80 civilians have been killed in
Guinea, where tensions have risen between the government and refugees
camped on its soil.

Liberia has insisted that Guinea is giving refuge to rebels who have
been fighting the Liberian government forces since July.

The United Nations high commissioner for refugees has 5,000 staff
members assisting 22.3 million refugees and displaced persons in 120
countries.

Racism Alleged in S.Africa Military
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 7:50 a.m. ET

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) -- More than six years after the armed
forces defending the apartheid regime merged with those trying to
overthrow it, racism remains rife in the South African National Defense
Force, a commission of inquiry reported.

The panel was established by Defense Minister Mosiuoa Lekota after a
black officer opened fire a year ago on his white colleagues at the
Tempe military base near the central town of Bloemfontein. He killed
seven people before committing suicide.

``Racism does exist in the Defense Force,'' the commission said in an
interim report released Monday. ``It comes in the form of outright
abusive language based on culture origin, failure to empower people and
active attempts to reduce their responsibilities.''

In its report, the commission said it heard allegations that some
military police were instructed not to arrest whites who broke the law,
and some soldiers on guard duty were told not to search cars driven by
whites.

It also found that there was no clear plan to integrate the nation's
various military forces after South Africa's first all-race elections in
1994 and there were insufficient funds to pay for the transformation of
the forces into a single fighting unit.

Though blacks had been appointed to top positions in the defense force,
the bulk of officers remained white, said General Sipiwe Nyanda, the
Chief of the Defense Force.

The commission's final report is due by the end of the year.

The defense force has 80,000 troops.

Doubts Grow Over Burundi Cease - Fire
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 5:15 a.m. ET

BUJUMBURA, Burundi (AP) -- On the eve of meeting to sign a cease-fire,
doubts grew on Tuesday about the ability of Burundi's warring factions
to agree to an end to this central African nation's seven-year civil
war.

In an apparent rebuff to peace mediator Nelson Mandela, Burundi
President Pierre Buyoya said late Monday that he didn't expect a
cease-fire to be signed any time soon in his country.

A peace agreement was signed on Aug. 28 by Buyoya, Hutu parties and six
of the 10 Tutsi parties participating in the two-year-old peace talks.
But Mandela failed to get a cease-fire included in the agreement.

Mandela, the former president of South Africa, has summoned the holdout
parties, Buyuyo and the leaders of the two Hutu rebel groups to Nairobi
on Wednesday to sign a cease-fire, without which the rest of the
agreement cannot be implemented.

``In the minds of the organizers, I do not think that the meeting was
scheduled in order to sign a cease-fire, but to try and bring into the
peace process those who have not participated so far and to commit them
to stopping the violence,'' Buyoya told reporters in Bujumbura after
returning from Uganda, where he met with President Yoweri Museveni.

``There can be no cease-fire without negotiations,'' he said. ``I have
no illusions that a formal cease-fire will be signed.''

Buyoya, the heads of the holdout Tutsi parties and rebel leaders have
gone to South Africa several times to meet Mandela separately to work
out details before Wednesday's meeting in the Kenyan capital.

Speaking to reporters in Entebbe, Uganda, Buyoya said he was certain
that peace would ``eventually come'' to Burundi, despite the stepped up
rebel attacks since the Aug. 28 peace agreement. In the pact, the sides
agreed to integrate the army and set up a power-sharing arrangement in
the government and national assembly.

Burundi's Tutsi dominated army has been fighting Hutu rebels since 1993,
when Tutsi paratroopers assassinated Burundi's first democratically
elected president, a Hutu. A Tutsi elite has dominated the government,
army and business interests since independence in 1962, though they are
a minority. The conflict has claimed at least 200,000 lives.

Peace - Keepers Coming to Ethiopia
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 4:36 a.m. ET

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) -- The first 40 members of a 4,200-strong
U.N. peacekeeping force being deployed on the Ethiopian-Eritrean border
will be in place by the weekend, an official said Monday.

The military observers will be stationed on both sides of the disputed
border and will meet with local military personnel to prepare for the
arrival of the main force, said Col. Jukka Pollanen, chief of the U.N.'s
mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea.

A further 54 U.N. personnel will arrive in the next three to four weeks,
after which another 100 observers will go to the region to lay the
groundwork for the deployment of a battalion of peacekeepers.

By November, 2,200 peacekeepers should be in place, Pollanen said. No
set date for the arrival of the full 4,200 peacekeepers was given.

Ethiopian and Eritrea have been locked in a border war since May 1998.

After a renewed round of fighting broke out this May, the pair signed a
cessation of hostilities agreement on June 18 and agreed to the
deployment of U.N. peacekeepers. The agreement is less formal than a
cease-fire.

On Friday, the U.N. Security Council approved a 4,200-strong force to be
deployed in a 15-mile buffer zone on the Eritrean side of the border.

The U.N. force is to monitor the agreement and verify the redeployment
of Ethiopian troops from areas that were not under Ethiopian
administration before the war began.

Unrest Threat Looms in Ivory Coast
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 1:32 a.m. ET

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) -- Only the hardcore drinkers and socializers
remain at this clapboard drinking spot near the home of the Ivory
Coast's junta leader, where loyalist soldiers had driven back mutinous
attackers earlier in the day.

Many customers left after surly soldiers erected a barricade across the
street from this ``maquis'' -- the name given to Ivory Coast's open-air
meeting places where rich and poor alike go to share braised chicken and
quart-sized beers on low, rickety tables.

On Monday, customers are anxiously discussing the growing threat of
civil war, a coup or anarchy following the apparent assassination
attempt on military leader Gen. Robert Guei.

The attack rattled what has long been one of Africa's most stable and
prosperous nations and marked widening political and military divisions
ahead of the Oct. 22 presidential elections.

Banks, schools, cafes and nightclubs were all closed for the day
following the early morning shooting that left two presidential
bodyguards dead.

But at this maquis -- informally known as the Taxi Stand Maquis, after
the nearby rank of cabs -- the shooting has only added to the lively
thirst for talk and drink among the die-hard few. Customers vigorously
argue whether the clash was an attempted coup or a drama staged by the
military regime for political purposes.

The conversation is interrupted by a tall thin man wearing a wooly hat
and bedraggled jacket with the words ``Disarm all the chiefs of state''
daubed in paint on his back. The man, who had a half-full bottle of Coke
stuck in his belt, shouts above the pounding African pop music.

``Ivorians have lost their spirits from their heads and that is why they
are willing to die,'' he yelled. He does not give his name. ``The
military are getting ready to go to the land of the dead. Some are
already there.''

This brings a roar of laughter from one table, and starts a discussion
between the three young men about whether there is life after death.

``When I get there I will give you all a full report,'' says one of the
three, Lamine Dokui.

The waitress, 40-something Mariam Sanogo, dismisses the threat of war,
even though she heard the shooting early in the morning, which left the
president's villa pocked with hundreds of bullet holes. Guei said his
men were searching for the attackers and their political backers --
which many observers took as a veiled threat at one of his main rivals,
popular opposition leader Alassane Dramane Ouattara.

Sanogo believes Guei staged the attack as a pretext to arrest Ouattara.

Tensions have been flaring over whether Ouattara will be allowed to seek
the presidency. The issue came into question after a new constitution
was adopted in August that includes an amendment stipulating that both
parents of presidential candidates be ``of Ivorian origin'' -- a change
widely believed to be aimed at excluding Ouattara.

Ouattara insists his parents were Ivorian. His opponents say they were
from Burkina Faso.

Sanogo becomes silent when one of the glassy-eyed soldiers manning the
barricade across the street enters and orders a quart-sized beer. The
military man quaffs the drink in a few seconds and leaves without
paying. Nobody complains.

She then admits she would like to be somewhere else, particularly her
village in central Ivory Coast, near the official capital of
Yamoussoukro, a city of bureaucrats and a multi-million-dollar Roman
Catholic cathedral built by the country's deceased president, Felix
Houphouet-Boigny, with the proceeds from cocoa and coffee.

But it is in Abidjan, the country's commercial center, where work can be
found. And despite a declining agricultural economy and business slowed
by political instability in recent months, Sanogo remains optimistic.

``We Ivorians, we will think and say bad things, but when it comes down
to the day, we will be too afraid to cause too much trouble,'' Sanogo
says. ``I know Ivorians because I am one. So don't worry. Everything
will be all right.''

Ivory Coast Assassination Attempted
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 11:53 p.m. ET

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) -- The clatter of machine-gun fire erupted in
the streets of Abidjan on Monday as loyalist forces said they battled
back gunmen who stormed the home of Ivory Coast's junta leader in an
assassination attempt.

The pre-dawn gunfire marked widening political and military divisions
ahead of the Oct. 22 presidential elections and underscored fears of
growing instability in this West African nation, once a model of
prosperity and calm.

Two presidential bodyguards were killed in a two-hour gunbattle,
officials said. Four others were badly injured, they added, though it
was not immediately clear if they were attackers or presidential guards.

``Some young military people were more or less invited by certain people
known to me to make an attempt on my life,'' junta leader Gen. Robert
Guei said in a nationally televised broadcast.

Guei said he had been warned of a possible attack and that the attackers
were dressed as civilians.

Guei's private home, in an upscale neighborhood on the edge of downtown
Abidjan, came under fire by armed men, Information Minister Henri Cesare
Sama said on state radio.

``The counterattack was fatal, swift and hard,'' Sama said. Officials
said four of the approximate 20 attackers had been arrested.

Machine-gun fire persisted for hours around Guei's residence, and
sporadic bursts could also be heard in some neighborhoods across the
city into mid-morning.

State television showed Guei's villa scarred by hundreds of bullets, the
parking area filled with Mercedes, their windows blasted out by gunfire.
Three bloody prisoners, who had apparently been beaten, proclaimed their
innocence in the attack.

Military officials said the three prisoners were all from northern Ivory
Coast, a stronghold of support for opposition leader Alassane Dramane
Ouattara. They said a fourth was from neighboring Liberia. Other
suspects were being pursued.

The apparent foolhardiness of an attack by a few gunmen, and the
government's swift arrests, interrogations and public airing of the
evidence sparked skepticism. Some Ivorians suspected the attack was
scripted by the junta to give the government an excuse to crack down on
Guei's opponents.

Guei came to power in a Dec. 24 coup that toppled President Henri Konan
Bedie.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior military official said the
attackers expressed anger at Guei for declaring his candidacy in the
Oct. 22 vote.

On Sunday, Guei lashed out at his opponents in a televised speech,
warning: ``It's now the time of the sword.''

An official with Ouattara's party, the Rally of the Republicans, on
Monday accused the junta of issuing veiled threats against his party,
and said he was worried the government was using growing instability as
a pretext to arrest Ouattara.

Tensions have been flaring over whether Ouattara will be allowed to seek
the presidency.

The issue came into question after a new constitution was adopted in
August. A last-minute amendment stipulates that both parents of
presidential candidates be ``of Ivorian origin'' -- a change widely
believed to be aimed at excluding Ouattara.

Ouattara insists his parents were Ivorian. His opponents -- who appear
to be organized with junta support -- say they were from Burkina Faso.
Ouattara is a former prime minister who has been an advocate for Ivory
Coast's marginalized northern Muslims and large immigrant community.

From LA Times

Loyalists Say They Foiled Attempt on Life of Ivory Coast Junta Leader 
From Associated Press

     ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast--Loyalist soldiers said they drove back
mutinous attackers who stormed the home of Ivory Coast's junta leader
Monday in an assassination attempt. 
     The predawn gunfire marked widening political and military
divisions ahead of an Oct. 22 presidential election and underscored
fears of growing instability in this West African nation, once a model
of prosperity and calm. 
     Two presidential bodyguards were killed in a two-hour gun battle,
officials said. Four others were badly injured, they added, though it
was not immediately clear if they were attackers or guards. 
     "Some young military people were more or less invited by certain
people known to me to make an attempt on my life," junta leader Brig.
Gen. Robert Guei, who came to power in a December coup, said in a
nationally televised broadcast. 
     Officials said four of the approximately 20 attackers had been
arrested. 
     The apparent foolhardiness of an attack by a few gunmen, and the
government's swift arrests and public airing of the evidence, sparked
skepticism. Some suspected that the attack had been scripted by the
junta to give the government an excuse to crack down on Guei's opponents

From Baltimore Sun

Rwandan journalists accused of genocide role 

NAIROBI, Kenya - A United Nations court began the trial yesterday of
three Rwandan journalists accused of fanning the tiny African country's
genocide in 1994. 

Jean-Bosco Barayagwiza was the director of public affairs in the Rwandan
Foreign Affairs ministry in 1994, Hassan Ngeze edited a Hutu extremist
newspaper named Kangura and Ferdinand Nahimana was a director of Radio
Television Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM), which became known as "hate
radio." 

Rwanda's media played a large part in the 100-day killing orgy in which
about 800,000 people died between April and June 1994. Many RTLM
journalists were accused of preaching hatred and exhorting Hutus, who
make up about 85 percent of the population, to kill Tutsis. 


Ivory Coast loyalists stop assassination attempt 

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast - Mutinous soldiers attempting to kill Ivory
Coast's junta leader stormed his house yesterday, but were defeated by
loyalist forces. 

Two presidential bodyguards were killed in the gunbattle, which began
about 3:30 a.m., Gen. Robert Guei, who came to power in a December coup,
told reporters. 

Meanwhile, the human rights group Amnesty International said that groups
of Ivory Coast soldiers had been summarily killing unarmed suspected
criminals and mistreating lawyers and journalists since the coup. 

From Various African Sources

40% Babies Born in Mulago Hospital Are Abandoned There
New Vision  September 19, 2000 Ebenezer Bifubyeka

Professor J. K. Tumwine of Makerere University Medical School has said
40% of 1200 babies born in Mulago last year, were abandoned in the
hospital. He was presenting a paper on 'social problems among children
in Mulago hospital' to fellow Mulago doctors during a seminar at Lake
View Hotel, Mbarara on Saturday.

"The government should establish an appropriate procedure for
documenting and addressing the problems of abandoned children in Uganda,
Tumwine said. He said 60% of the abandoned children were thrown there by
their mothers. Tumwine said research indicates that poverty, neglect and
sex abuse force the women to abandon their kids.

"Many women are neglected after being made pregnant by irresponsible
men. Some teenagers accidentally get pregnant during premarital sex.
Some are housewives, who are too poor to cater for their babies," he
said. Tumwine said 16% of the abandoned kids in Mulago die there.

Tumwine said 84% of the abandoned children are baby girls, he said. He
said three percent of abandoned children have been found in Mulago
latrines. "Data will be recorded from every lady who comes to deliver
from Mulago so that risks of abandoning babies are minimised," he said.

Nigeria Battles Italy for Leadership
Vanguard Daily September 19, 2000 Lagos 

When Nigeria's Under-23 squad files out today against Italy in their
last group match at the Hindmarsh Stadium in Adelaide, two things will
run through their minds. That is leadership of the group and avenging
the 1994 World Cup loss to the Azurris in the United States.

With six points from two matches, the Italians will approach the game
with more composure having qualified for the quarter-finals via the six
points already garnered.

Italy's defence pattern of play could prove difficult for Bonfrere who
seeks a clear win to secure leadership of the group and avoid Chile
which has proved too hot with rampaging Ivan Zamorano who scored a
hat-trick against Morocco in their first game.

The junior Azurris, despite picking a qualification ticket may just want
to go for a victory to confirm their superiority over Nigeria since
1994. Nigeria's only victory against Italy in the last 13 years was the
1-0 win against them in the 1987 FIFA Under-17 Championship in Canada.

Bonfrere's headache would be the suspension of Celestine Babayaro whose
presence could give the Italians some scare. Babayaro's leadership of
the team has, however, been criticised by FIFA's Director of
Communication, Keith Cooper who said he lacks control of the team.

Already, Nigerians are complaining on Bonfrere's insistence on fielding
Azubike Oliseh who has been described as good midfielder as he neither
passes the ball well nor holds on to the ball to dictate the pace of the
game for his side.

However, with the expected understanding of the trio of Victor Agali,
Pius Ikedia and Julius Aghahowa, the Italians could have more to contend
with in their defence.

Bonfrere cannot contemplate losing today's game because a win for
Honduras over host Australia could draw both sides level on four points,
then the mathematics of goal difference would come into play.

NFA Chairman, Brig.-Gen. Dominic Oneya has earlier sent a warning to the
Dutch handler on the risk of toying with Nigeria's chances of
qualification and substitutions during play.

Nigerians, who are embittered with the crashing out of the Falcons would
be expecting nothing short of a draw from Bonfrere to ensure that the
Olympic defending champions are not disgraced out of the preliminary
stage. If they crash out, it would confirm the position of Copper and
most Nigerians that this present squad is a far cry from the set Nwankwo
Kanu led to the Olympic gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

Traders Wage Abortive Battle Over COMESA Pull Out
Panafrican News Agency September 19, 2000 Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 

Tanzanian traders have fought an unsuccessful battle to have the
government rescind its decision to withdraw from the Common Market for
Eastern and Southern Africa or COMESA.

While the government maintains the pull out was aimed to protect the
country from turning into a dumping ground for goods from other COMESA
states, the traders insist the decision was ill advised and
retrogressive to the country's regional economic interests.

"Most glaring, export opportunities to COMESA will cease, high import
duties and export tariffs will be instituted against Tanzania, leading
to a squeeze of the country's market," according to a report by the
Tanzanian Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture or TCCIA.

Other critics have claimed the pull out was politically motivated but
senior government officials, including President Benjamin Mkapa, have
slammed their fears, saying the withdrawal was purely for economic
reasons.

Industry and Trade Minister Iddi Simba said Tanzania stood to lose
little from pulling out of COMESA because of a trade imbalance that
existed between it and other members of the trading bloc.

Citing trade figures for 1999, which he termed unhealthy, he said the
country imported goods worth 175 million US dollars from other COMESA
states compared with exports worth only about 47 million dollars.

However, TCCIA's chairman, Aristablus Musiba, argues that the government
should have at least consulted the traders over the decision to quit the
massive integrated trading bloc, whose free trade area comes into force
October.

The COMESA secretariat in Lusaka, Zambia, recently compounded the
traders' fears after it directed member states to begin subjecting their
respective full national customs duties on goods originating from
Tanzania.

It said in a statement that Tanzanian trucks had also forfeited the
COMESA Carriers' Licence and vehicles from the country ferrying goods to
any member state of the regional body would not be permitted to load and
carry any goods from within the region.

"Any Tanzanian licensed trucker violating this condition shall be liable
to penalties prescribed in the COMESA member-state where the offence is
committed, which may include seizure and forfeiture of the truck,"
COMESA warned.

Simba has asked traders not to worry because the government would now
forge ahead with regional economic integration through the newly revived
East African Community and the 14-member Southern African Development
Community or SADC.

Also affirming that the country would join the SADC free trade area in
the future, the minister urged industrialists to increase efficiency and
take advantage of that body's preferential treatment arrangement.

"Less developed countries like Tanzania will be accorded more
preferential treatment within the SADC arrangement," he said.

Industry sources said Tanzania had already indicated to South Africa,
SADC's major economic force, what goods it was prepared to grant zero
tariffs to. These include agricultural inputs, transport-related
material, furniture, and medical items.

The Yellow Card Third Party Motor Vehicle Insurance Scheme, whose use is
extended to non-COMESA states, was one of the exceptions to the
country's pull out of the regional body.

The card is the equivalent of a policy of insurance issued in accordance
with the compulsory third party insurance laws of the country visited
and is accepted as sufficient compliance with the law.

Simba said Tanzania would also maintain its membership to the PTA
Reinsurance Company and the PTA Bank, by virtue of being a shareholder,
although it would not be allowed to borrow from the bank.

The bank provides traders with trade and project finance while
Reinsurance Company re-provides for re- insurance and also fosters
development of the insurance and reinsurance industry in the COMESA
sub-region.

Health Minister Offers No Challenge to Mbeki's AIDS Stance
WOZA Internet (Johannesburg) September 18, 2000 Marjolein Harvey
Johannesburg 

Not prepared to give a yes/no answer to whether HIV causes AIDS,
Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang refused to challenge
President Thabo Mbeki's stance on AIDS at a parliamentary media briefing
in Cape Town on Monday.

Mbeki said in a recent Time interview that "there will be a whole
variety of things that can cause the immune system to collapse. Endemic
poverty, the impact of nutrition, contaminated water . . .". "We remain
firmly of the view that our success will lie in our efforts to deal
simultaneously with the many facets that fuel this epidemic," said the
minister.

The minister also said that because nevirapine is not registered for use
in mother-to-child transmission of HIV, government will increase
"research on operational challenges of providing the drug for free in
all provinces".

"I wish to stress that it is very important for us to grasp some of
these international concerns [about nevirapine] so that we do not in our
passion and determination to act, start conveying messages that are
inaccurate," says Tshabalala-Msimang.

The minister saw the establishment of the South Africa National AIDS
Council and its task teams earlier this year as one of the highlights of
the health department's dealing with the pandemic. However, these
structures have been surrounded by local and international controversy -
they include so-called AIDS "dissidents" who question the link between
HIV and AIDS.

Despite continued pressure on government to take more decisive action on
HIV/AIDS, awareness programmes have worked, says the minister, referring
to indications that the youth is delaying first-time sex. Health, in
conjunction with the education department, will intensify life skills
programmes in schools within the next three years.

She also says that the demand for condoms has increased - 200 million
condoms were purchased and distributed last year by the public health
system. But the minister admits that the logistics are not yet as they
should be. The department of health is in discussion with the state
tender board to include stiffer penalties for suppliers that are not
delivering on time.

"We are worried by the high batch failures with some of the condoms. At
the same time this vindicates our decision to insist on the need for the
SABS to batch test to ensure quality. We cannot compromise on the
quality of the condoms we distribute," she says. The department of
health sees the two areas of STD treatment and condom supply as
important areas for private/public partnerships.

Referring to the link between HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases
(STDs), the minister points out that the incidence of syphilis in SA has
declined from 12% in 1995 to 6% in 1999.

"We have now finalised a strategy for the establishment of a countrywide
STD surveillance system so that we can aggressively deal with the
contribution that STDs make in fuelling the HIV epidemic," says the
minister. "Simultaneously, we have approached the Health Professions
Council to incorporate a module on STD treatment as a compulsory module
in the Continuing Medical Education programme."

The minister also says that in March this year, guidelines for the
treatment of opportunistic infections were released and training is now
taking place in the provinces. The department has also commissioned
research on the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on the public health
system, which will start in the next two months.

"This is particularly necessary for the completion of our strategy on
home- based care," says the minister. "Following our initial discussions
between the health and welfare Minmec's, the different provinces are
piloting different models of home-based care. Government is also trying
to increase its understanding of the HIV/TB interaction by extending
pilot sites to one site per province by the end of this year. Finally,
the 13th international AIDS conference in Durban in July was seen as a
success, despite controversy around the "difficult and emotive issues"
of mother to child transmission (MTCT), according to the minister.

"Government is committed to approaching this matter with great
sensitivity and is open to have discussions to try and find sustainable
solutions in the shortest possible time.

"We look forward to receiving the recommendations of the technical
discussions that the World Health Organisation will hold in October on
the evidence available on Nevirapine for use in MTCT. We particularly
look forward to their advice on the twin challenges of resistance and
breastfeeding," the minister says. Last week the Government
Communication and Information System placed advertisements in newspapers
nationally in an attempt to clarify the views of the minister and Mbeki
on the issue of HIV/AIDS.

Tshabalala-Msimang's appearance follows a row earlier this month with
Radio 702 talk show host John Robbie, who insisted she explain whether
she believed HIV causes AIDS.

It also comes after the leak of a document authored by the African
National Congress' own health committee calling on her and Mbeki to
acknowledge the link.

Obasanjo Begs On Fuel Scarcity
Vanguard Daily September 19, 2000 Ademola Adedoyin, Joe Ajaero, Emma
Ujah, Sina Babasola, and Dayo Johnson Lagos 

With the almost one-week fuel crisis crippling socio-economic activities
in different parts of the country yesterday, President Olusegun Obasanjo
sent an appeal to striking oil workers to call off their action so that
fuel might flow again at filling stations.

Oil industry watchers, however, insisted last night that the problem of
fuel shortage was more fundamental than the workers strike.

Dr. Doyin Okupe, Special Assistant to the President on Media and
Publicity said in the statement:

"President Olusegun Obasanjo hereby appeals to the workers of major oil
marketing companies who are currently on strike over remuneration and
their employers to urgently resolve their differences and restore normal
supplies to fuel stations across the country as quickly as possible.

"The President is very concerned about the great hardships which the
strike is causing ordinary Nigerians and its disruptive impact on the
economy which the nation can ill-afford, coming as it does in the wake
of the recent nation-wide strike over fuel price increases.

"The Federal Government is not a party to the ongoing dispute between
workers of the oil marketing firms and their employers but given the
critical importance of fuel supplies to the well-being of the national
economy, it can not remain disinterested in the face of the worsening
situation in various parts of the country.

"It remains the hope of government that the oil marketing companies will
act on their own to resolve the crisis and restore normal supplies in
the shortest possible time.

"However, government will continue to monitor the situation closely and
may have to intervene if it becomes necessary to do so to restore normal
fuel supplies to citizens."

Sources, however, noted last night that the government must put in good
shape all facilities at the jetties and depots, if uninterrupted supply
of products was to be ensured.

In Lagos, the situation was so acute yesterday that the ubiquitous black
market fuel workers could not even be found.

None of the major oil marketer's filling stations in Lagos Island and
Apapa sold fuel to motorists by yesterday afternoon. Stranded motorists
formed long queues at filling stations yesterday without any hope of
filling their empty tanks.

It was a hopeless wait.

At Ijora area of Lagos, trucks, which at normal times, crisis cross the
city discharging petroleum products, formed a long line: their owners
had since abandoned them owing to products scarcity.

Although the present crisis is mainly as a result of petroleum products
shortage and faulty power plant at the Atlas Cove Jetty, the strike by
oil workers over improved conditions of service which gathered momentum
yesterday is expected to compound it.

The two workers unions - NUPENG and PENGASSAN met last night to proffer
solution to the crisis.

Negotiation between the unions and their management is expected to
commence this morning with a view to finding a solution to the workers'
grievances.

The national secretariat of the Petroleum and National Gas Senior Staff
Association (PENGASSAN) had last week pronounced the strike suspended.

This, however, appeared not to have gone down well with some of the
workers who protested at the secretariats of NUPENG and PENGASSAN.

The workers agreed that PENGASSAN had no business calling off an
industrial action it did not initiate in the first place.

Today's meeting which commences at 10.00 a.m. at Total's offices is
expected to be followed by another meeting at NUPENG secretariat where
union officials would brief workers on the outcome of negotiation with
oil marketing companies management.

It is at this meeting, described last night as an emergency zonal
meeting that the workers will decide whether call off the industrial
action or not.

Chairman of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers
(NUPENG) South-West zone, Comrade Salmon Oladiti yesterday in Ibadan
blamed major oil marketers for the acute shortage of fuel being
experienced in some parts of the country.

Comrade Oladiti stated emphatically that NUPENG should not be blamed for
the fuel scarcity in the country.

His words: "NUPENG is not on strike, the scarcity being experienced in
some parts of the country is the handiwork of oil dealers.

"It is a deliberate artificial scarcity caused by the major marketers,
our men are working. Out of the several major oil marketers in the
country only two - AP and National are working."

Comrade Oladiti who also doubles as the Oyo State Chairman of NUPENG
said that the union had set up a separate monitoring team to assess the
fuel situation in the state.

"We don't believe in the monitoring committee set up by the Oyo State
Government. We have sent our people to filling stations to monitor those
hoarding the products," he said.

According to him, "I have just spoken to the secretary general of our
union, Comrade Akinlaja, and the position is that NUPENG is not on
strike."

Corroborating the position of the chairman, secretary of the union in
Oyo State, Comrade Wale Afolabi said "NUPENG will not do anything that
will disrupt the peace of Obasanjo's government but the rights of our
members are very paramount to us. We will negotiate because this is
democratic rule, we are no longer in a military era, so we can fight
with the government."

The NUPENG scribe said that the union was solidly behind AP and National
Oil companies for not being part of the artificial scarcity.

Acute shortage of fuel in Ibadan reached a crisis point yesterday as
hundred of commuters were stranded at bus stops.

In the entire city, not more than 10 filling stations had fuel
triggering a hike in transport fares.

Hundreds of workers, in private and public sectors were stranded at bus
stops while those who could afford to walk do so to their various
offices.

Many civil servants reported late in their offices yesterday as the fuel
shortage bit harder.

When Vanguard visited the State Secretariat Complex, Agodi around 8.30
a.m, most offices were empty. While the Federal Secretariat Complex,
situated Ikolaba area of Ibadan looked deserted.

Transport fares within the city has gone by 100 per cent. At trip from
Challenge to Mokola which normally cost N20 is now N40 while Dugbe to
Ojoo formerly N25 is now N50.

Business and commercial activities were also totally paralysed yesterday
in Ondo State.

Endless queues were recorded at filling stations across the state even
as fares went up astronomically. Civil servants resorted to walking.

The story was not different in Northern and Eastern parts of the
country. Kaduna, Kano, Sokoto and Maiduguri continued to suffer from the
pang of acute fuel shortage in the last week just as Owerri, Aba, Enugu
and other.

Burundi's Buyoya, Museveni threaten military action
New Vision September 19, 2000 Entebbe 

Presidents Yoweri Museveni and Pierre Buyoya of Burundi have accused
Democratic Republic of Congo President Laurent Kabila of sponsoring
violence in war-torn Burundi. They threatened sanctions and military
action.

Addressing a joint news conference after a five-hour closed-door meeting
in Entebbe, Museveni said, "We met here to see how to implement the
Burundi peace agreement we signed in Arusha on August 28, and how to
convince the groups of Kabila to sign or isolate them and deal with them
in a harsh way if they don't sign."

Museveni is the chairman of the Regional Initiative on the Burundi Peace
Process. The two leaders will attend a mini-summit of regional leaders
in Nairobi as a follow-up to the August 28 Arusha peace deal.

Museveni said, "Most of the Burundi parties signed. A few others signed
with some reservations and some two or so armed groups which are
supported by Kabila are the only ones which did not sign. They have no
right to cause problems for the people of Burundi because there is now a
good formula for peace in Burundi.

"We are going to Nairobi tomorrow for more talks. I hope those Kabila
groups will come. If they don't come, we always have medicine for such
problems regionally," Museveni said. He repeatedly described former
South African President Nelson Mandela-brokered deal as "the best
solution for Burundi."

Speaking in French, Buyoya said, "The search for peace in a situation of
armed conflict is very difficult for us. Peace will come back to Burundi
very soon because we have reached a very important stage in the process.
Like President Museveni has said, we have found a compromise political
solution on how the Burundi of tomorrow will be organised.

"Now we have to bring in all the parties into the negotiations
especially the armed factions. This is the other aspect of the problem
we have to solve. What we are going to deal with in Nairobi is to make
sure that all armed factions come to the table."

Responding to a question that Kabila was good at frustrating peace
efforts in Burundi and the region, Museveni said, "Kabila will frustrate
himself. You can't frustrate so many people. That is a law of nature.
You can't have Kabila alone defying the whole world. It is not
possible."

He said the Kabila groups did not have a good reason for frustrating the
peace process: "This agreement is very good. It transfers power to
anybody who wins a majority vote in an election. At the same time, it
provides safeguards for all people in Burundi. The army is balanced.

"Nobody who wants peace in Burundi can say this is not a good agreement
unless they have ulterior motives. What shall we do if they don't come?
There are means like sanctions. We can cause problems for them also,"
Museveni said.

Buyoya's delegation included the Minister in-charge of the Peace
Process, Ambrose Niyonsaba and justice minister Therance Sinunguruza.
Museveni's team included state ministers for foreign affairs Alfred
Mubanda, for defence Steven Kavuma and other officials.

In the morning, Museveni was accompanied by Vice-President Speciosa
Kazibwe, UPDF Chief of Staff Brig James Kazini, Prisons commissioner
Joseph Etima and other officials to meet Buyoya who landed at Entebbe
Airport at 10.16am. Buyoya walked through a guard of honour mounted by
the UPDF. He flew to Nairobi soon after the talks.

Nigeria to Receive $100m World Bank Assistance for Environmental
Management
Vanguard Daily September 19, 2000 Umar Yusuf Yola 

Nigeria is to receive a $100 million (one hundred million dollars) World
bank assistance to develop a long term vision and action plan on
micro-watershed and environmental management related issues.

Under the programme, a project entitled "Nigeria: micro-waterhed and
environmental management programme" would be implemented in phases, with
pilot programmes in Adamawa, Bauchi, Niger, Benue, Enugu and Imo states.

Leader of a World Bank group delegation, Miss Hindu who disclosed this
in Yola said the project to be funded through the International
Development Association (IDA) credit scheme would be interest free, but
will attract only service charge of point 75 percent (0.75%) payable in
30 to 40 years with a moratorium of 10 years. It takes cognisance of
poverty reduction and enhance decentralisation of the rural development
process, having much impact on poverty alleviation and reduction, of
resources degradation in the selected micro-watersheds.

According to the group leader, negotiation and signing of the programme
agreement is expected to be held in January 2001 between the World bank
and the federal ministry of environment as the leading ministry, while
those of water resources and rural development would also be involved.

Miss Hindu who led members of the group on a courtesy call on Governor
Boni Haruna also disclosed that implementation of the programme at the
state levels would be through multi ministerial teams, while communities
will identify investment to be funded and taking responsibility for
implementation, operation and maintenance.

Responding, Governor Boni Haruna promised that the state government will
co-operate with the World bank and other similar agencies in fighting
what he described as alarming environmental degradation across the
country.

The Governor promised to provide the basic requirements for the smooth
take-off of the pilot programmes in the state

Musoke Out of Sydney Games Without Playing
New Vision September 19, 2000 

Mary Musoke departed from her third Olympic Games without playing her
second preliminary round match after her Russian conqueror of Sunday
beat her Hong Kong opponent of tonight to secure leadership of the
round-robin group.

Irina Palina beat Sim Ah Song in straight sets to qualify for the first
round with her second win in as many matches. The Russian had beaten
Musoke also in straight sets and the Ugandan's continued stay depended
on a win for Song. That renders tonight's match merely a classification
contest.

Coach Tom Kiggundu said it was unfortunate Musoke had not been able to
play the second game as a contest. "It is very disappointing for things
to end like this," Kiggundu said. Musoke had been mesmerised by Palina's
use of an anti-spin bat on Sunday. The Ugandan was left missing the
table as she tried to cope with the equipment.

Her exit takes to six the number of Ugandans eliminated from the Games.
Swimmer Joe Atuhairwe, Margaret Tumusiime in the archery and boxers Abdu
Tebazalwa, Sande Kizito and Adam Kassim are all out.

Kassim Goes, Too
New Vision September 19, 2000 

On a night that Aussie darling Ian Thorpe was beaten in the pool and a
Ugandan boxer got the blue corner for the first time here, you felt
another first was about to happen - Adam Kassim beating medal favourite
Tulkunbay Turgunov in a featherweight contest.

Not quite! Kassim lost 12-3 on points to become the third member of the
fabled boxing team to fall out in the first round of competition and
send the rest of the Ugandan team into a reflective mood.

Back in the Games Village, a group of team members watched together as
Kassim joined Abdu Tebazalwa and Sande Kizito, victims in the red corner
on the previous two days, on the sidelines. All three, ditto flyweight
Jackson Asiku who makes his entry today, were medallists at the All
Africa Games last year and came here with a welter of expectation.

But after last night's bout, the watching Ugandans looked at each other
with few answers forthcoming. During the impasse, athletics manager
Moses Twesigye-Omwe walked away to spend a moment in solitude.

"We did not know what to say," Twesigye-Omwe said. "This could affect
the other members who have not seen action yet, but I have confidence
that the runners will overcome the disappointment."

The athletics programme, which has five Ugandans, starts Friday. Atlanta
bronze medallist David Kamoga (400m), Julius Acon (1500m), Pascal Owor
(800m), Alex Malinga (marathon) and Grace Birungi (800m) are the members
of the team.

All Africa Games silver medallist Kassim had elected to stand up to the
threat presented by Uzbekistan's Turgunov, ranked fourth in the world,
and was showing signs of giving the experienced European a fight early
on. The Ugandan, punch-economy personified, went into the second round
1-0 down and, braving the open combat there, was 3-1 down when it ended.

It was in the third round that the more vigorous Turgunov broke away as
he pummelled the Ugandan with a variety of shots. Yet, at that stage,
Kassim could have been on level terms but his trajectory was faulty,
denying him several points from punches he had actually got on target
but were not strong enough to score.

"I got the man some times but I don't know about the scoring system
here," Kassim said. "I trained hard for this and was ready for the
fight. It's very disappointing."

Turgunov pulled further away in the fourth round as he looked like the
only one out there who could score, but the 12-3 scoreline took his
Ugandan opponent by surprise.

"I thought I had won," Kassim said. "The coach told me 'you have won'
and I was shocked to hear otherwise."

Manager Vincent Byarugaba said it was time Ugandans changed their
training to conform to the scoring system of the Games.

"We train a series of punches, but only a few can score at this level,"
Byarugaba said. "We have to limit our range if we are to compete at such
events."

Next up, Asiku against Arian Lerio of the Philippines tonight.

Sudan to Free Ugandan Kids
New Vision September 19, 2000 Kezio Musoke Kampala 

Sudan has agreed to work towards the release of about 6,000 Ugandan
children abducted by the Joseph Kony rebels since 1988.

This is contained in a communiqué signed on Sunday in Canada between the
First Deputy Prime Minister, Eriya Kategaya and the Sudanese foreign
minister, Mustafa Osman Ismail.

Other signatories to the communiqué, issued at the end of the
International Conference on War-Affected children in Winnipeg, are
Canada and Egypt.

The agreement urges signatories to take measures to engage in dialogue
with the Lords Resistance Army, (LRA) which will allow for amnesty. It
also provides for reconciliation and rehabilitation of abducted
children.

Unconfirmed reports indicate that 16 children will this week be
repatriated from Sudan. Canadian foreign minister Lloyd Axworthy said
Canada would pay transport costs and provide US$670,000 for
rehabilitation of the children. Kategaya, in a statement to the
ministerial meeting, said Uganda and Sudan welcome the commitment to
work under the auspice of the Carter Center and the Nairobi Accord of
December 1999.

Sudan's Foreign Minister said Canada's involvement in freeing the
children would help because it had good relations with both countries.

Liberia's Attire Rated Among the Best -As Nancy Johnson Wins First Gold
Medal
The News (Monrovia) September 18, 2000 Ena K. Harmon Sidney 

The 27th Olympiad Games were officially declared opened on Friday,
September 15 in Sydney, Australia with 110,000 spectators watching the
ceremonies in the Olympic Stadium and 4,000 journalists from all over
the world covering the event.

For Australians (about 20 million in population) who could not gain
access to the Olympic Stadium, watched the ceremonies on giant-size
television screens posted throughout the city. An estimated 4 billion
people watched the ceremonies around the world via the magic of
satellite television.

The opening ceremonies began at 7:00 p.m. Australian time and lasted for
three hours plus with Julie Anthony leading the Sydney Symphony
Orchestra in singing the Australian National Anthem. Flanked by
Australia Governor General, an eye for Queen Elizabeth, the
International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Juan Antonio Samaranch
and Prime Minister John Howard watched the ceremonies with smile beaming
on their faces.

First on display was a demonstration depicting days of Ancient Greece,
as was performed by horse riders. Then came the demonstration depicting
the cultural diversity of Australia.

The moment most viewers around the world waited for began with the
countries parading before the 110,000 capacity-packed Olympic Stadium.

Athletes and their officials from more than 200 countries attending the
games dressed in their respective cultural attires participated in the
parade before the lighting of the Olympic Torch.

The heart-touching moment of the parade was the two Koreas (South &
North),unified through sports, paraded under a joint flag, but are
competing separately. Even Iran and Iraq were present despite their
political differences in the past. Palestine and Israel were in the
parade as well and individual athletes from East Timor joined the parade
because their country is yet to get independence from Indonesia.

Liberia, represented by athletes from the Liberia Track and Field
Federation (LTFF) was rated among the nations with the best costumes.

Dressed in an overall blue gown with red star design and white
underclothing, the Liberians were led in the parade by Kouty Manwein, a
US-based athlete.

As the 110,000 spectators in the Olympic Stadium television viewers
watched the parade, their appetite to see the Olympic Torch lit grew
higher. Then came the moment as Australia's own Katie Freeman dressed in
white jump-suit moved up the stand to where the torch was buried under a
pool of water.

A magnificent architectural piece of work, that is designed in a way
that allows water to flow into the stadium. As soon as the torch was
lit, it began to move out of the pool of water finding its way to the
top of Olympic Stadium. it was a scene where flames came out of water
without being quenched.

It was an opening ceremonies befitting a scene in the new millennium, as
the IOC made no mistake in selecting Sydney as the city to host the 27th
Olympiad Games.

The Games will be held at four venues. They are Sydney Olympic Stadium
which provides a seating capacity of 110,000 and it is venue for the
opening and closing ceremonies; the Olympic Park which is situated at
Homebush Bay, about 14 kilometers west of the city center; Darling
Harbor and East & West Sydney.

Meanwhile, the first Olympic gold medal was won by Nancy Johnson of
United States in the 10m Air Raffle competition. Ian Thorpe won the
first gold medal for the host country. He won gold in the men's 100m
freestyle swimming competition.

In a related development, the women soccer tournament continued on Sep
16 with host nation Australia and Sweden playing to 1-1 draw, while
Germany whipped Brazil, 2-1.

Today, September 17, world champions and Olympic gold medalists, United
States of America will face China in Melbourne, while Norway will take
on Africa's only representative, Nigeria in Canberra.

Surprisingly, Inflation Rate Nosedives to 0.9%
Post Express (Lagos) September 18, 2000 Chijama Ogbu Lagos 

There is something wrong with the country's inflation rate these days.
It continues to tumble against the general tide of prices out there in
the market.

The latest official publication by the Federal Office of Statistics
(FOS) puts the rate at 0.9 per cent for the month of May.

Many Nigerians do not believe these rates, they argue that if the
galloping price changes have been put in check, that it should reflect
remarkably in their purchases. But they believe that it has not been the
case.

There had always been contentious over the veracity of inflation rates
in the country. In the past, there had even been disagreements between
government agencies on the true inflation rates. The most obvious case
happened in 1995, when the Federal Ministry of Finance put the rate at
different level from what was published by FOS, the official government
agency responsible for tracking and computing data in the country.

And even the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had a different figure.

At a time, even the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) also
disagreed with FOS figures.

FOS however has maintained that it is the only body in Nigeria with the
requisite manpower, instruments and technical know how to conduct a
reliable measurement of inflation in the country. The former Director
General of the body, Mr. O. Oladejo, in an interview with The Post
Express had explained that while other bodies conduct their studies in
few towns, FOS study spreads all over the country.

He also addressed the issue of why people hardly believe low rate of
inflation against the background of what they perceive of ever high
prices. Oladejo explained that the rates are derived from percentage in
prices over two periods, saying that prices may remain high during the
two periods, but what is measured in the variation. He also said that
since it is average price variation that is measured, the changes in the
prices of certain items may be tempered by the stability even fall in
the prices of others. According to him, what brings about confusion in
the entire scenario is that often Nigerians see inflation more or less
from the perspective of stable food items, which often have witnessed
leaps in prices.

Notwithstanding these explanations however, the figure of 0.9 per cent
inflation rate in Nigeria is something phenomenal. From the Olympian
height of 72.8 per cent in 1995, inflation has glided down to an all
time low level of 0.9 per cent. Not even in the advanced countries of
US, Britain, Germany, Japan and their allies is inflation that low.

That raises the question of how realistic these figures are.

A negative inflation rate in a country like Nigeria is really puzzling.
All the major factors that spawn high inflation are present in varying
degrees in the country, while those that induce low price levels are
hardly available. Yet the rates without logic continually tends towards
low ends.

Low productivity in the economy still hamstrung with infrastructural
decadence, high prices of imported goods arising from a paper weight
exchange value of naira, high costs of domestic manufacturing arising
from low productivity of basic services (electricity, water supply,
transport and communication), and low agricultural productivity are
parts of the supply-side factors which should combine to produce high
rates.

On the demand side, factors such as increase in money supplied to the
system, especially the parastatals accounts which until recently
leveraged liquidity levels with custodian commercial banks, increases in
wages and salaries, beginning first from the government of General
Abdusalami Abubakar, governments high profile spending both on recurrent
and capital projects, free-falling value of naira and low interest rates
in savings which all prevail in the economy should all combine to
precipitate high inflation.

The CBN has as the apex regulator of the financial system in the economy
applied various measures to maintain macroeconomic stability. It had
tried though unsuccessfully to raise bank rates through moral session,
it tried the options of open market operation, cash reserve ratio, and
all that to define the level of liquidity in the system as means of
stabilising prices. But all these have not successfully arrested the
runaway prices of goods.

Even the government despite its desire to stabilise prices, have often
taken steps that fuel prices instability. Budgetary deficit by simple
economic logic indices inflation, and Nigeria's budgets have been in
deficit for several years running. Income taxes have been cut to propel
high consumer spending, and government's social expenses are high.
Expected result; high inflation.

But incidentally that has not been so.

On the physical perspective, domestic production has been low and volume
of imports with attached imported inflation high, wages have continued
to rise in tandem with changing times.

All these aggregate to make it difficult to believe that the figure of
0.9 per cent inflation rate is possible.

The national pattern of inflation arises when the increase in demand for
goods and services cannot be matched by increase in supply, thus causing
the pressure of demand on available goods and services to rise. In
another words, if the supply fails to match demand, prices of affected
goods would rise-leading to inflation.

While low inflation is desirable as it ultimately translate to high
living standards for indigenes, moderate inflation may be useful for
countries where long lasting depression has forced down consumers'
purchasing power. The result in organic order is low sales for
manufacturers low capacity usages for the industries. In such situation,
moderate inflation could spur more productivity as manufacturers would
sell more and strive to satisfy demand.

Nigeria obviously does not need negative inflation atleast for now.
However, the question remains: Is the inflation really as low as the FOS
figures show. If so, how long will it take to percolate down to people?

Swaziland's HIV-Positive Seek Safety in Prestige
African Eye News Service (South Africa) September 18, 2000 Fanyana
Mabuza & Jowie Mwiinga
Mbabane, Swaziland 

Some unfeeling politicians want them to be branded. Others want them
sterilised. Although Swaziland has one of the highest incidences of
HIV-infection in the world, people with HIV/Aids continue to suffer
vilification and threats.

Now the country's HIV-positive people are fighting back - by seeking
security in prestige.

The Swaziland Aids Support Organisation, (SASO) said this week it had
embarked on a campaign to recruit prominent and influential people to
join it.

Organisation president Hannie Dlamini said prominent figures would
enhance the profile of the organisation and reduce the level of stigma a
squeamish society attaches to people with HIV/Aids.

"We would like to have political and prominent figures joining us as
many of people look to them for guidance," Dlamini said. "With them in
our fort, even if they are not HIV-positive, we would make a lot of
people aware that HIV/Aids is not an affliction of cursed people, but a
social menace," Dlamini said.

An estimated 22 percent of Swaziland's population of about one million
people is believed to have HIV, the virus that leads to Aids.

The government forecasts that over 300 000 people will have died, and
life expectancy dropped to 41 years, by 2016 as a direct result of
HIV/Aids.

Life expectancy currently stands at 58 years.

"Prominent people would, through their influence, convince people to
come together against the disease. People tend to follow their community
leaders," Dlamini said.

Dlamini is the first Swazi to have gone public about having HIV, the
virus that causes Aids, in 1990. The organisation was formed four years
later.

Initially SASO was intended merely to be "a pressure valve" for people
with HIV/Aids by, among other things, helping them secure medical and
psychological support.

"As the years went by, we saw the need to open up to all members of the
general public, whether they had HIV/Aids or not," he said.

The organisation has had some modest success: it has 85 members. Of
those, 10 have disclosed that they are HIV-positive.

Members reveal their HIV-status only if they want to.

Dlamini said there were indications that the organisation was winning in
its campaign to involve the broader society. "We do not have big shots
like politicians at SASO yet, but recently we have been joined by
policemen and policewomen, teachers, soldiers and even priests," he
said.

From CNN

South African unions slam Mbeki over economy, AIDS
September 19, 2000 Web posted at: 12:00 a.m. EDT (0400 GMT) From staff
and wire reports

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- The powerful Congress of South African
Trade Unions (COSATU) challenged President Thabo Mbeki's economic
strategy to his face on Monday and criticized the government's confusing
messages regarding AIDS. 

Mbeki's economic strategy -- which focuses on boosting growth by
lowering inflation, interest rates, the budget deficit and government
spending -- "has failed to achieve any of its main targets," said Willie
Madisha, the president of the congress. "Instead, since 1997, we have
witnessed massive job losses, weakening economic growth and declining
investments." 

Madisha insisted that the government reassess its economic policies, but
he reserved some of his strongest criticism for what is widely regarded
as the government's confusing messages on HIV/AIDS. 

Mbeki's policies on HIV/AIDS, which afflicts 10 percent of South
Africa's 43 million population, have been controversial since he cited
personal Internet research last year questioning the predominant view
that AIDS is caused by the HIV virus. 

Health minister agrees with Mbeki 
Mbeki's beliefs are apparently shared by members of the Cabinet, as
well, as his health minister on Monday said that she also questions
whether HIV alone causes AIDS. 

"There are other things we must be looking into in order to have a
comprehensive response," Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said
during a news conference after attending parliamentary briefings. 

A medical doctor, Tshabalala-Msimang said neither she nor Mbeki had ever
denied a link between HIV and AIDS, but would not say whether she
believed there was a causal relationship. When asked whether people not
infected with HIV could die of AIDS, the minister replied, irately, "I
don't know." 

Madisha: Evidence 'irrefutable' 
In a recent interview published in Time magazine, Mbeki was asked
whether he was prepared to accept that there is a link between HIV and
AIDS. Mbeki answered, "No." 
  
COSATU President Madisha says the government's policy on "the link
between HIV and AIDS is confusing"    
 
That led to the union denouncement Monday: "The current public debate on
the causal link between HIV and AIDS is irrefutable, and any other
approach is unscientific and unfortunately, likely to confuse people,"
Madisha said. 

He also criticized the government for what he called its "unwillingness
to provide anti-retroviral drugs free of charge, especially to
HIV-positive women to prevent mother-to-child transmission of the
virus." 

Following the Time interview, the government ran ads in South African
newspapers, saying that Mbeki's "No" was meant in a generic or
non-specific way and insisting that "neither the president nor his
Cabinet have ever denied a link between HIV and AIDS." 
President lashes back at critics 
There had been some expectation that the president would use his
appearance at the union congress -- a nationally televised event -- to
put to rest once and for all the intense debate raging over the cause of
HIV and AIDS. 

  
Mbeki said his critics "want to set the national agenda in their own
interest"    
 
Instead, he used the occasion to attack his critics, slamming the
"beneficiaries of our racist past" for the rift in the political
alliance between COSATU, the South African Communist Party and Mbeki's
ruling African National Congress. 

Listing diseases that afflict South Africans, he said: "Those who want
to set the national agenda in their own interest want us to forget about
84 percent of these killer diseases, and merely concentrate on the
remaining 16 percent. We must not allow ourselves to be misled." 

Burundi rebels, government set to begin talks
September 18, 2000 Web posted at: 10:13 a.m. EDT (1413 GMT)

NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) -- Two of Burundi's largest rebel groups were
prepared on Monday to send delegations to the Kenyan capital, where
talks set to begin Wednesday are aimed at ending a seven-year civil war
between Hutu rebels and Burundi's Tutsi-led government. 

Jerome Ndiho, Brussels-based spokesman for the political and military
wings of the Forces for the Defense of Democracy (FDD) -- considered
Burundi's largest rebel group -- said on Monday that his group would
send a delegation to Nairobi but declined to say whether the FDD's
leader, Jean-Bosco Ndayikengurukiye, would be part of the delegation. 

South African Deputy President Jacob Zuma announced on Sunday that
another main Hutu group, the Forces of National Liberation (FNL),
planned to participate in the talks. 

Wednesday's meeting would mark the first direct talks between the
government and rebels, although the rebels have met with former South
African President Nelson Mandela, the talks' mediator. 

Burundi President Pierre Buyoya and his Ugandan counterpart, Yoweri
Museveni, chairman of the regional initiative on the peace process, were
meeting on Monday in advance of the talks. 

Rebels' demands remain unchanged
More than 200,000 people, most of them civilians, have been killed in
seven years of fighting between the rebels and government forces. 

Burundi's government and military, seven Hutu parties and 10 Tutsi
parties signed a power-sharing agreement last month for the war-torn
central African nation. But the agreement did not include a cease-fire. 

Buyoya and his government have insisted on a cease-fire before signing a
peace accord with the FDD and the FNL, but the FDD has held that it will
not agree to a cease-fire until an accord has been signed. 

Ndiho, speaking from Brussels, said the FDD's position remains the same
as it has been since July 1999. He said the delegation's aim would be to
remind the Burundian government of conditions the rebels want met before
they enter into direct negotiations to end the civil war. 

The rebels have demanded that so-called "regroupment camps" -- where
tens of thousands of mostly Hutu refugees were herded by the mostly
Tutsi army as a counter-insurgency measure around the Burundian capital
-- be dismantled and their inhabitants allowed to return home. 

The rebels also want several prisoners they deem "political" released
from Burundian jails. 

Hutus fight against decades of Tutsi rule
Burundi has been ruled by the Tutsi minority since the central African
nation gained independence from a Belgian-administered U.N. trusteeship
in 1962. 

Sporadic violence burst into the open in October 1993 when Burundi's
first democratically elected president, Melchior Ndadaye, was
assassinated in an attempted coup. Ndadaye, also Burundi's first Hutu
and first civilian head of state, had been elected in June 1993. 

The next few years were particularly tumultuous for Burundi's
government. Burundi's National Assembly appointed Cyprien Ntaryamira,
another Hutu, president in 1994. 

Ntaryamira joined all-party peace talks held in Tanzania. But two months
after his appointment, a plane carrying Ntaryamira and Rwandan President
Juvenal Habyarimana was shot down as the two returned from Tanzania to
Rwanda following a negotiating session. 

The true identity of the assassins has never been established, although
most believe the perpetrators were targeting Habyarimana and not
Ntaryamira. 

Pierre Buyoya has been Burundi president since 1996, when he wrested
power from President Sylvestre Ntibantunganya, who had taken over after
Ntaryamira's death. 

Trial of Rwandan 'hate radio' organizers adjourned
September 18, 2000 Web posted at: 4:08 p.m. EDT (2008 GMT) From staff
and wire reports

ARUSHA, Tanzania (CNN) -- The international genocide tribunal of three
prominent Rwandan media figures adjourned Monday after the defendants
filed motions to disqualify two of the judges hearing the case.

Lawyers for defendants Jean Bosco Barayagwiza, Ferdinand Nahimana and
Hassan Ngeze argued that Judge Navanethem Pillay would be prejudiced
against them because she recently heard the case of a Belgian journalist
accused of crimes against humanity.

The defense also said Judge Erik Mose could be biased because he
recently traveled to Rwanda with Pillay, and met with current President
Paul Kagame and visited a memorial to the more than 500,000 people
killed in the 1994 massacre.

Barayagwiza, Nahimana and Ngeze are standing trial before the
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, which is based in Tanzania,
on charges of conspiracy and incitement to commit genocide and crimes
against humanity.

Barayagwiza was the director of public affairs in the Rwandan Foreign
Affairs ministry in 1994 and established Radio Television Libre des
Mille Collines (RTLM), which became known as "hate radio." Nahimana was
the director of RTLM and Ngeze edited an extremist Hutu newspaper.

The three are accused of using the media to whip up ethnic hatred
against Tutsis and moderate Hutus and publishing lists of names of
people who should be killed.

"You cockroaches must know you are made of flesh. We won't let you kill.
We will kill you," RTLM declared in a typical broadcast in the weeks
before the genocide began on April 7, 1994. 

In June, Belgian journalist Georges Ruggiu pleaded guilty to direct and
public incitement to commit genocide for urging the extermination of
Tutsis while working for the RTLM. He was sentenced to 12 years in
prison.

Ruggiu is expected to testify against the three defendants.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------
"You cockroaches must know you are made of flesh. We won't let you kill.
We will kill you" - 1994 RTLM radio broadcast 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------

Tribunal goes after genocide organizers
The United Nations established the ICTR to prosecute leaders of the
genocide between April and June 1994. 

About 50 people have been indicted, including a number of high-ranking
political and military officials and community leaders.

Eight people have been convicted. The biggest conviction to date is that
of former Prime Minister Jean Kambanda, who was found guilty in 1998 of
involvement in the genocide and sentenced to life imprisonment. He is
appealing his sentence.

In another of ICTR's courtrooms , a trial began on Monday of the three
so-called Cyangugu suspects, accused of leading the genocide in the
province of that name.

On trial are former Transport Minister Andre Ntagerura, the former
prefect of Cyangugu, Emmanuel Bagambiki and local military commander
Lieutenant Samuel Imanishimwe.

120,000 face trial in Rwanda
Tens of thousands of people are being held in overcrowded Rwandan jails
awaiting trial by local authorities.

Nina Bang-Jensen, executive director of the Coalition for International
Justice, said Rwanda's legal system was decimated by the genocide,
leaving only a handful of lawyers to handle the huge number of cases.

She said the country is working on a "sort of triage system" to try the
most serious charges first and has set up a less formal system based on
traditional rules to handle other cases.

Human rights groups say 3,000 suspects have been tried since genocide
trials began there in late 1996. About 400 people have been sentenced to
death while 500 others have been acquitted. Twenty-two were executed in
1998.

Ivorian leader, Gen. Guei, escapes assassination attempt
September 18, 2000 Web posted at: 10:09 AM EDT (1409 GMT)

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (Reuters) -- Ivory Coast's military ruler, General
Robert Guei, said Monday he had escaped an assassination attempt at his
residence during the night but that two of his bodyguards had been
killed. 

"Some young military people were more or less invited by certain people
who are known to me to make an attempt on my life," Guei told a news
conference. 

He declined to say who these "certain people" were. 

Guei, who came to power after a coup last December, said that a
presidential election -- the first in a series to restore civilian rule
-- would go ahead as planned on October 22. 

He said the shooting at his residence had begun at about 1 a.m. (0100
GMT) Monday. 

Witnesses had reported sustained firing from about 3 a.m. (0300 GMT)
from the vicinity of Guei's house just outside the central Plateau
business and administrative district. 

Continuous firing was heard for around 45 minutes and short bursts of
occasionally heavy firing could still be heard from near Guei's
residence until at least 5 a.m. (0500 GMT). 

"There were a couple of big bangs, mortars or grenades or something,"
one man who lives nearby said of the initial attack. "The firing was
quite concentrated." 

Gates of residence broken open
A senior military source said the assailants had forced the driver of an
armored vehicle guarding the residence to break down the gates and had
gone inside. 

Communication Minister Henri Cesar Sama confirmed on state radio that
armed assailants had managed to get inside Guei's residence in the early
hours but added: "Fortunately, loyalist forces quickly got the upper
hand." 

Guei said two of his personal guard had been killed in the attack. Army
sources said as many as 10 people had been killed from the two sides. 

Workers at the PISAM private clinic in Abidjan said five wounded
soldiers had been brought in. Their wounds were not life-threatening. 

There were some reports of gunshots in other parts of Abidjan, including
near the president's office in the Plateau district and near the
headquarters of state television, but witnesses said they had not heard
heavy gunfire. 

Sama told state radio that armed elements were still at large in the
city. He vowed that they would be shown no mercy. 

Sporadic bursts of gunfire could still be heard at mid-morning in the
Cocody district near the area of Guei's residence and one person in a
home in the area was wounded by a stray bullet. Two loud explosions were
heard at one point. 

Paramilitary gendarmes were seen halting traffic for periods and firing
at targets off the main road circling the lagoon on which Abidjan sits. 

Calm restored
By midday (1200 GMT) calm had returned. 

Sama advised citizens to be cautious if they went outdoors. Although
many people had started traveling to work as normal at first light,
around 5:30 a.m. (0530 GMT), the city was much quieter than usual by the
afternoon. 

Military and paramilitary forces were on the streets in large numbers,
checking identity papers. 

Abidjan is the main city in the West African country, which is the
world's biggest cocoa producer. 

All the ministries and embassies are located in Abidjan. The United
States, British and Dutch embassies warned their citizens to stay
indoors. 

Guei took power in a military coup in December 1999, which followed a
pay mutiny. There have been bouts of military unrest since then, often
over pay, although Guei has also suggested political motives. 

He said in December that he was not interested in power but just wanted
to "sweep the house clean" after the corruption and ethnic division that
characterized the ousted government of President Henri Konan Bedie. 

However, he has since decided to stand as a candidate in the
presidential election and some members of the military are known to be
unhappy with that. 

At least six members of Guei's personal bodyguard have been arrested in
the past two weeks and charged with threats to the security of the
state, although those charges have since been reduced, diplomats said. 

Sudan government to get tough with protesters
September 18, 2000
Web posted at: 9:59 AM EDT (1359 GMT)


KHARTOUM, Sudan (Reuters) -- Sudan's Islamist-led government has decided
to prosecute protesters who have staged sometimes violent demonstrations
in several towns in the past week, an independent newspaper reported on
Monday. 

Al-Rai al-Aam said President Omar Hassan al-Bashir had called a cabinet
meeting to hear a report by Interior Minister al-Hadi Abdalla on riots
in al-Fasher and Port Sudan. 

"The council of ministers directed the concerned quarters to take
decisive measures to ensure the stability and safety of citizens and
their belongings," the daily said. 

It gave no details of the measures, but quoted Culture and Information
Minister Ghazi Salah al-Din as saying legal action would be taken
against "any person found to have been involved in the recent riots and
sabotage in some of the states." 

On Sunday, a secondary school pupil died and 15 people were hurt,
including five policemen, in Kosti, 270 km (170 miles) south of
Khartoum, in clashes between police and demonstrators, the
pro-government Akhbar al-Youm newspaper reported. 

Kosti Province Commissioner al-Tayeb Abdel-Rahman Mukhtar told the paper
that demonstrators, mostly students, had burnt at least six vehicles and
an Agriculture Ministry store, and had attacked the Agricultural Bank of
Sudan and the Bank of Khartoum. 

He said the protests had been planned because they began in six places
at once after "plotters" spread rumors that compulsory national service
personnel had killed four students. He said 15 people had been arrested.


Protests about school fees and shortages of water and electricity have
swept several towns, including al-Fasher, Port Sudan, Nyala and
el-Obeid, in the past eight days. 

The government has blamed the opposition Popular National Congress
party, headed by former Parliament Speaker Hassan al-Turabi, for
instigating the unrest. 

Turabi's party has denied any involvement and accuses the government of
arresting 63 of its members across the country. 

 <<News September19, 2000.doc>> 

Will Cusack
Legislative Advocacy and National Outreach
National Summit on Africa
1819 H Street, NW, Suite 810
Washington, DC  20006
(800) 934-3418 phone
(202) 861-8645 fax
[log in to unmask]

		     
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