---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sat, 21 Jul 2001 14:40:42 -0700
From: Charlotte Utting <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [WASAN] FW: WEST AFRICA NEWSLETTER, vol. 1 no. 18,
-We are back! Thank you
----------
From: Liberia Institute of Journalism <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
Date: Fri, 20 Jul 2001 19:20:20 GMT
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: WEST AFRICA NEWSLETTER, vol. 1 no. 18, -We are back! Thank you
International Center and Liberia Institute of Journalism
WEST AFRICA NEWSLETTER
Reporting on Human Rights, Democracy &Development
Vol.1 No.18, July 20, 2001
Please send this newsletter to anyone who would be interested!!!
CONTENTS
1. EDITOR’S COMMENTS
2. RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY
3. REFUGEES
4. HEALTH/ENVIROMENT
5. DEVELOPMENT
6. MEDIA/TECHNOLOGY
7. GRANTS
8. WORLD BANK PIPELINE PROJECTS
9. ANNOUNCEMENTS
10. SUBSCRIBE WEST AFRICA NEWSLETTER
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http://www.kabissa.org/lij -Go to our website and subscribe for your free
copy today.
EDITOR’S COMMENTS
http://www.kabissa.org/lij
WEST AFRICA NEWSLETTER(WAN),suspended publication in April because
government security agents
confiscated the computer that linked us to the Internet through our network.
While that problem
was being solved our weekly newspaper “The Journalist” was banned by the
Ministry of
Information, not because of stories we reported, but rather a letter from
Human Rights lawyer
Benedict Sannoh, who alleged that he had problem with the Institute’s
management. (We had
asked the honorable Human Rights Lawyer to serve as Board Chairman of the
Institute-publisher
of the Journalist newspaper). According to the Minister of Information,
since there were
internal squabble, for this reason he banned the publishing of the paper.
Many people in Liberia, including the Press Union felt it was wrong for the
Ministry to ban the
paper upon the order of an individual. The Press Union called it a
“procedural error on the
part of the Ministry.” Though the confiscated computer has been returned,
but the paper
remains banned. The question that still linkers how could a lawyer that gets
thousands of
dollars of grant from American agencies to foster the rule of law in
Liberia, join the
government to close down a newspaper?
Though the paper is closed but the Institute is functioning very well. The
Institute just ended
a symposium on Human Rights and Political reporting and dialoging with civil
leaders and
Decision-makers. The National Endowment for democracy funded the symposium
and the Human
Rights workshop. The resolutions from the Symposium have been published as a
“Media Journal”.
The Journal printing and publishing was funded by World Press Freedom
Committee. Anyone
wanting a copy can e-mail us for a free copy. We only ask that you cover the
postage, which is
$10.00. All you do is just send the money through Western Union and email us
with the
information. The Journal will give you an insight of the Liberian media.
2. RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY
PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM CHILD LABOUR
http://www.allafrica.com/stories/20010780016.html
A two-year project aimed at protecting children from "the worst forms of
child labour" was
officially launched on Monday in Senegal's capital Dakar, a UNICEF official
told IRIN on
Tuesday. The project aims to prevent children from being placed in abusive
situations such as
hard labour and sexual exploitation, and to rehabilitate those who are
already victims of such
practices.
The project also seeks to reinforce cooperation and strengthen the
capacities of ministries,
NGOs and other agencies involved in the project to enable them to care
better for the minors.
The launch coincided with the release of statistics covering the period
1993-2000, which
reveal that some 400,000 minors aged between six years and 18 years are in
"vulnerable and
risky situations" in Senegal. They include 34,000 young girls who work as
domestics for between
US $3 and US $6 per month, and 100,000 minors employed in farming and
fishing. Children
displaced by fighting in the southern area of Casamance are also part of the
target group.
The statistics, released by UNICEF, the International Labour Organization
and others agencies,
reveal that many of the children suffered from traumas and psychological
disorders and that
they often lived away from their families.
Italy's development agency, Cooperazione Italiana, is the principal donor,
contributing US $1.5
million to the project.
3. ENVIROMENT/HEALTH
GLOBAL ACCESS CYBER CAFÉ: E-MAIL: [log in to unmask]
"TREE PLANTERS" IS OUT!!!
The July 2001 edition of the Tree Planting and Forest Protection Society's
Newsletter
"The Tree Planters" is now ready for circulation. Since the document is
bulky, (140
kilobytes) we are requesting you to please inform us if you are willing to
receive it
by e-mail.
We consider it unwise to send by e-mail to you, such a bulky document
without first
asking for your approval and acceptance. Be assured that the TREE PLANTERS
is full of
interesting articles. A brief statement of the Contents is as follows:
Contents
1.0 Editorial - The Disappearing Tropical Forest
2.0 The Tree Planting and Forest Protection Society
3.0 Tree Planting Review Worldwide
4.0 TPFP News From Schools and Colleges.
5.0 History of Iwasi and Ecotourism.
6.0 TPFP and Tree Planting Promotions
7.0 Tourism, Environmental Protection and
Education Embraced at IWASI.
8.0 Eco-Tourism Explained!!!
9.0 Children's Day 2001 Celebrated At Iwasi
Ecotourist Village
10.0 Book Review: The Timber Cruisers by W. E.
(Bill) Endert
11.0 TPFP gets Recognition from LAPO.
12.0 Nigeria's President Olusegun Obasanjo Combats
Desertification.
13.0 About Us.
Please, if you will prefer to receive the glossy printed format of the Tree
Planters
by post, send your postal address to us by return mail.
The Tree Planting and Forest Protection Society (TPFP), provides on
request,
anywhere in Africa, adequate outreach education and capacity building for
rural
communities and impart unto them, basic forestry skills necessary for them
to uphold
their "Forest Rights" thereby protecting their forests and environment. TPFP
Society
also creates awareness amongst youth/students in forest protection and tree
planting
by establishing societies for the purpose of tree planting and forest
protection
within Schools and Colleges, thereby encouraging the use of students in tree
planting.
The role of TPFP Society as an enabler/facilitator is to guide, focus and
provide
support to rural communities in tree planting and forest protection all-over
tropical
Africa. Infact, the membership of the Society is Free but members are
encouraged to
donate generously towards the work of the Society such as books, teaching
aids, etc.
The Newsletter-"The Tree Planters", is sent to members free of charge every
quarter
by e-mail or surface post.
The TPFP is an initiative dedicated to the memory of Professor Larry Roche
(a
dedicated Forester who served Africa) to encourage rural dwellers in
tropical Africa
to plant trees. TPFP Society seeks for development news and networking in
the field
of tropical forestry, reforestation, a forestation, and forest protection.
For
example TPFP has been invited to the First International Symposium and
Exposition on
Ecotourism and Sustainable Development of the Amazon Basin Countries -
AMAZON ECOTOUR
2001, taking place in Manaus, Amazon, Brazil from the 24th to 27th of
September 2001.
Dr S. K. Sanwo, the Founder/CEO is also billed to give a lecture, at the 4th
National
Research Network Meeting and Conference of the Children in Agriculture
Programme
(CIAP), holding at The University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Nigeria, very
soon.
TPFP is seeking funding for the "Tree Planters" Newsletter. All assistance
in the
production of this Newsletter and the work of TPFP in Nigeria and Africa as
a whole,
will be happily appreciated.
4. DEVELOPMENT
WEST AFRICA HUMAM RIGHTS CONFERENCE
http://www.allafrica.com/stories/200107180016.html
A two-week conference on human rights and democracy attended by about 30
officials from six
French-speaking West African countries opened in Cotonou on Monday, Beninese
state television
reported.
The workshop, organised by the National University of Benin, aims to retrain
public officials,
including teachers, lawyers, judges, security officials and journalists.
Benin's minister of
higher education and scientific research, Dorothey Sossa, emphasised the
importance of the
training, saying it enabled various social stakeholders in African countries
to learn about
5. REFUGEES
PRESSURE MOUNTS ON LIBERIA
http://www.allafrica.com/stories/200107180011.html
Pressure has been mounting on the government of Liberian President Charles
Taylor in connection
with its alleged diamonds-for-guns deals and other forms of support for
Sierra Leone's
Revolutionary United Front (RUF) despite claims by Monrovia that it has
severed all ties with
the rebel group.
Canada announced on Monday that it had implemented regulations putting
sanctions against
Liberia into effect in keeping with the UN Security Council's Resolution
1343 on Liberia. The
resolution, adopted on 7 March, came into effect on 7 May. It bans all trade
in diamonds with
Liberia, prohibits top Liberian government officials, their spouses and
their associates from
travelling, and reconducts an existing arms embargo. Canadian Foreign
Minister John Manley said
Liberia's government had not complied with the Security Council's demands.
Also on Monday, three European NGOs published an open letter to the DLH
Group, a Danish trading
company, calling on it to stop selling Liberian timber to Europe.
DLH imports into Europe logs from the Liberia-based Oriental Timber Company
and the Royal
Timber Corporation. Greenpeace, Global Witness and Nepenthes noted that a UN
panel had found
last year that the Liberian logging industry was playing a key role in
helping arms
trafficking. Logging companies have also been accused of stripping Liberia's
forests while
providing few benefits to the areas in which they operate.
6. MEDIA
JOURNALIST ASSAULTED BY GAMBIAN SOLDIERS
http://www.allafrica.com/stories/200107190222.html
In an 18 July 2001 letter to Gambian President Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh, IPI
expressed its concern
over the recent assault of a journalist by members of The Gambian military.
According to information provided to IPI, on 12 July, Omar Bah, court
reporter with "The
Independent" newspaper, was attacked by soldiers when he attempted to enter
the Yundum Army
Barracks, Banjul. Bah had gone to the barracks in order to report on the
court martial
proceedings instigated against Landing Sanneh, a former state guard
commander at State House.
Prior to the attack, on 6 July, Bah had visited the barracks to attend the
opening proceedings
of the court martial but, upon arriving, had been told by Lance Corporal
Fullo Jallow that
journalists were not allowed to cover the legal hearings. Subsequently, Bah
was ordered to
leave the barracks with immediate effect. Upon hearing of the incident,
Major Sang Pierre
Mendy, the officer in charge of coordinating the court martial, telephoned
"The Independent" to
apologise for Bah's treatment. He made it clear to editors at the newspaper
that Bah would be
allowed to cover the proceedings.
On 12 July, Bah returned to the barracks and reported to the Military Police
Unit (MP Unit) in
order to confirm his presence. He also asked to speak to Mendy. At the MP
Unit, he was invited
to proceed to the court martial but upon going there was asked by Jallow to
return to the MP
Unit. Once there, the lance corporal proceeded to launch a tirade of abuse
at the journalist,
telling him, "All that I have to tell you is to leave this place immediately
or I will kick
your ass."
Bah protested the decision and asked Jallow to contact Mendy. Reacting to
this, Jallow grabbed
the journalist's shirt and began to push him out of the camp. Upon reaching
the road, outside
the barracks, the journalist and the lance corporal were joined by another
soldier who
suggested that Bah be locked up in a cell. Bah was then taken to a small
room inside the
barracks, where three more soldiers joined them. The group of soldiers then
proceeded to
assault Bah. Fortunately, further attacks on Bah's person were prevented by
the intervention of
Bailo Kahn, a sergeant at the barracks.
In reaction to the assault, Mendy called Jallow before him and told the
lance corporal that he
had acted without orders and that journalists were allowed to cover the
proceedings. Ousman
Sillah, the lawyer acting for Sanneh, also condemned the act. "It is crazy,
I don't know why
they are behaving like this," he said. Commenting on the assault, the
president of The Gambia
Press Union, Demba Jawo, said, "This type of situation is definitely not
acceptable in a
civilised nation like The Gambia."
Although IPI accepts the fact that the attack on Bah was carried out by
soldiers acting without
orders and that soldiers of higher rank tried to ensure that the journalist
had the right to
attend the court martial proceedings, IPI is still troubled by the attack.
In the opinion of
IPI, the attack discloses a degree of antipathy towards the media; a view
that might be
ingrained in The Gambian army as a whole. The media need to be present at
court proceedings in
order to judge their fairness. Any attempt to preclude the media would be
harmful to
transparency in The Gambia.
7. WORLD BANK PIPELINE PROJECTS
WORLD BANK ADOPTS NEW, SOUNDER ENVIRONMENTAL STRATEGY.
http://www.worldbank.org
The World Bank on Wednesday said it had adopted a new environmental strategy
that would ensure
that development in poor countries does not come at the cost of pollution
and degradation of
natural resources, Reuters reports.
The bank said the new strategy was the result of two years of meetings
between the lender and
stakeholders on all continents. "The strategy reflects a meeting of minds
coming from different
perspectives," Ian Johnson, president of the bank's Environmentally and
Socially Sustainable
Development Network, said in a statement.
"One of the key lessons from our experience and consultations is that we
have to consider the
environment as a part of development rather than a self-standing agenda,"
added Kristalina
Georgieva, director of the World Bank Environment Department.
Johnson said that developing countries are increasingly concerned about the
effects of
pollution and the impact that declining natural resources have on health and
on their prospects
for growth. Between five and six million people in developing countries die
of waterborne
diseases and air pollution every year, while the impact of environmental
degradation on
developing economies is as high as 4 to 8 percent of GDP, the bank said.
8. AFRICA, TRADE AND BUSINESS
AFRICA, TRADE AND POVERTY
http://www.worldbank.org
G7 should focus on reducing global inequality, says World Bank president
ahead of Genoa summit
July 16, 2001—In a speech today to the UN's Economic and Social Council,
World Bank President
James D Wolfensohn called on G7 leaders to take steps to open their markets
to developing
country products and meet their commitments to devote 0.7 percent of their
annual GDP to
overseas aid. Currently the average figure for rich countries is 0.22
percent with some
countries like the United States falling well below by devoting only 0.1
percent of annual GDP
to development aid.
Wolfensohn said that if all wealthy countries were to grant complete market
access to
developing countries, the exports of the least developed countries would
expand by more than 11
percent, with significant benefits to the poor. Saying that actions will
speak louder than
words, Wolfensohn said that it was time for rich countries to rise to the
challenge of Africa -
- the only continent in the world where poverty is on the rise.
"As African leaders flesh out the New African Initiative in Lusaka,"
9. GRANTS
MONSANTO, 800 N. Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63167
The Ford Foundation, 320 E. 43rd St., New York, New York
10017—http://www.fordfound.org
Foresight Foundation, 2605 Pecan Dr., Temple, TX. 76502
W. K. Kellogg Foundation, 1 Michigan Ave., Battle Creek, MI. 49017-4058
10. ABOUT US
The WEST AFRICA NEWSLETTER, is published by the Liberia Institute of
Journalism, corner of
Board and Johnson Sts., Monrovia, Liberia. Telephone number: (231)
226888-229014, e-mail:
[log in to unmask], Website: http://www.kabissa.org/lij This project is funded
by the
International Center-731-8th street, Washington, DC. 20003. We do accept
articles and
announcements for publication free of charge. You can address all
correspondence to the editor
Vinnie Hodges at [log in to unmask]
---
WestAfrica-Newsletter is hosted on Kabissa - Space for change in Africa
To post, write to: [log in to unmask]
Website: http://www.kabissa.org/lij
Next WASAN meeting is Wednesday, July 25, Safeco Jackson St. Center, 23rd S and S Main, Suite 200, Seattle
7:00 PM WASAN business meeting
7:30 PM Program: "MORE THAN JUST A FUNKY BEAT; A primer on some of the African music to be enjoyed at WOMAD."
We usually meet the last Wednesday of the month. For a calendar of local Africa events see www.ibike.org/africamatters/calendar.htm . To post a message: [log in to unmask] To subscribe sending a message to [log in to unmask] To unsubscribe send a message to [log in to unmask] . All past postings are archived at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wa-afr-network
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