---------- 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 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 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 Your use of Yahoo! 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