---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sat, 13 Apr 2002 15:07:54 -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.2, No.2, April 12, 2002 ---------- From: [log in to unmask] Reply-To: [log in to unmask] Date: Sat, 13 Apr 2002 16:33:04 -0500 (CDT) To: [log in to unmask] Subject: RE: WEST AFRICA NEWSLETTER, Vol.2, No.2, April 12, 2002 International Center and Liberia Institute of Journalism WEST AFRICA NEWSLETTER Reporting on Human Rights, Democracy & Development Vol. 2 No.2 April 12, 2002 Please send this newsletter to anyone who is interested!!! CONTENTS 1. EDITOR’S COMMENTS 2. RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY 3. REFUGEES 4. HEALTH/ ENVIRONMENT 5. DEVELOPMENT 6. MEDIA/TECHNOLOGY 7. ELECTIONS/WEST AFRICA 8. WORLD BANK PIPELINE 9. ANNOUNCEMENTS 10. ABOUT US XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 1. EDITOR’S COMMENTS The world greatest feastival kicks off in June, in Japan and South Korea. Africa is being represented by five teams: Nigeria, Tunisia, South Africa, Senegal and Africa's best Cammeroon. Watching their test practice matches since the end of the Nations Cup in Mali, only Cammeroon and Senegal have been a little impressive. If Africa is to be a contender in this year's World Cup tournament her five representatives need to buckle down and play soccer at world class level. Being trashed by a little known football team like the Georgians that flocked South Africa 4-1, will not get us too far. Africa has the chance to win of one the two greatest prizes in soccer that is up for grabs. Hayatou running his bulldozer over Blatter in the FIFA's election or Africa bringing home the crown jewel--"the World Cup". For us at WEST AFRICA NEWSLETTER (WAN), we will settle for either one. Our pray is that both team MUST do well on both fields of play. We hope that FIFA employs her fair play rule during the election and not Robert Mugabe's Style or the Mickey Mouse elections that took place in Florida that brought George Bush to the White House. We say, go Africa and Hayatou all the way! 2. RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY Another Rabat Summit in the Making As MRU Foreign Ministers Meet http://www.allafrica.com Foreign Ministers of the Mano River Union member states are reportedly holding talks in Rabat, the capital of Morocco, to lay ground works for a second meeting among the heads of state of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Foreign lenders cut Ivory Coast's debts http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/business/newsid_1923000/1923385.stm The Paris Club of rich lending nations has agreed to restructure $2.26bn (£1.57bn) of the Ivory Coast's external public debt. Nigeria: Military Massacres Unpunished Obasanjo's Human Rights Progress Called into Question http://www.hrw.org/press/2002/04/nigeria040102.htm (New York, April 1, 2002) -- The Nigerian government has so far failed to conduct any investigation or prosecution into the massacre of more than two hundred unarmed civilians by the Nigerian army in Benue State in October 2001, Human Rights Watch charged in a report published today </reports/2002/nigeria/> 3. REFUGEES Exploiting Refugees http://allafrica.com/stories/200204100267.html A RECENT disturbing report on the sexual exploitation of two Sierra Leonean women refugees at a camp in Liberia once again underscores how human beings can take advantage of the helplessness of others for their selfish ends. According to the touching report from the refugee transit camp in Zemmi Liberia, two Sierra Leonean women complained that they were subjected to excruciating experiences the worst of which was their being compelled to provide sex for humanitarian workers when they ran to the neighbouring country to escape the ravaging civil war in their country. 100 Diamond Pieces Found With 'Blood Diamond' Suspects Sidiq Asemota, Head, Judicial Desk,Banjul http://allafrica.com/stories/200204050642.html According to authoritative sources Pieter Diorvan, a Belgian and Ibrahim Turay, a Sierra Leonean who were arrested recently by Gambian security personnel were found with 100 pieces of diamond. The two suspects were apprehended last month by the security personnel on a tip- off. WFP in Urgent Appeal for Drought Victims http://allafrica.com/stories/200204030540.html The World Food Programme launched an urgent appeal for US $7.5 million on Tuesday for 250,000 Mauritanians most affected by drought, the agency reported. Refugees Settle Into New Sites http://allafrica.com/stories/200204120458.html The Sierra Leone government has approved the gradual transformation of sites built for returning refugees, into settlements for Liberians fleeing fighting in their country, UNHCR said in its weekly update 5-11 April. 4. HEALTH/ENVIRONMENT Second Polio Immunisation Round Ends http://allafrica.com/stories/200204100491.html A second polio immunisation round targeting children under five years has ended in eight districts in the north and east of Sierra Leone, Alhassan Seisay, coordinator of the national Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) at the Ministry of Health, said on Wednesday. Second World Assembly on Ageing http://www.who.int/home-page/ The Second UN World Assembly on Ageing will explore the implications of rapid population ageing worldwide. Particular attention will be given to the importance of maintaining health and quality of life as individuals age. WHO will unveil a new roadmap for designing healthy ageing policies. Who Conference On Health And Disability http://www.who.int/home-page/ 17-20 April 2002 / Trieste, Italy The International Conference on Health and Disability will address how best to classify the functioning, health and disability of people around the world. Experts will discuss the conceptualisation and measurement of population health and disability and new definitions of disability. 5. DEVELOPMENT THABO MBEKI'S NEW PARTNERSHIP FOR AFRICA'S DEVELOPMENT: BREAKING OR >SHINING THE CHAINS OF GLOBAL APARTHEID? *** By Patrick Bond Patrick Bond's discussion paper is available in its entirety at: ><http://www.fpif.org/papers/nepad/index.html> (Editor's Note: Launched in October 2001, the New Economic Partnership for >Africa's Development (NEPAD online at http:// www.nepad.org) aims to establish a >"new framework of interaction with the rest of the world, including the >industrialized countries and multilateral organizations" as a means of >putting Africa on a high-growth path. As a project of the African Union, >it tries to articulate a regional development strategy. The NEPAD outlines >a reciprocal set of commitments between Africa states, donor governments, >and the private sector as a framework for managing Africa's integration >into the world economy. New FAO Project to Tackle Illegal Fishing http://allafrica.com/stories/200204100396.html A programme to combat fish poaching implemented by the Food and Agriculture Programme, is to target illegal trawling in West African countries including Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Senegal and Sierra Leone, the United Nations agency reported on Friday. Chinese President Arrives Nigeria Tomorrow http://allafrica.com/stories/200204130036.html President Jiang Zemin and his wife, Wang Yepin, will arrive Abuja, Nigeria on tomorrow at the start of a three-day state visit. They will be received by President Olusegun Obasajo and his wife, Chief (Mrs.) Stella Obasanjo 6. ELECTION/WEST AFRICA Transparency At the Core of Presidential Elections http://allafrica.com/stories/200204110495.html Mali has mandated two new bodies to ensure transparency in presidential elections due later this month, and allocated equal time on state radio and space in the government newspaper for each candidate, officials in the capital, Bamako, said on Wednesday. Some 24 candidates are vying for the presidency. UN Publication On Elections And Human Rights http://allafrica.com/stories/200204110527.html The UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) launched publications on Wednesday designed to help police officers uphold human rights issues during the upcoming elections. Peace And Conflict Resolution Centre Proposed http://allafrica.com/sierraleone/ A Sierra Leonean NGO, Current Evangelism Ministries (CEM), aims to open a peace and conflict resolution centre in the capital, Freetown, if it receives adequate funding, according to a project proposal IRIN received. 7. MEDIA/TECHNOLOGY African Journalist of the Year Finalists Emerge http://allafrica.com/stories/200204120054.html Tunde Okoli With Agency Reports, Lagos The finalists of the seventh CNN African Journalist of the Year Competition, held in partnership with the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) and sponsored by a number of pan-African companies, were announced on Monday by Dr. Doyinsola Abiola, Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief, of the rested Concord Press Nigeria titles. Abiola is the chairperson of the independent panel. World Health Organization's Journalism Fellowship Programme For more details log on to the below listed webpage. http://www.who.int/inf/en/fellowship_programme.html April 10-12, Rooms X and X bis 22nd session of the Intergovernmental Council of the International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC) http://www.unesco.org/bpi/eng/current_events/2002/index.shtml The Council will discuss recommendations to reform its working methods. A debate will be held on April 11 (3 p.m.) "Is there still a need for the IPDC - and if yes, why? Media development: what direction will it take and what role will the IPDC play in it?" For more than 20 years, the IPDC has focused on the most pressing priorities in the communication field in developing countries, promoting press freedom, and media independence and pluralism. Since it was founded, the IPDC has raised some US$85 million for more than 900 projects in over 130 developing countries 8. WORLD BANK PIPELINE PROJECT World Bank and IMF Support Additional Debt Relief for Burkina Faso Under Enhanced HIPC Initiative Contact Person: Anthony Gaeta (202) 473-1798 [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> http://www.workdbank.org WASHINGTON, April 12, 2002 -- The World Bank's International Development Association (IDA) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreed this week that Burkina Faso has taken the steps necessary to reach its completion point under the enhanced framework of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. Burkina Faso becomes the fifth country to reach this point, joining Bolivia, Mozambique, Tanzania and Uganda LACK OF WATER HOLDS AFRICA BACK. http://www.worldbank.org An international study to be released today warns that there can be no progress on Africa's social, political or economic challenges without immediate action to address acute water shortages on the continent, the Toronto Star (Canada) reports. In a report produced by the Accra Water Conference, in advance of a summit in the Ghanaian capital next week, leaders of the industrialized nations are warned that countries can never escape poverty when people are subsisting on 10 liters of water per day. Making Monterrey Work For Africa New study highlights dwindling aid flows, mounting challenges http://www.worldbank.org/developmentnews/stories/html/041102a.htm April 11, 2002—Africa urgently needs rich nations to deliver on their promises of more generous aid and wider trade opportunities to reverse the cruel effects of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, civil wars, and persistent low growth rates, the World Bank said Wednesday. 9. ANNOUCEMENTS Launching of the Asante Akim Multipurpose Community Telecentre (AAMCT) This is the first major project we embarked on after the GhaCLAD 2000 conference. The AAMCT is the first solar-powered multipurpose telecentre in Ghana (see details at <http://www.patriensa.com>). For the first time in the history of Ghana, rural underserved people now have access to computers, the Internet, and electronic networks. This project is being used to promote rural electronic commerce, computer education, and "digital culture." You can now listen to music from the village of Patriensa at <http://www.e-greenstar.com/Music>. This pilot project will be duplicated around the country through GhaCLAD's Telecentre Franchise Network (TFN). If your organization is interested in becoming part of the TFN, kindly contact us for additional details. 10. ABOUT US The WEST AFRICA NEWSLETTER (WAN), is an online publication of the Liberia Institute of Journalism (LIJ), located at the corner of Broad and Johnson Sts., in Monrovia, Liberia, West Africa, and funded by the International Center-731 - 8th S.E., Washington, DC. To subscribe just log on to our webpage at http://www.lij.kabissa.org and click WAN. We do publish news, information and articles free of charge send all to the editor Vinnie Hodges at [log in to unmask] The Liberia Institute of Journalism(LIJ), is a non-profit journalists training Institue that being supported by the National Endowment for Democracy(NED), Open Society Initiatives for West Africa(OSIWA), World Press Freedom Committee (WPFC), The International Center and ICFJ. --- 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 ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Buy Stock for $4 and no minimums. FREE Money 2002. http://us.click.yahoo.com/orkH0C/n97DAA/ySSFAA/DKgolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Next WASAN meeting is Wednesday, April 24, 2002. Location: Safeco Jackson Street Center, 306 23rd Ave. S @ S. Main St, Suite 200, Seattle (enter parking lot off of S. Main, between 23rd and 24th) 7:00 PM WASAN business meeting 7:30 PM PROGRAM: "Kenya: Development Challenges and Successes form the Grassroots" with Wriko Waita. A free event. We usually meet the fourth Wednesday of the month. For a calendar of local Africa events see http://www.ibike.org/africamatters/calendar.htm . To post a message: [log in to unmask] To subscribe send 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! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~