Nov. 13, 1998
ALBANIA
DP criticizes constitution, EU urges against referendum boycott: The Democratic Party (DP), the main opposition party in Albania, issued a statement November 9 criticizing the draft constitution for legalizing "massive changes in Albanian nationality." The DP claimed the constitution would legalize "a quiet and soft ethnic cleansing" by allowing Albanians to change their names and religions to more easily find jobs abroad. Many Albanians seeking jobs in Greece change their names and convert from Islam to Orthodox Christianity in hopes of gaining employment. The DP has refused to take part in drafting the constitution and has called on its supporters to boycott the constitutional referendum scheduled for November 22. On November 10, the European Union (EU) urged the DP to participate in the referendum and warned the international community would isolate those who "undermine democratic institutions." (AFP, November 11; AP, November 9, 1998)
Arrests lead to protests in Shkodra: During protests in the northern city of Shkodra November 10, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) office was looted, and protestors fired shots in the air and entered the main local government building. The Interior Ministry said police re-established control by the end of the day. The protestors were demanding the release of three men arrested the previous week after they had reportedly walked toward President Rexhep Mejdani carrying weapons. The Interior Ministry said the three were arrested on suspicion of theft. Two were released November 10, but the third, a former bodyguard of assassinated DP activist Azem Hajdari, remained in custody. (AFP, November 11, 1998; AP, November 10, 1998)
Angola steps up presence in DRC: Angola warned Rwanda and Uganda that their troops in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) would face a "thrashing" if they did not withdraw. Angola and Namibia have deployed additional troops to Kananga, 200 kilometers from the Angolan border. Angolan troops with heavy weaponry began arriving November 7. The Namibian government said November 10 that it had deployed more troops in eastern DRC, but it would not say how many. These deployments followed Rwandan Vice-President Paul Kagame's admission that Rwandan troops are in the DRC. On November 8, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe said preparations were complete for an eastern offensive against the rebels. (AFP, November 7, 10, 1998)
Government hails UN appeal: Foreign Minister Severin Ntahomvukiye said the government of Burundi was pleased with the UN's November 6 appeal to the international community to lift or suspend economic sanctions on Burundi. Ntahomyukiye believed this appeal showed that the UN recognized the harmful effects of the sanctions on the peace process. Sanctions were imposed in July 1996, mainly by east and central African nations, shortly after Major Buyoya seized power to get him to negotiate with the Hutu rebels and restore constitutional order. The National Committee for the Defense of Democracy's armed wing (CNDD-FDD), the main rebel group, issued a statement November 9 saying they believed the conditions for lifting the sanctions had not yet been met. (AFP, November 10, 1998)
Abkhaz leader to meet Shevardnadze: Talks between the president of Abkhazia, Vladislav Ardzinba, and Georgian president, Eduard Shevardnadze, were scheduled to be held in Sukumi after November 15. The central issue to be discussed at the meeting was a protocol on the return of refugees to Abkhazia. A peace agreement was also expected to be signed. More than 250,000 people were displaced by Abkhazia's 1992-93 war with Georgia, which left approximately 7,000 people dead. (BBC, November 11; ITAR-TASS, November 6, 1998)
Azerbaijan rejects OSCE proposal on Nagorno-Karabakh: A proposal on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh put forward by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) Minsk Group was rejected by Azerbaijan as being too ambiguous. A senior Azeri official said the idea of treating the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh as a "union state" was unacceptable as one could interpret the concept any way one wanted. He said Azerbaijan would only accept a peace agreement that recognized its territorial integrity. Karabakh is an enclave within Azerbaijan with an ethnic Armenian majority. After independence in 1991, ethnic tensions sparked a war that killed more than 30,000 people and left approximately one million homeless. The Minsk Group, made up of representatives from the U.S., France, and Russia, has overseen peace talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia since the cease-fire in 1994. (AFP, November 9; Interfax News Agency, November 10, 1998)
DRC government asks for UN resolution: Congolese Ambassador Andre Kapanga sent a letter to the UN Security Council November 9 asking it to adopt a resolution demanding the withdrawal of Rwandan and Ugandan troops from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The 15-member Security Council has not yet intervened in the conflict, but it issued a statement November 5 calling for intensified efforts at reaching a cease-fire. DRC President Laurent Kabila has accused both Rwanda and Uganda of invading eastern DRC in support of a rebellion that started August 2. Rwanda and Uganda claim their troops are in the DRC to protect their own national security. (AFP, November 9, 1998)
Kabila sacks 315 magistrates: Kabila fired 315 magistrates November 9, saying their corruption, incompetence, and desertion had tarnished the image of justice and paralyzed the system. The justice ministry has been told to replace them with interim magistrates until new appointments were made. (AFP, November 9, 1998)
OAU summit concludes: The Organization of African Unity (OAU) held a meeting in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, November 6-8 to discuss the Ethiopia-Eritrea border dispute. OAU chairman and Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore, together with presidents Hassan Gouled Aptidon of Djibouti and Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, mediated the talks between Eritrean President Issaias Afewerki and Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. OAU Secretary-General Salim Ahmed Salim and UN Representative Mohamed Sahnoun were also present at the meetings. On November 9, Ethiopia accepted a peace plan drawn up by the OAU. Details of the plan were not disclosed. The summit failed to achieve a cease-fire or to convince Eritrea to withdraw troops from the territory along Ethiopia's border. Salim told journalists November 8 that the Ethiopian and Eritrean leaders agreed to respect the borders defined at Eritrean independence in 1993. The conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia has resulted in mass deportations by both sides and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of civilians. (AFP, November 6, 8, 9, 1998)
Peace talks fail: Indian Commerce Secretary P. P. Prabhu and his Pakistani counterpart Mohammed Sulaimen met November 6-10 in New Delhi to resume trade negotiations. No evident progress was made during the talks. Analysts had hoped that the negotiations would transcend the territorial dispute over Kashmir. However, the two sides were unable to resolve a relatively benign water dispute. Discussions regarding the cease-fire on the disputed Siachen glacier, a section of Kashmir, were also a failure. Pakistani officials offered a cease-fire if India withdrew its troops from Siachen. Pakistan also requested that a third party monitor the cease-fire. India rejected third-party intervention and said a cease-fire would increase Pakistani military attacks. The current talks marked the second round of discussions between India and Pakistan since they resumed their bilateral dialogue in Islamabad last month after a year-long gap. The two sides were scheduled to meet again in February 1999. India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars over the disputed territory of Kashmir since independence from British rule in 1947. (AFP, November 6, 7, 10, 1998)
U.S. eases sanctions: A senior U.S. official announced November 6 that the U.S. planned to lift some of the sanctions imposed on India and Pakistan. The remaining sanctions were scheduled to be lifted once both countries signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). Pakistani Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz announced in late October that he had "no objection" to signing the treaty. Although Indian officials seemed more reluctant to sign, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee assured the United Nations General Assembly in September that India would sign the CTBT within the year. Vajpayee said November 8 that India believed the partial lifting of sanctions favored Pakistan. Tit-for-tat nuclear tests by the two countries last May resulted in international condemnation and the imposition of U.S. sanctions. (AFP, November 7, 9, 1998)
North Korea rejects U.S. demands: North Korea firmly rejected U.S. demands to inspect a suspected underground nuclear facility, calling the demands an insult and an "interference in its internal affairs." North Korea claimed that the facility in question was designed for civilian use, and it has repeatedly denied intimations that it is building a nuclear facility. North Korea did say that the U.S. could inspect the facilities on North Korea's terms, provided the U.S. paid compensation in the event no nuclear presence was found. The North Korean comments came one week prior to U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Charles Kartman's scheduled visit. (AFP, November 9, 1998)
UN and North Korea discuss agricultural policy: The UN Food and Agriculture Organization reported it was holding discussions with North Korean officials regarding changes in the country's agricultural policy. The talks emphasized providing incentives to farmers to increase production. Meanwhile, the International Red Cross released a new warning of imminent famine. (BBC, November 9, 1998)
Treason trial starts: Thirty-two defendants were charged November 12 with conspiracy to overthrow the Liberian government. Among the indicted are former faction leaders Roosevelt Johnson and Alhaji G.V. Kromah. Justice Minister Eddington Varmah said all the accused were able to hire lawyers to defend them and the state was to provide defense lawyers for those unable to pay for their own. However, relatives of the accused said most lawyers and legal firms contacted had declined for fear of being considered anti-government. Circuit Court judges asked the government to take concrete measures to stop the harassment of judicial authorities. Varmah said the Justice ministry was to provide maximum protection for all defense lawyers. The courts announced the trial was to be open to the press, but warned the media to stick to the facts when reporting. (Inquirer, IRIN, STAR, November 10, 11, 12, 1998)
Senior government officials urge Liberia to apologize to the U.S.: Labor Minister Tom Woewiyu suggested Liberia should apologize to the U. S. for the shooting incident at its Embassy. He said Liberia would have demanded similar treatment had the incident occurred at its Embassy in the U.S. He said apologizing would not be a humiliation for Liberia but would be a concrete step to improve Liberia-U.S. relations. A former Liberian foreign service official Abdulai Dukuley feared Liberia was on the losing end in the current diplomatic stand-off with the U.S. and said apologizing to the US should not be viewed as a weakness or an act of cowardice. He said besides apologizing, Liberia should thank the U.S. for transporting Roosevelt Johnson and averting another blood bath. (STAR, November 10, 12, 1998)
Government sends investigation mission in Grand Gedeh County: Despite security assurances for the Krahn ethnic group by President Charles Taylor, reports indicated the Joint Security forces continued to harass returnees of Grand Gedeh County. Taylor sent two missions to investigate harassment and intimidation in Grand Gedeh and in Cote d'Ivoire, which has received a new influx of Krahn refugees. Taylor instructed the missions to "reassure the residents of Grand Gedeh county, particularly those of Krahn origin, that the government was duty bound to ensure their safety at all times". Nearly two hundred Liberian refugees arrived home from Cote d'Ivoire November 11. The Liberia refugee agency said more returnees were expected. (IRIN, November 10; THE NEWS, PANA, November 9, 10; STAR, November 12, 1998)
Jesse Jackson arrives on anniversary of Ogoni deaths: Jesse Jackson, special envoy on Africa for U.S. President Bill Clinton, arrived November 9 in Nigeria at the start of a week-long four-country African tour. Jackson met with the Ogoni rights activist group Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) on the eve of the third anniversary of the execution of Ogoni author and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa. Saro-Wiwa and eight of his companions were executed by the regime of the late dictator General Sani Abacha. Military ruler General Abdulsalami Abubakar, who came to power in June 1998 after the death of Abacha, released scores of political prisoners, including 21 Ogoni rights activists, and has promised to hand over power to a democratically-elected president May 29, 1999. Jackson is the highest profile U.S. official to visit Nigeria since Abubakar came to power. (AFP, November 9, 10, 1998)
MOSOP sends warning to Shell: In a protest against the "devastation" of the Ogoni region of the Niger Delta by the Anglo-Dutch oil company Shell, the Ogoni activist group MOSOP told Shell to rethink its strategy in Nigeria if it wanted to come back. After the execution of Saro-Wiwa, Shell pulled out of Ogoniland and has yet to return. MOSOP told Shell on the anniversary of the execution of nine Ogoni leaders to "clean up the mess you have made by Ogoni Day, January 4, 2000, or clean out once and for all." (AFP, November 9, 1998)
RWANDA
Kagame acknowledges Rwandan troops in DRC: Vice-President Paul Kagame admitted the presence of Rwandan troops in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for the first time November 6. The announcement came after a meeting between Kagame and South African President Nelson Mandela. Kagame stated the troops were in the DRC strictly to protect Rwandan security interests and denied Rwandan troops were in the DRC August 2 when the rebellion began. Despite this, Mandela believed that Kagame's admission would pave the way for negotiations. Mandela stated that any peace negotiations would have to include discussion of the disbanding of all militias inside the DRC as well as the removal of all foreign troops. (AFP, November 6, 1998)
Rice meets with Bizimungu and Kagame: U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Susan Rice met with President Pasteur Bizimungu and Kagame in Kigali November 3 to discuss the conflict in the DRC. Rice said the U.S. supported a negotiated settlement with the involvement of multiple parties. Rice also visited Angola, the DRC, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Uganda. She reported that all sides were seeking a peaceful solution to the crisis. (AFP, November 4, 1998)
British lawyer to defend Sankoh: An offer by former British Agriculture Minister Douglas Hogg to defend Revolutionary United Front (RUF) leader Foday Sankoh has been accepted by the government of Sierra Leone. Hogg agreed to be part of a three-member team that includes two British lawyers Charles Buckley and David Hood. The fees for the lawyers were to be borne by an unnamed international human rights organization. Sankoh, sentenced to death October 23 on treason charges, was forced to represent himself at earlier trials because he could not find lawyers willing to defend him. Sankoh's RUF was a partner in the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC)-led junta that ruled Sierra Leone from May 1997 to February 1998. The regime was ousted by the ECOWAS Cease-fire Monitoring Group's (ECOMOG) forces in February 1997. (AFP, November 10; SLW, November 9, 1998)
Former president jailed, 15 civilians sentenced to death: Former president of Sierra Leone, Joseph Momoh, was found guilty November 5 on two counts of conspiracy and was sentenced to five years in jail on each count. The jail terms were to run concurrently. The ex-president was accused of supporting the AFRC/RUF junta that came to power in May 1997. Momoh ruled Sierra Leone from November 1985 to 1992 when he was ousted in a coup led by Captain Valentine Strasser and supported by Sankoh's RUF. At the same trial, 15 civilians were sentenced to death for collaborating with the AFRC/RUF junta. The convicted have 21 days to appeal their sentences. (AFP, November 5; Deutsche Presse-Agentur, November 4, 5; SLW, November 4, 6, 1998)
Taylor offers to mediate: Liberian President Charles Taylor has offered to mediate in the Sierra Leone conflict and expressed his willingness to talk to the RUF. The government of Sierra Leone has not yet commented. Relations between Liberia and Sierra Leone have been strained with the latter accusing the Liberians of continuing to support the RUF campaign against the government of Sierra Leone. The National People's Liberation Front (NPFL), a militia led by Taylor during the Liberian civil war from 1989-1996, supported the RUF in 1991 when it started a guerilla war against the Sierra Leone government. (AFP, November 11; SLW, November 10, 1998)
ECOMOG - RUF clashes continue: A number of attacks November 9 by the RUF in the north and east of Sierra Leone have left several people, mostly civilians and rebels, dead. Approximately 70 people died in an attack by RUF on the town of Gbendembu, in the north of the country. ECOMOG forces were able to repulse the attack and recaptured the town. In the east, AFRC/RUF rebels killed more than 96 people in the town of Saiama. (AFP, November 9, 11; Deutsche Presse-Agentur, November 9; SLW, November 9, 10, 1998)
Sudan and Eritrea agree to hold talks: Qatar's foreign minister announced November 10 that Sudan and Eritrea had agreed to meet regularly in an effort to overcome their differences. The mediation between the two countries, held in Qatar's capital city of Doha, was convened November 9 as a result of a Qatari initiative. Sudan has accused Eritrea of supporting the Sudan People's Liberation Army in their struggle against the government of Sudan. Eritrea has consistently denied this charge. (Reuters, November 9, 10, 1998)
Aid agency stresses plight of Sudanese, another withdraws staff members: The Catholic Relief Service (CRS) said November 5 that the situation in Sudan demanded more urgent and committed attention. CRS executive director Kenneth Hackett said the crisis in Sudan has not been given sufficient publicity and the interventions of the CRS and other aid agencies had not been enough to match the magnitude of the crisis. Operation Lifeline Sudan withdrew 42 members of its staff from the Western Equatoria region of southern Sudan after a series of recent thefts and attacks on its personnel. (AFP, November 5; The Nation, November 6, 1998)
LRA re-enters northern Uganda: At least 300 Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels based in Sudan entered northern Uganda November 6, according to the Ugandan defense ministry. Ugandan troops reportedly killed 21 of the rebels. Military sources claimed that Sudan had ordered the rebels to mine roads in northern Uganda. This LRA incursion was the first since most of the group crossed back into Sudan four months ago. Uganda claims that Sudan directly backs the LRA insurgency, which has displaced an estimated 300,000 residents of northern Uganda. Aid agencies operating in the area worried that camps for displaced persons and Sudanese refugees would be vulnerable to LRA raids. (AFP, November 9, 10, 1998)
ADF attacks army camp: An independent newspaper reported November 6 that Allied Democratic Front (ADF) rebels attacked a Ugandan army camp in western Uganda, killing one soldier and two civilians. The army pursued the rebels and killed three of them. The ADF operates out of bases in the Ruwenzori mountains, which straddle the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Uganda claims it has deployed troops in the DRC partly to prevent ADF invasions. (AFP, November 6, 1998)
Museveni talks with Rice: U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Susan Rice met Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni November 4 to discuss the DRC conflict. Museveni told Rice that he supports a negotiated solution to the conflict between the DRC government and rebels. The presence of Ugandan troops in the DRC has posed an obstacle to solving the conflict. Museveni contends that Ugandan troops are there only to protect Uganda's security interests, while DRC President Laurent Kabila accuses Uganda of directly supporting the DRC rebels. (AFP, November 4, 1998)
Bombing delays Israeli cabinet vote: Following a bombing in an outdoor market in West Jerusalem November 6, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indefinitely postponed a cabinet debate on ratification of the Wye accord, the U.S. brokered land-for-peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians. Israeli troops arrested eight Palestinians suspected of having ties with the two perpetrators of the attack. The bombers, who were killed in the attack, were believed to be connected to Islamic Jihad. Palestinian security officials reportedly picked up 20 Islamic Jihad members in a sweep to find all those connected with the bombings. (AFP, November 8, 1998)
Palestinian Authority grows impatient with Israel: The Palestinian Authority threatened November 10 to halt the Wye accord peace process if Israel continued to stall. Netanyahu insisted that the accord be approved by the cabinet and parliament before implementation could begin, although this type of ratification was not mentioned in the agreement. The Palestinian Authority claimed Netanyahu had postponed these votes repeatedly. Netanyahu has demanded further information on Palestinian plans to fight terrorism and remove anti-Israeli clauses from the PLO charter. U.S. officials stated the Palestinians have fulfilled their obligations. Netanyahu's spokesman, David Bar-Illan, said the cabinet might meet November 11 or 12, two weeks behind schedule. This would delay Israeli withdrawals from the West Bank, originally scheduled for November 16. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat accused the U.S. of not doing enough to make Israel abide by the agreement. Arafat was also upset with continued expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank which he believes constitutes a unilateral action barred by the accord. Netanyahu argued that the accord did not prohibit the expansion of previously existing settlements, only the creation of new ones. (AFP, November 10, 1998)
Violence increases as both sides are accused of violating Kosovo cease-fire: Skirmishes between the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) security forces increased over the past week, with both sides accusing the other of provoking violent incidents. In several incidents, police reported killing KLA fighters whom they claimed attacked them first; the KLA claimed they were acting in self-defense. Diplomatic observers noted the increase in tensions and reported the KLA continued to take advantage of the withdrawal of FRY forces to consolidate its position. On November 6, the KLA announced plans to install a "civilian authority on the territory it controlled." It also executed several ethnic Albanians accused of collaborating with FRY authorities. FRY police displayed the bodies of two policemen who were allegedly kidnapped, tortured, and killed by the KLA over the weekend of November 7-8. Police suspected the incident was retaliation for the death of five KLA members at the hands of police November 6. FRY authorities threatened November 9 to strengthen their patrols in Kosovo if the international community could not ensure security. An increase in the police presence would challenge the October 13 agreement between FRY President Slobodan Milosevic and U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke requiring a drastic reduction in the security force presence. (AFP, November 4, 5, 6, 9; AP, November 4, 10; UPI, November 10, 1998)
KLA expresses interest in participating in negotiations: Adem Demaci, the political representative of the KLA, said November 10 that the guerilla group wanted to be involved in talks on the future status of Kosovo within the ethnic Albanian community and between the ethnic Albanian community and the FRY government. In the past, the KLA had refused to join the ethnic Albanian negotiating team, which was closely tied to its rival, pacifist politician Ibrahim Rugova. U.S. envoy Christopher Hill met with a KLA delegation November 6 to discuss U.S. proposals for a peace plan, and Demaci said the KLA was examining these proposals. The previous day, Hill reported "serious progress" in his shuttle diplomacy between Belgrade and the Kosovo capital of Pristina. The KLA and more moderate ethnic Albanians call for Kosovo's complete independence from the FRY, but the FRY and the U.S. both reject independence. (AFP, November 5, 6, 10, 1998)
NATO force will protect OSCE mission: NATO approved a plan to establish a rapid reaction force to protect the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) verification mission in Kosovo. The NATO force would consist of approximately 1,500 soldiers, mostly Europeans, and would be based in the neighboring Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). The force would be able to quickly evacuate the OSCE observers from Kosovo in the event of an emergency. The OSCE verification mission, which was agreed to by Milosevic in his negotiations with Holbrooke, will monitor compliance with UN demands for the withdrawal of FRY forces. (AFP, November 4, 5, 1998)
FRY blocks ICTY investigation: The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was forced to call off its planned investigation into war crimes committed during the Kosovo conflict after the FRY refused to issue visas to investigators. The FRY maintained that the ICTY has no jurisdiction in Kosovo and referred to the conflict as an internal security matter. The ICTY called on the UN Security Council to force the FRY to allow access for investigators. (AFP, November 5, 9, 1998)
Displaced persons continue to return to their homes: The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Sadako Ogato confirmed November 10 that very few displaced persons in Kosovo were living in the open without shelter. On November 5, a UNHCR official had estimated that 150,000 displaced persons remained in Kosovo. Ogata said that the 65,000 Kosovo refugees in neighboring states were unlikely to return before spring 1999. Before FRY forces began withdrawing from Kosovo, displaced persons and refugees totaled approximately 300,000. (AFP, November 10; AP, November 5, 1998)
