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CLIPPINGSKinshasa, CongoU.S. special envoy Jesse Jackson said on February 10 the Democratic Republic of the Congo should lift a ban on political activity and set up independent courts if it wanted to normalise relations with the world. President Bill Clinton's special envoy for democracy and human rights in Africa was speaking to journalists at the residence of the U.S. ambassador in Kinshasa after meeting popular opposition figure Etienne Tshisekedi. "There's a real concern about the unbanning of political parties, a real concern about the United Nations having access to all of the country and that voices of dissent are not seen as voices that are disloyal," he said.Lagos, NigeriaThe treason trial of Nigerian opposition leader Moshood Abiola, jailed since 1994, faced a new hurdle Tuesday when his lawyer objected to the junta's failure to name Supreme Court judges to the case. In a suit filed by his lawyer, Godwin Kolawole Ajayi, Chief Abiola challenged the failure of the Provisional Ruling Council (PRC), the highest decisionmaking body, to appoint more judges to the Supreme Court where his case for release has been blocked since late 1994. Abiola, a millionaire politician, faces treason charges following his selfdeclaration as head of state on the basis of a June 1993 presidential election held and then annuled by the military.Cape Town, South AfricaLawmakers proposed on February 10 to scrap Afrikaans, perceived by many black South Africans as a language of apartheid oppresNion, as one of the two languages used in parliament business. Instead, black languages, such as Xhosa and Zulu, Twould be given a role in parliament's day-to-day business of recording minutes and issuing official papers. "If we are going to equalize everybody, those who had extra benefits and privileges must lose them," said Patrick Lekota, chairman of parliament's upper chamber. Language is a controversial issue in South Africa, especially among white Afrikaners, the descendents of Dutch settlers who dominated apartheid governments.Khartoum, SudanAn opposition lawyer serving a five month sentence for incitement has been released from prison on bail of 5 million Sudanese pounds tdlrs 3,205). Ghazi Suleiman was released late February 9 night, from the isolated prison of Debak, 20 kilometers (13 miles) north of Khartoun. Suleiman, a pro-democracy advocate, was convicted s)f incitement in January by Khartoum's East Public Order Court after he tried to wrest control of Sudan's Bar Association from a pro-government candidate. The court sentenced him to five months imprisonment and ordered him to pay a fine of 500,000 Sudanese pounds (dlrs 320). His arrest provoked an outcry from Sudanese lawyers, who said they feared they were being targeted.Monrovia,LiberiaThe Liberian government on February 10 blasted an attempt under way by Nigerian intervention troops to capture Sierra Leone's capital Freetown from the ruling junta as "pathetic". "We think it is pathetic, especialy so as the deadline is approaching for the return to power of ousted President Tejan Kabbah under the Conakry accord," Liberian Information MinisterJoe Mulbah told AFP in a telephone conversation. Under the accord, power iII Sierra Leone is due to be returned in April to President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, ousted in a coup which brought current ruler Lieutenant Colonel Johnny Paul Koroma to power last May. Mulbah, who is also government spokesman, said the latest military attempt by the Nigerians "will only escalate the situation". Even if the Nigerians, who deployed in Sierra Leone in their thousands after the coup, managed to capture the capital, "that may not be the end as the junta could take to the bush and begin to cause havoc for civilians," said Mulbah. "This is why we are of the opinion that no military might will solve the situation in Sierra Leone. Only peaceful discussion involving all parties under the Conakry accord is in the right direction," Mulbah said.Bujumbura, BurundiThe Burundi army said February 10 it killed three rebels in a gunbattle near a univer6ity campus on the eastern outskirts of the capital yesterday. "It was a band of terrorists whose intention was probably to attack the campus and this band was intercepted ... approximately one kilometre from the campus by security forces," army spokesman I,ieutenant-Colonel Isaie Nibizi said on state radio. "Three terrorists were shot down, and there were no losses on the side of the population or the students, nor the security forces," Lt-Col Nibizi said.Nairobi, KenyaTrucks en route from Tanzania's port Dar es Salaam to northwestern Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi are forced to detour via Kenya because of road damage, but are blocked at the border, drivers said on February 10. Dozens of truckers, who cannot use Tanzanian roads hit by three months of torrential rain, have been stranded at the frontier town of Namanga following a demand by Kenya that they obtain custom bonds before crossing the country, they told AFP. The drivers complained that they had to travel all the way to the Kenyan capital Nairobi -- 200 kilometres (120 miles) distant -- to get the bonds, leaving their lorries and freight at Namanga. "We thought that since we are members of the Com no;n Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the East Africart Cooperation (a body linking Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda), we would have easy access to these roads. But it appears that these organisations do not benefit us at all," one spokesman for the Tanzanian drivers complained.Paris, FranceEthiopia's ambassador to France was refused entry to the dance hall of the renowned Parisian restaurant La Coupole because of his colour, police said Tuesday. The Figaro daily newspaper reported earlier that Mulugeta Etafa was stopped by two doormen who told him: "No black inside." It said tempers flared, and lhe diplomat was only allowed in after police intervened and management apologised. The venerable Montparnasse establishment has a lively restaurant on the ground floor and a dance floor underneath special zirlg in Latino music. Mulugeta was not at the embassy february 10, and a spokesman said they had no information to give about the incident. | CONTENTS | AFRICANEWS HOMEPAGE |
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