News In Brief - Tuesday, 21 Oct. 1997

October 21, 1997

LUANDA - President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos of Angola on Tuesday sent a
message of congratulation to General Denis Sassou Nguesso who seized
Brazzaville last week, after five months of fighting against President
Pascal Lissouba's forces.

In a telephone conversation with Sassou Nguesso, the Angolan head of state
expressed the hope that both countries would maintain good neighbourly
relations and cooperation in all fields, including military cooperation,
according to a press statement from the President's Office.

It added that in spite of its internal difficulties, the Angolan government
would provide humanitarian aid to Brazzaville, including drugs.

EDINDURGH - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe arrived in Edinburgh,
Scotland, Tuesday to attend the 31st Commonwealth heads of state and
government meeting, the first to be held in Britain in 20 years and billed
the country's biggest international summit.

Accompanied by the first lady, Grace, Mugabe will also be attending the
Oct. 24-27 summit for the first time as chairman of the Organization of
African Unity.

Edinburgh is attracting the biggest array of leaders ever seen at a
Commonwealth Summit (at least 50) and the strongest presence of
nongovernmental organizations which, for the first time, will have their
own special centre, set up in Edinburgh's assembly rooms.

BAMAKO - President Alpha Oumar Konare of Mali has pardoned 16 opposition
leaders detained July 23 following the lynching of a policeman at
Bafoulabe, 250 kilometres west of Bamako, after the country's parliamentary
elections.

The amnesty was contained in a presidential decree issued Monday. He also
announced that 10 other persons, imprisoned for the same reasons, had been
released at San, about 400 kilometres east of Bamako.

Konare granted the amnesty in an effort to end the political crisis which
has plagued Mali since parliamentary elections in April 13. These elections
were cancelled by the Constitutional Court because of irregularities.

HARARE - Organization of African Unity Secretary-General Salim Ahmed Salim
arrived in Zimbabwe Tuesday to attend the African chiefs of defence staff
meeting on the continent's peacekeeping missions which opens in Harare
Friday.

Speaking to journalists soon after arrival, Salim said the meeting comes at
the right time when the continent was faced with many conflicts.

He said the meeting would allow the defence chiefs to exchange ideas and
plan the way foward in peacekeeping initiatives.

Africa must resume its own responsibilities in conflict resolution because
if it does not the international community will not help, Salim said.

The three-day meeting will focus on the continent's present and future
peacekeeping initiatives since the O.A.U. launched in 1993, its mechanism
for conflict prevention, management and resolution in Africa.

MONROVIA - Liberia criticized Tuesday the continued bombings in Sierra
Leone by West African troops enforcing an arms and economic embargo on that
crisis-proned country.

Liberia does not support the bombing in Sierra Leone by Ecomog and will not
encourage the use of its land to attack the junta in Sierra Leone, Liberian
Foreign Minister Monie Captan told reporters in Monrovia.

Our position is very clear. We will support the U.N. resolution and the
decision taken by Ecowas (the Economic Community of West African States).
The decision of Ecowas is that not use of force is authorized in Sierra
Leone, whatsoever, and we support that decision, he said.

Captan described as a very serious issue the bombing in Freetown by
Nigerian Air Force Alpha jets. He said Liberia would raise that issue with
the appropriate authorities because the bombings violated U.N. Security
Council resolution 777 and the Ecowas communique that was concluded in
Abuja, Nigeria, Aug. 29 forbidding the use of force in Sierra Leone.
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