wfn.org | All Africa News Agency Nov 3 2002 Features

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ALL AFRICA NEWS AGENCY
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Kenya.	Tel: 254-2-4442215 or 4440224;
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AANA Bulletin			Bulletin APTA
Editor -Elly Wamari		Editor - Silvie Alemba

AANA BULLETIN No. 43/03 November 3, 2003 Features

FEATURES  SECTION

With Marauding Fighters Still Around, Bryant's Task Is Huge

In mid October, a Liberian business magnate, Charles Gyude Bryant, was 
sworn in as chairman of an interim government.	Bryant is expected to 
oversee reconstruction of a nation that has been badly damaged by 14 years 
of civil conflict. But, reports AANA Correspondent, Nernlor Gruduah, the 
task ahead of Bryant's administration can only begin in earnest after the 
remaining marauding bands of fighters are completely disarmed.

F
ears expressed by American religious leaders and politicians that Muslim 
rebels could take over Liberia have abated, following the installation 
of  a new interim leader, Charles Gyude Bryant, on October 14.

A Christian and businessman, Bryant took over from caretaker president, 
Moses Blah, who held the post after former president, Charles Taylor, his 
immediate boss, stepped down on August 11 and went into exile in Nigeria.

Bryant was elected by government and rebel delegates on August 18, 
following more than two months of negotiations at a peace conference in 
Accra, Ghana, brokered by the Economic Community of West African States 
(ECOWAS).  Religious leaders and civil society representatives also 
attended the negotiations.

During this period, a rebel movement, Liberians United for Reconciliation 
and Democracy (LURD), besieged the capital, Monrovia, raining down a 
barrage of mortars, which killed more than 4,000 people, and destroyed a 
significant part of the city.

At the time, an American Christian broadcaster, Pat Robertson, was alarmed 
by president George W. Bush's call for Taylor to step down and leave the 
country to end the war. Bush had made the call during his five-nation 
African tour in July.

Robertson accused Bush of "undermining a Christian, Baptist president to 
bring in Muslim rebels".

Said he:  "How dare the president of the United States say to the duly 
elected president of another country, 'you've got to step down...'"

He went on: "So we are undermining a Christian, Baptist president to bring 
in Muslim rebels to take over the country."

Echoing Robertson's concern, presidential candidate, Al Sharpton, said it 
was important for black Americans and other African leaders to work towards 
establishing a new government in Liberia.

According to him, efforts aimed at bringing change "must clearly lead to an 
objective democratic process", and not a "unilateral regime change".

"Otherwise, Bush is bringing the worst of his Iraqi policies to Africa," he 
said, referring to the US invasion of Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein.

LURD is made up largely of Guineans, most of whom have been living in 
Liberia as economic migrants and petty traders.  Some came in as political 
refugees.

The rebel group sprang from the former Ulimo-K faction of Alhaji Kromah - 
himself a naturalised Liberian from Guinea - during the first seven years 
of the Liberian civil war, started by Taylor in 1989.

Taylor won elections in 1997, but his former foes soon returned to the bush.

LURD was armed by the US and Britain to punish Taylor out for his alleged 
support for Sierra Leonean rebels in exchange for diamonds.

The two countries ensured that Taylor suffered a double blow, when they 
sponsored a United Nations resolution that slapped arms and economic 
sanctions on his government in 2000.

Taylor was further indicted by a UN-backed war crimes court in Sierra Leone 
as soon as the Liberian peace talks opened in Ghana on June 4.

But after 14 years of bloodletting that has claimed more than 200,000 
lives, the country of which Bryant assumed leadership has its entire 
infrastructure and every facet of life lying in ruins.

At the moment, only about 4,000 troops of a promised 15,000-strong UN 
peacekeeping force are deployed in and around Monrovia.

Bryant's interim power-sharing government is mandated to run the 
war-shattered country until democratic elections are held in 2005 under UN 
supervision.

While there is relative peace in the capital, the countryside is roamed by 
gangs of rebel fighters and demoralised former government militias, making 
life intolerable for ordinary civilians.

With the departure of Taylor, LURD forces took advantage of poorly-equipped 
and discouraged government troops, and seized large tracts of territory in 
central Liberia from their bases in northern Lofa County.

A smaller rebel group, Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL), which 
split from LURD, controls parts of the south of the country, up to the port 
city of Buchanan, after invading from Ivory Coast in April.

Latest reports say LURD forces have been looting and burning down villages 
and towns in central Bong County, including the provincial town of Gbarnga, 
a former Taylor stronghold.

Eyewitnesses told reporters recently that the town is now virtually 
uninhabitable, after it was subjected to widespread destruction.

The Gbarnga area is home to the country's second referral health 
institution, Phoebe Hospital, and Cuttington University College, both of 
which have been reduced to shells.

Former government militias are also said to be terrorising civilians in 
areas under their control.

About 50,000 displaced people fleeing atrocities are crammed into the town 
of Totota - midway between Gbarnga and Kakata - which serves as a buffer 
zone between peacekeepers and LURD rebels.  Another 16,000 people are in 
the nearby town of Salala.

LURD rebels have also been attacking parts of Nimba County in the 
northeast, from  the bordering Guinea, killing hundreds of civilians and 
burning towns and villages.  Similar attacks are being carried out by MODEL 
rebels in the southeast of Nimba County.

The widespread pillaging, carnage and lawlessness underscore the cry of 
Liberians for speedy deployment of UN peacekeepers throughout the country.

UN sources say they hope to deploy more troops into the countryside by the 
end of the year.  The huge task of reconstruction facing Bryant's 
administration can only begin in earnest when the UN takes complete control 
of the country, disarms and demobilises marauding bands of fighters, 
numbering about 60,000.

Only then will Liberians' hopes that this time round a lasting peace is at 
hand, be realised.

Too Many Mines Still Exist In Africa's Fertile Soils

A new report on landmine situation depicts an ugly picture for Africa. 
Antipersonnel mines are said to be more common on the continent than any 
other, seriously affecting development even in areas where the civil 
situation has stabilised. Sadly, the continent hardly produces these 
ordinances, reports AANA Correspondent, Osman Njuguna.

L
andmine Monitor Report 2002: Toward a Mine-Free World, a product of a joint 
venture between the Human Rights Watch, Handicap International (Belgium), 
Kenya Coalition Against Landmines, Mines Action Canada, and Norwegian 
People's Aid, has described Mozambique as one of Africa's most affected 
countries by landmines.

Here, most of the mines were planted during a 17-year civil war that ended 
in 1992.

The 922-page report reveals that suspected mined areas make up some 652 
kilometres square.  Landmine incidents continue to occur, with 172 new 
victims being recorded for the two years preceding the study.

The survey, carried out by Canadian International De-mining Corps, has 
indicated that virtually every part of country experiences negative social 
and economic consequences from landmines and unexploded ordinances (UXO).

It is estimated that approximately 1.5 million people are directly impacted 
by the menace, says the report, which contains information on every country 
of the world affected by antipersonnel landmines use, or involved in their 
production, stockpiling, and trade.

It further discloses that landmines affect 123 of the 128 districts in 
Mozambique, and all its ten provinces. According to the report, some 791 
communities are affected by 1,374 suspected Mined Areas (SMA), seriously 
frustrating development activities.

"We have been in the thick of it due to our long stay in civil conflicts. 
The political differences between the Maputo government and the rebel 
movement (Frelimo) began way back in 1975 on the attainment of our 
independence from Portugal, and spilled out to 1992, when we managed to 
sign a peace accord in Rome," Mozambican High Commissioner to Kenya, Marcos 
Namashulua, recently told AANA in an interview.

Namashulua underlines peace as the fundamental solution to the 
proliferation of landmines.  "Peace is a prerequisite for the battle 
against landmines As a result of that peace accord, we have had many 
positive things, one of them being numerous organisations coming into the 
country to help us with the de-mining work," he continued.

Indeed, notes the report, an estimated 12.41 million metres square were 
cleared off landmines by 2001.

On Angola, another country badly hit by landmines after about three decades 
of civil war,  the global report notes that by the end of 2001, a total of 
2,232 minefields and UXO locations had been registered in the database of 
the country's National Mine Action.

Subsequently, de-mining activity has been going on with recorded success. 
"Some 660 minefields and UXO locations have been cleared since 1995, of 
which 73 were done last year," reveals the report.

The Church has been involved.  A 2002 Lutheran World Federation (LWF) 
report on Angola, titled After the War, thus notes:  "LWF utilises the 
skills of a theatre group to demonstrate the importance of mine awareness. 
LWF has established an agreement with DanchurchAid for de-mining, 
surveying, and mine awareness training."

Mitch Odero, head of Communications and Information Desk at the All Africa 
Conference of Churches (AACC), recently visited Angola as part of a larger 
ecumenical group led by the World Council of Churches (WCC) General 
Secretary, Rev Dr Konrad Raiser.

At a recent interview with AANA, he said: "It is rather sad that a country 
like Angola, with all the fertile soil, should be subjected to the 
importation of food simply because too many mines have been planted in the 
soil."

He continued: "One report I have come across has it that as many as 10 
million mines are reported to have been planted on the Angolan soil. Of 
that number, nobody knows for sure how many of them have been so far
de-mined."

One of the unfortunate scenarios verified by the Landmine Monitor Report 
2002 is that despite Africa being the most affected by the landmine menace, 
it is only Egypt that is involved in the production of the ordinances.

The report has listed Cuba, United States of America (USA), Russia, Iran, 
Iraq, China, India, North Korea, Pakistan, Singapore, and Vietnam as the 
major producers of antipersonnel mines.

That Africa is the victim major victim of landmines arises from the various 
civil conflicts that the continent has undergone.

The Africa Research Co-ordinator for Landmine Monitor, Cornelius Nyamboki, 
while speaking to AANA, recently stated: "Most of the landmine menace on 
the continent is pegged on the many civil conflicts it has either 
experienced or is experiencing today. No wonder the most affected countries 
are those that have either been faced, or are being faced by civil [war]. 
This would fit well with countries such as Mozambique and Angola, for
example."

The continent's colonial experiences, where some countries fought fierce 
battles during liberation struggles, is also blamed for the existence of 
unexploded ordinances.	This has been a silent factor that only come out 
recently in Kenya, for example.

Nyamboki explains: "Countries that have had long liberation struggles with 
their colonial masters have equally turned out to be major sufferers of the 
landmine menace."

He continues: "The war of liberation of the 1950s between the local people 
under the patronage of Mau Mau, left many antipersonnel mines planted in 
the soil, hence our current involvement on the de-mining issue."

On Kenya, the global report underlines: "Last year, seven people were 
injured in reported UXO-related incidents, while in August 2001, a male 
herdsman lost a limb after he picked up a bomblet in Samburu, in the 
country's northern part....It is believed that there could be more UXO 
casualties that go un-reported in the remote areas of northern Kenya, which 
is used for military drills."

Nevertheless, the publication has concluded the analysis on landmine 
situation in Africa on a positive note. Already, 39 sub-Saharan African 
countries have signed and ratified a 1997 Convention on the Prohibition of 
the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Antipersonnel Mines and 
their Destruction.

  Does Scripture Acknowledge Women Of The Collar?

In many traditional African settings, women hardly played roles in the 
leadership of religious rituals.  Today, however, a number of churches in 
Africa have ordained women to serve at the pulpit, introducing a 
controversial debate on whether it is biblical or not, to ordain a woman as 
a priest.  In this report, Margaret Nyingi unveils the varied public 
perception of women of the collar, and seeks to establish the stand of the 
Bible on the issue.

I
n his letter to the Corinthians, as depicted in the Bible, St Paul was very 
particular about women and their rightful place.

According to him, Jewish women were not allowed to walk side by side with 
their men, but a few metres behind.  The men were also forbidden from 
talking unnecessarily to women, especially the unmarried ones.

On religious matters, women were not to be heard at all in church. Their 
comments and questions were to be addressed to their husbands at home.

In the same Bible, Hosea is quoted to have said, "Our daughters will dream 
dreams and they shall prophesy."

Like these seemingly contradictory references, the Church is divided on the 
issue of whether or not to ordain women. As a result, some denominations 
have resolved to ordain women, while others have hesitated.

This reflects the varied interpretation of the scriptures by different 
churches. There is an argument that if women were meant to preach, Jesus 
would have chosen some among them, as His disciples.

According to Rev Peter Karanja, Provost of the All Saints Cathedral, 
Nairobi, the Bible does not say whether women should be ordained or not.

He argues that Jesus was preaching in an environment that was very "male 
chauvinistic" and to get His message home, He had to behave like one of the 
Jews.

But, he clarifies, "ordination is just a ceremonial confirmation by the 
Church that a person, male or female, who has been anointed, called to 
pastoral care and ministry, and has had thorough theological training, is 
able to lead God's people."

He explains that when Paul was writing to the Corinthians, he was 
addressing a particular group of people about a specific problem.

The message, he maintains, was not a primary doctrinal teaching, but a 
pastoral letter.

All the letters that Paul wrote differed because he was writing to 
different people - Galatians, Corinthians, Ephesians, Romans, and others - 
about different issues affecting them at the time.

"If we were to follow all that is written in the Bible, then we would still 
be slaves for it was said, 'Slaves, obey your masters,'" Rev Karanja points 
out.

The Bible indicates that when Jesus was on earth, His ministry was 
supported by a number of women. A good example is Mary and Martha, Lazarus' 
sisters, in whose house He spent a lot of His time.

According to the scriptures, when He approached and talked to the Samaritan 
woman (a stranger), He told her to "go and tell your people about me". This 
can be interpreted to imply that Jesus authorised her to preach.

The first people to see Jesus after His resurrection were three women, whom 
He also told to "go tell the world", that He was alive.

Rev Phyllis Byrd Ochilo of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA), 
Nairobi, says that people should understand the Bible in its cultural
context.

"Look at Deborah and Esther. Are they not enough evidence that women can 
also be called and anointed to serve? That God can use women to accomplish 
His purposes?" she poses.

Deborah was a judge, a leader and a prophetess. Esther, on the other hand, 
saved her people from the kings' wrath, and led them during her time.

"The most common problem that we (female clergy) face is gender 
discrimination. In Kenya, it is not much, but subtle as it is, it still 
hurts," says Rev Ochilo.

As an example, she notes that some male clergy are not quite comfortable 
with a woman priest.

For exapmle, she says, many choose to ignore her title and refer to her as 
"Sister Ochilo", "Mrs Ochilo" or just plain "Phyllis". She finds this habit 
offensive, since she is ordained just like they are.

Being a female minister has not been smooth-sailing for the eloquent Rev 
Ochilo, who has served the Church for 15 years, six of them in Kenya.

Several years ago, while working with the All Africa Conference of Churches 
(AACC), she was sent to Nigeria to attend a meeting on behalf of the then 
General Secretary.

When she got to the centre where the meeting was to take place, the 
organisers refused to let her in because she was a woman.

"They took one look at my clerical collar and threw me out. I have never 
been so offended in my life," she recalls.

Poses Rev Karanja, in support of women ordination: "Having seen the works 
of the local female preachers like Wairimu Nelson and Margaret Wangari (who 
is not ordained but leads a large ministry), can the Church afford not to 
recognise that God calls women to ministry?"

In Galatians 3:28, St Paul said, "There is no difference between Jews and 
Gentiles, between slaves and free men, between men and women; you are all 
one in union with Christ Jesus."

Thus, notes Rev Karanja: "If this verse does not convince people that both 
men and women can be called to the ministry, I do not know what can."