Return-Path: Received: from umva.ocha.unon.org ([194.54.67.232]) by mailin01.sul.t-online.de with esmtp id 126l8d-1napYea; Sat, 8 Jan 2000 02:57:55 +0100 Received: from english by umva.ocha.unon.org with local (Exim 2.11 #3) id 126krn-00002w-00 for zdwf-@t-online.de; Sat, 8 Jan 2000 04:40:31 +0300 Received: from majordom by umva.ocha.unon.org with local (Exim 2.11 #3) id 126dVL-0008FT-00 for irin-english-out@ocha.unon.org; Fri, 7 Jan 2000 20:48:51 +0300 Received: from majordom by umva.ocha.unon.org with local (Exim 2.11 #3) id 126dPN-00083w-00; Fri, 7 Jan 2000 20:42:41 +0300 Date: Fri, 7 Jan 2000 17:38:35 +0000 (GMT) From: UN IRIN - West Africa To: irin-wa-updates@ocha.unon.org Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Prev-Sender: owner-irin-english@ocha.unon.org Precedence: bulk Subject: WEST AFRICA: IRIN News Briefs from Mali, Niger, Senegal [2000108] X-Subscriber: zdwf-@t-online.de X-Keyword: "IRIN-WA" X-Filter: mailagent [version 3.0 PL65] for english@ocha.unon.org Sender: IRIN - English Service WEST AFRICA: IRIN News Briefs from Mali, Niger, Senegal CONTENTS: MALI: Government staves off army mutiny NIGER: Amnesty for coup plotters SENEGAL: Opposition cries foul ahead of elections MALI: Government staves off army mutiny The Malian authorities moved quickly this week to prevent a mutiny by discontented soldiers demanding bonuses due to them for peacekeeping duties abroad, BBC reported. The soldiers believed to have been behind the rebellion include peacekeepers who served with the West African force, ECOMOG, in Sierra Leone and the UN forces in Central African Republic. A similar protest on 23 December 1999 by Ivoirian peacekeepers who had just returned home developed into a full-fledged coup. NIGER: Amnesty for coup plotters Parliament in Niger voted 72-7 on Thursday for a law granting amnesty to participants in the country's last two military coups, the second of which, in April 1999, resulted in the assassination of President Ibrahim Bare Mainassara, according to news organisations. The no votes came from the Rassemblement pour la Democratie et le Progres (RDP), Mainassara's former party. The bill has been criticised by human rights groups both in Niger and abroad. SENEGAL: Opposition cries foul ahead of elections The opposition in Senegal has accused the ruling Parti Socialiste of printing illegal voter's cards ahead of February's presidential elections, AFP reported. An umbrella group of 18 parties told a press conference on Wednesday that cards printed abroad "do not conform" to the law. They called for the resignation of Interior Minister Lamin Cisse over the affair. Cisse said that the cards were printed abroad for "reasons of transparency" since they could not be copied or falsified. He added that the local order had been retained in case the foreign order could not be finished on time and that the cards printed locally would be stored and destroyed. Opposition parties have frequently accused the PS, which has been in power since 1960, of fraudulently producing electoral documents during pre-election periods. Abidjan, 7 January 2000; 17:35 GMT [ENDS] [IRIN-WA: Tel: +225 217366 Fax: +225 216335 e-mail: irin-wa@ocha.unon.org ] Item: irin-english-2244 [This item is delivered in the "irin-english" service of the UN's IRIN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations. For further information, free subscriptions, or to change your keywords, contact e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org or Web: http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN . If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer.] Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 1999 Subscriber: zdwf-@t-online.de Keyword: IRIN-WA