KENYA: Terror warnings unfair, tour operators say

NAIROBI, 17 March (IRIN) - Tour operators have complained that Kenya is
being unfairly singled out by the US and UK which last week warned of
possible new terror threats in the Horn and East Africa.

Both the local tourist industry and the Kenyan government have described
the warnings as "unfortunate". The US and the UK on last Thursday warned their citizens of possible new
terror threats, specifically in Kenya, Djibouti and Ethiopia.

Jake Grieves Cook, the chairman of the Kenya Tourist Federation (KTF), a
leading international tour operator, told IRIN on Monday that Kenya was
being unfairly singled out as an unsafe destination. He said international
tension resulting from the threat of terrorism was depressing the tourism
industry worldwide.

"We want to make it clear to overseas journalists that Kenya should not be
looked at in isolation as an unsafe destination. They should look at the
global context," Cook said.

"We have been affected but so is everyone," he stressed. "We are all part
of it. In fact the number of tourists coming to Kenya didn't decline as
much as other countries."

Two government ministers at the weekend also protested against the terror
warning for Kenya. Internal Security Minister Chris Murangaru and Tourism
Minister Raphael Tuju said the government had put in place security
measures to counter any terrorist threats, the 'Daily Nation' reported.

Murungaru further said he did not believe the advisory was justified,
saying Kenya was not as unsafe as the US or the UK as far as terrorism was
concerned.

"We have taken the necessary security steps to forestall any possible
terrorist action. We have mobilised all our security institutions and they
are on high alert," he said, according to the paper.

NIGERIA: Five killed as troops, militants clash in Niger Delta

LAGOS, 17 March (IRIN) - Clashes between navy troops and ethnic Ijaw
militants near Nigeria's southern oil town of Warri resulted in the death
of five civilians, heightening tension in the town and other parts of the
Niger Delta, community activists said on Sunday.

Activists of the Federated Niger Delta Ijaw Communities (FNDIC) group said
in a statement that the civilians died when troops had lauched a raid on
Okerenkoko, an Ijaw community, on Thursday. The soldiers had accused
community members of planning to disrupt the operations of oil
transnational Royal/Dutch Shell and to attack nearby communities, they
said.

Nigerian navy spokesman, Shinebi Hungiapuko, confirmed there had been
clashes between troops and armed militants. He said the situation was
still under control but did not give further details.

Shell has key oil facilities in the area. It said on Sunday it had begun
evacuating "non-essential" staff from the affected areas in compliance
with its safety regulations. The company has also shut down two oil
facilities with a combined output of 55,000 barrels per day as a
precautionary measure, officials said.

Shell officials also said three policemen escorting a company barge on the
Esravos River were taken hostage on Friday and were yet to be freed.

The latest unrest has its roots in a violent dispute which broke out in
Warri in February between the Urhobo and Itshekiri communities over the
delineation of electoral wards ahead of April-May general elections. The
Ijaw community later sided with the Urhobo, alleging that the way the
boundaries of the wards were drawn up favoured the Itshekiri.

"Our fear is that the whole political processes in Warri is being
militarised," Bello Oboko, president of FNDIC, said in a petition to
President Olusegun Obasanjo, a copy of which was sent to IRIN. "Security
operatives have been secured to perpetuate unlawfully delineated electoral
wards."

Tension in the Warri area has added to apprehension that the coming
elections, the first since the 1999 vote that ended more than 15 years of
military rule, may be marred by violence. Rival supporters of different
political parties have clashed in various parts of the country, while
several cases of political assassinations have been recorded nationwide.

NIGERIA: Politicians should prioritize human rights, says Amnesty

ABIDJAN, 17 March (IRIN) - Human rights should at the core of pre- and
post election activity in Nigeria so as to prevent rights abuses, Amnesty
International said in a statement on Thursday.

Amnesty urged all candidates in presidential, legislative and state
elections which are due to be held in April-May 2003, to commit themselves
publicly to placing the prevention and protection of human rights during
the polls at the centre of their campaigns and give it prominence, in the
case of victory, in their programmes.

Amnesty pinpointed the use of militia and other civil defence forces
operating on the orders of politicians as one source of rights violations
in the West African nation of 120 million people. The Nigerian armed
forces have also been responsible for abuses, the rights watchdog said.

According to Amnesty, whose warning followed the recent death of an
opposition activist, election periods in Nigeria have always been
accompanied by serious rights violations, including the physical
elimination of politicians. In calling on all candidates to do their
"utmost" to prevent political violence, Amnesty also urged candidates to
avoid instigating ethnic or religious tensions among the electorate.

To promote human rights after the elections, Amnesty urged, elected state
authorities to ensure that national legislation is in line with
international law, that militia and other vigilante groups are banned, and
that national armed forces receive training in human rights and the use of
force.