Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 30 June 2000 — Page 7

FRIDAY, JUNE 30,2000

THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

PAGE Ai

International News

Nigerian court restrains r workers from going on

strike

LAGOS, Nigeria (PANA) — ' An Ikeja high court in Nigeria’s •^ commercial city of Lagos has ^restrained workers in Lagos State 'from going on strike to protest the | government’s refusal to pay them ‘a monthly minimum wage of 7,500 ^ naira ($75 U.S.). The interim injunction followed Jl an intervention sought by the state . government over the issue, which ' has threatened industrial peace in '‘/the Lagos state as well as in 35 ‘/'others in the Nigerian federation. The government, which took the ^ 1 case to court after several sessions '‘‘of negotiations with the workers, " failed to resolve the issue. It then ‘' asked the court to restrain the workers from embarking on an indefinite strike. " The court has fixed a July 4 ’hearing of the case, though its re‘7 1 straining order will be effective for /* ’ 14days. The nationwide strike is aimed at pressuring state governments to ' pay them amounts ranging from ' '6,500 naira ($65 U.S.) to 7,500 naira ($75 U.S.) as monthly miniv - / mum wage. The threat follows the federal ^’government’s May 1 announce- ' ment of a new minimum wage of •'' 7,500 naira for its workers and 5.500 ($55 U.S.) for their state ’ counterparts. '' • But the state workers, in nego- ' tiations between them and their ''various governments, are asking for at least 6,500 naira. The Nigerian Labor Congress (NLC), the nation’s umbrella labor union, has strengthened the work- ' ers’hands by asking oil-producing ' states to match the federal mini- * mum wage and other states to pay 6.500 naira. Most state governments have said that they could barely afford the amount stipulated by the federal government, a stand that has .-.pitched them against their workW^eTR. - —^ ■ * m " '» r ? V .•01.., A,meeting is planned.between - the 36 governors and officials of jj-the state councils of the NLC in a last-ditch attempt to avert another nationwide strike. ,.. .About 3,000 Liberian ^.refugees still in Nigeria LAGOS, Nigeria (PANA) — f . Some 2,900 Liberian refugees who t) , fled their country during its civil j^war are still in Nigeria three years .t .after the end of the war, according .jjjto a top official of the National j B( ,Commission for Refugees. bI . At a news conference to mark :K June 20 as African Refugee Day. |ir commission chair Abdulkadir v |,Mohammeda told reporters in . Abuja that the number represented about half of the total number of r ( 7,489 refugees in Nigeria. Mohammeda said the figure of Liberian refugees was followed by that of Chad with 1.435 people and ’ Cameroon with 1,309 refugees.

babwe and Botswana. Other areas of concern include the ramifications of the over 6 million refugees, returnees and displaced persons seeking security from conflicts in the Sudan, Sierra Leone, Rwanda. Burundi, Eritrea, Ethiopia, DR Congo, Angola and Somalia. Not only are these people faced with the fear of harm, but also of want as they find themselves barely living with inadequate handouts from international relief organiza-

tions.

In drafting the agenda, the ministers will be guided in their deliberations by theOAU secretary-gen-eral Salim Ahmed Salim. He will present reports covering his own administration of the Addis Ababa-based secretariat and its subregional offices elsewhere on the continent. Salim's report on the implementation of the Sirte Declaration calling for creation of the Union of Africa during the founh extraordinary session in September 1999 in

Libya will be of interest to the ministers as well, and so will a briefing on the ministerial conference on security, stability, development and cooperation in Africa held in Abuja, in early May. Other political reports to be tabled before the ministers by Salim will be on the preparation for the ministerial conference on small arms and light weapons, the implementation of the Algiers decisions of the assembly of the leaders, and the ministers on unconstitutional changes of government. The ministers will also discuss Palestine and the situation in the Middle East, the three-way dispute between Libya, the U.S. and Britain, the OAU Peace Fund, and the OAU Commission on Refugees on the situation of refugees, returnees and displaced persons in Africa. Salim's reports on economic, social and cultural matters to the council of ministers will shed light on the implementation of the 1991 (Abuja) treaty setting up the African Economic Community, on the

Yamoussoukro conference on the liberalization of access to transport markets in Africa, on the implementation of the decisions and regulations adopted by the Algiers summit and Council of Ministers. The ministers will also scrutinize reports of the sixth conference of African health ministers held in Cairo, Egypt in October in 1999, the 23rd ordinary session of the OAU Labor and Social Affairs Commission held in Algiers in April, the special session of the OAU health ministers on HIV/ AIDS in Africa held in May in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and of the Afro-Arab Cultural Institute. Their gathering will be preceded by a committee of technical experts, most of them at the rank of ambassadors, who u ill set the groundwork from July 4-6. The experts' report will be presented to the ministers for their scrutiny and adoption.

It loaiu like i perfect d. Die only problem it, iti» p.

In dyslexia. A reading disability where some kids contuse their d't with their p's. b's and qs. But. with the right help, most of these kids can go on to do well in school. Call 1-888-GK.S-MIND or visit www.ldonline org. THERI.'S NO REASON TO BE HELD BACK

C5O'a"0**acer;; sgais:

u:.

-a

South Africa and Uganda have nine and seven refugees in Nigeria, re-

spectively.

‘ African foreign ministers ,/j meet ahead of OAU

summit

,, ; DAKAR, Senegal (PANA) — Several African foreign ministers are set for the Togolese capital of _/ .Lome in early July to draw up an

Z'<

/ agenda for a leadership summit that will meet days later to discuss pressing problems facing the continent. ^ r The OAU summit is scheduled July 10-12 and the ministers gather in Lome July 6-8 to thrash out a -“'nine-point agenda covering political, economic, social and cultural issues. Since the last summit in Algiers, ’ ; the OAU has gone through a turbu- • lent period as it sought solutions to conflicts between member states in the Horn of Africa (Somalia. 'Eritrea and Ethiopia), in the west- ’ em region (Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea Bissau and Sierra Leone), the Great Lakes region (Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo) and in southern Africa (Angola). Apart from the political issues, there are also matters of economic concerns for the drought-stricken regions of Eritrea, Ethiopia and Kenya, the flood-hit areas of ^Mozambique, Madagascar. Zim-

«•

...Is Ford

2000 Explorer 4x4 XLT

• Air Conditioning Cassette/CD Player ♦ Power Everything

25.999

Plus Includes freight & rebate

$ 1500 Rebate or 0.9 v APR

On AH 2000 Whtdstan

*1500 Rebate On All 2000 Rangers

(Hag. Cab)

: . W/ •

4.9 % *apr On All 2000 Focus

SHARP SUMMER SPECIAL 1999 Taurus SE’s 6 To Choose From Loaded with Equipment: Power Windows, Power Locks, Cruise, Tilt, AM/FM/Cassette, Rear Defrost, Factory Warranty

only >

Per Month

*On approved credit. **On approved credit, 48 month lease. 12,000 miles per year. Plus sales tax, 1st payment due at signing. Six O’Clcck Sharp on th? 465 Dial

PHONE: 317-787-8201 • www.sharpf6rd.com. New & Used Vehicles • Full Service Department

4 t

/■J?

0 0

■*r

4 i

* \ . *• J f !• IS

! > It n

* « # .4