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dam-l Lesotho crisis abating/LS
>From The BBC web site today:
The remaining restrictions on the population of the
Lesotho are being
lifted and people will be allowed to move freely, the
authorities in the
southern African kingdom have announced.
"The government assures security to everyone who intends to go
about their business as usual," the announcement on state
radio said.
The dusk-to-dawn curfew will, however, remain in effect
until further
notice, it said.
Government workers have been
instructed to return to work
following
the closure of state offices last
Tuesday.
Schools are also expected to
reopen later this week.
Soldiers who fled during the army
mutiny last week have been given
until 1400GMT on Monday to return
to their barracks.
They have been told to report for
duty in uniform and with unloaded
weapons.
Meanwhile, defence ministers from
South Africa, Botswana and
Zimbabwe are expected in the
capital, Maseru, for talks on how to stabilise the country.
As the situation returns to normal, the authorities have begun
assessing the damage and destruction caused by arson and
looting,
following the intervention of South African and Botswanan
forces to
put down an army mutiny.
The exact scale of the destruction has not yet been
calculated, but
business circles put the figure at well over one billion rand
($171,000), Foreign Affairs Minister Tom Thabane said.
King Letsie III was said to be horrified at the
destruction that has
razed the central business district in the capital,
Maseru, to the
ground.
"This is the greatest crisis Lesotho has had to face,"
Prince Seeiso
Bereng Seeiso, the king's youngest brother and his
spokesman said.
"Lesotho has not got a large economic base. It has been
absolutely
shattered," he added.
The small kingdom, which ranks amongst the world's poorest
nations,
will not be able top foot the bill of reconstruction on
its own.
"Ministers of finance and trade are going to an IMF
meeting to talk to
donors and request assistance to address economic
devastation in
Lesotho," Mr Thabane said.
Over a thousand people have fled Lesotho since the intervention
began, including several businessman who have vowed not to
return
to Lesotho.
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Lori Pottinger, Director, Southern Africa Program,
and Editor, World Rivers Review
International Rivers Network
1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, California 94703, USA
Tel. (510) 848 1155 Fax (510) 848 1008
http://www.irn.org
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