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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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