Media mulls coups and conflicts

War and precarious peace are dominant themes in Africa's media this week.

A coup in Sao Tome and Principe, the Democratic Republic of Congo's new power-sharing government and a possible peacekeeping force in Liberia all make the headlines.

Initial press reaction is highly critical of the coup by army rebels in the West African island state of Sao Tome and Principe.

With talk of an African renaissance and various blueprints for solutions to African problems, the rest of us cannot remain indifferent Nation - Kenya

Angola's government-run Jornal de Angola disputes the claims outlined by the rebel leaders to justify the coup. According to the paper, the rebels said military action is needed "when the country faces difficult socioeconomic conditions and political instability caused by the outgoing regime".

But it believes that they are on "shaky ground because the country has a democratic regime and it is up to elected institutions and not soldiers to resolve the possible differences existing in the country".

Kenya's Nation fears that the coup may set a dangerous precedent. Although the paper describes Sao Tome and Principe as a "tiny and insignificant country", it believes the whole continent must take note of the recent events there.

"With the hopeful new era that has seen the spread of democratization, talk of an African renaissance and various blueprints for African solutions to African problems, the rest of us cannot remain indifferent," it says.

Delicate peace

An attempt to bring an end to nearly five years of war in DR Congo through the establishment of a transitional administration is met with scepticism in some of the country's newspapers.

"There is good reason to be anxious about the follow-up to events," writes the independent La Tempete des Tropiques, the day after the leaders of the main rebel groups were sworn in as vice-presidents.

Now that the international community has taken a more active interest in Congo, it can contribute by helping integrate these numerous forces New Vision - Uganda

The paper warns that President Joseph Kabila might find "crocodiles lying in ambush in the briefcases of those who have been selected to share power with him".

The pro-government L'Avenir believes that Congo's largest rebel movement, the RCD-Goma movement, is the group most likely to "derail the peace process".

"We know only too well that the movement is not coming to take part in the peace process, but to torpedo it from within and take power," it says.

But an editorial in Uganda's New Vision is more upbeat in its analysis of the situation. It calls for the Congolese armies to be integrated into one national defence force to achieve unity and stability in the country.

"Now that the international community has taken a more active interest, it can make a fundamental contribution by helping integrate these numerous forces," it says.

Burundi's woes

The international community is also needed bring an end to an upsurge of fighting in Burundi and rescue the framework for peace already set up by the Arusha accords, according to Uganda's Monitor.

"The international community must not watch as notorious rebels undo a peace process that was painstakingly facilitated by former South African President Nelson Mandela," it says.

But Burundi's Journal Nouvelle Vision places little hope in the Arusha peace agreement, which, it says, "failed in several respects".

The paper says "a new framework for an inter-Burundi dialogue is needed to stop the war". Without this, it fears that the country's "woes will rise again".

South Africa's Star believes that more than words are needed to end the crisis. "Clearly there are some people who benefit from the fighting. They have to be isolated and defeated," the paper concludes.

Peacekeeping quandary

Liberia may end up with a new war zone in which foreign troops are enmeshed in a fierce multi-front struggle Daily Independent - Nigeria

The role that international peacekeepers should play in Liberia comes under the spotlight.

Some papers fear that peacekeepers - whether from the US or the Economic Community of West African States - would only aggravate the situation.

Ghana's Accra Mail reports threats from the rebel group, Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy, that they would attack any peacekeeping force. This "does not auger well for peace and stability," the paper says.

Nigeria's Daily Independent is slightly more optimistic, saying that a peacekeeping force can achieve success if the Liberian authorities cooperate.

But if this does not happen, "we may end up with a new war zone in which foreign troops are enmeshed in a fierce multi-front struggle against government forces and disparate rebel groups", it predicts.

BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.