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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 06-04-2000

PART #4/4 - From SIERRA LEONE to ZIMBABWE

* Sierra Leone. Importante reddition de rebelles

Le 31 mars, environ 240 rebelles sierra-léonais ont déposé les armes et se sont rendus aux soldats de l’Onu. Cette reddition est la plus importante depuis que les casques bleus ont été déployés dans ce pays. Les rebelles ont rendu des fusils d’assault, des roquettes, des grenades et des mitrailleuses après être sortis de leur cache, a précisé le porte-parole de l’Onu. 95 autres combattants, qui n’étaient pas armés, se sont également rendus aux casques bleus afin de pouvoir se réinsérer dans la société civile grâce à l’aide d’un programme des Nations unies.

(AP, 1er avril 2000)

* Sierra Leone. ECOMOG troops begin withdrawal

West African intervention troops began formally pulling out of Sierra Leone, officials said on 4 April, amid fears the withdrawal may leave a security vacuum. About 150 soldiers from the Nigerian-led ECOMOG, flew out of Lungi Airport near Freetown on 3-4 April, and more are due to depart this week. A Force spokesman said the withdrawal of the remaining 2,000 soldiers would be complete by mid-April. About 2,500 former ECOMOG troops will remain under the command of UNpeacekeepers until late June. «A dangerous security vacuum may arise when the pullout of ECOMOG‘s remaining troops, mostly Nigerians, is finished,» Freetown’s For Di People newspaper said on 4 April.

(Nandotimes, 4 April 2000)

* South Africa. Terreblanche goes to jail

30 March: South African neo-Nazi leader Eugene Terreblanche has turned himself in to serve a one-year prion sentence for assaulting a black petrol station attendant. Terreblanche, leader of the neo-Nazi Afrikaner Resistance Movement galloped up to Potchefstroom astride a black horse. He lost an appeal earlier this week against his conviction for assaulting John Ndzima in 1996, and was given until 1300 GMT today to surrender. After a short court appearance, terreblanche was driven to Potchefstroom Prison.

(BBC News, 30 March 2000)

* Afrique du Sud. TerreBlanche incarcéré

Le 30 mars, Eugène TerreBlanche, le leader légendaire de l’extrême droite sud-africaine, s’est rendu à la prison de Potchefstroom, au nord-ouest du pays, où il purgera un an de prison ferme. Il a été condamné à six ans de prison, dont un an ferme, pour coups et blessures et tentatives de meurtre. L’expérience carcérale risque de se révéler douloureuse pour le défenseur de la suprématie blanche. Ses avocats ayant, pour l’instant, échoué à lui obtenir une cellule individuelle, TerreBlanche pourrait se retrouver enfermé avec soixante autres détenus. Probablement noirs.

(Libération, France, 31 mars 2000)

* Afrique du Sud. Un médicament grauit por les sidéens

La société américaine Pfizer Inc. a proposé de fournir gratuitement aux Sud-Africains plus pauvres malades du sida, ayant contracté la méningite méningocoque, un médicament contre cette forme de méningite liée au virus de sida. C’est mardi 4 avril que la Pfizer a informé le ministre sud-africain qu’elle était prête à fournir gratuitement du fluconazole, sous le nom de Diflucan. Cette offre arrive au moment où une polémique s’est engagée contre le gouvernement sud-africain qui refuse de fournir de l’ATZ aux hôpitaux publics, et aux femmes séropositives enceintes notamment. L’espoir du lobby qui a poussé la maison pharmaceutique à adopter cette initiative dans le cadre de la Campagne pour le traitement du HIV et du sida, est que d’autres sociétés suivent son exemple.

(ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 5 avril 2000)

* Soudan. La guerre civile continue

L’Alliance nationale démocratique, une coalition regroupant des rebelles du Sud et des groupes d’opposition du Nord, ont pris le contrôle, il y a deux semaines, du district de Hamashkoraib, une zone située dans l’est du pays à la frontière avec l’Erythrée. Le 2 avril, au cours d’un meeting du Parti du congrès national au pouvoir, le président Omar El-Béchir a déclaré que Khartoum ne parlera que “le langage du fusil” avec “les envahisseurs, les traîtres”. Plusieurs centaines de camions transportant des hommes et des vivres ont été envoyés en renfort aux troupes gouvernementales pour récupérer le district.

(D’après AP, 2 avril 2000)

* Sudan. Peace talks

3 April: Peace talks resume today in Nairobi, between the Sudanese government and the rebels in Sudan. The new round of talks is part of the peace initiative organised by the Inter-Governmental Authority for Development (IGAD), which includes most of the Horn of Africa countries. 4 April: President Gaddafi of Libya, President El-Bechir of Sudan, and President Mubarak of Egypt, meet in Cairo to discuss the joint initiative of Libya and Egypt for peace in Sudan. They examine means to bridge the gap between the various parties to the Sudanese conflict.

(ANB-BIA, Brussels, 6 April 2000)

* Tanzania. Zanzibar’s treason case

The High Court of Zanzibar has rejected a defense argument asking for the dismissal of treason charges facing 18 members of the Islands’ main opposition party, the Civic United Front (CUF). The case came up for hearing on 3 April. Most of the defendants were arrested in late 1997. For their defence submission, Defence Counsel Mr. Ussi Khamis and Hamid Bezeleni, asked for dismissal of the case on the grounds that there could be no coup accusation because Zanzibar is not a sovereign state. They affirmed: «According to the Union Constitution (Mainland and Isles) there is no state called Zanzibar. Since Zanzibar is not a sovereign state, how one commit treason? Mr. Hamid himself a former Zanzibar Attorney General and High Court Judge, said: «Tanzania is one state and is a sovereign united republic. Therefore, there is no state of Zanzibar.» By way of reply, the Principal State Attorney, Salum Tawfig, said the accused have something to answer. The judge dismissed the application seeking to dismiss the case and adjourned the trial until 2 May.

(TOMRIC Agency, Tanzania, 5 April 2000

* Tunisie. Grâce présidentielle

Le 30 mars, le président tunisien Ben Ali a gracié neuf élèves condamnés à des peines de prison à la suite des incidents survenus lors des manifestations du mois de février dans le sud du pays. 26 personnes avaient été condamnées par un tribunal de première instance à des peines allant de 4 à 6 mois de prison ferme. - Par ailleurs, les deux militantes tunisiennes des droits de l’homme qui avaient entamé une grève de la faim pour protester contre la confiscation de leur passeport, ont arrêté leur action à la suite de l’intervention du président de la ligue tunisienne des droits de l’homme qui a reçu du ministre de l’Intérieur la promesse que leurs documents leur seraient rendus.

(Le Soir, Belgique, 1er avril 2000)

* Tunisia. New oil/gas finds necessary

4 April: Tunisia says that new oil and gas discoveries are needed if the country is to meet an expected sharp increase in domestic hydrocarbon demand over the next 10 years. «The increasing hydrocarbon demand to feed the economy and particularly the sharply growing power generation, may not match up to the resources available in the medium term unless exploration efforts lead to new discoveries,» says Industry Minister Moncef Ben Abdallah. He tells an annual energy conference organised by the state oil company ETAP, that projected demand for 2010 is around 12 million tonnes of oil equivalent, compared to the current level of 7.0 million tonnes.

(ABC News, 4 April 2000)

* Tunisie. Le correspondant de Syfia brimé et réprimé

Taoufik Ben Brik, correspondant de l’agence Syfia depuis huit ans, observe depuis le 3 avril une grève de la faim à Tunis pour protester contre le harcèlement dont lui et ses proches sont l’objet. Quelques jours auparavant, il s’était vu décerné le prix Human Rights Watch Hellman/Hammett, destiné aux écrivains en butte à des persécutions politiques. Poète et journaliste, c’est par quelques vers que Taoufik Ben Brik annonce son intention d’observer une grève de la faim. Il égrène ensuite la litanie des brimades dont lui et ses proches sont la cible depuis dix ans de la part des autorités tunisiennes. Correspondant de médias étrangers (Syfia international, l’agence suisse InfoSud, le quotidien français La Croix...) depuis qu’il est interdit de plume dans son propre pays, il sait que chaque article publié risque de lui attirer des ennuis avec la police ou avec la justice. Dans un communiqué, Reporters sans frontières «demande aux autorités tunisiennes de mettre un terme définitif au harcèlement dont font l’objet Taoufik Ben Brik et ses proches».

(Denise Williams, Syfia, France, 4 avril 2000)

* Tunisia. Municipal elections

The next municipal elections, scheduled for May 28, 2000, are expected to widen the role of the opposition and that of women in municipalities (local councils) around the country. «We will make sure that this important political event constitutes a new stage in the consolidation of the democratic process,» said President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in a major policy address delivered last February. «We will make sure, also, that these elections will take place in a climate marked by civility, respect of the law, neutrality of the administration and transparency.» President Ben Ali, who was re-elected last October in the country’s first contested elections, announced that, «all brotherly and friendly nations, who so desire, will be able to monitor the elections and realize by themselves the level of progress achieved by our country in the materialization of the electoral right and the upholding of ethical standards of honest competition.» International observers were also able in October 1999 to freely monitor last general elections. Tunisian nationals 23 years or older are eligible to municipal council seats. Voters have to be at least 20 years old.

(Tunisia Online, 4 April)

* Tchad. Projet pétrolier

Les firmes pétrolières Petronas (malaisien) et Chevron (américain) ont officiellement rejoint Esso dans le consortium chargé d’exploiter l’important gisement pétrolier tchadien de Doba, a annoncé le gouvernement tchadien le 31 mars. Les présidents d’Esso, de Petronas et de Chevron, et le ministre tchadien des mines et du pétrole ont signé l’engagement d’investissement pour la réalisation du projet. Selon le communiqué du gouvernement, Esso Exploration and Production Chad demeure l’opérateur du projet avec 40% des parts, contre 35% pour Petronas Carigali Chad, et 25% pour Chevron Petroleum Chad.

(Le Monde, France, 2 mars 2000)

* Uganda. Cult massacre inquiry

31 March: Police have arrested a district official in connection with the fire at the headquarters of the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God cult in Kanungu, western Uganda. In an interview, yesterday, in London, President Museveni accused district and regional officers of suppressing intelligence reports on the activities of the sect. The assistant resident district commissioner, Robert Mutazindwa, who was formerly in charge of Kanungu, was picked up by police this week and is now being held for questioning. «He is held on speculation about his role in the group and we hope that he will come out with evidence to help us in our investigation», said John Kisembo, the inspector general of police. 1 April: The Government calls for a Day of Prayer on 2 April, for the more than 900 people now known to have died. The aim is «to console suffering relatives and assure the country that action is being taken in pursuit of the criminal perpetrators». Investigators are struggling to cope with the scale of their macabre discoveries. The police postpone efforts to find more bodies because they don’t have enough body bags or masks and protective clothing for searchers, 2 April: Mourners gather in Kanungu for a special church service in memory of the victims who are now expected to exceed 1,000. Vice-President Wandera Kazibwe lays a wreath on the mass grave of victims. Referring to the cult, the Bishop of Kabale in whose diocese Kanungu falls, Bishop Robert Gay M. Afr, has said: «All the religion of the movement was imported. Members abused a number of symbols linked with valid devotions. There is nothing wrong with fasting, solitude and silence, until you carry it to excess.(...) Very many of the people who joined, particularly the women and children, had no idea that the movement had been proscribed by the Church and priests in it excommunicated».

(ANB-BIA, Brussels, 4 April 2000)

* Ouganda. Secte: arrestation et bilan

30 mars. Les autorités ont annoncé avoir placé en garde à vue un ancien responsable de la sous-préfecture de Kanungu, soupçonné d’avoir des liens avec la secte apocalyptique, dont le nombre de victimes est passé à 724. Le ministre de l’Intérieur s’est déclaré convaincu que le révérend Amooti Mutazindwa, soupçonné d’avoir détruit un rapport officiel des services de renseignement qualifiant la secte de menace à la sécurité, «n’aurait pas été impliqué dans les massacres». Les deux principaux leaders de la secte sont toujours recherchés. - Le 2 avril, la vice-présidente ougandaise Specioza Kazibwe a affirmé que le bilan officiel des victimes de la secte du “Renouveau des dix commandements de Dieu” s’élève à au moins 1.000 morts. Ce bilan encore provisoire fait de cette secte la plus meurtrière connue à ce jour.

(ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 3 avril 2000)

* Zambia. Last copper mines sold

31 March: The last major sale of Zambia’s copper mines will take place at a special ceremony in Lusaka, today. Copper is the major source of wealth in Zambia, but the state-run industry has been brought to the brink of bankruptcy by mismanagement and corruption. It is hope that the privatisation of the mines — which has proved controversial in Zambia — will help rejuvenate the country’s ailing economy. «We’ve sold the family silver for nothing», said one independent Member of Parliament. The buyer is mining giant Anglo American which is paying $90 million for the three mines in one of the world’s richest copper belts.

(BBC News, 31 March 2000)

* Zambia. Without Kenneth Kaunda

In Zambia, it appears that many opposition politicians believe that without Kenneth Kaunda as the opposition political figure head, they are a ship without a captain. Most of them are against the reported resignation of their «captain» from active politics. His recent retirement from active politics has not only brought confusion to his United National Independence Party (UNIP), the former ruling party, but among other Zambian opposition politicians who are threatening to sue him. The Zambia Alliance of Progress (ZAP)’s spokesperson, Alfred Ndlovu, says that Dr Kaunda was Zambia’s leading political figurehead whose absence from the political scene will affect the performance of the opposition in the presidential and parliamentary elections which will be held in 2001. The United Party for National Development (UPND)’s legal and constitutional affairs chairman, Sakwiba Sikota, says that Dr Kaunda’s retirement has left the opposition parties in an awkward situation because he was part of their planning for winning the 2001 elections.

(Gideon Thole, ANB-BIA, Zambia, 1 April 2000)

* Zambia. Democracy Institute

The Fredrick Chiluba Centre for Democracy and Industrial Relations Studies that President Fredrick Chiluba wants to establish in Lusaka, could be a major contribution to democracy in Southern Africa where democracy is still young. Chiluba’s declaration to step down as President when his term of office ends, places him alongside other African leaders who are firm advocates of democracy such as Olusegan Obasanjo, Nigeria’s President, Nelson Mandela, the former President of South Africa, and the late Julius Nyerere formerly President of Tanzania. Chiluba’s term of office has not been without its critics and shortcomings. At the time he was laying the foundation stone for his Institute, doctors in Zambia were on strike resulting in a number of patients dying in Zambian Hospitals. The establishment of the Institute has also attracted some criticism within Zambia. It has been described by some prominent Zambians as an «ambitious venture». A former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Zambia, John Mwanakatwe, (a close friend of former President Kenneth Kaunda) want the President to explain how the Institute will be used. He fears the centre will be run along partisan lines and will not be open to opposition parties. People remember that Kaunda’s Citizenship College was used to teach United National Independent Party members how to be loyal to Kaunda and his party. President Bakili Muluzi of Malawi recently described the Fredrick Chiluba Institute as very important for the Southern African Region, as will help many people towards a better understanding of democracy.

(Binson Musongole, ANB-BIA, Zambia, 4 April 2000)

* Zimbabwe. Affrontements

Le 1er avril à Harare, la police a utilisé des bombes lacrymogènes pour mettre fin à des affrontements opposant des manifestants anti-gouvernementaux à des partisans du président Mugabe. Deux personnes ont été sérieusement blessées lors de ces émeutes qui impliquaient des vétérans de la guerre d’indépendance venus perturber une manifestation de quelque 10.000 personnes, à laquelle participaient de nombreux Blancs. La police a déclaré cette manifestation illégale et cinq personnes ont été arrêtées. Il s’agit des plus graves incidents depuis l’occupation de plusieurs centaines de fermes appartenant à des Blancs par d’anciens combattants réclamant la redistribution des terres aux Noirs. Le 2 avril, au lendemain de ces incidents, des organisations civiques ont averti que le Zimbabwe pourrait basculer dans une guerre civile si le gouvernement refuse de faire respecter la loi. Mardi 4 avril, un policier zimbabwéen a été tué par balle dans une ferme appartenant à un Blanc qui avait lui-même subi des violences lundi de la part de squatters dirigés par d’anciens combattants. Selon un témoin, le policier aurait été en civil quand il a été tué par un squatter qui l’avait pris pour un membre du Mouvement pour le changement démocratique (MDC-opposition). La Haute cour du Zimbabwe a donné ordre à la police d’expulser les squatters; mais celle-ci a refusé de faire appliquer cette décision de justice. De son côté, le président Mugabe considère ces occupations comme des manifestations pacifiques et a annoncé que la police n’interviendrait pas sauf en cas de violence. L’opposition a accusé le chef de l’Etat de refuser d’appliquer la loi. L’augmentation croissante de la violence raciale contre les Blancs au Zimbabwe est considérée par beaucoup comme l’aboutissement d’une tactique dangereuse du régime du président Robert Mugabe, qui cherche à s’accrocher au pouvoir.

(ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 5 avril 2000)

* Zimbabwe. Harare’s morgues stacked high with bodies of AIDS victims

Room is running out for the dead at Zimbabwe’s largest mortuary — a cool, walk-in room filled beyond capacity with the victims of Africa’s most deadly disease. Zimbabwe has been harder hit by AIDS in the past two decades than any other country in sub-Saharan Africa — and nowhere is the evidence more starkly visible than in this dimly-lit chamber of Harare’s central hospital. The disease now kills an average of 2,500 people each week in this country, and, according to the United Nations, one-quarter of its six million adults are infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. This mortuary was built to hold 176 bodies but, on one recent summer day, there were 314. In the developing world, hospital budgets are too tight to cover the ugliness of death underneath starched sheets or body bags. The corpses here are stored in open shelves, row upon row, uncovered and undignified. Babies lie in one spot, askew, like a pile of dolls — still wrapped in soft frilly blankets or white hospital sheets. The adults lie in the clothes they wore on the day of their death - bloody trousers, cotton skirts, hospital gowns. «Three-quarters of them have died of AIDS,» says the mortuary attendant.

(Corinna Schuler, National Post, Canada, 5 April 2000)

* Zimbabwe. A nation in crisis

30 March: The mainly white Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) urges outside parties not to intervene in the land dispute. In a statement, the CFU‘s president, Tim Henwood, said land reform was a Zimbabwean issue and should be solved by the country’s people. «I call on everybody internally and externally to refrain from emotional reaction and interference. Zimbabweans will solve this problem in a cool and level-headed manner». More white-owned farms have come under occupation. In Harare, city workers remain on strike for a fourth successive day, leaving water supplies either cut off or undrinkable. Lorries and commuter buses have to wait six hours for diesel. 1 April: The British government has a three-point contingency plan in place should relations in Zimbabwe deteriorate to the point that British nationals are threatened. The final stage would be an emergency airlift of all those holding British passports. The National Constituent Assembly (NCA) says their demonstration in Harare, today, against the government, was attacked by a «motley crew of alleged war veterans». Especially targeted were the white protestors who made up about 15% of the marchers. The Opposition says more demonstrations are planned. 2 April: British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook strongly condemns President Mugabe. He criticises Zimbabwe’s police for failing to protect the demonstrators and calls on Mr Mugabe to honour a promise to set a date for general elections. Brian Kagoro, spokesman for the NCA accuses the government of «gross violations of human rights and an obscene use of violence». 3 April: Robin Cook meets with President Mugabe in Cairo and secures an assurance that the Zimbabwean general election will be held in May, though no date is set. He challenges Mugabe to allow EU observers to monitor the polling. 4 April: The Commonwealth secretary-general, Don Mckinnon says he hopes elections promised in Zimbabwe will be «free and fair» but the Commonwealth will not send monitors uninvited. A policeman is shot dead on the property of a white landowner during a struggle with black squatters. The death, on a farm near Marondera, is the first of its kind since the squatters began their action. 5 April: Opposition leaders and white farmers report a wave of arson attacks and assaults by supporters of President Mugabe. the prospect of a state of emergency looms closer. Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democracy has criticised President Mugabe for trying to divide Zimbabwe along racial lines. «Mugabe wants to use the race card and to win support by attacking whites. But race relations are good. The blacks and whites of this country have never been united as we are now in standing against ZANU-PF. In the past 100 years we have never achieved such harmony». Reports from Zimbabwe indicate that even members of the country’s police force are living in a state of government-imposed fear.

(ANB-BIA, Brussels, 6 April 2000)

STOP PRESS

* Tunisia. Bourguiba is dead

6 April: Tunisian president, Habib Bourguiba, who led his country’s struggle for independence from France and ruled the North African state for more than thirty years, has died. He was in his late-nineties. Bourguiba was removed from power — on the grounds of senility — in a coup in 1987 and was replaced by President Ben Ali. Correspondents say Bourguiba was regarded as one of the most influential African leaders of his generation. He strove to modernise and secularise his country and women were guaranteed more rights than in any other Arab state. The French President, Jacques Chirac, said Bourguiba was a great figure and a personal friend, who had contributed a lot to the whole of the Mediterranean. Bourguiba spent his last years under virtual house arrest in his hometown of Monastir, one-hundred-and-sixty kilometres south of Tunis.

(BBC News, 6 April 2000)