ANB-BIA - Av. Charles Woeste 184 - 1090 Bruxelles - Belgium
TEL **.32.2/420 34 36 fax /420 05 49 E-Mail: anb-bia@village.uunet.be
_____________________________________________________________
WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 11-05-2000

PART #4/4 - From  SOUTH AFRICA to ZIMBABWE

* South Africa. AIDS meeting stirs up hornet’s nest — An AIDS advisory panel appointed by President Mbeki met on 6 May amid an uproar over its inclusion of scientists who say the disease is not caused by the HIV virus. About 30 scientists are attending the two-day Partnership Against AIDS conference, hosted by Mbeki, who upset the world health community earlier this year by refusing to provide the anti-AIDS drug, AZT, to HIV-positive pregnant women. (CNN, 6 May 2000)

* South Africa. Rand plunges — general strike — On 9 May, the South African Rand fell to a record low of R7.08 to the dollar as currency dealers and foreign investors take fright at the possible impact of Zimbabwe’s political and economic crisis on other countries of the region. Yields on South African government bonds rose sharply on the back of foreign selling. A general strike called for 10 May by the Congress of South African Trade Unions, an ally of the ruling African National Congress, added to pressure on the Rand. 10 May: Police clash with supporters of a one-day national strike called by the Confederation of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), to protest against job losses. Willie Madisha, COASTU‘s president, says the government has six days to respond to COSATU‘s memorandum on retrenchments and unemplyment. The South African Chamber of Business has warned that the strike could cost the economy nearly $500 million and discourage investment. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 11 May 2000)

* Afrique du Sud. Grève massive contre le chômage — 10 mai. Près de la moitié des travailleurs sud-africains, selon la Chambre de commerce d’Afrique du Sud, ont cessé le travail dans le cadre d’une journée d’action de 24 heures contre le chômage. Plusieurs milliers de grévistes vêtus des tee-shirts rouges à l’effigie du COSATU, le principal syndicat du pays fort de 1,8 million de membres, se sont rassemblés à Johannesburg, à Pretoria, au Cap et près des mines et usines un peu partout dans le pays. Le taux de chômage atteint plus de 30% de la population active et le pays a perdu plusieurs millions d’emplois ces dernières années. (Reuters, 10 mai 2000)

* Sudan. Indiscriminate bombing of civilian targets — «The people of South Sudan are dying under the bombing, as the world looks on in silence». This was the urgent appeal launched by Monsignor Cesare Mazzolari, Bishop of Rumbek. On 2 May, the town of Yei, in Western Equatoria, was hit by missiles launched from the border with Congo RDC. «No one knows who launched them, though it is absolutely certain that they were aimed at civilian targets», the prelate explained to the MISNA press agency. «I do not know how many died under the bombs», he added, so I will not attempt to give an estimate». News of the bombing was confirmed by the International Christian Concern organisation. Also the town of Mading in the Upper Nile region, north of the city of Malakal, was indiscriminately bombed from 1-3 May. The bombs were dropped by Mig 23 fighter planes. The centre of Lui, in western Equatoria, 90km west of Juba, was bombed by the same planes on the 19 April and the centre of Tali, 45km north-west of Juba, on 16 April. The bishop underlined that the attacks were all aimed at civilian targets. «I urge the Sudanese government», said the Bishop, «and all armed groups present in Southern Sudan, to guarantee a cease-fire for the sake of the civil population». (MISNA, Italy, 4 May 2000)

* Soudan. Béchir accuse Tourabi — Dans la nuit du 4 au 5 mai, au terme d’une réunion de plusieurs heures des dirigeants du parti islamiste au pouvoir, le président El-Béchir a accusé son principal rival politique Hassan Tourabi - qui fut longtemps l’éminence grise de son régime islamiste - de conspiration contre le gouvernement. Le 12 décembre dernier, le président soudanais avait écarté M. Tourabi du pouvoir en dissolvant le parlement qu’il présidait et en proclamant l’état d’urgence dans le pays. Tourabi a toutefois conservé son poste de secrétaire général du parti. Mais, “il incitait l’armée, les services de sécurité, la police, les Moudjahidine et les étudiants contre le gouvernement”, a déclaré le général Béchir. - Le 7 mai, défiant ouvertement le président Béchir, M. Tourabi a contesté son éviction du pouvoir et promis de continuer son combat politique. Il a affirmé que son éviction était anticonstitutionnelle et qu’il allait défier les ordres présidentiels. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 7 mai 2000)

* Sudan. Al-Turabi to «fight on» — 6 May: President al-Bashir removes Sudanese Islamic leader Hassan al-Turabi from his position as secretary-general of the National Congress ruling party, accusing him of plotting with the army to overthrown him. 8 May: In an open defiance of President al-Bashir, al-Turabi vows to continue his political activities despite being sacked from a senior ruling party post. The deposed Islamic leader tells hundreds of supporters who gathered outside his house in Khartoum, that his dismissal was «unconstitutional». Mr al-Turabi accuses the President of betraying the Islamic movement. He says President al-Bashir is a «power-hungry military dictator who will soon be ousted by his own party». (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 9 May 2000)

* Tanzania. First woman joins Zanzibar presidential race — The Finance Minister in Tanzania’s semi-autonomous islands of Zanzibar and Pemba, has become the first woman to join the presidential election race there. Amina Salum Ali said she’d decided to stand for president of Zanzibar to continue economic reforms and efforts to alleviate poverty. (BBC News, 10 May 2000)

* Chad. Crisis on all fronts — Pressure is growing on President Idriss Déby after a month which has seen growing opposition calls for his departure, continuing poor relations with France and reports of fresh clashes with guerrillas in the north. Since November 1999, insurgents under Mr Déby’s former defence minister, Youssouf Togoimi, appear to have inflicted a series of defeats on government forces in the Tibesti region, which is closed to journalists. Mr Déby now appears to have deepening dependence on Libya’s President Gaddafi, who has been delegated to find a solution to the conflict. On 5 May, Nigeria said it had reached agreement with Chad to strengthen security along their common border. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 5 May 2000)

* Tunisie/Soudan. Relations diplomatiques — Les gouvernements tunisien et soudanais ont décidé de rétablir leurs relations diplomatiques, a annoncé le 4 mai le ministère tunisien des Affaires étrangères. La Tunisie avait rompu ses relations diplomatiques avec le Soudan en 1992, accusant ce pays de soutenir le mouvement intégriste tunisien Ennadha (interdit) et d’abriter des camps d’entraînement de ses membres. Après des contacts entre les deux parties, Tunis et Khartoum ont convenu que la reprise des relations se ferait “dans le cadre de la transparence et sur la base du respect mutuel et de la non-ingérence dans les affaires intérieures”. Le dirigeant d’Ennadha entretenait des rapports étroits avec l’idéologue soudanais Hassan Tourabi; la mise à l’écart de ce dernier en décembre dernier a favorisé la normalisation des rapports entre les deux pays. (AP, 4 mai 2000)

* Tunisia. Human rights concerns — 4 May: Taoufiq Ben Brik, a Tunisian journalist who has been on hunger strike for a month in protest against what he says is government harassment, has arrived in France. He has vowed to continue his hunger strike and says he wants to meet President Chirac. Mr Ben Brik is a correspondent for the news agencies Infosud and Syfia, also for the French daily La Croix. 8 May: Human Rights Watch condemns Tunisia’s ongoing repression of the country’s human rights defenders. The organisation cites the severe beatings on 26 April of three prominent activists in a Tunis police station. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 9 May 2000)

* Tunisie. Affaire Ben Brik - suite — Le 5 mai, au lendemain de son arrivée en France, Taoufik Ben Brik a poursuivi son jeûne à l’hôpital de la Salpêtrière, tandis que son frère, détenu à Tunis, en faisait de même. L’Elysée a opposé une fin de non-recevoir implicite à sa demande d’audience, tandis que le Quai d’Orsay l’invitait à cesser son action. Ce qu’il semble envisager, puisqu’il affirme vouloir rentrer à Tunis “avant le 28 mai” pour les municipales. Estimant avoir “remporté une victoire sur Ben Ali”, il a appelé l’opposition à “s’engager dans la brèche” qu’il a ouverte. -6-7 mai. A Tunis, une forte mobilisation s’est organisée pour obtenir la libération de Jelal Zoghlami, le frère du journaliste. Condamné à trois mois de prison, Jelal observe lui aussi une grève de la faim depuis une semaine. Un comité de soutien a été constitué, tandis que plusieurs associations tunisiennes de droits de l’homme ont demandé sa libération. - 8 mai. Ses amis ont exhorté Taoufik Ben Brik à cesser sa grève de la faim. Il compte quitter Paris le 11 mai pour Alger, où il restera quelques jours, avant de retourner en Tunisie. Il compte cesser son mouvement en Algérie. - 10 mai. Le procès en appel de Jelal Zoghlami aura lieu le 15 mai, a annoncé son avocat. La rapidité de la procédure est exceptionnelle et synonyme d’une volonté d’apaisement, a-t-il estimé. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 11 mai 2000)

* Uganda. Media offers a one-sided picture of referendum campaign — The Uganda Journalists Safety Committee (UJSC), an independent press freedom watchdog, reports that the Uganda Television (UTV), Radio Uganda, and Star FM 100, all taxpayer funded electronic media, have failed to provide their viewers and listeners with a balanced and impartial news coverage in this year’s referendum on political systems in April 2000. Over 78% of the news items on Star FM and 66% of the news on Radio Uganda was devoted solely to the Movement campaign. UJSC noted that the side advocating multipartyism received less than 4% of news coverage on both taxpayer-funded radio stations. Uganda Television News (UTV) was equally biased, devoting 73% of its time to the Movement campaign, whilst giving the Multiparty campaign only 2% of its prime time news coverage. The coverage on the private TV channel Wavah Broadcasting Services (WBS) by comparison was more balanced, devoting 48% of its coverage to the Movement campaign and 21% to the Multiparty campaign. Although all three national daily papers —The New Vision, The Monitor and Bukedde — had more coverage of the Movement side (39%, 40% and 48% respectively) than the Multiparty side (8%, 5% and 4% respectively), their coverage was more critical, and therefor provided their readers with a critique of the Movement campaign. (Peter Bahemuka, ANB-BIA, Uganda, 9 May 2000)

* Zambia. Angola accused of border raids — Zambia’s Defence Minister has accused (on 10 May) Angola of launching cross-border air and ground attacks in Zambia’s Western and North Western Provinces. He said that the attacks kad included the dropping of incendiary bombs on a Zambian village and the killing of a Zambian soldier by Angolan troops who had crossed into the country. (IRIN, 10 May 2000)

* Zimbabwe. Pressions sud-africaines — 5 mai. Arrivé à Bulawayo, le chef d’Etat sud-africain Thabo Mbeki a pressé le président Mugabe de rechercher une issue pacifique à la crise du Zimbabwe. Il a incité Mugabe à favoriser un accord fondé sur la “coopération et le non-affrontement” entre Blancs et Noirs afin de résoudre le problème des terres et d’envisager une redistribution aux retombées productives. La visite de Mbeki a coïncidé avec de nouvelles violences et de nouvelles occupations de fermes. L’agitation actuelle, outre 18 morts (fermiers blancs, travailleurs noirs et opposants politiques), a causé un exode de quelque 30.000 ruraux qui affecte les récoltes et laisse présager de futures pénuries. -6-7 mai. Lors d’un meeting du parti ZANU-PF, le leader des anciens combattants, Hunzvi, a appelé ses adhérents à chasser du pays tous les Zimbabwéens qui ont encore un passeport britannique. Ceux qui veulent rester doivent demander la citoyenneté zimbabwéenne et partager leurs terres avec les Noirs, a-t-il dit. Le 7 mai, un autre fermier blanc a succombé à ses blessures. Quatre nouvelles fermes ont été occupées. Par ailleurs, les ministres des Affaires étrangères de l’Union européenne ont décidé d’envoyer une mission au Zimbabwe. - 10 mai. Le principal parti d’opposition, le Mouvement pour le changement démocratique (MDC) a menacé de boycotter les élections législatives et de lancer une grève générale contre la “tyrannie” du président Mugabe. Dans le même temps, anciens combattants et fermiers blancs ont négocié à Harare pour tenter de parvenir à une normalisation de la situation dans les fermes occupées. Les négociations se seraient terminées sur une note positive, selon les responsables, qui n’ont pas donné d’autres précisions. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 11 mai 2000)

* Zimbabwe. Continuing violence kills confidence — 4 May: The leader of the wave of invasions of white-owned farms in Zimbabwe, Chenjerai Hunzvi, has been touring the country by helicopter as part of efforts to reduce escalating tensions. Mr Hunzvi’s move comes as international pressure mounts against President Mugabe for failing to curb the land occupations. Farmers representatives have accompanied Mr Hunzvi, as he travelled. The South African Chamber of Business has encouraged its members to maintain commercial links with Zimbabwe. 5 May: The Commercial Farmers Union (CUF) deputy director Jerry Grant tells a meeting of businessmen that he fears Chenjerai Hunzvi can no longer contain the situation even if he wanted to. Opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) supporters are being advised to put away their T-shirts, posters and other outward signs of their affiliation. South Africa’s President Mbeki is in Bulawayo for the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair. He calls on President Mugabe to seek a peaceful resolution to the nation’s violent dispute over land reform. The leader of the opposition MDC, Morgan Tsvangirai, is detained for four hours at a police road block after holding a campaign rally at Chiredzi, 480 km from Harare. 7 May: Another white farmer has been beaten to death by suspected government supporters. Alan Dunn was the first white farmer to be attacked in two weeks and the third to die since the so-called war veterans began invading farms. Mr Dunn died in hospital. He was a regional executive committee member of the opposition MDC which said he had been attacked by ruling party activists for his political beliefs. Four more white-owned farms are invaded by veterans and opposition supporters beat two men wearing shirts with the logo of President Mugabe’s ZANU-PF. 8 May: Chenjerai Hunzvi has served notice that the invasions of white-owned farms will be stepped up. He has urged his followers to seek out British passport holders — whom he denounced as ruthless cunning people — and force them to leave the country. He says he is setting up a committee to redistribute the land, as politicians could not be relied upon to do the job. 9 May: Supporters of land occupation have invaded a school farm, forcing pupils to stay away. The squatters are demanding the use of half of the buildings at the Rydings primary school near Karoi, in the north-west. The Rydings school sits on a 1,100-acre farm, run by a non-profit-making organisation, which uses the farm’s activities to subsidise school fees for children from neighbouring Zambia and Malawi. White farmers meet with black war veterans but fail to win any assurance that violence will end. 10 May: The opposition MDC says it would review its electoral strategy in the wake of continuing political violence in the country. MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai announced his party’s policy-making body would meet on 13 May to review its options. Earlier he had told reporters that pulling out of the elections was a possibility but later said: «A boycott is not an option». is considering a boycott of the forthcoming parliamentary elections because of a campaign of violence against its members. At least 12 MDC activists have been killed in attacks blamed on government supporters. Shares on the Zimbabwe stock exchange plummet 13.5% — the largest single loss in the market’s history. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 11 May 2000)

* Zimbabwe. Artistes join in the election fray — Zimbabwe’s playwrights and musicians have joined in the fray for the forthcoming parliamentary elections, agreeing that Zimbabwe needs rejuvenating economically. Over the years, Mr Mugabe’s government has echoed the slogan of «housing for all by the year 2000». Realising that many of ZANU-PF‘s promises have not been fulfilled, provocative titles critical of the authorities are now being composed and sung in public — to the chagrin of the leadership. Currently, a drama series: «Toita sei —What shall we do?», portrays the housing problems many middle-class citizens are having to face up to — with no solution in sight. Also, one of Zimbabwe’s top musicians, Thomas Mapfumo, has composed lyrics that bluntly criticise the government’s misrule. His latest offering which openly lambasts the authorities for corruption and mismanagement of the economy, among other things, has been banned from the airways. He has also blasted the government in the local and overseas press. Because of this, Mapfumo has been warned by ZANU-PF and the Central Intelligence Organisation that they are planning to take unspecified action to silence him. (Stan Dongo, ANB-BIA, Zimbabwe, 3 May 2000)