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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 06-07-2000

PART #4/4 - From SIERRA LEONE to ZIMBABWE

* Sierra Leone. Casques bleus et rebelles — Les rebelles ont relâché 21 observateurs civils et militaires de l’Onu, détenus depuis fin mai à Pendembu dans l’est du pays, a annoncé le 29 juin le Libéria voisin. Mais le RUF continue à encercler 200 soldats indiens de l’Onu à Kailahun, à 300 km de Freetown. D’autre part, l’Onu a annoncé que ses troupes avaient tué au moins 11 rebelles lors d’une fusillade consécutive à une embuscade dans laquelle un casque bleu jordanien avait été tué le 30 juin. Le 1er juillet, plusieurs autres soldats jordaniens ont été blessés lorsqu’une patrouille a été attaquée par les rebelles près de Rokel, à 20 km de Freetown. Le 4 juillet, les casques bleus ont repris la ville de Masiaka, tombée la veille aux mains des forces rebelles qui avaient réussi à mettre en déroute l’armée gouvernementale. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 5 juillet 2000)

* Sierra Leone. UN peacekeepers under pressure — 29 June: Twenty-one hostage UN peacekeepers arrive in Liberia’s capital Monrovia, today, after being freed by Sierra Leone rebels, officials and witnesses say. The release of the 21 Indians, announced by Monrovia government earlier, provides a boost for UN efforts to restore peace to Liberia’s war-ravaged West African neighbour. «The government of Liberia will turn them over to the United Nations,» Felix Downes-Thomas, the UN representative in Liberia, tells reporters after the arrival of the group from the Sierra Leone border. But the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels, who breached a 1999 peace deal in May after a dispute over disarmament, continue to surround more than 200 UN peacekeepers and a handful of military observers in eastern Sierra Leone. The Liberian statement announcing the releases says the best hope for lasting peace remains the accord signed in Togo’s capital Lome in July 1999. 1 July: The UN Secretary-General condemns an attack on a UN convoy in Sierra Leone. One Jordanian peacekeeper is killed and four others wounded. The ambush took place near the town of Mile 91. 3 July: The UN says there has been an increase in executions of civilians, rapes and the recruitment of child soldiers since fighting restarted. The UN says villages have also been looted by the RUF. 4 July: UN peacekeepers say they have retaken the key town of Masiaka which fell to the rebels on the night of 3 July.The UN commander says his troops fought their way into Masiaka with heavily-armed tanks and infantry. They are now deployed in strength in the town. This is the first time UN troops have acted in such a muscular fashion following a series of humiliations at the hands of the rebels in May. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 5 July 2000)

* Sierra Leone. Diamond ban — 5 July: After several days delay, the UN Security Council imposes a global embargo on diamond exports from Sierra Leone, where a thriving gems-for-guns trade is fuelling a simmering civil war. The resolution bans all rough diamonds from Sierra Leone until the government can set up a proper certification system for the gems — as well as regain access to lucrative diamond-mining areas under the control of the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF). The ban is imposed for 18 months, but the Council can renew it if the RUF still controls the mines. The vote is 14-0 with Mali abstaining. (Reuters, 5 July 2000)

* Sierra Leone. Embargo sur les diamants — Le 5 juillet, le Conseil de sécurité de l’Onu a adopté une résolution imposant un embargo sur les ventes de diamants venant des zones contrôlées par les rebelles sierra-léonais. D’une durée renouvelable de 18 mois, cette résolution proposée par la Grande-Bretagne a pour but d’étrangler fiancièrement les rebelles du RUF qui tirent leurs ressources de la vente de diamants. On estime que 90% des ressources diamantifères du pays sont aux mains du RUF, qui aurait encaissé de ces ventes $200 millions par an depuis 1991. Avec cet embargo, il est désormais illégal d’acheter des diamants à la Sierra Leone, à l’exception de ceux qui auront un certificat des autorités de Freetown. Reste la question du rôle du Libéria, que certains accusent de servir de plaque tournante du trafic des diamants. (D’après AP, 6 juillet 2000)

* South Africa. Ecological disaster — 1 July: The world’s largest colony of African penguins will be evacuated from a nature reserve on Dassen island, placed in ventilated boxes, shipped to the mainland and trucked about 560 miles down the coast where they will be released. Between 3,000 and 6,000 penguins are due to be thus evacuated tomorrow. The penguins are expected to swim home in about 11 days. Authorities hope that will be enough time to clean up the spill from the Panamanian-registered tanker Treasure, which sank near Cape Town on 23 June while carrying 1,300 tons of oil. Conservation officials and volunteers are also struggling to feed and clean some 11,000 oily penguins captured on Robben island, which was also badly hit by the slick. 3 July: Penguin chicks begin to die on Dassen island after their parents were evacuated. They had been shipped to the mainland, trucked about eight hours up the coast and released to fend for themselves. (AP, 1&3 July 2000)

* Soudan. Nouveaux bombardements au Sud — Selon l’agence Misna, les bombardements aériens contre les civils ont repris au Sud-Soudan, notamment sur la ville de Rumbek, qui a été bombardée le 2 juillet, faisant 2 morts et plusieurs blessés. D’autres bombardements ont eu lieu les derniers jours sur d’autres centres, heureusement sans faire de victimes: à Cueibet, Liethnom, Lunyaker, Buot et Yei. - D’autre part, selon AP, les rebelles du SPLA ont affirmé le 5 juillet s’être emparés de la ville de Mabaan, un noeud de communication stratégique situé dans la province du Haut-Nil bleu, à 570 km au sud de Khartoum, près de la frontière éthiopienne. La ville se trouve au croisement des routes menant aux gisements pétroliers situés entre les villes de Renk et Melut. (ANB-BIA, de sources duverses, 5 juillet 2000)

* Togo. Lome gears up for 36th OAU Summit — The city of Lome is bustling with activity in preparation for the 36th Summit of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), billed to open next week in the Togolese Capital. For the past three months, authorities in Lome have been engaged in a race against time in efforts to provide suitable accommodation for the large number of invitees to the African gathering. Some 3,000 beds are required to cater for all the invitees. Sources at the ministry of tourism told PANA that in spite of European Union sanctions, Togolese authorities have been able to establish new lodging facilities in Lome, «which normally could not accommodate more than 1,700 guests.» Prime Minister Eugène Koffi Adoboli‘s government has committed all its resources into preparations for the summit, assisted by other ministries and services. The Togolese capital has been spruced up with luxury villas in Lome II, north of the old city. Open gutters have been cleaned up, roads paved and bitumen slapped on some of the main streets which have also been fitted with street lamps. However, some of the work is still outstanding due to the «particularly short notice». The «Cité OUA 2000», located a few hundred yards from President Gnassingbé Eyadema’s residence, is still under construction. Contractors and labourers told PANA they were not optimistic the villas would be ready before the summit, in spite of the fact that they are working round the clock. Togolese authorities have refurbished rooms at the «Foire Togo 2000» site, constructed bungalows and erected prefabricated houses in the city centre and residential areas. They have also carried out repairs at the city’s main Hotel du 2 Février, whose 35 floors have been closed to the public in the past three months. Less than a week before the summit opens, only a few contractors, including Claire Ngo Djebet, a Cameroonian businesswoman, have handed over the keys of completed houses to the Togolese government. Most of the national firms and foreign private economic operators are still at various stages of their projects. (PANA, Dakar, 5 July 2000)

* Tunisie. Demande d’amnistie — Quelque 250 opposants et défenseurs des droits de l’homme ont exigé une amnistie générale pour tous les prisonniers d’opinion en Tunisie. Dans ce texte concluant une Conférence nationale pour les libertés et la démocratie, qui a eu lieu à Tunis ce week-end, les participants demandent l’arrêt des poursuites judiciaires, le rétablissement des droits civiques et politiques, ainsi que des réparations pour les préjudices subis. (Le Monde, France, 6 juillet 2000)

* Ouganda. Non au multipartisme — Les Ougandais ont rejeté à 91,5% des votants le multipartisme, lors du référendum tenu le 29 juin. Ils ont choisis de conserver le système dit du “Mouvement”, dénoncé par l’opposition comme un parti unique déguisé, qui est en vigueur depuis 14 ans. Ces résultats, publiés le 1er juillet, portent sur 85% des circonscriptions. Quelque 9,6 millions d’électeurs étaient appelés aux urnes, mais environ 50% seulement ont effectivement participé au référendum, ce qui transforme le résultat en un demi-succès pour le président Museveni. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 3 juillet 2000)

* Uganda. Voting for political future — 29 June: A referendum to gauge support for a political system credited with creating stability but criticized as undemocratic draws a reportedly light voter turnout, today. The nonbinding ballot question asks voters whether they support President Yoweri Museveni’s National Resistance Movement or want a multiparty system. Traditional political parties, allowed to exist in name only, called for a boycott of the vote. In his first public comment on the vote, Museveni says if his Movement received less than 60 percent of the vote, he would consider changing Uganda’s political system. «If there are no problems in the organization of the elections or natural causes like rain preventing all the registered voters from casting their ballots, and the Movement gets less than 60 percent, I will know there is a serious problem with the Movement system. But we shall make a judgment after looking at the results and the voter turnout». The private Central Broadcasting Station radio reports a generally low turnout nationwide. Some polling stations in Kampala said only half the registered voters on their lists had turned up. The 16,500 polling stations close at 5 p.m., and vote counting gets under way immediately. Results are to be announced by 1 July. The Electoral Commission says 9.6 million voters had registered in the country of 22 million. News media report a higher turnout in rural areas. 30 June: Early results show a clear majority in favour of retaining the country’s current no-party system. 30 June: First official results show that Ugandans wish to continue with their present system of government. 1 July: President Museveni’s «no-party» system of government has decisively won the referendum. About 50% of those registered to vote actually voted; of these, 91% voted for the current «no-party» system of government. The Uganda People’s Congress and the Democratic Party boycotted the referendum. 4 July: President Museveni makes the surprise announcement that he is willing to consider a return to multi-party politics. «I have no problem with political parties if they are not on the wrong basis», he told a news conference. «Let’s change society in such a way that if parties are brought in, they are no longer a danger». 5 July: Multi-party advocates say they will continue to fight for a pluralist system of politics. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 6 July 2000)

* Western Sahara. Talks end without gains — Talks between Morocco and the Polisario Front ended in London on 28 June without any significant progress on the implementation of the UN settlement plan for Western Sahara. «We have talked about obstacles hindering the implementation of the peace plan, but no progress has been made on the substance,» the leader of the Sahrawi delegation, Mahfoud Ali Beiba said after the talks. He said that such other meetings would be held between both sides to discuss the technical aspects on the implementation of the UN peace plan. Sources close to the Sahrawi delegation in London revealed that another meeting for talks at the same level has been scheduled for September. Morocco and the Polisario Front have not yet agreed those to be registered to vote in the self-determination referendum that is to decide whether Western Sahara joins Morocco or becomes an independent state. Morocco and the Polisario Front have been fighting over the Western Sahara since Spain left the territory in 1975. (PANA, Dakar, 29 June 2000)

* Zambia. «Solidarity in face of the country’s social crisis» — In a Pastoral Statement issued on 16 June, Zambia’s Catholic Bishops said they wanted to strongly express again their deep concern for the situation in Zambia, today, and to add their profound worry that nothing significant has happened to improve that situation. The Bishops emphasise that: 1) The health system continues to be in a state of crisis; 2) The education system is similarly in a state of crisis. The Bishops remind citizens that the primary challenge facing Zambia today is not resources but priorities. «It is regrettable that even the meagre resources that are available for the common good and for the benefit of the most vulnerable members of our society, are not directed towards priorities that answer essential needs, in other words essential needs are not provided». The Bishops call upon all to be in solidarity in the face of the people’s sufferings. (Zambia Episcopal Conference, 16 June 2000)

* Zambia. Prioritising poverty reduction — In a move to sharply focus on reducing the high rate of poverty in Zambia, the government announced on 29 June, that it has replaced the Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility (ESAF) with the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF). Zambia’s vice-president Christon Tembo announced the change saying it was in an effort to mainstream poverty reduction initiatives in the overall development framework of the country. Tembo explained that the replacement would now mean that concessional lending for low income countries from the multilateral lenders would be through the PRGF. Officials say the rate of poverty among Zambia’s 10 million population is about 70 percent, with rural poverty continuing to be high at 83 percent compared to the 56 percent for the urban areas. Poverty levels in Lusaka are said to have doubled to 52 percent since 1991. The new strategy envisages the effective integration of poverty reduction programmes in the macroeconomic framework. Tembo said government, together with its co-operating partners and the civil society intend to develop a national poverty reduction action plan whose target will be to reduce poverty to 50 percent in the medium term. Tembo was speaking in Lusaka when he launched a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) under which the policies and targets in the PRGF programmes shall be based. «In the case of Zambia, indications are that we need more than Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative, if poverty is to be reduced below levels of concerns,» Tembo said. He said the country’s current debt burden of over 6 billion dollars was among the challenges to be tackled in order for the government to make poverty reduction a reality for posterity. (PANA, Dakar, 29 June 2000)

* Zambia. Zambian and Angolan defence chiefs meet — 2 July: Zambian and Angolan defence chiefs create a special committee to investigate charges of border violations by each of their armies, a source of heated dispute between the neighbouring countries. The 10-member special committee was agreed in Lusaka after four days of talks by members of the Joint Permanent Commission that oversees relations between the two African states. In a statement, the Commission — which includes defence and home affairs ministers, senior military, police and internal security officials — said it had also agreed on increased Angolan and Zambian military patrols on the common border. The Joint Permanent Commission also called on the United Nations to hasten the deployment of UN observers and peacekeepers in Congo RDC, in line with the Lusaka Agreement, to ensure forward movement in the question. (Reuters, 2 July 2000)

* Zimbabwe. L’archevêque de Bulawayo menacé de mort — Le 3 juillet, la conférence épiscopale d’Afrique australe (SACBC) a exprimé sa vive préoccupation face aux menaces de mort contre l’archevêque de Bulawayo, Mgr Pius Ncube. Celui-ci a joué un rôle important en faveur de la paix avant les élections. Selon la SACBC, Mgr Ncube est menacé de mort pour avoir dénoncé les violations flagrantes des droits de l’homme et tous ceux qui exacerbent la violence dans le pays. Mais “à aucun moment, Mgr Ncube n’a donné une orientation politique quelconque à son discours, qui exhorte plutôt les autorités à faire de la paix une réalité”, a indiqué la SACBC. (PANA, 3 juillet 2000)

* Zimbabwe. Archbishop receives death threats — On 3 July, The Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference expressed deep concern over death threats to Archbishop Pius Ncube of Bulawayo in Zimbabwe. Archbishop Ncube played an important role in appealing for peace in the run-up to the parliamentary election held 24-25 June in Zimbabwe. According to the bishops’ conference, he spoke out against those who fostered violence and deplored the abuse of human rights that was evident in various parts of the country. In their statement, issued by the SACBC General Secretary, Father Richard Menatsi, the bishops say Archbishop Ncube «did so out of an obligation as a leader in the Church to be true to God’s message of peace and love for our fellow human beings, and out of a deep concern for the welfare of his people. At no point did Archbishop Ncube advocate a particular political orientation, but implored those with power to make peace a reality», the SACBC said. In his own statement, «A Concern on the Present Situation in Zimbabwe» that was issued at the end of April, Archbishop Ncube said: «We make this communication, calling for our leaders to engage in constructive behaviour and all citizens to avoid violence and to contribute positively to the welfare of this country and all its peoples. As Church, we stand for justice and wellbeing for everybody. We are neutral and do not take sides with any political party.» For this, President Robert Mugabe recently castigated the Archbishop for the poor performance of the ruling ZANU-PF party in Matabeleland in the election. Also, for the same reason, members of the Central Intelligence Organisation which co-ordinates government intelligence activities visited him during the campaign period. The SACBC believes it is in connection with the results of the election that he has now received threats to his life. «Courage in the face of injustice must be welcomed, and the Archbishop has shown such courage», the SACBC says in its statement. (Editor’s note: The Bishops’ Conference says it will hold the government responsible for the Archbishop’s safety. Members of the Central Intelligence Organisation had «visited» the Archbishop several times in the campaign period.) (PANA, Dakar, 3 July 2000)

* Zimbabwe. After the elections — 29 June: European Union (EU) monitors say that those responsible for pre-election violence in Zimbabwe, which they blame on the ruling ZANU-PF party, must be brought to justice. At the same time, the head of the EU observer mission praises the conduct of the election and says he is heartened by messages of reconciliation made by the President and the opposition party. One of the key questions which will now determine Zimbabwe’s economic future, is the reaction of the war veterans occupying 1,000 white-owned farms. President Mugabe has always said they should stay put until they are given land of their own. However, this could be a lengthy process as many of the owners of the 804 farms on the list for compulsory purchase, are expected to lodge appeals. The deadline for this is 3 July. 30 June: ZANU-PF is due to meet today, with President Mugabe coming under pressure to step down as party leader. The independent Financial Gazette newspaper is reported as saying that a group of 12 ZANU-PF Members of Parliament are threatening to side with the opposition if Mr Mugabe stays on and runs for re-election as President in 2002. 1 July: At least 25 further farms have been occupied since the elections. 3 July: The authorities are due to begin considering appeals against the seizure of white-owned farms. White farmers plan to offer 200 farms for sale to the government, in an attempt to preempt compulsory land seizures. 4 July: President Mugabe’s nominations to fill Zimbabwe’s 20 vacant parliamentary seats and cabinet posts, expected in the next week, may serve to intensify growing tensions within ZANU-PF. The EU calls on the government to re-establish law and order across the country. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 5 July 2000)

* Zimbabwe. Pas de gouvernement de coalition — 2 juillet. Le Mouvement pour le changement démocratique (MDC - opposition) a rejeté les propositions du président Mugabe pour un gouvernement de coalition en vue de sortir le pays du gouffre économique. “Nous avons décidé d’être l’opposition officielle de ce pays et nous estimons que la ZANU-PF a assez d’hommes et de femmes pour former un gouvernement sans inviter l’opposition”, a indiqué leur leader Morgan Tsvangirai. La ZANU-PF a alors tenté de persuader des membres de l’opposition en leur offrant individuellement des postes ministériels. Selon les analystes, le gouvernement chercherait à embarquer l’opposition en vue de regagner le soutien financier des bailleurs de fonds. - Le 4 juillet, des responsables européens ont indiqué que l’UE est disposée à accroître son aide au Zimbabwe, mais tout dépendra de l’attitude du président Mugabe en faveur de la réconciliation. L’UE doit prochainement débloquer une aide de 33 millions d’euros, mais si des “progrès réels et tangibles dans le respect du droit et dans les réformes économiques” sont enregistrés, cela pourrait être augmenté pour aider le pays à sortir de l’ornière. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 5 juillet 2000)