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: 13-07-2000

PART #3/3 - From SIERRA LEONE to ZIMBABWE

* Sierra Leone. Reactions to diamond ban — (On 5 July, the UN Security Council imposed a worldwide embargo on the sale of diamonds from Sierra Leone for 18 months. The embargo makes it illegal to buy Sierra Leone diamonds except those that have a certificate of origin from the government. The following are some reactions to the ban): Belgium: On 6 July, Belgium said it had taken immediate action to enforce the UN embargo, but warned its effectiveness would be limited by the flow of diamonds through neighbouring countries. The Belgian port city of Antwerp is the world’s largest diamond trading centre with a $20 billion annual industry that handles 80$ of the world trade in rough diamonds, and 50% of trade in polished gens. Great Britain: Britain praised the UN decision. British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook, says: «I have seen for myself the misery and brutality of the civil war in Sierra Leone, which the rebels fund through illegal diamond sales». India: India’s diamond industry is introducing (from 6 July) new measures to stop the import of diamonds from countries where the trade is thought to fund rebel movements. The diamond industry’s main body, Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council, will require all exporters of rough diamonds to declare the stones’ countries of origin. Russia: Russia welcomed the UN ban and said the terms of the ban were a good sign for making sanctions more effective in future. Sierra Leone: The Government welcomed the UN ban, calling the measure a «two-pronged happiness» that would limit the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF)’s ability to buy arms, and also help stem petty smuggling that has drained a potential source of government income for years. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 7 July 2000)

* Sierra Leone. Casques bleus encerclés — Le Front révolutionnaire uni (RUF) a refusé d’accéder à la demande de la Minusil de réapprovisionner par hélicoptère le personnel des Nations unies de la région de Kailahun, à l’est du pays, a signalé l’Onu le 11 juillet. Depuis tout un temps déjà, 233 casques bleus et observateurs militaires y sont bloqués par le RUF. “Ils n’ont plus aujourd’hui que pour 10 jours de rations”, a déclaré un porte-parole. Leur approvisionnement est d’autant plus difficile que les routes sont en mauvais état du fait de la saison de pluies; et le 7 juillet, un hélicoptère s’est vu refuser l’accès à la région. Par ailleurs, la situation militaire générale en Sierra Leone était calme, a déclaré l’Onu, ajoutant que les troupes de la Minusil avaient découvert une importante cache d’armes près de Lungi et qu’une enquête était en cours. (IRIN, Abidjan, 11 juillet 2000)

* Sierra Leone. Security issues — On 11 July, US Ambassador Richard Holbrooke rapped UN peacekeepers for doing a bad job, but rejected an increase in troops for Sierra Leone without further study. «Our government is of the view that these issues are of such consequence that we have to get them right. We are not happy with the UN mission in Sierra Leone right now. It has not done a good job», he said. On 12 July, Human Rights Watch appealed to Britain to stop the Sierra Leone Government army from killing civilians in its war against rebels. On 19 July, West African states will meet to discuss deploying troops to join UN peacekeepers in Sierra Leone. The three-day meeting will be held in Accra, Ghana, and will inaugurate a new regional Defence and Security Commission made up of key defence officials from member states. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 13 July 2000)

* Somalia. Opposition to peace process — An editorial in the 4 July edition of the Somaliland newspaper Jamhuuriya, which reflects the views of the Somaliland administration, said the UN appeal for support of the Somali peace and reconciliation conference in Djibouti, was part of a process of blindfolding the world community. It said the real aim of Djibouti President Ismael Omar Guellah, who initiated the talks, was to destroy the Somaliland and Puntland administrations, which had achieved security in their regions. It said Guellah was hosting military officers at Arta, location of the Somali talks, especially those who had helped destroy the Somali nation. «Therefore, no one was obliged to attend or not to attend, and President Guelleh is responsible for that». The editorial said «there are those regions which, through their own efforts, have established their own administration structures in Somalia. Are they not the right people to be consulted on the future of their people and country». (IRIN, East Africa, 5 July 2000)

* South Africa. Why the bid for the World Cup failed — South Africa’s failure in its bid to host the 2006 football World Cup (losing to Germany by a single vote), is described by President Thabo Mbeki as a setback in Africa’s efforts to gain international sporting recognition. He said: «We are confident that our bid was sound in all respects but a few of the final arbiters, from their unique vantage point, clearly had their own view different from ours. Once more, our best wishes to the winning nation». But why did the bid fail? Some people have pointed out that South Africa’s infrastructural development dies not match that of Germany — even though South Africa has some top class football and rugby grounds, ready to be upgraded into stadiums worthy of the World Cup. But South Africa’s biggest drawback is the high rate of crime on its city streets, especially the business capital, Johannesburg. South Africa’s campaign team had promised that 10% of its budget would be used to tackle the crime menace. Transport was another problem to be tackled. Some of the proposed stadiums were a long way from tourist hotels, and the dangerous crowded minibus taxis remain the backbone of public transport. (BBC News, 6 July 2000)

* South Africa. Farm seizure threat — On 6 July, South African farmers’ organisations denounced as nothing less than land theft, plans to expropriate farming land that could lead to Zimbabwe-style chaos. The move would be seen as an open declaration of war on the white commercial farming sector, which could only have «negative implications for the South African economy, leading to even greater poverty and unemployment», farmers’ leaders said. The warning came after a statement by Gilingwe Mayende, South Africa’s land affairs director general, that the Government was considering using its constitutional powers to seize land and speed up the land redistribution process. Censuring white farmers for trying to make a «quick killing» while negotiating sales of land with government departments, Dr Mayende said than an over-reliance on the «willing buyer, willing seller» principle, was impeding effective land redistribution. «While the Government has demonstrated a willingness to negotiate land prices on the basis of this approach, the same level of commitment has not been displayed by the majority of land owners whom we have negotiated with», he said. (The Times, UK, 7 July 2000)

* Soudan. Un aspirant missionnaire enlevé et torturé — Un aspirant missionnaire mexicain, Alfredo Gonzalez, 28 ans, se trouvant au Soudan pour étudier la théologie, a été kidnappé, interrogé, maltraité puis relâché le 07 juillet dernier, par des inconnus, qu’il identifie lui-même comme membres de la police secrète. Gonzalez en était à son neuvième mois d’expérience missionnaire au sein de la communauté des Pères Blancs à Hajj Yousif, au sud de la capitale, Khartoum. Le 07 juillet au matin, il a été interpellé par des hommes alors qu’il se trouvait au marché. Ils l’ont forcé à monter dans leur voiture et lui ont posé une série de questions dans un anglais à l’accent américain. Profitant de la distraction de ses ravisseurs, Gonzalez, il a réussi à appeler de son portable le curé de Hajj Yousif, Augustine Arteche. “Je suis avec la police secrète et je n’ai pas mes papiers”. Au Soudan, il existe plusieurs polices secrètes connues pour leur férocité et leurs méthodes expéditives, certaines d’entre elles contrôlées par les ministères, d’autres par des partis politiques. Les quatre kidnappeurs se sont mis en colère et ont bandé les yeux du missionnaire, parlant entre eux en arabe. Ils l’ont emmené dans une maison, lui ont lié les mains et ont continué à l’interroger. Après avoir fait comprendre qu’ils connaissaient tous les derniers déplacements du jeune homme, ils ont demandé. “Qui écrit tous ces articles sur le Soudan?” Ils ont parlé de la mauvaise image attribuée au Soudan à travers les articles publiés à l’étranger et ont ajouté qu’ils s’apprêtaient à s’occuper de ceux qui envoient des nouvelles hors du pays. Les ravisseurs ont fait boire de l’eau à Gonzalez, probablement droguée. L’un des hommes l’a ensuite torturé. L’otage a été emmené dans un lieu isolé puis relâché, menacé de représailles s’il racontait les faits. Gonzalez a pris un taxi jusqu’à la cathédrale de Khartoum, d’où il s’est fait accompagner à Hajj Yousif. Le jeune homme a porté plainte à la préfecture de police. (Misna, Italie, 13 juillet 2000)

* Sudan. Aspirant missionary sequestred and abused by police — A Mexican aspirant missionary, Alfredo Gonzalez, who was in Sudan for a period of mission experience, was sequestered, interrogated, abused and then released on the 7th of last July by an unidentified group of men, he identified as members of a secret security force. Gonzalez, a 28-year-old theology student, was in his ninth month of mission experience with the community of White Fathers in Hajj Yousif, a town of around 150-thousand residents south of the capital Khartoum. On the morning of the 7th of July he went to the market to buy some supplies and was stopped by a group of men who forced him to get into their car. They immediately began asking him a series of questions in fluent American English. When the men seemed to be distracted the student managed to use the mobile phone to call the parish priest of Hajj Yousif, Augustine Arteche. “I am with Security. I have no papers with me”, is what he was able to say in Spanish before the men noticed. There are in fact various secret security forces in Sudan, known for their ferociousness and hasty methods, some controlled by Ministries and others by parties. One of the men four with the driver grabbed the phone from Gonzalez and hit him on the back of the head. He was then blindfolded and the men began talking among themselves in Arabic. After a short time, they brought him into a house, made him sit down, tied his hands and continued questioning him. In particular, after having demonstrated that they knew everything about the student’s movements, they asked him “who wrote all the articles on Sudan”. They spoke about the “bad image given of Sudan by articles published abroad” adding that they were “preparing a party for those who continue sending news about Sudan all over the place”. Gonzalez then asked for some water, that earlier they had refused. A few minutes after drinking he began to feel dizzy but the questioning and threats continued for hours. He had in all probability been drugged. At a certain point he was left alone with one of the men, that abused him. Later he was taken to an isolated area and released, with the threat to not say a word about what had happened. The Gonzalez then stopped a passing taxi and asked to be accompanied to the Cathedral of Khartoum, where he met a friend that brought him back to the parish house at Hajj Yousif at 9:30 p.m. Alfredo Gonzalez filed a report about his dramatic ordeal at the local police station. (Misna, Italy, 13 July 2000)

* Tanzania. The accused in the US Embassy bombing, pleads «not guilty» — 10 July: A Tanzanian man charged with conspiracy in the 1998 bombing of the US Embassy in Dar es Salaam, pleaded not guilty when he was arraigned before the High Court. Rashid Salehe Hemed (alias Richard Bachai) denied that he had ever conspired with five other suspects still at large, in preparing the bomb that went off 7 August just outside the former American Embassy in Kinondoni district. (PANA, Dakar, 10 July 2000)

* Tunisia. Human rights activists barred — The authorities in Tunisia have refused to allow three foreign human rights activists into the country. Officials from Amnesty International and the International Federation for Human Rights were told their presence was undesirable, although their organisations had earlier been assured that visits to Tunisia could resume after a ban lasting several years. (BBC News, 11 July 2000)

* Tunisie. FIDH et AI refoulés — Le 11 juillet, le président de la Fédération internationale des droits de l’homme (FIDH) et une délégation d’Amnesty International (AI) ont été refoulés à leur arrivée à l’aéroport de Tunis-Carthage. Ils auraient dû passer deux jours en Tunisie pour rencontrer des dirigeants de diverses organisations, ainsi que Nadia Hammani en grève de la faim depuis le 28 juin pour réclamer l’arrêt des poursuites judiciaires contre son père, porte-parole du parti ouvrier communiste (POCT) interdit. Les deux organisations ont exprimé leurs plus vifs regrets après cet incident. Confronté à de nombreuses critiques internationales en matière de respect des droits de l’homme, le régime tunisien avait multiplié ces dernières semaines les mesures d’apaisement en assouplissant les règles d’obtention du passeport, en s’engageant à libérer une presse muselée et en libérant plusieurs prisonniers d’opinion dont 17 membres du POCT. – Le 11 juillet, Nadia Hammani, 17 ans, a annoncé qu’elle mettait fin à sa grève de la faim sur avis de ses médecins et suite aux appels de plusieurs ONG. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 12 juillet 2000)

* Ouganda. Les troupes en RDC — Le ministre ougandais des Affaires étrangères a annoncé au sommet de l’OUA à Lomé que la moitié des troupes ougandaises se retirerait du Congo-RDC “dans quelques semaines”. Par ailleurs, selon un porte-parole de l’armée, l’Ouganda a désigné un nouveau commandant pour la région de Bunia (nord-est de la RDC), le colonel Charles Angina, qui aura comme objectif de stabiliser la région qui a été le théâtre de luttes intertribales. Et des sources gouvernementales ont indiqué que le général Edward Katumba Wamala devait remplacer le général James Kazini en tant que commandant en chef de la mission militaire ougandaise en RDC. (IRIN, Nairobi, 10 juillet 2000)

* Zimbabwe. Match mortel — Des incidents qui ont éclaté le 9 juillet au stade national de Harare, lors du match de football Zimbabwe-Afrique du Sud comptant pour la qualification au Mondial de 2002, ont fait 12 morts et de nombreux blessés. Lorsque l’équipe sud-africaine a marqué un deuxième but, le public a commencé à lancer des bouteilles et autres projectiles, l’arbitre a suspendu le match, et les forces de l’ordre ont utilisé des gaz lacrymogènes et des lances à eau pour “ramener le calme”. Dans la panique qui a suivi, des gens se sont faits écraser contre les barrrières. Des fonctionnaires présents ont sévèrement critiqué l’intervention des forces de l’ordre, jugée excessive et irrationnelle. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 10 juillet 2000)

* Zimbabwe. Reactions to elections — 6 July: Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai confirms that he wants impeachment proceedings launched against President Mugabe. He cites pre-election violence as grounds for impeaching the President. «The President was responsible for initiating this violence, so there is every reason for impeachment», Mr Tsvangirai says. His opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) declares its intention to petition the High Court to nullify the election results in 28 constituencies where it suspects there were irregularities. The MDC announces a 15-member shadow cabinet and reiterates its refusal to take part in a coalition government with President Mugabe. 10 July: The electorate are starting to exert pressure on the two main parties, to bury their poll hatchet and «deliver» on the economy and other election promises. President Mugabe is staying away from the OAU summit in Togo because he says he is putting the finishing touches to a new cabinet. 11 July: A Commonwealth observer mission says that pre-poll violence influenced voting in the elections. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 12 July 2000)

* Zimbabwe. Distribution des terres — Le 12 juillet, le porte-parole du ZANU-PF (le parti au pouvoir) a déclaré que le gouvernement commencera, le 14 juillet, à redistribuer les terres des 804 fermes de propriétaires blancs qu’il veut exproprier. Les paysans et anciens combattants qui occupent certaines fermes depuis février, devront les quitter pour se rendre dans les exploitations nouvellement acquises, où on leur donnera des terres. (La Croix, France, 13 juillet 2000)

* Zimbabwe. The land issue — 6 July: White farmers are offering to sell another 400 farms to the government for its black resettlement programme, bringing to 600 the number of farms made available to the government this week. The Commercial Farmers’ Union (CUF) deputy director, Jerry Grant, says the government does not need to pursue its controversial land seizure plans, because white farmers are prepared to sell some of their land for a properly managed resettlement programme. Thousands of white Zimbabweans are streaming back into the country from neighbouring states (mostly Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia) where they sought temporary shelter to escape election-related violence in the run-up to the elections. 7 July: The CUF says the war veterans are continuing to wreck havoc on farms. 12 July: A senior ZANU-PF official says war veterans occupying white-owned farms are to be moved to lands taken over by the government from white farmers. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 13 July 2000)

* Zimbabwe. Robert Mugabe continues to show his dissatisfaction with any opposition — The following is a commentary just received from Zimbabwe on the current atmosphere within the country: «The first serious opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), led by former trade unionist Morgan Tsvangirai won 57 of the 120 elected seats. (Mugabe can still appoint another 30 MPs) against the odds in a remarkably dirty election, but opposition supporters are still being penalised. After the ruling party lost every seat in the capital, army and police have imposed an unofficial curfew in the poorer suburbs, beating up customers at beerhalls and nightclubs. Some bars say even their workers are afraid to come to work because of the violence. Mugabe’s reaction to an incident in the national soccer stadium would be funny if it were not tragic. In the last minutes of a World Cup qualifying match against South Africa, some bottles were thrown when the visitors scored a clinching second goal, and police fired teargas at the crowd. In the ensuing panic, thirteen people, including four children, were killed. Mugabe, in his message of condolence to the relatives of the dead, blamed the MDC for the incident. Apparently MDC slogans were shouted and the crowd showed red cards, the MDC symbol, that Mugabe should go. It seems that this provoked the police to their disproportionate, unprofessional and ultimately tragic action. But any stick will do to beat the opposition with. (Magari Mandebvu, Zimbabwe, 13 July 2000)