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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 31-08-2000

PART #4/4 - From SOUTH AFRICA to ZIMBABWE

* South Africa. Racism «pervasive» in the Media — The South African Human Rights Commission has issued a report recommending large-scale reforms to address racism in the Media. the report is the culmination of a highly controversial two-year investigation into allegations of racism in the South African media which polarised views between black and white journalists. The Human Rights Commission has concluded that many newspapers and broadcasters in South Africa can be characterised as racist institutions, and measures should be taken to address the problem. the Commission says it has found racism continues to pervade both the style of reporting and attitudes within newspapers and broadcasting companies. (BBC News, 24 August 2000)

* Afrique du Sud. Explosion au Cap — Une explosion d’origine inconnue près du consulat des Etats-Unis au Cap a fait quelques blessés. Elle est survenue à 300 mètres du bâtiment consulaire, où se trouvent aussi de nombreux immeubles de bureaux, mais “les opérations du consulat n’ont pas été affectées”, a tenu à préciser un porte-parole. Depuis juin 1998, la ville du Cap a souvent été la cible d’attentats à la bombe qui ont fait deux morts et au moins 100 blessés. La police suspecte notamment une milice musulmane locale appelée “Le peuple contre le gangstérisme et la drogue”. (AP, 29 août 2000)

* Afrique du Sud. Conférence nationale sur le racisme — Le 30 août, à l’ouverture d’une conférence nationale sur le racisme, première du genre, le président Thabo Mbeki a accusé les Blancs sud-africains de nier l’existence du racisme qui empêche toujours la construction d’une société mixte, six ans après la fin de l’apartheid. “Ce à quoi nous avons affaire est un racisme blanc, anti-noir”, a-t-il déclaré. L’Alliance démocratique a qualifié le discours de destructeur et a accusé Thabo Mbeki de tenter de détourner l’attention de ce qu’elle appelle l’incapacité de son parti à distribuer les fruits de la démocratie. Une enquête d’opinion, publiée le même jour, montre que seulement 3 Blancs sur 10 trouvent que les relations inerraciales sont en voie d’amélioration. (La Libre Belgique, 31 août 2000)

* South Africa. National debate on racism re-opens — 30 August: South Africa’s carefully nurtured image as the Rainbow Nation may be severely tested at a national conference on racism that could put abuses by whites against blacks sharply into focus. Today, President Mbeki opens the four-day conference convened by the country’s top human rights watchdogs to tackle racism six years into the country’s democracy. In his opening speech, President Mbeki tells white South Africans to recognise the reality of racism and join their fellow black citizens in creating a non-racial society. He appeals for unfettered debate on the prejudice that festers in South Africa six years after the fall of the racist apartheid regime. (Editor’s note: The complete text of President Mbeki’s speech can be found on the South African Government’s address: www.gov.za). (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 31 August 2000)

* Sudan. Children die in Nile accident — 50 Sudanese schoolchildren have died after a wooden ferry boat capsized in the fast-flowing Blue Nile river in the east of the country. The accident happened near the central town of Singa, about 320 km south of Khartoum. The overloaded ferry capsized on 23 August, killing 50 pupils aged 10 to 17 who were crossing from the east bank to the west bank of the swollen river. The boys and girls from primary and Koranic schools in villages on the east bank, were crossing the river to visit their families on the west bank. (BBC News, 25 August 2000)

* Soudan. Les évêques demandent des couloirs humanitaires — Dans un document exprimant sa profonde inquiétude au sujet des bombardements par l’armée gouvernementale sur des objectifs civils, la conférence épiscopale catholique soudanaise a demandé l’instauration immédiate de couloirs humanitaires et des aires d’interdiction de vols aériens (“no fly zones”), ainsi que la libre circulation des aides humanitaires dans le Soudan méridional. La conférence estime que la reconnaissance par le gouvernement des opérations humanitaires est déterminante. Elle demande en outre que les multinationales interrompent immédiatement leurs activités relatives à l’extraction de pétrole au Soudan, parce que la majorité des profits est utilisée pour la poursuite de la guerre qui anéantira les peuples du Sud Soudan. (D’après Misna, Italie, 29 août 2000)

* Sudan. Reports about Chinese troops pouring into Sudan denied by China — 28 August: Canada’s National Post publishes the following report: Tens of thousands of Chinese have moved into Sudan in preparation for a major offensive against southern rebels to try to end one of Africa’s longest-running conflicts, according to Western counter-terrorism officials. The Chinese, a mixture of prisoners and soldiers, have been brought in by aircraft and ship, ostensibly to guard Sudan’s increasingly productive oilfields in which the China National Petroleum Corp. is a leading partner. Col. John Garang’s Sudan people’s Liberation Army (SPLA) has managed in recent weeks to advance within 16 kilometres of the oilfields in the Upper Nile Region, causing the country’s Islamic regime to activate emergency plans drawn up with allies whose interests in the oil project are directly under threat...The SPLA captured a group of Chinese in an attack last week. An internal document from the Sudanese military said that as many as 700,000 Chinese security personnel were available for action. 29 August: CNN reports: On 29 August, Beijing rejected reports that hundreds of thousands of Chinese soldiers were helping Sudan defend oil fields in which a major Chinese petroleum company has a financial interest. Chinese officials told CNN in a faxed statement that the recent reports were false. «This report is a purposeful lie intended to harm, and is furthermore completely ridiculous». (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 30 August 2000)

* Swaziland. Political reform — Swaziland will edge closer to constitutional rule next month when a government body completes work on a report that pro-democracy groups hope will lead to a return to plural politics. However, the country’s banned opposition has poured scorn on the work of the constitutional review commission and dismissed its activities as «political window dressing». The constitutional review commission said it would submit a report on public submissions on political reform to King Mswati III in September — a month before the deadline he set early this year. King Mswati ordered the commission, headed by Prince Mangaliso, to give him the report before he went into seclusion at the end of October ahead of the Incwala, an annual spiritual pageant on which the monarchy’s traditional authority lies. (IRIN, Southern Africa, 21 August 2000)

* Swaziland. King Mswati declines to take new wife — On 29 August, Swaziland returned to work from the kingdom’s most sacred annual holiday, the Umhlanga Reed Dance, with news that absolute monarch, King Mswati III would not be taking an eighth wife this year. the Reed Dance, an annual fertility pageant at which the king is expected to pick a new bride, saw an estimated 20,000 bare-breasted maidens, thousands of tourists, and African royalists converge at the king’s royal capital of Lobamba starting on 23 August. King Mswati III did not pick a new bride because, as traditionalists said, he wed a seventh wife earlier this month. The 32-year-old king picked the new Queen, Senteni Masango, as his seventh wife at last year’s dance. (Afr. Eye News Service, South Africa, 29 August 2000)

* Togo. PM loses confidence vote — Parliament has past a vote of no-confidence in the 14-month government of Prime Minister Eugene Koffi Adoboli. The vote was passed overwhelmingly, being opposed by only one member of the Assembly — which is dominated by President Gnassingbe Eyadema’s Rally of the Togolese People. (BBC News, 25 August 2000)

* Togo. PM resigns — Prime Minister Eugene Koffi Adoboli has stepped down following a parliamentary vote of no-confidence last week in his administration. A government spokesman, Koffi Panou, said the prime minister’s resignation had been accepted by President Eyadema after prolonged discussion. He said the President had requested Mr Adoboli and his cabinet to wind up their current government business in readiness for the appointment of a new administration. (BBC News, 28 August 2000)

* Togo. Nouveau gouvernement — Le 27 août, le gouvernement du Premier ministre Eugène Adoboli a démissionné. Le Parlement, essentiellement composé de députés de la mouvance présidentielle, lui avait refusé la confiance en invoquant son incapacité à résoudre la crise économique et à reprendre la coopération avec les partenaires occidentaux, suspendue par ces derniers depuis 1993. - Le 29 août, le président Eyadéma a nommé Premier ministre Kodjo Agbéyomé, 45 ans, responsable du Rassemblement du peuple togolais (parti d’Eyadéma) et président de l’Assemblée nationale. (La Croix, France, 29-31 août 2000)

* Tunisie. Gréviste de la faim libéré — Le prisonnier islamiste Taoufik Chaïeb, en grève de la faim depuis le 10 juillet en Tunisie, a été remis en liberté le 30 août, a annoncé Omar Mestiri, secrétaire général du Conseil national pour les libertés en Tunisie. Joint au téléphone par l’AFP à son domicile, Chaïeb a précisé avoir été libéré par grâce présidentielle portant sur le reliquat de sa peine. Emprisonné depuis le 28 août 1996, Chaïeb avait cessé de s’alimenter depuis 51 jours pour demander sa libération et protester contre sa condamnation à trois reprises pour les mêmes faits: appartenance au mouvement islamiste. (Le Soir, Belgique, 31 août 2000)

* Uganda. The referendum is over but not done with — There was little doubt about how the 29 June 2000 referendum would turn out. Even before the voting, Ugandans of different shades of opinion thought the choice had already been decided — considering the 14-year ban on political party activities and the constraints encountered by the Opposition in selling the multiparty system as a choice for Uganda. The two major political parties, the Democratic Party and the Uganda Peoples Congress, plus a host of other parties and groups as well as multiparty advocates, called for a boycott of the referendum. The referendum question was: «Which political system do you wish to adopt, Movement or Multiparty?». On 1 July, a joint statement issued by the Donor Referendum 2000 Group concluded that the referendum campaign as a whole was not conducted on a level playing field. The Group urged the government of Uganda to «address the shortcoming...to ensure that the forthcoming presidential and parliamentary contests resume momentum towards more inclusive governance». The referendum controversy is far from over. There is a petition pending in the Constitutional Court challenging the new Referendum (Political Systems) Act 2000. Dr. Ssemogerere-Olum has said that his petition against the Act is «just the beginning of the struggle against bad laws. We are opening a new era which has not been explored efficiently...We are going to put even more interest in the pending petition against the Act and by the end of it, the referendum results will have been nullified». (Peter Bahemuka, ANB-BIA, Uganda, 25 August 2000)

* Zambie. Afflux de réfugiés — Le Haut commissariat aux réfugiés (HCR) de l’ONU a indiqué qu’un nouveau camp abritant des réfugiés venus de République démocratique du Congo (RDC) avait été ouvert à l’extrême nord de la Zambie. “La nouvelle vague de réfugiés, de 100 à 150 par jour, nous a obligés à ouvrir un nouveau camp à Kala”, dans la province de Luapula, a déclaré le directeur régional du HCR, M. Ilunga Ngandu. Ce nouveau camp avait été mis en place le 18 août, après que le camp principal de Mwange eut atteint sa capacité maximum, avec 25.000 réfugiés. M. Ngandu a également précisé que la poursuite des combats dans un autre pays voisin, l’Angola, avait conduit le HCR à agrandir le camp de Maheba, dans le nord-ouest du pays. Le HCR a ainsi annoncé, le 28 août, que quelque 800 Angolais, fuyant les combats dans la province angolaise de Moxico, à 1.400 km à l’est de Luanda, s’étaient réfugiés sur le sol zambien dans les quatre derniers jours. La Zambie craint des débordements de la guerre angolaise sur son territoire. Ainsi, le ministre zambien de l’Intérieur Peter Machungwa a indiqué le 29 août que deux engins explosifs angolais étaient tombés en territoire zambien, dans la région qui fait face à la province de Moxico où les combats ont redoublé d’intensité depuis plusieurs semaines. “La guerre angolaise a déjà été importée sur le territoire zambien et toute la zone frontalière a basculé dans l’insécurité depuis fin 1999", estime un diplomate en poste à Lusaka. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 29 août 2000)

* Zambie. Rapt par rebelles congolais — Quelque 26 villageois zambiens ont été enlevés dimanche 27 août, à l’extrême nord du pays, dans une zone frontalière avec la République démocratique du Congo (RDC), par une bande armée. Selon la police zambienne, il s’agirait de rebelles venus de RDC. L’incident s’est produit dans la localité de Kaputa, à 300 mètres de la frontière avec la RDC. Les personnes enlevées naviguaient sur une rivière située à la frontière des deux pays. La police zambienne a renforcé les mesures de sécurité dans la région. Le mois dernier, des inconnus venus de la RDC avaient attaqué et tué deux personnes à Kaputa. Le ministre zambien de l’Intérieur, Peter Machungwa, a indiqué que les présumés rebelles congolais ont réclamé une rançon pour libérer les villageois. “A ce stade, la somme demandée n’est pas claire. Nous avons établi des contacts avec eux et nous essayons de négocier pour obtenir la libération de nos ressortissants”, a-t-il expliqué. Selon le ministre, les 26 villageois ont accidentellement pénétré en territoire congolais lorsque leurs bateaux de pêche ont été poussés dans cette direction par des vents puissants. (D’après La Libre Belgique, 29-31 août 2000)

* Zimbabwe. A positive approach to AIDS — Once a week, Letiwe washes Martha, an AIDS patient. Such a service is carried out at the Mpopoma Home-based Care Unit that assists AIDS sufferers on a voluntary basis. President Mugabe has introduced a 3% AIDS levy, after much resistance from the public. Already some people are benefitting from the levy. The National AIDS Council (NAC) Trust Fund has raised Z$500 million (about US $14 million) from January-June this year. The chairman of the NAC Trust, Dr. Gordon Chavunduka of the Zimbabwe National Traditional Healers Association is helping registered Home-based units to change the AIDS-related scene. The Trust is able to supply some immediate needs: medical equipment, medicines, soap, clothing, food, beds, latex gloves, tennis shoes, aprons, dust coats and wheel chairs. (Dumisani Khumalo, ANB-BIA, Zimbabwe, 18 August 2000)

* Zimbabwe. Eviction of squatters — The Zimbabwean government has condemned a police operation to evict war veterans and illegal squatters from white-owned farms. The government said the police used excessive force in the three days of evictions. Jonathan Moyo, chief spokesman in President Mugabe’s office said: «The government regrets and takes full responsibility for the manner in which the police have sought to evict homeless families». Moyo said the government intended to remove illegal occupants from white-owned farms not among about 3,000 properties targeted for confiscation and handing over to landless blacks, but that it would be done gradually and «within the usual standards of human dignity and common decency». he said the government was considering paying compensation to the squatters «exploring various other ways of assisting the affected families». (IRIN, East Africa, 24 August 2000)

* Zimbabwe. Hunzvi viré par les vétérans — L’association des anciens combattants du Zimbabwe a annoncé, le 27 août, avoir démis Chenjerai “Hitler” Hunzvi de son poste de président. Motif: Hunzvi n’en ferait qu’à sa tête. Le changement de direction ne mettra pas fin aux occupations de fermes, a souligné le secrétaire général de l’association, mais il permettra de mener la campagne avec davantage d’ordre. Hunzvi a coordonné l’invasion forcée de quelque 1.600 fermes de Blancs depuis février, au cours d’une campagne marquée par des meurtres, agressions, enlèvements et autres formes d’intimidation contre les fermiers et leurs employés. - D’autre part, au moins 15.000 ouvriers agricoles et leurs familles ont perdu leur travail et leur toit depuis le lancement de la réforme agraire, affirmait l’un de leurs représentants le 28 août. Sur 300 employés agricoles noirs travaillant dans une ferme d’agriculteurs blancs saisie à l’issue de la réforme agraire, seuls de trois à cinq recevraient un lopin de terre. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 29 août 2000)

* Zimbabwe. Farm acquisitions continue — 25 August: The Zimbabwean Government is pressing ahead with its plans to seize the majority of white-owned farms, identifying another 500 which it intends to acquire. The latest move brings to more than 1,500, the number of farms listed for compulsory purchase by the government to hand over to black peasant farmers for resettlement. A spokesman form the mainly white Commercial Farmers Union (CUF) has described the news as disastrous. the publication of the latest farm list begins the legal process of acquiring them, and has thrown Zimbabwe’s previously highly lucrative and productive agricultural sector into further turmoil. 27 August: Chenjerai Hunzvi, the chairman of the National Liberation War Veterans Association, is ousted after a vote of «no confidence» is adopted by some of the organisation’s officials at a meeting in Harare. But Hunzvi, who did not attend the meeting on 26 August, said later he was still in control and the ouster bid was carried out by a few «rebels» who did not consult with colleagues. (BBC News, 28 August 2000)

* Zimbabwe. White commercial farmers urged to migrate — Some European and African countries, plus Australia and New Zealand, are making efforts to cash in on the current crisis in Zimbabwe by urging white commercial farmers to migrate to their countries and continue with their business — farming. Uncertain about their long-term future in Zimbabwe, hundreds of farmers are responding to offers to farm in Mozambique, Uganda, Portugal, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. These countries have been placing adverts in the independent media. Portugal says in its advert: «A new life in a politically stable country with a superb climate, good business opportunities and government grants are available for agricultural projects. Easy access for British passport holders with minimum formalities. New Zealand describes itself as «a country with a stable democratic government, sustained economic growth where you will find a very similar lifestyle to which you are accustomed, without the stress of worrying about your own or your children’s future». 320 farmers have already crossed into Manica province in Mozambique. The provincial governor, there, has agreed to settle farmers in an underpopulated district where there would be no land conflict. (Tendai Madinah, ANB-BIA, Zimbabwe, 28 August 2000)