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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 19-10-2000

PART #4/4 - From TANZANIA to ZIMBABWE

 * Tanzania. Troubled Alliance Air — The once vibrating regional flight carrier, Alliance Air, is continuing to face troubles and uncertainty following the accumulation of huge losses amounting to US $ 50 million in East Africa alone. The regional airline which is owned by South Africa, Uganda and Tanzania has suspended all its operations until further notice. According to the statement issued by Chris Zweigenthal, Alliance Air’s general manager, the suspension comes following the airline’s financial losses. Before its suspension of flights, it was operating a Boeing 767 -200 on long haul routes and a Boeing 737-200, run by its three-year-old Rwandan subsidiary, Alliance Express. But, according to the manager, these developments will not affect the operations of the South African Alliance express, the feeder airline to South Africa Alliance air. The troubles within the airline is a blessing to Both Tanzania and Uganda, whose governments have been complaining that Alliance Air’s activities were detrimental to their own local routes. (Titus Kaguo, ANB-BIA, Tanzania, 12 October 2000)

* Tanzanie. Troupes à la frontière burundaise — La Tanzanie a déployé des troupes à la frontière avec le Burundi afin de se préparer à l’éventuel rapprochement des affrontements survenant actuellement au Burundi. Selon une explication donnée à la BBC, la plupart des réfugiés burundais arrivant en Tanzanie avaient déclaré que les soldats burundais les accusaient de soutenir les rebelles, suscitant ainsi la crainte de voir les soldats burundais poursuivre les réfugiés en Tanzanie, d’autant plus que le gouvernement burundais avait affirmé être attaqué par des rebelles basés en Tanzanie. (IRIN, Nairobi, 16 octobre 2000)

* Tanzanie. Elections — Les Tanzaniens se rendront aux urnes, le 29 octobre, pour l’élection du président de la République, de 295 députés et des représentants des gouvernements locaux. Dans ce pays de 31 millions d’habitants, 10 millions de personnes sont en âge de voter. Treize partis politiques sont en lice pour les élections législatives et quatre pour la présidence de l’Union. Les élections se dérouleront en même temps à Zanzibar et sur les îles semi-autonomes voisines, où près de 450.000 électeurs, représentés par deux partis politiques, sont appelés à choisir le chef de l’Etat. (Jeune Afrique Economie, France, 16 octobre 2000)

* Tanzania. Counting the days — Tanzanians are now counting the days before the country’s second multiparty general and presidential elections which are due on 29 October. But popular support for the country’s opposition parties has continued to wane. This development has come as a surprise and a disappointment to many Tanzanians who have always believed that the opposition parties would have had massive support as a result of extensive political awareness in the country since multiparty politics were re-established eight years ago. Professor Rwekaza Mukandala, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Dar es Salaam says there has been a continued slump in popular support for opposition parties, while the ruling party, the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), is gaining momentum. The CCM‘s presidential candidate, President Benjamin William Mkapa has also led in an opinion poll conducted by the University of Dar es Salaam through its Department of Political Science last month. The Research in September research was conducted in 19 districts of Tanzania’s mainland, where Mkapa has continued to swamp his opponents.In this opinion poll, 72.5 per cent said their votes will go to President Benjamin Mkapa. (Titus Kaguo, ANB-BIA, Tanzania, 16 October 2000)

* Chad. Controversial oil project gets under way — On 18 October, 30 years after oil exploration began in Chad, the Presidents of Chad and neighbouring Cameroon and officials from an international oil consortium and the World Bank, will break ground for sub-Saharan Africa’s largest construction project — a 1,070 kilometre underground pipeline that will carry oil from 300 wells in southwestern Chad, through the midsection of Cameroon to its Atlantic port of Kribi. The oil fields are about 320 km southeast of Niamey, Chad’s capital. (CNN, 17 October 2000)

* Tunisie. Droits de l’homme — Radhia Nasraoui, avocate et militante tunisienne des droits de l’homme, a appelé, le 12 octobre à Rabat, les autorités tunisiennes à décréter une amnistie générale au profit des prisonniers d’opinion. Lors d’une conférence de presse, Me Nasraoui a affirmé qu’il y avait dans le pays près de 1.000 détenus d’opinion et que “la situation des droits de l’homme s’y était nettement détériorée”. Quelques heures auparavant, les autorités tunisiennes avaient accédé à l’une des requêtes de l’avocate et blamé en termes à peine voilés l’administration pénitentiaire de la prison civile de Tunis pour avoir empêché depuis plus d’un mois Radhia Nasraoui de rendre visite à huit de ses clients. Membres présumés de l’organisation islamiste interdite Ennadha, les détenus en question observeraient actuellement une grève de la faim. L’un d’entre eux, Abdellatif Bouhajila, en grève depuis le 28 août, serait dans un état particulièrement préoccupant, selon sa famille. (Le Monde, France, 14 octobre 2000)

* Uganda. Ebola Virus in Northern Uganda — The dreaded Ebola virus that struck over 300 people in Kikwit, in Congo RDC in 1995, has killed 31 people in northern Uganda. On 14 October, Ugandan ministry of health officials confirmed the prevalence of the disease for the first time in the country. Ebola, described as a rapidly progressing disease, can kill within 24 hours. Victims of the disease described as Haemorrhagic fever, bleed through the mouth, anus, nose and ears, hence the description haemorrhagic fever. Other symptoms include muscle pains and diarrhoea. It is spread through body contact. A ministry statement said laboratory tests had revealed that the dreaded Ebola virus was the cause of the epidemic that has been raging in Gulu district since September. Three of the dead were student nurses, who treated the first Ebola patients admitted to a Lacor missionary hospital in Gulu town. Field officials in Gulu told the Kampala-based New Vision newspaper that at least seven more people came down with the disease Saturday alone, bringing the number of people affected in the past two weeks to 51. All the affected came from Rwot-Obillo in Aswa county, northern Gulu, Kasubi and Kabedo Opong in Gulu municipality. The New Vision said at least five patients have recovered from the disease, and are quarantined in hospitals due to the fears associated with it. Reports in Kampala are rife that the disease could have been brought into Uganda by returning Ugandan troops and their Congolese wives who are camped in Aswa. But army spokesman, Maj. Phenehas Katirima, said no soldier in Gulu had suffered from the disease. The ministry of health has embarked on an emergency recruitment of health education workers to curb the spread of the epidemic. The workers are to visit the affected areas, teach the communities how to prevent the disease as well as look out for any new cases. The ministry of health plans to supply drugs, protective wear and disinfectants to hospitals and health facilities in Gulu. The medical personnel are to follow certain precautions to protect themselves and patients. — Further details from the Editor: 14 October: Two experts from the World Health Organization fly to northern Uganda to investigate and help contain the spread of the virus. 17 October: It is reported that NGO s are pulling aid workers out of northern Uganda. International aid begins to arrive to combat the epidemic. The authorities in northern Uganda have closed schools and banned ritual cleansing at funerals. Officials in Gulu say they have run out of the sterile surgical masks they use to protect themselves from the virus. The press agency MISNA reports that the 50 religious and lay missionaries in Gulu have decided to remain. 18 September: Doctors say they are expecting to find new cases in the next few days as health workers reach remote villages. The number off deaths from Ebola is now given as 39, with 63 more people infected. (PANA, Dakar, and ANB-BIA, 18 October 2000)

* Ouganda. Epidémie d’Ebola — 16 octobre. Selon l’OMS, quelque 43 personnes sont mortes dans le nord de l’Ouganda de la fièvre hémorragique d’Ebola. Selon Kampala, l’épidémie se limite à la région de Gulu, une région affectée par la guérilla. L’envoi d’échantillons sanguins dans un laboratoire spécialisé d’Afrique du Sud a confirmé qu’il s’agit bien du virus Ebola. Cette infection virale très contagieuse et fréquemment mortelle a fait, en 1995, plus de 200 victimes au Congo-RDC. Il n’existe aucun traitement ou vaccin spécifiques contre cette maladie. Ces trois derniers mois, des centaines de militaires ougandais de retour du Congo ont transité par Gulu, incitant la presse ougandaise à évoquer une piste congolaise. Mais un porte-parole de l’armée a affirmé qu’aucun militaire ougandais n’avait contracté cette maladie. Le Kenya, la Tanzanie et le Rwanda ont pris des mesures de précaution. -17 octobre. Dix nouveaux cas ont été constatés et, malgré les propos rassurants du ministère de la Santé, l’épidémie s’est étendue, touchant la ville de Kitgum, à une centaine de km au nord-est de Gulu. Le gouvernement a lancé une vaste campagne d’information et commencé un dépistage systématique de toutes les personnes présentant quelque malaise. - Le 18 octobre, le bilan de l’épidémie s’élevait à 41 morts; au total 94 personnes ont été atteintes par la maladie. Une équipe internationale de spécialistes médicaux est arrivée pour tenter de circonscrire l’épidémie. Selon un responsable local, les secours sont compliqués par la présence dans la région des rebelles de l’Armée de résistance du Seigneur: le personnel sanitaire doit se déplacer dans des véhicules blindés. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 19 octobre 2000)

* Zambia. Trouble at State House — The dignity and honour of State House in Lusaka, popularly referred to as «Plot One», has been eroded amid the suspected dubious activities of President Frederick Chiluba’s wife, Vera, who has been involved with two Lusaka businessmen in connection with drug trafficking. Before President Chiluba left for his two weeks official tour of China on 4 October 2000, he ordered his wife to vacate State House for Ndola, on suspicion that she was having a love affair with one of the drug dealers, the key player in the scandal, Archie Mactribuoy Malie. It is alleged that on several occasions, Malie was allowed to sneak into State House by Vera’s personal security female police officer, and was even served with food there by State House cooks. The leakage of these secret contacts between the First Lady and Malie were so embarrassing to Chiluba, that he had no option but to «invite» his wife to leave State House. (Moses Chitendwe, ANB-BIA, Zambia 18 October 2000)

* Zambia-Vatican City. Archbishop Milingo loses Vatican post — The Vatican has confirmed that Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo, former Archbishop of Lusaka, Zambia, has been quietly removed from his position as a special delegate on immigrant matters. Since coming to Rome, the Archbishop has attracted thousands of people from across Europe seeking cures for cancer and AIDS. On 18 October, friends of Archbishop Milingo circulated a letter addressed to the Pope and other Vatican officials contesting his dismissal. The Vatican said it has no comment. (CNN, 18 October 2000)

* Zimbabwe. Media Complaints Council — For much of the last three years, the Media in Zimbabwe has been on the defensive against threats to their much-cherished freedom of expression. Journalists from both the private and the state controlled media have put up a united fight on an issue most of them have recognised as having grave implications for the practice of the profession — a statutory Media Council. Last weekend in Nyanga, at a Workshop organised by the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), journalists forgot their differences and rallied overwhelmingly to the formation of a self-regulatory Media Complaints Council (MCC). There was unanimous agreement that there is an urgent need for the setting up such a body. (Percy Makombe, ANB-BIA, Zimbabwe, 18 October 2000)

* Zimbabwe. Emeutes du pain — L’armée a été déployée dans les faubourgs les plus pauvres de la capitale zimbabwéenne. Elle surveille et réprime les manifestations contre la hausse des prix de l’alimentation, qui ont commencé le 16 octobre et se sont étendues le 17 à Harare. Un hélicoptère militaire a aussi survolé le faubourg de Mufakose, supervisant apparemment les interventions de la police et lâchant parfois des gaz lacrymogènes sur les rues résidentielles. Les manifestants ont édifié des barricades. La police a arrêté 51 personnes. Le Zimbabwe connaît sa pire crise économique depuis son indépendance, avec une inflation atteignant un taux record de 50% et un chômage supérieur à 50%. Le prix des transports ont doublé depuis le début de l’année et la pénurie du carburant aggrave la crise. - Le 18 octobre, pour la 3e journée consécutive, les manifestations ont continué à Harare en dépit du déploiement de l’armée et de la police. Les émeutes se sont étendues à quatre banlieues supplémentaires. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 18 octobre 2000)

* Zimbabwe. Concern in many sectors — 12 October: White farmers say they fear an escalation of violence against them and their families in the wake of a presidential pardon of ruling party militants who had illegally occupied white-owned land. The Commercial Farmers’ Union, representing about 4,000 white farmers, say violence and intimidation by squatters on more than 1,700 farms has disrupted farming this year. In fact, planting for the 2000/20001 tobacco season has virtually stopped in all major growing areas. 16 October: Riot police have fired teargas at crowds of people protesting over a rise in the price of bread. Hundreds of demonstrators set fire to vehicles and put up barricades in two townships east of Harare. The protests began as commuters prepared to go to work and were continuing six hours later. The Opposition says it will launch impeachment proceedings against President Mugabe when Parliament reconvenes tomorrow. 17 October: Riots in Harare have intensified as protestors take to the streets for the second day. The Government accuses the Opposition of being behind the riots. 18 October: Police and soldiers fight a running battle with protesters in Harare as tempers reach boiling point. Human rights activists accuse the authorities of using excessive force to quell the food riots. In some areas of Harare, tear gas was dropped from army helicopters while armoured vehicles were sent into the city’s southern suburbs. The fact is — Zimbabwe’s economy is poised on the edge of an abyss. The country is now completely cut off from aid support after defaulting on its loans. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 19 October 2000)