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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 26-10-2000

PART #4/4 - From SENEGAL to ZIMBABWE

 * Sénégal. Référendum et élections — Le 22 octobre, le président Abdoulaye Wade a annoncé la tenue “début janvier” d’un référendum constitutionnel, suivi par des “élections législatives anticipées en mars”. Elu le 19 mars dernier, le chef de l’Etat sénégalais mène la première alternance politique en Afrique. (Libération, France, 23 octobre 2000)

* Sierra Leone. Finding enough troops — 20 October: The UN has secured troops and a commander for its struggling peacekeeping mission in Sierra Leone, averting a collapse of the 12,400-strong force charged with maintaining peace in one of the bloodiest African conflicts in decades. Kofi Annan is expected to pick Lieutenant-General Danile Opande, Kenya’s vice chief of general staff, as the new commander of UNAMSIL. Mr Annan has also secured two Bangladeshi battalions to fill the vacuum that will be left when India pulls out its 3,000 troops later this year. 24 October: Jordan says it is intending to withdraw its 1,800-strong contingent from the UN peacekeeping force. 25 October: Kofi Annan urges Jordan to be flexible in withdrawing its troops from Sierra Leone, saying he was trying to find replacements but needs time to get them on the ground. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 26 October 2000)

* Somalie. Nouveau gouvernement — Le 20 octobre, un gouvernement de transition a été institué à Mogadiscio. C’est le premier gouvernement en Somalie depuis 1991. Le Premier ministre Ali Khalif Galaydh a nommé 25 ministres, ainsi qu’un maire pour la capitale Mogadiscio. Le nouveau gouvernement devrait diriger la Somalie, nation de 7 millions d’habitants, pour une période de transition de trois ans. Sa composition est censée représenter la complexe structure clanique du pays. Sa principale tâche sera de désarmer des milliers d’hommes armés, dont des factions opposés au processus de paix, et de restaurer la sécurité dans un pays ravagé. En 2003 devraient avoir lieu des élections libres. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 20 octobre 2000)

* Somalia. New Government — 20 October: Prime Minister Ali Khalif Galaydh has announced his government, the first in the country since the overthrow of the last president, Mohammed Siad Barre, almost 10 years ago. The new cabinet has 25 ministers, all of whom are men and are drawn from Somalia’s different clans. Mr Galaydh says he has named a government of reconciliation which would not use force to implement its agenda. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 21 October 2000)

* Afrique du Sud. Choléra: 31 morts — Le nombre de cas et de victimes de choléra continue d’augmenter dans la province du Kwazulu-Natal (est), où un nouveau décès a été rapporté le 23 octobre, portant le bilan à 31 morts. L’origine de la maladie, fin août, a été détectée dans trois rivières et un barrage en zone rurale, à quelque 150 km au nord-est de Durban. 3.636 personnes sont atteintes par la maladie. Selon le ministère provincial de la Santé, 86 nouveaux cas ont été recensés en 24 heures, en dépit d’un diagnostic rassurant les jours précédents, qui tablait sur un ralentissement de l’épidémie. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 24 octobre 2000)

* South Africa. Support for Mbeki dives — 20 October: President Thabo Mbeki has suffered a large and sudden fall in public support almost certainly attributable to his controversial stance on the cause of AIDS. Mr Mbeki’s approval rating has dropped to a fraction above 50% from more than 70% in May, according to an opinion poll released today by the most credible of South Africa’s polling organisations, the Institute for Democracy (IDASA). The results are a significant blow to Mr Mbeki’s leadership because support for the ruling National African Congress as a whole has stood up with 69% of black voters saying they will back the party in December’s important elections in the vast new megacities created around Johannesburg, Pretoria and Cape Town. 24 October: South Africa launches a nationwide health campaign which implicity repudiates the presidential opinion vis à vis the causes of AIDS. The Minister of Health says the new guidelines for healthcare workers are intended to help implement the government’s five-year plan released earlier this year. She insists the government operates on the premise that HIV causes AIDS. (Earlier this year, President Mbeki attracted withering international criticism for associating with dissident theorists who doubt whether HIV is the sole cause of the disease). (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 25 October 2000)

* Sudan. Truce for polio drive — The latest stage in an international drive to eliminate polio has started in Sudan. The vaccination programme by the United Nations and the Sudanese Government is the latest stage in a drive to rid the world of the debilitating disease. Khartoum has called a 12-day truce in its war against rebels to allow the vaccinations to go ahead. The UN‘s Polio Eradication Initiative aims to stamp out polio by 2005. (BBC News, 21 October 2000)

* Tanzania. Election fever — 19 October: The Organisation of African Unity (OAU) has sent a team of eminent Africans to monitor the 29 October elections in Tanzania. The OAU team will be in the country until 5 November, with a presence in both mainland Tanzania as well as the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba. 22 October: Election fever is growing among Tanzanians as they count the days before the 29 October general elections. Contrary to other elections since independence, there is a certain amount of uncertainty in the air. Campaigns are now in their final days. Tanzania has thirteen fully registered political parties including the ruling CCM. There is fear of might happen in Zanzibar and the UN has warned its staff to be careful when they go to Zanzibar during the election period. First results (on 20 October) of a telephone opinion poll conducted by the daily newspaper Majira, shows incumbent President Benjamin Mkapa (CCM) scoring 41 per cent of the vote: Augustine Mrema (Tanzania Labour Party, 32 per cent; Professor Ibrahim Lipumba, Civic United Front (CUF) scored 23 per cent, and John Cheyo, United Democratic Party (UDP) scored 4 per cent. In the poll conducted for Zanzibar’s presidency, Seif Shariff Hamad (CUF) scored 54 per cent against Aman Abeid Karume (CCM) who scored 46 per cent. 21 October: Cardinal Polycarp Pengo warns that violence and ballot rigging in the forthcoming elections could seriously damage future prospects for Tanzania. 23 October: Commonwealth election observers arrive in Zanzibar. 24 October: 222 international observers have now arrived in Dar es Salaam. They will monitor the final days before the election, the actual voting, the counting and the announcement of election results. There are fewer foreign election observers this time. In 1995, 450 came. (Titus Kaguo, ANB-BIA, Tanzania, 19-24 October 2000)

* Tunisie. Opposant politique inculpé — Pour la quatrième fois, Moncef Marzouki, porte-parole du Conseil national pour les libertés en Tunisie (non reconnu), s’est vu signifier, le 24 octobre, plusieurs inculpations, de “la propagation de fausses nouvelles” à “l’appel à la sédition”. Alors qu’il semblait relâcher sa pression sur les intellectuels et les opposants démocrates, le régime tunisien paraît reprendre ses harcèlements. (Libération, France, 25 octobre 2000)

* Ouganda. Ebola: le bilan s’alourdit — Le bilan de l’épidémie de fièvre Ebola qui est apparue dans le nord de l’Ouganda s’est encore alourdi avec la découverte de dix nouveaux cas, selon le ministre de la Santé qui, le 22 octobre, estimait le bilan à 54 morts. Selon les chiffres officiels, 149 personnes ont contracté le virus depuis la déclaration de l’épidémie le 14 octobre. Les chiffres devraient continuer à grimper dans les prochains jours, les services sanitaires estimant qu’environ 200 personnes sont entrées en contact avec des malades, dont les chances d’en réchapper sont maigres. Toutefois, le pic devrait être atteint la semaine prochaine. Diverses équipes spécialisées sont sur place. (AP, 22 octobre 2000)

* Uganda. Ebola still spreading — 19 October: The number of people infected by the deadly Ebola virus in Uganda has continued to rise with 17 new cases reported. There were also two more deaths, bringing the number of those killed to 41. The outbreak is far from over, despite encouraging signs in combating its spread. 22 October: The death toll from Ebola has now risen to 54. Ministry officials warn the further cases are expected because it has not yet been possible to investigate all those who have come in contact with the virus. 23 October: For the first time in more than a week, the death toll from the Ebola outbreak has not increased during a 24 hour period. Dr. Sam Okware, who chairs a task force set up to deal with the outbreak, says deaths were being prevented by early detection of the virus. 24 October: The death toll from Ebola has now risen to 60 and the figure is expected to rise. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 25 October 2000)

* Zambia. Les morts du sida — Environ 600.000 Zambiens sont morts du VIH/SIDA depuis l’apparition de la maladie, et 1,5 million de personnes pourraient en mourir d’ici 2015 si elles n’ont pas de médicament efficace, a annoncé le 25 octobre M. Edward Maganu, le représentant de l’OMS en Zambie. Citant les récentes estimations publiées par le Bureau central de la santé de Zambie, M. Maganu a déclaré que 20% de la population adulte dans le pays sont infectés par le VIH et que 300 Zambiens sont contaminés chaque jour. Seul point positif: la fréquence de la maladie décroît chez les jeunes de 15 à 19 ans dans les zones urbaines, ce qui suggère un changement de comportement dans cette tranche d’âge. (PANA, 25 octobre 2000)

* Zambia. Independence anniversary boycotted — Still smarting from the heavy losses sustained in the local elections in September, the opposition parties decided to boycott Zambia’s 36th Independence anniversary at State House in Lusaka on 24 October 2000. Among the main opposition parties which boycotted the State House function were a new political force in the country, the National Party for National Development (UPND) led by Anderson Mazoka, a former Anglo American Corporation (AAC) chief executive; the United National Independence Party (UNIP) lead by former Bank of Zambia governor, Francis Nkhoma; the Republican Party (RP) led by Benjamine Mwila. A spokesperson for the ruling Movement for Multiparty democracy, Vernon Mwaanga, described the boycott as «irresponsible and lack of national patriotism» on their part. (Moses Chitendwe, ANB-BIA, Zambia, 26 October 2000)

* Zimbabwe. Gisements de diamants — Le 22 octobre, deux compagnies minières ont déclaré avoir découvert d’importants gisements de diamants au Zimbabwe, et devraient bientôt commencer leur exploitation. Le groupe britannique Rio Tinto et le géant sud-africain De Beers ont dit avoir fait cette découverte dans le sud du pays, mais n’ont pas révélé l’importance des gisements. Les responsables des deux compagnies, ainsi que le ministre des mines, ont promis d’autres détails avant la fin de l’année, après la conclusion d’un accord de commercialisation. (PANA, 22 octobre 2000)

* Zimbabwe. Appel à un scrutin anticipé — Après plusieurs jours de manifestations violentes, dues à la hausse des prix, le calme était revenu à Harare le 20 octobre. Le chef de l’opposition a entamé une tournée des capitales voisines, pour en obtenir qu’elles convainquent le président Mugabe d’accepter un scrutin présidentiel anticipé. Le 24 octobre, l’agence Misna signalait de nouvelles émeutes dans les quartiers périphériques de Mutare, ville située à environ 200 km au sud-est de Harare. Les manifestants ont placé des barrages routiers, des magasins ont été pris d’assaut, la police a procédé à de nombreuses arrestations. (ANB-BIA de sources diverses, 24 octobre 2000)

* Zimbabwe. Jugement pour “génocide”? — Le 25 octobre, le président Mugabe a annoncé qu’il avait l’intention de poursuivre en justice les Blancs qui se sont rendus coupables de “génocide” pendant la lutte armée contre le régime minoritaire blanc, notamment l’ex-Premier ministre Ian Smith et deux députés d’opposition, Mike Auret et David Coltart. (La Libre Belgique, 26 octobre 2000)

* Zimbabwe. Tense atmosphere — 19 October: Harare is tense but calm after three days of rioting against increasing food and commodity prices. Police say they have the situation under control but that joint patrols with the army will continue. 22 October: Zimbabwe has banned South African beef and milk imports following an outbreak of foot and mouth disease in that country. Two international companies, Rio Tinto and De Beers, say they have discovered huge diamond deposits in Zimbabwe. Pushing ahead with its belated land reform programme, Zimbabwe says it will ignore any court ruling against the scheme and continue re-distributing farmland to landless blacks. 23 October: Food riots break out again, this time in the eastern city of Mutare. 24 October: Moves by opposition MPs to impeach President Mugabe have been delayed. A Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) official says the party is unable to speak to the Speaker to table the impeachment motion, but will carry on trying to do so. 25 October: The MDC says it will try again, today, to launch impeachment proceedings against President Mugabe. The opposition begin the impeachment proceedings by delivering the articles of impeachment to the Speaker of Parliament. President Mugabe says that the former white minority leader, Ian Smith will be tried for genocide allegedly committed during the country’s liberation war. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 26 October 2000)