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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 01-03-2001

PART #4/4 - From SOUTH AFRICA to ZIMBABWE

* South Africa. Mandela steps into racism row — Former South African President Nelson Mandela has condemned «arrogant» members of the country’s African majority who have suggested that minority groups have no role to play in South Africa. His remarks, made in an interview with the Johannesburg-based Sunday Times, came in response to a report in the same paper last week about a prominent lawyer who had made a racist swipe at an Indian South African theatre boss. Mr Mandela said he was concerned about increasing racial polarisation, in particular a «widening of the gap» between Africans and Indians. «Some Africans themselves have made mistakes. They now throw their weight about as a majority. There are some Africans who inspire fear in the minorities because of the way they behave,» he said. A week ago, a Sunday Times report quoted remarks recorded at a board meeting of Durban’s Playhouse Company in November. The meeting was chaired by lawyer Edmund Radebe, a member of the KwaZulu-Natal Arts and Culture Council, and who was recently appointed to the body which allocates national lottery funds to worthy causes. During the meeting, Mr Radebe said: «I don’t think education and development — I am not being a racist, please — can be run by an Indian.» The remark came during a discussion about the theatre’s former acting deputy director, Gitanjali Pather. A white member of the board, Carl Mouton, was heard agreeing: «An Indian mind works differently to yours and mine, very different.» (BBC News, 25 February 2001)

* Afrique du Sud. “L’arrogance” de l’élite noire — L’ancien président sud-africain Nelson Mandela part en guerre contre “l’arrogance” de certains membres de la nouvelle élite noire, dont “le comportement, parce qu’ils sont majoritaires, inspire la crainte aux minorités”. Dans une interview publiée le 25 février par le Sunday Times, M. Mandela, qui en appelle au président Thabo Mbeki, se dit ainsi “scandalisé” par les propos attribués à un responsable de la loterie nationale, Edmund Radebe, qui mettait en doute la capacité des Indiens à exercer des responsabilités. Cette situation, dit M. Mandela, aggrave “le sentiment d’insécurité parmi les Indiens, les métis et les Blancs”. (Libération, France, 26 février 2001)

* Sudan. Clampdown after al-Tourabi’s arrest — 22 February: Security has been tightened in Sudan following the arrest of Islamist leader Hassan al-Tourabi, a former close ally of President Omar al-Bashir. At least 20 of Mr Tourabi’s Popular National Congress (PNC) supporters have been rounded up since his arrest on 21 February, says an aide. Armed police have also deployed around the party headquarters as well as the offices of his newspaper, Rai al-Shaab, which was not published on 22 February. Sudan’s Information Minister, Ghazi Salah Eddin, told the BBC that Mr Tourabi had been arrested because he was cooperating with what he called a terrorist organisation to fight the state. He added that at a news conference, Mr Tourabi had given details of the proposed cooperation with the rebels and that this had gone further than what was in the document. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 23 February 2001)

* Soudan. Arrestations — Le 22 février, au lendemain de l’arrestation à Khartoum du dirigeant islamiste Hassan el-Tourabi, plus de trente de ses collaborateurs ont également été arrêtés. Parmi eux figure notamment Omar Abdel Maarouf, ancien ministre adjoint de la Défense. Le siège du parti du Congrès national populaire (CNP) était placé sous haute surveillance. Le 23 février, Hassan el-Tourabi a été conduit à bord d’un avion qui a quitté Khartoum pour une destination inconnue. Son épouse, inquiète, et des responsables de son parti, le Congrès national populaire, ont maintenant fait état de l’interpellation de 95 collaborateurs de M. Tourabi, à qui les autorités reprochent la signature d’un “mémorandum d’entente” avec la rébellion au Sud-Soudan. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 24 février 2001)

* Soudan. Famine — Près de 600.000 personnes risquent de mourir de faim au Soudan en raison de la guerre et de la sécheresse, a averti, le 23 février, Kenzo Oshima, le coordinateur pour les affaires humanitaires de l’Onu, évaluant à 60 millions de dollars les besoins immédiats. Après le mois de mars, le Programme alimentaire mondial des Nations unies n’aura plus de nourriture à distribuer. (Libération, France, 24 février 2001)

* Sudan. Al-Tourabi in prison — 26 February: Detained Sudanese leader, Hassan al-Tourabi, is being held in solitary confinement in a rat-infested prison cell with no access to newspapers or writing material, his wife said in recent remarks published today. «He will not answer ant of their (interrogators’) questions...he asked me for papers and pens», she said. Al-Tourabi’s Popular National Congress has reiterated its commitment to the Memorandum of Understanding it signed last week with the SPLA. (CNN, 27 February 2001)

* Soudan. Appel à un parrainage international — Un groupe de réflexion international, qui réunit des représentants du gouvernement américain, de l’Onu, de la Norvège, d’ONG, de chercheurs africains, et parrainé par le Centre d’études stratégiques et internationales (CSIS) basé à Washington, a proposé, le 26 février, un parrainage international d’un règlement négocié du conflit qui oppose les forces gouvernementales à la guérilla sudiste au Soudan. Il demande à la nouvelle administration américaine de mettre sur pied une coalition internationale de supervision des négociations de paix entre les protagonistes au Soudan. Selon le texte, cette initiative vise à garantir les droits du Nord et du Sud, selon la formule “un pays, deux systèmes - qui, si elle est appliquée avec bonne foi et si elle est assortie de garanties internationales, préserverait l’unité du Soudan”. Il y aurait deux régions autoadministrées et viables. (Le Monde, France, 27 février 2001)

* Soudan. Enfants-soldats — Plus de 2.500 enfants-soldats ayant entre 8 et 18 ans, enrôlés par les rebelles de la SPLA dans la province de Bahr el-Ghazal, ont été évacués hors des zones de combat par l’Unicef, dans le cadre d’un accord conclu en octobre dernier avec la rébellion. Un pont aérien a été organisé depuis le 23 février. Les jeunes ont été accueillis dans des centres administrés par des ONG de l’autre côté de la ligne de front, dans le sud du pays. “Il s’agit de la plus grande évacuation aérienne de ce genre dans la guerre civile soudanaise”, a indiqué Martin Dawes de l’opération “Lifeline Sudan”. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 28 février 2001)

* Chad. Africa’s great shrinking Lake Chad — One of the world’s biggest lakes is shrinking dramatically and a report released on 27 February blames humans and nature. In the 1960s, North central Africa’s Lake Chad was larger than the state of Vermont but is now smaller than Rhode Island. Using NASA satellite images, two researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison measured the surface area of the freshwater lake at 25,000 square km in 1963, compared with 1,350 square km today. The said the lake’s disappearing act was being caused by the combination of a drier climate and growing human demand for water. Their paper, «Human and Natural Impacts on the Water Resources of the Lake Chad Basin,» appears in the American Geophysical Union’s Journal of Geophysical Research. Lake Chad is shallow — less than 23 feet deep — and its primary water source is seasonal monsoon rains. But over the past few decades the region has experienced a series of devastating droughts. «Climate data has shown a great decrease in rainfall since the early 1960s, largely due to a decrease in the number of large rainfall events,» said researcher Michael T. Coe. At the same time, the need for water for irrigation in the four countries that share the lake has increased about fourfold, further draining the lake. «The problem is expected to worsen in the coming years as population and irrigation demands continue to increase," said Jonathan A. Foley, the other researcher. «The take-home message,» Coe said,»is that humans have a big impact on these systems and now, through the use of computer simulations, we have some predictive abilities for what humans can do to them.» The future of Lake Chad, Coe said, is gloomy: «It will be a puddle. It will be completely managed. You’ll get crops and drinking water out of it, but you’ll have no ecosystem left to speak of.» (CNN, 27 February 2001)

* Togo. Trafic d’enfants — Treize adolescents, douze garçons et une fille, tous âgés de moins de 18 ans, ont été interceptés dans la préfecture de Kpendjal et présentés à la presse, le 21 février, à Dapaong (600 km au nord de Lomé). Les trois traficants ont également été arrêtés. Ils avaient fait croire aux enfants qu’en allant en Côte d’Ivoire, ils gagneraient beaucoup d’argent. Les enfants ont tous déclaré que leurs parents n’étaient pas mis au courant de leur départ. (PANA, Sénégal, 22 février 2001)

* Togo. L’enquête OUA-ONU — Une commission conjointe d’enquête des Nations unies et de l’Organisation de l’unité africaine a confirmé les atteintes aux droits de l’homme au Togo, a rapporté UN News. Dans un rapport basé sur des investigations au Togo et dans les pays voisins effectuées de novembre à décembre 2000, la commission a indiqué que les accusations émises par Amnesty International que des centaines de personnes avaient été victimes d’exécutions extrajudiciaires “doivent être prises en considération”. Le rapport indique que les victimes étaient pour l’essentiel des membres des partis de l’opposition et que selon toutes indications, les auteurs des crimes étaient la police, d’autres agents de l’ordre et les milices sous leur contrôle. Les violations incluent des exécutions, des actes de torture, des traitements dégradants, des viols et des enlèvements. Les trois membres de la commission ont recommandé que le gouvernement enquête, identifie et punisse les coupables. La commission avait été établie le 7 juin 2000 à la demande du gouvernement du Togo. (IRIN, Abidjan, 23 février 2001)

* Togo. Human rights abuses — 23 February: An international commission of inquiry into allegations of summary executions and torture in Togo, has concluded that there were systematic violations of human rights in Togo after the 1998 presidential election. Eyewitnesses indicated that summary executions had taken place, as well as torture, rapes and kidnappings. The inquiry team, appointed jointly by the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and the UN, indicated its belief that individuals linked to the Togolese security forces had carried our summary executions of the government’s political opponents. The reports of human rights violations in Togo were first publicised by Amnesty International. The government in Togo vehemently denied the accusations, labelling them a tissue of lies. But last year, it did agree to the appointment of an independent commission of inquiry answerable to both the UN and the OAU. 28 February: Amnesty International‘s secretary-general, Pierre Sane, calls on the UN to appoint immediately a Special Rapporteur on Togo and to create a witness protection plan. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 1 March 2001)

* Tunisie. Condamnation et expulsion — Le 21 février, les autorités tunisiennes ont expulsé Robert Ménard, le secrétaire général de Reporters sans frontières, et un autre membre de l’organisation, qui venaient d’entamer la distribution d’exemplaires d’un journal clandestin à Tunis. “Il a dépassé les limites du tolérable”, a indiqué l’agence Tunis-Afrique Presse. D’autre part, Jalel Zoghlami, frère du journaliste Taoufik Ben Brik, a décidé d’arrêter sa grève de la faim entamée le 3 février. - Le 22 février, un ressortissant franco-tunisien, Mehdi Zougah, a été condamné par un tribunal tunisois à deux ans de prison, dont un avec sursis, pour appartenance au mouvement islamiste interdit Nahda. Ses avocats ont réclamé en vain qu’il soit confronté à son dénonciateur, sur qui repose l’accusation. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 23 février 2001)

* Uganda. Towards the elections — Things are hotting up in view of the 7 March presidential elections. In its issue of 12-18 February, Uganda’s The President carries the headline: «Stop the violence in the presidential campaigns». On 14 February, Kenya’s Daily Nation said that Uganda’s President Museveni has assured his supporters that he will win the 7 March election, despite an opinion poll showing that he enjoys only 46.8% of the vote against his top rival’s 42.6%. Kenya’s Sunday Nation (18 February) reports that Kampala is awash with posters, dominated by those of President Yoweri Museveni. Uganda’s Sunday Vision, the same day, states that a new opinion poll gives Museveni 57% of votes cast, and Colonel Kiiza Besigye, 34%. Kenya’s Sunday Standard (18 February) asks if Museveni will leave if he loses the election? On 23 February, Kizza Besigye accuses Mr Museveni of running a dirty campaign. The same day it is reported that military police units have been moved from rural areas into Kampala ahead of the presidential elections. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 24 February 2001)

* Ouganda. Vers l’élection présidentielle — Selon le quotidien indépendant The Monitor du 28 février, le major Rabwoni Okwir, parlementaire arrêté il y a une semaine par la police militaire, a quitté l’Ouganda pour se rendre à Londres. Okwir est un des plus proches collaborateurs de Kizza Besigye, le principal adversaire du président Museveni à l’élection présidentielle du 7 mars prochain. Le groupe de Besigye accuse le gouvernement d’avoir envoyé Okwir en exil. Il y a quelques jours, M. Besigye avait dénoncé des intimidations et des pressions exercées à l’encontre de ses collaborateurs. D’après des accusations, Museveni aurait offert de l’argent et promis des fonctions gouvernementales à certains membres de l’opposition, allant jusqu’à les menacer en cas de refus. Le chef de l’Etat a immédiatement démenti. En attendant, l’armée a déployé plusieurs détachements dans la capitale Kampala, pour prévenir d’éventuels désordres en vue des derniers jours de la campagne électorale. (Misna, Italie, 28 février 2001)

* Ouganda. Epidémie d’Ebola terminée — L’épidémie de fièvre Ebola en Ouganda est terminée, a confirmé le 28 février l’Organisation mondiale de la santé. “La dernière personne infectée par le virus a guéri il y a 42 jours, soit deux fois la période maximale d’incubation de la fièvre”, affirme l’OMS, qui indique que cette épidémie d’Ebola a causé la mort de 224 personnes. (Libération, France, 1er mars 2001)

* Western Sahara. Forgotten conflict turns 25 — For 25 years, international efforts have been made to resolve the dispute over Western Sahara. Morocco controls most of the territory and lays claim to it, but supporters of the pro-independence movement, the Polisario Front, have not given up their campaign. 25 years ago, the Polisario Front set up a government-in-exile and vowed to continue its guerrilla war. The fighting with Morocco stopped in 1991, but the dispute over Western Sahara lingers on. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 27 February 2001)

* Western Sahara. Sahara refugees’ long wait — At first light, the only sound echoing across the Sahawari refugee camps in Algeria is the fierce desert wind gusting against the canvas tents. The horizon vanishes in a haze of sand. The ubiquitous black, white, green and red flags of the Sahawari Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) flutter from their masts. This is one of the harshest and most inhospitable environments on Earth, yet more than 150,000 people have had to live here for the past 25 years, while dreaming of independence for their homeland, the disputed territory of Western Sahara. Metou Mustafa is a symbol of the struggle. She was born in the refugee camps 25 years ago and has known no other life. «I have never seen my country. I listen to people describing it as a beautiful place full of rich customs, but I have been deprived of this,» Metou says. «Living here in the Algerian desert has become routine, but it is also very hard. What keeps us going day after day and year after year, is the hope of eventually returning to Western Sahara.» The refugees are almost entirely dependent upon aid for their survival. Food is imported and the four huge camps near Tindouf do not even have adequate local water supplies. Tankers ferry water continually. The mud-brick homes that have been built convey an air of permanence, but even after 25 years, some refugees still live in tents. «The tents are maintained to give our people the sense that we are not going to be here forever,» explains Brahim Moktar, a Polisario spokesman. Visitors to the Sahawari refugee camps are overwhelmed by the conditions. In summer, temperatures are said to reach 50º C. (BBC News, 1 March 2001)

* Zambia. Bus painting provokes anger — The public transport services in Zambia have reluctantly started painting their bus and taxi fleet blue and white, after being ordered to do so by the Zambian Transport Minister. The bus painting exercise is fondly being called «Luo Blue» in reference to Transport Minister Nkandu Luo, who has pledged to «improve sanity in the industry». The United Transport and Taxis Association (UTTA) said the bus painting exercise was underway, but most UTTA members still insist that though they had complied with the government bus painting law, it was passed without consulting them.They said that government’s imposition of the law amounted to the worst form of dictatorship. Mr Bwalya Chupa, a UTTA member said that the law which was intended to bring «sanity» to the transport system would only be a waste of resources. «I cannot understand why the government could dictate to us that we paint buses which we bought using our own money,» said a visibly annoyed Mr Chupa. And he added: «If they think it is good to have a uniform colour, why don’t they paint all the government vehicles in blue and white so that they lead by example.» The taxi owners and bus drivers are also worried that the value of their vehicles will depreciate. The UTTA said that such dictatorial behaviour by the government could cost them a lot of votes in this year’s presidential and general elections. Some commuters also said that while the bus painting exercise made the buses look the same, they would have much preferred it if the busses had been repaired before being smeared with a coat of paint. (BBC News, 23 February 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Human rights concerns — 20 February: A senior Zimbabwean Foreign Affairs Ministry official says the Zimbabwean authorities have assured South Africa that the expulsion of two foreign journalists is not a breach of press freedom. 22 February: During the week of 26 February, Parliament will discuss the bombing of The Daily News, attacks on journalists and the need for the government to free the airwaves before the presidential election. 23 February: European Union member states will seek a formal political «dialogue» over human rights with Zimbabwe, in a first mark of disapproval for the Harare government’s expulsion of foreign journalists and its disregard for the country’s judiciary. Zimbabwe will be discussed by foreign ministers informally over lunch during the 26 February meeting of the EU‘s general affairs council in Brussels, a procedure that precludes formal decisions. But according to Brussels-based diplomats, there is already agreement to use article eight of the Cotonou agreement governing the EU‘s relations with its partners in the African, Pacific and Caribbean regions as a warning to Zimbabwe. Article eight provides for a dialogue between the two sides over issues of concern to the EU, including human rights. Robin Cook, the UK foreign secretary, who has put Zimbabwe on the lunchtime menu, is also expected to suggest moving to tougher action under article 96, which would allow the EU to suspend aid, if the Zimbabwe government does not respond to the EU‘s request for talks. Diplomats acknowledge that article eight is a weak instrument to show the EU‘s distaste for President Robert Mugabe’s government. Zimbabwe cannot be compelled to take part in the talks, and the discussions, if they take place, would be confidential. But article eight also contains a three-month deadline for completion of the dialogue after which pressure for sanctions could grow. However, EU aid to Zimbabwe is running at only about E10m ($9.2m) a year and is focused on health projects, such as combating HIV, and finances no infrastructure development. 25 February: South Africa’s President Mbeki says he will meet with President Mugabe to discuss recent attacks on Zimbabwe’s judiciary and Press, which he calls «matters of serious concern». President Mbeki says: «We have agreed with President Mugabe that we need to get together quite quickly to have a look at all these issues». 27 February: The Government has ordered Chief Justice Gubbay to leave his job on 1 March, several months before he had reportedly agreed to do so anyway under heavy pressure. 28 February: The Chief Justice rejects the Government’s ultimatum to give up his job and move out of his official residence. 1 March: The Chief Justice defies government orders to stand down and arrives for work as usual. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 1 March 2001)