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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 15-03-2001

PART #4/4 - From SOMALIA to ZIMBABWE

* Somalia. Jail reopens after six years — More than 50 young men sat quietly behind locked steel doors in the bare cells of Mogadishu’s main prison on 11 March, the first inmates here for six years and a small sign of the new government’s attempts to rebuild this shattered country. Dozens of former prison officers, some in their sixties, waited outside Mogadishu Central Jail, hoping for jobs guarding the prisoners, whose alleged crimes range from murder to extortion. The jail’s reopening on 10 March marked another step by the seven-month-old government toward rebuilding the Somalian state and legal system, which fell into chaos after the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre. Its initial efforts in the daunting task have so far been largely in the capital, Mogadishu. The jail closed in 1995 after a UN peacekeeping mission pulled out of Somalia. «The opening of the jail will immediately have a psychological effect on bandits and will minimize the crimes they commit,» said Attorney General Ilyas Hajji Mohamud, who was appointed in January. (CNN, 11 March 2001)

* Somalie. Chefs de factions à Addis Abeba — 7 mars. Plus d’une douzaine de chefs de factions somaliennes ont entamé une réunion à huis clos près d’Addis Abeba pour chercher à organiser une nouvelle conférence nationale de réconciliation. Ils sont unis dans leur opposition au président intérimaire Salas Hassan, nommé à ce poste par une conférence de paix organisée à Djibouti. Trois chefs de factions, Hussein Aïdid, Osman Ali Hassan Ato et Moussa Sousi Yalahow, qui prétendent contrôler la capitale Mogadiscio, disent avoir réglé leurs différends et feraient partie d’un “front commun” contre le gouvernement de transition actuel, qu’ils accusent de compter principalement des collaborateurs de l’ancien dictateur Siad Barre. - 11 mars. Un leader de la société civile somalienne, le Dr Hussein Bod, est arrivé à Addis Abeba pour essayer de réconcilier les factions opposées au gouvernement de transition. S’affirmant un “médiateur indépendant”, il désire rencontrer les leaders réunis près de la capitale éthiopienne et leur soumettre une proposition de paix. (PANA, Sénégal, 8-12 mars 2001)

* South Africa. Fishing industry in throes of transformation — South Africa’s marine resource authorities have just finalised the first of several fishing licences for the next year, as they begin to transform the approximately US $30-million-a-year industry which is under threat from overfishing. The move comes after the Environmental Affairs and Tourism Minister declared a state of emergency in January on the linefish sector (fish caught with hook and line), saying that about 20 species were under serious threat. Stocks, he said, had been depleted through overfishing and through natural attrition. (IRIN, Southern Africa, 8 March 2001)

* South Africa. No state of AIDS emergency — President Thabo Mbeki rejected calls Wednesday to declare a state of emergency to allow South Africa to import generic, cheaper drugs to deal with its AIDS crisis. Most of the 4.5 million South Africans estimated to be HIV-positive cannot afford the drugs that could prolong their lives. Declaring a state of emergency would allow South Africa to produce the generic, cheaper drugs without breaking World Trade Organization rules on bypassing patent laws. But Mbeki told parliament a state of emergency is not needed because South Africa has its own law permitting both importation and production of generic drugs. “We see no reason why we should not rely on the more comprehensive legislation approved by this Parliament,” Mbeki said. That 1997 law, however, has been stalled by a lawsuit brought by major drug companies, arguing the act gives South Africa arbitrary, unfettered power to control the import and price of medicines. (AP, 14 March 2001)

* Tanzanie. Droits de l’homme: Washington accuse — Un rapport sur les droits de l’homme en Tanzanie, compilé par le Département d’Etat américain, révèle d’importantes violations cautionnées par l’Etat. Des fonctionnaires de l’Etat ont été à la base de certaines tueries extra-judiciaires au cours de l’année 2000 et ont refusé d’enquêter sur ces meurtres, indique le rapport. Il mentionne aussi de nombreux cas d’actes de terrorisme du gouvernement contre des civils, au cours de l’année, avec comme seul objectif le musellement de l’activisme populaire sur l’île fédérée de Zanzibar. D’autres violations des droits humains ont été soulignées surtout avec des atteintes à la vie privée et à la liberté d’expression, de presse et de la liberté d’association. Selon le rapport américain, le système judiciaire, bien qu’impartial, est resté inefficace et corrompu, et n’arrive pas à organiser des procès expéditifs et équitables. (PANA, Sénégal, 8 mars 2001)

* Togo. Commissions nationales — Le 7 mars, le gouvernement togolais a décidé la mise en place d’une Commission nationale chargée de vérifier les allégations “mensongères” d’Amnesty International (soutenant qu’en juin 1998, pendant la période de l’élection présidentielle, des centaines de personnes ont été exécutées) et d’initier des poursuites le cas échéant contre les auteurs de ces violations. - Le même jour, par décret présidentiel en conseil des ministres, le Togo a créé une commission nationale de lutte contre la prolifération, la circulation et le trafic illicite d’armes légères. Celles-ci sont la conséquence des conflits armés qui ravagent certains pays voisins, et constituent une menace pour la sécurité et la stabilité de toute la sous-région. (PANA, Sénégal, 8 mars 2001)

* Uganda. Elections — 9 March: Five opposition presidential candidates meet the Electoral Commission amid rumours they will call a boycott if their concerns are not immediately addressed. The five believe that President Museveni is using a biased state security apparatus to intimidate their voter base ahead of the 12 March poll. 10 March: Final campaigning for the elections. There are 6 candidates but correspondents say the two main contenders are Yoweri Musveni and Kizza Besigye. 11 March: President Museveni condemns his political opponents as stooges of terrorists and defended an increasing army presence as safe guard against violence. «They are like the Rwandan Interahamwe», says Mr Museveni. «They work on the criminal front, subversive front, terrorist front and the political front. I follow them on the political front, but the army must fight them on other fronts». 12 March: Presidential elections. Voting gets off without incidents. Turnout at the polls is high. Later on, a number of irregularities begin to emerge. Many people believe voter numbers are inflated, and there are reports of boxes being filled before polls officially opened. However, Grace Kaiso, who heads Uganda’s NGO election monitoring group, says the process has been «fair» in the country as a whole. The first round of elections closes on schedule at 5 P.M. According to representatives of civil society contacted by the press agency MISNA, President Museveni has been defeated by his main rival, Kizza Besigye, in the city of Gulu. This is based on a survey conducted in a dozen polling stations in the city. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 13 March 2001)

* Ouganda. Election présidentielle — 12 mars. Onze millions d’électeurs sont appelés aux urnes pour la deuxième présidentielle au suffrage universel en Ouganda. Six candidats se présentent, dont le président sortant Yoweri Museveni. Pour la première fois, celui-ci n’est pas sûr d’emporter la majorité absolue au premier tour, face à son principal adversaire, le Dr Kizza Besigye. Au cours des dernières semaines, la campagne électorale a enregistré une vague d’attaques personnelles, d’actes d’intimidation et de violences. Le lundi 12 mars, les Ougandais ont voté massivement et dans le calme. Cependant, des témoins et l’opposition ont dénoncé des irrégularités dans des bureaux de vote. M. Besigye s’est plaint de violences et d’irrégularités dans le scrutin, dans un texte de deux pages adressé à la commission électorale. Celle-ci dispose de 48 heures pour annoncer les résultats. -14 mars. La Commission nationale électorale a proclamé Museveni vainqueur du scrutin avec 69,3% des voix. Kizza Besigye n’en a recueilli que 27,8%, beaucoup moins qu’attendu; il contestera les résultats devant la Cour constitutionnelle. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 15 mars 2001)

* Uganda. Easy win for Museveni — Yoweri Museveni, Uganda’s president, was on Wednesday declared the winner of the east African nation’s most keenly fought elections since he took power in 1986, following a process that local non-governmental monitors described as flawed but reflecting the people’s wishes. According to a statement issued by Uganda’s electoral commission at midday on Wednesday, Mr Museveni won 69.3 per cent of the vote, while Kizza Besigye, his main challenger, took 27.8 per cent. According to Uganda’s non-governmental election monitoring group, Nemgroup, there were serious irregularities in eight of Uganda’s 56 districts, mostly in favour of the incumbent — including multiple voting, pre-ticked ballot papers, attacks on the candidates’ agents and the sale of voter cards. Robert Sentamu, a Nemgroup analyst, said that 5-15 per cent of the votes might have been compromised by intimidation and other malpractice. Nevertheless, the group concluded that the polling day irregularities, alongside maladministration by the electoral commission and government bias in the pre-election campaign, had not affected the final result. But observers and international donors are still concerned by an election whose run-up was marred by violence and intimidation, and which has posed questions about a country that has become the darling of the aid world. On Wednesday night at least one person died and eight people were injured after a home-made bomb exploded at a mini-bus terminal in Kampala, the capital, police said. A second bomb went off inside a mini-bus taxi on a road south of Kampala. There were no reports of casualties. The bombings were the first since late January when six people were injured in three separate attacks in the capital. (Financial Time, UK, 15 March 2001)

* Western Sahara. The idea of autonomy for Western Sahara — Two weeks after the UN‘s ultimatum, the idea of autonomy for the Sahara is beginning to be publicly raised in Morocco. Khalihenna ould Rachid, a pro-Moroccan Saharawi notable, deputy mayor of El Ayoun, is multiplying meetings and statements in an effort to make himself a spokesperson for the Saharawis under Moroccan occupation. He is singing the praises of the autonomy solution which is favoured by the big powers and the UN and which is beginning to gain ground in Morocco. Driven to decolonisation, Spain had counted in 1974 on him to preserve their interests. Khalihenna had thus created PUNS, a pseudo-nationalist party, and should have become the first president of an «independent» Sahara. The invasion and integration of the territory with Morocco changed the deal, Khalihenna became the Moroccan Minister for Saharan affairs. In his recent statements, Khalihenna presents himself anew as leader of the national Saharawi tendency and claims: «I say to you that it is the time to say to the world that we exist and that we must implement the regionalist option — in Spain they call it autonomist» for our territory.» (El Pais, 26.02.01). He doesn’t hesitate to say, in another interview, that the economic and social situation in the Sahara is serious, catastrophic, even explosive. «The events [of October 1999] could happen again, and worse.... These last weeks, things nearly exploded again.» He wants to channel discontent in the Sahara, where, he recognises, the problem has a political basis. In his opinion, the one responsible is Basri, his bad management of the issue, the Houston agreements, «which Morocco was not obliged to sign». His successor as Minister of the Interior is no better, he only camouflages the real situation. For nothing has been done. The consultative Council for Saharan Affairs, announced in 1999 by the King, has remained a dead letter, Khalihenna stated. (Maroc Hebdo International, 09.03.01). (Western Sahara Ref. Support Ass., 10 March 2001)

* Zambia. Chiluba’s third term controversy worries World Bank — To pre-empt any troubles that might compromise the country’s economic gains this far, the World Bank has urged Zambians to quickly decide on whether President Chiluba could run for a third term in elections due this year. World Bank resident representative in Zambia Lawrence Clarke, who dropped the advice Friday, expressed worry over rumours that instability was simmering in Zambia with the potential for a civil strife over the issue. «Politics is something that our clients will have to define and deal with for themselves,» Clarke noted, adding «at the World Bank, what we would like to see is Zambians deciding the issue of the third term in their own interest.» Members of the ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) are currently split on whether to amend the Republican Constitution to allow President Frederick Chiluba seek a third term of office. Already four cabinet ministers have openly opposed the idea of amending the constitution to allow Chiluba to run for a third term. Chiluba himself has said that he would make his position known once the debate has been exhausted (PANA, Sénégal, Dakar, 10 March 2001)

* Zambie. Le 3ème mandat de Chiluba — Afin de prévenir toute crise susceptible de compromettre les acquis de la Zambie au plan économique, la Banque mondiale a invité les Zambiens à décider rapidement si le président Chiluba peut ou non briguer cette année un troisième mandat à la tête de l’Etat. Le représentant résident de la Banque mondiale en Zambie, M. Lawrence Clarke, qui a donné ce conseil le 9 mars, s’est dit préoccupé par un possible conflit civil sur cette question. Les membres du Mouvement pour la démocratie multipartite (MMD, au pouvoir) sont actuellement divisés sur le fait de savoir s’il faut amender la Constitution pour permettre à M. Chiluba de briguer un 3ème mandat. M. Chiluba lui-même a déclaré qu’il fera connaître sa position une fois que le débat sera terminé. (PANA, Sénégal, 10 mars 2001)

* Zambia. Revisiting currency woes — Zambian copper miners feel they are being unfairly blamed for the collapse late last year of the local currency, the kwacha. In the three months to mid-January it lost 20 per cent of its value, bringing the loss for the previous 12 months up to 40 per cent. One factor cited in connection with the collapse is the change in the copper miners’ foreign exchange tactics after the industry was privatised early last year. The dollar revenue earned by the copper mines is so substantial in relation to the size of the local foreign exchange market that the miners can effectively dictate the rate when they change dollars into kwacha to pay wages and local suppliers. Before privatisation, when the mines were run by the state-owned Zambian Consolidated Copper Mines, its auctions distributed the dollars across a broad range of banks. After privatisation, the new copper miners adopted a far more aggressive auction system. They would only deal with the banks which offered the keenest rates, tactics that encouraged bidding wars. The two most important new copper miners are Konkola Copper Mines, owned by a consortium headed by South African-based, UK-listed Anglo American, and Mopani Copper Mines, a joint venture between the Swiss metal trader Glencore and Canadian-listed First Quantum. (Financial Times, 12 March 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Collapsing tourism sector turns to domestic support — Zimbabwe’s key tourism industry, currently facing declining international arrivals since last year, is now targeting the local market for survival. Political and social instability, farm invasions by liberation war veterans, fuel shortages and the resultant international publicity have been scaring tourists away. The industry, which contributes about eight percent of the Gross Domestic product, draws the bulk of its tourists from Europe, Asia and Australia. As a result of the decline in arrivals, the industry is operating at below 30 percent of its potential. Several operators have collapsed with the few survivors depending on massive discounts or have scaled down their operations. Leslie Gwindi, the marketing and public relations manager of the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority which is responsible for selling the sector, said there was potential in domestic market, which had to be tapped. «We have been too outward looking in the past but recent developments have exposed us. Being wholly dependent on the international market is not sustainable. The industry has to survive and the home market could be its trump card», he said. There are some indications of a revival, at least from South East Asia. More than a hundred travel tours at a recent tourism exposition in Harare expressed interest in tours to Bulawayo and the surrounding areas. A group of safari operators from Malaysia visited the city this month; there are hopes for an influx of tourists with the solar eclipse on 21 June. (SouthScan, 8 March 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Nouveau président de la Cour suprême — 9 mars. Le chef de l’Etat, Robert Mugabe, a nommé le nouveau président de la Cour suprême, Godfrey Chidyausiku, pour remplacer Anthony Gubbay qui avait accepté de partir en retraite anticipée. Cette nomination avait été prévue par tous les analystes, car M. Chidyausiku est le juge le plus favorable à la ligne politique du parti gouvernemental, le ZANU-PF. (Misna, Italie, 9 mars 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Missionary forced to leave — A Presbyterian missionary who accused the government of involvement in the killings of two white parishioners left the country Sunday after authorities revoked his permit to work in Zimbabwe and ordered his deportation. The Rev. Paul Andrianatos traveled by bus to the southern border and entered neighboring South Africa safely after a campaign of threats and intimidation from state security agents, his family and colleagues said. Andrianatos, 44, claimed that remarks he made at the funeral of slain white farmer Martin Olds last April triggered the government’s campaign against him. Eight members of Zimbabwe’s white farming community have been killed since militants and veterans of the country’s independence war began violently seizing white-owned farms last year with the backing of President Robert Mugabe and his government. The increasingly unpopular president has described the occupations as a justified protest against unfair land ownership by the descendants of colonial era white settlers. The government has ignored six court orders to remove illegal occupiers. (AP, 12 March 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Critical economic situation — 8 March: A team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has arrived in the country for two weeks of talks with officials on the critical economic situation facing the country. The officials hope the talks will pave the way for a resumption of IMF lending, but this is unlikely without key economic and political changes. The IMF suspended aid to Zimbabwe in 1999, over a failure to stick to agreed targets. 12 March: The Government has broken off dialogue on land reform with the country’s white farmers, accusing them of deceit in the protracted negotiations. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 13 March 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Inondations — Précipitations et inondations continuent à toucher le Zimbabwe. D’après les estimations de l’OCHA, 30.000 personnes sont maintenant victimes des inondations. La zone la plus affligée est la province du Mashonaland central (nord-est), une aire du bassin du Zambèze. Selon la Protection civile zimbabwéenne, il était encore difficile d’évaluer l’ampleur des dégâts subis par l’agriculture dans le district de Muzarabani, mais on sait déjà qu’ils sont fort importants. La circulation reste précaire dans une bonne partie du pays. (Misna, Italie, 13 mars 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Mugabe appoints ally to head judiciary — President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe on 9 March appointed a close personal ally to head the country’s judiciary as white farmers mourned the latest victim of a long-running campaign of intimidation against opponents of the government. The appointment of Godfrey Chidyausiku, a former deputy justice minister, as the acting chief justice followed the forced resignation this week of British-born Tony Gubbay. Ministers had accused Mr Gubbay and other senior judges of bias towards the white minority, particularly over Mr Mugabe’s programme of compulsory land redistribution. The appointment came as 300 mourners attended the funeral outside Bulawayo in western Zimbabwe of Gloria Olds, a 72-year-old widow murdered by gunmen outside her farm on Sunday. Mrs Olds’ son was killed in similar circumstances last year. The Olds are among 35 opposition supporters, including eight white farmers, killed over the past 12 months. Police have made no arrests. The appointment of Godfrey Chidyausiku, a high court judge, followed a sustained campaign of intimidation by ministers and supporters to force Mr Gubbay to step down. Earlier this week, he agreed to take three months leave before retiring in July. Judge Chidyausiku was a deputy justice minister in the 1980s and chairman of the ill-fated Constitutional Commission, whose draft recommendations for a new constitution were thrown out by the electorate in February last year. He is best known for his refusal to allow members of the government-appointed commission to vote on the constitutional draft, declaring it was obvious that a majority of commissioners supported it. His promotion is seen as the start of a process of «restructuring» the Supreme Court to include a majority of judges likely to support the ruling ZANU-PF party. The announcement follows comments by Penuell Maduna, South Africa’s justice minister, praising the independence of the judiciary in Zimbabwe. (Financial Times, UK, 9 March 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe’s judiciary — Zimbabwe’s Supreme Court has five judges — two are white, there are two blacks and one Indian. The judiciary headed by Chief Justice Gubbay has 23 judges, 12 of them blacks. Several of the white judges served under the Rhodesia regime led by Ian Smith before Zimbabwe attained independence in 1980. Chief Justice Gubby was appointed in 1977. The Mugabe regime claims that since the judges were placed on the bench during a racist regime, they cannot be impartial in their decisions. When the so-called war veterans who fought in the period prior to the 1980 liberation struggle, began invading white-owned farms in a series of actions supported by the ZANU-PF government, the white farmers began a series of litigations. The courts, under Chief Justice Gubbay, ruled in favour of the Commercial Farmers Union, ruling that the occupations are illegal. This week, in an interview with the South African Broadcasting Corporation, rebroadcast on Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation TV, Justice Minister Chinamasa reaffirmed the government’s plan to reshuffle the judiciary, dismissing widespread criticisms of the move. He said: «We are indeed restructuring not only the judiciary but all government institutions. We would especially like to reform the judiciary so that it attains a Zimbabwean identity.» (Hobbs Gama, ANB-BIA, Malawi, 12 March 2001)