ANB-BIA - Av. Charles Woeste 184 - 1090 Bruxelles - Belgium
TEL **.32.2/420 34 36 fax /420 05 49 E-Mail: anb-bia@village.uunet.be
_____________________________________________________________
WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 10-05-2001

PART #4/4 - From NIGERIA to ZIMBABWE

* Nigeria. Leaking oil well — 3 May: The oil company Royal Dutch Shell says that 14 of its abandoned oil wells in Nigeria could blow up without warning. The company made the announcement after investigations into an oil spill in Ogoniland in southern Nigeria showed that one of the wells was leaking. Company spokesman Donald Boham Company spokesman Donald Boham said that the wells are «potential time bombs». Shell was forced to abandon production in Ogoniland in 1993 as a result of the campaign by the writer Ken Saro-Wiwa, who accused it of responsibility for widespread pollution. The company says that only two wells were properly sealed. Mr Boham now says that the remaining 14 must be sealed with cement and other materials before disaster strikes. 6 May: Shell says engineers have capped the broken well that has been pouring out oil and gas in the Ogoni region of southern Nigeria. Villagers had complained that farm land and fish stocks had been destroyed by the spill. The clean-up operation has not yet begun and Shell has not given details of the extent of the pollution. Shell believes the spill from the abandoned well was caused by sabotage. The company said pipes at the well appeared to have been sawn through, and that nuts and bolts had been removed. But the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) denied the sabotage claim. (BBC News, UK, 3&6 May 2001)

* Nigeria. Abacha’s family challenge UK probe — The UK government is facing a legal challenge over a decision to help Nigerian officials trace more than $2bn allegedly looted from the country’s public funds by General Sani Abacha, the country’s former leader who died in June 1998. The decision by Jack Straw, home secretary [interior affairs minister], announced on 8 May, gave the go-ahead for the UK authorities to co-operate with Nigeria’s investigators by freezing London bank accounts and seizing documents that would allow them to recover the funds. However, lawyers acting for Mohammed Abacha —the late dictator’s son who is detained in Nigeria facing murder and other charges — and his associates say they will apply to the court for a judicial review of the decision. The lawyers are expected to argue that the matters were settled by the Nigerian government before it began the current proceedings. (Financial Times, UK, 10 May 2001)

* Rwanda/Belgium. The Brussels trial — 3 May: The trial of the four accused continues in Brussels. More evidence is heard against Alphonse Higaniro, especially regarding the massacre of the Rwamanywa family who were neighbours of Higaniro. Olivier Rwamanywa who escaped tells the court that «Alphonse Higaniro killed my parents. I never dreamt that one day I would be able to unmask him before others. Now I’m in your presence to tell you that my parents died because of Higaniro». Meanwhile, the first group of witnesses have already returned to Rwanda; a second is presently in Brussels; a third group will arrive in a few days. 4 May: The two Benedictine nuns, Sisters Gertrude and Kizito, take the stand. They are accused of having delivered refugees into the hands of their killers. Sister Gertrude denies that neither she nor the other nun provided petrol to burn the refugees. They both plead «not guilty». They affirm that they were unable to prevent the massacres because they, themselves were threatened by extremist Hutus. They were innocent bystanders. Sister Gertrude, who was Superior of their convent at that time says: «I never wanted anybody to die. I suffered with the population. I am not a racist». Sister Kizito says she is «neither Hutu nor Tutsi, but a child of God». 7 May: A member of the Benedictine community of Sovu, Sister Marie-Bernard Kayitesi, gives her testimony. She accuses Sisters Gertrude and Kizito of being involved in the massacres. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 5 May 2001)

* Rwanda/Kenya. Sendashonga: verdict de non-culpabilité — Les trois personnes accusées du meurtre de l’ancien ministre rwandais de l’Intérieur, Seth Sendashonga, ne sont pas coupables de ce crime, ont estimé, le 3 mai, les assesseurs de la Haute Cour de Nairobi. Dans une opinion unanime, ils ont indiqué que “le parquet a échoué à prouver au-delà de tout doute raisonnable que les accusés ont commis le crime”. Ce verdict ne lie toutefois pas le juge Mbogholi, qui devrait prononcer le jugement final le 31 mai prochain. Seth Sendashonga a été abattu le 16 mai 1998 dans une banlieue de Nairobi. Trois suspects (un Rwandais et deux Ougandais) avaient avoué avoir préparé le coup, mais ont plaidé non coupables. De l’avis des assesseurs, le ministère public n’a pas fourni de preuve que les accusés se trouvaient au lieu du crime au moment des faits. (Agence Hirondelle, Arusha, 3 mai 2001)

* Rwanda/Kenya. Minister murder trial in disarray — Three men accused of murdering a former Rwandan minister who attacked the government’s human rights record should be acquitted, a Kenyan court was told on 3 May. Assessors said the prosecution had failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the three had murdered former Rwandan Interior Minister Seth Sendashonga and his driver in a Nairobi suburb in May 1998, the independent Internews news agency reported. Days after Sendashonga’s murder, Amnesty International said it believed the killing was «a blatant political assassination,» likely to have been prompted by his criticism of human rights abuses by the government. Sendashonga’s widow also maintains his murder was politically motivated. But the Kenyan police’s case against the three men, a Rwandan and two Ugandans, argued the murder was a revenge attack after a row over money. The unanimous recommendations from the three assessors, which are not binding, are intended as guidance for the judge who will give his verdict on May 31. (CNN, USA, 3 May 2001)

* Rwanda/Zimbabwe. Rencontre Kagame-Mugabe — Le 7 mai, le président rwandais Paul Kagame est arrivé au Zimbabwe, où il tentera avec le président Robert Mugabe de trouver une solution au conflit qui oppose leurs pays au Congo-Kinshasa, ont indiqué des responsables. “En bonne place au menu de la rencontre, figureront les moyens de faire appliquer les accords de paix de Lusaka, menacés par l’Ouganda, qui a annoncé qu’il pourrait se retirer des négociations après avoir retiré ses forces” (de la RDC), a rapporté l’agence Ziana. -Le 8 mai, à l’issue de sa visite, le président Kagame s’est dit optimiste pour la “mise en application rapide” du processus de paix en RDC. Selon M. Kagame, c’est dans l’intérêt des deux pays et des autres parties à l’accord de paix de Lusaka de coopérer en faveur de la paix. (La Libre Belgique et PANA, 8 mai 2001)

* Senegal. Fraud claim in elections — Senegal’s former Prime Minister Moustapha Niasse has said that there was «massive fraud» in last weekend’s parliamentary elections. His party, the Alliance of Forces for Progress (AFP) came third in the vote won by the Sopi — or «change» — coalition led by President Abdoulaye Wade. The AFP has asked Senegal’s Constitutional Court to annul the results from 23 polling stations. The party wants the records from all the country’s polling stations to be examined. Party spokesman Abdoulaye Babou said the national electoral commission found that the results at some polling stations the fingerprints and signatures used were all the same, and in others no record of voters was kept. Provisional election results released on 4 May showed that the Sopi coalition won 49.59% of the popular vote. Second was the Socialist Party of former President Abdou Diouf with 17.36%, and the AFP took 16.14%. (BBC News, UK, 6 May 2001)

* Sénégal. Eglise protestante: vers la réconciliation — L’Eglise protestante sénégalaise serait-elle sur la voie de la réconciliation? Le 6 mai, le temple de la rue Carnot, lieu emblématique de cette communauté, a rouvert ses portes, fermées depuis décembre 1996, suite à des profondes divisions. La crise était née avec le retour dans sa communauté du pasteur Samuel Danshoko, premier pasteur sénégalais ayant terminé ses études aux Etats-Unis. La cérémonie de réouverture a été présidée par l’archevêque catholique de Dakar, Mgr Sarr, en présence du gouverneur de la région, M. Saliou Sambou, qui tous deux ont été les acteurs du processus de réconciliation. Un comité exécutif transitoire de dix membres a été installé pour une durée de trois mois, chargé de parachever les retrouvailles de cette communauté de 400 fidèles, dont la majorité est constituée par des non-Sénégalais. (A. Agboton, Sénégal, 7 mai 2001)

* Sierra Leone. Controversy over Foday Sankoh — A year after the capture of the Sierra Leonean rebel leader, Foday Sankoh, his legal status remains a key political issue with some of his followers making political demands that he be released. His precise whereabouts still generate interest. Sierra Leonean prisons are notoriously insecure. The issue was the subject of an Appeal Court case in London last year when Mr Sankoh’s wife, Fatou, argued that Britain had de facto hold of him. Britain is extremely influential in Sierra Leone. It effectively runs the Sierra Leonean government army so it can face up to rebels responsible for widespread atrocities. However the British government successfully argued in court that the Sierra Leone police were responsible for holding Mr Sankoh, and the Sierra Leone government says the same. A year ago this month a British military team took the captured rebel leader Foday Sankoh out of an army base in the capital Freetown. British officers said they were just transporting Mr Sankoh on behalf of the Sierra Leone police. The police say they are now holding him under emergency legislation and that he will soon be tried by a Special Court. But Sierra Leonean government officials refuse to say which jail Mr Sankoh is held in. And his wife continues to believe that the British are involved, even alleging he is held on a British warship. British officials deny this. (BBC News, UK, 5 May 2001)

* Sierra Leone. Négociations avec le RUF — Lors de leur rencontre le 2 mai à Abuja (Nigeria), les négociateurs du gouvernement de Freetown et du Front révolutionnaire uni (RUF) ont fait des progrès significatifs, selon des sources de la Minusil et de la CEDAO. Les rebelles se sont engagés à restituer tout le matériel militaire dérobé l’an dernier au contingent onusien d’ici la fin du mois. Les négociateurs ont égalemnt convenu de relancer et d’appliquer le programme de “désarmement, démobilisation et réintégration”. Ils ont conclu un accord sur la formation d’une commission mixte composée de représentants du gouvernement, de la Minusil et du RUF, chargée d’élaborer le calendrier de désarmement des bandes armées qui infestent le pays. Le gouvernement a quant à lui accepté la requête des dirigeants du RUF de transformer leur mouvement armé en une force politique. Le RUF a encore déclaré qu’il faciliterait le déploiement du contingent de la Minusil et des organisations humanitaires. - Le 6 mai, le RUF s’est réuni à Makeni (nord de la Sierra Leone) et a ratifié à l’unanimité l’accord conlu à Abuja. - Le 9 mai, en dépit du cessez-le-feu décidé d’un commun accord, neuf personnes ont été tuées lors d’un affrontement entre des rebelles et des milices pro-gouvernementales. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 10 mai 2001)

* South Africa. «Damaged by plot claim», says ANC — 3 May: The African National Congress (ANC), South Africa’s ruling party, has admitted that the controversy over the alleged plot to oust and possibly kill Thabo Mbeki, the president, has damaged the country’s image. But Steve Tshwete, the security minister who launched the investigation into the allegations, is unrepentant. Appearing before the National Assembly’s safety and security committee on 3 May to explain his actions, Mr Tshwete defended his decision to probe the allegations and denied he had abused his power. But he unwittingly confirmed that he had no evidence to back up his allegations. «There would not need to be an investigation if there was sufficient evidence,» he said, without elaborating. Mr Tshwete also insisted he had acted without Mr Mbeki’s knowledge. «I have not consulted with the president,» he said. «There was no need for me to do so. I am not opening a small footpath between my office and that of the president for every little thing.» The minister stunned the nation last week when he named three prominent ANC members-turned-businessmen on state television and accused them of conspiring to overthrow Mr Mbeki by spreading rumours about him. All three have denied the allegations and the minister on 3 May declined to disclose what charges, if any, they face. 4 May: Thabo Mbeki, the South African president, said the three prominent African National Congress politicians-turned-businessmen accused of being involved in a plot to oust him should not have been named. Speaking at length for the first time about an episode that has led to a serious rift within the ruling party, Mr Mbeki admitted it was «an unfortunate incident» that could have been better handled. Mr Mbeki, speaking in a British television interview, seemed to blame the media for focusing on the issue. «The matter arose in the media, it did not originate with the government,» he said, ruling out the possibility of Mr Tshwete resigning over the issue. Mr Mbeki said he did not believe that the three men named had any intention of harming him or even of campaigning to replace him: «Honestly, I do not think that anyone of them is involved in any such campaign. They are not my opponents,» Mr Mbeki emphasised. «I have no sense of any such opposition from them.» (Financial Times, UK, 3-4 May 2001)

* South Africa. Govt. plans for refugees alarms human rights groups — Government plans to set up two reception centres for South Africa’s refugees, where victims of war and serious human rights abuses would be detained pending their status determination, have sounded alarms bells among human rights groups working with refugees and asylum seekers. According to a report published by the National Consortium on Refugee Affairs, which includes church organisations and other human rights groups, such a plan has serious implications for individual freedom and minimum standards of treatment. In order to work well and to meet criteria set by international and constitutional law, the report says such centres would need to be carefully planned and executed. (The Southern Cross, South Africa, 18-24 April 2001)

* Sudan. Sudan hits back at USA — The Sudanese government has hit back at the United States over comments by President Bush branding Sudan a disaster area for human rights. The Sudanese foreign minister, Mustafa Osman Ismail, said Mr Bush’s remarks would not lead to peace in Sudan and would worsen relations with Washington. Another Sudanese minister, Information Minister Ghazi Salah al-Din is quoted as accusing the Americans of prolonging Sudan’s civil war by backing southern rebels against Khartoum. In his speech earlier this week, President Bush said the Sudanese authorities were abusing religious freedom in particular, and were reportedly denying food aid to those unwilling to convert to Islam. In fresh comments on 6 May, Mr Bush’s national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, said it was an outrage that the United States had failed last week to win a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Committee, while Sudan remained a member. (BBC News, UK, 6 May 2001)

* Soudan. Mort d’un copilote du CICR — Une attaque contre un avion de la Croix-Rouge au sud du Soudan a causé la mort d’un copilote danois. Ericksen Ole Friis, 26 ans, a été atteint à la tête par un projectile qui a traversé la carlingue sous son siège alors qu’il survolait une zone contrôlée par les rebelles. Tant le gouvernement de Khartoum que les forces rebelles du SPLA ont nié la responsabilité de l’attaque. “Ce vol, sans passagers à part l’équipage, était considéré comme une mission de routine et avait obtenu les autorisations nécessaires de toutes les parties contrôlant la région”, a précisé à Genève le CICR, qui a par ailleurs décidé de suspendre tous ses vols à destination du Sud-Soudan. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 10 mai 2001)

* Sudan. Red Cross halts flights over Sudan — The International Committee of the Red Cross has halted its operations in Sudan, after an attack on one of its planes left a co-pilot dead. The organisation says all its flights have been suspended until an investigation into the incident is complete —something that may take several days. The plane had been on a routine flight across southern Sudan when several explosions ripped through the fuselage. The 26-year-old Danish co-pilot was killed immediately. The other pilot managed to fly the damaged aircraft back to its base in northern Kenya. The Red Cross says the area that the plane was travelling over has both rebel and government forces present.The Sudanese Government and southern rebels exchanged accusations over who was responsible for the shooting. But it is still not clear who might have carried out the attack. The plane was midway between the southern Sudanese town of Juba and the northern Kenyan town of Lokichokio when the incident happened, the ICRC said. The nine-seater King Air twin-engine turboprop aircraft was on its way to Khartoum and the ICRC said it had permission to make the flight. (BBC News, UK, 10 May 2001)

* Swaziland. Publications suspendues — La jeune presse privée du Swaziland est désormais sans titres, à la suite de la suspension des deux seuls organes privés du pays par les autorités, qui les ont jugés trop critiques àl’égard du gouvernement et de la monarchie. Le ministre de l’Information a suspendu The Guardian (dont la première publication date de février dernier) et le magazine The Nation (créé en 1997). Si la raison de la suspension de The Nation demeure ambiguë, The Guardian a publié plusieurs fois des articles compromettants sur la famille royale. L’Association des journalistes swazi, l’Institut des médias de l’Afrique australe et RSF ont condamné cette suspension. (PANA, Sénégal, 8 mai 2001)

* Tanzanie. L’Irlande menace de couper son aide — L’Irlande a menacé d’interrompre son aide à la Tanzanie à cause de la mauvaise utilisation et des détournements généralisés de sommes destinées aux projets de développement menés dans le pays. Le 4 mai, l’ambassadeur irlandais, Ronan Cornin, a déclaré qu’il avait trouvé qu’une bonne partie de l’argent des contribuables irlandais, destiné à des projets de routes et de réparation de véhicules dans le district de Kilosa, avait été détournée par des responsables sur place. L’Irlande rejoint ainsi la longue liste de pays donateurs et d’institutions financières qui ont fait part de leur inquiétude par rapport à la corruption en Tanzanie. Il y a deux ans, le FMI et la Banque mondiale avaient mis en garde les autorités de ce pays contre le fait que s’ils ne donnaient pas un coup d’accélérateur à leur lutte contre la corruption, leur pays pourrait ne plus recevoir une aide financière de l’étranger. (PANA, Sénégal, 4 mai 2001)

* Tanzania/France. France promotes southern Africa peacekeeping force — Military leaders from southern Africa met in Tanzania on 8 May as part of French efforts to boost Africa’s ability to provide peacekeeping troops for wars in the continent. The French-led Reinforcement of Africa’s Capacity to Keep the Peace (RECAMP) initiative aims to promote peacekeeping organized within Africa, with outside support on training, technical back-up, transport, equipment and funding. Military exercises have already been held in West Africa and Gabon in recent years, but this week’s meeting aims to extend the project into the southern region for the first time. «There is a general consensus that African countries have to take care of their own problems,» French Rear-Admiral Raymond Masson said. The three-day meeting will be attended by army, navy and air force officers from the 14-member Southern African Development Community, as well as neighbouring Kenya and the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar. Uganda and Rwanda were not invited because of their 1998 invasion of the Democratic Republic of Congo, French officials said. The meeting aims to pave the way for a general staff exercise in October and full military exercises in Tanzania next February for a peacekeeping battalion of 800 troops drawn from the 16 participating countries. The decision to hold the exercises in an Anglophone country for the first time is widely seen as part of France’s efforts to extend its military presence and influence outside its former colonies. «This underlines the new French policy to extend peace-support to the whole of Africa, not just Francophone Africa,» Masson said. «We want to help African countries organize themselves on a sub-regional basis.» (CNN, USA, 8 May 2001)

* Uganda. Unsustainable primary education programme — In the year 2000, the country’s Universal Primary Education programme (UPE) allowed 6.5 million pupils to attend school — a radical increase from the 2.3 million in 1997. 15,000 classrooms are presently being built (at a cost of US $130 million) and 45,000 teachers have been recalled to duty. The UPE benefited in part from the Highly Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC). But finances for education are reaching breaking point. Both donors and the government agree that the cost of financing the UPE has been greatly underestimated. From the practical point of view this is seen in such areas as the supply of school text books. This has been marginally reduced from 1 book to every seven pupils to one book for every four pupils; the number of girls attending school has increased by only 2% in recent years — from 45% in 1987 to 47% this year. Also, corruption has hindered teacher recruitment. Parents still have to shoulder the burden of paying for text books, school construction and ever-increasing school fees. Yet the introduction of UPE should have lightened their burden. (Crespo Sebunya, ANB-BIA, Brussels, 1 May 2001)

* Uganda. Ugandan troops leaving Congo RDC — One of the rebel’s key backers in the two and a half year Democratic of Congo war is to start withdrawing its troops from most of its positions. Uganda’s Foreign Minister Eriya Kategaya said the cabinet had ordered a pullout from 10 northern Congolese towns that «will start immediately». However, Uganda will maintain a presence in the northeastern towns of Buta and Bunia to deter rebel attacks on Uganda territory. Uganda also said it would remain a party to the Lusaka Peace Agreement after earlier threatening to withdraw following a UN report that accused Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and their rebel allies of massive looting of the Congo’s natural resources. About 5,000 Uganda troops are estimated to have withdrawn from Congo in the past year. Uganda’s comments come after surprise talks on 7 May involving Rwanda, the other main backer of the rebels, and Zimbabwe. Presidents Paul Kagame and Robert Mugabe agreed in talks in Harare that they would push for a speedy end to the conflict. Speaking after «a clear exchange of views» with President Mugabe, the Rwandan leader said he was cautiously optimistic about accelerating implementation of the Lusaka peace accord to end the fighting which has pulled in six foreign armies. (BBC News, UK, 8 May 2001)

* Zambia. Chiluba — changing direction? — 3 May: Zambian legislators file a motion on 3 May to impeach President Frederick Chiluba for gross misconduct. Ruling party members Ackson Sejani and Mike Mulongoti hand House Speaker Amusaa Mwanamwambwa a notice of motion, signed by more than a third of the 158 legislators, giving the speaker 21 days to decide whether the charges warrant a special tribunal. «The president has engaged in acts of gross misconduct by encouraging and rewarding acts of thuggery, gangsterism, and anarchy,» the notice says, adding that Chiluba has created conditions that endangered the lives of his vice president and ministers at a special congress of the ruling party last weekend. 4 May: In a surprise announcement, President Chiluba says he will not seek a third term of office. «I will leave office at the end of my term. Let’s take national interests in consideration». he says he will stay on as party president. 5 May: Violence breaks out in Lusaka. Trouble broke out at a political rally called by dissident members of the ruling Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD). Mr Chiluba says it was pre-meditated and says those who orchestrated the violence could expect to bear the full brunt of the law. The president also announced a new cabinet to replace the one he dissolved on 4 May. 6 May: Speaking at a press conference, Mr Chiluba puts an end to any lingering speculation that he could be standing for a third term. He says: «Again and again and again, I am not standing for a third term». 7 May: The Speaker of Parliament declares null and void the expulsion of 21 Members from the MMD, saying this move has flouted a High Court order. 8 May: Civic groups backing President Chiluba have launched a constitutional reform campaign raising fears that Chiluba has not given up hope of extending his rule beyond the legal limit of 10 years. In full-page advertisements in Lusaka newspapers on 8 May, the groups urged that reforms be in place before elections in October. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 8 May 2001)

* Zambie. Chiluba renonce à un 3e mandat — Le dimanche 6 mai, au lendemain d’une manifestation hostile à sa candidature qui avait fait un mort et de nombreux blessés, le président zambien Frederick Chiluba a renoncé à briguer un troisième mandat. Lors du congrès de son parti, la semaine dernière, M. Chiluba s’était fait investir candidat à la présidentielle malgré l’interdiction par la Constitution de briguer un troisième quinquennat consécutif. Le 4 mai, il avait dissous le gouvernement au sein duquel neuf ministres et le vice-président s’opposaient ouvertement à sa candidature. Le 5 mai, un nouveau gouvernement, composé uniquement de ses fidèles, avait été mis en place. (Le Monde, France, 8 mai 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Mugabe threatens to expropriate tourist lodges — The Zimbabwean government has added tourist lodges in some of the country’s premier resorts to its list of commercial farms for transfer from white to black ownership, it was reported on 3 May. The weekly Zimbabwe Independent said resorts in the Victoria Falls and Eastern Highlands regions were being targeted for expropriation by President Robert Mugabe’s government. So far more than half of the country’s 5,000 white-owned farms have been listed for acquisition. Victoria Falls, on Zimbabwe’s western border with Zambia, is one of southern Africa’s top tourist destinations. The town has developed increasingly as a centre for adventure tourism popular for white-water river rafting, while the Eastern Highlands is a mountainous destination popular with hikers. Resorts identified for compulsory purchase include land owned by Outward Bound, Pine Crest and Raynes Park Estates, the newspaper reported. It said tea and coffee plantations were also earmarked for resettlement. Alongside mining and tobacco, tourism is one of Zimbabwe’s main sources of foreign exchange revenues. According to the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, tourism contributed 3 per cent to gross domestic product in 2000, down from 7 per cent the year before. Additionally, fuel shortages, currency weakness and the withdrawal of support by the International Monetary Fund have severely weakened the economy. Tourism agencies have urged the government to rethink its policy, arguing that political violence in the country has slashed revenues from the industry as tourists stay away. (Financial Times, UK, 4 May 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Ligne directe Londres-Victoria Falls — Le 7 mai, la compagnie aérienne nationale zimbabwéenne a procédé à l’ouverture d’une ligne directe reliant Londres à la station balnéaire de Victoria Falls en vue de relancer le secteur touristique. Des vols directs hebdomadaires seront désormais effectués pour relier la capitale britannique à Victoria Falls, jadis accessible seulement via Johannesburg et Harare. Cette mesure est destinée à faire les yeux doux aux touristes occidentaux, visiblement effrayés par les informations persistantes en provenance du Zimbabwe, faisant état de violence et d’instabillité politique. (PANA, Sénégal, 7 mai 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Morgan Tsvangirai goes on trial — 7 May: Opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai goes on trial on politically motivated charges of treason designed to prevent him from running for president against Robert Mugabe. Tsvangirai says: «The charges against me are politically motivated to get me out of the way before the presidential elections next year. The charges go hand in hand with the campaign being perpetrated by Mugabe’s war veterans. For two weeks factories have been invaded by war veterans but the police have done nothing. Innocent people have been beaten and killed. Judges have been threatened». By the end of the day, Tsvangirai wins an important first round victory against the government when the High Court questions the constitutionality of oppressive British colonial-era laws used to charge him. The High Court refers the trial to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court will consider whether President Mugabe can even use the notorious Law and Order (Maintenance) Act which has been wielded by every Zimbabwean government for four decades to oppress opponents. (The Guardian, UK, 7-8 May 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Le procès de Tsvangirai renvoyé — Le procès contre le dirigeant de l’opposition Morgan Tsvangirai, qui aurait dû débuter le 7 mai, a été reporté. Un juge de la Haute Cour de Harare a reconnu, avec les défenseurs de Tsvangirai, que ce procès remettrait en cause le principe constitutionnel de la liberté à la parole. C’est pourquoi il a été décidé que la procédure judiciaire incombait à la Cour suprême, qui par ailleurs ne devrait pas examiner le dossier avant un mois. Tsvangirai est accusé d’avoir violé le Law and Order Maintenance Act, une loi datant de l’époque coloniale concernant les instigateurs à la révolte contre le pouvoir en place. Le chef du Mouvement pour le changement démocratique (MDC) avait affirmé en septembre 2000 que le président Mugabe pouvait être destitué, même par la violence, s’il refusait de se retirer pacifiquement. (Misna, Italie, 8 mai 2001)