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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 31-05-2001

PART #1/4 - From AMNESTY INT. to BURUNDI

* Amnesty International fête ses 40 ans — Ce 28 mai, l’organisation de défense des droits de l’homme, Amnesty International, fête à Londres le 40e anniversaire de sa fondation par l’avocat britannique Peter Benenson. Le 28 mai 1961, celui-ci faisait paraître une tribune libre dans The Observer pour attirer l’attention sur le sort des “prisonniers oubliés”. Benenson invente la méthode de demander au public de bombarder les gouvernements accusés de maltraiter les prisonniers politiques et religieux. Au fil des années s’y ajoutera le combat pour l’abolition de la peine de mort, contre la torture, pour la défense des défenseurs des droits de l’homme... En 40 ans, AI, récompensée du prix Nobel de la paix en 1977, se targue de s’être mobilisée sur plus de 45.000 cas et d’avoir répondu à près de 17.000 appels urgents en faveur de personnes en danger. L’organisation couvre actuellement le monde entier, forte de plus d’un million d’adhérents et de donateurs. - Dans son rapport annuel publié à l’occasion de cet anniversaire, Amnesty dénonce les effets de la mondialisation, qui s’est traduite par “un appauvrissement et un accroissement des inégalités”, et recense aussi les atteintes aux droits de l’homme dans 149 pays et territoires. Le rapport dénonce notamment la pratique de la torture, qui est devenue “quasi-routinière” dans nombre de pays africains, et appelle les Etats à ne plus “fermer les yeux”. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 30 mai 2001)

* Amnesty International. Human rights violations — «In a world where globalization is impacting upon every nation state and bringing poverty to the forefront of the human rights agenda, the challenge today is how to hold states accountable for the conduct», Amnesty International said as it released its annual report in the week of its 40th anniversary. «Globalization — the spread of the free market economy and technological change — has led to enormous economic expansion, but has been accompanied by debt, poverty and widening inequalities», the organization said. (...) The picture that emerges from Amnesty International’s annual report on its 40th anniversary is one of a world where the perpetrators of human rights violations in at least 149 countries are not only confined to government officials and state agents. The perpetrators are often family or community members of employers against whom governments fail to take action. Human rights abuses are also committed on a daily basis by armed opposition and paramilitary groups. (...) [To obtain a copy of the report, and/or regional summaries of Africa and other parts of the world, contact Amnesty International’s press office in London, on 00 44 020 7413 5566.  Web: http//www.amnesty.org] (Amnesty International, 30 May 2001)

* Afrique. Paludisme — Le 23 mai, l’Organisation mondiale de la santé (OMS) a signé un accord avec le géant pharmaceutique Novartis sur un traitement anti-paludisme. Le laboratoire vendra à prix coûtant en Afrique son nouveau traitement antipaludéen, le Coartem. Le paludisme contamine chaque année 300 millions de personnes dans le monde et en tue un million. (La Croix, France, 25 mai 2001)

* Afrique. L’Union africaine — Le 26 mai, l’Union africaine (UA), destinée à remplacer l’Organisation de l’unité africaine (OUA), est née dans la plus grande discrétion avec l’entrée en vigueur de son traité. L’UA a été proclamée le 2 mars dernier à Syrte (Libye), lors d’une session extraordinaire de l’OUA. L’acte constitutif avait été signé en juillet 2000 à Lomé par 53 chefs d’Etat africains. Pour l’instant, sur les 53 signataires, 41 l’ont ratifié. L’organisation entrera pleinement en action au mois de juillet, lors d’un sommet pan-africain dans la capitale zambienne Lusaka. (D’après AFP, France, 26 mai 2001)

* Africa. African Union treaty comes into force — A new pan-African body, the African Union, formally came into existence on 26 May, replacing the Organisation for African Unity. The new body, loosely modelled on the European Union, is the brainchild of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi - but the idea harks back to pan-African aspirations of the 1950s. Pan-African Movement head Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem Kwame Nkrumah, who proclaimed Ghana independent in 1957, promoted pan-Africanism as a way for the continent to regain dignity and economic strength after being colonised. The Pan-African Movement says that the creation of the African Union brings Nkrumah’s dream of a common African currency, foreign policy, defence structure and economic programme closer to reality. But even though nearly 40 of Africa’s 53 countries have signed the treaty bringing the African Union into existence, the outlines of the project are still unclear. Very little work has been done on how the African Union will operate in practice. It is expected to have an assembly made up of the continent’s heads of state and an executive council of ministers. 26 May marked the beginning of a 12-month transition period that sees the new union taking over the headquarters - and much of the administrative staff -of the OAU. OAU Secretary-General Dr Salim Ahmed Salim said the African Union would make a real difference to the lives of ordinary Africans. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 26 May 2001)

* Africa. ADB hit by protests — The African Development Bank (ADB), which works to reduce poverty and help struggling economies, has become a target of anti-capitalist protestors, despite its popularity amongst poor people in Africa. The demonstrations have come as a surprise to the continent’s leading financial development institution which is meeting in Valencia in Spain on 29 May to find ways to end the plight of Africa’s struggling economies. Officials believe the protestors confuse the ADB with the oft targeted World Bank Group which recently cancelled a poverty conference that had been due to be held in Barcelona next month. «These groups were looking for an opportunistic target after the World Bank conference was cancelled. They found a semblance of an excuse, because the African Development Bank has been erroneously referred to here in some reports as a subsidiary of the World Bank,» a senior bank official said. (BBC News, UK, 28 May 2001)

* Africa. The wrongs of slavery and colonialism — On 29 May, Mary Robinson, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, backed a call by African countries for an apology by the US and former colonial powers in Europe for the wrongs of slavery and colonialism. The US and UK oppose any apology which they fear could open the way for huge reparation claims. But Mrs Robinson said the UN conference on racism, to be held in South Africa in September, had to demonstrate «a collective recognition of the terrible exploitation and violations of human rights and crimes against humanity of the past. I see great merit in a willingness to have that recognition in the form of an apology,» she said. How to deal with past slavery and colonialism has become one of the most bitter issues in difficult negotiations now under way in Geneva on a draft declaration and plan of action for the conference. African nations have proposed that the conference affirm the slave trade as a «unique tragedy» and an unparalleled «crime against humanity», while perpetrating states should «assume their moral, economic, political and legal responsibilities» including reparations to the victims. However, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, South Africa’s foreign minister, said it was a question of recognising past injustice and seeking to close that chapter of history. (Financial Times, UK, 29 May 2001)

* Africa. Action against the Media — Congo RDC: On 18 May, the secretary-general of the Ministry of Communications and Press, suspended the two cultural programmes from the private television stations Tropicana TV and Antenne A. Egypt: On 24 May, the International Freedom of Expression (IFEX) community urged the European Union to monitor attacks on freedom of expression in Egypt. Ethiopia: On 23 May, Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) called for the release of the three remaining journalists still in prison. Kenya: In a letter addressed to the Commissioner of Police (25 May), RSF protested against the assault on Chris Omollo, a photographer with the Daily Nation. Malawi: On 25 May, the International Press Institute condemned the recent decision of the police in Lilongwe, to arrest a newspaper vendor selling newspapers critical of the government. On 26 May, the owner of Karora printers, Kalera Mhango, and the editor of the independent Dispatch newspaper were charged with «publishing false information likely to cause public fear and alarm», an offence they have both denied having committed. Mali: On 22 May, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported that the head of Mali’s public broadcasting service is serving 30 days in jail on a criminal defamation charge brought by the local union of judges. Namibia: On 30 May, President Nujoma stepped up his campaign against The Namibian newspaper, by banning all government offices from buying it. Swaziland: On 22 May, police raided the independent news magazine, the Nation. Tunisia: On 23 May, the CPJ urged the Tunisian government to bring to justice the perpetrators of last year’s assassination attempt against Tunisian journalist Riad Ben Fadhel. Zambia: On 29 May, the Media Institute of Southern Africa said that the newly appointed Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services, Vernon Mwaanga, has dissolved the boards of the two state-owned newspapers (the Zambia Daily Mail and the Times of Zambia), the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation, as well as a government-owned printing company, the Zambia Printing Company. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 30 May 2001)

* Africa/USA. Colin Powell’s tour — 24 May: American Secretary of State Colin Powell has praised Mali’s peacekeeping efforts. After visiting Malian troops being trained by United States soldiers Mr Powell said that he was «impressed by the commitment and dedication that the government of Mali puts into peacekeeping operations». Mr Powell is in Mali on the first leg of a four-nation African tour. He is focusing on regional security and health issues. This trip is being seen as a way to measure the importance of Africa to the new Bush administration. Speaking to journalists Mr Powell said that Africa is important but he admitted that there were differences of opinion within the Bush administration. He said these mostly revolve around the extent to which the United States should be involved in peacekeeping operations. 25 May: In South Africa, Colin Powell condemns Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s president, for plunging his country into political and economic turmoil and calls for «fair and real elections» to be held soon. At the same time, he gives strong backing to South Africa’s President Mbeki. 27 May: In Uganda, Colin Powell announces that Washington will give Uganda $50 million to fight AIDS. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 28 May 2001)

* Afrique/USA. Tournée de Colin Powell — Le secrétaire d’Etat américain Colin Powell a effectué une tournée africaine, soulignant que “l’Afrique constitue une priorité de la nouvelle administration américaine”. En compagnie de plusieurs de ses collaborateurs directs, il est arrivé le 23 mai au Mali, où il s’est engagé à oeuvrer au renforcement des relations bilatérales entre les deux pays. Il y a aussi insisté sur le soutien aux efforts régionaux et sous-régionaux africains pour la stabilité du continent, qui est “un problème pour les Africains avec l’aide d’autres”. - Seconde étape de sa tournée, il est arrivé au soir du 24 mai en Afrique du Sud. Avec le président Thabo Mbeki, il a évoqué les conflits régionaux et l’épidémie du sida. Il y a aussi critiqué le président du Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, qui “semble déterminé à rester au pouvoir”, l’accusant d’être le premier responsable de la crise qui affecte ce pays. - Après un passage au Kenya, le 27 mai en Ouganda, M. Powell a félicité le président Museveni pour sa décision de commencer à retirer ses troupes du Congo-Kinshasa. Il a également annoncé l’octroi d’une nouvelle aide alimentaire américaine pour les victimes de la sécheresse au Soudan. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 28 mai 2001)

* Africa/USA. Embassy bombers found guilty — 29 May: Two men are convicted of murdering 224 people when the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed three years ago, at the close of trial in New York that gave an unprecedented insight into the workings of the world’s most feared sponsor of terrorism, Osama bin Laden. Another two men are found guilty of being part of a conspiracy, headed by the Saudi millionaire that culminated in the explosions. They were not accused of direct involvement in the attacks and face life in jail. 30 May: Hearings start today to decide whether the death penalty will be imposed on Rashed Daoud Al-Owhali and Khalfan Khamis Mohamed. It is likely to be a month before decisions are reached. Speaking for the prosecution, Patrick Fitzgerald tells the jury: «Each of you will be convinced that the only punishment that fits the crime is the death penalty». (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 31 May 2001)

* East Africa. French aid to benefit EAC States — Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are among a group of African, Caribbean and Pacific countries (ACP) set to benefit from France’s «Priority Area of Solidarity», a new initiative that seeks to strengthen French technical support in selected ACP member countries. The move will be a much needed consolation for Kenya, which in the recent past has found itself in the cold after being excluded from the EU‘s trade initiative dubbed «Everything But Arms» and the expiry of the Lome Conventions. The inclusion of the three EAC countries into this «select club» follows a joint declaration made early this year between France’s Minister for International Co-operation, and the outgoing EAC Secretary-General, Mr Francis Muthaura, on future links between the two. (The East African, Kenya, 14-20 May 2001)

* Algeria. Further Berber riots — Algerian paramilitary gendarmes shot dead a teenager in fresh clashes with Berber protesters demanding the security force’s withdrawal from the restive Berber region, residents and medical sources said on 23 May. At least 11 more people were wounded when gendarmes fired into protesters attempting to storm a barracks in Feraoun village in Bejaia, 180 km east of Algiers, on Wednesday night, they said. The killing was the worst incident since at least half a million people marched through Algeria’s main Berber city of Tizi Ouzou on Monday to urge the government pull out the gendarme force they blame for slaying scores of rioters in April and early this month. «The body of the victim was brought to our hospital along with 11 other people wounded by bullets,» said an official at a hospital in Amizour town by telephone. Amizour lies 20 km south of Bejaia. The official named the dead teenager as Ben Aissa Hamza. Government officials were not immediately available for comment. Local newspapers said on 23 May, that protests swept Aokas, Souk el Ahad, el Ksar, Ighrma and Kerata areas in Bejaia province on 22 May. El Watan reported that the demonstrations were prompted by what it called provocation tactics used by gendarmes, including entering schools to arrest suspected protesters. (CNN, USA, 24 May 2001)

* Algérie. Les affrontements continuent en Kabylie — Les affrontements quasi quotidiens dans plusieurs localités de la préfecture de Bejaïa se sont durcis le 23 mai. Les habitants mettent en cause le comportement “brutal et provocant” des forces de l’ordre. Dans la localité d’Aokas, des affrontements ont fait une vingtaine de blessés. Un jeune Berbère a été abattu et 11 autres blessés par balles, le soir à Féraoun, lorsque les gendarmes ont ouvert le feu sur eux pour les empêcher de pénétrer dans leur caserne. Le jeudi 24 mai, plus de 10.000 femmes selon des estimations de journalistes — 50.000 selon les organisateurs — ont manifesté pacifiquement à Tizi-Ouzou pour dénoncer la répression sanglante des dernières émeutes. Mais à la fin de la marche, des centaines de jeunes ont affronté à coups de pierre les brigades anti-émeutes de la police. - 25 mai. Désormais, c’est la nuit que s’embrase la Kabylie. Après la troisième soirée d’émeutes et de barricades, le jour s’est levé vendredi sur au moins quatre nouveaux morts. Le samedi 26, les affrontements entre jeunes manifestants et policiers ont repris à Tizi-Ouzou; et à Bejaïa, les lycéens ont organisé une marche pacifique. Le dimanche 27, àBejaïa, une marche de plusieurs dizaines de milliers de personnes a dégénéré en émeutes. Le président Bouteflika a tenté de régler la crise; il a indiqué que des sanctions seraient prises sur base des résultats de la commission nationale d’enquête mise en place pour faire la lumière sur les événements. Depuis le début des troubles, dans la seule préfecture de Bejaïa, 17 personnes ont été tuées et 960 blessées, selon le préfet. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 28 mai 2001)

* Algérie. La presse défend sa liberté — Le lundi 28 mai, la presse privée algérienne, qui représente plus de 95% du tirage des journaux, était absente des kiosques du pays. Cette “journée sans la presse” était la première organisée par un comité de crise des éditeurs, né tout récemment après l’adoption par l’Assemblée nationale d’un nouveau code pénal qui, entre autres, aggrave lourdement les sanctions contre les délits de presse. Un rassemblement des professionnels et de “tous les défenseurs de la liberté de presse” a eu lieu l’après-midi au centre d’Alger, demandant que “les amendements de la honte soient purement et simplement retirés”. (La Croix, France, 29 mai 2001)

* Algeria. Russia-Algeria military deal — Russia is to help modernise Algeria’s armed forces with equipment including air defence components, a top Russian official said on 28 May. Ily Klebanov, deputy prime minister, returned from a weekend trip to Algeria with an agreement to launch a 10-year programme of military-technical co-operation. (Financial Times, UK, 29 May 2001)

* Algérie. La colère gagne les villes — Partie de Kabylie, où les émeutes qui s’installent dans la durée ont fait quatre nouveaux morts en deux jours, la colère commence à se propager dans les grandes villes algériennes. A Boumerdès, zone clé entre la Kabylie et l’Algérois, la région a versé dans les affrontements et les barricades. A Alger, Oran ou Sétif, des marches spontanées ont lieu depuis le début de la semaine, parties également des universités, et provoquant les premiers heurts avec la police. Pour l’instant, les banderoles oscillent. Parfois à l’intérieur même d’un cortège, comme ce fut le cas à Sétif, certains affichent seulement une “solidarité avec la Kabylie”, alors que d’autres crient: “Nous sommes tous des Kabyles”. Plus loin, une autre banderole proclame: “Nous avons la même rage dans toute l’Algérie”. Un peu partout, on parle désormais de “véritable basculement national”. (Ndlr. Une marche est prévue à Alger le 31 mai, pour “réclamer vérité, justice et liberté”). (Libération, France, 30 mai 2001)

* Angola. Réfugiés — La guerre continue à terroriser la population angolaise. D’après les informations divulguées le 25 mai par le Bureau de coordination onusien des affaires humanitaires (Ocha) en Angola, au cours des quatre premiers mois de cette année environ 100.000 personnes ont dû quitter leurs maisons par crainte des combats en cours entre l’armée et les rebelles de l’Unita. Depuis 1998, 1,2 million de personnes ont été déplacées à cause de la guerre civile; et depuis le début du conflit, 3 millions d’Angolais sont devenus des réfugiés. En outre, selon des sources de l’agence Misna, les centres habités de l’arrière-pays se vident progressivement, les habitants considérant que les zones côtières sont plus sûres. (Misna, Italie, 25 mai 2001)

* Angola. De Beers suspends Angola operation — International diamond mining giant De Beers has decided to suspend its investment in prospecting operations in Angola with immediate effect. A De Beers statement said the company had reached an impasse in negotiations with the Angolan Government. The company has been working in partnership with the Angolan state diamond company, Endiama under the terms of a contract signed in 1990. However the new contract lapsed when new legislation governing the diamond industry was introduced in February last year. The De Beers statement said that 14 months after the suspension of the original contract, it had failed to come to a new agreement with the Angolan authorities and had, therefore, decided that its operations in Angola were at present not viable. De Beers has contributed both capital investment and the technology needed to prospect in the kimberlite pipes from which diamonds are extracted. Despite today’s announcement, De Beers will be maintaining a presence in Angola and intends to continue talks with the government. De Beer’s decision means an Israeli company, the Leviev Group, has exclusive rights to market Angola’s legitimate diamond output.Rebels in Angola’s civil war control many of the country’s diamond mines and their campaign has been in part funded by the sale of diamonds. Since 1998 the United Nations has banned the export of diamonds from rebel sources. (BBC News, UK, 24 May 2001)

* Angola. Former French minister faces probe over Angola arms sale — On 29 May, French magistrates placed former Interior Minister Charles Pasqua under investigation for graft linked to a $550 million arms sale to Angola in the early 1990s. It is the second legal inquiry into the 74-year-old politician who was placed under investigation Monday on allegations of illegal financing for his conservative RPF party in European Parliament elections in 1999. Pasqua’s lawyers, Lef Forster and Gilbert Collard, said after a hearing in Paris that Pasqua faced investigation on charges of receiving misappropriated public property and peddling influence over the deals by billionaire arms dealer Pierre Falcone. The suspicion relates to a 1.5 million franc ($196,000) payment made by Falcone’s company to a political grouping close to Pasqua in July 1996 and the decoration of an associate of Falcone with a national order of merit a few days later. «There is nothing here that has anything to do with me, nothing at all,» Pasqua, who was interior minister from 1993 to 1995, told reporters after the hearing. Official investigations are a step short of formal charges under French law, which are made only when a decision is taken to take the case to court. The late President Francois Mitterrand’s son, Jean-Christophe, has also been put under official investigation in the Angola arms deals along with Jacques Attali, one-time aide to Mitterrand. (CNN, USA, 29 May 2001)

* Botswana. Unlikely alliance in AIDS war — Philanthropists, industry and government have come together to combat the pandemic. On the fourth floor of an office block in downtown Gaborone, the Botswanan capital, the office of Donald de Korte, an executive director of Merck, the pharmaceutical company, is next to that of Banu Khan, the national AIDS co-ordinator. It is not a coincidence that a representative of «big pharma» and a high-ranking government official should share office space: they are working together on a ground-breaking public-private partnership to fight the Aids pandemic. It is a five-year, $100m project funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Botswana needs the project to succeed. According to UN figures this diamond-rich, sparsely populated country has proportionately the highest HIV rate in the world: 38.5 per cent of the country’s sexually active population (aged 15-49) is infected. One in two people aged between 25 and 34 is HIV-positive while average life expectancy has plunged from 69 years to 44 in less than a decade. As one in eight babies is infected at birth, the project is starting with a programme to prevent mother-to-child transmission, administering AZT and Nevirapine. The provision of triple anti-retroviral therapy for adults will begin by the end of the year, with Merck and Boehringer-Ingelheim undertaking to provide the drugs for free for five years. (Financial Times, UK, 28 May 2001)

* Burundi. Délégation du Conseil de sécurité — Le 23 mai, une délégation du Conseil de sécurité de l’Onu, conduite par l’ambassadeur de France M. Levitte, en tournée dans la région, a fait une courte visite de travail à Bujumbura, rapporte l’agence de presse burundaise. M. Levitte a déclaré que la guerre au Burundi préoccupe énormément sa délégation et que cette question a été évoquée avec tous les interlocuteurs concernés dans les différentes capitales. Il a affirmé que le message est le même pour tous les belligérants du conflit au Burundi, à savoir qu’il n’y a pas de solutions militaires. Dans une conférence de presse à l’issue de la visite, M. Levitte a encore indiqué que les exposés que leur avaient faits le président Buyoya et les représentants des parties signataires de l’accord d’Arusha, avaient été très utiles et leur avaient mieux fait comprendre la complexité de la situation. Avec les FDD rencontrées à Kinshasa et avec le FNL que la délégation devait rencontrer à Dar es-Salaam, le message est le même: examiner l’accord d’Arusha, dire en quoi il ne leur convient pas et proposer des formules constructives. L’objectif du Conseil de sécurité est de plaider en faveur du dialogue et non pas d’une accentuation des hostilités, dont seul le peuple burundais fait les frais. - Pendant ce temps, la guerre continue. Selon des tracts distribués par les rebelles, ceux-ci poursuivent leurs infiltrations en vue d’attaques intenses, indique l’agence Azania. Depuis deux semaines, l’armée a intensifié ses actions contre les rebelles dans la forêt naturelle de la Kibira, à partir de laquelle ceux-ci ont multiplié ces derniers jours leurs attaques dans la province de Kayanza. La semaine dernière, des rebelles infiltrés depuis la Tanzanie ont lancé des attaques en province de Rutana. -Le 25 mai, une nouvelle réunion sur la transition au Burundi s’est terminée prématurément à Arusha, en raison de l’absence de plusieurs parties attendues, rapporte l’agence Hirondelle. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 25 mai 2001)