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: 28-06-2001

PART #4/4 - From SOUTH AFRICA to ZIMBABWE

* South Africa. Mines offer AIDS help — The South African mining industry has plans to make special payments to miners suffering from HIV/AIDS, on condition they take voluntary retirement. Rick Menell, the president of the chamber of mines, said mining companies had plans to launch a two-year pension as part of a voluntary ill-health retirement package for workers suffering from AIDS within the next two months. Companies and employees would contribute to an AIDS fund that would cover the last months of sufferers’ lives and a death benefit payment. «We would create a financial pool between employees and employers that could offer additional benefits to people that were previously not available. It has been under negotiation with stakeholders over the last couple of months,» said Mr Menell. South Africa has one of the highest infection rates of HIV/AIDS with 11.8 per cent of its 40m population infected. Within industry, mining is one of the worst hit sectors with an estimated 30 per cent of its 500,000 miners infected. Some 73 per cent of miners live in single-sex hostels and 25 per cent of them come from neighbouring countries. Mining companies, as part of a broader private sector initiative, are also considering the supply of generic anti-retroviral drugs to employees. Research by Anglo American and Old Mutual, the country’s largest financial services company, has shown that treatment of employees with anti-retrovirals can be cheaper than the costs incurred by leaving them untreated. (Financial Times, UK, 23 June 2001)

* South Africa. Spurned Winnie rounds on Mbeki — The growing rancour between Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and President Thabo Mbeki has been brought into the open by the disgraced but still popular «mother of the nation» accusing his government of lacking democracy, betraying the ideals of the liberation movement and neglecting the poor. The verbal assault follows Mr Mbeki’s humiliation of Nelson Mandela’s former wife a week ago when he pushed her away as she tried to kiss and hug him at a rally to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Soweto uprising. After the incident, the African National Congress accused her of «tomfoolery» and the president said she showed «disrespect» for the nature of the commemoration. At the weekend she responded with an attack on his government’s record. (The Guardian, UK, 25 June 2001)

* South Africa. Bush meets with Mbeki — 26 June: Aiming for a stronger relationship with South Africa, US President George W. Bush says at the start of his two-day meeting with South African leader Thabo Mbeki in Washington that trade and bilateral ties would be on the agenda. Mbeki meets with Bush at the White House’s Oval Office and later the two leaders continue their talks over lunch in the private residence. When asked if the AIDS pandemic will figure in his talks with Mbeki, Bush said «it’s an incredibly important part of our dialogue.» It is the first time that Mbeki had met with Bush since the US leader took office. The two met in Texas in May, 2000, while Bush was the state’s governor. Mbeki has upset UN officials by not speaking in New York this week at a special session of the General Assembly on the topic of AIDS, although South Africa has a delegation at the conference. (CNN, USA, 27 June 2001)

* Swaziland. Liberté d’expression muselée — Le roi Mswati III a définitivement muselé l’opposition politique et la presse indépendante par un décret extraordinaire. Le souverain s’est en effet accordé le droit d’interdire sans délai et sans condition toute publication contraire à son gré. Par ailleurs, quiconque critiquera son activité ou fera de la satire à son insu pourra être incarcéré et contraint de payer une lourde amende. Le décret prévoit enfin l’abolition de toute garantie légale aux personnes accusées de délits de vol ou de viol, voire même de manifestation non autorisée. L’initiative de Mswati III a outrepassé la magistrature, qui a récemment établi que l’absence de garanties aux personnes accusées de certains types de crimes était inconstitutionnelle. Des sources de l’opposition, réunies au sein du “Swaziland Solidarity Network”, ont commenté que ce geste renforçait «le règne de la terreur politique institutionalisée dans un pays soumis à une autorité tyrannique». (Misna, Italie, 26 juin 2001)

* Sudan. Bombing raid on Raga — Six people were killed and several others injured when a government bomber hit the southern Sudanese town of Raga on 24 June. Speaking on the (satellite) telephone from Tonj (about 1,000 km south of Khartoum) on the morning of 27 June, Bishop Caesar Mazzalori of the Catholic Diocese of Rumbek, said the six included a mother and her baby whom she was holding at the time of the incident. The mother also lost her elder son in the some tragedy. The Bishop who made a quick visit to Raga on 26 June said: «This is really diabolical considering that so far the government has continued to deny humanitarian agencies access to Raga». He said that the 24 June air strike took place in the afternoon and involved between seven and nine bombs, which were dropped along a straight line on a strictly civilian section of the town. Earlier, the bomber aircraft had hovered over the town without dropping any bombs. It is suspected to have been trying to identify its intended target. (Sudan Catholic Information Office, 27 June 2001)

* Tchad. Financement pétrolier contesté — La Banque européenne d’investissement (BEI) a annoncé le 22 juin un prêt de 144 millions d’euros pour la construction d’un oléoduc entre le Tchad et le Cameroun. Ce crédit s’ajoute à celui de 700 millions d’euros annoncé le 15 juin par un groupe bancaire comprenant le Crédit agricole indosuez. Ces prêts ont été enclenchés par le feu vert donné en juin 2000 par la Banque mondiale qui avait accordé aux gouvernements du Tchad et du Cameroun 100 millions d’euros pour leur permettre de participer au consortium réalisant le projet pétrolier de la région de Doba. Les décisions des institutions financières interviennent alors que de nombreuses ONG dénoncent l’appui au gouvernement tchadien; en effet, les atteintes aux droits de l’homme se multiplient au Tchad depuis les élections du 20 mai favorables au président Déby, marquées par une fraude massive. (Le Monde, France, 23 juin 2001)

* Togo/West Africa. «Refugee» ship flounders off Togo — 22 June: A Swedish-registered ship carrying more than 150 Liberians is reported to be in trouble off the West African coast. Its propeller is believed to have been fouled by fishing nets and the ship is running out of fuel and water. «The situation is desperate,» said Eva Furberg, wife of the ship’s captain, Henning Kielberg. «It has got a net in its propellers. It doesn’t have any more fuel and there is no more food or water aboard. People’s lives are in danger.» Togolese port authorities told the BBC that it had sent divers out to the ship to help disentangle the nets. According to the authorities the captain did not ask for help with fuel, water or food. The ship, the Alnar Stockholm, left the Liberian capital of Monrovia on 1 June. Its passengers were due to enter Ghana but were refused. The ship was last seen on 18 June off the coast of Benin, where officials also denied it permission to dock. Shipping officials say the ship’s plight is partly a result of a recent criticism of West African countries over labour-trafficking. In April a Nigerian registered ship, the Etireno, triggered international concern when it was reported to be carrying child slaves, although these were not found. 24 June: The Liberians are now hoping to disembark in Lagos on 25 June. President Olusegun Obasanjo had ordered last week that the ship be permitted to dock in Nigerian waters. But Lagos port officials said that they were waiting to «receive a clear instruction from the federal government on 25 June.» 25 June: The ship is now expected to dock in Lagos tomorrow. 26 June: The vessel docks in Lagos after nearly a month drifting off the West African coast. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 27 June 2001)

* Tunisie. Ligue des droits de l’homme — Le 21 juin, la cour d’appel de Tunis a rendu public son verdict sur l’affaire qui oppose le comité directeur de la Ligue tunisienne de défense des droits de l’homme (LTDH) à quatre de ses membres. Confirmant un jugement en première instance du 12 février, le juge a décidé l’annulation du 5e congrès de la LTDH, des décisions et des comités qui en sont issus. Mais la mission de l’administrateur judiciaire imposé est terminée, et le nouveau comité directeur est tenu d’organiser un nouveau congrès dans un délai d’un an. Le vice-président de la ligue, Me Anouar Kousri, continue à affirmer que c’est “une affaire strictement politique qui vise à mettre au pas notre association”. Tout porte à croire que le comité directeur ira se pourvoir en cassastion pour contester ce verdict. (Le Soir, Belgique, 22 juin 2001)

* Tunisie. Prisonniers d’opinion — La militante tunisienne des droits de l’homme Sihem Bensedrine, interpellée le 26 juin à l’aéroport de Tunis, a été emprisonnée, ont annoncé ses avocats. Mme Bensedrine, 47 ans, porte-parole du Conseil national pour les libertés en Tunisie (non reconnu), a été inculpée pour diffamation du corps judiciaire, diffusion de fausses nouvelles de nature à troubler l’ordre public dans des propos tenus sur la chaîne de télévision Al-Mustaquilla, dirigée par un opposant depuis Londres. - D’autre part, le 26 juin, Mohamed Hédi Béjaoui, ancien prisonnier d’opinion, au 51e jour de sa grève de la faim, était dans un état qualifié de désespéré. Ce père de sept enfants est privé de tous ses droits depuis sa sortie de prison en septembre 1999, au terme de 9 ans de détention pour appartenance supposée au mouvement islamiste interdit Ennahda. M. Béjaoui tente par son action d’attirer l’attention sur la situation de milliers d’anciens prisonniers tunisiens, condamnés comme lui à la misère à leur sortie de prison. (Le Soir et Le Monde, 27 juin 2001)

* Ouganda/Rwanda. Défections — Une cinquantaine de soldats ougandais ont fait défection, trouvant refuge au Rwanda, pour échapper à ce qu’ils qualifient de persécution et de harcèlement, ont annoncé le 24 juin les autorités rwandaises. “Ils sont arrivés ici en demandant l’asile politique”, a déclaré le porte-parole du gouvernement. L’Ouganda n’a pas confirmé cette information. Parmi les “défecteurs” se trouveraient des soldats et des policiers. “Ils accusent le gouvernement de l’Ouganda de persécutions politiques, de corruption et de torture”, a expliqué le porte-parole. (La Libre Belgique, 25 juin 2001)

* Uganda. Parliamentary elections — 21 June: Amnesty International calls on governments sending monitors to the parliamentary elections (26 June), to ensure that human rights concerns are fully addressed. June 24: The elections are expected to show strains between supporters of the no-party government and critics who say President Yoweri Museveni is using the system to entrench African «Big Man» rule. Political party activity has been banned in Uganda since 1986, when Museveni seized power and introduced a «no-party Movement,» arguing parties in Africa stirred ethnic hatred. By law, all Ugandans are members of the movement, with parliamentary candidates elected purely as individuals. But critics have accused Museveni of soliciting votes for favoured Movement activists in the campaign, breaching the principle that candidates be chosen on merit and character. His actions have angered many voters and parliamentary hopefuls who campaigned for him in presidential polls in March, which he won with nearly 70 percent of the vote. «Things are not going to be the same after 26 June,» says Philip Kasujja, a political scientist close to the Movement. «Some of these people campaigned for Museveni in March, but are going to be very aggrieved since the Movement has campaigned against them». Upwards of 800 candidates will vie for 214 seats up for grabs in the 292-seat assembly. The remaining seats, for special interest groups such as the disabled, have already been decided under an indirect electoral college system. The results will be announced later in the week. 26 June: Parliamentary elections. There are reports of a low turnout in Kampala. The turnout was much higher in the east of the country. 27 June: Shooting at a polling station in eastern Uganda has resulted in the deaths of six people. The incident happened in the eastern district of Mbale during voting, yesterday. There were two other shooting incidents, which resulted in injuries but no further deaths. Preliminary results suggest that voters have returned to power a parliament that will please President Museveni, despite nearly a quarter of his cabinet losing their seats. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 28 June 2001)

* Ouganda. Elections législatives — Le 26 juin, des élections législatives ont eu lieu en Ouganda. Des actes de violence et d’intimidation, allant de la vendetta au harcèlement de candidats de l’opposition, ont émaillé la campagne électorale. Plusieurs incidents concernaient des candidats favorables au docteur Kizza Besigye, qui s’était présenté contre le président Museveni aux présidentielles de mars dernier. Les Ougandais devaient élire 214 parlementaires qui les représenteront au sein de la septième assemblée de l’Ouganda depuis l’indépendance. Des incidents meurtriers, dont l’un a fait au moins six morts, ont émaillé le déroulement des élections. Le décompte des voix a commencé dans la soirée. Le taux de participation n’avait pas encore été communiqué en fin de soirée. - Le 27 juin, le quotidien New Vision annonçait que la police avait arrêté un ministre (le ministre de la Culture, Vincent Nyanzi) et plusieurs autres hommes politiques pour leur rôle dans les violences qui avaient émaillé les élections. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 28 juin 2001)

* Zambia. Zambia, Angola, Namibia Presidents discuss security issues — 26 June: The Presidents of Angola, Namibia and Zambia start talks on border security and regional stability, with calls for an end to Angola’s war — one of Africa’s longest-running conflicts. Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, Namibia’s Sam Nujoma and Zambian President Frederick Chiluba, are meeting in the Zambian capital Lusaka. They blame Angola’s veteran rebel leader Jonas Savimbi for a war that has killed one million people and displaced many more. Referring to Savimbi’s failure to abide by United Nations-brokered peace accords signed in Lusaka in 1994, Zambia’s President Chiluba says: «We feel let down, extremely let down by Doctor Savimbi who did not keep his word. President Dos Santos kept his word.» (CNN, USA, 27 June 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Children «used» by politicians — As the campaigns for next year’s presidential elections begin in ernest, politicians are turning to children in order to advance their own political ambitions...and all in the name of culture. Both the ruling ZANU-PF and the main Opposition are engaging in this practice. Moses Mazhande, secretary-general of the opposition Democratic Party says: «The abuse of children in politics shows that our country’s political leadership are only concerned with getting hold of power and hanging on to it». An example took place on 18 March this year, when three school children appeared on national television at a function celebrating President Mugabe’s birthday (actually 21 February). The children recited poems denouncing the leading opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change. Alois Masepe says the use of schoolchildren to denounce opposition politicians is as bad as using them as child soldiers. He says that children are used because they are a captive audience. Whilst at school they are marched off to political rallies to make up numbers, and are made to shout appropriate slogans. It’s interesting to note that none of the human rights groups especially concerned with children’s rights have protested against this latest spate of child abuse. (Tendai Madinah, ANB-BIA, Zimbabwe, 13 June 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Hausse des salaires — Les employeurs du Zimbabwe, soucieux d’empêcher une grève prévue pour protester contre la vie chère, ont accepté des hausses de salaires de presque 70%, a-t-on appris le 24 juin à Harare. Le Congrès des syndicats du Zimbabwe (ZCTU), qui a appelé à une grève générale les 3 et 4 juillet pour protester contre les bas salaires et la hausse du coût de la vie, a annoncé que dix organisations de travailleurs de différents secteurs de l’économie sont arrivés à un accord avec les employeurs pour une augmentation de salaire de 65% en moyenne et que des négociations se poursuivent avec d’autres syndicats. Le porte-parole du ZCTU a aussi indiqué que la grève pourrait être évitée si le gouvernement annulait la hausse du prix de l’essence, ce que les autorités ont rejeté. (PANA, Sénégal, 24 juin 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Signs of inflation — On 24 June, Zimbabwe’s Central Bank said it will soon introduce a 500 Zimdollar banknote, the highest currency denomination in Zimbabwe. The country’s highest banknote is 100 Zimdollars which was introduced five years ago. The Central Bank will also phase out the five-dollar bank note and replace it with a coin. The new note is being introduced for the convenience of the public which has been forced by high inflation to carry large amounts of banknotes when shopping or paying for services. Inflation in Zimbabwe stands at 55.5%, the highest in southern Africa, and is expected to rise sharply in the coming months. At the same time, employers, keen to head of a general strike next month against the high cost of living, have agreed to wage and salary increments of nearly 70%. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 25 June 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Exchange controls tightened — On 26 June, Zimbabwe tightened exchange controls in an effort to stabilise its weakening currency, and at the same effectively revalued the exchange rate for the Zimbabwe dollar. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) said in a statement that with immediate effect all exporters must sell 40 per cent of their export earnings to the central bank at the official exchange rate of Z$55 to the US dollar. Until 26 June, exporters were required to sell 25 per cent of their earnings at the official rate, selling the balance in the parallel market at a premium of up to 150 per cent. By reducing to 60 per cent the proportion an exporter can trade in the free market, the move effectively revalues the «blend exchange rate» for the Zimbabwe dollar from Z$118 to the US dollar to Z$106. But bankers say the free market premium — the US dollar is trading at around Z$140 in the parallel market — is bound to rise in response to these tighter controls. Simultaneously and bizarrely, the RBZ also effectively devalued the exchange rate by introducing a new export incentive scheme. This allows exporters to swap their hard currency for Zimbabwe dollars for a period of 90 days or longer at the prevailing exchange rate. The central bank will return the hard currency at the end of the swap period with an incentive payment, though the size of this incentive is not specified. Banks and other foreign currency dealers must sell 40 per cent of the foreign exchange they receive to the central bank to finance imports of fuel and electricity. Another 20 per cent must be sold to the RBZ for allocation to tobacco farmers to finance imports of essential inputs, while 10 per cent is sold to the RBZ to meet the government’s offshore commitments. The balance of 30 per cent is then available for all other imports. Also, the Ministry of Finance plans to halve the holiday allowance to US $2,500 per adult from $5,000 previously. The moves to tighten exchange controls coincide with growing concerns about food shortages in the country later this year due to the sharp reduction in grain production and the ongoing fuel crisis. Oil companies say they are operating with about 40 percent of their 1999 fuel allocations. Unless the government rescinds the fuel price rise, there will be a national strike next week. (Financial Times, UK, 27 June 2001)