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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 30-08-2001

PART #4/4 - From SUDAN to ZIMBABWE

* Soudan. Appel des évêques catholiques et épiscopaliens — Réunis à Nairobi du 12 au 17 août, les évêques catholiques et épiscopaliens du Soudan ont adressé un message au gouvernement de Khartoum et aux mouvements rebelles, rapporte l’agence missionnaire CISA dans sa dépêche du 21 août. Il s’agit là d’une première rencontre de ce genre dans l’histoire de l’Eglise au Soudan. Les prélats proposent trois solutions pour le retour de la paix au Soudan: l’affirmation de la diversité dans l’identité nationale, le partage du pouvoir à travers la gouvernance “participative” et le partage des richesses par la distribution équitable des ressources. Pour les évêques, il ne suffit pas d’arrêter la guerre, il faut également examiner les causes profondes des conflits, afin de permettre à tous les Soudanais de jouir pleinement de leurs droits à la dignité. (DIA, Kinshasa, 27 août 2001)

* Soudan. Durcissement contre opposants ougandais — Le Soudan a décidé de prendre une position ferme contre l’Armée de la résistance du Seigneur (LRA, rebelles ougandais), l’accusant d’avoir attaqué ses troupes dans le sud du pays. Le ministre des Affaires étrangères a déclaré que l’armée soudanaise s’opposerait à toute opération militaire que la LRA voudrait mener à l’intérieur du territoire soudanais. Selon la presse ougandaise, la LRA a attaqué des troupes soudanaises dans le sud, le 19 juillet, tuant cinq soldats. Récemment à Kampala, des négociations ont eu lieu entre les gouvernements soudanais et ougandais concernant la présence de la LRA au Soudan. Le président soudanais el-Béchir a déclaré qu’il retirait son appui au groupe. Il a demandé au gouvernement ougandais de faire de même en coupant tout lien avec l’Armée du mouvement de libération du Sud-Soudan (SPLA). (D’après PANA, Sénégal, 27 août 2001)

* Sudan. Student agitation — 22 August: Two students were killed and 16 critically injured in clashes last week at the University of Gezira (around 180km south of Khartoum, Sudan). According to the NGO, Sudanese Victims of Torture Group, the unrest broke out during a debate organised by young activists of the Arab Nassrist Social Party (ANSP). The gathering was broken up by militants of the Student National Congress (NC). They entered the campus marching and chanting their call to Jihad (holy war), provoking a reaction from the students of the ANSP and other opposition parties which attempted to force the militants off campus. Police and security agents also arrived on the scene. When a girl was hit by a police car the situation degenerated. The names of the two dead youths are Yahia el Hussein and Mutasim Mohamed el Hassan. They were shot to death, though it is still uncertain whether by NC militants or by the police. 28 August: Riot police in Sudan have used teargas and batons to break up a demonstration by thousands of students in Khartoum who were protesting against the doubling of bus fares. Witnesses said some of the demonstrators threw stones at buses. The Sudanese Government doubled fares for students on 25 August after complaints from the mainly privately-owned bus companies. The firms said they were losing money because they had to grant students half-price tickets. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 28 August 2001)

* Soudan. Villages bombardés — Les bombardements aériens des forces armées de Khartoum ont repris dans le sud du Soudan. Le diocèse de Torit a rapporté qu’un Antonov a survolé à haute altitude les villages de Ngaluma, Ikotos et Hiyala (Equatoria orientale) en larguant un grand nombre de bombes. Le raid a eu lieu dimanche matin pendant que les habitants étaient rassemblés dans les églises pour la messe. L’Eglise locale a sévèrement condamné ces incursions. Ces bombardements se répètent. A partir du 22 juillet, les Antonov ont visé pendant trois jours consécutifs Magwi, Ikotos, Hiyala, Parajok et Ngaluma, tuant 5 personnes et blessant 8 autres. De nombreuses personnes ont pris la fuite et ont rejoint les rangs des déplacés. (Misna, Italie, 28 août 2001)

* Swaziland. Coal mine saved — The authorities in Swaziland say they have reached an agreement with a South African firm to re-open the country’s only operational coal mine. The Mololmo mine, in south-east Swaziland, was closed down last month after an explosion killed four people and injured twenty others. The mine’s 600 workers will all be re-employed by the new company, Extract, from South Africa. (BBC News, UK, 24 August 2001)

* Chad/Senegal. Amnesty urges Habre extradition — Amnesty International has called on the Senegalese Government to hand over the former leader of Chad, Hissene Habre, so that he can be put on trial for crimes of torture. Mr Habre has spent the last decade in Senegal after being overthrown by the current Chadian President Idriss Deby in 1990. Torture victims and human rights organisations have campaigned for Mr Habre to be put on trial in Senegal. But the Senegalese legal authorities say they cannot judge him. Senegal’s President Abdoulaye Wade said he wants Mr Habre to leave the country, but has not said when this should happen. Amnesty International has just held its international council meeting in Dakar and received a strong tribute from Mr Wade for its human rights work over the past 40 years. (BBC News, 26 August 2001)

* Tanzania. Press attacks state silence on mining sector’s problems — President Benjamin Mkapa’s administration has come under scathing press attacks for its handling of conflicts plaguing the country’s burgeoning mining sector. Leading dailies say that Tanzania’s entire mining sector development, as undertaken by the Mkapa government, has been embroiled in controversies, conflicts, secrecy, intrigues and outright repression of the citizens it is meant to benefit. The newspapers single out the boiling conflict between foreign mining companies and the local artisanal miners in areas endowed with gold and Tanzanite deposits. Of particular reference is the unending conflict at the Mererani Tanzanite-mining site in northern Tanzania between the indigenous small-scale miners and a giant South African firm, AFGEM. (PANA, Senegal, 17 August 2001)

* Tanzania. Islamists charged with violence — The authorities in Tanzania have charged 41 people with rioting, illegal assembly and violence following a religious protest. The group of Muslims went on a banned demonstration to protest over the arrest of a man who was jailed for blasphemy against Christians. They pleaded not guilty and were remanded in custody for a hearing next month. Several Islamic groups had called for the release of a man who walked through the streets of Morogoro west of Dar-es-Salam, shouting: «Jesus is not God.» His sentence was revoked after an appeal at the High Court. (BBC News, UK, 28 August 2001)

* Tunisia. Protest against appointment — Human rights activists have protested against Tunisia’s appointment of a controversial general as the organiser of the forthcoming Mediterranean Games. General Habib Ammar is alleged to have had connections with a group known as the Special Services, which routinely tortured suspected opponents of the late President Habib Bourguiba during the nineteen-eighties. The BBC North Africa correspondent says Tunisia is hoping that its role as host of the games will show the country in a positive light, at a time when its leaders are coming under criticism for human rights abuses. He says this makes it all the more strange that they should choose a man with a controversial past to head the organising committee. In Geneva, the World Organisation against Torture has issued a statement describing General Ammar’s appointment as an insult to victims of torture. The games open in Tunis on the second of September and are expected to attract hundreds of athletes. (BBC News, UK, 26 August 2001)

* Uganda. African leaders lend an ear to lofty dialogue — In a continent where protocol is paramount and suspicion of the private sector remains strong, nine African heads of state this week rolled up their sleeves under an air-conditioned tent by Lake Victoria and chatted with unusual candour to 700 representatives of the business community, civil services and the media. Repeating slogans such as «win-win-win» and «prosper thy neighbour», the fifth annual «Smart Partnership» forum debated good governance, how to attract investment and how to enhance trade. Joachim Chissano, the Mozambique leader, mixed seamlessly with flower farmers, civil servants and reporters —and listened to their views. On the face of it, therefore, the Commonwealth-born network was a potent sign of the slowly changing approach of Africa’s leaders: of private-public co-operation and cross-cultural dialogue. With the 2001 meeting, near Kampala in Uganda, the best-attended yet, Smart is emerging as an unusually effective place to push forward one’s message, and a grouping to be watched closely. But as it closed, many were left wondering to what degree the dialogue’s lofty ideals were fulfilled. Despite its theme — enhancing foreign direct investment — there were, with the exception of a large Malaysian delegation, notably few non-African business or political figures. Most journalists were left outside. Despite promises to open themselves to the media (on one evening there was a direct exchange of views with correspondents) the heads of government in one speech after another harangued the press for irresponsible reporting. Other agendas were clearly at play. Taking centre stage — and the only non-African leader — was Malaysia’s prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, who spoke gushingly of his desire to help Africa learn from his success. Forty years ago Malaysia was, after all, poorer than many of the attending states. But his keynote speech revealed other motives. He launched a blistering attack on the World Trade Organisation and called on his African colleagues to support his campaign against what he saw as the west’s perversion of free trade. The audience was rapt, and African leaders queued to attack the $300bn that industrialised countries spend annually on agricultural subsidies as both hypocritical and an obstacle to third world development. Yoweri Museveni, the Ugandan president and host who has recently adopted unfair trade as a theme, took up the gauntlet with gusto, complaining that Africa had been the recipient of abusive globalisation since slavery. Mr Chissano called for developing countries to be given their «rightful place in the trade network»; Tanzania’s Benjamin Mkapa said there was a strong case for further domestic protection. (Financial Times, UK, 24 August 2001)

* Uganda. Besigye surfaces — Kizza Besigye, the opposition leader, who had been reported missing by his family more than a week ago, has re-appeared in the USA. On the Voice of America, he says he had left Uganda because he felt in danger from President Museveni’s government. The issue of his disappearance has been headlines in Uganda’s press. Dr Besigye is a former ally of President Museveni but stood against him in the March presidential elections. He says he wishes to remain politically active but has not said when and if he is returning to Uganda. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 28 August 2001)

* Ouganda. Besigye a fui aux Etats-Unis — L’opposant ougandais Kizza Besigye, porté disparu par sa famille il y a dix jours, a annoncé le 28 août avoir fui aux Etats-Unis, craignant que le gouvernement ne s’en prenne à lui. “Je me sentais en danger”, a-t-il déclaré à la radio Voix de l’Amérique. Ancien haut responsable dans le gouvernement Museveni, avant de tomber en disgrâce, il était arrivé deuxième de l’élection présidentielle de mars dernier, marquée par de nombreuses violences et des actes d’intimidation. M. Besigye a par ailleurs précisé qu’il comptait rester actif politiquement à l’intérieur ou à l’extérieur de l’Ouganda. (La Libre Belgique, 29 août 2001)

* Ouganda. L’armée repousse des rebelles rwandais — Le 26 août, des soldats ougandais ont repoussé un groupe de rebelles hutu rwandais qui tentaient d’entrer dans le district ougandais de Kisoro, au sud-ouest du pays, depuis le Congo-RDC, a annoncé le journal gouvenemental New Vision. Les rebelles interahamwe voulaient entrer en Ouganda pour piller, ajoute le journal, qui cite des sources militaires. (La Libre Belgique, 30 août 2001)

* Western Sahara. New peace efforts — 27 August: A fresh attempt is being made to find a solution to the long-running dispute between Morocco and the Polisario Front over the Western Sahara. The United Nations special envoy to Western Sahara, James Baker, is hosting three days of talks at his ranch in Wyoming in the United States. A BBC correspondent says it’s hoped the informal setting will help win over the Polisario Front, which in June rejected Mr Baker’s proposals to give the disputed territory autonomy, rather than independence from Morocco. The Polisario movement’s main international backer, Algeria, is also taking part in the talks, as is Mauritania, which borders the Western Sahara. Morocco which gave its qualified support to the autonomy proposals is not attending. 28 August: Mohamed Abdelaziz, leader of the Polisario independence movement, has reiterated that his organisation will never accept the UN peace plan. he said this plan only offers the Saharawis a small measure of autonomy. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 29 August 2001)

* Zambie. Chiluba ne se présentera pas — Le président zambien Frederick Chiluba, qui avait suscité une levée de boucliers au printemps en tentant de changer la Constitution pour pouvoir briguer un troisième mandat, a décidé de ne pas se présenter à la présidentielle de fin 2001, a annoncé le 23 août son ministre de l’Information. Le candidat du parti au pouvoir sera Levy Mwanawasa. Agé de 53 ans, il avait été nommé vice-président de Chiluba en 1991 et remercié en 1994 après s’être brouillé avec le chef de l’Etat. - D’autre part, le 22 août, sept partis d’opposition ont appelé à la formation d’un gouvernement d’union nationale, qualifiant la situation politique d’explosive. Ils prennent aussi le relais des demandes croissantes de comptes sur la gestion des ressources sous le mandat de Chiluba. Une pétition, signée par quelque 2.000 Zambiens, soutient que la Zambie a enregistré ces dix dernières années des niveaux croissants de pauvreté, de corruption et un éclatement généralisé des services sociaux comme résultat de la mauvaise gestion et du détournement des richesses publiques par les leaders au pouvoir. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 24 août 2001)

* Zambia. Political moves — 23 August: Zambia’s ruling party has plucked Levy Mwanawasa from the political wilderness, naming him its candidate in presidential elections due later this year. Senior officials of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy says the choice of Mr Mwanawasa, a prominent lawyer and former vice-president, is a deliberate move by President Frederick Chiluba, to boost his party’s flagging chances in polls the opposition are widely tipped to win. Mr Mwanawasa, 53, served as vice-president soon after elections in 1991, which ousted founding leader Kenneth Kaunda. Mr Mwanawasa fell out with Mr Chiluba and was fired in 1994. 27 August: An opposition politician in Zambia, Dipak Patel, has given himself up to Zambian police. Mr Patel, who had been in hospital, was wanted for defaming president Frederick Chiluba. He was charged and released on bail. Another opposition politician and two journalists have also been charged with the same offence. They are to appear again in court in September. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 28 August 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Storm clouds ahead — Central bank governors frustrated: Central bank governors in the Southern African Development Community have voiced their frustration about the effect the Zimbabwean crisis is having on regional currencies. Political violence and land invasions in Zimbabwe have weakened international investor confidence in the region, forcing the rand, the South African currency, down to R12 to the pound earlier this week. Tito Mboweni, the governor of the South African Reserve Bank, said «the wheels have come off» in Zimbabwe, adding that Harare’s seizure of white-owned farms was one of the factors fuelling the decline of the rand. Production of maize down: For the first time in its 20-year history Zimbabwe faces the threat of famine unless emergency food aid can be distributed to the country’s poor in the coming months. According to a confidential UK Whitehall report prepared this month and seen by The Times, the production of maize, the staple diet for the black population, is down nearly a third on last year and shortages could become acute by November. The World Food Programme now lists Zimbabwe, once one of the continent’s most productive nations, among its list of countries facing «exceptional food emergencies in sub-Saharan Africa». Economic disaster: In a country threatened with economic disaster and dire food shortages, the Binga district is a forgotten backwater at the bottom of the Government’s list of priorities. It is the poorest area of Zimbabwe and at this time of year, while most peasant communities have just finished reaping their harvest of maize, the national staple, the 3,000 Batonka people of Sinakoma have already run out of the grain.This year had been particularly bad, said Brother Leonard Chiti, a Jesuit who is researching the abysmal poverty of the area. As early as June, communities had started to apply for food relief from the Government. Most families manage to grow perhaps one 50kg bag of maize a season, and then rely on food relief. South Africans losing patience: The South African Government, haunted by the spectre of millions of Zimbabwean refugees pouring across the Limpopo and worried by the collapse of Harare’s currency, appears finally to have lost patience with President Mugabe. An attack on his illegal land seizures, by Tito Mboweni, the South African Reserve Bank Governor, is seen as confirmation that Pretoria is increasing the pressure on Zimbabwe to prevent its turmoil from engulfing southern Africa. South Africa’s harder line follows predictions of a food crisis in Zimbabwe, the onset of hyperinflation and the prospect of urban food riots leading to bloody civil strife in the run-up to the country’s presidential election due in March. White farms seizures set to intensify: «War veterans are set to intensify the seizure of white-owned land, taking over many of the country’s largest farms at a faster rate than before, according to their leader. The secretary-general for the Zimbabwe National War Veterans Association, Andy Mhlanga has said the occupations are poised for a rapid acceleration. However, on 27 August, the government said there has never been any plan to evict all white farmers from commercial farms and from Zimbabwe. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 29 August 2001)

* Zambie/Italie. Milingo rompt — L’ancien archevêque zambien Emmanuel Milingo a annoncé, le vendredi 24 août au journal télévisé de la RAI, sa rupture avec son épouse sud-coréenne Maria Sung. Après deux semaines de silence, il a expliqué qu’il avait envoyé le 11 août une lettre de rupture à Maria Sung, qui appartient à la secte Moon, mais que “ceux qui l’entourent” ont refusé de la lui délivrer. Maria pense qu’il est drogué. - Le soir du 29 août, une rencontre entre Milingo et Maria Sung a eu lieu à l’hôtel Archange, près du Vatican. (Libération, France, 25-30 août 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Deux fermes de l’Eglise catholique menacées d’expropriation — Le gouvernement zimbabwéen a mis deux fermes appartenant à l’Eglise catholique sur la liste des propriétés devant être expropriées dans le cadre de la réforme agraire et de la redistribution des terres, révèle le n_14 du bulletin des nouvelles oecuméniques ENI. Les propriétés, Rome de Shasa Fountain et Bembezaan, sont toutes deux situées près de Gweru, à 275 km au sud-ouest de Harare. Le gouvernement a programmé la confiscation de 3.000 fermes appartenant à des Blancs, et aussi à des Noirs, afin de les redistribuer à des Noirs sans terre. La communauté chrétienne s’est cependant déclarée très surprise de trouver deux propriétés d’Eglise sur la liste. La ferme Rome de Shasa Fountain, de 2.400 hectares, communément appelée Driefontein, est un domaine missionnaire avec deux cliniques et des ateliers pour le travail du métal et du bois qui sont de grande utilité pour les communautés défavorisées de Gweru. Elle comprend aussi les logements de prêtres et de religieuses. A Bembezaan se trouve une école. L’évêque de Gweru a confirmé la nouvelle, mais n’a rien voulu dire de plus au journaliste, car il est en pourparlers avec le gouvernement. La conférence épiscopale du Zimbabwe avait critiqué récemment l’application de la réforme agraire. Dans une lettre pastorale, les évêques, tout en reconnaissant la nécessité d’une redistribution des terres, ont dénoncé le processus marqué par la violence, les meurtres et l’intimidation. (Ndlr. Dans une lettre pastorale publiée le 25 août par le Daily News, le Conseil des Eglises du Zimbabwe a encore durement critiqué le gouvernement du président Mugabe et lui a demandé de restaurer la loi et l’ordre). (DIA, Kinshasa, 24 août 2001)

* Zimbabwe. La transmission du sida est un crime — Le Zimbabwe, un des pays les plus touchés par le sida, s’est doté d’une législation très stricte contre la criminalité sexuelle qui prévoit une peine de 20 ans de prison maximum pour toute personne transmettant délibérément le sida. La nouvelle loi reconnaît également le viol entre époux et renforce la protection des handicapés mentaux et des mineurs de moins de 16 ans contre les agressions sexuelles. Des guérisseurs traditionnels du Zimbabwe sont connus pour avoir recommandé à des malades du sida de violer de jeunes vierges pour “se guérir”. Selon des études officielles au Zimbabwe, où un adulte sur quatre est porteur du virus du sida, les relations sexuelles sans protection entre époux représentent pour les femmes le plus grand danger de contamination. (La Libre Belgique, 25 août 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Expulser les Blancs — Le président Mugabe a l’intention d’expulser tous les fermiers blancs du pays avant les élections de l’année prochaine, affirmait le 26 août le Sunday Telegraph citant un document secret. Le journal affirme qu’un ordre secret du parti de M. Mugabe, la ZANU-PF, aux milices pro-gouvernementales, ordonne de “harceler systématiquement et torturer mentalement les fermiers blancs et déstabiliser leurs fermes jusqu’à ce qu’ils renoncent et abandonnent”, indique le journal. Selon ce dernier, le document circule depuis juillet, juste avant une série de violations de propriété au cours desquelles de nombreux fermiers ont été expulsés. Quant à l’opposition, elle devra être “systématiquement infiltrée et déstabilisée, et des divisions et rivalités devront y être créées”, dit le document. (La Libre Belgique, 27 août 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Allowed to import maize — Countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have agreed to lift regional trade barriers on maize to allow Zimbabwe to import the local staple from South Africa and avert a looming food crisis. The decision was reached at a SADC meeting in Harare at the weekend. The idea is for South Africa not to «sell its surplus maize to people outside the region», Joseph Made, the Zimbabwean agriculture minister, said in an interview on 27 August. Zimbabwe would import at least 100,000 tonnes of maize from South Africa, Mr Made said, which would be stored until April next year, when the country’s stocks are expected to run out. However, local observers say Zimbabwe will need at least 600,000 tonnes of maize to feed its population. Agricultural production has been severely affected by the invasions of commercial farms by so-called war veterans and by the campaign of violence against opposition supporters. The announcement that Zimbabwe will import maize is seen as an attempt by the ruling ZANU-PF party to prevent food riots and shore up support for President Robert Mugabe in advance of a crucial presidential election next year. Mr Mugabe has denied Zimbabwe is facing food shortages. Simba Makoni, the finance minister, has admitted that Zimbabwe would need to import food but had not budgeted for the extra expense. It is still unclear how the cash-strapped government will pay for the maize imports, unless fuel donated by Libya has suddenly freed up funds. (Financial Times, UK, 28 August 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Sommet régional sur la crise — Un sommet régional sur la crise des terres au Zimbabwe réunira, à la mi-septembre à Harare, six chefs d’Etat d’Afrique australe, a annoncé une source officielle mozambicaine le 27 août. Le Mozambique, le Malawi, le Botswana, l’Afrique du Sud, la Namibie et l’Angola participeront à ce sommet. Seront également invités, le parti au pouvoir au Zimbabwe, l’opposition, les fermiers blancs et d’autres parties zimbabwéennes. (Le Monde, France, 29 août 2001)