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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 13-09-2001

PART #4/4 - From SOUTH AFRICA to ZIMBABWE

* Sudan. USA names Sudan peace envoy

President George W. Bush has announced a new American initiative on Sudan aimed at promoting a peaceful resolution of the country’s long civil war. He has appointed a former senator, John Danforth, as a special envoy to investigate the situation and work with other countries to mediate an end to what the president termed «a brutal and shameful» conflict. — At the same time, Ugandan rebels have been accused of burning down villages in Sudan in retaliation for losing the support of the Khartoum government. The accusation was made by a pro-government militia which said the rebels from the Lord’s Resistance Army, which normally carry out attacks in Uganda, torched the Sudanese villages after the Sudanese leader, General Omar Hassan al-Bashir, announced he would no longer back them. The leader of the pro-government Equatoria Defence Force, Theophilus Ochang, said several people had been killed in the violence including his own father-in-law. The Lord’s Resistance Army led by Joseph Kony has been carrying out attacks for years in northern Uganda from bases in Sudan, but Sudanese officials say the Ugandan rebel fighters are short of food and clothes and a number have deserted in recent weeks.

(ANB-BIA, Brussels, 7 September 2001)

* Soudan. Le “Khartoum Monitor” suspendu

Le 11 septembre, le gouvernement soudanais a suspendu la publication du Khartoum Monitor, l’unique journal en langue anglaise de la capitale. La sanction, dont on ne connaît pas la durée, serait provoquée par l’excessive animosité exprimée dans certains articles. Le Khartoum Monitor et ses dirigeants sont depuis un certain temps dans le collimateur du gouvernement. Son directeur, Alfred Taban, a été plusieurs fois arrêté par les forces de l’ordre et emprisonné.

(Misna, Italie, 11 septembre 2001)

* Soudan/Libye. Vers l’intégration économique

Le Premier ministre libyen, Mubarak el Shamikh, est arrivé le 11 septembre à Khartoum où il doit prendre part à une réunion du comité ministériel soudano-libyen sur l’intégration des économies des deux pays. Le ministre libyen de l’Union africaine M. Triki, également arrivé à Khartoum, a déclaré que le comité va renforcer les relations entre les deux pays, notant que les deux Etats ont la ferme détermination de réaliser l’intégration, la fédération et l’unité. Il a également déclaré que la Libye et l’Egypte, leaders de l’initiative prise pour mettre un terme à la guerre civile au Soudan, sont en contact permanent avec les belligérants pour trouver une solution pacifique au conflit.

(PANA, Sénégal, 12 septembre 2001)

* Tanzanie. L’impasse à Zanzibar

Le président tanzanien Benjamin Mkapa a écarté ce week-end la formation d’un gouvernement de coalition à Zanzibar, ce qui ne serait pas, selon lui, la meilleure façon de mettre fin à l’impasse politique découlant de la mauvaise gestion des élections. Cela serait “un précédent dangeureux”, a-t-il déclaré, reconnaissant toutefois que les procédures électorales n’ont pas été respectées dans 16 circonscriptions de Zanzibar durant les élections de 2000. Affirmant avec fermeté qu’on ne peut pas ne pas tenir compte des urnes même s’il y a des irrégularités dans le système électoral, il a estimé que se tourner vers d’autres alternatives aggraverait le problème. Mais il faut réviser le système électoral afin de ne pas répéter les erreurs du passé.

(PANA, Sénégal, 10 septembre 2001)

* Togo. Opposition leader says: «New blood needed»

Togolese opposition leader of the Union of Forces of Change (UFC), Gilchrist Olympio, has warned that any attempt by President Gnassingbe Eyadema’s regime to tamper with the constitution in a bid to extend his hold on power would be met with total resistance from the opposition and civil society groups. «Eyadema has been de facto in power since 1963. I think we need a new blood into Togo’s political system», Olympio said on 9 September. Olympio was reacting to recent remarks by Togo’s Prime Minister Agbeyome Kodjo that he was in favour of changing the constitution to enable Eyadema to stand in the presidential election due in 2003. But President Eyadema who was attending the Durban conference on against racism when his prime minister made the remarks, has disassociated himself from the statement saying he would respect the constitution on his tenure of office. Olympio charged it was «strange» that Eyadema had disassociated himself from the statement. «The UFC finds Eyadema’s reaction strange as the prime minister is appointed by the President and supported by a National Assembly which is almost 100 percent composed of members of the President’s own political party. We think that the prime minister’s remarks on the constitution were simply aimed at the regime’s desire to test the waters to gauge the reaction of the international community and domestic public opinion», he said. Olympio said that his party did not rule out calling for peaceful civil disobedience if President Eyadema sought to manoeuvre his way into extending his rule beyond the constitutional mandate.

(PANA, Senegal, 9 September 2001)

* Uganda. Trouble in the north-east

Disarmament of the Karimojong in north-east Uganda has been delayed, resulting in a security crisis in a region which already has 80,000 displaced persons. Since the beginning of 2001, the Karimojong have made 52 raids in the district. Parliament has asked the government to explain why the disarmament programme has been delayed. In June 2000, Parliament legislated for the disarmament of the Karimojong who are estimated to have 180,000 rifles, and the disarmament programme could have begun in August 2000. But so far, nothing has happened. The army is heavily deployed in the north-east. Military sources say that nearly six army battalions have been deployed along with 2,600 paramilitary personnel. Some of the units have just returned from Congo RDC. Peter Lokeris, the Minister in charge of Karamoja’s development, recently told Parliament that some troops are deployed along the Uganda/Sudan border, whilst others are deployed along district boundaries separating the Karamoja region and other eastern Ugandan districts. The Swiss-based UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) which is worried about the domestic and regional implications of the delayed disarmament programme, says the government’s tight budget has left little room for manoeuvre. UNOCHA says the government is under pressure from western powers and the Bretton Woods institutions to cut down on defence spending — and this at a time when Uganda’s internal conflicts are increasing. Reports indicate that are that there are five rebel groups active in the country. (Editor’s note: On 10 September, MISNA reported that clearer reports are emerging regarding the reinforcement of Ugandan soldiers in the south-western district. Local press sources refer to some 5,000 soldiers deployed in the Kyambura Game Reserve.)

(Crespo Sebunya, ANB-BIA, Uganda, 4 September 2001)

* Ouganda. Conférence des Grands Lacs sur le sida

La première conférence des Grands Lacs sur le sida se déroule du 6 au 9 septembre dans la ville ougandaise d’Entebbe, et réunit des représentants venus de 20 pays africains. La conférence a pour objectif d’identifier et d’évaluer les insuffisances en matière de ressources pour essayer d’améliorer les soins aux personnes atteintes du VIH/SIDA dans la région des Grands Lacs. Elle a été organisée à l’initiative de la Healthcare Foundation pour le sida. Son président Michael Meinstein a indiqué que l’Ouganda avait montré qu’une réduction significative et durable de l’infection du virus était possible grâce à une information ciblée et efficace de la société, à une large disponibilité des préservatifs et à une forte volonté politique.

(IRIN, Nairobi, 6 septembre 2001)

* Uganda. Idi Amin builds house in Uganda

Former dictator Idi Amin, who has lived in exile in Saudi Arabia since his 1979 downfall, is building a house in his home village in Uganda for some of his 48 children, the Sunday Vision newspaper reported on 9 September. «He is encouraging his children to come back to Uganda to learn their roots,» the government-owned newspaper quoted a source in Amin’s family as saying. There was no suggestion in the story that Amin, now in his mid-70s, was planning to return home but it added that he wanted to make unspecified investments in Uganda. «He would have wanted to come home, but he is glad his children can be comfortable here,» the source was quoted as saying. The newspaper printed a photograph of a large bungalow in the northwest town of Arua that it said would serve as a guest wing to the main house, which had yet to be completed. Although Amin is in effect banned, his relatives are free to come and go from Uganda and several of his children live and work in the country. Many Ugandans believe Amin would be tried for crimes committed under his despotic 1971-79 rule if he sought to return. «He intends to reassemble his clan so that they do not have to drift to all corners of the world,» the newspaper said. It added in an editorial: «For all his crimes against the people of Uganda, Idi Amin, who has not been home for 22 years, is also convinced that the country is safe and everybody’s property and investment, even his, is safe.»

(CNN, USA, 9 September 2001)

* Uganda. Opposition leader’s wife arrested

11 September: An opposition parliamentarian has been arrested in Uganda just two weeks after her husband fled the country. Winnie Byanyima is married to Kizza Besigye who stood against President Yoweri Museveni in March this year. Last month Mr Besigye disappeared before resurfacing in the US, saying he felt his life was in danger. Mrs Byanyima was first arrested because she acted as guarantor for a political colleague who has now also gone missing. But now police say she will be charged for possession of an unlicensed weapon which was allegedly found at her home. Mrs Byanyima, elected MP for Mbarara Municipality in western Uganda, guaranteed police bail for Deus Bainomugisha, a former campaigner for her husband. Mr Bainomugisha was arrested on 2 September with possessing «dangerous information» but his present whereabouts are not known. Reuters news agency reports that he was suspected of being involved with rebel groups fighting Mr Museveni’s government. Reuters says that he may now be in Rwanda. 12 September: Winnie Byanyima has been charged with two counts of possessing an unlicensed firearm and has been released on bail.

(ANB-BIA, Brussels, 13 September 2001)

* Zambie. Le parti au pouvoir perd des sièges

Le peuple zambien s’éloigne de plus en plus du parti au pouvoir, le Mouvement pour la démocratie multipartite (MMD), au profit de l’opposition, estiment les politologues analysant les résultats des dernières élections législatives organisées dans le pays. La popularité du MMD a été ternie par les cas de corruption au sein du gouvernement. En deux tours d’élections organisés cette semaine, le parti nouvellement formé, le Forum pour la démocratie et le développement (FDD), a ravi la vedette dans le département de Kabwata à Lusaka. Il a également pris le contrôle d’un siège au niveau d’Isoka East dans la province du Nord. Le FDD est principalement composé d’anciens ministres qui s’étaient opposés à la tentative du président Chiluba de briguer un nouveau mandat, contraire à la Constitution.

(PANA, Sénégal, 8 septembre 2001)

* Zambia. Crucial by-elections in Zambia

6 September: Parliamentary by-elections are taking place in two Zambian constituencies. They are being seen as a crucial test of the popularity of political parties before presidential and general elections due within weeks. Most opposition parties are boycotting the polls, saying they are too close to the forthcoming national elections. But the newly-formed opposition Forum for Democracy and Development, created by disgruntled former ministers, said it would win the two seats. Zambian radio reported that President Chiluba had urged voters to support his ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy if they wanted their areas developed. 7 September: Opposition parties win both by-elections. The Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD), which was formed by former ministers of the ruling MDD, took one seat, in Lusaka, while the United National Independence Party (UNIP) won the second, in the north.

(ANB-BIA, Brussels, 8 September 2001)

* Zambie. Crainte d’un regain de violence

La situation politique en Zambie semble instable à la suite d’assassinats et de nouveaux attentats contre des figures de l’opposition, au moment où le pays se prépare pour des élections législatives et présidentielles prévues à la fin de cette année. Paul Tembo, un leader très en vue du FDD, a été abattu en juillet. Lundi dernier, le président du Parti uni national pour l’indépendance (UNIP), Tilyenji Kaunda, a survécu à ce qui semble être une tentative d’assassinat. Le vice-président du FDD a affirmé, le 9 septembre, qu’un groupe de sept personnes, dirigé par un haut responsable des services de renseignement zambiens, avait été formé pour tuer une responsable du FDD, Edith Nawakwi. Cependant, le porte-parole de la police a déclaré n’avoir reçu aucune plainte de membres de l’opposition concernant des menaces contre leur vie.

(PANA, Sénégal, 11 septembre 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Destruction of the environment

Taking advantage of the prevailing anarchy in the country, some unemployed people are finding solace in the destruction of the environment. Following the illegal occupation of commercial farms, wood fuel is fast becoming a lucrative business for thousands of unemployed Zimbabweans. Life in general is economically and politically tough for ordinary citizens. Most urban dwellers use electricity, paraffin or firewood for cooking and warming but all these commodities are out of reach for many because of either high prices or unavailability. Due to a critical shortage of foreign currency, the country cannot maintain a regular supply of electricity. The demand for electricity is growing and a considerable amount of the commodity is imported. Under normal circumstances, the substitute for electricity is paraffin but because of the fuel crisis in Zimbabwe, many urban and rural folk cannot afford to buy the liquid following widespread corruption in the government-run fuel industry. Sandwiched between economic and political instability, thousands of hitherto law abiding citizens have joined the fray by cutting down trees for domestic consumption or sale. The once-thick forests in conservation areas and catchment sites are nearing depletion in both urban and rural areas. Local and central government authorities have stopped enforcing bye-laws that govern illegal cultivation and indiscriminate felling of trees. As a result, it is the survival of the fittest and the number of firewood vendors continues to increase with no solution in sight.

(Stan Dongo, ANB-BIA, Zimbabwe, 4 September 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Fin de la guerre des terres?

Après une journée de négociations organisées, le 6 septembre à Abuja, sous l’égide du Commonwealth, le Zimbabwe a accepté de s’engager à mettre un terme aux occupations illégales de fermes appartenant à des Blancs, et à prendre des mesures pour faire cesser les violences politiques. De son côté, la Grande-Bretagne contribuera, avec d’autres pays, au financement d’un fonds d’indemnisation géré par une agence des Nations unies (le PNUD) au profit des exploitants blancs dont les propriétés seront distribuées à des Noirs sans terre. L’accord devait toutefois encore être soumis pour approbation au président du Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, et au Premier ministre britannique, Tony Blair. Mais le 7 septembre, Joseph Chinotimba, le leader des anciens combattants qui mènent depuis 18 mois l’occupation des terres, a déclaré qu’il n’avait aucunement l’intention d’évacuer les fermes. Le président Mugabe, en voyage en Libye, n’a pas encore précisé ses intentions. Dans les rangs des fermiers blancs et de l’opposition, le scepticisme était de mise. Toutefois, le dimanche 9 septembre, le président Mugabe a accepté l’accord d’Abuja et a déclaré qu’il considérait la Grande-Bretagne “comme un partenaire”. Mais alors que Mugabe condamnait les violences commises “par des Noirs et des Blancs”, des dizaines de personnes ont occupé ce week-end deux fermes appartenant à des Blancs. Le 10 septembre, un sommet a réuni à Harare cinq chefs d’Etat d’Afrique australe autour du président Mugabe. Après avoir exprimé leur solidarité envers leur hôte, ils ont averti le président zimbabwéen de l’impact négatif qu’un processus violent de saisie des terres pourrait avoir sur les économies régionales. Le lendemain, à l’issue du sommet, le président du Malawi a affirmé que le président Mugabe s’était engagé à vérifier que la violence et les intimidations cessent sur les fermes des Blancs occupées. Mais les anciens combattants ont réaffirmé leur volonté de résister à la pression internationale visant à obliger M. Mugabe à abandonner son programme de réforme agraire.

(ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 13 septembre 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Land reform breakthrough

6 September: The government in Zimbabwe has agreed to take sweeping measures to curb the occupation of white-owned farms and violence against farmers and their workers. Zimbabwe agrees: No further occupations of white-owned farms To restore the rule of law to the process of land reform To the principle of freedom of expression To take firm action against violence and intimidation A statement released after a Commonwealth foreign ministers meeting in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, announced that in return, Zimbabwe would receive funding for its land redistribution programme. The statement said that President Robert Mugabe’s government agreed to observe the rule of law when redistributing land from white farmers to landless black Zimbabweans. The Nigerian foreign minister hailed the agreement as a «breakthrough», but UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said: «Ultimately, whether it represents real progress will depend on events on the ground and that can only be judged in the future.» Zimbabwe has also agreed to allow close monitoring of the human rights situation in the country, and of its presidential election, due for next year. In addition, it said it would safeguard freedom of expression and the press. Zimbabwe has expelled a number of foreign correspondents, and local journalists have complained of intimidation. Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo is expected to issue the conference communique formally on 7 September. 7 September: The Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) welcomes the agreement, saying it could restore peace and justice in Zimbabwe. Commonwealth secretary-general Don McKinnon also welcomes the deal in principle, but warns: «It is a matter now of ensuring implementation of the deal and that means a greater grip on the rule of law.» — Amnesty International says an upcoming by-election, due on 22-23 September in the Chikomba constituency in the Mashonaland East province, will be the first true test of the willingness of the government to abide by the Abuja agreement. 8 September: Militants have invaded a white-owned farmers and burned workers’ homes. 9 September: The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) accuses ZANU-PF of cheating in Bulawayo’s mayoral election. The MDC says it has proof that ZANU-PF had taken 17 busloads of supporters to Bulawayo to vote illegally. 10 September: The Presidents of Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia and South Africa join President Mugabe in Harare, today, for two days of talks to discuss the land crisis. They warn President Mugabe that he must bring Zimbabwe’s land crisis swiftly under control. They will also hold talks with farmers, war veterans and opposition parties. MISNA reports that President Mugabe has approved the international accord on the land reform issue. 11 September: Representatives of the war veterans have told the regional leaders that they do not feel bound by the Commonwealth-brokered agreement. 12 September: Regional leaders say they will establish a special ministerial task force to monitor Zimbabwe’s commitment to stop the violence and intimidation of white farmers.

(ANB-BIA, Brussels, 13 September 2001)