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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 04-10-2001

PART #4/4 - From SOUTH AFRICA to  ZIMBABWE

* Afrique du Sud/Japon. Coopération — Le président sud-africain Thabo Mbeki, qui effectue une visite d’Etat de trois jours au Japon, a demandé à ce pays de jouer un rôle plus important dans le développement du continent africain. M. Mbeki a également convenu avec le Premier ministre japonais, Junichiro Koizumi, de la nécessité d’une union pour lutter contre le terrorisme. Le président Mbkei est accompagné d’une importante délégation, comprenant notamment les ministres des Affaires étrangères, de la Santé, et du Commerce et de l’Industrie. Le but de la visite est de resserrer les relations bilatérales et d’intensifier la concertation à un niveau élevé. Au cours de la dernière décennie, le Japon a été l’un des principaux partenaires de l’Afrique du Sud. En 2000, le montant des échanges commerciaux entre les deux pays a atteint 31,7 milliards de rands (près de 3,5 milliards de dollars). (D’après PANA, Sénégal, 2 octobre 2001)

* South Africa. Smuggling rife at borders — Lax border controls allowed people and goods to be smuggled across South Africa’s international frontiers at will, according to the Pretoria-based Institute for Security Studies (ISS) «It seems that South Africa’s international land border lines are open to whoever wants to enter or leave with illegal goods, including firearms, without being detected or brought to book for these illegal actions,» said Ettienne Hennop, researcher for the arms management programme at the ISS and author of a report on the borders released on 1 October. He said border posts were 50 per cent understaffed. But a main obstacle to effective control was lack of communication between police and army units. South Africa loses an estimated R17bn ($1.9bn) a year in uncollected duties as a result of illegal imports. In 1999, the police seized 1,053 stolen vehicles, 266 illegal firearms, 30,000 kilograms of cannabis and 1.5m Mandrax pills, widely abused pain killers. The police arrested 40,000 illegal immigrants. The army is estimated to have arrested double that number. The flow of  illegal immigrants, which peaked in 1998, has not let up this year. With food shortages forecast in Zimbabwe, South Africa expects an increased flow of illegal «border jumpers» from the north. Since 1994, the government has reduced the number of police and soldiers on its borders. About 1,750 soldiers are deployed against 3,752 seven years ago, to prevent the illegal flow of people, vehicles, arms and drugs, in support of a declining number of police officers. The report raises concern about the trade in firearms which is supporting violent crime, particularly cash-in-transit heists and low-level political assassinations orchestrated by large crime syndicates. About 33 per cent of border police believe that it is «very easy» to smuggle firearms into South Africa. Syndicates take advantage of the chaos at border posts to smuggle in firearms originating from Mozambique and Angola. (Financial Times, UK, 2 October 2001)

* South Africa. Senior ANC official arrested over arms deal — A senior official of the African National Congress has been arrested on charges that he profited from a controversial multi-billion dollar arms deal in 1999. Tony Yengenbi, the ANC’s chief whip in parliament is being charged with corruption, fraud, perjury and forgery on allegations that he received a luxury car in return for ensuring he deal went ahead. An arrest warrant has also been issued for Michael Woerfel, an official with the European Aeronautical Defence Space Company, who is presently out of the country. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 3 October 2001)

* Afrique du Sud. Chef du groupe parlementaire ANC arrêté — Le mercredi matin 3 octobre, la police sud-africaine a arrêté au Cap le chef du groupe parlementaire de l’ANC, Tony Yengeni. Il est accusé de divers délits: corruption, fraude et parjure. Ces accusations sont liées au scandale des pots-de-vin payés par la European Aeronautical Défence Space Company à plusieurs personnalités sud-africaines. Yengeni, mis en cause au début de l’été, avait alors démenti toute implication dans l’affaire. Yengeni a été libéré après paiement d’une caution de 10.000 rands, mais n’a pas le droit de quitter le pays. (Misna, Italie, 4 octobre 2001)

* Sudan. Bank denies link with Bin Laden — The Sudanese bank believed to have been founded by Osama bin Laden has denied it had any connection with the suspected terrorist as Arabic banking regulators started to freeze the assets of his al-Qaeda organisation. A 1996 study by the US State Department said the Al Shamal Islamic Bank, which is based in Khartoum, was set up with $50m from Mr bin Laden, who teamed up with Sudan’s ruling National Islamic Front. But on 27 September, an official at the bank said the institution had no links with Mr bin Laden or any members of his family. The official, who declined to  give his name, said: «We have no relationship with bin Laden at all. I have worked here in this bank for nine years and never heard about bin Laden. I have had a look at the list of shareholders — you never find that name.» The bank was listed by one of Mr bin Laden’s financial lieutenants at the trial earlier this year of terrorists who bombed two US embassies in Africa. Two other banks, Tademon Islamic and Faisal Islamic, were also named in the trial as banks where Mr bin Laden’s supporters withdrew cash, while the group was said to have held accounts in London, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Cyprus and Dubai. However, the Al Shamal official said someone as well-financed as Mr bin Laden would be unlikely to bank in Sudan, where the banking sector was not strong. (Financial Times, UK, 28 September 2001)

* Sudan. Rebels unhappy at peace delays — 28 September: The Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) say that the Khartoum government has informed it that peace negotiations which had been due to start on 24 September, had been postponed indefinitely following the attacks in the USA. An SPLA spokesman says the government is giving flimsy reasons for not attending because it believed in a military solution. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 28 September 2001)

* Soudan. Levée des sanctions — Le 28 septembre, les sanctions économiques et diplomatiques contre le Soudan ont été levées par le Conseil de sécurité de l’Onu sur proposition des Etats-Unis. Washington a indiqué avoir eu “de bonnes discussions” avec le gouvernement soudanais sur la coopération antiterroriste dans la foulée des attentats du 11 septembre et avait fait savoir qu’il ne s’opposerait pas à la levée. Lors du vote, les Etats-Unis se sont abstenus, alors que les quatorze autres membres du conseil ont voté la fin des sanctions. (Les Etats-Unis les maintiendront). Celles-ci avaient été imposées après l’attentat perpétré en Ethiopie, en 1998, contre le président égyption Moubarak. Le Conseil de sécurité avait alors accusé Khartoum d’avoir hébergé les terroristes. Fruit de plusieurs mois de négociations entre les gouvernements américain et soudanais, la décision de lever les sanctions était prévue le 17 septembre; elle a été reportée en raison des attentats aux Etats-Unis. -1er octobre. Nouveau signe de la détente avec Washington, le président soudanais el-Béchir a ordonné la suspension du procès et la libération de huit opposants de l’Alliance nationale démocratique, accusés de complot avec l’aide des Etats-Unis. Le chef de l’Etat a également suspendu le procès de responsables du Congrès national populaire (PNC), un parti islamique dirigé par son ancien allié Hassan el-Tourabi. Celui-ci restera cependant en résidence surveillée, par “mesure de précaution”. - 2 octobre. Quelque 35 activistes et membres du PNC ont été interpellés à Khartoum alors qu’ils tentaient de tenir une conférence de presse  devant le siège du parti. Trois d’entre eux faisaient partie des prisonniers libérés la veille. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 3 octobre 2001)

* Sudan. Tensions ease — 28 September: The United Nations has lifted sanctions against Sudan after the United States dropped its objections to the move. The US abstained from the Security Council vote, but all the other 14 countries voted to end the sanctions. The UN had imposed the sanctions on Sudan in 1996 to try to force the country to hand over several people suspected of involvement in failed plot to assassinate Egypt’s President Mubarak. 1 October: President Omar al-Bashir has ordered the release of the dissident islamic leader, Hassan al-Turabi and his followers. He also has told Members of Parliament that he is dropping another case against a group of opposition politicians accused of plotting with the USA against Sudan. 2 October: A senior adviser to President al-Bashir has said the IGAD-sponsored peace process is a crucial part of efforts to end the civil war. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 4 October 2001)

* Swaziland. The king takes eighth wife — King Mswati III of Swaziland has stunned the country by taking a 17-year-old schoolgirl as his eighth wife. A formal visit by the king to the girls’ parents was made at the weekend completing the traditional wedding process. The marriage has attracted much comment as it comes just weeks after the king imposed a five-year sex ban on young girls saying he wanted to revive the old custom of preserving a young girl’s virginity as well as helping halt the spread of HIV/AIDS. Some girls said that by taking a teenage schoolgirl as his wife the king was in effect undermining his own ban. Any man found breaking the cultural ban called «umchwasho» is either fined an animal such as a cow or will be liable to pay about $160.The 33-year-old king picked the schoolgirl called La Masango during the annual reed dance in 1999. She attends the Mjingo High School for Girls in the industrial city of Manzini and is in the fourth form. Meanwhile, another fiancee is already being groomed for the king. She is also a young student who has been taken from her parents’ house to the royal family. This means she no longer has to wear the traditional woven cloth of unmarried girls which distinguishes them from married women. (BBC News, UK, 28 September 2001

* Tanzania/Zanzibar. Economic progress — The Zanzibari government has authorised a Canadian company, Antrim Resources, to prospect for oil off Pemba and Zanzibar islands. The Canadian form obtained licence to prospect for oil in the country in 1997, but did not start exploration because it had not received approval from the Zanzibari government. On 24 September, the IMF completed the third review of Tanzania’s  arrangement under the Poverty reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF). As a result, Tanzania is now immediately able to draw up to 20 million Special Drawing Rights (SDR), worth about US $26 million, under the arrangement. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 27 September 2001)

* Tanzanie/Rwanda. Rapatriement des réfugiés — Le 28 septembre, lors d’une visite du président rwandais Kagame à Dar es Salaam, le président tanzanien Mkapa a assuré qu’il n’y aurait pas de rapatriement forcé des dizaines de milliers de réfugiés rwandais installés dans les camps de Tanzanie. Une commission comprenant les gouvernements des deux pays et le HCR a été formée pour surveiller les opérations de rapatriement volontaire, a dit M. Mkapa. M. Kagame s’est pour sa part dit satisfait de ses discussions avec son hôte concernant les relations bilatérales et la sécurité dans la région des Grands Lacs. (PANA, Sénégal, 28 septembre 2001)

* Tunisie. Marzouki: peine réduite — Condamné en décembre dernier à un an de prison ferme, l’opposant tunisien Moncef Marzouki a vu, le 29 septembre, sa peine réduite en appel à un an avec sursis. Membre fondateur du Conseil national des libertés en Tunisie (CNLT, non reconnu), M. Marzouki avait été condamné en première instance à un an d’emprisonnement pour “appartenance à une association illégale” et “diffusion de fausses nouvelles de nature à troubler l’ordre public”. Professeur de médecine à la faculté de Sousse, cet ancien président de la Ligue tunisienne des droits de l’homme avait été licencié de son emploi en juillet dernier pour “abandon de poste”, selon le motif invoqué par les autorités. - Deux observateurs d’Amnesty International, venus assister au procès, ont été détenus quelques heures par la police. Amnesty a l’intention de porter plainte. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 1er octobre 2001)

* Tunisia. President Ben Ali’s fourth term plan — 27 September: The ruling party in Tunisia is set to change the country’s constitution, to allow President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to run for a fourth term in elections set for 2003. The Constitutional Democratic Rally, or RCD, has called on Mr Ben Ali to be its candidate, but opposition parties and human rights workers have expressed dismay at the prospect. With the ruling RCD dominating parliament a change in the constitution is a formality. Mr Ben Ali’s critics say Tunisia is functioning as a one-party state and that all media outlets express government opinion. Under changes to Tunisia’s constitution in the 1980s, presidents are only allowed to stand for a maximum of three five-year terms. Mr Ben Ali has described the ruling party’s central committee as patriotic for endorsing him as their presidential candidate. His response indicates that he will be only too willing to continue to play the role. With the RCD dominating the country’s parliament, a change in the constitution is expected to be a formality. 29  September: Tunisia’s opposition Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) has described the nomination of President Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali for an unprecedented fourth mandate as «a very dangerous step for our national life». The party was reacting to the RCD central committee’s decision to nominate Ben Ali as its candidate for the next presidential elections in 2004. The committee endorsed calls made by RCD branches to submit his candidature although he is constitutionally barred after ruling the country for three five-year mandates. However, in a statement published in Tunis on 29 September, the opposition PDP called on the ruling party to abide by article 39 of the Tunisian constitution, which limits the presidential mandate to two terms only. The party denounced the monopolisation of the Presidency by one person. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 1 October 2001)

* Tunisie. Procès mascarade — Dans une lettre adressée au ministre de la Justice, Reporters sans frontières (RSF) a exprimé sa profonde inquiétude à la veille de l’ouverture du procès de Saïda Ben Brik et Khemaies Mejri, la soeur et le beau-frère du journaliste bien connu Taoufik Ben Brik. Robert Ménard, secr.gén. de RSF, a demandé au ministre de saisir les autorités compétentes afin que les poursuites judiciaires soient abandonnées. Saïda Ben Brik et son époux Mejri devaient comparaître le 29 septembre devant un tribunal de Tunis. Suite à la plainte d’un de leurs voisins, ils sont accusés de “violence mutuelle et participation à une altercation” et “atteinte aux biens d’autrui et injures”. Le 11 octobre 1999, durant la campagne électorale pour l’élection présidentielle, Mejri avait été agressé en pleine rue et sans raison apparente, par un de ses voisins, Mohammed Chalghoum, un responsable du parti au pouvoir. Le commissariat avait refusé d’enregistrer la plainte de la victime. Le lendemain, Mejri fut une nouvelle fois frappé par le même homme qui s’en prit également à son épouse et ses deux filles. Une fois de plus, le dépôt de plainte fut refusé. Par contre, suite à la plainte déposée par Chalghoum, les époux étaient convoqués le 20 juin, après que Taoufik Ben Brik avait annoncé sa candidature à la présidentielle de 2004. L’audience avait été repoussée au 29 septembre. “Ce procès qui ne repose sur rien, est une véritable mascarade”, a déclaré M. Ménard. “On a l’impression que le pouvoir tunisien profite de la focalisation des médias internationaux sur ‘l’après 11 septembre’ pour accentuer sa répression sur les opposants”. (RSF, France, 1er octobre 2001)

* Uganda. Govt. owes UN $45 million — Uganda has been listed among the member countries of the United Nations which owe the 187-nation body more than US 1,619,000,000 in mandatory contributions. A foreign affairs ministry official says: «This is a very sensitive matter which only the minister can talk about». The official declined to say when Uganda last paid the dues. (Sunday Vision, Uganda, 23 September 2001)

* Ouganda. Terrorisme: 7 suspects arrêtés — Sept personnes (6 Pakistanais et 1 Zambien) soupçonnés d’évoluer dans la mouvance terroriste ont été interpellées ces derniers jours en Ouganda, a annoncé la police. Deux des Pakistanais et le Zambien ont été interpellés le 22 septembre à l’aéroport d’Entebbe, tandis que les autres l’ont été le même jour à Kampala. Selon le porte-parole de la police, les hommes étaient porteurs de faux visas ougandais. Ils auraient fait des navettes “suspectes” entre le Burundi et le Rwanda, et pourraient être impliqués dans des affaires terroristes. Il s’est toutefois gardé de lier ces interpellations aux attentats du 11 septembre aux Etats-Unis. (AP, 1er octobre 2001)

* Uganda. «Don’t limit space for civil society» — In a Press Release published on 2 October, Human Rights Watch says the Ugandan Parliament should reject a proposed law threatening the legitimate activities of civil society. The Non-Governmental Organizations Amendment Bill makes registration for NGOs harder and allows suspending NGOs that do not conform to any «government policy or plan». It gives the government wide-ranging powers to interfere with NGO work and suspend associations. NGO leaders can be imprisoned for up to one year if they breach the proposed law. (HRW, 2 October 2001)

* Ouganda. Projet de loi sur les ONGplain D — Le 3 octobre, Human Rights Watch a invité le Parlement ougandais à rejeter un projet de loi qui “menace les activités légitimes de la société civile”. L’organisation a indiqué que le projet d’amendement de la loi sur les ONG rend plus difficile leur enregistrement et permet de suspendre celles qui ne se conformeraient pas à une mesure ou un plan du gouvernement. Elle considère que le projet donne au gouvernement de très larges pouvoirs pour s’ingérer dans les activités des ONG et suspendre des associations, précisant que les dirigeants des ONG peuvent se voir infliger des peines de prison s’ils violent la loi proposée. “Etant donné que la vie politique est restreinte en Ouganda, il est d’autant plus important que la société civile puisse agir librement”, a dit Alison Des Forges, un responsable de HRW. (PANA, Sénégal, 3 octobre 2001)

* Zambie. Campagne électorale — Le 29 septembre, le président zambien Frederick Chiluba a lancé la campagne électorale de son parti, le Mouvement pour la démocratie multipartite (MMD, au pouvoir) dans la perspective des élections présidentielle, législatives et locales. M. Chiluba est cependant resté muet sur la date à laquelle les électeurs iront aux urnes. Le Parlement zambien ne s’est pas réuni depuis mars, et bon  nombre d’observateurs s’attendaient à ce que le président annonce sa dissolution avant de lancer la campagne électorale. (PANA, Sénégal, 29 septembre 2001)

* Zambia. Towards the elections — 29 September: Zambia’s ruling Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) is reported to be in disarray as President Frederick Chiluba prepares to formally introduce its presidential candidate to the electorate and launch his campaign. Michael Sata, who resigned as National Secretary for the MMD on 25 September, has announced that he will receive endorsement as the party’s candidate in elections due later this year. Mr Chiluba had, last month, announced that Levy Mwanawasa would be the MMD’s candidate after his bid to stand for an unconstitutional third term as President was widely opposed. In May, over 80 senior MMD officials, led by Vice-President Christon Tembo, left the party and formed the Forum for Democracy and Development, which has already won two parliamentary by-elections. 30 September: President Frederick Chiluba has formally launched prominent Lusaka lawyer Levy Mwanawasa as presidential candidate for the governing MMD. He also kicked off the MMD campaign for presidential and parliamentary elections at a public rally in the Copperbelt town of Kitwe. The elections are due before the end of the year but no date has been announced yet. At least 20,000 people packed into Freedom Park but the reception was lukewarm for Mr Mwanawasa who does not have the stirring public speaking skills of President Chiluba. — Nevers Mumba has been nominated as the National Citizens Coalition (NCC) candidate for the presidential elections. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 1 October 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Commonwealth deal fails to halt farm invasions — More than 20 fresh farm invasions have taken place in Zimbabwe in the three weeks since a Nigerian-brokered agreement was supposed to have put an end to the illegal land seizures by supporters of President Robert Mugabe. Violence or threats of violence have halted farming operations on more than 900 farms, according to the Commercial Farmers’ Union which represents the country’s white farmers. It says that the work stoppages will exacerbate Zimbabwe’s food shortages. With the collapse of talks between Mr Mugabe’s government and the farmers this week, the Commonwealth agreement thrashed out in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, was «a dead letter», a political analyst, Masipula Sithole, said. «Mugabe is flouting it shamelessly and has no intention of keeping up his side of the bargain,» he said. «He is challenging the Commonwealth to do something about it... to hold him to his promises to uphold good governance, the rule of law and human rights.» The Abuja agreement called for Mr Mugabe to stop his followers from illegally invading farms and spreading political violence. In return for the restoration of the  rule of law, the British government said it would provide substantial funds for land redistribution. The farmers’ union had welcomed the agreement but is now frustrated following the collapse on 26 February of talks with the government about the implementation of the accord’s principles, such as an end to violence and the removal of the invaders from farms not officially designated for seizure. The justice minister, Patrick Chinamasa, was «intractable» on the issues and said the government had no intention of taking steps to implement the agreement, sources close to the talks said. Zimbabwe’s supreme court adjourned on 26 September after hearing government arguments that the court should overturn an earlier decision that ordered a halt to all compulsory farm seizures until a plan for orderly land redistribution was produced. (The Guardian, UK, 28 September 2001)

* Zimbabwe. L’opposition lance un projet de Constitution — Un projet de “Constitution démocratique” pour le Zimbabwe, limitant les pouvoirs et le mandat du président de la République, a été lancé le 28 septembre par un groupe de partis d’opposition et de représentants de la société civile. Ce projet va être discuté pendant deux mois avant d’être adopté, après amendements, par une assemblée de plusieurs dizaines d’organisations. (La Libre Belgique, 29 septembre 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Judges enable Mugabe to seize farms — The revamped Zimbabwean supreme court delivered a temporary ruling on 2 October which upheld President Robert Mugabe’s «fast track» seizures of white-owned land. Leading opposition lawyers said the judgment marked the end of the independent judiciary in Zimbabwe. Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku, who was appointed by Mr Mugabe earlier this year, delivered the interim ruling allowing the government to carry on seizing white farms until the court issues a full ruling. The four-to-one majority judgment reflected the makeup of the bench that heard the case: four of Mr Mugabe’s new appointees and one veteran supreme court justice. The decision reversed a supreme court ruling last December that the regime must halt all farms invasions and send police officers to eject illegal occupiers until a workable and written plan of land reform was produced. It made no mention of the earlier judgment, against which the court is considering the government’s appeal. The final ruling, whenever it comes, is meant to settle the issue of whether the land seizures are illegal. The government made no immediate comment on the court’s written judgment. But a lawyer representing the white farmers, Adrian de Bourbon, said: «Zimbabwe no longer has an independent judiciary, it only has a few independent judges.» The finding overlooked several illegal and unconstitutional practices being carried on by the government, he argued: land was being seized without 90-days’ notice and without the payment of compensation in a reasonable time, both of which are  stipulated in the government’s own Land Acquisition Act, passed last year. The government was also allowing considerable violence, theft and destruction of property on the farms, Mr De Bourbon said, and this too was against the law. Zimbabwe’s white commercial farmers are meeting to decide what to do now. (The CNN reports that on 3rd October, Zimbabwean officials said they planned to honour an international agreement to restore law and order to farming areas and to prevent the illegal occupation of any new farms). (The Guardian, UK, 3 October 2001)

* Zimbabwe. La loi change de camp — Annulant les précédents jugements qui l’avaient jugée illégale et inconstitutionnelle, la Cour suprême du Zimbabwe a autorisé, le 2 octobre, le gouvernement à poursuivre sa réforme agraire et continuer à acquérir des terres appartenant aux fermiers blancs pour les redistribuer à des familles de cultivateurs noirs. Ce spectaculaire volte-face s’explique avant tout par le fait que le précédent président de la Cour suprême, qui avait dénoncé l’illégalité de la réforme, a dû démissionner en mars sous la pression du pouvoir. L’ancien président blanc de la cour, Anthny Gubbay, a été poussé à la démission et remplacé par un Noir proche du pouvoir, tandis que deux autres proches de Mugabe y étaient nommés juges. “Je crois que nous n’avons plus de justice indépendante”, a dénoncé un avocat du Syndicat des fermiers blancs. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 3 octobre 2001)