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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 22-11-2001

PART #4/4 - From SIERRA L.to  ZIMBABWE

* Sierra Leone. Call for fair elections — Politicians, civil activists and ordinary citizens in Sierra Leone have ended three days of discussions on ways to secure peace and prepare for elections due in May next year. Those taking part backed the idea of proportional representation, with a party list system to operate in electoral districts. They also called for disarmament to be speeded up so parties can campaign ahead of the vote. There was also support for efforts to increase the representation of women to at least 30% at all levels. Around 250 delegates and 21 political parties took part in the conference in the capital, Freetown, including members of the political wing of the rebel Revolutionary United Front and government bodies. But whilst the delegates were in the hall composing their statement a group calling itself the Grassroots Awareness organisation was outside protesting the outcome. They said that the block vote system would give the incumbent party of President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah an unfair advantage adding that they wanted an interim government in the run up to the elections. (BBC News, UK, 16 November 2001)

* Sierra Leone. Child soldier asks UN for help — A former child soldier from Sierra Leone has addressed the United Nations Security Council, calling on the body to do everything possible to help young people forced to fight in conflict zones around the world. Fourteen-year-old Alhaji Babah Sawane — the first child ever to speak at the United Nations Security Council — told the Council that children should be free of the fear of military recruitment and abduction. The UN estimates there are more than 300,000 children in government armies, rebel forces and guerrilla groups in more than 30 countries, including at least 5,000 child soldiers in Sierra Leone. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan told the Council the situation in Afghanistan had reaffirmed the need to alleviate the plight of children in armed conflict. The Council also heard speeches highlighting the enduring concern from Muslim countries about the suffering of children in the Middle East conflict. The Council later unanimously adopted a resolution urging all member states to ratify a UN treaty prohibiting the recruitment of children under the age of 18 into the armed forces. Alhaji was just 10 years old when Revolutionary United Front rebels in Sierra Leone abducted, beat and robbed him before teaching him to fire an assault rifle in his new role as soldier for the next two and a half years. «I ask this body on behalf of all the children of Sierra Leone to do all they can to bring our sad story to an end. We want to be able to move about freely in all parts of the country. We want to be able to visit our friends and families without fear of abduction, recruitment and other dangers,» Alhaji said. (BBC News, UK, 21 November 2001)

* Somalia. Barakat’s telecoms’ services cut off — Al-Barakat, the Somali remittance group, accused by the US of financing al-Qaeda, has been forced to suspend its international telecommunications services after Concert Communications — a joint venture between AT&T and British Telecom — cut off its international gateway. A spokesman for Concert said: «We have terminated our business with Al-Barakat with immediate effect. We are looking at alternative carrier routes to Somalia where possible». (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 16 November 2001)

* Somalia. Fierce fighting in Puntland — Fighting has broken out in Garowe, the regional capital of Somalia’s breakaway north-eastern region of Puntland. Forces loyal to ousted leader Colonel Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed attacked Garowe on 21 November and are now saying they have taken control of the town. The situation is reported to be fluid with no word on the whereabouts of the recently elected president of Puntland, Jama Ali Jama. Political in-fighting has intensified in the self-declared autonomous region in recent months.Things came to a head a week ago, when an influential conference voted for a change in leader. Clan elders elected Jama Ali Jama as the new head of Puntland, but this was immediately rejected by Abdullahi Yusuf, who described the vote as futile and illegal. He accused supporters of the transitional government in Mogadishu of being involved in the conference but correspondents say it is not clear whether Mr Jama is any more sympathetic to Mogadishu than Mr Abdullahi. The north-eastern Somali state was created in 1998, partly to avoid the violence that has plagued Somalia which had been without a central government since 1991.A new interim government came to power in Somalia last year, but has so far been unable to impose its authority on the country. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 21 November 2001)

* South Africa. Arms report clears government — A long-awaited inquiry into allegations of corruption in a multi-billion dollar arms deal has cleared the South African government of unlawful conduct. But the investigation, by three law enforcement agencies, found a series of irregularities in the awarding of contracts last year in what was the biggest-ever arms deal in South Africa. The inquiry’s report said the former defence minister and a senior civil servant were involved in a conflict of interests because they were connected to the companies in Sweden, Britain, Germany and Italy which benefited from the deals. The South African police are to continue their investigation into individuals who are alleged to have accepted favours from the companies. The arms deal, the biggest in South Africa’s history, has been under intense scrutiny for more than a year. The South African Government has been criticised for spending billions of dollars on weapons instead of addressing chronic social problems. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 16 November 2001)

* South Africa. Police on trial for brutality — 19 November: The trial begins today of six white South African policemen charged with assault after they were captured on video setting their dogs on three black men. The broadcasting of the video, following its discovery late last year, provoked an intense public outcry and raised concerns about continuing racism in the South African police force. The video, shot by one of the six white officers, shows them laughing and jeering as their dogs savaged three black men. The dogs bit the legs, arms and faces of the black men who were suspected of being illegal immigrants. They pleaded for mercy but the policemen did not call the dogs off. In fact the policemen joined in the violence, kicking and punching. The pictures are deeply disturbing and there was outrage in South Africa when they were first shown last year. At the bail hearing several hundred angry black people protested. Some carried banners with the anti-white slogan «one settler, one bullet». A senior judge has been put in charge of the trial indicative of the sensitivities around it. Four of the six policemen have pleaded guilty to the assault charges. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 20 November 2001)

* Sudan. Ceasefire allows aid drops — 15 November: The Sudan peace mission of United States envoy John Danforth is already making progress. He has helped broker a four-week ceasefire between the government and rebels which has allowed the World Food Programme to make its first food drops in more than a decade. At the same time, 18,000 aid teams have started a massive campaign to vaccinate up to seven million children in an attempt to eradicate polio. Rebels from the largely Christian and animist south have been fighting for autonomy from the Muslim-dominated north for more than 18 years. On 14 November, the WFP dropped 100 tonnes of food aid in the Nuba mountains, part of 2,000 tonnes it plans to deliver in the next few weeks. The United Nations food agency says that 158,000 people have been displaced or left destitute following a recent upsurge in fighting in the Nuba mountains. The Nuba mountains are in north-eastern Sudan but groups there are also fighting the Khartoum government. Health Minister Ahmed Bilal Osman hopes that the vaccination campaign will rid Sudan of the polio within two or three years. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 15 November 2001)

* Soudan. L’armée reprend Deim Zubeir — Deim Zubeir, une ville du Bahr el-Ghazal occidental où la guerre fait rage depuis des mois, a été reprise par les forces gouvernementales, ont rapporté des sources de l’armée soudanaise le 19 novembre. Le nombre de victimes dans les rangs du SPLA serait élevé. Deim Zubeir se trouve à mi-chemin entre Raga et Wau, et est un point stratégique pour se rendre en Centrafrique. Le mois dernier, le SPLA avait accusé l’armée d’avoir bombardé la zone de Sopo, dans la même région, avec des engins au napalm et demandé la vérification de la part d’experts internationaux. (Misna, Italie, 19 novembre 2001)

* Tanzanie. Communauté est-africaine: prudence — Les représentants de la Tanzanie à l’Assemblée est-africaine se sont déclarés opposés au lancement d’une union douanière qu’ils estiment ne pas être en mesure de promouvoir des relations économiques équitables dans la région. L’établissement d’une union douanière et d’un marché commun font partie d’un régime commercial ambitieux instauré dans le cadre de la Communauté est-africaine (CEA) qui comprend la Tanzanie, le Kenya et l’Ouganda. Les parties tanzaniennes qui s’opposent à cette union, prêchent la prudence pour permettre aux pays d’ajuster son économie au niveau de celle de ses partenaires avant que les deux dispositions, porteuses de promesses de bénéfices plus grands pour ce marché de 82 millions de personnes, soient adoptées. (PANA, Sénégal, 21 novembre 2001)

* Tchad. Affrontements — Neuf militaires tchadiens ont été tués et 43 blessés en début de semaine dans l’est du Tchad au cours d’une embuscade tendue par la CPR, un mouvement armé d’opposition. La CPR a été créée le jour même de l’investiture du président Idriss Déby pour un second mandat de cinq ans à la suite d’une élection contestée notamment par les six autres candidats à la présidentielle. (Le Figaro, France, 22 novembre 2001)

* Togo. African shipping hub for Togo — Togo is to become a new hub for West African shipping with the construction of a $100m container handling facility. The World Bank has announced the deal to build the facility in the capital Lome with US maritime group Sea Point and local company Ecomarine. «The Sea Point system will bring all of West and Central Africa... into the main stream of transportation and industrial development connecting (them) to the world,» said Alhaji Bamanga Turkur, chairman of West African regional shipping group Ecomarine. Lome’s port has picked up business from shippers frustrated by delays at the regions two major container terminals — Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire and Lagos in Nigeria — due to dockers’ strikes and political unrest. The new facility will provide loading and unloading for large container ships which have difficulty entering the region’s existing ports, Ecomarine said in a statement. (BBC News, UK, 16 November 2001)

* Tunisie. El-Taïef libéré — L’homme d’affaires tunisien Kamel El-Taïef, ancien proche du président Ben Ali, a bénéficié le vendredi 16 novembre d’une mesure de libération provisoire, a annoncé son avocate. Arrêté depuis le 5 novembre et inculpé pour outrage à fonctionnaire, simulation de délit et imputation dans la presse d’actes illégaux à un officier public, M. El-Taïef a comparu mercredi devant le tribunal de première instance de Tunis. A la demande de la défense, son procès est reporté au 21 novembre. Il y a quelques semaines, le journal français Le Monde avait publié une interview de M. El-Taïef, où il dénonçait “la clique au pouvoir” et “la mafia familiale du président”. (D’après PANA, Sénégal, 17 novembre 2001)

* Uganda. «Debt relief and Poverty Eradication in Uganda — From the 8-10 November, the 25 Bishops of Uganda’s Catholic Bishops’ Conference met at St. Augustine’s Institute, Kampala, to consider the roles and responsibilities of the Catholic Church in debt relief and poverty eradication. The aims of the conference were to examine the theological, moral and ethical implications of the current Ugandan debt relief program and poverty eradication plans and the Church’s role. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 20 November 2001)

* Ouganda. Rwandais détenus — Une centaine de Rwandais et d’Ougandais d’origine rwandaise sont actuellement détenus dans différents centres de détention en Ouganda, a affirmé le 19 novembre le journal rwandais New Times (pro-gouvernemental). Il est cependant difficile d’évaluer avec précision le nombre exact de ces personnes, indique le bi-hebdomadaire. Il cite également un communiqué de presse de l’ambassade du Rwanda à Kampala dénonçant “les arrestations arbitraires, les détentions dans des conditions alarmantes, et dans certains cas les tortures dont ont été victimes des Rwandais arrêtés en Ouganda”. Les présidents Kagamé et Museveni étaient convenus, à l’issue d’une rencontre sous médiation britannique le 6 novembre à Londres, de ne pas tolérer des groupes dissidents qui déstabilisent les relations entre les deux pays, et s’étaient engagés à développer la sécurité dans la région. (La Libre Belgique, 20 novembre 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Affrontements entre militants — Le 16 novembre, des centaines d’anciens combattants, armés de bâtons et de projectiles, sont descendus dans les bureaux du principal parti d’opposition, le MDC (Mouvement pour le changement démocratique), et ont mené une expédition contre les membres de cette formation pour venger la mort de leur leader provincial à Bulawayo, qui aurait été tué par des miltants du MDC. Selon la police, plusieurs personnes ont été blessées et le siège provincial du parti saccagé. Le MDC nie toute implication dans l’enlèvement et le meurtre du leader du mouvement des anciens combattants, Cain Nkala. Celui-ci a été tué le 11 novembre après avoir été enlevé de nuit à son domicile par des hommes armés. Plusieurs personnes arrêtées dans le cadre des investigations sont des responsables du MDC, parmi lesquels un député du parti. - Le 17 novembre, les militants des partis politiques rivaux (le ZANU-PF , Union nationale africaine du Zimbabwe-Front patriotique, au pouvoir, et le MDC) se sont affrontés à Harare à l’arrivée du corps de Cain Nkala qui devait être enterré le lendemain au cimetière national. Des dizaines de personnes ont été blessées et des propriétés endommagées. Le ministre de l’Intérieur a renouvelé son appel au calme. - Le 18 novembre, lors des funérailles du leader des vétérans de guerre, le président Mugabe a accusé la Grande-Bretagne et ses alliés occidentaux de favoriser le terrorisme dans le pays. Selon lui, une série de kidnappings et de meurtres de militants de son parti font partie d’un complot organisé par le gouvernement britannique pour déstabiliser le Zimbabwe avant l’élection présidentielle de l’année prochaine. D’autre part, deux journalistes du quotidien The Daily News ont été arrêtés à Bulawayo. Le journal s’apprêtait à publier une interview d’un militant local du MDC qui affirmait avoir des détails sur le meurtre de Cain Nkala. Un tribunal de Harare a cependant décrété un non-lieu. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 19 novembre 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Fermes commerciales réduites — Le 19 novembre, le gouvernement du Zimbabwe a décidé de réduire à 250 hectares la taille maximum des fermes commerciales (2.000 ha. pour les fermes d’élevage), appartenant pour la plupart à la minorité blanche, qui ne sont pas sur la liste des expropriations imposées par les autorités dans le cadre de la réforme agraire. La plupart des exploitations de fermiers blancs au Zimbabwe sont de plusieurs milliers d’hectares. Un économiste indépendant, John Robertson, a qualifié ces nouvelles règles “d’absurdités”. Il a rappelé que partout dans le monde, les productions de thé, de café et de tabac, qui représentent la majeure partie des recettes à l’exportation du Zimbabwe, se font sur de vastes plantations pour réduire les coûts de production. “Il est presque garanti que nous ne pourrons plus être présents sur les marchés à l’exportation”, a-t-il affirmé. (La Libre Belgique, 20 novembre 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Pressure from the Government — 15 November: A United Nations team has arrived in Zimbabwe to see if September’s land deal reached in the Nigerian capital Abuja is being respected. In the accord, the Zimbabwean Government promised to end illegal occupations of white-owned farms as well as to respect human rights and the rule of law. In recent weeks the violence has continued and President Robert Mugabe has introduced a controversial decree, amending the land reform law. This effectively means that farmers on land that has been listed by the state must stop farming immediately and that the courts cannot be consulted about the legality of this until after the event. 16 November: Government and opposition activists clash in Bulawayo. More than 200 Mugabe supporters burn down the regional offices of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in Bulawayo. 19 November: The Zimbabwean Government has announced maximum sizes for commercial farms, and says any farm which exceeds the limit, will be sub-divided into smaller plots. The new regulation apply to those remaining white-owned farms which have not already been listed for government seizure. 21 November: The draft Public Order and Security Bill, which is expected to be tabled in parliament shortly, is intended to replace the colonial-era Law and Maintenance Act. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 22 November 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Opposition politicians under fire — 18 November: President Robert Mugabe raises the temperature further in strife-torn Zimbabwe when he names three opposition politicians as «terrorists» and claims Britain is funding them. After three days of violence in Zimbabwean cities, the President tells a crowd of mourners attending a funeral that the days of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) are «numbered». Mr Mugabe, 77, says opponents of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF) receive their «dirty money, dirty tricks from the British Labour Party, the Conservative Party, the Liberal Party and the government of Tony Blair». At the funeral in Harare for a murdered ruling party activist, Cain Nkala, Mr Mugabe, who faces elections early next year, names three MDC politicians as terrorists. «Comrade Nkala’s brutal murder was a bloody outcome of an orchestrated, much wider and carefully planned terrorist plot by internal and external enemy forces with plenty of funding from commercial farmers in the [southern African] region and organisations internationally,» he claims. «Let it be heard in the tall towers of London: we shall never brook attempts to subject us directly or indirectly to colonial rule,» he says. 20 November: Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai declares he will run in the presidential elections next year after the country’s Supreme Court clears him of charges of terrorism and sabotage. The Court ruled that the charges contravened sections of the Constitution. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 21 November 2001)