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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 21-02-2002

PART #4/4 - From SOUTH AFRICA to  ZIMBABWE

* South Africa. AIDS village opens — The first ever purpose built village for people living with the Aids disease has opened in South Africa aiming to give more dignity and purpose to terminally ill patents. The village, just to the west of Johannesburg, will house about 450 men, women and children, who have no alternatives. It has been built by Sparrow Ministries, a Christian group specialising in care for the destitute and the terminally ill. Sparrow opened a hospice in Johannesburg 10 years ago for people dying from Aids, but that hospice is now hopelessly crowded. The Reverend Corinne McClintock of Sparrow Ministries says the village will provide people with more space and comfort. «I think it gives them back their  dignity and it gives them a little bit of hope,» she says. (BBC News, UK, 14 February 2002)

* Afrique du Sud. Sida: la querelle s’envenime — Se démarquant de la politique officielle du gouvernement sud-africain en matière de lutte contre le sida, le gouverneur de la province du Cap Occidental a annoncé, le 15 février, qu’il comptait bien continuer à distribuer un médicament antirétroviral aux femmes séropositives ainsi qu’aux victimes de viols. Ce programme a commencé il y a deux ans, quand la province était dirigée par l’Alliance démocratique (opposition). Aujourd’hui, elle est gouvernée par une coalition incluant l’ANC et le NNP. Mais le gouverneur Peter Marais (NNP) affirme que le changement d’équipe ne doit pas modifier l’engagement de la province contre le sida. Au Cap Occidental, 30 sites distribuent la nevirapine, touchant actuellement 60% des femmes, alors que dans les sept autres provinces contrôlées par l’ANC l’accès à la nevirapine est pour l’instant restreint à une poignée de sites tests. (AP, USA, 15 février 2002)

* South Africa. Mandela attacks Mbeki’s AIDS policy — Nelson Mandela is wading into the increasingly bitter dispute over the South African government’s Aids policies by meeting the ruling African National Congress leadership today to press for an end to prevarication over a catastrophe he likened to a war. Mr Mandela has been under pressure from Aids activists, scientists, trade unions and the churches to challenge the controversial policies of President Thabo Mbeki towards a disease that is expected to kill about 6m South Africans by the end of the decade.In his most significant foray into politics since he retired as president nearly three years ago, Mr Mandela told a Johannesburg newspaper yesterday that he will be seeking to persuade the ANC leadership to curtail a futile debate about the causes of Aids and focus on combating the disease. «This is a war. It has killed more people than has been the case in all previous wars and in all previous natural disasters. We must not continue to be debating, to be arguing, when people are dying,» he told the Johannesburg Sunday Times. Mr Mbeki has attempted to quell criticism abroad by saying that while he questions the link between HIV and Aids, the only obstacles to treating the disease are a lack of resources and the need to test drugs. But at home, the government’s continued refusal to allow the universal distribution of medicines that can prevent HIV-positive mothers from passing the virus on to their babies — despite a high court ruling ordering it to provide the drugs — is driving a growing wave of condemnation of Mr Mbeki. Aids activists and doctors believe the government is throwing up irrelevant questions about the effectiveness of drugs and claims of lack of financial resources as a smokescreen for inaction. They were particularly angered when the finance minister, Trevor  Manuel, told the World Economic Forum last month that South Africa would not be seeking money from the global Aids fund because the problem is not cash but the lack of infrastructure to deliver treatment. (The Guardian, UK, 18 February 2002)

* Sudan. Apologising for food aid bombing — 14 February: The government of Sudan has apologised for a bombing raid on civilians collecting food in the south of the country last weekend which killed two children. A statement from the Foreign Ministry in Khartoum said the government expressed its deepest regrets for the bombing. A government plane dropped six bombs on 10 February on civilians collecting food dropped from a World Food Programme aircraft around the town of Akuem in the southern province of Bahr el-Ghazal. Government troops are battling rebel forces in the area. Sudan promised US envoy John Danforth it would end such bombings. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 14 February 2002)

* Sudan. Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference — The Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference exists as one normal legal ecclesiastical body, with two regional wings. The exact function of each wing has yet to be determined but two wings have had to be established so that the pastoral needs of the Catholic Faithful can be adequately catered for in present-day circumstances. The Catholic population outside government-controlled territory is served by the Bishops’ grouping known as The Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Regional Conference (SCBRC), based in Nairobi Kenya. Areas under government control are served by the Bishops’ grouping known as The Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SCBC)-North. Members of the SCBRC are: Bishop Paride Taban of Torit (the SCBRC‘s president); Bishop Erkolano Lodu Tombe of Yei (the SCBRC‘s vice-president); Bishop Johnson Akio Mutek, auxiliary Bishop of Torit; Bishop Joseph Gasi Abangite of Tombura/Yambio; Bishop Macram Max Gassis of El-Obeid; Bishop Ceasar Mazzolari of Rumbek. Members of the SCBC-North are: Archbishop Paolino Lukudu Loro of Juba (president of the Conference); Archbishop Gabriel Zubeir Wako of Khartoum; Bishop Rudolf Deng Majak of Wau; Bishop Vincent Mojwok of Malakal; Bishop Antonio Menegazzo, Apostolic Administrator of El-Obeid; Bishop Daniel Adwok Kur, Auxiliary Bishop of Khartoum. (Soc.Comm.Dept., Cath. Bishops’ Conf.,
Sudan, 19 February 2002)

* Swaziland. King’s brother to draft constitution — On 20 February, Swaziland’s absolute monarch, King Mswati III, appointed his brother as head of a committee to draft a new constitution that pro-democracy groups have said will simply further entrench the king’s power. «This process will essentially entrench the current situation. Swaziland is controlled by a dynasty that runs the country like a private farm,» said Bongani Masuku, secretary general of the Johannesburg-based Swaziland Solidarity Union. The king’s brother, Prince David Dlamini,  has been recalled from Copenhagen where he was ambassador to Denmark until his appointment as the committee head. Last week Denmark — known as a generous aid donor to Africa — suspended developmental assistance to Swaziland in protest at the country’s human rights record. Political parties have been banned in Swaziland, a mountainous kingdom squeezed between South Africa and Mozambique, since 1973, and pro-democracy groups say the king is growing increasingly intolerant of dissent. The leader of Swaziland’s main opposition party is on trial for allegedly defaming the king and a number of independent media organisations have been shut down. (CNN, USA, 20 February 2002)

* Togo. La loi électorale modifiée — 14 février. Le secrétaire général des Nations unies, Kofi Annan, a critiqué le récent amendement apporté à la loi électorale togolaise par le gouvernement, estimant que cela n’allait pas contribuer à créer des conditions favorables à la tenue des prochaines élections législatives anticipées. Le 8 février, dans la perspective de ces élections prévues en principe pour le 10 mars prochain, le Parlement togolais a amendé, sur proposition du gouvernement, la loi électorale, stipulant entre autres que tout candidat aux législtaives doit résider dans le pays pendant six mois, et que tout candidat à la présidentielle doit, quant à lui, vivre sur le territoire national pendant 12 mois précédant le scrutin. Cette condition disqualifie la principale figure de l’oppositionn, Gilchrist Olympio, qui vit au Ghana. - Le samedi 16 février, à l’appel des six principaux partis de l’opposition, près de 2.000 personnes ont manifesté à Lomé contre la récente modification de la loi électorale. Ils réclamaient également la libération du leader d’opposition, Yaovi Agboyibo. On n’a pas signalé d’incidents. Selon un communiqué publié le dimanche soir, le président Eyadema a de nouveau lancé un appel pressant à la reprise du dialogue politique au Togo. (ANB-BIA, De sources diverses, 18 février 2002)

* Togo. Protests against amendments to electoral code — On 16 February, at least 2,000 people demonstrated in Togo’s capital, Lome, against amendments to the country’s electoral code and the continued detention of opposition leader, Yaovi Agboyibo, jailed since 3 August 2001. The demonstration was organised by six parties, of which five had signed the Lome framework agreement. These included the Comite d’Action pour le Renouveau, led by Agboyibo, who was initially sentenced to six months’ imprisonment for defaming Prime Minister Agbeyome Kodjo. In January that indictment was quashed, but he was forced to remain in jail to face a second charge of instigating an attack on a political rival in 1997. «By modifying the electoral code, the government is rejecting the Lome Framework Agreement that the ruling coalition signed in July 1999 with opposition parties", Martin Aduayom of the opposition African Peoples’ Democratic Convention) said. «We cannot accept that.» (IRIN, 18 February 2002)

* Tunisie/Libye. Accords de coopération — Trois importants accords de coopération ont été conclus entre la Tunisie et la Libye, portant sur l’interconnexion des réseaux électriques des deux pays, un projet de gazoduc devant alimenter la Tunisie en gaz libyen, et la protection de l’environnement. Au cours de la cérémonie de signature, présidée le 19 février par les Premiers ministres tunisien et libyen, les deux parties ont aussi procédé à l’échange des instruments de ratification de l’accord de libre-échange conclu récemment entre Tunis et Tripoli et d’un autre relatif au transport maritime. (AP, USA, 20 février 2002)

* Uganda. Govt. forces accused of involvement in arms’ trade — The Ugandan government has defended itself against criticisms by Amnesty International to the effect that the Ugandan police and army are linked to a flourishing illegal arms trade in the country. On 18 February, responding for the government, Ofono Opondo, spokesman for the ruling National Resistance Movement said that President Yoweri Museveni’s government had, on the contrary, impounded several illegal arms consignments destined for other countries in Africa, and had introduced an amnesty law to encourage armed groups such as the Karamojong in northeastern Uganda to hand in their weapons. «Many people are surrendering their guns under the amnesty law,» Opondo said. «The problem with Amnesty International is they think the government of Uganda sanctions arms trafficking,» he said. Amnesty International has said Uganda was among the «notorious countries dealing in illicit arms», The New Vision government-owned newspaper reported on 16 February. (IRIN, 18 February 2002)

* Zambia. Budget deep in the red — Just weeks after mining giant Anglo American pulled out of a critical copper mining operation, Zambia’s economy has suffered a second blow in the shape of a spiralling budget deficit. The shortfall in 2001 grew to 8%, far above the 0.75% that had been forecast, new figures show. The deficit was blamed on sharp rises in public sector pay combined with spending increases ahead of presidential elections in December. The need to tighten belts increases the pressure on President Levy Mwanawasa’s new government, already in difficulties after an election which observers have alleged was rigged. Alongside agriculture, copper has long been the mainstay of Zambia’s economy, accounting for 80% of exports and a fifth of overall economic output. But with the mines in trouble just three years after they were sold off, and much of last year’s crop flooded out, the budget is expected to come under more strain, not less. The government can take some comfort from an offer of $300m from the International Monetary Fund to help the country cope  with Anglo’s pullout. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 18 February 2002)

* Zimbabwe. Christians rebuke State media — 17 February: A group of 17 Christian churches issued a statement denouncing violence and warning the state-sponsored media to stop demonizing its leaders as puppets of foreign governments and institutions. The Bulawayo-based group included the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, Word for Life, Apostolic Faith, Evangelical Lutheran, and Presbyterian churches. Their warning comes as this southern African nation of 11.3 million braces for presidential elections next month. State media today reported that the government has set up a task force headed by its feared intelligence chief to distribute emergency food imports, the Associated Press said. Opposition leaders said they feared that the move meant that food would be used as a tool to help President Robert Mugabe win the hard-fought elections scheduled for March 9-10. Representatives of the Christian churches said they were concerned at Parliament’s approval of the Public Order and Security Act, which requires them to seek state permission to hold prayers in public. The Chronicle newspaper accused Catholic Archbishop Pius Ncube of Bulawayo of politicizing the Church by turning his sermons into «political rallies.» The churches also denounced the current culture of violence sweeping across the country. «We deplore, in the strongest terms, that it is acceptable to beat, rape, torture, harass and intimidate people going about their legitimate business,» they said. The churches also expressed their solidarity with the families of those killed, injured, maimed and molested during violence and intimidation. «Widows, orphans and survivors are members of our Churches and communities; we extend to them our most sincere condolences,» the statement said. «We are appealing to peace-loving Zimbabweans to go to the polls to exercise their constitutional right with a clear conscience in a free and fair manner,» it added. (Editor’s note: On 18 February, after a brief court hearing, Father Kevin O’Doherty, a Mariannhill Missionary, and other Christian pastors and lay people, who had been arrested on 16 February for attending a peace prayer service in Bulawayo, were released.) (Zenit, Italy, 17 February 2002)

* Zimbabwe. Tensions pré-électorales — Le 16 février, des dirigeants religieux de différentes confessions, dont un missionnaire catholique, ont été arrêtés à Bulawayo, la deuxième ville du Zimbabwe. Le père Kevin O’Doherty, un Américain membre des missionnaires de Marianhill, et d’autres religieux anglicans et méthodistes étaient détenus dans une prison, tous accusés de troubles à l’ordre public; ils avaient organisé un service de prière pour la paix, suivi d’une procession impliquant toutes les églises de la ville, après avoir refusé le patronage de cette initiative par le gouvernement. Le lundi 18 février, ils ont tous été libérés, après une brève audience au tribunal, indique l’agence Fides. Ils ont  dû payer une caution de 1.000 dollars zimb. et devront se représenter au tribunal le 4 mars. - Par ailleurs, le 17 février, le président Mugabe a nommé le chef des services secrets du pays à la tête de la force d’action qui devra distribuer l’aide alimentaire internationale. Les dirigeants de l’opposition ont dit craindre que cette nomination signifie que la nourriture sera utilisée comme un moyen de pression et un outil politique. - Le 18 février, des partisans du président Mugabe, armés de bâtons et de pierres, ont effectué une “descente” dans le centre d’Harare, semant la panique parmi les passants et attaquant des locaux du principal parti d’opposition. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 19 février 2002)

* Zimbabwe. Lead-up to elections — 13 February: Hundreds of self-styled war veterans and supporters of the ruling Zanu-PF party went on the rampage in Zimbabwe’s second largest city of Bulawayo in the evening. Dozens of people, amongst them late night shoppers, were injured in a further escalation of political violence ahead of presidential elections next month. — The opposition candidate in Zimbabwe’s crucial presidential elections next month has strongly denied allegations made in an Australian television documentary that he discussed a plan to assassinate his rival, President Robert Mugabe. The film purports to show Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of opposition party the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), talking about the elimination of President Mugabe. The eight minutes of edited film was part of a one-hour documentary. The video, which appears to have been filmed secretly, shows four men in a room discussing political scenarios in Zimbabwe. The SBS Dateline programme said it was a meeting between representatives of a political consultancy in Canada and a man described in the film as, «the MDC‘s top man». The MDC claims Mr Mugabe’s party is trying to discredit Mr Tsvangirai. Mr Tsvangirai has reportedly dismissed the charges as a crude smear campaign and says that there is no truth to them. 14 February: Thirty observers from the European Union have been accredited to observe the elections. Pierre Schori, the Swedish head of the EU observers, who is from one of the six European countries blacklisted by Zimbabwe, did not seek accreditation. He is in the country as a «tourist». 15 February: Zimbabwe has denied reports that it had withdrawn the tourist visa it granted to Pierre Schori, head of the European Union team sent to monitor next month’s presidential election. «His visa has not been revoked but what happened is that our immigration officers went to warn Mr Schori to comply with the conditions of his tourist visa which he got when he came into the country,» Zimbabwe’s Home Minister, John Nkomo, told the Reuters news agency. 16 February: Pierre Schori, the Swedish diplomat in charge of the team, is forced to leave Harare, throwing a question mark over whether the full 150-strong team can monitor the  presidential elections on March 9. Mr Schori — who is due to brief ministers, in Brussels this morning — is accused of «political arrogance» for making public statements despite having entered the country on a tourist visa. He insists he has acted in good faith. 18 February: European Union foreign ministers face a tough decision today over whether to slap sanctions on Zimbabwe after President Robert Mugabe’s government expelled the head of the EU election observer mission. — Thousands of President Mugabe’s supporters attack the MDC office in Harare, breaking windows and beating up passers-by. They also attack anyone selling copies of privately-owned newspapers, while the police stand by. — Later in the day, the EU slap «smart sanctions» on President Mugabe’s regime and withdraws its entire election observer mission. The sanctions include a travel ban and an assets freeze targeting Mr Mugabe and 19 of his senior ministers, army and police commanders and their families. The EU is also going to cut off Euros 128 million in development aid for the 2002-2007 period. 19 February: Zimbabwe describes as «disgraceful» the EU‘s sanctions. 19 February: The United States has backed the EU sanctions and says it is «moving rapidly» to impose sanctions of its own against Robert Mugabe’s government. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, UK, 20 February 2002)

* Zimbabwe. Sanctions européennes — 15 février. Après avoir accrédité une trentaine d’observateurs européens chargés de superviser l’élection présidentielle de mars, le gouvernement zimbabwéen a refusé d’accréditer le chef de la délégation européenne, le diplomate suédois Pierre Schori, qui risque de devoir quitter le pays. On lui a retiré son visa parce qu’il n’avait qu’un visa touristique et qu’il a fait des déclarations politiques. Ami de Mugabe, Schori n’est plus le bienvenu depuis qu’il a dirigé, en 2000, la mission d’observation européenne des législatives et remis un rapport très critique. Harare a fait savoir qu’il n’accepterait comme observateurs que des ressortissants de neuf des quinze pays de l’UE, à l’exclusion de Grande-Bretagne et de pays comme la Suède, qui a accusé le régime de violer les droits de l’homme. La trentaine d’observateurs accrédités, appartiennent à ces neuf pays “amis”. Les 6 autres sont la Grande-Bretagne, l’Allemagne, les Pays-Bas, la Finlande, le Danemark et la Suède. - Le samedi 16 février, comme il fallait s’y attendre, M. Schori a été expulsé. En réaction, le lundi 18, le Conseil des ministres européens des Affaires étrangères a décidé de rappeler ses observateurs déjà en place et a adopté des sanctions: un gel des avoirs en Europe des dirigeants du Zimbabwe ainsi qu’une interdiction de se rendre dans les pays de l’Union. Le conseil a également décidé un embargo sur la fourniture d’armes et de matériel militaire. Toutefois, l’aide au développement n’est pas touchée par ces mesures punitives. 19 février.  Alors que les observateurs européens quittaient le Zimbabwe, les Etats-Unis à leur tour annonçaient des sanctions (encore à préciser). La Suisse va également étudier une éventuelle restriction des voyages ou le blocage des comptes. D’autre part, la décision européenne suscite des remous en Afrique et ne fait pas l’unanimité. Elle a été critiquée tant par le représentant des pays ACP, que par le secrétaire général de l’OUA. L’Afrique du Sud a qualifié la décision de “regrettable et malheureuse”. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 20 février 2002)

* Zimbabwe. Independent media under pressure — 15 February: Zimbabwean journalist Basildon Peta has fled to South Africa, saying he fears for his safety after attacks on him in the state-controlled media. Mr Peta, who is the local correspondent of the British newspaper, The Independent, was held overnight in Harare central prison earlier this month for allegedly breaching strict new security laws. Mr Peta also writes for Zimbabwe’s Financial Gazette and heads the country’s union of journalists. After arriving in South Africa, said that the level of vilification and number of threats to which he had been subjected in Zimbabwe’s state-controlled media had become unacceptable. On 13 February, Zimbabwean television devoted the first 13 minutes of its main news bulletin to reports about Mr Peta, accusing him of lying about the details of his detention. The Independent website said Mr Peta took an evening flight out of Zimbabwe on 14 February to join his wife and young child already in exile. «There has been a big attempt to try to destroy me completely. I will go back as soon as I feel it is safe, possibly before the election,» Mr Peta said. The Independent said Mr Peta had been the victim of an erroneous report by the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) alleging that he had spent less than five hours in custody, rather than the 15 hours he actually spent in a police cell. The false report was exploited by the authorities to vilify him, The Independent said, adding that the journalist’s name last year topped a Zimbabwean security service hit list. 18 February; President Mugabe has banned major international news organisations from covering the elections. Five reporters and three photographers from South Africa who were to represent The Independent group have been denied accreditation. Correspondents from The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph as well as numerous reporters from Europe and North America have also been banned. 19 February: Basildon Peta urges the international community «not to rest on its laurels» following the EU‘s decision to impose sanctions on Zimbabwe. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 20 February 2002)