ANB-BIA - Av. Charles Woeste 184 - 1090 Bruxelles - Belgium
TEL **.32.2/420 34 36 fax /420 05 49 E-Mail: anb-bia@village.uunet.be
_____________________________________________________________
WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 27-03-2002

PART #4/4 - From SOMALIA to  ZIMBABWE

* Somalie. Des milices manifestent contre une nouvelle armée — Le 25 mars, des milliers de miliciens ont défilé à bord de véhicules blindés dans les rues de Mogadiscio pour s’opposer à la création d’une nouvelle armée par le gouvernement national de transition (GNT). L’un des chefs de faction opposés au GNT les a appelés à “montrer leur force et leur unité”. (La Croix, France, 26 mars 2002)

* Somalia. Pentagon withdraws Afghan-Somali claim — The US has retracted its claim that a positioning device found in an Afghanistan cave provided evidence of the links between al-Qaeda forces in Afghanistan and Islamic extremists in Somalia. The Pentagon said it had been wrong in its initial claim on Wednesday that the global positioning system (GPS) unit had once belonged to Sergeant Gary Gordon, a US soldier who was killed in Mogadishu during a failed military action in 1993. It now believes the unit, which bore the name «G. Gordon», belonged to a US pilot who had served in Afghanistan. This pilot gave the GPS system to another pilot, who subsequently lost it during a skirmish in the recent two-week military campaign in south-western Afghanistan. It is not clear why the Pentagon went public with speculation about how the GPS unit might have ended up in an Afghan cave but the claimed Somalia link would clearly have bolstered the US argument about the global nature of its foe. (Financial Times, UK, 22 March 2002)

* Somalia. RAF jets deployed in surveillance over Somalia — British Royal Air Force aircraft are to begin aerial surveillance of Somalia to check for terrorist activity in the latest British contribution to the US-led war on terror. Ministry of Defence officials said on 22 March that two Canberra PR9 aircraft were being deployed to the Kenyan port of Mombasa. The mission will involve some 140 personnel. Reuters news agency reported from Mombasa that an Antonov aircraft chartered by the RAF and carrying military equipment landed there on 22 March. The PR9 aircraft carry modern high-resolution cameras that take pictures of the ground both vertically and from oblique angles. Officials said no specific evidence of terrorist activity had prompted the move. But defence experts see parallels between Afghanistan, where al-Qaeda flourished in a failed state, and Somalia, where a transitional government has a tenuous hold on power and does not control parts of the country. (Financial Times, UK, 23 March 2002)

* Somalia. UN discusses Somalia arms embargo — 23 March: The United Nations Security Council is considering draft proposals aimed at enforcing an arms embargo against Somalia, set up 10 years ago. The proposals, by the Norwegian delegation, want the UN to set up a panel of experts to monitor violations by land, air and sea. Panels that have been set up to review other states under sanctions have issued reports naming countries and individuals who violate embargoes. Norway also wants the UN to re-engage in Somalia’s search for peace and try to end factional fighting. The proposals reflect fears that Somalia might become a terrorist haven. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 23 March 2002)

* South Africa. Courts back anti-HIV drug — A South African court has upheld a ruling that the government must make more widely available a drug which reduces the risk of HIV-positive women passing on the virus to their children. This is another setback for the government, which has argued that the drug, Nevirapine, is expensive to distribute and potentially dangerous. South Africa, with an estimated one in nine people HIV-positive, has the largest infected population in the world. Aids activists want all pregnant women to have access to the drug, which is thought to reduce by half the risk of passing on the virus to an unborn child. The high court in Pretoria ruled that state hospitals with the necessary capacity must provide Nevirapine, and that they should not wait for the results of the government’s next appeal. This issue will probably go before South Africa’s highest court, the constitutional court, in May. In the meantime the arguments surrounding Nevirapine are once again on the front pages of South Africa’s newspapers. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 25 March 2002)

* South Africa/Zimbabwe. Tutu condemns S. Africa stance on Zimbabwe — South African Nobel peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu has criticised his country’s decision to recognise the result of Zimbabwe’s recent controversial presidential elections. Archbishop Tutu said he was «deeply, deeply, deeply distressed and deeply disappointed» after South Africa declared the elections to have been free and fair. Despite sanctioning the outcome, South Africa backed a Commonwealth decision to suspend Zimbabwe from the organisation for a year. Speaking on South African public television, the archbishop said: «I think we do ourselves a very bad turn to claim that we hold to the ideals of democracy, freedom... freedom of speech and then to endorse, as seems to have been done, something that was so clearly flawed. When democracy is not being upheld, we ought, for our own sakes, to say it is not so,» said Archbishop Tutu. He said he supported the decision to impose sanctions against Zimbabwe «with a very heavy heart, hoping that President Mugabe and his government elected in a flawed election will draw back from the edge of the precipice». (BBC News, UK, 24 March 2002)

* Sudan. Sudanese file suit against Canadian oil group — Talisman Energy, the Canadian oil company operating in war-torn Sudan, asked the Khartoum government in 1999 to remove villagers from the vicinity of its oil properties, according to what is claimed to be a Sudanese government document cited in a lawsuit filed against the company. The directive, which ordered the armed forces to «conduct cleaning up operations» in all villages in the area, is dated May 7 1999, two days before the Khartoum regime launched one of the largest military offensives of the brutal 20-year civil war. The document will be considered by a New York district court as part of a class action lawsuit brought against Talisman Energy and the government of Sudan by residents of southern Sudan who say they have been hurt by the government’s military actions. The case is being considered under the Alien Tort Claims Act, which allows foreigners to sue in US courts over violations of human rights and other international laws. Human rights groups, as well as investigations by the Canadian government and United Nations missions, have said oil drilling in Sudan by foreign companies is exacerbating a war that has already claimed about 2m lives, mostly from war-related famine. Government troops and militia forces have destroyed villages and displaced about 200,000 people in the western upper Nile region of Sudan where the oilfields are located, witnesses and human rights groups say. Rebel forces hostile to the Khartoum regime control most of the region near the oilfields. Talisman has denied any complicity with the actions by government forces fighting the rebels, and points to its long record in bringing wells, hospitals and electricity to the region. (Financial Times, UK, 22 March 2002)

* Soudan. Référendum reporté — Le président Omar el-Béchir a reporté de deux ans un référendum sur l’indépendance du Sud-Soudan, a-t-on annoncé le 21 mars de source officielle. La période de transition de quatre ans qui a pris fin le 8 mars et qui devait être suivie du référendum, a été prorogée sur recommandation du Conseil de coordination du Sud-Soudan (CCSS), qui regroupe des représentants du gouvernement et de groupes rebelles et est chargé de superviser la situation dans le sud du pays. (Le Monde, France, 23 mars 2002)

* Tunisie. Mort d’un gréviste de la faim — Le 23 mars, un prisonnier tunisien, condamné pour appartenance au mouvement islamiste Ennhada (interdit), est décédé au pénitencier de Bojr Erroumi (région de Bizerte) des suites d’une grève de la faim, a annoncé le Conseil national pour les libertés en Tunisie (CNLT, non reconnu). Arrêté en février 1991, Abdelwahab Boussaa, 34 ans, avait été condamné à seize ans de prison ferme. Selon le CNLT, le détenu était “en butte à des brimades permanentes, privé de visite familiale depuis le début de son jeûne, fin décembre 2001, et privé de soins”. (Le Monde, France, 27 mars 2002)

* Uganda. Soldiers sent to free children — 21 March: Uganda has said that it is deploying more troops in southern Sudan in order to set free children abducted by a rebel group, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). Thousands of abducted children are currently being held by the LRA. Ugandan military spokesman, Major Shabaan Bantariza, said that the army’s other mission in the neighbouring state is to hunt down the rebel leader, Joseph Kony. His followers have been carrying out widespread human rights abuses in northern Uganda. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 21 March 2002)

* Ouganda/Soudan. L’armée et la LRA — Depuis trois semaines, l’armée ougandaise patrouille dans le Sud-Soudan, avec l’accord du gouvernement de Khartoum. Cette présence, selon une déclaration de l’armée, est destinée à sauver quelque 3.000 enfants enlevés depuis 1990 par les rebelles de l’armée de résistance du Seigneur (LRA). Par un protocole récemment signé, le Soudan a autorisé l’armée ougandaise à franchir la frontière à la poursuite des rebelles de la LRA. Selon l’agence Misna, des combats entre l’armée soudanaise et la LRA ont eu lieu à une trentaine de km au sud-est de Juba. La presse ougandaise fait état de 33 morts, dont 24 soldats soudanais. Selon cette même presse, le 25 mars, l’Ouganda a décidé d’envoyer de nouvelles troupes au Sud-Soudan pour prêter main forte à son contingent déjà sur place. D’après l’état-major de Kampala, l’assaut final contre la LRA serait imminent, indique l’agence Misna. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 26 mars 2002)

* Uganda. Soldiers shot for murder of Irish priest — 24 March: Two Ugandan soldiers arrested in connection with the murder of an Irish Catholic priest are expected to appear before a military court, today. The soldiers and two other men are accused of shooting dead Father Declan O’Toole, a Mill Hill Missionary, his driver and a passenger in an ambush in the north-east of the country earlier this week. Corporal James Omediyo and Private Abdullah Mohammed will face execution by a firing squad if they are convicted of the murders, said military spokesman Major Shaban Bantariza. The three victims were attacked as they drove the Kotido-Moroto road in the Karamoja region on the evening of 21 March. Father O’Toole had been a vocal critic of the army’s use of violence and was recently beaten up by soldiers. For the past 18 months he had been involved in helping to bring peace and reconciliation to the Karamojong’s warring tribes. Uganda’s Minister of Defence has expressed his government’s sympathy for Father O’Toole’s death to the Catholic Church and the missionary’s family and friends. 25 March: The two soldiers are executed by firing squad. 26 March: Father Jospeh Jones, a colleague of the priest murdered by the two soldiers, has condemned their public execution. He says: «If the army was involved, then they are the ones that should be punished and not those poor fellows who were executed yesterday, because if they did fire the shots, they were only acting on orders from senior officers». (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 26 March 2002)

* Ouganda. Meurtre d’un missionnaire irlandais — Le père Declan O’Toole, des missionnaires de Mill Hill, a été assassiné le 21 mars, ainsi que deux autres personnes. Il était âgé de 31 ans. Originaire de Galway (Irlande), il travaillait dans la région de Kotido (Karamoja, nord-est de l’Ouganda). Il rentrait chez lui en voiture après avoir rendu visite à des malades, en compagnie de deux autres personnes, lorsqu’un homme portant un uniforme militaire a tiré sur la voiture tuant les trois personnes. Le père Declan était très engagé en faveur de la paix et la réconcilitaion avec les tribus des Karamajong, indique l’agence vaticane Zenit. Une initiative gouvernementale visant à désarmer les guerriers avait été lancée il y a quelque temps et le gouvernement avait demandé l’aide de l’Eglise. Le jeune prêtre avait protesté contre la violence de l’armée et avait récemment été battu par des soldats. Une enquête a été ouverte sur le meurtre. Deux soldats ont été arrêtés. - Le 25 mars au matin, les deux militaires (un caporal et un simple soldat) ont été condamnés, et ont été fusillés le même jour. Un porte-parole de l’armée a souligné que le crime était un acte individuel n’impliquant aucunement les forces armées en tant qu’institution. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 26 mars 2002)

* Zambia. South African company takes over Zambia Railways operations — South Africa’s giant rail company, Spoornet, has been picked by the Zambian government to take over administration of infrastructure of its Zambia Railways Limited and concession operations of the company into manageable parcels, according to media reports. Under the programme, Zambia Railways will be divided into three packages — passenger service, freight movement and the railway system itself, including rolling stock and buildings. Spoornet will take over the entire infrastructure of Zambia Railways Limited for a period of 25 years. The company will also take over the concessioning process of the company. Spoornet is a division of Transnet, which is projecting to invest one billion US dollars on the continent on projects that include the take over of management or controlling interest in railway networks in East and West Africa. In this venture, the company is being supported by Eskom — South Africa’s state-owned power supplier. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 21 March 2002)

* Zambie. Lever l’immunité de Chiluba? — Le 23 mars, l’ancien président Frederick Chiluba a démissionné de la tête du parti gouvernemental, le Mouvement pour la démocratie multipartite (MMD). L’actuel président, Levy Mwanawasa, est dévenu également leader du MMD, jusqu’à la convocation de la “convention nationale” prévue d’ici trois mois. D’autre part, selon l’agence PANA, Kenneth Kaunda, premier président de Zambie, a exhorté M. Mwanawasa à lever l’immunité de son prédécesseur Frederick Chiluba pour que ce dernier fasse l’objet d’une enquête sur la disparition de 90 millions de dollars, qui auraient été expédiés aux Bahamas. Accédant au pouvoir, Chiluba avait immédiatement fait lever l’immunité de Kaunda, fait remarquer celui-ci. Chiluba a été accusé, entre autres, de connivence avec les responsables de la Meridien BIAO Bank (liquidée en 1995) pour le transfert de $90 millions aux Bahamas. Mais selon le journal Post, un vote unanime du comité exécutif du parti MMD en faveur de Mwanawasa à sa présidence, en remplacement de Chiluba, fait suite à un compromis dans le cadre duquel Mwanawasa ne poursuivrait pas en justice Chiluba et ses ministres. (PANA, Sénégal, 25 mars 2002)

* Zambia. Chiluba steps down as party leader — 22 March: Frederick Chiluba, has stepped down as president of the ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy after rows with his successor as national leader, Levy Mwanawasa. The party’s national secretary, Vernon Mwaanga, confirmed reports that Mr Chiluba has resigned. After 10 years in power, Mr Chiluba tried to change the constitution to allow him to stand for a third term as president in last year’s disputed elections. After months of arguments and uncertainty, Mr Chiluba did not stand in the poll, which the opposition say was rigged in favour of Mr Mwanawasa. Mr Mwaanga denied that Mr Chiluba’s resignation was the result of a split in Zambia’s ruling party, but there have indeed been arguments between Mr Chiluba and Mr Mwanawasa. Mr Mwaanga said that Mr Mwanawasa did not want to become MMD leader, but the President has now consolidated his control over the party. 24 March: President Mwanawasa has assumed the presidency of the MMD (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 25 March 2002)

* Zimbabwe. Distribution de vivres — Le Programme alimentaire mondial (PAM) a annoncé qu’il reprendra la distribution de produits de première nécessité au Zimbabwe. Les opérations d’assistance avaient été suspendues à cause des élections présidentielles. Les aides toucheront surtout les provinces du sud du pays, le Matabeleland et Masvingo. L’objectif est d’apporter de l’aide alimentaire à quelque 400.000 personnes. Le Zimbabwe compterait 8 millions de pauvres sur une population de 12,5 millions d’habitants. 2001 a été la troisième année consécutive de récession au Zimbabwe. (Misna, Italie, 23 mars 32002)

* Zimbabwe. Nouvelles expropriations — Le 22 mars, 388 exploitations agricoles appartenant à des fermiers d’origine européenne ont été ajoutées à la liste des domaines à saisir. Leurs propriétaires auront jusqu’au 22 avril pour faire appel, indique le quotidien gouvernemental The Herald. La suspension pour un an du Commonwealth n’arrête donc pas la réforme agraire voulue par le président Mugabe. - Par ailleurs, le 25 mars, le vice-président sud-africain, Jacob Zuma, a dénoncé ce qu’il perçoit comme un penchant des pays industrialisés à vouloir punir tout le continent africain pour les événements récents au Zimbabwe. “Si un pays a fait certaines choses (...), il ne faut pas tenter de punir les autres”, a déclaré M. Zuma, évoquant les indications récentes que le Nouveau partenariat pour le développement de l’Afrique (Nepad) serait mis en risque si l’Afrique ne répondait pas de façon “appropriée” aux problèmes au Zimbabwe. (ANB-BIA de sources diverses, 25 mars 2002)

* Zimbabwe. Mugabe lists more white farms for takeover — 22 March: Hopes that President Robert Mugabe will embrace South African and Nigerian plans for «national reconciliation» recedes further, when the government lists a further 388 mainly white-owned commercial farms for compulsory acquisition. This takes the total of listed farms to more than 4,900 — an estimated 85 per cent of the commercial farming area. Following the treason charges against opposition presidential candidate Morgan Tsvangirai and two of his top lieutenants, the Mugabe government seems more intent on crushing its opposition than seeking reconciliation. The president and Mr Tsvangirai are not on nodding, letting alone speaking, terms. «They don’t speak to each other at all. In fact, I don’t remember when they last met,» says a spokesman for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), underlining the almost impossible task of bringing the men together in a unity government. The political antagonism runs deep, with Zimbabwe-based human rights groups complaining of «serious witch-hunting» of opposition supporters in the week after Mr Mugabe’s widely disputed election victory. They estimate that about 1,250 people, many of them polling agents, have not been able to return to their homes. 24 March: Opposition officials say militants loyal to President Mugabe have driven hundreds of opposition supporters from their homes in rural Gokwe area. 26 March: The MDC has published a 200-page document detailing what it says was massive rigging of the election. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 27 March 2002)