* Africa. Action against the Media — Chad: In a letter (4 April) to the president of the High Council of Communications, Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) protested the decision to ban political programmes on private radio stations, ahead of the parliamentary election. Congo (RDC): On 3 April, José Feruzi Sawwegele, a journalist with RadioTélévision Nationale Congolaise was arrested by soldiers of the Congolese Armed Forces. Eritrea: On 9 April, a press freedom lobby group called on the government of Eritrea to release the ten journalists who have been detained without trial since September. The New York-based International Press Institute described their treatment as «cruel, inhuman or degrading». The journalists began a hunger strike on 31 March. Since then, according to their supporters, nine have been moved to undisclosed locations and the tenth is in hospital as a result of alleged mistreatment in prison. A spokesman for President Isaias Afewerki said the hunger strike had lasted «two or three days» and was a publicity stunt. RSF has also expressed great concern over the journalists. Ethiopia: On 3 April, the First Criminal Court of the Federal High Court sentenced Lubaba Sa-id, former editor of Tarik newspaper, to one year in prison, after the court established that she was guilty of disseminating «fabricated news» in her newspaper. — On 9 April, RSF called on the government to immediately release three recently-arrested journalists, abolish the 1992 press law and amend the criminal code to ease its «harsh restrictions» on the Media.Ghana: In a letter (2 April) to the Minister for Information, Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) called for the immediate suspension of the requirement that the Media must submit their stories about inter-clan violence for approval by government censors. Togo: In a letter to the Interior Minister on 8 April, RSF has protested the seizure of nearly 2,000 copies of the newspaper La Tribune du Peuple. Zimbabwe: In a letter to President Mugabe (3 April), the International Press Institute said it is profoundly concerned at the treatment of the journalist, Peta Thornycroft at the hands of the Zimbabwean police. She had spent 72 hours in police custody. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 10 April 2002)

* Africa. Human rights — Angola: On 5 April, the Nambian-based National Society for Human Rights called for the establishment of a South African-style Truth and Reconciliation Commission, to take forward Angola’s peace process. Congo (RDC): On 5 April, in its 2001 report on Congo, Human Rights Watch said that president Kabila had promised human rights’ reforms, but has delivered «relatively little». Ethiopia: On 9 April, Amnesty International expressed concern about «hundreds of students arrested during rioting in southern Ethiopia».  Liberia: On 10 April, the Liberian Government reacted angrily to a report by Amnesty International, which accused the security forces of torturing dissidents. Tanzania: On 10 April, Human Rights Watch said that the Tanzanian security forces committed gross abuse, killing at least 35 people and wounding more than 600 others, when they ruthlessly suppressed opposition demonstrations in Zanzibar more than one year ago. Zimbabwe: On 5 April, the human rights group, Zimbabwe in Crisis, appealed for urgent assistance for at least 50,000 people displaced by political violence and land seizures. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 11 April 2002)

* Africa. Fake drugs pose health danger — Urgent action is needed to stem the growing tide of bogus medications that are either useless or actually cause harm, say doctors. The British Medical Journal says that the international community must act to stop the «murderous» trade. The journal highlights several alarming examples of fake drugs that are in circulation. They include: A meningitis vaccine made of tap water; Contraceptive pills made of wheat flour; A paracetamol syrup made of industrial solvent. Other fake drugs include ingredients that can actually damage health. The World Health Organisation estimates that fake drugs account for 10% of global pharmaceutical commerce. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 5 April 2002)

* Africa. Justice — An international criminal court able to prosecute human rights abusers anywhere in the world will become a reality today, despite the fierce opposition of the United States. The treaty establishing the court needs the ratification of 60 countries and that number will be surpassed when the latest seven add their signatures at a ceremony at the UN headquarters in New York today. The court will come into existence on July 1. A long-cherished dream of human rights campaigners, the court will, in theory, be able to bring prosecutions against world leaders, army officers and others thought responsible for war crimes or crimes against humanity. «There’s been so little holding to account on so many horrific offenses and crimes committed around the world — in Cambodia, Iraq, Chechnya,» said Richard Dicker, international criminal justice director for Human Rights Watch. «This changes all that.» Temporary ad-hoc courts have been established, in the past to deal with Nazi war crimes and currently with ethnic cleansing in the Balkans and genocide in Rwanda. But the ICC will be a permanent court. Its powers will not be retrospective, so it will only be able to act on human rights abuses committed after July 1. The ICC will be based in the Hague and those it convicts can be held in prisons in any of the signatory states. (The Guardian, UK, 11 April 2002)

* Africa. EU and US selling poor  down the river — The European Union and the United States are robbing the world’s poor of billions of dollars each year in export earnings by preaching free trade while protecting their own markets, development campaigners claim today. Analyzing western approaches to trade, in a report entitled: «Rigged Rules and Double Standards», Oxfam names the EU as the worst offender, followed closely by the US. «Governments of rich countries constantly stress their commitment to poverty reduction,» says Kevin Watkins, the report’s author. «Yet the same governments use their trade policy to conduct what amounts to robbery against the world’s poor. Rich countries are fierce advocates of liberalisation in developing countries, while retaining high trade barriers against exports from the same countries.» While the anti-globalisation movement has identified trade as a leading cause of the widening global inequality, Oxfam says that trading rules are the problem, not trade itself. (The Guardian, UK, 11 April 2002)

* Africa. Aid to Africa dwindles — Shrinking aid and investment flows means that African nations are facing increasingly dire prospects, the World Bank has warned. And the decline of funds, together with the rapid spread of HIV/AIDS and weak commodity prices, risks reversing the hard-fought progress made in recent years. The World Bank has called for urgent action by rich nations to try and remedy the situation. Rich countries pledged to boost the flow of foreign aid to developing countries with «sound» social and economic policies at the international conference on poverty in Monterrey last month. And the World Bank says that the Western nations must start honouring these commitments. «Many African governments are already putting in place policies that will boost growth, strengthen governance, and more effectively deliver social services. They are keeping their side of the global bargain... they now need rich countries to deliver speedily on theirs,» said Callisto Madavo, World Bank vice president for the Africa region. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 10 April 2002)

* Afrique australe. Menace alimentaire — Cinq pays d’Afrique australe sont sous la menace d’une catastrophe alimentaire. Le Malawi, où 300 personnes sont déjà mortes de faim, est le pays où la situation est la plus critique, mais ses voisins zimbabwéens et zambiens souffrent également de disette. La situation se dégrade également au Mozambique, au Lesotho et au Swaziland. Depuis des mois, le PAM tire la sonnette d’alarme, sans grand résultat. Excepté le Malawi, où les périodes de disette sont chroniques, cette région n’est pas traditionnellement dépendante de l’aide alimentaire internationale. Mais la combinaison de mauvaises conditions climatiques, d’une gestion des stocks incohérente, de la spéculation, de la corruption et de tensions politiques a  conduit à une situation exceptionnelle qui, selon le PAM, pourrait dans les prochains mois se traduire par une famine touchant au moins 2,6 millions de personnes. Au Mozambique, la nouvelle récolte doit débuter le mois prochain, mais le peu de maïs produit a déjà été en grande partie consommé. La Zambie, où 33 personnes sont mortes en deux semaines, a pris des mesures pour réduire le risque de famine, mais cela n’a pas empêché les prix de flamber. Et pour la permière fois en dix ans, le Zimbabwe a reçu de l’aide alimentaire extérieure. Le principal responsable de cette situation est le gouvernement Mugabe, dont la réforme agraire a déstructuré une agriculture jusqu’ici prospère. (Le Monde, France, 10 avril 2002)

* Southern Africa. Mandela asks west for help in AIDS pandemic — Former South African President Nelson Mandela has asked for help from the G-8 countries in the fight against the AIDS pandemic that has devastated sub-Saharan Africa. Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien has been visiting Africa as president of the grouping of the world’s eight most industrialized nations ahead of the summit in Canada later in June. «Give us the resources necessary to attack this problem,» Mandela said on 8 April after meeting Chretien, who is on a tour of Africa to prepare a plan for aid to the world’s poorest countries. Sub-Saharan Africa is home to about 70 percent of the world’s AIDS infections. Some of the countries are among the world’s poorest, leaving infected people with little hope of receiving proper medical care. Chretien, who arrived in Pretoria earlier on 7 April from Nigeria, also was scheduled to meet leaders from Malawi, Botswana, Tanzania, Mozambique, Namibia and Zambia. On 7 April, Chretien pledged support for a new plan being drawn up by African leaders that aims to bring growth and development to the continent. The plan, known as the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, is to be presented to the upcoming G-8 summit. Prior to visiting Nigeria, Chretien stopped off in Morocco and Algeria. He also plans to travel to Ethiopia and Senegal during his 11-day visit to Africa that ends April 13. (CNN, USA, 8 April 2002)

* North Africa/Maghreb. In support of Palestinians — Egypt: On 9 April, the US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, arrived in Egypt to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian crisis with President Mubarak. Before he flew in, protestors staged the latest in a series of angry demonstrations against the Israelis. Hundreds of people held a noisy but peaceful rally outside the Egyptian parliament, while more than 10,000 students gathered at Al-Azhar Islamic university in the capital. Libya: On 7 April, Col. Moammar Kadhafi criticised the US government for being biased in the escalating Middle East crisis. «A superpower like the US, supposed to be impartial so as to protect the weak, condemns someone who gives himself up as a martyr to free his land and regards him as a terrorist, while they support the Zionist terrorist organisation eliminating the Palestinian people». He said that the weapons that kill Palestinians on a daily basis day are American weapons and that the funds provided to Israel come from American taxpayers. Mauritania: On 7 April, the Union of Mauritanian Workers (UTM) accused Arab leaders of being passive in the face of what it termed as atrocious acts being committed by the US-backed Zionist armed forces against the Palestinian people. The pro-governmental confederation reiterated its solidarity with the Palestinians and urged all Mauritanians to provide material and moral support for the Palestinian populations who are in the grip of a tragic situation. The UTM also called for the severing of all diplomatic, economic or commercial relations with «the Zionist entity» and the expulsion of Israeli representatives from Mauritania, Egypt, Jordan and Qatar. The UTM also called for the opening of all frontiers with Palestine to enable volunteers and combatants to join the Palestinian resistance. Morocco: On 7 April, A crowd estimated to at least one million people gathered in the centre of the Moroccan capital, Rabat, chanting slogans and waving Palestinian flags and banners. Some American flags were set alight and riot police lined the streets. The demonstration was called by the Moroccan Association in Support of the Palestinian Struggle to denounce what it calls Israel’s crimes against the Palestinians and to call for peace. There have been unofficial protests and strikes by high-school students all over the country for the last two weeks, but this one was official. It had the backing of all the main political parties, some of whom bussed in supporters from around the country. With the demonstrations, the authorities were possibly hoping to channel the strong pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel feelings among ordinary Moroccans. Morocco has traditionally played a role as peace-maker and intermediary in the Middle East. — On 8 April, during his visit to Morocco, the US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, was publicly rebuked by King Mohammed VI for his week-long delay in going to Israel. He is due to visit Spain and Egypt before going to Israel. The king said: «Don’t you think it is more important to go to Jerusalem first? Mr Powell replied: «We considered all options». The king has cancelled the festivities for his marriage because of the Palestinian crisis. Sudan: On 6 April, the military authorities issued a nationwide appeal for volunteers to report to specially set up camps and train to fight alongside Palestinians against Israel. The Popular Defence Forces (PDF) called for «all parties, institutions, trade unions, students and youths, men and women» to join the camps in a statement broadcast on state television and radio. The PDF announced the opening of the training camps, saying they have been set up following a directive  from President Omar Hassan al-Bashir as a sign of solidarity with the Palestinian people. It said the aim of the camps was to prepare the «mujahideen for the Palestinian cause and for freeing the Aqsa mosque from Zionist filth». It is not clear how any fighters trained in Sudan will make their way to the battle zone. Muslim scholars in Sudan have also reportedly called for engagement with the Palestinian cause. A decree carried in the Al-Sahafi Al-Dawli daily said Islamic armies «should not stand with their arms folded while Israel is killing the Palestinians». They also called for Islamic rulers to boycott Israel and the USA both economically and politically. (ANB-BIA Brussels, 10 April 2002)

* Algérie. Durcissement en Kabylie — Alors que la situation était calme dans la région de Tizi Ouzou, le 4 avril, des affrontements ont une fois de plus opposé, la veille, manifestants et forces de l’ordre dans la région de Béjaia, notamment à Amizour, El Kseur, Tichy et Akbou. Sans qu’on sache très bien à quelle logique obéissent les forces de sécurité. En effet, des marches ont été tolérées dans certaines localités et violemment réprimées dans d’autres, tandis que des associations de droits de l’homme évoquent des “expéditions punitives” contre la population. Chaque jour, de très nombreuses interpellations ont lieu partout. Certains sont rapidement relâchés, d’autres pas. La situation en Kabylie semble en tous cas compromettre sérieusement la tenue des prochaines élections. (Libération, France, 5 avril 2002)

* Algérie. Naufrage d’un cargo libyen — Dans la nuit du 4 au 5 avril, un cargo libyen a coulé au large des côtes algériennes. 34 marins libyens étaient portés disparus, selon une source officielle à Tripoli. Le cargo Ibn Hawkal se dirigeait de Casablanca vers Tripoli lorsqu’il a coulé dans les eaux territoriales algériennes “à cause du mauvais temps”, selon la direction libyenne du transport maritime. Pour tenter de retrouver les marins, des observatoires maritimes européens et arabes ont été alertés. - Selon la presse algérienne du 6 avril, 9 marins ont pu être secourus, 4 corps ont été retrouvés et ont été rapatriés, alors que 20 marins étaient toujours portés disparus. Les rescapés ont indiqué que les moyens de sauvetage n’avaient pas fonctionné convenablement et que seuls deux radeaux avaient pu être mis à l’eau. Le bateau a coulé en 20 minutes. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 6 avril 2002)

* Algérie. Le berbère langue officielle — Le 8 avril, le Parlement algérien a adopté à l’unanimité des présents, mais pas des partis représentés à l’Assemblée, un amendement constitutionnel conférant au tamazight (berbère) un statut de langue nationale. En annonçant cette décision le 12 mars, le président Bouteflika espérait éviter qu’un boycott massif de la Kabylie n’enlève tout crédit aux élections législatives prévues le 31 mai. En  vain: le FFS de Hocine Aït-Ahmed, principal parti d’opposition non islamiste, et le RCD de Saïd Sadi, petite formation qui a quitté la coalition gouvernementale au printemps dernier, tous deux implantés en Kabylie, ont boycotté la réunion du Parlement. Pour le FFS, “le règlement de la question du tamazight est indissociable d’une solution politique et globale à la crise”, tandis que le RCD refuse de voter au moment où “des exactions sont commises de façon permanente en Kabylie”. -Notons que le berbère a été consacré comme langue nationale, mais pas comme langue officielle, qui reste le privilège de l’arabe. A travers divers dialectes, le berbère est parlé par près d’un tiers des 30 millions d’Algériens, principalement en Kabylie, dans les Aurès (l’est du pays), le M’Zab (sud) et par les Touaregs dans le Sahara. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 9 avril 2002)

* Algérie. Une population excédée — La colère de la population excédée a embrasé la Kabylie et l’est du pays. Le 9 avril, à Guelma et dans d’autres localités de la région de l’Est, des élus ont été accusés par la population de malversations. Bureaux de l’administration ont été brûlés, vitres de véhicules de l’Etat brisées, recette des impôts saccagée, barricades édifiées, commerces fermés. Partout aussi les revendications sont identiques: problèmes de logement, d’emploi, d’eau, d’éclairage public ou de transport. Le même jour en Kabylie, de nouveaux affrontements opposaient manifestants et forces de l’ordre, notament à Sid Aïch, près de Béjaia, et à El-Asnam. Pendant ce temps, dans la nuit du 9 au 10 avril, sept personnes étaient assassinées dans la région de Aïn Defla (160 km à l’ouest d’Alger). (Libération, France, 11 avril 2002)

* Angola. Ceasefire signed — 4 April: Angola’s army has signed a ceasefire agreement with the Unita rebel movement aimed at ending 26 years of civil war. The accord — signed by the commanders of the Angolan armed forces and Unita’s rebel army — marks the culmination of talks that began after government forces killed Unita leader Jonas Savimbi six weeks ago. The ceasefire formally ends a civil war that has gone on since Angola won independence from Portugal in 1975. The peace agreement comes after two weeks of talks between the rival armies who on 30 March approved a plan for the demobilisation of 50,000 Unita troops. Those soldiers will now be absorbed into the Angolan army and police. — Unita’s northern military commander, Gen. Apolo, says that troops under his command have already started the encampment process in the areas stipulated under the Lwena memorandum of understanding. Speaking short before the official signing of cease-fire in Luanda, Gen. Apolo promises that the process will be completed within the one month deadline as stipulated. The encampment of Unita soldiers officially begins on 5 April. 5 April: Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Luanda to celebrate the peace  deal. The march, organized by the «Spontaneous Movement,» a group close to President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, comes as foreign governments welcomed the formal signing of the peace agreement between the government and Unita rebels. Thousands of people, all dressed in white to symbolise peace, marched through the streets of Luanda dancing, drinking and celebrating the end of the war. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 5 April 2002)

* Angola. Les clauses de l’accord — Le 4 avril, un accord de cessez-le-feu a été officiellement signé à Luanda par les chefs de l’armée angolaise et de la rébellion de l’Unita. Négocié entre le 15 et le 30 mars, le protocole de cet accord prévoit le cantonnement et le désarmement de quelque 50.000 combattants, dont un nombre indéterminé doit être intégré dans les Forces armées angolaises. Ce processus doit se dérouler “dans la dignité” mais, comme l’a précisé le chef d’état-major de l’armée gouvernementale, dans la limite des “places vacantes” et “sans garantie de grade”. La dissolution de “l’aile militaire” de l’Unita a été programmée sur 263 jours, à compter du 4 avril, et doit être supervisée par une “commission mixte”, au sein de laquelle siègent aussi, comme “observateurs”, les Nations unies et des délégués de la “troïka” (Portugal, Russie, Etats-Unis). A une date non déterminée, un congrès de l’Unita devra entériner la “transformation” du mouvement en parti politique et élire un nouveau président. - Le 5 avril, conformément à l’accord, le cantonnement de troupes de l’Unita commence par les provinces de Moxico (est) et d’Uige (nord), rapporte l’Agence angolaise de presse. Les commandants des régions militaires de l’Unita ont visité le même jour à Luanda les installations de l’état-major de l’armée nationale. L’accord de cessez-le-feu détermine 27 secteurs de cantonnement de l’ancienne rébellion, répartis dans 11 des 18 provinces du pays. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 5 avril 2002)

* Angola. Disunity among rebels mars ceasefire — The head of a splinter group of Angola’s Unita rebels has strongly criticised the movement’s de facto leader less than a week after Unita signed a ceasefire agreement with the government to end more than 25 years of conflict in the oil-rich African nation. The accusations against Paulo Lukamba Gato by Eugenio Manuvakola at a news conference in Luanda stand in sharp contrast to the pervasive mood of optimism and unity among Unita members after the ceasefire, which followed the death of Jonas Savimbi, the group’s veteran guerrilla leader, in an army ambush six weeks ago. Mr Manuvakola reportedly said Mr Gato was «irascible, arrogant and violent» and that his policies were «dictatorial». Mr Manuvakola leads the Unita-Renovada faction whose members came to Luanda under the 1994 Lusaka peace agreement  but split decisively with Mr Savimbi in September 1998, and worked closely with the government after the Lusaka agreement collapsed a few months later. Although Mr Gato had hinted he might welcome them back into the Unita fold, many party members still regard Mr Manuvakola as a traitor. The most senior rebel commanders, however, as well as overseas representatives and parliamentarians who also remained in Luanda after the Lusaka agreement collapsed in December 1998, have thrown their weight behind Mr Gato, who heads an interim management commission that will lead the party until a new Unita congress in four to six months elects a new leader. (Financial Times, UK, 10 April 2002)

* Botswana. Launching national AIDS — On 9 April, President Festus Mogae said his country had no choice but to begin a nationwide program to give AIDS medicine to everyone who needs it. «We are the most hideously affected country in the world and we had to do something about it,» Mogae said during a news conference with foreign journalists. «The pandemic is not abating.» An estimated 19 percent of Botswana’s 1.7 million people are infected with HIV. About 38 percent of its adults have the virus, the highest infection rate in the world. The diamond-rich southern African nation is one of the first countries on the continent to commit to a widespread program of providing AIDS medicine through its public health system. The government began rolling out its program earlier this year. Currently, 250 people are receiving AIDS medicine from a hospital in the capital, Gaborone, while another 800 are on a waiting list because of a shortage of doctors to examine patients and prescribe the medicine. AIDS itself is partly to blame for that problem, its deadly spread killing many workers and exacerbating Botswana’s already serious shortage of skilled labour, Mogae said. «We are short of doctors. We are short of nurses. We are short of pharmacists. We are short of health technicians,» he said. Nonetheless, the government plans to open three more sites to provide the often costly but potentially lifesaving medicine across the country by July, giving an estimated 19,000 people the medicine by the end of the year, Health Minister Joy Phumaphi said. (CNN, USA, 9 April 2002)

* Burundi. L’Allemagne reprend son aide — L’Allemagne va reprendre son aide au Burundi après neuf ans d’interruption, a annoncé le ministère de la Coopération et du Développement économique. Un montant de 45,2 millions d’euros sera alloué à des projets de réintégration des réfugiés burundais, à des activités liées au VIH/sida, ainsi qu’à des projets d’adduction d’eau en milieu rural, qui étaient déjà financés par l’Allemagne avant 1993. L’aide allemande au Burundi avait été interrompue en 1993, lorsque la guerre civile avait éclaté entre les rebelles hutu et l’armée à  prédominance tutsi. (IRIN, Nairobi, 4 avril 2002)

* Burundi. Refugees return home — 5 April: An operation to repatriate some 350,000 Burundian refugees from Tanzania has started. A group of 434 has arrived in the eastern Burundian border town of Kobero. Around 48,000 refugees have registered to return to Burundi, the United Nations refugee agency said. The first convoy was given a heavy military escort as it made its way to a transit camp in Ngozi province, northern Burundi. After a day there, the refugees will then be taken to their home villages, said Lazare Karekezi, governor of Muyinga province. The first group of refugees is from northern Burundi, where there is less fighting than in the south. Tanzania has complained that it is unable to host such a large number of refugees and both governments have been trying to persuade them to go back home. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 5 April 2002)