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: 16-05-2002

PART #4/4 - From RWANDA  to  ZIMBABWE

* Rwanda. Aide belge à la santé — Le secrétaire d’Etat belge à la Coopération au développement, M. Boutmans, a signé avec le Rwanda un accord portant sur la formation de médecins et d’infirmières. Un budget de 10 millions d’euros, répartis sur trois ans, a été affecté à la réalisation de cet accord. Le secteur de la santé rwandais est bien organisé au niveau urbain, mais les régions rurales manquent d’infrastructure et de personnel médical. Certains hôpitaux ne bénéficient même pas de la présence d’un médecin. Le pays manque également de personnel soignant. (Le Soir, Belgique, 13 mai 2002)

* Rwanda. Pluies torrentielles: 59 morts — 9 mai. Au moins 50 personnes ont été accidentellement tuées en moins de dix jours dans des glissements de terrain à la suite de pluies torrentielles au Rwanda, a-t-on appris de source officielle. Ce bilan pourrait encore s’alourdir, a-t-on indiqué. Plus de 1.500 habitations ont été détruites et de nombreuses têtes de bétail tuées. En octobre dernier, des pluies diluviennes avaient déjà fait une vingtaine de morts au Rwanda. Ces deux dernières semaines, 46 personnes sont mortes au Kenya en raison des intempéries, et 7 en Ouganda. - 13 mai. Au moins neuf nouvelles personnes ont été tuées au sud-est du pays durant le week-end dans des glissements de terrain dus aux pluies. Au moins 18.000 personnes sont sans abri, a indiqué le président du Comité national de gestion des catastrophes. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 14 mai 2002)

* Rwanda. Rusatira arrêté à Bruxelles — Léonidas Rusatira, un ancien militaire rwandais, qui faisait l’objet d’un mandat d’arrêt pour génocide et crimes contre l’humanité délivré par le Tribunal pénal international pour le Rwanda, a été arrêté le 15 mai à Bruxelles et incarcéré. Son transfert au TPIR devrait intervenir dans un délai de trois mois au maximum. M. Rusatira est un ancien officier supérieur, commandant d’une école militaire rwandaise à l’époque du génocide. Après l’assassinat du président Habyarimana, un comité de crise avait été mis en place dont il faisait partie. (La Libre Belgique, 16 mai 2002)

* Sénégal. Elections locales — Le 12 mai, les Sénégalais ont voté pour élire leurs conseillers régionaux, municipaux et ruraux, bouclant ainsi une série d’élections entamée le 28 février 2000 par la présidentielle. Les électeurs devaient désigner 14.352 conseillers qui siégeront dans 11 conseils régionaux, 43 communes d’arrondissement, 65 communes et 322 communautés rurales. Deux grandes coalitions se disputaient les suffrages: le Cap 21 (regroupant le parti au pouvoir et la mouvance présidentielle) et le Cadre permanent de concertation (CPC) formé de l’essentiel des partis d’opposition. On craignait toutefois un fort taux d’abstention, à cause notamment de l’absence d’une médiatisation de la campagne électorale. - 13 mai. Selon les premières tendances, basées sur des résultats partiels et non officiels, le Cap 21 aurait gagné dans la région de Dakar et à Thiès, mais aurait perdu dans plusieurs métropoles régionales (Ziguinchor, Sédhiou, Kaolack, Tambacounda, Kédougou et plusieurs autres villes de l’intérieur). (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 13 mai 2002)

* Senegal. Local elections — 12 May Voters go to the polls to elect 11,900 regional, municipal and rural councillors in the country’s 11 regions, 67 communes and 332 rural communities. 14 May: The CAP Coalition, grouping Senegal’s ruling Democratic Party and its partners, has won nine out of the eleven regional Councils, according to provisional results. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 15 May 2002)

* Sierra Leone. Elections — Les élections présidentielles et législatives sont prévues le 14 mai. Le président sortant, Ahmed Tejan Kabbah semble assuré de sa réélection, face à 8 autres candidats. Pour les législatives, plus de vingt partis politiques se disputeront les 124 sièges au Parlement. - Le vendredi 10 mai, des milliers de personnes faisant partie des forces de sécurité ont déjà voté. Ce jour de vote était destiné aux forces de sécurité, au personnel chargé de l’organisation des élections et à d’autres personnes qui, en raison de leurs fonctions, ne pourront pas voter le jour normal des élections. Environ 31 bureaux de vote ont été ouverts dans tout le pays pour ce vote spécial. D’autre part, le commandant de la mission des Nations unies a averti que ses forces seraient sévères à l’encontre des fauteurs de troubles. - Le 11 mai à Freetown, de violents incidents ont entaché le dernier jour de la campagne électorale. Les services de sécurité ont tiré à balles réelles pour disperser des militants du SLPP (au pouvoir) et du RUF qui s’affrontaient. - 14 mai. Près de 2,4 millions d’électeurs étaient appelés aux urnes. Ils ont voté massivement, sous la haute protection des casques bleus. Le scrutin s’est déroulé sans incident notable. Plus de 4.200 observateurs locaux et internationaux supervisaient les élections. - 15 mai. La population de Freetown a acclamé les premiers résultats officieux et partiels qui donnent le président sortant, Ahmed Kabbah, largement en tête, loin devant le parti des anciens rebelles du RUF. Les résultats officiels ne sont pas attendus avant le vendredi 17 mai. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 15 mai 2002)

* Sierra Leone. Presidential and parliamentary elections — 9 May: Freetown grinds to a halt as thousands of jubilant supporters of the former ruling All People’s Congress (APC) take to the streets in a political rally ahead of the country’s 14 May elections. The rally brings together all shades of APC supporters clad in red and white, the party’s colour, drumming, dancing, singing and carrying banners with varying slogans. The main Siaka Stevens Street, named in honour of the late Sierra Leonean president, founder of the APC, is the centre of action, with pockets of supporters scattered in other parts of the city, effectively bringing it to a halt. — The High Court orders the publication of the full list of presidential and parliamentary candidates contesting the 14 May election. This reverses the order it had given to the National Electoral Commission on 7 May to put on hold the final list containing the names of parliamentary, vice presidential and presidential candidates. 10 May: Former rebels and soldiers from Sierra Leone’s once-undisciplined army vote today ahead of next week’s main polling day in an election designed to give the country a new start after a decade of civil war. The special vote will allow security forces to be free for surveillance and monitoring of the 14 May elections, the first since the end of the war in January. At the Benguema training camp, about 32 kilometres east of the capital Freetown, new recruits drawn from different factions that participated in the war line up to vote. The recruits are supervised by officials from the National Election Commission (NEC). The NEC‘s chairman, Walter Nicol, tells journalists that between 10,000 and 15,000 voters are expected to take part in the special ballot. Their votes are to be counted after the 14 May elections. 11 May: United Nations troops in Sierra Leone have intervened to break up riots in the centre of the capital, Freetown, as opposing political parties clashed. Several people were seriously injured by the stone-throwing supporters of the ruling party and former rebels of the Revolutionary United Front, (RUF). This is the first significant electoral violence in the campaign ahead of the 14 May elections which are meant to mark the end of a decade-long war. The clashes came as campaigning ended for the landmark presidential poll. UN troops in armoured personnel carriers fired into the air to break up crowds of hundreds of rival supporters. After the UN intervened, a semblance of order returned and this isolated incident should be seen in the context of a so far remarkably peaceful election campaign. 14 May: Presidential and parliamentary elections. 15 May: Counting has begun. Kabbah is reported to be ahead. 16 May: Preliminary results from the elections in Sierra Leone show the incumbent President, Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, has taken a strong lead, Electoral Commissioner Walter Nicol said. Turnout was high and there were no reports of violence in the vote which, it is hoped, will mark a definitive end to the 10-year civil war. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 16 May 2002)

* Somalia. Trouble in «Puntland» — 8 May: Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, one of two men claiming the presidency of Somalia’s autonomous state of Puntland, has seized the region’s commercial capital Bossasso, following a three-day sweep across the region. Bossasso was the last remaining stronghold of Jama Ali Jama, who was chosen by clan elders in November to replace Abdullahi Yusuf as president. Colonel Yusuf’s offensive began on 6 May near his southern stronghold of Garoweh, and spread quickly north. Bossasso appears to have fallen without a fight. Elders arranged for Colonel Yusuf’s entry into the city rather than allow it to be damaged. Ali Jama fled the city by car, and when it became clear that he was not about to make a stand local officials changed sides. Bossasso is home to 70,000 residents and is critical to the finances of Puntland. Taxes from exports of sheep, goats and camels to Dubai and Kuwait, as well as duties levied on imports of cars and electrical good, pay for the running of the region. Last year a congress of elders elected Jama Ali Jama as the new head of Puntland, but this was immediately rejected by Colonel Yusuf, who described the vote as futile and illegal. He accused supporters of the transitional government in Mogadishu of being involved in the leadership change, although it is not clear whether Mr Jama is any more sympathetic to Mogadishu than Colonel Yusuf. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 8 May 2002)

* Somalie. Le président du Puntland renversé — Le mercredi matin, 8 mai, la milice loyale au colonel Abdulahi Yusuf Hamed a envahi la ville portuaire de Bosaso et renversé le président Jama Ali Jama de la région autonome du Puntland. La veille déjà, la milice de Yusuf s’était emparée de la ville de Qardo. Elle s’est ensuite dirigée sur Bosaso, dont elle a pris le contrôle sans rencontrer de résistance. M. Jama s’est enfui dans le village d’Iskushuban, à quelque 160 km de la ville. En août 2001, Jama avait renversé le colonel Yusuf, qui est soutenu par l’Ethiopie. Celui-ci a déclaré maintenant à la foule rassemblée à Bosaso qu’il était le président légitime du Puntland. (D’après PANA, Sénégal, 10 mai 2002)

* Somalie. Attaque éthiopienne — Le 15 mai, plusieurs centaines de soldats éthiopiens en uniforme ont attaqué la ville frontalière somalienne de Bulo Hawo, forçant des centaines de personnes à fuir leurs habitations, ont rapporté des témoins. Les forces éthiopiennes, qui ont utilisé des véhicules blindés et étaient soutenues par des milices somaliennes, se sont emparés de Bulo Hawo, à quelques kilomètres au sud de la frontière, après avoir bombardé la ville, selon ces témoins. La ville était contrôlée par une faction soutenant le gouvernement de transition du président Salat Hassan. Les autorités éthiopiennes ont démenti l’information. (AP, 15 mai 2002)

* Somalia. Renewed fighting in southern Somalia — 15 May: Ethiopian troops are reported to have crossed the border into Somalia to help militias fighting the Somali Government. Eyewitnesses who fled across the border to Kenya together with hundreds of others, say that at least two people were killed and four injured when Ethiopian soldiers attacked the border town of Bulo Hawo early this morning. Kenya, which had given the Somali refugees in Mandera until today to go home, says it will set up a temporary camp for the thousands of refugees. Bulo Hawo is now once again controlled by the militias of the Somali Reconstruction and Restoration Council (SRRC), a coalition of opposition warlords backed by Ethiopia. Ten days ago, the SRRC had lost the town to the forces of Colonel Abdirizak Issak Bihi. Colonel Bihi has reportedly been captured unhurt by the Ethiopian forces and taken across the border to Ethiopia. The exchange of gunfire and the noise of the shelling in Bulo Hawo could be heard in Mandera. More than 10,000 Somali refugees have already found refuge in the Kenyan border town from the fighting in Gedo.The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has agreed with the Kenyan Government to feed the refugees by 17 May. But in the longer term, the Kenyan government would like the Somali refugees to go home. (BBC News, UK, 16 May 2002)

* South Africa. More tolerant of corruption — Bribe-taking has become more common in democratic South Africa, the Transparency International survey found. More than half the company executives interviewed said corruption «had increased» or «increased significantly» in the past five years. The «deterioration of the rule of law» and «public tolerance of corruption» were identified as the main reasons behind the worsening trend, Mari Harris of Markinor, who conducted the survey, said on 14 May. The increase in bribery of public officials was blamed on low public sector salaries. Thabo Mbeki, the South African president, recently declared an «all-out war» on corruption in the public sector after several cases were exposed by the media. South African respondents found that local companies, especially small and medium-sized ones, were the most likely to offer bribes to get a contract or increase their market share. Among international companies, large multinationals were most likely to use bribes to enter the South African market, the survey found, particularly those from China, Malaysia, Taiwan and Russia. British companies were regarded by South African executives as the least likely to offer bribes, followed in the «squeaky clean» league by Swiss, Canadian and Swedish groups. (Financial Times, UK, 15 May 2002)

* South Africa. Military adapting to budget constraints — The South African military, one of the most powerful in Africa, is redrafting its strategic plans and reviewing force levels to adapt to budget constraints, Defense Minister Mosiuoa Lekota said on 14 May. «The mismatch between defense policy and our defense budget allocation has forced us to re-examine our overall strategy. Some hard decisions have to be made,» he told parliament. The defense force has already signed a 12-year deal with countries including Britain, Sweden, Italy and Germany to provide jet trainers, fighters, ships and submarines at a total cost of $4.8 billion. Lekota said the combined defense force, including army, air force and navy, had calculated its need at 4.1 billion rand ($406.1 million) over the 20.6 billion rand allocated in the budget for fiscal 2002-2003. «We are putting together a new force design and structure that will both enable us to carry out our constitutional obligations in the widest sense, whilst being affordable,» he said. South Africa has deployed 930 soldiers to United Nations and other peace-keeping missions around Africa and has promised to play an active role in future monitoring missions. Lekota, who told legislators he would soon submit a new military strategy to the cabinet, has committed to reducing defense force numbers from the current 78,800 to a maximum of 70,000 by the end of next year. (CNN, USA, 15 May 2002)

* Soudan. Massacre de civils — En une semaine, le Sud-Soudan a été le théâtre de massacres perpétrés par des rebelles ougandais, ayant coûté la vie à plus de 470 civils, a annoncé l’Eglise catholique. Selon un communiqué du diocèse de Torit, ces massacres ont été commis par les rebelles de l’Armée de résistance du Seigneur (LRA) dans leur fuite en territoire soudanais, alors qu’ils étaient poursuivis par l’armée de Kampala. (Le Soir, Belgique, 13 mai 2002)

* Soudan/Ethiopie. Coopération renforcée — Le Soudan et l’Ethiopie ont convenu de renforcer leur coopération dans les domaines politique, économique et militaire, a annoncé le 13 mai le ministre soudanais des Affaires étrangères, M. Osman. Après des entretiens avec son homoloque éthiopien, M. Seyoum, et une tournée commune le long de la frontière entre les deux pays, M. Osman a affirmé que les deux parties avaient décidé de trouver, avant la fin de ce mois, une solution aux problèmes frontaliers en suspens. De son côté, M. Seyoum a prédit un renforcement des relations bilatérales dans un proche avenir. Dans un communiqué conjoint rendu public le 11 mai, les deux parties affirmaient avoir signé des accords de coopération dans les secteurs de l’agriculture, des ressources animales et du tourisme. (D’après PANA, Sénégal, 13 mai 2002)

* Swaziland. King pushes AIDS testing — 10 May: King Mswati III, has urged all the subjects of his AIDS-ravaged southern African kingdom to take an HIV test. «I expect all Swazis to take a blood test, to know our own HIV status so that we can take the necessary steps to protect ourselves and to live in a responsible and healthy manner,» the 34-year-old monarch said in the foreword to a book about Swazis living with HIV/AIDS that was launched today. The British-educated Mswati, who has eight wives and two fiancees, has long been a vocal campaigner against the scourge but this is the first time he has urged all of his subjects to take an HIV test. Palace sources say Mswati himself takes such a test every six months. But many of the country’s people live below the poverty line or in remote rural areas and Mswati did not say who would pay to have all of his subjects tested. Between 20 and 25 percent of Swaziland’s roughly one million people are infected with the HIV virus that causes AIDS. The landlocked nation borders Mozambique and South Africa, which has an estimated 4.7 million HIV-positive cases and is the worst affected country in the world. (CNN, USA, 11 May 2002)

* Togo. Project against child labour — Togo’s office of the International Catholic Child Bureau, using a US $343,000 contribution from the French government, has launched a three-year project to combat child labour across the country.The project, which was launched on 10 May in the main market of the capital Lome, aims to take off the streets, children less than 15 years who have been working as porters and helpers and to enrol them into schools. The organisation, in partnership with the International Labour Organization, would also conduct information and education campaigns targeting the civil society, parents and others. Togo, like many countries in West Africa, is struggling to contain the spread of child labour seen as a new form of criminality. Its spread is facilitated by poverty, traditional beliefs and culture, illiteracy and discrimination against women and girls. (IRIN, 13 May 2002)

* Tunisie. Campagne référendaire — Le dimanche 12 mai, le président Ben Ali a lancé la campagne du référendum pour la réforme de la Constitution, le premier à être organisé dans l’histoire du pays. La consultation, prévue le 26 mai, devrait notamment permettre au président Ben Ali de briguer un 4ème mandat de cinq ans. Actuellement, les dispositions constitutionnelles limitent à trois le nombre de mandats d’un président. Les amendements prévoient le renouvellement sans limite des candidatures à la magistrature suprême et repoussent de 70 à 75 ans l’âge limite du candidat, ce qui donne la possibilité à l’actuel chef de l’Etat, âgé aujourd’hui de 65 ans, de postuler deux autres mandats. Lors d’un meeting lançant la campagne, M. Ben Ali a soutenu que la réforme envisagée permettra de “moderniser la structure du pouvoir législatif” en instaurant un Parlement bicaméral et “consacrera le multipartisme, à travers un scrutin à deux tours pour l’élection présidentielle”. Des opposants se sont déclarés hostiles aux amendements préconisés qui visent, selon eux, à “ouvrir la voie à la présidence à vie” Ils ont aussi dénoncé la nouvelle disposition prévoyant l’immunisté du président de la République pendant et après l’exercice de ses fonctions. Ils ont réclamé une “véritable réforme” pour la démocratie, notamment l’adoption du principe de l’alternance du pouvoir, une amnistie générale et la garantie de l’indépendance des pouvoirs exécutif, législatif et judiciaire. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 12 mai 2002)

* Uganda. Loosing restrictions on opposition — Uganda has passed a law which partially lifts long-standing restrictions on opposition parties. However, 60 members of parliament left the chamber in protest before the vote, saying that the legislation violated the spirit of the Constitution. Under the new rules, opposition parties will be allowed to hold an annual conference to elect their leaders. President Yoweri Museveni’s National Resistance Movement remains the only party that can put forward candidates for election or hold political rallies. New parties can be established, but only if they meet strict conditions set by the Ugandan Government. Opposition parties are still banned from holding office or campaigning outside the capital, Kampala. Opposition supporters, including the Ugandan People’s Congress of Milton Obote, currently stand for election as non-affiliated independent candidates (BBC News, UK, 10 May 2002)

* Uganda/Sudan. Ugandan rebels massacre Sudanese villagers — 11 May: Ugandan rebels from the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) have killed several hundred Sudanese civilians in the past week, Ugandan army and Sudan Catholic Church officials have said. Army spokesman, Major Shaban Bantariza said the killings occurred in several villages in the Imotong mountains of southern Sudan while the rebels were fleeing from a Ugandan army offensive which began last month. Officials from the Catholic Church in Sudan said the LRA rebels had killed more than 470 civilians and displaced hundreds from their homes. The LRA insurgents raped and abducted girls and women, and burnt down six villages, a statement from the church’s diocese of Torit in southern Sudan said. Another 500 people were forced to flee the area to escape the violence. The auxiliary bishop of Torit diocese, Akio Johnson Mutek, has appealed to the international community «to come to the aid of these destitute people who are forced to desert their villages as they had just begun cultivating their crops,» the statement said. «Bishop Akio fears that if the situation continues unabated many civil populations who are currently scattered in the bushes might become vulnerable to all kind of dangers and diseases,» the statement added. In a separate statement on 10 May, the Church said that LRA rebels had raided a further three villages in the area on 8 May. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 11 May 2002)

* Zambia. Economic promise — The story on the effect of used clothing imports in Zambia (published in ANB-BIA, 434) distorted that country’s recent history. As Zambia’s minister of finance said at a press conference in Washington recently, «The world is a better place with IMF and World Bank than without.» Yet the article gives no indication why a Zambian would say that. Much of Zambia’s economic troubles from the 1970s through the ‘90s reflected not liberalization but poor economic policies and inept management of the dominant state-owned mining company. Zambia almost invariably flouted, rather than followed, International Monetary Fund advice. The result: near hyperinflation and economic stagnation, along with trade protection that discouraged exports. This is really what was behind the demise of the Zambian textile industry. Zambia’s vastly improved economic prospects come not from a new protectionism but from economic policies designed to encourage production and investment. New exports such as floriculture and horticulture are growing, and tourism is accelerating. For the first time in recent history, per capita incomes have risen for two consecutive years and inflation has fallen substantially. The current government’s «New Deal,» with its increased attention to social concerns, is taking place with the advice and financial support of the IMF. (Washington Post, USA, 7 May 2002)

* Zambia. Opposition leader acquitted — The leader of the opposition, Michael Sata, has been freed by a court. He had been accused of stealing two government vehicles. Sata said that his arrest had been politically motivated and that President Mwanawasa had instructed police to arrest him. He pledged to go on denouncing «all the wrongs», or else there would be «no Zambia left». (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 14 May 2002)

* Zambia. $4m for Zambian air crash families — The Zambian government has agreed to pay an estimated $4m in compensation to the families of players and officials who died in the 1993 Gabon air crash. It follows a High Court hearing between the victims families and the attorney general earlier this month. 30 people died — 18 of them players — when a Zambian air force plane crashed into the sea off Gabon while carrying the team to a World Cup qualifier. The amount of $4m was decided using a complicated formula. It took account of the earnings each of the victims could have expected during their careers. Players were assumed to have continued playing to the age of 32. But the compensation package also includes their potential income as coaches up to an age of 55. Officials were assumed to have remained in office until a similar age, with Football Association of Zambia president Michael Mwape expected to continue until 65. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 14 May 2002)

* Zimbabwe. Media law challenged — 8 May: Foreign correspondents in Zimbabwe have launched a challenge in the Supreme Court against a controversial media law which they say is unconstitutional. The journalists argue that the legislation, which was introduced in March, violates freedom of expression. A total of eight journalists have so far been charged under the law, which the government insists is necessary to tackle a collapse in journalistic standards. One of those behind the challenge has been charged under the media law, and could face a penalty of up to two years in jail. He is Andrew Meldrum, a US citizen writing for Britain’s Guardian newspaper. The other two, Peta Thornycroft and Jan Raath, are also correspondents for British papers — the Daily Telegraph and The Times respectively. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 9 May 2002)

* Zimbabwe. Baisse sévère de l’économie — La croissance de l’économie zimbabwéenne, bloquée depuis trois ans par les sanctions internationales officielles et non officielles, a baissé de 7,3% l’année dernière et de 4,2% en 2000, a annoncé le ministre des Finances. Dans un rapport, M. Makoni a dit que l’inflation élevée et les pénuries en devises étrangères sont les principaux responsables de ce déclin qui a aussi vu les exportations s’effondrer de 4,3% durant l’année. Selon lui, la plupart des secteurs de l’économie, y compris les filières clés que sont l’agriculture, les mines et le tourisme, ont diminué durant l’année, principalement en raison du taux élevé de l’inflation, de la faiblesse des prix des matières premières sur les marchés internationaux et des pénuries de devises étrangères pour approvisionner les intrants. Le gel de l’aide extérieure a provoqué depuis 1999 la chute libre de l’économie zimbabwéenne. L’année dernière, l’agriculture a baissé de 12,2%, l’industrie de 10,1%, les mines de 6,8% et le tourisme de 38%. En décembre dernier, les arriérés du Zimbabwe au titre de sa dette extérieure s’élevaient à 760 millions de dollars. (PANA, Sénégal, 9 mai 2002)

* Zimbabwe. Mugabe tightens grip on land — 9 May: Zimbabwe’s parliament has passed changes to the law on acquiring land giving the state almost immediate control of white-owned farms targeted for seizure. President Robert Mugabe’s government, which says it is seeking to correct imbalances in land ownership created by British colonialism, has listed thousands of white-owned farms for redistribution to poor black farmers. Mr Mugabe, who is accused by the opposition and many Western countries of using fraud and violence to win the poll, says he wants to finish his programme of land redistribution by August.Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa said the changes to the law were designed to help advance Zimbabwe’s «land revolution». He said objections by the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) were meant to serve the white minority at the expense of the black majority. «There must be no doubt about our commitment to the land redistribution programme, and there must be no doubt at all that the train is moving and those who do not get into the train will be left behind,» said Mr Chinamasa. The MDC accuses the government of using land as an electoral bribe, while the «fast track«programme is wrecking the economy. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 10 May 2002)

* Zimbabwe. Nearing economic collapse — 9 May: With Zimbabwe nearing economic collapse, Anglican Bishop Sebastien Bakare of Manicaland, has appealed for calm, and has expressed concern for those who are suffering, especially the ordinary citizens. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 10 May 2002)

* Zimbabwe. Interparty talks halted — 11 May: Interparty talks designed to resolve Zimbabwe’s political crisis following President Robert Mugabe’s disputed election victory in March have been shelved. The government delegation led by Patrick Chinamasa, justice minister, wants the talks delayed because the opposition Movement for Democratic Change is challenging the election result in the courts. In a letter to the Nigerian and South African facilitators of the talks, Mr Chinamasa said the ruling party could not continue the dialogue because of the legal challenge and the alleged publication of inflammatory statements and planting of false stories alleging Zanu-PF violence in the media by the MDC. The Mugabe government’s decision is surprising as it is bound to anger its backers in South Africa and Nigeria. 14 May: South African and Nigerian mediators to Zimbabwe’s political crisis are trying to persuade Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF to renew talks with the MDC. (Financial Times, UK, 11 & 14 May 2002)