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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 06-13-2002

PART #4/4 - From RWANDA to  ZIMBABWE

* Rwanda. Loi sur les médias — Au terme de trois années de débats houleux, le Parlement rwandais a donné le feu vert à une loi qui, si elle est approuvée par la Cour suprême et le président Kagamé, devrait entraîner une plus grande liberté de la presse au Rwanda. La nouvelle loi autoriserait l’ouverture de stations de radio et télévision et d’agences de presse privées locales. Le projet de loi prévoit également la création d’un conseil de médias composé de fonctionnaires du gouvernement et de représentants de médias privés. Le projet de loi pourrait être adopté dans les quatre semaines à venir. Une des grandes surprises du projet est la suppression de trois articles controversés qui auraient permis d’administrer de longues peines de prison et la peine capitale aux personnes reconnues coupables d’inciter à commettre le génocide. Une telle législation doit faire partie intégrante d’un ensemble de lois sur le génocide qui ne concerne pas uniquement les journalistes, a estimé le chef de l’Association des journalistes rwandais. (IRIN, Nairobi, 5 juin 2002)

* Rwanda. Number of prisoners of conscience increases — On 7 June, Amnesty International called on the government of Rwanda to immediately and unconditionally release 20 men and women detained in recent months seemingly for their entirely non-violent and legitimate connection with imprisoned former President and opposition politician, Pasteur Bizimungu. Amnesty International also called for the unconditional release of prisoners of conscience Pasteur Bizimungu and his political ally Charles Ntakirutinka. (Amnesty International, 7 June 2002)

* Rwanda. Les militants de Bizimungu — Le 7 juin, Amnesty International (AI) a exhorté le gouvernement rwandais à remettre en liberté 20 personnes arrêtées récemment “semble-t-il, pour leur relation totalement non violente et légitime” avec l’ex-président Pasteur Bizimungu, actuellement emprisonné. AI estime que ces prévenus sont des prisonniers d’opinion, détenus uniquement pour leurs affiliations pacifiques - présumées ou réelles - dans le milieu de la politique, a expliqué l’association. Elle a, par ailleurs, demandé la libération de l’allié politique de M. Bizimungu, Charles Ntakirutinka. Parmi les détenus figurent des fermiers, des comptables, des fonctionnaires et des commerçants qui, d’après Amnesty, sont soupçonnés d’être des membres du parti interdit de M. Bizimungu. AI craint que les autorités ne maltraitent les détenus et ne les contraignent à faire des dépositions compromettant Bizimungu ou ses alliés politiques. MM. Bizimungu et Ntakirutinka ont été arrêtés en avril dernier, après avoir tenté en mai 2001 de lancer un nouveau parti, Ubuyanja. (IRIN, Kenya, Nairobi, 10 juin 2002)

* Rwanda. Gacaca trials to begin soon — The long-awaited trials to be conducted by Gacaca courts — an adapted form of Rwandan traditional participatory justice — are to begin on 18 June, to deal with the perpetrators of the 1994 genocide. The Government says that the purpose of the Gacaca judicial process is to expedite the trials of those accused of crimes, to «reveal the truth about the genocide; to put an end to the culture of impunity in Rwanda; and to reconcile the Rwandan people and strengthen ties between them». (IRIN, Kenya, 11 June 2002)

* Rwanda. Capturer les génocidaires — Les Etats-Unis ont annoncé une campagne énergique et ciblée visant à arrêter les responsables du génocide rwandais. Des récompenses allant jusqu’à cinq millions de dollars seront offertes pour toute information menant à l’arrestation d’un suspect. Cette campagne débutera au Kenya, mais devrait s’orienter par la suite vers le Congo-Kinshasa, où l’on soupçonne de nombreux génocidaires d’avoir trouvé refuge. Toute personne arrêtée sera déférée au Tribunal pénal international pour le Rwanda pour y être jugée. “Ces individus continuent à jour un rôle destructeur et alimentent la guerre qui affecte la région des Grands Lacs depuis plus de cinq ans”, a estimé un responsable américain. (La Libre Belgique, 13 juin 2002)

* Sahara occidental. Pour une solution pacifique — Le président du Front Polisario, Mohamed Abdelaziz, a exprimé la volonté de son mouvement de trouver un règlement pacifique à la question sahraouie qui l’oppose au Maroc, rapporte le 7 juin l’Agence de presse libyenne (JANA), citant des sources officielles à Tripoli. M. Abdelaziz a fait part de cette volonté, en réponse aux démarches de la Libye. La Libye a reçu le point de vue de toutes les parties concernées par le problème sahraoui qui ont toutes “réaffirmé leur volonté de parvenir à un règlement pacifique de la crise et d’éviter toute escalade par un recours à la force”. JANA ajoute que le colonel Khadafi poursuit ses efforts et ses concertations avec toutes les parties. (PANA, Sénégal, 7 juin 2002)

* Sierra Leone. Re-building a nation — On 5 June, two government offices were reopened in the eastern district of Kono The offices were rebuilt by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the National Commission for Social Action. On 7 June, it was reported that several hundred homes destroyed in the civil war are being rebuilt in the northwestern Kambia district in a joint initiative between the UNDP and the government. (ANB-BIA, 8 June 2002)

* South Africa. «AIDS is stabilising» — On 10 June, the South African government countered studies suggesting that the country’s HIV/Aids infection rate was ballooning by releasing findings that reflected a stabilisation in the spread of the disease. The health minister, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, said the rate of prevalence of HIV/Aids among pregnant women was slowing. A national HIV and syphilis prevalence study showed that, of about 17,000 pregnant women, 24.8 per cent tested HIV positive at the end of last year. In the previous year, 24.5 per cent of the women had tested positive. South Africa has one of the highest HIV/Aids infection rates in the world with about 11 per cent of its 40m population infected with the disease. An estimated 25 per cent of the economically-active population is infected. The study found that about 4.74m South Africans had HIV/Aids — a marginal increase on the previous year’s figure of 4.7m people. (Financial Times, UK, 11 June 2002)

* Afrique du Sud. Décès de Peter Mokaba — Peter Mokaba, un des dirigeants radicaux du Congrès national africain (ANC), très populaire chez les jeunes des townships, est décédé le 9 juin à l’âge de 44 ans des suites d’une “pneumonie aiguë”. Proche de Winnie Mandela, il avait dirigé l’organisation de la jeunesse de l’ANC au début des années 1990. Dans un communiqué, l’ANC et le président Thabo Mbeki ont salué sa mémoire. (Le Figaro, France, 11 juin 2002)

* Sudan. Rebels capture key town — Sudanese rebels said they had seized a key garrison town in a surprise attack on government forces on 9 June, describing it as their biggest battlefield triumph in two years. The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLA/SPLM) said it had captured Kapoeta and seized tanks, artillery and heavy machineguns. «This is our biggest military victory for the past two years,» Nairobi-based SPLA spokesman Samson Kwaje said. «The element of surprise helped, they tried to put up resistance but it was too late.» Kwaje said the capture of Kapoeta, which he described as one of three main government garrisons in the south, effectively handed the SPLA control of Sudan’s southern border zone. Aid workers said access to the area was restricted, making it impossible to verify the rebels’ claim. «The town has changed hands several times in the past few years,» said a humanitarian source who declined to be named. «It’s a very tense situation, where government garrisons are surrounded by SPLA forces,» he said. (CNN, USA, 10 June 2002)

* Soudan. Prise de Kapoeta — Les rebelles du SPLA (Armée de libération du peuple soudanais) ont revendiqué la prise de la ville stratégique de Kapoeta, affirmant qu’il s’agissait de la victoire la plus significative des deux dernières années. L’effet de surprise a dérouté les forces gouvernementales, qui n’ont pas pu organiser une défense adéquate, a déclaré le porte-parole des rebelles. Kapoeta (à près de 80 km de la frontière kényane) était considérée imprenable, car entourée de champs parsemés de mines antipersonnel et antichars et à cause de la présence de nombreuses garnisons de l’armée régulière dans la zone. (Misna, Italie, 10 juin 2002)

* Sudan. Sudanese rebels jubilant after another hollow victory — The veteran rebel Dr John Garang was in jubilant mood. His troops had just captured Kapoeta, a heavily guarded garrison town inside Sudan’s southern border with Kenya. Seated under a tree, he flipped an identity card on to the table. It belonged to another man in uniform -– the government commander whose bloated remains lay rotting by the town’s dirt runway. oThis was a great defeat, a massive victory,» said the well-spoken, grey-bearded leader. The capture of Kapoeta on 10 June will not win the war for Dr Garang’s Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA). Nevertheless, it represents a small but strategic victory in Africa’s longest-running war, a seemingly intractable conflict aggravated this year by a deadly oil rush that Canadian, Chinese and British companies have joined. Driven by the promise of millions of pounds, government troops in helicopter gunships have attacked civilian villages to clear oil-producing areas. In one incident, a gunship crew attacked families queuing for UN food handouts. Last Sunday, the SPLA responded by taking Kapoeta, a town it lost 10 years ago. Rotting corpses still littered the ring of trenches around the town. Some were decapitated; others had been stripped to their underwear. Although the war is often portrayed as a fight between northern Arabs and southern Africans, many of the fallen government troops were dark-skinned -– possibly southerners conscripted or drawn by the lure of a wage. Vultures wheeled overhead as rebel troops rested on captured artillery. There were few civilians -– they had fled hours earlier, after a government Antonov plane scattered bombs over the town. There were no casualties. The Catholic church was in ruins, its blackened walls covered in a scrawl of Arabic lettering. By the altar, neatly uniformed rebels were preparing large vats of a porridge-like food. One rebel held a tin of donated cooking oil. The American government, whose flag was on the tin, presumably intended it for a hungry civilian, but skimming and the manipulation of aid have also become part of this war. Dr Garang offered little hope for peace talks. Sudan is blessed -– or perhaps blighted -– with four separate peace initiatives, variously sponsored by Kenya, Egypt and Libya, Eritrea and America. In addition, Dr Garang says he has a «three-pronged approach«of his own, which combines fighting with talking. «It is a very complex situation,» he acknowledged. (Declan Walsh, The Independent, UK, 13 June 2002)

* Swaziland. Lawyers sue king’s regime — 6 June: Lawyers in Swaziland have lodged a complaint with the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) against the human rights record of King Mswati’s regime. «The government should prepare itself to go and explain... why there is blatant disregard for the basic and fundamental rights of citizens,» a representative for the lawyers said. On 5 May, King Mswati put forward a bill suppressing political opposition in a country where political parties are banned and the king rules by decree. The bill, which is certain to be passed, with no opposition in parliament, states that any person carrying the banner of a political formation will be fined 2,000 lilangeni ($206) or jailed for two years. The Lawyers for Human Rights in Swaziland (LHRS), who waited until 6 June to announce that they had taken legal action against the authorities on 3 May, might have been prompted by the announcement of the Internal Security Bill. The secretary general of the LHRS, Thulani Maseko, said that his organisation had approached the OAU after Swazi police rejected court orders to promote rights. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 6 June 2002)

* Swaziland. Concern over Internal Security Bill — There is some concern in Swaziland that the gazetting of a bill aimed at silencing pro-democracy groups could jeopardise much needed trade and investment. The Internal Security Bill, which seeks to reinforce a royal ban on opposition political activity, has also offered ammunition to the very pro-democracy groups it seeks to neutralise. In a section certain to inflame pro-democracy labour unions, the bill would allow members of the public who suffer property damage during a march or demonstration, regardless of who is responsible, to sue the organisers of the march. Two years ago, in an industrial relations act, a similar measure was included by palace counsellors to King Mswati III in an effort to stop the pro-democracy Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions from calling workers’ stayaways to press for democratic reform. (IRIN, 10 June 2002)

* Tunisie. Rapport sur les droits de l’homme — Le harcèlement d’opposants au régime tunisien et le nombre de décès dans les prisons est augmenté en 2001, indique un rapport publié par l’unique organisation de défense des droits de l’homme autorisée dans le pays, la Ligue tunisienne pour la défense des droits de l’homme (LTDDH). Le régime du président Ben Ali a souvent fait l’objet de critiques en Tunisie et à l’étranger, mais c’est la première fois depuis 1994 qu’un tel rapport est publié en Tunisie. D’après LTDDH, la police a renforcé la répression, physique et verbale, contre les militants et les opposants en 2001. “Cette répression s’est traduite par des actes de violence, de procès et de condamnations iniques”, indique le rapport. “La presse demeure ligotée et les journalistes muselés”, ajoute encore la Ligue. Par ailleurs, “les prisons se caractérisent par leur encombrement. Ces conditions carcérales engendrent des conditions sanitaires lamentables. (...) Le développement du nombre de décès dans les prisons est le résultat de traitements cruels, de violences et de tortures exercées sur les détenus ou le résultat de négligences de manque de soins”. La Ligue a enregistré au moins neuf décès de prisonniers en 2001. (Reuters, 6 juin 2002)

* Uganda. Uganda’s success in Sudan — 6 June: Uganda says it has killed 66 rebels in a battle inside southern Sudan, in a continuing offensive against a rebel group operating there. The Ugandan army is trying to wipe out the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) — a shadowy rebel group that has been fighting the government of President Yoweri Museveni for 15 years. The LRA says it wants to rule Uganda according to the Biblical Ten Commandments but has abducted thousands of children, who are used as fighters and sex slaves. An army spokesman told reporters that the battle took place on 5 June in the Imotong Hills region, about 48 kilometres from Sudan’s border with Uganda. Uganda and Sudan have an agreement allowing Uganda to attack LRA‘s bases inside Sudan. The agreement expires at the end of June. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 6 June 2002)

* Ouganda/Soudan. Combats contre la LRA — 66 rebelles de la LRA (Armée de résistance du Seigneur) ont été tués lors de la dernière bataille avec les troupes régulières de Kampala. D’après le quotidien The Monitor, un dur accrochage s’est déroulé le 5 juin à la hauteur de Owiny Kibul, à une trentaine de km de la frontière séparant l’Ouganda du Soudan. Environ 150 rebelles descendus des montagnes d’Imotong pour prélever des armes et des munitions, sont tombés dans une embuscade tendue par les soldats de Kampala. Parmi les tués se trouvait Otim Okello, un important commandant de la LRA, le mouvement rebelle basé au Soudan et qui depuis des années terrorise la population civile dans la province nord de l’Ouganda. Les affrontements ont transformé la zone frontalière en un immense champ de bataille. Depuis mars dernier, les troupes ougandaises sont autorisées par le Soudan à opérer sur son territoire pour mettre fin aux incursions des rebelles. Actuellement, le leader de la LRA, Joseph Kony, et un millier de ses hommes se trouveraient encerclés dans leur bastion sur les montagnes Imotong, selon une source militaire ougandaise. (Misna, Italie, 6 juin 2002)

* Uganda. Lake tragedy kills 35 — 8 June: More than 35 people are feared dead after a boat capsized on Lake Victoria, Ugandan police say. The 12 metre boat was ferrying people and goods between islands when it capsized during a storm. Police said the vessel was probably overloaded at the time. The accident follows a similar disaster last month, when about 30 people drowned after a boat capsized on the same lake. In the latest tragedy, the boat was believed to have been carrying about 50 passengers when it capsized at 1am local time (2200 GMT). Eight people have been rescued, but only four bodies have so far been recovered. The accident took place about 130 kilometres south of Uganda’s capital Kampala, police spokesman Asuman Mugenyi said. The boat was on its way from the mainland to Bukasa island, one of many that dot the lake near the Ugandan shore. Police say accidents happen quite frequently on the lake, which has shores in Kenya and Tanzania as well as Uganda. The high fatality rates are often blamed on unsafe practices by boat owners, such as overloading and failing to provide life jackets. (BBC News, UK, 8 June 2002)

* Ouganda. Naufrage sur le lac Victoria — Le 7 juin, près de 40 personnes ont été portées disparues après le naufrage d’un bateau en bois de 12 mètres sur le lac Victoria, qui a fait au moins quatre morts, a annoncé la police. Selon le porte-parole, le bateau transportait environ 50 passagers lorsqu’il a coulé. Huit personnes ont pu être secourues et quatre cadavres, dont ceux de deux enfants, ont été retrouvés. L’embarcation transportait aussi du frêt d’île en île dans la partie ouest du lac le plus vaste d’Afrique. Lors du naufrage, il se trouvait à environ 130 km au sud de Kampala. On ne savait pas dans un premier temps ce qui a causé le naufrage, mais la surcharge est souvent à l’origine des fréquents drames que connaît cette étendue d’eau, trop vaste pour que la sécurité puisse y être assurée correctement, a ajouté le porte-parole. (Ndlr - Une dépêche du 11 juin fait état de 70 morts). (AP, USA, 8 juin 2002)

* Uganda. World Bank inspectors attack dam — A controversial hydro-electric dam in Uganda backed by the World Bank could damage the environment and lead to unfeasibly high electricity prices, according to the bank’s own inspectors. The proposed $550m Bujagali dam, which would be East Africa’s largest single foreign direct investment project, has pitted domestic and international environmental campaigners against Yoweri Museveni, Uganda’s president, and the World Bank for several years. The report is likely to prove an embarrassment for the bank, further questioning its ability to fund large infrastructure projects in poor countries. The bank’s management has proposed backing the construction of the dam — to be undertaken by the US company AES — with $250m in political risk insurance from the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, its private risk mitigation arm. A planned recent meeting of the bank’s board to consider this was postponed until next week. The bank has already authorised $115m in partial risk guarantees for the project. But the confidential independent inspection panel report, seen by the Financial Times, says bank staff have failed to assess sufficiently the viability of the project, its likely impact on the environment and the possibility of alternatives. The report praised the technical competence of the bank’s proposal, but said that several key elements were missing. Alternatives, including geothermal power, had not been adequately considered. It said the projections for electricity generation had failed to account for potential problems with Uganda’s power distribution system. Macroeconomic shocks such as a currency depreciation could also jeopardise affordable power and endanger the project’s viability. (Financial Times, UK, 11 June 2002)

* Zambia. Anglo American pull-out angers Zambia — A dispute between Anglo American, the global mining company, and the Zambian government over the company’s withdrawal from its copper investments on the Copperbelt erupted on 6 May at a forum designed to bring African countries and international capital closer. Levy Mwanawasa, the Zambian president, accused Anglo American at a World Economic Forum summit in Durban of exploiting a loophole in its ownership of Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) to avoid paying compensation to cover environmental and social costs resulting from the mines’ closure. «We want foreign investment to come to our country. But when foreign investment comes it should show public and corporate responsibility. We have been bitten once [by Anglo American]. Next time we are going to be shy,» said Mr Mwanawasa. «A wrong has been done to Zambia.» Anglo American announced earlier this year that it would quit Konkola as part of a restructuring of its poorly performing base metals division. The group blamed the low copper price and said it had underestimated the cost of mining the large copper reserve. «Africa must pay its own way. Vision and commitment won’t take you beyond projects with unviable profitability,» said Michael Spicer, Anglo American’s executive vice-president for corporate affairs. KCM produces more than half Zambia’s copper, the country’s top foreign currency earner and the largest employer. After eight months of negotiations Anglo American has agreed to pay $30m, but the government thinks the company should pay more than $200m. The government is in talks with three international mining companies to buy the KCM assets. But analysts think Anglo American’s decision not to develop the project’s large copper reserves would make raising finance from banking institutions almost impossible for smaller mining companies. (Financial Times, UK, 7 June 2002)

* Zimbabwe. Accident: 36 morts — Dans la nuit du 9 au 10 juin, au moins 36 étudiants sont morts brûlés vifs dans un accident de bus à une cinquantaine de kilomètres de Masvingo (sud-est du Zimbabwe). 35 autres, dont plusieurs se trouvent dans un état critique, ont survécu à l’accident et ont été hospitalisés. Le bus des étudiants, qui revenaient d’une compétition sportive, est entré en collision avec un camion et a pris feu. Les équipes de secours ont travaillé pendant près de douze heures pour dégager les corps. Il s’agit du plus grave accident de la route qu’ait connu le Zimbabwe. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 11 juin 2002)

* Zimbabwe. Road accidents — 26 May: A senior member of the government, the Defence Minister, Moven Mahachi, has been killed in a car crash. State television said he died in a head-on collision. He is the second minister to die in a road accident in Zimbabwe recently, after Youth and Employment Minister Border Gezi was killed late in April. 10 June: 37 trainee teachers are burnt to death after their bus collides with a truck near the town of Masvingo. 35 students survive and are being treated in Masvingo’s hospital. The students were returning from a sports tournament in Harare when their bus collided with a lorry carrying bags of maize at around midnight local time. 11 June: Eleven people are killed in a bus crash in central Zimbabwe. The crash occurred near the town of Chivi, not far from Masvingo, the scene of the yesterday’s tragedy, which was declared a state of national disaster. The bus was carrying mainly cross-border traders returning to the central town of Gweru from South Africa. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 11 June 2002)

* Zimbabwe. Le Danemark ferme son ambassade — Le Danemark a annoncé la fermeture de son ambassade au Zimbabwe suite aux interminables conflits politiques qui l’opposent au gouvernement de ce pays. Les relations entre Copenhague et Harare se sont détériorées au cours des dernières années, les Danois accusant le gouvernement du président Mugabe de graves violations des droits de l’homme dans le cadre de l’application de sa politique foncière très controversée. Pour leur part, les autorités zimbabwéennes accusent le gouvernement danois de s’immiscer dans les affaires internes du Zimbabwe, notamment en finançant des partis politiques, une accusation rejetée par le Danemark. “Nous avons reconnu que nos relations avec le gouvernement zimbabwéen n’ont pas toujours été des meilleures. Nous n’avons observé aucune volonté de dialogue et nous ne croyons pas que nous aurions pu faire plus pour améliorer la situation dans le pays”, a affirmé l’ambassadeur du Danemark à Harare. (PANA, Sénégal, 11 juin 2002)

* Zimbabwe. Journalist on trial — 12 June: An American journalist working for a British newspaper is due to appear in court in Zimbabwe, today, charged with publishing falsehoods. If found guilty, Andrew Meldrum, the resident correspondent for the Guardian newspaper, could face up to two years in jail. The case is a pivotal one for journalists in Zimbabwe — he is the first reporter to be tried under Zimbabwe’s draconian and internationally condemned press law, the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Since the disputed presidential elections in March which saw President Robert Mugabe win, 11 other journalists have been charged and are in custody awaiting trial under the law. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 12 June 2002)