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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 10-10-2002

PART #4/4 - From SOMALIA  to  ZIMBABWE

* Somalie. Liberté de presse — Reporters sans frontières a protesté  contre l’adoption par le Parlement somalien d’une nouvelle loi sur la presse qui empêche les journalistes d’exercer librement leur profession. “Sous prétexte de limiter les dérives éthiques de certains médias, les autorités adoptent un texte répressif qui menace l’ensemble de la presse indépendante”, a déclaré le secrétaire général de RSF. Le texte incriminé interdit la publication d’informations allant contre “les intérêts communs” du pays, sans définir précisément cette notion. Les médias qui ne respecteraient pas cette disposition pourraient se voir retirer leurs licences d’exploitation. Le 2 octobre, la totalité des médias privés du pays ont entamé une grêve de deux jours pour protester contre l’adoption de cette loi. RSF rappelle que dans les deux régions autonomes du pays (le Somaliland et le Puntland) la liberté de presse est également très restreinte. (RSF, France, 3 octobre 2002)

* Somalia. Warlords threaten to boycott peace talks — 9 October: Several Somali warlords have said they will not attend next week’s reconciliation conference which they say will only further divide the country. The warlords complain that 70% of the delegates on the conference’s Intellectual Advisory Committee come from just one of Somalia’s six clans. They also resent the fact that delegates from civil society far outnumber backers of the faction leaders. The conference is due to open in Eldoret, Kenya, on 15 October to try to put an end to 12 years of civil war. — Invitations to attend the conference have been sent out. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 9 October 2002)

* South Africa. Government brushes off strike — 2 October: The South African Government has pledged to go ahead with its privatisation policy, despite a second day of union strikes and protests. A cabinet statement, today, says that the low strike turnout showed that most South Africans support government policy on selling off state assets. Trade unions called two days of strikes and protests to register their strong opposition to the policies of the ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC). The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) is in alliance with the ANC but says privatisation is causing unemployment and worsening poverty. The response to the strike call by the trade unions on the first day was «largely positive but mixed across the country», a Cosatu spokesman said. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 2 October 2002)

* South Africa. Alleged racist plot — 8 October: To those communities feeling abandoned and threatened by a country they no longer recognise, to whom the coup to overthrow South Africa’s government cannot come soon enough, the news is not good. The alleged plot has been betrayed, the weapons found, the suspects arrested. The latest setback came on 4 October when the police dug up a cache of guns, grenades and homemade bombs in the red earth of a farm near Modimolle, deep in the Boer heartland of Limpopo province. It included 16 ammonia-nitrate cylinder bombs, time switches, chemicals, and thousand of rounds for various firearms, including shotguns, rifles and 9mm pistols. Not a huge arsenal but significant, the police said, because it was intended to supply a rightwing conspiracy to take power through terror and to re-establish white minority rule in South Africa. The alleged plot was breathtaking in its ambition. A few thousand men were to seize radio and television stations, assassinate cabinet ministers and expel hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of black people. Since a democratically elected government ended apartheid rule in 1994 there have been rumours of a violent backlash by white militants and it is claimed that a group known as Boeremag (Boerforce) decided to take action. «This was one of the most serious incidents. They had the capacity to harm a lot of innocent people,» a national police spokesman said. The alleged plot came to light last month when a lorry packed with firearms and explosives was found abandoned at a filling station, leading to the arrest of 12 men. Described by the police as a «maverick, isolated group», they have been charged with high treason and terrorism and are due to go on trial in Pretoria in February. (The Guardian, UK, 8 October 2002)

* South Africa. PAGAD man finds out he can run, but can’t hide — Police have recaptured one of three People Against Gangsterism and Drugs (PAGAD) members who escaped from the Cape High Court’s holding cells last month. Cape Talk radio reported on 7 October that police cornered Faizel Samsodien in a Cape Peninsula suburb on 6 October. They hope that questioning him could lead them to the other two escapees Mogamat Isaacs and Ebrahim Jeneker. The trio broke out of the Cape High Court holding cells on September 19. It was the second time Jeneker had escaped from the same place. Police began a massive manhunt for the trio and the police watchdog the Independent Complaints Directorate is investigating possible police complicity in the escape. Police have withheld the details surrounding Samsodien’s capture because of the sensitivity of the case and to protect their informants. Provincial police commissioner Lennit Max said police had received a lot of criticism after the breakout.The trio face charges of several counts of murder, attempted murder, the illegal possession of explosives, the illegal possession of firearms and ammunition and robbery. (Mail & Guardian, South Africa, 7 October 2002)

* South Africa. Mining assets charter  amended — South Africa’s government sought to restore international investor confidence on 9 October by approving a charter on black economic empowerment in the mining sector that was described by the industry as «a satisfactory compromise». The new draft differs significantly from a first version of the charter, which caused panic among investors when it was leaked in July. It proposed that 51 per cent of mining assets should be controlled by empowerment parties within 10 years. The new targets are 15 per cent in five years and 26 per cent in 10 years. The contents of the leaked charter, which investors described as creeping nationalisation of the country’s vast mining assets, led to a sell-off of South African mining shares on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. London-listed AngloAmerican, which has most of its assets in South Africa, fell a fifth. The department of minerals and the Chamber of Mines moved quickly to contain the damage. The new-look charter approved on 9 October was the result of two months’ intensive negotiations between the parties. (Financial Times, UK, 10 October 2002)

* Sudan. UN resumes aid flights — 6 October: The United Nations has resumed deliveries of food aid into southern Sudan after the Sudanese Government lifted an eight day flight ban. Khartoum imposed the ban citing security fears after an upsurge of fighting in the region. «We started flying this morning after the government of Sudan told us that we can resume flights,» said World Food Programme spokeswoman Brenda Barton. Half a million people were affected by the ban. The flight restrictions were lifted a day earlier than expected and the food has already started to arrive. Two Hercules aircraft dropped 34 tonnes of aid into south-western Bahr-el-Ghazal, this morning. A UN spokeswoman said the gap in deliveries would not have caused people to starve, but it would have hurt those already suffering severe food shortages. (BBC News, UK, 6 October 2002)

* Sudan. Continuous fighting — peace talks in doubt — 4 October: The Sudanese government and southern rebels have agreed to a cessation of hostilities and the resumption of peace talks to end the country’s 19-year civil war. The talks — which were being held in Kenya — were suspended after the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) rebels took the key southern garrison town of Torit early in September. The Kenyan mediator Lazaro Sumbeiywo says that discussions will resume in 10 days’ time, on 14 October. A memorandum of understanding signed by the government and the rebels calls for a military stand-down by all forces and the maximum of restraint. A spokesman for the rebels, Justin Arop, said the  SPLA has promised to stop fighting and will only use arms in self-defence. 6 October: The Nuba Mountains Cease-fire Agreement is holding despite renewed hostilities in some areas further south of the country, the chairman of the Joint Military Commission (JMC) says. In a statement JMC chairman Brigadier-General J.E. Wilhelmsen of Norway said the agreement has been in effect for nine months without any hostilities. He said the pact was likely to hold for some more time as the two parties involved, the Khartoum government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), have renewed their commitment to go back to the negotiating table. 7 October: Sudan has threatened to use military force against neighbouring Eritrea after accusing Asmara of backing rebels who have captured a number of towns in the east of the country. The National Democratic Alliance, an umbrella group for the rebel SPLA and the Democratic Unionist party, said it had captured the towns of Hamashkurb and Shallob in the east of Sudan and was heading for nearby Kassala. An Eritrean spokesman immediately denied the charges. 8 October: A sudden change — the resumption of peace talks now looks to be in doubt. What’s happened? A spokesman for the government’s armed forces, General Muhammed Bashir Sulayman, has now said that the rebels have been given six hours to leave Torit, or face the consequences. — The Sudanese Government says it has re-captured the strategically important southern town of Torit, which fell to rebels in September. The town changed hands following a night of fierce fighting. The news comes after the Sudanese authorities lost garrison towns in the east of the country to the rebels on 4 October. Despite the fighting, both sides have repeated their commitment to attend peace talks in Kenya later this month. Last week the belligerents agreed to a cessation of hostilities and the resumption of peace talks on 14 October to end the country’s 19-year civil war. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 8 October 2002

* Soudan. Reprise des négociations — Le gouvernement de Khartoum et la rébellion de l’Armée populaire de libération du Soudan (SPLA) se sont mis d’accord pour observer une trêve et pour reprendre, le 14 octobre, les négociations de paix, ont indiqué les médiateurs à Nairobi le 4 octobre. Les négociations à Machakos (Kenya) avaient été interrompues au début du mois de septembre en raison d’une reprise des combats. Les médiateurs ont demandé aux belligérants de faire preuve de modération et de n’entreprendre aucune action susceptible de mettre en danger la reprise des pourparlers. Le gouvernement a exclu toute “négociation des questions déjà approuvées” lors des pourparlers à Machakos. -Notons que l’accord de cessez-le-feu des monts Nouba tient toujours, malgré la reprise des hostilités dans certaines régions du sud du pays. Le 5 octobre, le gouvernement a aussi annoncé avoir levé l’interdiction  controversée imposée aux vols humanitaires vers les régions de l’Equatoria. — Le 8 octobre, les rebelles ont déclaré n’avoir aucune objection à la signature d’un cessez-le-feu avant la reprise des négociations. Peu avant, le gouvernement avait affirmé avoir repris la ville de Torit, conquise par les rebelles en septembre. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 9 octobre 2002)

* Soudan/Erythrée. Combats à la frontière — Dans l’est du pays, des combats opposent l’armée régulière et des forces soutenues, selon Khartoum, par l’Erythrée. Selon l’agence Misna, les forces antigouvernementales de l’Alliance démocratique nationale (NDA) ont pris Hamashkoreb et Shallub, et se trouvent à 15 kilomètres de Kassala, près de la frontière érythréenne. Khartoum a admis la perte de la ville de Hamashkoreb. Le gouvernement soudanais a annoncé qu’il allait protester auprès de l’Onu, de l’Union africaine et la Ligue arabe, affirmant que l’Erythrée appuie ces forces antigouvernementales. Mais Asmara a rejeté les accusations soudanaises. Le dirigeant libyen M. Kadhafi a appelé l’Union africaine (UA) à entreprendre une action urgente pour mettre fin à cette tension entre les deux pays. Le président de la Commission de l’UA a demandé à toutes les parties impliquées dans le conflit soudanais de cesser les hostilités comme preuve de leur engagement en faveur des pourparlers de paix qui doivent reprendre à Machakos. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 9 octobre 2002)

* Tanzania. Air Tanzania attracts $20m bid — 7 October: South African Airways (SAA) has offered to pay $20m for a 49% stake in Air Tanzania. If the bid is accepted, it will be the South African airline’s first acquisition outside its home market. «SAA intends to establish and develop a strong East African hub based on a Tanzanian branded and network carrier,» said a spokesman for the group. SAA emerged as the only bidder after Kenya Airways said it would rather concentrate its efforts on establishing a regional East African airline. Tanzania, one of the world’s poorest countries, is privatising up to 75% of its airline in order to meet obligations to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Established in 1977, Air Tanzania owns one plane and leases two others. Based in Dar-es-Salaam, it serves the East African cities of Nairobi, Entebbe and Kigali, and sporadically flies to a handful of Central and Southern African capitals. SAA is Africa’s biggest carrier and is in the process of acquiring 41 Airbus planes. It has recently introduced new routes to Ethiopia and Senegal. There is no immediate indication of how it plans to finance the purchase if its offer is accepted. (BBC News, UK, 7  October 2002)

* Tchad. Attaque de la rébellion — La rébellion armée du Tibesti (extrême nord du Tchad) a repris les hostilités contre le régime de N’Djamena. Le 3 octobre, un commando du MDJT (Mouvement pour la justice et la démocratie au Tchad) a attaqué l’aéroport stratégique de Faya (750 km au nord-est de N’Djamena), détruisant deux hélicoptères militaires et un petit avion d’attaque au sol. C’est la première opération des rebelles dans cette région, dont les actions se situent au Tibesti. Il s’agirait d’un raid audacieux mais limité: un seul véhicule aurait mené l’assaut. Il a eu lieu un peu plus d’une semaine après le décès du président fondateur du MDJT, Youssouf Togoïmi. Son successeur, Hassan Mardégué, pourrait avoir voulu signer sa prise de fonction. Selon les rebelles, l’attaque aurait fait 20 morts dans les rangs des forces gouvernementales, qui parlaient elles-mêmes de deux soldats tués. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 5 octobre 2002)

* Uganda. 100,000 ordered to move closer to camps — 3 October: Civilians in the north of the country have been ordered by the army to leave their homes and move closer to camps protected by the military. Army spokesman Shaban Bantariza said that up to 100,000 people in three districts were affected. He said the move was being made to prevent civilians getting caught in the crossfire between rebels of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and the military. The Ugandan army is trying to wipe out the LRA, which has been fighting the government of President Yoweri Museveni for 15 years. Major Bantariza said that rebels hid in villagers’ huts when they were pursued by the army, and civilians should therefore move closer to areas the rebels could not reach. Civilians in the districts of Gulu, Pader and Kitgum have been given 48 hours to move into towns under the army’s control, or camps set up for the hundreds of thousands of people already displaced by the fighting, AP news agency reported. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 3 October 2002)

* Tunisie. Construction d’autoroute — Le 7 octobre, la Banque européenne d’investissement (BEI) a accordé à la Tunisie un prêt de 120 millions d’euros pour le financement de l’extension d’une autoroute reliant Tunis à Sfax, deuxième ville du pays, à 260 km de la capitale. Le prêt, dont la durée de remboursement s’étale sur 20 ans avec 5 ans de grâce, est destiné à la construction de deux tronçons longs de 98 km, le premier reliant Msaken à El Jem, et le deuxième allant d’El Jem à Sfax. Le coût total du projet, dont le démarrage est prévu en 2003 et l’achèvement en 2007, est estimé à environ 315 millions d’euros. La BEI y contribue à hauteur de 39%. (AP, 7 octobre 2002)

* Ouganda. “Camps protégés” — Des milliers de civils du nord de l’Ouganda ont été sommés d’abandonner, dans un délai de 48 heures, leurs habitations pour regagner des “camps protégés” par les forces armées ougandaises. L’ultimatum concernerait quelque 100.000 personnes des districts de Gulu, Pader et Kitgum, qui subissent depuis des années les attaques de la LRA (Armée de résistance du Seigneur). Le porte-parole de l’armée a déclaré à la BBC que la décision ne vise qu’à épargner la population civile piégée dans les combats. L’armée mène une vaste offensive pour éradiquer la guérilla. - Par ailleurs, au terme d’une rencontre entre le président Museveni et une délégation des leaders des communautés religieuses des districts acholi, le chef de l’Etat aurait donné son accord pour créer une zone protégée afin de favoriser le dialogue. Dans cette zone, les religieux pourront rencontrer les rebelles avec des garanties pour leur sécurité, du moins de la part du gouvernement. La zone sera également accessible aux convois humanitaires. Le président a invité les religieux à poursuivre leur oeuvre de médiation pour trouver une solution pacifique à la guerre en cours. (Misna, Italie, 3-4 octobre 2002)

* Uganda. Junk choppers to be returned to Belarus — 7 October: The helicopter gunships whose acquisition five years ago continues to rock the Government, have been dismantled, loaded into containers for re-shipment back to Belarus, a former Soviet Union republic. The two Mi-24 helicopters, whose controversial purchase in 1997 is reported to have caused government a direct loss of US $6.5m, are being returned for overhaul. An informed source says: «The Government made a decision recently to fly the helicopters back to Belarus for refurbishment. This will involve fully overhauling them. The Director of the Airforce, Brig. Joshua Masaba, recently led a team to meet officials of the Belarussian government corporation (BY) to discuss the terms of the overhaul». Masaba declined to comment. But other sources said there was still disagreement over who should foot the cost of flying the choppers back to Belarus and paying for the overhaul. Some sources said the suppliers, Consolidated Sales Corporation (CSC), had agreed to foot the costs of the overhaul. But it was still unclear how much the exercise would cost. (New Vision, Uganda, 7 October 2002)

* Ouganda. Résultats du recensement — Le 5 octobre, l’institut national de statistiques a diffusé les résultats définitifs du recensement 2002. Depuis 1991, date du dernier recensement, la population a augmenté de 7,9 millions de personnes. La croissance annuelle a été de 3,3%. 27% de la population habitent au centre du pays, 25% à l’est et 26% à l’ouest. Le district de Kampala, la capitale, est le plus peuplé avec 1,2 million de personnes; suivi de Mabarara avec 1,1 million. L’augmentation de la population est très significative, tenant compte de la diffusion du sida et de la guerre dans le nord du pays. (Misna, Italie, 7 octobre 2002)

* Zambia. Women slam GM policy — Zambia’s government has come under fire over the food crisis, the worst in 10 years, with some 2.5 million people in urgent need of food aid. Opposition politicians and women’s groups have criticised its decision to reject offers of genetically modified grain, and say that people are now starving to death. The government has reacted angrily, saying their critics are merely making political capital out of the situation. At the weekend, an opposition politician reported that three people in his Moomba constituency, in the drought-stricken south of the country, had died because they did not have enough to eat. On 3 October, the women’s movement joined the fray with a strongly-worded statement condemning the government’s reaction to Zambia’s food crisis. An umbrella organisation of women’s groups, the NGOCC, appealed to the government to stop its political squabbles and get on with the job of feeding people before more lives are lost. «The government should quickly provide the needed relief food rather than refuting reports of starving people and threatening to arrest members of parliament who demand food for their areas,» the group said in a statement. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 4 October 2002)

* Zambie. Soutien au kwacha — Les négociants zambiens sont aux abois. A partir du 7 octobre, le dollar américain va cesser d’être la monnaie utilisée dans les transactions quotidiennes. Le gouvernement vient de déclarer que toute transaction effectuée localement en monnaie américaine serait considérée comme illégale et sanctionnée par une amende et même d’une peine de prison. Le gouvernement qui essaie de soutenir le kwacha, la monnaie nationale, fait face à une forte inflation et à un déficit budgétaire. Les économistes reconnaissent que le kwacha est aujourd’hui insolvable et que sa dévaluation face au dollar ne tarderait pas. Pour le ministre des Finances, la stabilisation du kwacha ne pourra s’effectuer que par le contrôle du taux de change. (Al Ahram Hebdo, Egypte, 2-8 octobre 2002)

* Zambie. Il dénonce la famine: arrêté — La police zambienne a arrêté un député d’opposition qui avait révélé que trois personnes étaient mortes de faim dans sa circonscription, a annoncé le 9 octobre son avocat. Après de longs interrogatoires, il a été  remis en liberté mais maintient ses déclarations sur la famine dans sa circonscription. (La Croix, France, 10 octobre 2002)

* Zimbabwe. Elephant collision derails train — 6 October: A passenger train derailed in Zimbabwe after it hit an elephant near Hwange in the west of the country. At least 22 people were injured and taken to hospital. The train was on its way to Bulawayo from the resort town of Victoria Falls. The accident occurred on the edge of Hwange national park —one of Zimbabwe’s major tourist attractions, known for its abundance of wildlife. There is no details on the condition of the elephant. (BBC News, UK, 7 October 2002)

* Zimbabwe. Dissidents banned from church — 6 October: A court has approved a petition by the Anglican bishop of Harare to ban a group of Christians from church after they protested his outspoken support of President Robert Mugabe, the group’s lawyer said on 5 October. Nineteen church wardens, officials and choir members disrupted Bishop Nolbert Kunonga’s sermons last month to protest their political content and praise of Mugabe. The ban takes effect tomorrow. Kunonga, head of the Anglican Church in Harare, has divided Christians for his outspoken support of Mugabe’s push to seize white-owned farmland and distribute it to landless blacks. The interim order banned them from worshipping at the main Anglican Cathedral in downtown Harare and from visiting church-owned buildings and activities until further notice. In court documents dated Sept. 25, Kunonga accused the 19 church officials of disrupting services, with choir members refusing to provide choral music and on one occasion leading the congregation into «uncontrollably» singing hymns to stop the service. He also alleged some church wardens failed to follow routine administrative and financial procedures and were intent on subverting the authority of the bishop’s office. Mtetwa said the bishop’s application and the court order were unusual because under diocese rules, trustees needed to agree before any legal action is taken. Disputes in the church are normally considered first by the church chancellor and two registrars, all three of them lawyers. Kunonga was elected bishop last year, amid accusations he used his influence with the ruling party to secure the post. He was also accused of firing priests who opposed his nomination. (CNN, USA, 6 October 2002)

* Zimbabwe. Gas stations run dry again — 6 October: The government said a fuel shortage that has led worried drivers in Harare to endure long lines to buy up gasoline could be blamed on  fuel hoarding by private distributors. Private oil industry executives said panic buying may have been triggered by rumours that a new oil deal with Libya had run into trouble. A report on new fuel shortages by a team of government investigators is scheduled for release on 7 October, the state-owned Sunday Mail newspaper reported. The government report said private distributors were hoarding fuel, leading to panic buying that has caused gas stations to run dry, the newspaper said. In the report, the Energy Ministry said the main Harare depot of the state National Oil Company had sufficient reserves to meet the capital’s fuel needs. The National Oil Company of Zimbabwe, the fuel procurement monopoly, said last month it was trying to raise US $9 million to pay outstanding freight and pumping charges for a consignment of Libyan gas berthed at the Mozambique port of Beira, causing delays in delivery. Its silence on whether delivery of regular supplies could be paid for by the economically devastated southern African country has fanned rumours of worsening shortages. Zimbabwe signed a new oil deal with Libya on September 11 to supply US $30 million worth of gas a month for the next year. (CNN, USA, 6 October 2002)