* Somalia. 2003 — make or break year for the TNG — In its review of Somalia for 2002, IRIN says that the high hopes inspired by the convening of the Eldoret peace conference have yet to be brought to fruition and the general mood is one of pessimism. Some of the important warlords have left Eldoret and those still there are bickering among themselves and accusing IGAD of mismanagement. The ceasefire agreement has already been violated in Puntland and Baidoa, and in the absence of any means of enforcing the ceasefire, there is little chance of it holding. The Mogadishu warlords and the Transitional National Government (TNG) have signed an agreement to open the Mogadishu seaport and airport and to cooperate in fighting crime in the city. If the agreement is implemented, this could herald peace for the city. For the TNG, 2003 will be a make-or-break year. If it expands its sphere of influence by entering into agreements with the Juba Valley Alliance and all or at least most of the Mogadishu faction leaders, then this will be the year when the TNG will have turned the corner and Somalis will be able to see light at the end of the tunnel. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 17 January 2003)

* Somalia. Somalis are smuggling children overseas — 17 January: A United Nations investigation has revealed that Somali parents are paying up to $10,000 to have their children smuggled abroad. Some 250 children a month are reported to be sent via well-established routes. Families send them away believing they will have a better future in the rich, Western countries. However, the investigation revealed many of the children suffer trauma, while some may face physical abuse, or become involved in prostitution. The report says many Somali parents see no future for their children at home. They smuggle them abroad, believing it to be an escape from poverty and conflict. Agents are paid to take children to countries such as Britain or Sweden. Once there, the children are often abandoned at police stations or airports and left to make their own way. Although immigration procedures were tightened up after the 11 September attacks in the United States, the smugglers have simply opened up new routes. They use fake passports and give the children new identities. One smuggler boasts that he has a 100% success rate. The report says many of the children suffer psychological trauma. They are vulnerable to exploitation. Some may become involved in prostitution or benefit fraud. Most parents send their children away because they want them to have a better education, but only a handful succeed. Some of the children — regarded as failures — end up back their homeland. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 17 January 2003)

* Somalie. Crimes contre des lycéens — Le 17 janvier, les Nations unies ont condamné une série de meurtres et d’enlèvements de lycéens commis en Somalie par des miliciens. Plusieurs lycéens ont été tués le 24 décembre 2002 et d’autres blessés par des hommes armés qui ont attaqué leur bus à Mogadiscio. “Nous exhortons les dirigeants somaliens à respecter les règles de protection de l’enfant”, a déclaré Maxwel Gaylard, coordinateur humanitaire de l’Onu pour la Somalie. (Le Figaro, France, 18 janvier 2003)

* Somalia. Peace talks in chaos — The peace talks unfolding here aimed at ending Somalia’s long civil war have turned as chaotic as the country itself. Warlords are trying to remove the mediator. Hotels are threatening to evict delegates over unpaid bills. The police were recently ordered to expel the many Somalis who arrived without invitations. The negotiations, now in their fourth month, were troubled from the start. Hundreds of extra delegates showed up in October, prompting a brisk sale in bogus credentials. There have been walkouts, shouting matches and a protest by an unpaid hotel during Ramadan that left delegates from the largely Muslim country who had been fasting all day unfed. «The tragedy of it all is that it’s probably better positioned than any conference in the past to accomplish something,» said one of the handful of Western diplomats tracking the negotiations. «I wouldn’t say it’s hopeless, although it certainly looks hopeless when you’re there.» Somalia looks just as troubled. It has no national government to speak of, a state of limbo that has existed for a dozen years. Instead, heavily armed warlords rule by brute force, a throwback to medieval times. Although most Somalis are desperate for an end to more than a decade of anarchy, they still associate more with clan than country. (On 20 January, Kenya’s newly elected government appointed a new special envoy for the Somali peace talks. He is retired Ambassador Bethwel Kiplagat, to replace Elijah Mwangale). (Int. Herald Tribune, USA, 20 January 2003)

* Somalie. Nouveau négociateur — Elijah Mwangale, chef des négociateurs aux colloques de paix pour la Somalie en cours à Eldoret (Kenya), a été officiellement remplacé par Betrhuel Kiplagat, ex-ambassadeur de Nairobi à Londres. La nouvelle a été confirmée le 21 janvier. La gestion des négociations par Mwangale provoquait de plus en plus de mécontentements. Après être parvenus le 28 octobre dernier à un cessez-le-feu entre les différentes factions, les colloques étaient entrés dans une phase de blocage. Une grande partie des “Seigneurs de guerre” avait accusé Mwangale de mal conduire les travaux et avait abandonné ces derniers jours la table des négociations. (Misna, Italie, 21 janvier 2003)

* Afrique du Sud. Accords sur la main d’oeuvre étrangère — Le 17 janvier, le ministre sud-africain du Travail, M. Mdladlana, et son homologue mozambicain, M. Seven, ont signé un accord destiné à améliorer le bon fonctionnement du marché du travail, notamment grâce à la protection et la sécurité des travailleurs immigrés des deux pays. Cette réglementation devrait empêcher l’emploi illégal de Mozambicains en Afrique du Sud et leur exploitation par des employeurs sans scrupules, a indiqué M. Mdladlana. Actuellement, 72.000 Mozambicains travaillent légalement en Afrique du Sud, dont 12.000 dans les fermes, le reste dans les mines. L’accord signé avec le Mozambique intervient une semaine après la visite de Mdladlana au Zimbabwe, où il a fait des concessions pour “régulariser le statut” des Zimbabwéens qui sont entrés illégalement en Afrique du Sud pour chercher du travail dans les fermes situées dans la zone frontalière. Environ 10.000 Zimbabwéens travaillent actuellement comme ouvriers agricoles dans la province du Limpopo. (PANA, Sénégal, 17 janvier 2003)

* Afrique du Sud. Massacre dans un sauna — Le 20 janvier, au Cap, des inconnus armés ont mené une véritable descente militaire dans un sauna fréquenté par des homosexuels, tuant huit personnes et blessant grièvement deux autres. La police s’interroge sur l’implication du crime organisé dans ce massacre visant directement la communauté homosexuelle. (La Croix, France, 21 janvier 2003)

* South Africa. Assassins blamed for Cape killings — 21 January: Those who carried out the brutal murder of eight members of staff in a gay massage parlour in Cape Town on 20 January may belong to a Johannesburg gang brought in as hired guns. Police are understood to be investigating whether run-ins with drug dealers or gangs may have led to the attack, in which two other men were injured, the Cape Times reports. Police have appealed for help to catch the perpetrators and said they want to question four white men seen in a BMW. Ten men were shot in the head at close range on 21 January. One of the two survivors is in a critical condition. Some of the victims had their throats slit. The gang in question, the Fast Guns, is a powerful Johannesburg gang created 15 years ago, with strong links with another Cape Town gang. The Cape Times says that the Fast Guns have reportedly been recruited in the past to carry out «hits» in Cape Town, 1,600 km away, to throw local investigators off track. Police sources told the newspaper that investigations were centred on drugs, protection racket or possible business dealings gone wrong. (BBC News, UK, 21 January 2003)

* South Africa. AIDS hits population — The HIV/AIDS pandemic sweeping South Africa is forecast to reduce the country’s potential population growth by 12m people over the next 12 years, a study by the Pretoria-based University of South Africa said on 20 January. The study estimated that without HIV/AIDS South Africa’s population would have grown to 61m by 2015. But the effects of the disease would leave it with 49m. Life expectancy in the worst hit provinces, such as KwaZulu-Natal, would fall to 33 years in eight years. South Africa has a population of about 45m of which about 11 per cent have the disease. The country has one of the highest HIV/AIDS infection rates. About 25 per cent of adults are HIV positive. (Financial Times, UK, 21 January 2003)

* South Africa. Land reform progressing well — In a bid to prevent widespread land invasions South Africa has sped-up its land reform process, with the Land Claims Commission having validated 95 percent of claims submitted since 2001. News reports quoted Land Affairs Minister Thoko Didiza as saying that government was «trying to fast-track the land redistribution process» in order to meet President Thabo Mbeki’s 2005 deadline for completion of the reform programme. Mbeki’s deadline followed what Chief Land Claims Commissioner Wallace Mgoqi had termed «tremendous claimant and public pressure to speed up the process» in November last year. An extra R1.7-billion (about US $192 million) over the next three years had been specially allocated to the department of land affairs — before the 2003/2004 budget — as a demonstration by the government of «how serious it is about delivery in land restitution», he was quoted as saying. Land Affairs spokeswoman Nana Zenani confirmed reports that 35,294 of the 37,838 claims had so far been validated. (IRIN, Kenya, 21 January 2003)

* Afrique du Sud. Déficit démographique — La population de l’Afrique du Sud, actuellement de l’ordre de 43 millions, devrait connaître un déficit démographique de 12 millions de personnes d’ici 2015, en raison de la pandémie du VIH -sida, selon une étude conjointe de l’université de Pretoria et de l’Institut indépendant de recherche BMR. (La Libre Belgique, 22 janvier 2003)

* Sudan. Black pharaoh trove uncovered — 20 January: A team of French and Swiss archaeologists working in the Nile Valley have uncovered ancient statues described as sculptural masterpieces in northern Sudan. The archaeologists from the University of Geneva discovered a pit full of large monuments and finely carved statues of the Nubian kings known as the black pharaohs. The Swiss head of the archaeological expedition said that the find was of worldwide importance. The black pharaohs, as they were known, ruled over a mighty empire stretching along the Nile Valley 2,500 years ago. The pit, which was full of ancient monuments, is located between some ruined temples on the banks of the Nile. It had not been opened for over 2,000 years. Inside, the archaeologists made a breathtaking discovery. The statues of the black pharaohs are highly polished, finely carved and made of granite. The name of the king is engraved on the back and on the feet of each sculpture. The head of the expedition, Charles Bonnet, described them as very beautiful. They were important not just for the history of Sudan but also for world art. The Nubians were powerful and wealthy kings who controlled large territories along the Nile. Their land was known as the Kingdom of Kush. They controlled the valuable trade routes along the river but were eventually conquered by their neighbours from the north. The ancient Egyptians made the pit into which the monuments and statues were piled. Many of the sculptures were savagely destroyed, with smashed heads and broken feet. Professor Bonnet says that this shows that the Egyptians were not content with simply conquering Kush. They also wanted to obliterate the memory of the black pharaohs and their unique culture from the face of the earth. (BBC News, UK, 20 January 2003)

* Soudan. Reprise des négociations — Le 16 janvier, le leader du Mouvement/Armée de libération du peuple soudanais (SPLM/A), John Garang, a demandé à la communauté internationale d’obliger le gouvernement de Khartoum à revenir à la table de négociations de paix intersoudanais, au lendemain du retrait de ce dernier des pourparlers de Nairobi. Les représentants de Khartoum ont boycotté ces négociations, principalement à cause d’un différend entre les deux parties au sujet de trois régions situées au centre du Soudan, dont le gouvernement ne veut pas qu’elles entrent dans le cadre des négociations. Pour sa part, le même jour, le gouvernement soudanais a annoncé que les discussions reprendront le 22 janvier. — Le 21 janvier au soir, une délégation du gouvernement est arrivée au Kenya pour la reprise des négociations, sous la conduite du ministre d’Etat chargé de la Paix, M. Idris Mohammed. Le SPLA a accepté de limiter l’ordre du jour au partage des richesses et du pouvoir. (D’après PANA, Sénégal, 16-22 janvier 2003)

* Sudan. Sharia row threatens peace talks — 22 January: Sudan’s Government has angrily dismissed rebel demands that Islamic or Sharia law should not be enforced in the capital, Khartoum. Sudanese Vice-President Ali Uthman Muhammad Taha was speaking as peace talks with the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) rebels are set to resume in neighbouring Kenya on 23 January. The Christian and animist SPLA says Khartoum should have a special status if all Sudanese are to feel at home there. The division of oil wealth and political power between the south and the Muslim north are other key issues to be tackled in Kenya. The two sides have agreed to observe a ceasefire for the duration of the talks, but both have accused each other of launching attacks in the oil-producing south. The peace talks were postponed two weeks ago after the government refused to include three regions in central Sudan in the discussions. Representatives from both sides are now in Nairibi. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 22 January 2003)

* Tunisia. Eight die in floods — Floods sweeping northern and central Tunisia have left at least eight dead, including six children, officials said on 16 January. Torrential rains have drenched most of the North African nation’s provinces over the past week, flooding some northwestern areas as rivers burst banks. Officials said most of the dead were schoolchildren taken by surprise by suddenly rising water as they crossed rivers on their way home from school. Two girls, aged eight, drowned in a river at the weekend in Sbeitla province, local officials said. Six other people, four of them children, died in floods in villages in Le Kef province. Meteorologists said the weather was back to normal now after the heavy rains, which followed four years of severe drought. (CNN, USA, 16 January 2003)

* Tunisie. Bilan des inondations: 8 morts — Les inondations qui ont affecté la Tunisie le week-end dernier ont fait huit morts dans le nord-ouest du pays, rapporte la presse locale le 17 janvier. La ville de Boussalem a été la plus affectée. Le niveau des eaux y a atteint trois mètres par endroit. Des cités entières ont été submergées par les eaux. Les populations se sont réfugiées sur les toits de leurs maisons et ont dû être évacuées par hélicoptères. Les pluies torrentielles se sont abattues sur tout le pays après quatre années successives de sécheresse. (AP, 17 janvier 2003)

* Zambia. Olive branch for Opposition — 17 January: President Levy Mwanawasa has officially opened parliament for a new year by offering an olive branch to the opposition. Last year, his first year in office, was tough for he inherited an economic mess and the country was hit by the worst food crisis in 10 years. The political front was not much easier either as he faced a strong, vocal opposition which criticised his government as incompetent and quickly launched a legal challenge against what they called his rigging into power. The lavish opening ceremony, including a 21-gun salute and a fly-over, was in stark contrast to President Mwanawasa’s state of the nation address. He plodded through a marathon two-and-a-half hour but mainly lacklustre speech, which sent one MP into the corridor to puff on a cigarette in the hope of waking up. But the politics section did grab people’s attention, especially when the president said it was time for the ruling Movement for Multi-party Democracy and opposition parties to bury the political hatchet and work together as government of national unity. Last year, Mr Mwanawasa said he would never include opposition members in his cabinet because they had mounted a legal challenge to his election. This year’s change of heart may be precisely because of the election petition, which is currently being heard by the Supreme Court. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 17 January 2003)

* Zambie. Ouverture à l’opposition — Le 17 janvier, le président Mwanawasa a proposé aux membres de l’opposition présente au Parlement de faire partie de son gouvernement, suite à une attaque virulente de ses adversaires qui se sont coalisés en vue de le destituer. Selon le président, la pétition déposée contre lui au sujet de son élection contestée en décembre, est susceptible de durer très longtemps, risquant de priver le pays de l’énergie nécessaire pour aller de l’avant. Il a indiqué que la Zambie avait besoin d’hommes clairvoyants et intègres qui se joignent à lui et à son gouvernement pour faire avancer le pays. Reconnaissant que ses opposants ont formé un redoutable front, il a affirmé que “ce genre d’alliance ne réussit pas, il ne sert qu’à affaiblir le gouvernement au détriment de la Zambie”. (D’après PANA, Sénégal, 17 janvier 2003)

* Zimbabwe. Compagnie de fret aérien — Une nouvelle compagnie de fret aérien qui va surtout desservir les routes régionales et internationales, a été inaugurée au Zimbabwe le 16 janvier. Selon son directeur général, M. Edd Nyagura, la compagnie comble un vide laissé par une compagnie publique qui a fait faillite trois ans auparavant. Elle se rendra au Congo-RDC, en Tanzanie, à Dubai et à Amsterdam, pour ensuite étendre ses activités. L’industrie de l’horticulture du Zimbabwe a été durement touchée par le manque de transports fiables vers l’Europe depuis la faillite de la compagnie publique et le retrait de la plupart des compagnies aériennes en raison de l’instabilité politique. (PANA, Sénégal, 16 janvier 2003)

* Zimbabwe. «We’re in crisis», admits army chief — The commander of Zimbabwe’s armed forces has publicly admitted for the first time that the country is deep in crisis and has recommended a national task force should resolve the country’s emergency. The powerful head of the Zimbabwe National Army and the Air Force of Zimbabwe spoke out while most senior politicians, including President Robert Mugabe, refuse to publicly acknowledge the country is in turmoil. Some blame the drought for the problems. Although General Vitalis Zvinavashe reiterated his loyalty to Mr Mugabe, observers in Zimbabwe saw his statement as a direct confirmation that senior aides to Mr Mugabe were greatly worried by the country’s slide into perdition and many of them would be relieved if their leader quit. This week, the general denied hatching a plan to send President Mugabe into retirement in return for immunity from prosecution. Morgan Tsvangirai, the opposition leader, said he was approached with the plan by a mediator who said he was representing General Zvinavashe and Emmerson Mnangagwa, the Parliamentary speaker. General Zvinavashe said Zimbabweans had to be told frankly that the country was in a crisis. «First we must admit there is a crisis,» General Zvinavashe told Business Tribune, a newspaper owned by Mutumwa Mawere, a prominent businessman with strong links to President Mugabe and the ruling Zanu-PF. «Everyone can see that. So we must do something about it. It is important for the nation to be told that we are facing an economic crisis. In my view, it is not right to keep quiet and let nature take its course.» (The Independent, UK, 17 January 2003)

* Zimbabwe. L’armée reconnaît la crise — Le chef de l’armée zimbabwéenne, le général Vitalis Zvinavashe, a reconnu que le pays se trouve dans une crise économique. “Il ne serait pas correct de ne pas le reconnaître”, a-t-il dit au Business Tribune. Jusqu’à récemment, les fonctionnaires zimbabwéens soulignaient que seule la sécheresse constituait un problème pour le pays. Mais l’inflation monte de 1% par jour et le pays connaît une grave pénurie de carburant. Selon Zvinavashe, il faut constituer un groupe de travail pour étudier la crise économique et politique. La semaine dernière, The Times avait annoncé que Zvinavashe était impliqué dans une tentative de convaincre le président Mugabe à se retirer. Le général a tout nié. (D’après De Standaard, Belgique, 18 janvier 2003)

* Zimbabwe. Famine plagues Zimbabwe — 21 January: Hungry people queue for the meagre rations offered by church workers — their children’s hair already changing colour from malnutrition. The elderly too are beginning to suffer terribly — not much food and not much hope of it either. Misrule, corruption and drought are combining to make a catastrophe. Among the poorest of the poor, some compete with wild animals for what they can scavenge. Many people have abandoned their homes in search of food and work. «For three days I haven’t eaten, because of this I have no energy, that is why you see me here,» explained one man that we met. Yet the commercial farms that could have provided much of the food needed are lying abandoned, their owners forced out. As the economic crisis gets worse so does the level of government repression. Nobody who opposes the government now is safe from torture, from arbitrary imprisonment. We met a group of people, many of them high profile, who have just been released from police custody. In this country even members of parliament and human rights lawyers can end up in torture chambers. All of those we met said they had been subjected to electric shock torture. «The world must know of the kind of life that the people of Zimbabwe are living under. It is terrible,» Job Sikhala, an opposition member of parliament, said from his hospital bed, where he is recovering. Petrol queues throughout the city are a symptom of the crisis. (Fergal Keane, BBC, 21 January 2003)

* Zimbabwe. Petrol bomb attack — 21 January: Attackers have thrown petrol bombs at a ZANU-PF office in a suburb of the Zimbabwean capital, Harare. One person died and seven people were hurt, several seriously, say police. Assistant Commissioner Wayne Bvudzijena said about 50 young men drove into Harare’s western Kuwadzana township on the night of 20 January, smashing property and assaulting pedestrians before throwing petrol bombs at the offices. «It’s a political attack. We suspect that it is related to the by-election to be held in the suburb,» Mr Bvudzijena said. A parliamentary by-election is expected to take place soon, following the death in police custody last year of an opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) MP, Learnmore Jongwe. Police are blaming the attack on opposition supporters and have made 16 arrests. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 21 January 2003)

* Zimbabwe. Violences préélectorales — Le 20 janvier, une personne a été tuée et sept blessées, dont plusieurs gravement, lors de l’attaque d’un bâtiment de la banlieue d’Harare commise à l’aide d’engins incendiaires. Seize personnes, toutes membres du Mouvement pour le changement démocratique (MDC, opposition), ont été arrêtées par la police à la suite de cette attaque menée à Kuwadzana par “un groupe de jeunes MDC armés de matraques, bombes incendiaires et couteaux”. On soupçonne une action politique qui serait liée à l’élection législative partielle qui doit se tenir dans cette ville. (Le Figaro, France, 22 janvier 2003)

* Zimbabwe. England want safety guarantee — England and Wales Cricket Board chairman David Morgan has warned England could still pull out of their World Cup match in Zimbabwe unless players’ safety can be guaranteed. International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive Malcolm Speed is visiting the troubled state on Wednesday with Dr Ali Bacher — who is chief executive of the World Cup organising committee. They will report back to an ICC board meeting at 1000 GMT on 24 January which is when the final decision on Zimbabwe will be made. The visit follows further unrest in Zimbabwe on 21 January, when one person died and seven others injured after petrol bombs were thrown at an office in a suburb of Harare. And Morgan said although none of the 15-man World Cup party had indicated they would pull out of match for moral or political reasons, concerns over security remained. Speaking about Wednesday’s visit, Speed said he was aware of the ongoing concerns about the safety and security of players and officials. (BBC News, UK, 22 January 2003)