* Africa. African women denounce genital cutting — On 5 February, some of the activists who gathered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to combat the traditional practice of genital cutting, had had the procedure performed on them when they were girls. Others, before learning of the serious health risks, had allowed their daughters to undergo the painful rite, which is steeped in tradition and myth. But whether they knew the practice personally or not, the women from across Africa who attended an international conference on genital cutting said that far more had to be done to end what they consider female genital mutilation. To lend urgency to the campaign, the first ladies of Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Mali and Guinea all condemned the cutting of young girls, which is practised in 28 countries in Africa and the Middle East. Chantal Campaoré, married to Burkina Faso’s president, called female genital cutting «the most widespread and deadly of all violence victimizing women and girls in Africa.» Participants urged governments in Africa, as well as those throughout the rest of the world, to put in place bans on the practice. Still, they acknowledged that ending the cutting will only come by educating communities -— young girls and boys, their parents and the local leaders who endorse the practice and carry it out. (New York Times, USA, 7 February 2003)

* Africa. The Media reflects on cricket’s World Cup — With the Cricket World Cup getting under way this weekend, Media Watch looks at what newspapers in host countries South Africa, Kenya and Zimbabwe have been saying about the controversy which has engulfed the tournament. The long-running row between England and Zimbabwe has been compounded by New Zealand’s continuing refusal to play in Nairobi against Kenya, and Australia’s worries over travelling to Bulawayo. On the eve of the tournament’s opening, leader-writers and commentators hope the spirit of the contest will overcome the controversies. The Kenya Times slams the New Zealand cricket team’s decision to pull out of their first scheduled match in Kenya — the Kiwis cited concerns over terrorism -as «whimsical and at best absurd». Kenya’s leading Sunday paper, the Sunday Nation, says New Zealand would be no safer if they were playing at Lord’s cricket ground in London where «they might need to worry that Osama [Bin Laden] could poison their soup.» The Standard takes a similar line saying that terrorism can strike anywhere and any time. «Kenya is not the first country to experience terrorism and it is not going to be the last,» it says. It argues that the best approach to tackle terrorism is «not to run away from it but to fight it». The Popular independent daily The Nation says that there is «some sympathy for England’s predicament, though relatively little for New Zealand». An eve-of-tournament editorial in South Africa’s The Star accentuates the positive, saying the tournament «will be a massive event for South Africa». Zimbabwe’s pro-government The Herald is keen to see the contest «roar into life». But with the competition opening at the end of the same week that saw opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai put on trial for conspiring to murder President Mugabe, other papers continue to have misgivings. Zimbabwe’s Financial Gazette condemns the government’s «heavy-handed tactics» in attempting to stop the media and international observers from monitoring the Tsvangirai trial proceedings in Harare. The Zimbabwe Independent meanwhile predicts a brutal response by the authorities to civic protesters who have threatened to disrupt the tournament by staging demonstrations. (BBC News, UK, 7 February 2003)

* Afrique. L’accès aux médicaments — L’Organisation mondiale du commerce (OMC) a repris les discussions sur l’importation des médicaments génériques, mais n’est pas encore arrivée à une conclusion. Lors de son sommet à Doha, en novembre 2001, l’OMC avait affirmé que la protection des brevets sur les médicaments ne pouvait pas primer le droit à la santé. Les pays en développement ont donc le droit, en cas d’épidémie, de produire chez eux des médicaments génériques. Mais le problème des pays qui n’ont pas de capacité de production locale et qui devraient importer les médicaments génériques, n’avait pas été réglé à Doha, l’OMC se donnant jusqu’à fin 2002 pour se mettre d’accord. Le 20 décembre 2002, un accord a failli être conclu, auquel les Etats-Unis ont cependant opposé leur veto. Le conseil de l’OMC qui devait trancher la question au début de cette semaine, s’est donné un délai supplémentaire: il se réunira du 18 au 21 février pour examiner un nouveau compromis. L’intérêt des malades semble en tous cas passer après la défense des grands laboratoires. (D’après Le Soir, Belgique, 11 février 2003)

* Africa. Coalition To Stop The Use Of Child Soldiers — Amnesty International has issued the following Press Release: «On the eve of the anniversary of the entry into force of an international treaty banning child soldiers, the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers warned that the problem of child soldiers, far from being solved, is still prevalent. “Child soldiers continue to be abused as foot soldiers, porters, look-outs and sexual slaves — the problem is not decreasing but, with each new conflict, children are at risk of being drawn into the fighting,” says Casey Kelso, Coordinator of the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers. (...) In December 2002, the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s report to the Security Council, identified 23 parties to conflict in five country situations that involved child soldiers: Afghanistan, Burundi, Congo RDC, Liberia and Somalia. At the end of January 2003, the UN Security Council adopted a new resolution on children and armed conflicts calling on the Secretary-General to include information about protecting children in all his country-specific reports». (Amnesty International, 11 February 2003)

* Afrique. Enfants soldats — Le 12 février 2002, entrait en vigueur un traité des Nations unies destiné à lutter contre l’utilisation des enfants comme soldats lors des conflits armés dans le monde. Un an plus tard, les enfants prennent toujours part aux guerres d’adultes. “Des enfants continuent d’être exploités comme fantassins, porteurs, guetteurs ou esclaves sexuels”, souligne Casey Kelso, coordinateur de la Coalition pour mettre fin à l’utilisation d’enfants soldats, pour qui le problème reste entier malgré l’entrée en vigueur d’un traité international. En décembre 2002, le secrétaire général des Nations unies, Kofi Annan, a présenté au Conseil de sécurité un rapport identifiant 23 parties à des conflits faisant usage d’enfants soldats dans cinq pays en guerre: l’Afghanistan, le Burundi, le Liberia, le Congo-Kinshasa et la Somalie. Outre les groupes rebelles, l’Onu a également reproché aux forces régulières du Burundi, du Liberia et du Congo-Kinshasa d’exploiter les enfants comme soldats. Le 30 janvier dernier, le Conseil a adopté une nouvelle résolution sur les enfants et les conflits armés, dans laquelle elle appelle M. Annan à inclure des informations sur la protection des enfants dans tous ses rapports spécifiques sur les pays. (Ndlr: Selon l’AFP, les mouvements armés congolais qui se battent en Ituri (RDC) recrutent tous des enfants soldats, qui forment parfois le gros de leurs troupes. “L’Ituri regorge d’enfants soldats”, déplore un responsable humanitaire qui opère dans la région). (AP, 11 février 2003)

* Africa. Action against the Media — Chad: On 6 February, Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) said that Nadjikimo Bénoudjita, publication director of the weekly Notre Temps, and Mbainaye Bétoubam, the newspaper’s deputy editor-in-chief, were sentenced to six months’ imprisonment and fined two million CFA francs and interest, in N’Djamena. The court also barred the journalists from exercising their profession for eight months and ordered their paper closed for three months. Congo RDC: On 12 February, MISNA reported that on the previous day, a journalist, Jules Tambwe, working for Uhuru magazine, was stopped and beaten by the police in Kinshasa. Côte d’Ivoire: On 12 February, RSF said it is very concerned about the well-being of Kloueu Gonzreu, a local correspondent with the Ivorian News Agency, who has been reported missing since 11 January. RSF said that «violence against journalists has been steadily increasing in recent months». Ethiopia: On 8 February, the Ethiopian Free Press Journalists’ Association issued a press release informing the public that a Workshop that discussed the new draft press law had been held at the Semien Hotel hall on 8 February 2003. The forum, in which over 300 people participated, was organized by the Ethiopian Free Press Journalists’ Association (EFJA) and free press publishers. A joint position statement was issued at the end of the meeting in which participants declared that they do not accept the new press law drafted by the Ministry of Information. Liberia: On 11 February, the BBC reported that Hassan Bility, a journalist, had told the organisation of being tortured whilst imprisoned. He was held in isolation for six months without being charged or tried, often in cramped conditions. Mr Bility, who was editor of the local independent daily The Analyst, was arrested along with a number of other journalists last June, for allegedly plotting to kill President Taylor and for having links to rebels. He was released in December. Sudan: On 12 February, RSF reported that on 8 February, the Sudanese authorities had confiscated the next day’s edition of the Arabic-language daily, As-Sahafa. Zambia: The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) reported that on 5 February 2003, police arrested Chali Nondo, chief reporter of The Monitor newspaper, and charged him with «publishing false news with intent to cause fear and alarm to the public». The journalist is being held at Woodlands police station in Lusaka and has been denied bond. The offence, which is contrary to Section 67 of the Penal Code, carries a maximum jail sentence of three years upon conviction. Nondo’s arrest follows a story published in the 4 to 6 February edition of The Monitor, which alleged that President Levy Mwanawasa had authorised police to hire a witchdoctor in order to help them capture a fugitive former finance minister who was wanted by police to face charges of «theft of public funds». Zimbabwe: On 6 February, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) protested to international cricket chiefs over their declaration that Zimbabwe is a «safe venue» for cricketers, while ignoring a pattern of violence against media and journalists and attempts by the regime of Robert Mugabe to gag sports reporters who cover the World Cup Cricket competition. «Zimbabwe is anything but a safe venue for journalists,» said the IFJ, the world’s largest journalists’ group, in a letter to Malcolm Speed, Chief Executive of the International Cricket Council, which says Zimbabwe is safe for players taking part in this year’s Cricket World Cup. «Over the past two years we have seen numerous acts of violence against media, a wholesale legal assault on independent journalism and the creation of an atmosphere of intimidation against the exercise of free reporting, whether by foreign correspondents or local journalists,» said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary. «You appear to show no consideration for the difficulties facing journalists who will be expected to cover cricket events scheduled for Zimbabwe.» (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 12 February 2003)

* Algérie/UE. Accord sur le gaz — L’Union européenne soutiendra les projets de gazoducs algériens devant desservir le marché européen, a déclaré le 7 février à Alger la vice-présidente de la Commission européenne en charge de l’énergie et des transports, Mme Loyola de Palacio. “L’interconnexion à travers les nouveaux gazoducs Algérie-Italie et Algérie-Espagne est importante pour l’Algérie et l’Europe”, a-t-elle déclaré. Le projet reliant l’Algérie à l’Espagne est à un stade très avancé et devra bénéficier du soutien de la Commission. Mme de Palacio a invité l’Algérie à consolider sa position de fournisseur traditionnel d’hydrocarbures du marché européen, et de participer à la nouvelle politique européenne en matière de stocks stratégiques de pétrole et de gaz. L’Algérie occupe la deuxième place, après la Russie, au rang des fournisseurs de gaz au marché européen. (PANA, Sénégal, 7 février 2003)

* Angola. UNITA officials accuse govt supporters of intimidation — 6 February: Angola’s UNITA opposition has called on the government to guarantee the safety of its members following reports that party officials had been prevented from setting up offices in parts of the country. UNITA secretary for foreign affairs Alcides Sakala says that five officials of the movement were attacked on 3 February by armed youths wearing T-shirts with the ruling MPLA party slogan. The delegation was in the town of Londuimbali in the central Huambo Province. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 6 February 2003)

* Angola. UN makes air drop — The UN World Food Program (WFP) airdropped food to a remote village in Angola on 7 February, the first such delivery in the war-scarred country for a decade. The agency was forced to fly in food to the hungry people of Luvemba in the central province of Huambo, because rains had made roads to the area impassable. Eighteen tons of food, mainly corn, was dropped on pallets from 655 feet up. Luvemba last received one month’s supply of food from the WFP by truck in early November, before the main rains arrived. WFP officials said the drop was the first of its kind for 10 years. Other areas were being assessed for possible airdrops, but such deliveries were only a last resort due to the expense involved, they said. (CNN, USA, 7 February 2003)

* Burkina Faso. Fears over meningitis epidemic — 7 February: Millions of people across Africa are to be vaccinated against a new killer strain of meningitis. The World Health Organization has shipped an initial batch of 100,000 vaccines to Burkina Faso. It follows fears of a possible epidemic across what health chiefs describe as Africa’s meningitis belt, which stretches from Senegal to Ethiopia. The vaccine will protect against the typical meningitis strains A and C and also the virulent W135 strain. This strain of the disease has been found in sporadic cases on the continent last year. It is believed to have claimed the lives of 1,743 people in Burkina Faso last year. So far this year, it has been linked to 244 deaths. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 7 February 2003)

* Burkina Faso. Méningite — Au moins 58 personnes sont mortes de méningite sur 396 cas identifiés au cours des 5 dernières semaines au Burkina, a indiqué le ministère de la Santé le 11 février. D’après les statistiques publiées par le ministère, au moins trois districts sanitaires sur les 53 que compte le pays, ont déjà atteint le seuil de l’épidémie (10 cas sur 100.000 personnes) et 7 autres ont atteint ou franchi le seuil d’alerte. Une campagne de vaccination est en cours dans les zones les plus touchées avec le “peu de vaccins” dont dispose le pays. L’OMS a annoncé qu’elle fournira au Burkina 500.000 doses de vaccin, dont 100.000 doses dans les prochains jours, afin de contenir une épidémie potentielle. L’OMS mettra également à la disposition des 21 pays de la ceinture africaine de la méningite, qui s’étend de l’Ethiopie au Sénégal, 3 millions de doses de vaccins contre la souche W135. Au Burkina en 2002, une épidémie de méningite a tué 1.500 personnes sur 13.000 cas. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 11 février 2003)

* Burundi. Deployment of ceasefire monitors — a critical time — In a 5 February press release, Amnesty International said that as the African Union prepares to send an international force to Burundi to monitor implementation of the cease-fire agreement signed in December 2002 between the Government of Burundi and the Conseil National pour la Défense de la Démocratie-Forces pour la Défense de la Démocratie (CNDD-FDD), Amnesty International today called on signatories to the cease-fire agreement to take immediate steps to prevent human rights abuses by their forces, in particular the killing of unarmed civilians. (Amnesty International, 5 February 2003)

* Burundi. Rebel attack — On 7 February, Burundi’s army said a rebel group killed three civilians and a soldier and injured five people when they ambushed a military van near the central African state’s capital Bujumbura. Army spokesman Col. Augustin Nzabampema said rebels from the Front for National Liberation (FNL) carried out the attack the previous day at Nyamutenderi. «The military van was on its way to Bujumbura, carrying soldiers and civilians,» Nzabampema said. But the FNL, which has shunned a truce signed by the country’s other major rebel groups, denied it had killed civilians and said it had killed five soldiers on 6 February in a different part of the country. The FNL is viewed as a stumbling block to ending a 10-year civil war which has killed 300,000 people in the tiny central African country. (Editor’s note —11 February: Burundi government delegates have ended week-long negotiations with the main Hutu rebel group, Forces for the Defence of Democracy in Dar es Salaam, without reaching an agreement on unresolved issues). (CNN, USA, 7 February 2003)

* Burundi. Négociations: bilan mitigé — 10 février. Les délégués du gouvernement burundais et ceux des Forces pour la défense de la démocratie (FDD, rébellion, dirigées par Pierre Nkurunziza) se sont séparés à Dar es-Salaam sur un bilan mitigé au bout d’une semaine de discussions techniques sur les questions encore pendantes dans leur accord de cessation des hostilités. Il s’agissait pour les deux délégations de s’entendre sur les futures institutions étatiques de la transition, ainsi que sur la configuration des nouvelles forces de défense et de sécurité post-conflit. “Nous ne sommes pas parvenus à un consensus”, a indiqué le chef de la délégation gouvernementale. Une rencontre devrait avoir lieu prochainement au plus haut niveau, à savoir entre le président Buyoya et M. Nkurunziza. Pendant que s’enlisent les discussions techniques, les combats, eux, ne baissent pas d’intensité dans plusieurs coins du pays, particulièrement dans le centre, l’est et le sud du Burundi. — Le 12 février, les premiers observateurs militaires de la Mission africaine au Burundi sont arrivés à Bujumbura afin de superviser les accords de cessez-le-feu signés en décembre par le gouvernement et plusieurs mouvements rebelles. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 13 février 2003)

* Congo-Brazzaville. Several killed in attack — 11 February: There has been another attack by suspected Ninja rebels in the Pool Region of Congo-Brazzaville. Eleven people are believed to have been killed in the attack, which took place in the early hours of the morning of 10 February. The Pool Region has been the scene of sporadic attacks. Fighting between the Ninjas and government forces since March 2002 and has caused an estimated 150,000 people to flee their homes. The Congolese army says that at 0400 local time on 10 February, a group of eight suspected Ninja rebels mounted a surprise attack on the village of Yamba, 120 kilometres from the capital, Brazzaville, in the Pool Region. The group proceeded to kill the local police chief and 10 civilians. They also stole the car belonging to the head of the local council, who fled to a neighbouring village on foot. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 11 February 2003)

* Congo-Brazza. Nouvelles attaques — Dans la nuit du 6 au 7 février, un train de marchandises a été attaqué par des miliciens ninja dans la région du Pool, sur la ligne de chemin de fer reliant Brazzaville à Pointe-Noire. Un civil aurait été tué et plusieurs autres blessés. Cet épisode, note l’agence Misna, jette un voile sur l’opération d’ouverture de “couloirs humanitaires” proposée en novembre dernier par le président Nguesso. Il avait aussi invité les Ninja à se rendre, en leur promettant la réinsertion dans la société. Une centaine de miliciens auraient répondu depuis à l’appel, mais aucun chiffre officiel n’est disponible à ce jour, ce qui, pour certains, signifie que l’appel n’a pas été entendu. — Le 10 février, au moins dix personnes ont été tuées au cours d’une attaque menée à Yamba (sud-ouest) par un groupe de miliciens ninja qui a réussi à contourner le dispositif de sécurité mis en place par les forces gouvernementales. Les Ninja ont attaqué le commissariat de police, tuant le commissaire, pillé des boutiques et tué une dizaine de civils, avant de prendre la fuite vers les localités de Loulombo et Kimbédi. - D’autre part, l’Union européenne menace de retirer un financement de 20 milliards de FCFA destiné à la construction de la route reliant Brazzaville à Kinkala, chef-lieu de la région du Pool, en raison de la persistance des attaques de bandes armées, a annoncé le ministre congolais des Travaux publics, lançant un appel aux populations du Pool et aux personnes pouvant avoir une influence quelconque sur les Ninja, tous natifs de cette région. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 11 février 2003)

* Congo-Brazzaville. Ebola outbreak may spread — 11 February: Thirty-eight people have died in a suspected outbreak of the Ebola virus in the north of Congo-Brazzaville, near the border with Gabon. The Congolese authorities say they are concerned that the virus might spread. Ebola is spread through contact with small amounts of body fluids. Little more is known about the virus, which causes its victims to die from internal bleeding. The Congolese Ministry of Health says the people died in the villages of Kelle and Mbou, about 800 kilometres north of Brazzaville, in the Region known as Cuvette West. The authorities were first alerted to a possible outbreak of Ebola when a clan of gorillas in the region began to die in December. Tests carried out on the bodies confirmed that the gorillas had died from the Ebola virus, which has now claimed more than 80% of that gorilla clan. For the authorities, the Ebola virus is the stuff of nightmares. Spread almost as easily as the flu but far more deadly, Ebola can result in the death of 95% of its victims. The Congolese practice of washing the body before burial is just one of the factors that makes the virus so difficult to contain. The Ministry of Health suspects that the current outbreak was caused by villagers eating primates in the area who were already infected with Ebola. 12 February: The Ministry of Health has now been able to obntain blood samples from five of the deceased. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 12 February 2003)

* Congo-Brazza. Ebola: nouvelle épidémie? — Le 6 février, des experts médicaux sont partis pour le nord du Congo-Brazzaville afin d’enquêter sur un possible début d’épidémie du virus Ebola, après seize morts suspectes. L’équipe de six personnes, du ministère congolais de la Santé et de l’OMS, se rendait dans les villes de Mbomo, Kelle et Yembelangoye pour des décès dont les caractéristiques suggèrent “celles d’une fièvre hémorragique”, a déclaré le porte-parole de l’OMS à Gevève, Iain Simpson. Il a aussi souligné qu’un certain nombre de morts avaient été signalées parmi les gorilles de ce secteur au Congo et que bien souvent c’est un indice de la présence d’Ebola. Les décès sont survenus dans une zone déjà touchée par Ebola l’année dernière. — Le 12 février, le ministère de la Santé a annoncé que la probable éruption du virus Ebola a déjà fait 48 morts dans la Cuvette Ouest. Des tests sont encore en cours pour savoir s’il s’agit effectivement d’Ebola. Les écoles, les églises et les bureaux ont été fermés dans la région. Le ministère s’inquiète des réfugiés qui pourraient transmettre la maladie. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 13 février 2003)