* Sudan. From soldiers to schoolboys — The child soldier is a saddening image of Sudan’s long and costly civil war. Boys as young as 10 have fought on both sides in the conflict, which has taken up all but seven of the years since Africa’s largest country gained independence from Britain in 1956. The survivors have lost their education, as well as their innocence. But thousands of young soldiers from both the mainly Muslim, northern-based government army, and the predominantly Christian, southern-based rebel forces, are returning to school in the capital, Khartoum. It is not uncommon to see a 23-year-old, perhaps a veteran of 10 years of war, walking to one of the city’s volunteer-run schools. Like their younger counterparts, students wear white shirts and have different coloured trousers depending on their grade — brown for primary pupils and grey for seniors. They have made their own way hundreds of miles from the battlegrounds of the south, many walking. Almost all work in the mornings to support themselves, attending lessons in the afternoons. The Sudanese government devotes just 3% of its expenditure to education. It is thought that 42% of children never receive any education. Of the remaining 58%, most do not finish basic school. (BBC News, UK, 22 September 2003)

* Sudan. A «nodding disease» hits children — Children in southern Sudan are dying of what may be the world’s newest and oddest disease — an illness so rare and mysterious that science has not yet come up with an official name for it. The children are gripped by a series of brain seizures which force their necks to arch forwards, down, and then up again. The people in this isolated corner of southern Sudan are calling the disease, the «nodding disease». Dr Mickey Richar, a tropical disease specialist with UNICEF, says: «We have no clue what is causing this». So far, almost 300 children are known to have caught the disease — all in one small region of the country. Bizarrely, the seizures normally occur when the sufferers start to eat, or when it is particularly cold. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 23 September 2003)

* Soudan. La paix s’installe — 18 septembre. Les autorités de Khartoum et l’Armée de libération du Soudan (SLA) ont signé un accord pour autoriser l’accès “libre et sans containte” des agences humanitaires à la région du Darfour, où la situation s’est dégradée ces six derniers mois, rapporte l’agence officielle de presse soudanaise. La situation humanitaire dans le Darfour, qui couvre environ 20% de la superficie du Soudan, s’est dégradée en raison des combats et du banditisme, qui ont entraîné le déplacement de 400.000 civils. Avec l’accord, les agences espèrent pouvoir accéder de nouveau aux 500.000 personnes qui bénéficiaient de leur aide auparavant. —D’autre part, le 19 septembre, les pourparlers au Kenya entre le vice-président soudanais, Ali Ousman Taha, et le leader des forces rebelles de l’Armée de libération du peuple du Soudan (SPLA), John Garang, sont entrés dans leur 15e jour. Le secrétaire d’Etat américain Colin Powell a exhorté le président el-Béchir à “accélérer” les pourparlers et “d’intensifier les efforts” de paix afin de parvenir à un accord final. - 20 septembre. Les Nations unies ont soumis un programme de 140 millions de dollars pour une assistance d’après-guerre immédiate si les belligérants venaient àretrouver la paix. — 21 septembre. Le gouvernement et la SPLA ont décidé de prolonger de deux mois le cessez-le-feu qui devait expirer fin septembre. “Nous espérons pouvoir parvenir à un accord de paix dans deux mois”, a déclaré John Garang. — 24 septembre. Le gouvernement soudanais et le SPLA sont parvenus à un accord de paix définitif lors des négociations engagées au Kenya, a annoncé mercredi le secrétaire soudanais aux Affaires étrangères, Eltighani Saleh Fidail. Selon lui, l’accord conclu prévoit une séparation entre la religion et l’Etat, le droit à l’autodétermination du Sud-Soudan et la formation d’une armée nationale intégrant les forces régulières et les éléments de la SPLA. L’accord prévoit également la tenue d’un référendum d’autodétermination après une transition de six ans et un partage équitable des ressources pétrolières. (D’après PANA, Sénégal, 18-24 septembre 2003)

* Sudan. Peace deal in sight — 19 September: Hopes of an agreement at Sudanese peace talks in Kenya have been raised, with Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail saying a final settlement could be reached within days. Today, delegates are discussing two of the outstanding issues — the size and the length of deployment of military forces in southern Sudan during a six-year interim period. Both sides have agreed that 36,000 troops should be initially deployed — the government and the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) contributing 18,000 troops each. But the SPLA wants the joint force reduced to 6,000 after the first two years of the interim period, which the government objects to. 21 September: The government of Sudan and the SPLA, which controls much of the south of the country, have agreed to extend their ceasefire by two months. The ceasefire had been due to expire at the end of September and is seen as a key element in the peace process aimed at ending a 20-year war which has killed some two million people. The extension was announced by Kenya’s foreign minister Kalonzo Musyoka. «One of the things we have agreed as a first measure will be an extension of the cessation of hostilities agreement,» he said. SPLA leader John Garang says: «We expect to reach a peace settlement in two months». 24 September: The government of Sudan and the SPLA agree on security arrangements for the south of the country. This has been the main stumbling block at the peace talks. Under the deal Sudan will have two armies under separate command and control during a six-year interim period. «The SPLA army will be commanded by the movement’s political leader, John Garang, while the government forces will be commanded by President Hassan al-Bashir,» says the SPLA spokesman, Samson Kwaje. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 24 September 2003)

* Tchad. Déby en visite à Paris — Le président du Tchad, Idriss Déby, a effectué une visite officielle en France du 17 au 20 septembre, pour “renforcer les liens de coopération entre les deux pays”. Cette visite a été l’occasion de rencontres tant au niveau politique (avec le président Chirac, le chef de la diplomatie française, le ministre de la coopération) qu’économique. Elle intervient alors que le Tchad, l’un des pays les plus pauvres du monde, est en train de devenir un producteur de pétrole non négligeable. Confiée à un consortium exclusivement américain (après le retrait de Elf), l’exploitation du gisement de Doha devrait procurer plusieurs milliards de dollars de revenus annuels au Tchad. Au cours des différentes rencontres avec les responsables français, la délégation tchadienne a soumis un certain nombre de besoins pour lesquels le concours de la France pourrait être nécessaire. Elle a demandé notamment à la France de s’engager plus dans la mobilisation des fonds pour le développement rural au Tchad, a déclaré le ministre tchadien des Affaires étrangères. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 20 septembre 2003)

* Togo. Fuel stealing syndicate smashed — Togo’s National Anti-Corruption Commission says it has successfully smashed a syndicate of drivers of public service vehicles, which has been siphoning and diverting official petrol rations for sale on the black market in Lome. The startling disclosure was made on 15 September following the arrest of 10 drivers of official vehicles, while they were in the process of emptying quantities of jerry cans into containers of empty drums in a hidden private garage in Lome. According to a press communique released by the Anti-Corruption and Economic Sabotage Commission, two of the ring leaders of the gang of truant drivers were picked up by the police who caught them right in the act. (Ghanaian Chronicle, Ghana, 22 September 2003)

* Uganda. Revamping the Constitution — Ugandans are losing trust in their ten-year-old Constitution. According to a 2003 Uganda Poverty Report, the proportion of those who feel that the Constitution reflects their values has fallen from 74% two years ago, to 64%. this year. Government officials thought that a participatory approach in constitution-making could yield trust. Yet people’s trust is increasingly being eroded as the years go by. Recently, the government has let it be known that it is intent on lifting restrictions on the presidential term of office, to give Museveni an open-ended rule. However the Constitution is very clear — no more than two terms! Crispus Kiyonga, the National Political Commissar of the ruling National Resistance Movement, has told journalists that the Cabinet has already approved the abolition of the two-terms limits, and will ignore findings of the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) in which it is becoming increasingly apparent that most people don’t want the limits to the presidential term of office, tampered with. The CRC was set up in 2001 to review parts of the Constitution, so that it will reflect changing social and political aspirations. It was expected to have completed its work within 18 months but the Government extended its mandate for another four months. The Commission is expected to publish its draft Constitution in October this year. (Crespo Sebunya, ANB-BIA, Uganda, 15 September 2003)

* Uganda. Movement Act — The Movement Act gives Dr Crispus Kiyonga, the National Political Commissar sweeping powers over staff at the Movement Secretariat. The Act passed by Parliament on 18 September, only awaits assent by President Yoweri Museveni to be effective. Originally, the National Executive Committee (NEC) chaired by Museveni used to appoint all staff at the Secretariat. The NEC comprises MPs, district chairpersons, women and youth representatives according to the new Act. «Now the power has been decentralised,» Mr Latigo Olal, the director of external relations at the Secretariat said. The new law allows the NEC to appoint the 18 directors and deputies. The Movement Secretariat has about 600 employees. (The Monitor, Uganda, 20 September 2003)

* Uganda. 30 killed in cattle raid — 21 September: Ugandan officials say cattle rustlers have killed 30 people in a raid in the north-eastern district of Katakwi. The Karamojong warriors attacked a camp housing displaced people in the Gariang area on 20 September, said Katakwi district commissioner Ndiwa Chemasuet. «They shot people savagely — they shot anybody on sight». Thirty people — including three women, a boy and a baby —were wounded and rushed to Soroti hospital, he said. Twenty-one bodies were found at the scene and nine bodies were discovered later in nearby countryside. Ugandan officials say a search is continuing for more bodies. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 21 September 2003)

* Ouganda. Massacre par des Karimojong — Le samedi 20 septembre, environ 200 guérilleros karimojong, lors d’un raid de vol de bétail, ont perpétré un massacre de civils dans le nord-est de l’Ouganda. Selon des sources locales, au moins 30 personnes ont été tuées dans le camp de réfugiés de Magogo (district de Katakwi). 32 blessés ont été hospitalisés. L’attaque a provoqué un exode de civils vers la paroisse catholique de Toroma (diocèse de Soroti). Le bilan des victimes pourrait encore augmenter, une dizaine de cadavres ayant été retrouvés à l’extérieur du camp. Les pillages de bétail sont très fréquents dans la région de Karamoja. (D’après Misna, Italie, 22 septembre 2003)

* Uganda. Bus crash carnage — 22 September: Almost 50 people have died and another 30 have been injured in a road accident near Uganda’s border with Rwanda. The bus was travelling from Burundi and was carrying many Rwandan and Burundian schoolchildren who were returning to study in Uganda. A truck was carrying sacks of maize to Burundi for the UN World Food Programme when it collided with the bus head-on in Kyonyo, just 4km from the Rwanda-Uganda border town of Gatuna. The impact was so great that the bus was thrown into the air and off the road killing a woman sitting in front of her home. The Ugandan police report that 46 people died on the spot, whilst several dozen survivors with serious injuries have been transported to a hospital in the nearby town of Kabale. Schools are currently reopening and eyewitnesses report that amongst the dead were many Rwandan and Burundian schoolchildren who were heading to Uganda to study. Eyewitnesses describe a horrific scene, with bodies and body parts strewn amongst the bus wreckage. Police said they had not conducted a detailed investigation yet but suspected the accident was caused by speeding. One eyewitness said the bus was travelling at excessive speed despite a sharp bend — and was on the wrong side of the road. The drivers of both vehicles were killed. A team of doctors has been flown in from Rwanda to back up the local medical staff at Kabale hospital, he added. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 22 September 2003)

* Ouganda. Collision mortelle — Cinquante morts et une trentaine de blessés, tel est le bilan tragique d’un accident de la route survenu le 22 septembre entre un bus et un camion du PAM transportant de l’aide alimentaire dans le sud-ouest de l’Ouganda, à six kilomètres de la frontière rwandaise. Selon des sources hospitalières, le bus transportait notamment des Burundais et des Rwandais à destination de Kampala. Des témoignages relatent que le chauffeur du bus a doublé une voiture et est entré en collision avec le camion-remorque. Les blessés ont été transportés d’urgence à l’hôpital de Kabale, à une quinzaine de kilomètres du lieu de l’accident. (Misna, Italie, 23 septembre 2003)

* Uganda. Abducted children freed — 23 September: The Ugandan army has rescued 149 children who were being held by the northern-based rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). The army spokesman, Major Shaban Bantariza, says that in the week-long operation, 24 rebels were killed while the army lost three soldiers. «The children were abandoned by the rebels after army units closed in on them in Gulu, Kitgum and Pader districts,» said Major Bantariza. He said that the children were in poor health —many were suffering from malaria and malnutrition and are now being cared for by local humanitarian organisations. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 23 September 2003)

* Ouganda. 3e mandat pour Museveni? — Le 23 septembre, le gouvernement ougandais a présenté une demande de modification de l’article de la Constitution qui limite à deux le nombre de mandats présidentiels. Ces derniers mois, de nombreux observateurs avaient noté l’intention du président Museveni de se présenter aux prochaines élections présidentielles prévues en 2006, en dépit de la charte constitutionnelle rédigée en 1995. Le gouvernement a aussi présenté un paquet de 88 amendements, prévoyant des modifications grâce auxquelles le président aurait la faculté de choisir le Parlement et de promulguer des décrets en matière d’investissements publics, environnement et santé. Y figure également la demande de retirer à l’Assemblée nationale la possibilité de rejeter d’éventuelles nominations ou démissions ministérielles. Des observateurs ont déjà mis en garde contre le risque de concentration du pouvoir aux mains du président Museveni. (Misna, Italie, 24 septembre 2003)

* Zambia. Blow for ruling party — 24 September: Defence Minister Michael Mabenga has lost his job and been stripped of his parliamentary seat after the Supreme Court annulled his election victory. The Supreme Court in Zambia delivered its final judgements on two cases outstanding from the country’s controversial presidential and general elections nearly two years ago. After the elections in December 2001, which brought current President Levy Mwanawasa to power, the opposition launched a series of legal challenges to the results of both the presidential and parliamentary polls. Today’s verdict is a major blow to Mr Mwanawasa’s ruling Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) party. The court upheld the complaints of the runner-up, Sikota Wina, of the opposition United Party for National Development (UPND). (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 24 September 2003)

* Zimbabwe. Restructuring ZANU-PF — Faced with the increasingly formidable challenge from the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) has called for a restructuring process so as to pave the way for President Mugabe’s exit. The election of new party officials (starting this month and ending in November) is designed to strengthen the party in time for the 2005 parliamentary elections. A restructuring exercise was carried out only three years ago, but party chiefs want to replace local leaders before their term of office ends. There are rumours that Mr Mugabe has agreed to step down from the helm in December at ZANU-PF‘s conference. (Stan Dongo, ANB-BIA, Zimbabwe, 12 September 2003)

* Zimbabwe. «The Daily News» — Media reaction — The closure of Zimbabwe’s leading independent newspaper The Daily News earlier this month set off a heated debate in the Zimbabwean press. In the rest of the region, however, the story went largely unnoticed. South Africa, where angry papers called for a drastic change of policy on Zimbabwe, was a notable exception. «So now we have no free daily paper,» mourned Zimbabwe‘s opposition Financial Gazette. «Will Zimbabwe become... completely cut off from the outside world, with no news either coming in or going out? [The ruling] ZANU-PF would love that, so that they can carry out their acts without fear of exposure.» The opposition weekly Standard said the Supreme Court’s ruling, which found the paper in breach of controversial new media legislation, set a «dangerous» precedent. «It has not taken long for the enemies of the free press to pounce on The Daily News»" the paper said in an editorial headlined «Travesty of Justice». Zimbabwe’s pro-government Herald, on the other hand, argued that the opposition paper was guilty of «wanton disregard for the laws of the country and got exactly what it deserved. It boggles the mind to think that a newspaper which purports to “tell it like it is” does not live up to its motto... but instead opts to paint a gory picture of a repressed people cowering before an omnipotent dictator who does not even allow people to speak their minds». In South Africa, Business Day argued that the media legislation was itself «intended to muzzle the private media». Kenya‘s Daily Nation — one of the few African papers outside Zimbabwe and South Africa to comment on the closure of The Daily News, said: «South Africa’s President Thabo Mbeki seems determined to split the Commonwealth along racist lines by insisting that President Robert Mugabe be invited to the club’s December summit in Nigeria». In neighbouring Zambia, The Post said the closure of The Daily News was just another entry in Zimbabwe’s sorry record of media oppression. (BBC News, UK, 19 September 2003)

* Zimbabwe. Vice-President dies — 20 September: Vice-President Simon Muzenda, a close ally of Robert Mugabe, has died in hospital after a long illness, the president has said. A sombre Mr Mugabe announced the news in a live broadcast on state television with «a heavy heart». «Vice President Muzenda... is and shall always remain a great revolutionary leader,» he said. «He took it upon himself to join the struggle for the freedom of this country from British settler colonialism.» Local media had reported in recent months that Mr Muzenda was ill, however the official Herald newspaper had dismissed reports that his condition was critical. He would have turned 81 next month. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 20 September 2003)

* Zimbabwe. Décès du vice-président — Le 20 septembre, le vice-président du Zimbabwe, Simon Muzenda, longtemps un des plus proches collaborateurs du président Mugabe, est décédé à l’âge de 80 ans, à la suite d’une longue maladie. Cette disparition ne devrait toutefois pas laisser un grand vide dans le pays. Ancien charpentier au caractère quelque peu bourru, Muzenda était considéré comme l’un des hommes politiques les moins cultivés du pays, mais avait été récompensé de sa fidélité par un poste de vice-président. Il faisait régulièrement l’objet de moqueries en raison de ses maladresses. Cependant, il s’était distingué dans le combat contre le pouvoir blanc britannique de Rhodésie et avait passé une grande partie de la décennie 1962-1972 derrière les barreaux. Il avait fui en Zambie, puis au Mozambique, avant de rejoindre Mugabe dans la réorganisation du parti ZANU (Union nationale africaine du Zimbabwe). Mugabe l’avait nommé vice-président en 1987. (D’après AP, 21 septembre 2003)

* Zimbabwe. «The Legend of the Sky King» — A team of Zimbabweans has produced what they say is Africa’s first full-length animated feature film, to international acclaim. «The Legend of the Sky Kingdom» was made in Harare on a minimal budget and pioneers a technique called «junkmation». The characters and sets in the film are made from discarded items such as car parts, tools, kitchen utensils, pipes and pieces of wood. The film took four years to make and has been chosen among the top five of 1,300 entries at the World Animation Festival in France. «It’s a movie made out of junk, coming out of a country that is last in the alphabet and pretty much last in everything at the moment, made by a complete bunch of unknowns,» said director Roger Hawkins. «Junkmation» was inspired by the ability that Zimbabwean craftsmen have to make pieces of art from wire, tin and other discarded items. Mr Hawkins said that the level of skill and natural ability that people have to recycle objects is a goldmine. «I thought if we could put this into a film we’d come up with something really unusual,» he said. «We became junk purists, we invited friends to dump rubbish outside our studio and we had a “junk librarian” who sifted through it all.» Fifteen people worked on «The Legend of the Sky Kingdom» in two studios, costing less than $1 million. The film is targeted at children, and has the theme «Seeing is believing.» Three orphans escape the Underground City ruled by the Evil Emperor and go in search of the Sky Kingdom, facing many challenges along the way. (BBC News, UK, 22 September 2003)

* Zimbabwe. «The Daily News» under attack — 18 September: Zimbabwe’s High Court has ordered the re-opening of the only independent daily newspaper in the country. The Daily News, which is critical of President Robert Mugabe, was shut by the government for breaking a new, stringent press law. The paper has not been published since 12 September, when it was closed down and riot police sealed off its premises. In its ruling, today, the High Court says police had no right «to prevent the applicant and its employees from gaining access to the premises of the applicant and carrying on its business». The court also said equipment seized in raids must also be returned to The Daily News. The paper’s chief executive Samuel Nkomo welcomes the ruling. «I am anxious that we get back to work, and I am hoping to produce a newspaper tomorrow,» he says. But acting Attorney General Bharat Patel says the government is going to appeal. The Zimbabwe state controls the country’s two other daily papers and the single television and radio broadcast station. During the night, the police again shut down the newspaper’s offices in defiance of the court order. 20 September: Zimbabwean officials have blocked an attempt by The Daily News to resume publication. The paper had applied for a licence from the government-appointed Media and Information Commission. But the Commission ruled that the paper’s publishers — Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ) — had «failed to meet the requirements of the law». The paper had applied eight and a half months after the expiry of a government deadline for registration, the Commission ruled. The Daily News had also failed to supply the Commission with free copies of the paper, as required under the new media law, it said. 22 September: Four directors of The Daily News have been charged under strict media laws. Police have also raided the offices of The Daily News. Associated Newspapers group chief executive Sam Sipepa Moyo, and three others were questioned by police and then charged with illegally publishing a newspaper, says the company’s legal spokesperson. ANZ‘s chief executive, Sam Sipepa Nkomo, has vowed to keep up the fight through the courts. The same day, Reporters sans Frontières says it is «outraged» at the news of the Media and Information Commission’s unanimous decision to silence The Daily News. 23 September: Police say The Daily News‘s entire editorial staff are to be charged for working without accreditation. A police spokesman says the police also want to question the Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe’s board chairman, Strive Masiyiwa, who lives in South Africa, «over his role in the illegal operation of the group». (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 23 September 2003)

* Zimbabwe. Presse indépendante muselée — Le jeudi 18 septembre, la Haute Cour de justice du Zimbabwe a ordonné la réouverture du Daily News, seul quotidien privé du pays. Sa fermeture avait été ordonnée le 12 septembre par le régime de Robert Mugabe. La Cour a également ordonné la restitution du matériel saisi par la police au siège du journal. Le gouvernement a annoncé son intention de poursuivre cette décision en appel. Depuis sa création, le Daily News et ses journalistes sont régulièrement harcelés par la police et les partisans de Mugabe. Début 2001, son imprimerie a été victime d’un attentat à la bombe dont les auteurs n’ont jamais été retrouvés. Mercredi dernier, une centaine d’activites et trois journalistes avaient été arrêtés à Harare, alors qu’ils manifestaient contre la fermeture du Daily News. - Le 19 septembre, le Daily News n’a pas pu reparaître. La police qui avait brièvement quitté les locaux du journal, le jeudi, et restitué une partie des ordinateurs, y est revenue et a empêché le personnel d’y entrer. - 21 septembre. La commission nationale des médias du Zimbabwe a refusé d’enregistrer le groupe de presse privé Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ), éditeur du Daily News. La Cour suprême avait ordonné à ANZ de s’inscrire auprès de cette autorité. Pour justifier son rejet de la demande d’inscription, la commission a soutenu que le groupe a violé les lois du pays sur la presse, dont le recrutement de journalistes non accrédités. -Mardi 23 septembre. Selon la police, les 45 journalistes du Daily News seront inculpés pour exercice illégal de leur métier. Ils risquent une suspension de leur permis de travail et une radiation du registre de la profession. 5 des 9 membres de la directiondu journal ont déjà été entendus lundi par la police et inculpés pour publication d’un journal sans autorisation. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 23 septembre 2003)