* South Africa. Coetzee wins Nobel literature prize — 2 October: South African writer John Maxwell Coetzee has been awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize for Literature. The Nobel Academy’s head, Horace Engdahl, said Coetzee «in innumerable guises portrays the surprise involvement of the outsider». The 18 lifetime members of the 217-year-old Swedish Academy made the annual selection in deep secrecy at one of their weekly meetings. The prize includes a cheque for more than 10 million kronor ($1.3m), but it can also bestow increased sales, celebrity and admiration. Syrian poet Ali Ahman Said, better known as Adonis, had been the favourite for the prize. Some literary experts said the academy might lean towards him in an attempt to alleviate bitterness at the US invasion of Iraq. Coetzee becomes the fourth African writer since 1980 to win the prestigious award. In its citation, the academy said his novels were characterised by their well-craft composition, pregnant dialogue and analytical brilliance. «But at the same time, he is a scrupulous doubter, ruthless in his criticism of the cruel rationalism and cosmetic morality of western civilisation,» it said. Coetzee was born in February 1940 and is currently on sabbatical from his role as professor of general literature at the University of Cape Town. He was the first writer to win the Booker prize twice, carrying off the prize in 1983 with The Life & Times of Michael K and scooping it again in 1999 with Disgrace. @CITA_1 = (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 2 October 2003)

* Afrique du Sud. Coetzee, prix Nobel de littérature — Le prix Nobel de littérature 2003 a été attribué, le 2 octobre, à l’écrivain sud-africain J.M. Coetzee (63 ans), dont l’oeuvre a été fortement marquée par les années d’apartheid dans lesquelles il a grandi. Coetzee avait déjà été le premier auteur à recevoir deux fois le Booker Prize: pour “Michael K, sa vie, son temps” (1983) et pour “Disgrace” (1999). Il est le sixième prix Nobel sud-africain. Depuis l’année dernière il habite à Adelaïde en Australie, où il enseigne la littérature à l’université. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 3 octobre 2003)

* Sudan. Newspapers suspended — Sudan: On 2 October, Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) deplored the shutting down of the newspaper Al-Azminah and the continued harassment of the independent daily, Alwan, by the state prosecutor in charge of subversion cases. «We call on the authorities to obey the presidential decree that gives the National Press Council the responsibility for overseeing press matters rather than the subversion prosecutor, who continues to shut down newspapers,» said the organisation’s secretary-general, Robert Ménard. «The prosecutor, Mohamed Farid Hassan, is defying the ministry of justice.» Al-Azminah was suspended indefinitely by Hassan on 30 September after a complaint against it by the army. The prosecutor has close ties with the intelligence services, whose authority over the press was ended by a 12 August decree that reaffirmed press freedom and transferred power to monitor the media to the National Press Council. The intelligence services are resisting the order. The army accused Al-Azminah of publishing an supposedly inaccurate report saying pro-government militias had been disbanded after a 25 September peace agreement with rebels of the southern-based Sudan People’s Liberation Army aiming to end a 20-year civil war. Alwan was similarly suspended on 2 September pending examination of a complaint against it by the National Security Agency for incitement to sedition. The justice minister gave it permission to reappear on 24 September but two days after it did, prosecutor Hassan banned it again. The daily Al-Sahafa was suspended for three days under the press law from 1 October by the National Press Council for printing an ad by Ethiopian Airlines praising the quality of the wines on its Khartoum-Paris flights. Alcohol has been banned in Sudan since 1983. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 3 October 2003)

* Sudan. Critical stage in peace talks — 2 October: Sudan’s foreign minister says he expects his government and rebel leaders to sign a peace agreement by the end of the year, clearing the way for the country to begin its recovery from 20 years of civil war. Mustafa Osman Ismail says negotiators will meet on October 6 and October 15 to develop a draft accord. Once that process is completed, «it means that all we have left is the final signing of the agreement, which would be at any time before the end of this year,» he tells reporters at a Washington news conference. Sudan also is hopeful that the peace agreement will lead to its removal from the US list of terror-sponsoring states, and can ease the long list of penalties imposed by the United States for alleged Sudanese involvement in terrorism, human rights abuses, religious persecution and slavery. «We expect, immediately after we sign this agreement, the lifting of sanctions,» Ismail says. «Sudan, with its huge resources, is going to be open for the American companies for investment.» Rebel leaders are guarded but optimistic. The Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement issues a statement that calls a peace agreement «the easier phase» and points out several remaining issues, including land ownership, control of state finances and the future of the Abeyi, Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile regions. 6 October: Peace talks resume in Kenya today, between government representatives and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army. — Sudan’s President Omar Hasan al-Bashir praises the main rebel leader, John Garang, saluting the progress made in peace talks in Kenya. The praise —in a live televised speech - is an extraordinary gesture, unthinkable only weeks ago. «We hail the response of the people’s movement (SPLM) and its leader John Garang, who was responsible for the success of the last round of talks,» President Bashir says in his speech, at the opening of a new session of parliament in Khartoum. He also thanks the United States, European Union and Kenyan leadership for their mediation. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 6 October 2003)

* Soudan. La réinstallation des réfugiés — Alors que le gouvernement et la SPLA poursuivent les négociations de paix, un groupe de réflexion norvégien estime que le Soudan n’est pas en mesure de faire face à l’afflux des réfugiés et personnes déplacées dont le retour est envisagé à la suite de l’accord de paix global. “Les défis à ces retours massifs sont considérables et les administrations locales ne semblent pas prêtes à y faire face”, indique le Projet mondial IDP dans un nouveau rapport rendu public le 6 octobre à Khartoum. Le nombre de personnes déplacées vivant dans les camps au Soudan est estimé à environ 4 millions, y compris les 2 millions de réfugiés dans l’Etat de Khartoum et 1,4 million dans les territoires que contrôle la SPLA. Il ressort d’une récente étude que les deux tiers des personnes déplacées interrogées souhaitent retourner chez elles. En plus d’une demande massive de services de base, un système judiciaire fonctionnel sera nécessaire pour trouver une solution aux conflits fonciers complexes que ne manqueront pas de soulever les réfugiés à leur retour, prévient le rapport. Le système éducatif devra également être renforcé. (D’après PANA, Sénégal, 7 octobre 2003)

* Chad. Hoping for oil wealth — 3 October: The fortunes of the people of Chad, one of the world’s poorest countries, are set to be transformed by a huge and lucrative oil pipeline that will transport oil from the country’s new oil fields to a terminal off the coast of neighbouring Cameroon. From there, tankers will ship the fuel to the world markets, thereby bolstering West Africa’s role as an alternative fuel source to Saudi Arabia and the Gulf. Such reduced dependence on oil from the Arab states was one of the key objectives of President George W Bush’s African tour earlier this year. The 1,070 km pipeline will transport 250,000 barrels a day from Chad through Cameroon. In total, the project should bring in $13bn over the next 25 years, assuming the oil price does not fall below $15 per barrel. If the oil price remains at current levels, earnings could almost double. Of that, Chad’s share is set to be at least $2bn, and this should help lift the income per head in the country from $250 a year to $550 a year by 2005, according to a World Bank estimate. Cameroon will also earn about $500m from the project. Today, the first shipment of 950,000 barrels of crude oil coming through the Chad-Cameroon pipeline reaches the international oil market. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 3 October 2003)

* Tunisie. Emigration clandestine — Le 3 octobre à l’aube, un clandestin de nationalité nigériane est mort noyé au large des côtes italiennes, lors du naufrage d’une embarcation transportant 29 candidats à l’immigration illégale. D’autre part, onze Tunisiens qui avaient tenté de gagner l’Italie illégalement ont été déférés en justice. Ils avaient été appréhendés dans la région de Kélibia, un port du nord-est tunisien. Il s’agit d’une des six opérations déjouées la semaine dernière par les services de sécurité et les garde-côtes tunisiens, qui ont procédé à l’arrestation de 110 personnes au total (ressortissants de diverses nationalités). Les clandestins traduits en justice peuvent encourir un an d’emprisonnement, mais le passeur est passible d’une peine beaucoup plus sévère, en vertu d’une législation rigoureuse adoptée dernièrement par les autorités tunisiennes. (AP, 3 octobre 2003)

* Ouganda/RDC. Troupes à la frontière — Depuis la semaine dernière, l’Ouganda a massé des troupes le long de sa frontière avec le Congo-RDC, toujours en proie à des combats dans sa partie orientale. L’armée ougandaise a affirmé que ses services de renseignement avaient détecté une mobilisation des éléments restants des groupes rebelles regroupés au sein de la Force démocratique alliée (FDA). Un autre groupe, dirigé par Taban Amin, un fils d’Amin Dada, est également sur le pied de guerre. Tous ces groupes seraient en train de se rassembler dans une zone montagneuse sur la rive congolaise du lac Albert, et se prépareraient à attaquer et à déstabiliser l’Ouganda. Les autorités ougandaises ont toujours brandi l’argument de la protection de leur pays contre les attaques des rebelles pour justifier leur invasion du Congo. Toutefois, le porte-parole de l’armée ougandaise a affirmé que l’Ouganda ne déploierait plus ses troupes en RDC, même s’il s’avérait qu’un groupe rebelle ougandais était en train de s’y réorganiser. (D’après PANA et Misna, 2-3 octobre 2003)

* Ouganda. Grave accident à Jinja — Le 5 octobre, au moins deux véhicules ont échoué dans les eaux du Nil, suite à un grave accident survenu près de Jinja, sur la digue de Owen Falls, utilisée comme pont routier. Le nombre de victimes n’a pas encore été précisé, car les voitures impliquées dans l’accident ont été précipitées dans l’eau à au moins 200 mètres de profondeur. De nombreux passagers se seraient trouvés à leur bord. Il semble exclu qu’il y ait des survivants. L’accident aurait été causé par un camion dont la remorque a échappé au contrôle du conducteur. (Misna, Italie, 6 octobre 2003)

* Uganda. Call to «buy off» rebels rejected — The Ugandan army and leaders of a peace initiative have rejected calls to offer money to the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in a bid to stop its devastating insurrection. The Uganda Human Rights Commission suggested borrowing money to buy the rebels off in a desperate last ditch attempt to end the 17-year armed rebellion. But the army has dismissed the call, saying any money borrowed should be used to enhance its capability to tackle the rebels militarily. Army spokesman Major Shaban Bantariza said the move would be a «waste of time», though he said the army understood the public’s frustrations. (IRIN, Kenya, 3 October 2003)

* Uganda. Security forces executions reported — On 3 October, Human Rights Watch said that the Ugandan government must immediately investigate the reported recent executions of four detainees by state security agents. The authorities should also reveal the whereabouts on 10 others arbitrarily detained, and must charge or release them. The four men reportedly executed were among 14 detained in August by the Joint Anti-Terrorism Task Force, a joint unit drawn from several state security agencies. The men were apparently executed because they were accused of having links to a rebel group. (HRW, 3 October 2003)

* Uganda. Baby flight sparks row — 5 October: Uganda’s President, Yoweri Museveni, has defended a decision to fly his daughter to Europe in the presidential jet in order to deliver her baby. The media and opposition in Uganda saw this as a clear example of wasting state resources. But Uganda’s president has now written to defend his action. In a lengthy statement in the Sunday papers, Mr Museveni admits sending the presidential jet to Europe so that his daughter and daughter-in-law could deliver their babies. But, while the Ugandan leader rebuffs claims that the recent return trip cost $90,000, many will still maintain that the $27,000 he claims it cost is still poor use of the country’s resources. An independent newspaper here suggested that the money could have been better spent invested in the purchase of mammogram machines to help detect breast cancer, or tens of thousands of mosquito nets to prevent malaria — two major killers in this cash-strapped country. In his statement, the president declares that he detests a wasteful lifestyle, but goes on to say that «when it comes to medical care for myself and my family there is no compromise.» He then suggests that, as a leader, there have been enemy plots to kill him and he even describes some doctors in Uganda as hostile, who cannot be trusted to treat his family. Despite Mr Museveni’s explanation, his critics will view this whole episode as evidence that he is no longer living up to the tag of a «new breed» of African leader, but is displaying characteristics of much-criticised presidents from across the continent. (BBC News, UK, 5 October 2003)

* Uganda. Karamojong anger over cattle seizures — 6 October: Uganda’s Karamojong elders have expressed anger and vowed to hunt down cattle raiders after the government confiscated 1,238 head of cattle from them. Some of the cattle confiscated from the Bokora Karamojong will be given out as compensation for the lives of 21 people killed by Karamojong warriors in Katakwi district on 20 September. Others will be used to compensate the lives of four Karamojong local defence unit personnel killed by the warriors in an operation mounted by the army to impound stolen cattle. The commanding officer of the Uganda People’s Defence Force, third infantry division, Colonel Andrew Guti, supervised the recovery of the cattle to be given out as compensation. He said that 60 head of cattle would be paid to the family of each of the people killed by the Karamojong. Colonel Guti said that more cattle would be confiscated from the ethnic Pian Karamojong in Nakapiripirit to make the required number of 2,057. The pastoralists grinned and gnashed their teeth as they watched the counting process. Colonel Guti, however, blamed them for allowing wrong elements to hide amongst them — he said that the warriors who killed people in Katakwi district drove the stolen cattle through the grazing area where the majority of the pastoralists kept their own herds. (BBC News, UK, 6 October 2003)

* Zambie. PME pour le tourisme — Le gouvernement zambien a annoncé une facilité de crédit d’une valeur de 5 milliards de kwachas (environ 1 million de dollars) pour venir en aide à environ 300 petites et moyennes entreprises du secteur du tourisme. Il s’agit d’un mécanisme destiné à renforcer les capacités des Zambiens dans la création d’emplois et l’accès à des financements pour les micro-entreprises et les PME afin qu’elles puissent participer au développement de l’industrie touristique, a déclaré le ministre de l’Environnement et du Tourisme, Patrick Kalifungwa. Les premiers financements devraient être accordés à la fin du mois. (PANA, Sénégal, 2 octobre 2003)

* Zambia, Marching against child rape — 3 October: Thousands of Zambian men and women have staged an angry protests at the rising trend of the rape of children. Almost every day local newspapers report on the cases of children who have been sexually abused, often by their own relatives and by men who mistakenly believe they will be cured of Aids if they sleep with a virgin. Trade unionists, human rights group, the women’s movement and school children themselves united in a march through the streets of the capital, Lusaka, to demand that more be done to control the rape of children. Feelings in the country are running so high that some women on the march waved about scissors, demanding that those found guilty of rape are castrated. Emily Sikazwe, a leading member of the women’s movement, wants to see government taking greater responsibility for protecting children. First of all, she wants stiffer penalties. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 3 October 2003)

* Zimbabwe. La faim s’aggrave — Selon un rapport de l’ONU, la crise qui a dégénéré en famine dans certaines régions du Zimbabwe, s’est aggravée, la majorité des districts du pays ayant épuisé leurs réserves alimentaires. Des familles de plusieurs régions du Zimbabwe ont dû vendre des biens de leur foyer; d’autres survivent en mangeant des fruits sauvages habituellement réservés aux animaux. Le texte évoque également des pénuries d’eau qui ont décimé le bétail dans la province du Matabeleland (sud), ravagée par la sécheresse. (La Libre Belgique, 4 octobre 2003)

* Zimbabwe. Another newspaper threatened — The state media commission in Zimbabwe is investigating another independent newspaper and has threatened it with closure, it was reported on 5 October. The Zimbabwe Standard, the country’s only independent Sunday newspaper, said that Tafataona Mahoso, head of the state Media and Information Commission, told one of its reporters that regulators were scrutinising the publication’s contents. «We will be coming to you soon. You are writing lies,» Mr Mahoso told the newspaper. The commission refused to license The Daily News, the nation’s only independent daily newspaper, last month, saying it failed to follow proper procedures to get a license and that it published illegally for eight months. The Standard received a commission license under sweeping media laws passed last year. Only licensed newspapers can publish under the new laws. On 3 October, The Standard reported that the Information Minister, Jonathan Moyo, called the newspaper and its sister weekly, The Zimbabwe Independent, «running dogs of imperialism. Really, we should shut these papers down because they are trash, they injured our national interest,» Mr Moyo said. The Sunday Mail newspaper, an officially sanctioned newspaper, claimed The Standard was planning to publish a daily edition using some staff from the banned Daily News. The Standard‘s owners, however, have not announced any plans to ask for accreditation to bring out a daily edition. The Sunday Mail also alleged «underground forces» were at work to keep The Daily News staff on the payroll while efforts to restart an independent daily are pursued. It said the Media Institute of Southern Africa, a press freedom watchdog, was paying journalists from the banned paper. It added that several international agencies and Britain, Zimbabwe’s former colonial power, were giving money to The Daily News to keep the newspaper company financially intact during court challenges to their ban. The Daily News, meanwhile, announced the launch on 5 October of a limited electronic edition available on a website in neighbouring South Africa. Five Daily News directors and 15 journalists have been charged with violating Zimbabwe’s media laws during a government crackdown against dissent. (The Independent, UK, 6 October 2003)

* Zimbabwe. Fire rages in national Zimbabwe park — A fire has devastated vast tracts of Zimbabwe’s Matopos National Park and is threatening many of its wild animals. Reports say that three-quarters of the central part of the 43,000 ha park has been engulfed by a raging fire that has forced hundreds of wild animals to flee the flames. Officials at the park, which was recently designated a world heritage site by the United Nations, say the blaze was probably started by poachers. A state-owned radio station, however, described the fire as «an act of arson» probably caused by poachers or by reckless villagers. Hunters sometimes set fire to bushland to flush out wild animals, while small scale farmers light fires to clear bush in readiness for planting crops. Earlier this year, the UN cultural organisation, Unesco, listed the Matobo Hills as an area of world significance because of its distinctive geological formations and ancient rock paintings. It also contains the grave of Cecil Rhodes, who led Britain’s colonisation of southern Africa. It is the second time in three years that the park has been hit by fire. Poaching is a big problem in Zimbabwe, with the menace —especially on the formerly white-owned farms — getting out of control. Experts say that 80% of wildlife on the formerly white-owned farms have been by poachers in the past three years. In the dry bush country of the Gwayi Valley, north of Bulawayo, anti-poaching patrols are overwhelmed. The poaching is ruining Zimbabwe’s safari and wildlife industry — once one of the most successful sectors of the Zimbabwean economy. (BBC News, UK, 7 October 2003)

* Zimbabwe. Arrestations — Le 8 octobre, au moins une quarantaine de syndicalistes, dont plusieurs dirigeants, ont été arrêtés par la police dans plusieurs villes du pays, alors qu’ils s’apprêtaient à manifester contre la cherté de la vie et la violation de leurs droits. Selon le porte-parole de la Confédération des travailleurs du Zimbabwe (ZCTU), l’ensemble de la direction syndicale a été placé en détention par la police après une rafle menée contre les manifestants, particulièrement dans la capitale Harare. La ZCTU avait appelé à une manifestation de protestation nationale contre la hausse du coût de la vie dans un contexte d’hyperinflation, aggravée par des impôts et les prix élevés des transports. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 9 octobre 2003)

* Zimbabwe. Union leaders arrested — 8 October: 41 union leaders and workers are arrested in Harare, ahead of a planned protest march organised by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU). The ZCTU said they wanted to demonstrate against the high level of inflation, increasing cost of living and of transport costs in the country. Heavily armed riot police started patrolling the streets of Harare from early in the morning. The ZCTU had urged members to leave work and join the protest, but before the demonstration was able to start, police arrested the leaders, members of the ZCTU General Council and the general secretaries of individual unions. They are currently being held by the police. Across Zimbabwe, the total of union members and leaders arrested reaches more than 100. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 8 October 2003)