Weekly anb03307.txt #7

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 30-03-2000      PART #7/7

* Zambie. Kaunda quitte la politique  -  Kenneth Kaunda, l'ancien
president de la Zambie qui a mene son pays a l'independance, a
donne sa demission comme president du United National Independence
Party, mettant ainsi fin a une carriere politique de plus de
quarante ans. M. Kaunda, 75 ans, cherchera probablement a jouer
encore un role comme mediateur dans les conflits regionaux en
Afrique centrale. Kenneth Kaunda a dirige la Zambie durant 27 ans.
A la fin, sa popularite baissa suite a une crise economique. En
1991, il fut battu aux elections par Frederick Chiluba, l'actuel
president.   (D'apres De Standaard, Belgique, 28 mars 2000)

* Zambia. Kaunda to become peace, AIDS activist  -  28 March:
Former president Kenneth Kaunda, who has resigned as leader of his
United National Independence Party (UNIP), said today that he will
devote his life to solving African conflicts and the fighting the
AIDS pandemic. In an interview, he said: "I carefully considered
the invitation extended to several former heads of state to join
President Gaddafi's club of statesmen, and I accepted. The time has
come for me to concentrate on conflict resolution and promotion of
detente. My main peace vehicle will be my Kenneth Kaunda Peace
Foundation." Mr Kaunda acknowledged for the first time that his
son, Masuzgo, died of AIDS in 1986. "I will champion the fight
against AIDS", he said. "My son died of AIDS and I had to bring up
his five children. I know what is involved in bringing up children
left behind by an AIDS victim". Kaunda's decision to resign has
thrown the party into disarray. UNIP members were shocked by the
announcement and one said he would sue Kaunda for not consulting
party members. Kaunda initially retired after his election defeat
to Frederick Chiluba in 1991, but changed his mind in time for the
1996 national elections.   (Financial Times, UK, 28 March 2000)

* Zimbabwe. Moral Principles Of Land Reform  -  In a Press
Statement, the Catholic Bishops of Zimbabwe said that "As the
problem of equitable land distribution is still with us, its seems
appropriate to remind all concerned of the moral principles that
ought to guide the people of Zimbabwe in this enterprise.". The
Bishops then listed these principles previously published in the
Bishops Pastoral Statement, "Solidarity and Service", 1989). The
Bishops' conclusions include the following points: "For grave
reasons, and only for such reasons, the State has a right to
acquire land and distribute it equitably; in order to carry out the
process of redistribution and resettlement, a suitable mechanism
must be established; compensation must reflect the effort which the
former owner put into the land".   (Soc. Communic. Secr., ZCBC,
Zimbabwe, 13 March 2000)

* Zimbabwe. Carburant du Koweit  -  Le Zimbabwe, qui doit faire
face a une grave penurie de carburant depuis 4 mois, a conclu le 24
mars un accord avec une compagnie petroliere du Koweit visant a
assurer l'approvisionnement du pays pendant plus d'un an, a annonce
l'agence nationale Ziana. "Nous avons deja prepare trois cargos qui
doivent arriver dans 10 ou 15 jours, une livraison qui devrait
permettre au pays de remedier a ses problemes de carburant", a
declare le directeur de l'Independent Petroleum Group of Koweit. Le
montant total de l'aide negociee, qui comprend la renovation de
l'oleoduc venant de la cote du Mozambique pour augmenter ses
capacites et la modernisation de la compagnie nationale petroliere
du Zimbabwe, etait toujours a l'etude.   (D'apres La Libre
Belgique, 25 mars 2000)

* Zimbabwe. Tension continues  -  23 March: Zimbabwe's biggest
independent law association alleges that President Mugabe heads a
dictatorship and says he should resign. The challenge comes from
the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights group and comes three days
after Zimbabwe's biggest opposition alliance, the National
Constitutional Assembly, calls on Mugabe to resign over the
occupation of the farms by squatters led by ex-guerrillas. 24
March: The police are seeking an exemption to a High Court order
which instructs them to forcibly evict war veterans who are
occupying white-owned farms. In an affidavit published in the local
media, the acting chief of police, Godwin Matanga, said the problem
was a racially and politically charged powder-keg and would explode
if not handled with political astuteness. The UK says up to 20,000
white Zimbabweans may flock to the UK if violence erupts. the
Foreign Office has confirmed contingency plans exist to house about
20,000 Zimbabweans who hold British passports. 26 March: President
Mugabe postpones the parliamentary elections until May, citing
delays in updating voter registers. "When all is set, elections
could be held early in May or mid-May", the President says, adding
that a specific poll date would be determined by how quickly voter
registers could be updated.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 27 March 2000)

* Zimbabwe. Elections differees  -  Le president Mugabe a annonce
que les prochaines elections legislatives se tiendraient non en
avril, mais en mai. Selon M. Mugabe, ce renvoi est cause par des
retards dans l'enregistrement des electeurs. - D'autre part, les
occupations de centaines de proprietes agricoles de Blancs par des
veterans squatters se poursuivent. Condamnees par la magistrature,
elles sont ouvertement soutenues par le chef de l'Etat. Le 26 mars,
l'opposition a accuse le parti de Mugabe de vouloir exploiter la
question sensible de la repartition des terres pour ameliorer sa
position dans les urnes. Selon elle, les occupations s'inscrivent
dans un "plan orchestre" par Mugabe et les siens pour detourner les
electeurs de la priorite nationale, l'economie, qui est leur point
faible.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 27 mars 2000)

* Zimbabwe. Pondering devaluation  -  28 March: Zimbabwe's bankers
will meet the central bank today to consider a 25% devaluation of
the currency, which has been pegged for the last 14 months. The
banks, faced with a rapidly worsening foreign exchange crisis, long
queues for fuel, cuts in industrial production and the loss of
export orders, are calling for the devaluation of the currency from
Z$38 to the US$, to at least Z$45 or preferably Z$50 by the end of
next month. The end of April is a critical date because the
country's annual tobacco sales are due to start on 26 April and
tobacco farmers have made it clear they will not send leaf to the
auction until there is a substantial devaluation.   (Financial
Times, UK, 28 March 2000)

* Zimbabwe. Mugabe returns to the offensive  -  28 March: President
Mugabe has launched a stinging attack on the British Government,
accusing it of leading an international campaign against Zimbabwe
based on a gay philosophy. Speaking in a television interview, He
said calls for suspension from the Commonwealth would not succeed.
He went on to warn of severe consequences if white farmers
attempted to remove thousands of government supporters who have
occupied their land, demanding to be resettled. Mr Mugabe appears
convinced that Britain is scheming to bring him down ahead of
elections due this year. 29 March: President Mugabe has sacrificed
several ministers in a bid to restore his government's credibility.
The changes so far are seen as cosmetic and as reflecting the
desparation of a government suffering a major credibility slump
amid an economic crisis. In party primaries over the past month to
choose candidates for his ruling ZANU-PF, Mugabe has not used his
presidential machinery to help some top officials get re-elected.
Six cabinet ministers, including veteran nationalists in government
since Mugabe assumed power at independence in 1980, and 20 other
MPs have been dropped.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 29 March 2000)

WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 30-03-2000  END OF PART #7/7
THE END

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