Weekly anb05107.txt #7

[anb-bia <anb-bia at village.uunet.be>]

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 10-05-2001      PART #7/7

* Swaziland. Publications suspendues  -  La jeune presse privée du 
Swaziland est désormais sans titres, à la suite de la suspension des deux 
seuls organes privés du pays par les autorités, qui les ont jugés trop 
critiques àl'égard du gouvernement et de la monarchie. Le ministre de 
l'Information a suspendu The Guardian (dont la première publication date de 
février dernier) et le magazine The Nation (créé en 1997). Si la raison de 
la suspension de The Nation demeure ambiguë, The Guardian a publié 
plusieurs fois des articles compromettants sur la famille royale. 
L'Association des journalistes swazi, l'Institut des médias de l'Afrique 
australe et RSF ont condamné cette suspension.   (PANA, Sénégal, 8 mai 2001)

* Tanzanie. L'Irlande menace de couper son aide  -  L'Irlande a menacé 
d'interrompre son aide à la Tanzanie à cause de la mauvaise utilisation et 
des détournements généralisés de sommes destinées aux projets de 
développement menés dans le pays. Le 4 mai, l'ambassadeur irlandais, Ronan 
Cornin, a déclaré qu'il avait trouvé qu'une bonne partie de l'argent des 
contribuables irlandais, destiné à des projets de routes et de réparation 
de véhicules dans le district de Kilosa, avait été détournée par des 
responsables sur place. L'Irlande rejoint ainsi la longue liste de pays 
donateurs et d'institutions financières qui ont fait part de leur 
inquiétude par rapport à la corruption en Tanzanie. Il y a deux ans, le FMI 
et la Banque mondiale avaient mis en garde les autorités de ce pays contre 
le fait que s'ils ne donnaient pas un coup d'accélérateur à leur lutte 
contre la corruption, leur pays pourrait ne plus recevoir une aide 
financière de l'étranger.   (PANA, Sénégal, 4 mai 2001)

* Tanzania/France. France promotes southern Africa peacekeeping 
force  -  Military leaders from southern Africa met in Tanzania on 8 May as 
part of French efforts to boost Africa's ability to provide peacekeeping 
troops for wars in the continent. The French-led Reinforcement of Africa's 
Capacity to Keep the Peace (RECAMP) initiative aims to promote peacekeeping 
organized within Africa, with outside support on training, technical 
back-up, transport, equipment and funding. Military exercises have already 
been held in West Africa and Gabon in recent years, but this week's meeting 
aims to extend the project into the southern region for the first time. 
"There is a general consensus that African countries have to take care of 
their own problems," French Rear-Admiral Raymond Masson said. The three-day 
meeting will be attended by army, navy and air force officers from the 
14-member Southern African Development Community, as well as neighbouring 
Kenya and the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar. Uganda and Rwanda were not 
invited because of their 1998 invasion of the Democratic Republic of Congo, 
French officials said. The meeting aims to pave the way for a general staff 
exercise in October and full military exercises in Tanzania next February 
for a peacekeeping battalion of 800 troops drawn from the 16 participating 
countries. The decision to hold the exercises in an Anglophone country for 
the first time is widely seen as part of France's efforts to extend its 
military presence and influence outside its former colonies. "This 
underlines the new French policy to extend peace-support to the whole of 
Africa, not just Francophone Africa," Masson said. "We want to help African 
countries organize themselves on a sub-regional basis."   (CNN, USA, 8 May 
2001)

* Uganda. Unsustainable primary education programme  -  In the year 2000, 
the country's Universal Primary Education programme (UPE) allowed 6.5 
million pupils to attend school -- a radical increase from the 2.3 million 
in 1997. 15,000 classrooms are presently being built (at a cost of US $130 
million) and 45,000 teachers have been recalled to duty. The UPE benefited 
in part from the Highly Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC). But 
finances for education are reaching breaking point. Both donors and the 
government agree that the cost of financing the UPE has been greatly 
underestimated. From the practical point of view this is seen in such areas 
as the supply of school text books. This has been marginally reduced from 1 
book to every seven pupils to one book for every four pupils; the number of 
girls attending school has increased by only 2% in recent years -- from 45% 
in 1987 to 47% this year. Also, corruption has hindered teacher 
recruitment. Parents still have to shoulder the burden of paying for text 
books, school construction and ever-increasing school fees. Yet the 
introduction of UPE should have lightened their burden.   (Crespo Sebunya, 
ANB-BIA, Brussels, 1 May 2001)

* Uganda. Ugandan troops leaving Congo RDC  -  One of the rebel's key 
backers in the two and a half year Democratic of Congo war is to start 
withdrawing its troops from most of its positions. Uganda's Foreign 
Minister Eriya Kategaya said the cabinet had ordered a pullout from 10 
northern Congolese towns that "will start immediately". However, Uganda 
will maintain a presence in the northeastern towns of Buta and Bunia to 
deter rebel attacks on Uganda territory. Uganda also said it would remain a 
party to the Lusaka Peace Agreement after earlier threatening to withdraw 
following a UN report that accused Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and their rebel 
allies of massive looting of the Congo's natural resources. About 5,000 
Uganda troops are estimated to have withdrawn from Congo in the past year. 
Uganda's comments come after surprise talks on 7 May involving Rwanda, the 
other main backer of the rebels, and Zimbabwe. Presidents Paul Kagame and 
Robert Mugabe agreed in talks in Harare that they would push for a speedy 
end to the conflict. Speaking after "a clear exchange of views" with 
President Mugabe, the Rwandan leader said he was cautiously optimistic 
about accelerating implementation of the Lusaka peace accord to end the 
fighting which has pulled in six foreign armies.   (BBC News, UK, 8 May 2001)

* Zambia. Chiluba -- changing direction?  -  3 May: Zambian legislators 
file a motion on 3 May to impeach President Frederick Chiluba for gross 
misconduct. Ruling party members Ackson Sejani and Mike Mulongoti hand 
House Speaker Amusaa Mwanamwambwa a notice of motion, signed by more than a 
third of the 158 legislators, giving the speaker 21 days to decide whether 
the charges warrant a special tribunal. "The president has engaged in acts 
of gross misconduct by encouraging and rewarding acts of thuggery, 
gangsterism, and anarchy," the notice says, adding that Chiluba has created 
conditions that endangered the lives of his vice president and ministers at 
a special congress of the ruling party last weekend. 4 May: In a surprise 
announcement, President Chiluba says he will not seek a third term of 
office. "I will leave office at the end of my term. Let's take national 
interests in consideration". he says he will stay on as party president. 5 
May: Violence breaks out in Lusaka. Trouble broke out at a political rally 
called by dissident members of the ruling Movement for Multi-Party 
Democracy (MMD). Mr Chiluba says it was pre-meditated and says those who 
orchestrated the violence could expect to bear the full brunt of the law. 
The president also announced a new cabinet to replace the one he dissolved 
on 4 May. 6 May: Speaking at a press conference, Mr Chiluba puts an end to 
any lingering speculation that he could be standing for a third term. He 
says: "Again and again and again, I am not standing for a third term". 7 
May: The Speaker of Parliament declares null and void the expulsion of 21 
Members from the MMD, saying this move has flouted a High Court order. 8 
May: Civic groups backing President Chiluba have launched a constitutional 
reform campaign raising fears that Chiluba has not given up hope of 
extending his rule beyond the legal limit of 10 years. In full-page 
advertisements in Lusaka newspapers on 8 May, the groups urged that reforms 
be in place before elections in October.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 8 May 2001)

* Zambie. Chiluba renonce à un 3e mandat  -  Le dimanche 6 mai, au 
lendemain d'une manifestation hostile à sa candidature qui avait fait un 
mort et de nombreux blessés, le président zambien Frederick Chiluba a 
renoncé à briguer un troisième mandat. Lors du congrès de son parti, la 
semaine dernière, M. Chiluba s'était fait investir candidat à la 
présidentielle malgré l'interdiction par la Constitution de briguer un 
troisième quinquennat consécutif. Le 4 mai, il avait dissous le 
gouvernement au sein duquel neuf ministres et le vice-président 
s'opposaient ouvertement à sa candidature. Le 5 mai, un nouveau 
gouvernement, composé uniquement de ses fidèles, avait été mis en 
place.   (Le Monde, France, 8 mai 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Mugabe threatens to expropriate tourist lodges  -  The 
Zimbabwean government has added tourist lodges in some of the country's 
premier resorts to its list of commercial farms for transfer from white to 
black ownership, it was reported on 3 May. The weekly Zimbabwe Independent 
said resorts in the Victoria Falls and Eastern Highlands regions were being 
targeted for expropriation by President Robert Mugabe's government. So far 
more than half of the country's 5,000 white-owned farms have been listed 
for acquisition. Victoria Falls, on Zimbabwe's western border with Zambia, 
is one of southern Africa's top tourist destinations. The town has 
developed increasingly as a centre for adventure tourism popular for 
white-water river rafting, while the Eastern Highlands is a mountainous 
destination popular with hikers. Resorts identified for compulsory purchase 
include land owned by Outward Bound, Pine Crest and Raynes Park Estates, 
the newspaper reported. It said tea and coffee plantations were also 
earmarked for resettlement. Alongside mining and tobacco, tourism is one of 
Zimbabwe's main sources of foreign exchange revenues. According to the 
Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, tourism contributed 3 per cent to gross 
domestic product in 2000, down from 7 per cent the year before. 
Additionally, fuel shortages, currency weakness and the withdrawal of 
support by the International Monetary Fund have severely weakened the 
economy. Tourism agencies have urged the government to rethink its policy, 
arguing that political violence in the country has slashed revenues from 
the industry as tourists stay away.   (Financial Times, UK, 4 May 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Ligne directe Londres-Victoria Falls  -  Le 7 mai, la compagnie 
aérienne nationale zimbabwéenne a procédé à l'ouverture d'une ligne directe 
reliant Londres à la station balnéaire de Victoria Falls en vue de relancer 
le secteur touristique. Des vols directs hebdomadaires seront désormais 
effectués pour relier la capitale britannique à Victoria Falls, jadis 
accessible seulement via Johannesburg et Harare. Cette mesure est destinée 
à faire les yeux doux aux touristes occidentaux, visiblement effrayés par 
les informations persistantes en provenance du Zimbabwe, faisant état de 
violence et d'instabillité politique.   (PANA, Sénégal, 7 mai 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Morgan Tsvangirai goes on trial  -  7 May: Opposition leader, 
Morgan Tsvangirai goes on trial on politically motivated charges of treason 
designed to prevent him from running for president against Robert Mugabe. 
Tsvangirai says: "The charges against me are politically motivated to get 
me out of the way before the presidential elections next year. The charges 
go hand in hand with the campaign being perpetrated by Mugabe's war 
veterans. For two weeks factories have been invaded by war veterans but the 
police have done nothing. Innocent people have been beaten and killed. 
Judges have been threatened". By the end of the day, Tsvangirai wins an 
important first round victory against the government when the High Court 
questions the constitutionality of oppressive British colonial-era laws 
used to charge him. The High Court refers the trial to the Supreme Court. 
The Supreme Court will consider whether President Mugabe can even use the 
notorious Law and Order (Maintenance) Act which has been wielded by every 
Zimbabwean government for four decades to oppress opponents.   (The 
Guardian, UK, 7-8 May 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Le procès de Tsvangirai renvoyé  -  Le procès contre le 
dirigeant de l'opposition Morgan Tsvangirai, qui aurait dû débuter le 7 
mai, a été reporté. Un juge de la Haute Cour de Harare a reconnu, avec les 
défenseurs de Tsvangirai, que ce procès remettrait en cause le principe 
constitutionnel de la liberté à la parole. C'est pourquoi il a été décidé 
que la procédure judiciaire incombait à la Cour suprême, qui par ailleurs 
ne devrait pas examiner le dossier avant un mois. Tsvangirai est accusé 
d'avoir violé le Law and Order Maintenance Act, une loi datant de l'époque 
coloniale concernant les instigateurs à la révolte contre le pouvoir en 
place. Le chef du Mouvement pour le changement démocratique (MDC) avait 
affirmé en septembre 2000 que le président Mugabe pouvait être destitué, 
même par la violence, s'il refusait de se retirer pacifiquement.   (Misna, 
Italie, 8 mai 2001)

Weekly News anb0510.txt - #7/7
THE END


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Un homme meurt chaque fois que l'un d'entre nous se tait devant la tyrannie 
(W. Soyinka, Prix Nobel litterature) - Everytime somebody keep silent when 
faced with tyranny, someone else dies (Wole Syinka, Nobel Prize for 
Literature) *
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