Weekly anb05177.txt #8

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

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 17-05-2001      PART #7/8

* Afrique du Sud. Une députée contre le sida  -  "Le VIH n'est pas 
seulement au dehors, il est ici avec nous". Le 10 mai, Ruth Bengu, députée 
de l'ANC, a ému l'Assemblée sud-africaine en racontant la séropositivité de 
sa fille, au cours d'un débat sur la pauvreté et le sida; mais elle a 
surtout marqué un tournant dans la reconnaissance de la maladie par la 
classe dirigeante, en appelant ses collègues à ne pas politiser ni 
dépersonnaliser le problème. C'est la première fois qu'un parlementaire 
admet à l'Assemblée la séropositivité d'un proche. Cette intervention a été 
saluée par tous ceux qui appellent à briser le silence dans le 
pays.   (Libération, France, 12 mai 2001)

* South Africa. "Race trial"  -  14 May: Nine white South Africans are 
expected to appear in court on charges of murdering a black teenager nearly 
two months ago. A bail hearing last month had to be adjourned when the 
court was overrun by angry black crowds. It is alleged that the victim, 
Tshepo Matloga, was shot and killed as he trespassed on land owned by one 
of the defendants. The nine suspects, all Afrikaan members of a local rugby 
club in the northern town of Pietersberg, are accused of beating Mr Matloga 
to death and dumping his body. The case has exposed the country's lingering 
racial tension, raising the question of how much South Africa has actually 
changed since the abolition of apartheid.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 14 May 2001)

* South Africa. S.Africa rejects damning IISS report  -  On 16 May, South 
Africa Wednesday rejected a report by a leading think tank that slammed 
what it said was President Thabo Mbeki's timid response to Zimbabwe's 
political crisis. Mbeki's office said in a terse statement that the report 
"perpetuates the mythical linking of the role and fortunes of South Africa 
to those countries that have decided to move away from democracy." The 
London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) said in 
its annual Strategic Survey that "prospects for effective regional 
leadership in southern Africa were hindered over the past year." It said 
the primary problems were Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's coercive 
grab of white-owned farm land and Mbeki's "reticence in responding to 
Mugabe's policies and his shaky stewardship of South Africa itself." Mbeki 
has been widely criticized for his "quiet" approach to Zimbabwe, where the 
rule of law has all but collapsed as self-styled veterans of the country's 
war of liberation have taken their fight from farms to factories, occupying 
farmland and forcing businesses to rehire fired workers. The country is in 
the grip of a chronic shortage of hard currency and fuel and its woes were 
cited by analysts as a major factor behind the depreciation of South 
Africa's rand last year. "As long as Mugabe remains in power, there is 
little chance that Zimbabwe will extricate itself from economic and 
political disarray," the report said. It linked Mbeki's Zimbabwe diplomacy 
to domestic politics, saying it "obliquely reflects Mbeki's inclination to 
curry favours with his predominantly black constituency."   (CNN, USA, 16 
May 2001)

* Soudan. Opposants arrêtés  -  Six opposants, accusés d'espionnage et 
d'avoir fomenté un soulèvement avec l'aide des Etats-Unis, ont été arrêtés 
le 11 mai. Ils avaient été libérés deux semaines plus tôt au terme d'une 
première incarcération en décembre 2000, lors d'une réunion avec un 
diplomate américain, qui a été expulsé. Ils sont membres de la "direction 
intérieure" de l'Alliance nationale démocratique (coalition de l'opposition 
nordiste et de la rébellion sudiste). Ils risquent la peine de mort s'ils 
sont reconnus coupables.   (Le Monde, France, 13 mai 2001)

* Soudan. Menace de crise humanitaire  -  Près de trois millions de 
Soudanais ont besoin d'assistance humanitaire internationale du fait d'une 
combinaison de deux mauvaises récoltes successives et de la poursuite de la 
guerre dans le sud du pays, a indiqué la FAO dans un communiqué publié le 
14 mai. - Le 15 mai, l'ambassade italienne à Khartoum a annoncé que 
l'Italie a dégagé près de 3,4 millions de dollars pour l'assistance 
humanitaire au Soudan en 2001. $1,53 millions serviront au financement des 
projets de l'Unicef dans le domaine de la nutrition, $480.000 à 
l'initiative de la FAO sur la sécurité alimentaire et le volet agricole, et 
le reste ira respectivement au PAM pour l'aide alimentaire d'urgence, et au 
Fonds des Nations unies pour les activités en matière de population pour 
les personnes déplacées et les réfugiés.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 
15 mai 2001)

* Tanzania. "Tanzania is not helping Burundi"  -  The major cause of the 
conflict in Burundi "rotates around the lack of democracy and equitable 
participation by all, in matters of state, including political, economic 
and social developments" and has nothing to do with the presence of 
Burundian refugees in Tanzania. This was part of Tanzania's rejoinder to 
recent allegations by Burundi's President Pierre Buyoya, that Tanzania was 
fuelling the civil conflict in that country by allowing rebels of the 
Forces for the Defence of Democracy (FDD) "to use their territory to launch 
attacks on Burundi". Tanzania's Minister of Foreign Affairs and 
International Cooperation says this is not the first time Burundi has made 
such claims. Because of this, Tanzania is duty bound to reiterate that "the 
state of war inside Burundi, including Bujumbura rural areas, is squarely 
the responsibility of the government of Burundi. Tanzania does not train, 
harbour or allow rebels to use its territory to launch attacks against 
Burundi".   (The East African, Kenya, 7-13 May 2001)

* Tchad. Présidentielles le 20 mai  -  Le premier tour de l'élection 
présidentielle tchadienne est prévu le dimanche 20 mai. Le scrutin opposera 
sept candidats, dont le président Idriss Déby qui brigue un second mandat 
de cinq ans. Dès le 17 et jusqu'au 19 mai, les Tchadiens de l'extérieur 
(environ 500.000) et les nomades commenceront à voter, conformément aux 
dispositions du code électoral. Le président de la Commission électorale 
nationale indépendante a déploré certains dérapages durant la campagne 
électorale et lancé un appel pour que le scrutin se déroule en toute 
quiétude.   (D'après PANA, Sénégal, 16 mai 2001)

* Togo. Mission du premier ministre  -  Le 15 mai, le Premier ministre 
togolais Mensah Kodjo a quitté Lomé pour la Guinée Conakry, le Libéria et 
la Sierra Leone, porteur d'un message du chef d'Etat togolais Eyadema, 
président en exercice de l'OUA, aux dirigeants de ces trois pays qu'une 
crise oppose. Les Nations unies ont récemment pris des sanctions contre le 
Libéria, accusé de soutenir les rebelles sierra-léonais contre la Guinée. 
Une réunion de l'organe central de l'OUA pour la prévention, la gestion et 
le règlement des conflits, prévue pour le 9 avril, avait été reportée pour 
"une meilleure préparation". La réunion avait pour but d'étudier les 
possibilités d'une paix durable dans les régions du fleuve Mano et des 
Grands Lacs.   (PANA, Sénégal, 15 mai 2001)

* Tunisie. Najib Hosni libéré  -  L'avocat tunisien et militant des droits 
de l'homme, Najib Hosni, a été libéré le 12 mai à la suite d'une grâce 
présidentielle. Me Najib Hosni, 47 ans, était incarcéré depuis le 21 
décembre 2000.   (Libération, France, 14 mai 2001)

* Tunisia. Human rights activist released  -  A prominent human rights 
activist in Tunisia, Nejib Hosni, says he's been unexpectedly released 
after a pardon by President Zine-el-Abidine Ben Ali. Mr Hosni - who's been 
in jail since last December - has been awarded human rights prizes in 
France and the United States for his work as a lawyer and rights activist. 
His case prompted international concern, with Amnesty International 
accusing President Ben Ali of silencing his opponents. In a rare radio 
interview on 12 May, Mr Ben Ali defended his government's record. He said 
human rights abuses in Tunisia were rare, adding that he was determined to 
continue with democratic reform.   (BBC News, UK, 14 May 2001)

* Tunisia. "Religion, Human Rights and Education"  -  "The Islamic notion 
of "jihad" is getting a bad name". So says former Tunisian Minister of 
Education Mohammed Charfi, who addressed a congress here on the subject. 
"Religious wars fought in the name of the jihad are false," Charfi said. 
"In the Koran, the jihad is referred to only as a legitimate action of 
self-defense, and can never be used as an offensive action." He made his 
comments during the Congress on 11 May entitled: "Religion, Human Rights 
and Education," organized by the Pontifical Institute of Arab and Islamic 
Studies, in collaboration with the US-based Bradley Foundation. "Only when 
religion has been usurped by politics have there been wars, abuses and 
violence," Charfi added. "These are political reasons, which have abused 
religion and, consequently, violated human rights. The three monotheist 
religions are messengers of an announcement of love and charity," the 
Tunisian professor said. "Around this message, rabbis, priests and sheiks 
have elaborated ethical and also legislative codes. From this point of 
view, the men of faith constitute a moral power parallel to the civil." 
According to Charfi, only Iran, Afghanistan and Sudan hold the view that 
politics controls religion. "However, in 80% "of the Muslim world, corporal 
punishment and the death penalty for apostates have been abolished, and 
women have more or less been able to emancipate themselves," he added. 
(...)   (Zenith, Italy, 14 May 2001)

* Uganda. Uganda ready for Sudan ties  -  Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni 
has been sworn in (on 12 May) for a final five-year term with an 
announcement that he is ready to restore diplomatic relations with 
neighbouring Sudan. After taking the oath, Mr Museveni told the crowds that 
had gathered at the Kololo airstrip on the outskirts of the capital, 
Kampala, that he was prepared to re-establish contacts at a chargé 
d'affaires level, and move towards implementing the 1999 peace deal with 
Sudan. "Recently Colonel Gaddafi advised that we can renew our 
relationship, and I agreed to invite [Sudanese President] Omar al-Bashir to 
the celebrations". President Museveni said that in doing so he was 
following the advice of Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi. Similarly Sudanese 
President Omar al-Bashir is said to have attended the Ugandan inauguration 
celebrations in Kampala on the advice of Colonel Gaddafi. The Libyan leader 
has been trying to broker peace between the two countries, which broke off 
relations in 1994. Uganda accuses Sudan of sheltering rebels who are 
opposed to President Museveni and abduct children to serve among their 
ranks.   (BBC News, UK, 12 May 2001)

* Ouganda. Museveni prête serment  -  Le 12 mai, le président ougandais 
Yoweri Museveni a prêté serment pour un deuxième mandat de cinq ans devant 
cinq chefs d'Etat, dont le soudanais Omar el-Béchir. Un communiqué du 
ministère ougandais, rendu public le 11 mai, avait annoncé que l'Ouganda 
avait décidé le rétablissement des relations diplomatiques avec le Soudan 
au niveau de charge d'affaires. Ces relations avaient été rompues en 1995. 
Le 12 mai dans l'après-midi, le leader libyen Khadafi a parrainé une 
réunion entre les présidents soudanais et ougandais. Les deux ont convenu, 
selon une source diplomatique libyenne, de prendre des mesures pour la 
restauration de bonnes relations et le règlement de tous les problèmes en 
suspens entre les deux pays.   (D'après PANA, Sénégal, 12 mai 2001)

weekly anb0517.txt - #7/8