Weekly anb06148.txt #8

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

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 14-06-2001      PART #8/8

* Tunisie. Subventions à la presse des partis  -  Le 7 juin, le président 
tunisien Ben Ali a annoncé une majoration de 50% de la subvention accordée 
par l'Etat à la presse des partis, dont le montant était jusque là de 
75.000 dinars (41.000 euros) par an. Cette mesure, la deuxième majoration 
du genre en l'espace de six mois, vise à permettre aux journaux des partis, 
spécialement ceux de l'opposition, "en butte à des difficultés" 
financières, à assurer "la régularité de leur parution et de leur 
diffusion". Le chef de l'Etat réaffirme par ailleurs sa "détermination à 
persévérer" dans la mise en place d'un système politique fondé sur la 
démocratie et le pluralisme, sans toutefois céder "à l'anarchie".   (AP, 8 
juin 2001)

* Tunisie/Libye. Ben Ali en visite en Libye  -  Le président tunisien Zine 
El Abidine Ben Ali effectuera une "visite de fraternité et de travail" en 
Libye, les 13 et 14 juin, à l'invitation du colonel Muammar Kadhafi. La 
Libye est le premier partenaire économique de la Tunisie dans le monde 
arabe et en Afrique. Tunis et Tripoli ont convenu de porter le volume de 
leurs échanges de 700 millions de dollars en 1999 à un milliard de dollars 
en 2001. Par ailleurs, plusieurs grands projets communs ont été mis en 
oeuvre ces dernières années, dont l'interconnexion de leurs réseaux 
électriques et l'exploitation d'un gisement pétrolier off-shore situé sur 
le plateau continental limitrophe des deux pays.   (D'après AP, USA, 12 
juin 2001)

* Uganda. NGOs under pressure  -  NGOs in Uganda face new stringent 
legislative and administrative measures. The 2001 Amendment Bill requires 
the 1500 NGOs in the country to renew their licences annually, thus 
amending existing provisions that required new NGOs to have their licences 
reviewed after the first year of operation and then after three years. NGOs 
still face a Registration Board which is closely affiliated to the 
President's Office. New administrative measures imposed by Resident 
District Commissioners (under the President) now require all NGOs to 
register, to declare their sources of finance, and to account for their 
funds.   (Crespo Sebunya, ANB-BIA, Uganda, 30 May 2001)

* Uganda. Pfizer opens Ugandan AIDS centre  -  The pharmaceutical company 
Pfizer on 11 June launched an AIDS treatment training facility for 
sub-Saharan Africa. The move is the latest effort by multinational drug 
companies to counter the perception that their pricing policies and defence 
of patents have failed millions of poor being ravaged by the disease. The 
high-tech clinic, based in the Ugandan capital Kampala, will be run by an 
"academic alliance" of leading Ugandan and North American doctors, and act 
as a centre of excellence in a continent that is home to 27m of the world's 
36m AIDS sufferers. Its founders hope it will train thousands of doctors 
across Africa in treatment strategies, as well as more traditional 
prevention techniques. Pfizer has offered up to $11m dollars over the next 
three years, and Hank McKinnell, the Pfizer chief executive, said his 
company hoped to maintain support for at least a decade. He urged others to 
follow suit.   (Financial Times, UK, 12 June 2001)

* Ouganda. Pfizer: formation anti-sida  -  La firme pharmaceutique Pfizer, 
qui désire améliorer son image de marque, a ouvert en Ouganda un centre de 
formation pour le traitement du sida. L'hôpital hautement spécialisé à 
Kampala est géré par des médecins ougandais et américains et servira de 
centre d'étude pour le continent africain, qui compte 27 millions de 
sidéens. Les fondateurs espèrent y former des milliers de médecins dans le 
traitement du sida et les techniques préventives plus traditionnelles. 
Pfizer y investira 11 millions de dollars en trois ans et promet son aide 
pour une période de dix ans.   (D'après De Standaard, Belgique, 13 juin 2001)

* Western Sahara. UN calls for aid  -  United Nations aid agencies have 
made an urgent appeal for more funds to feed refugees from the disputed 
region of Western Sahara, who've been living in remote camps in the 
Algerian desert for the past 25 years. The UN High Commissioner for 
Refugees and the World Food Programme called on donors to provide at least 
one-point-two-million dollars a month for the estimated 
one-hundred-and-fifty-five-thousand refugees. They said that without more 
money, the agencies' warehouses would be empty by September. The refugees 
have been stranded in the camps since war broke out in Western Sahara in 
1976 after the colonial power, Spain, withdrew from the territory. A 
UN-sponsored referendum on the region -- which is claimed by Morocco -- has 
been repeatedly postponed.   (BBC News, UK, 9 June 2001)

* Western Sahara. Equal rights for women  -  The sun chars everything to 
cinder around El Ayoun Refugee Camp. It's a barren, wind-lashed, 
inhospitable desert --hardly the place to raise children or much of 
anything else. But thousands of Saharawis, cast here by political upheaval, 
have lived for the last 25 years in refugee camps in these wastelands of 
southwest Algeria. Against all odds, they have raised a nation-in-exile. 
What's more remarkable is the society that's emerged, largely nurtured by 
women, stands out starkly from that of other Arab and Muslim peoples. 
Saharawi women have demanded and won equal rights. They receive full 
education, have work opportunities similar to men and can vote in elections 
held every four years. On a personal level, marriage partners are freely 
chosen, women can initiate divorce, and contraception and abortion are 
permitted. "We are proud to be women, proud to be Arabs, proud to be 
Muslim, but we do not intend letting anyone dictate to us how we should 
live our lives," Mariam Salek, culture minister in the Saharawi 
government-in-exile, told The Associated Press. The Saharawis, descendants 
of nomadic tribes, live in tent cities that sprouted when they fled their 
neighboring Western Sahara homeland after Morocco annexed the 285,000 
square-kilometre land at the end of Spanish colonial rule in 1976. Morocco 
still insists it is the rightful ruler of the territory, which is rich in 
phosphates, and says Saharawis are simply Moroccans. To assert their claim, 
Saharawi men formed the Polisario militia -- the Popular Front for the 
Liberation of the Saguia de Hamra and Rio de Oro, the regions of the former 
Spanish Sahara. They fought a 15-year insurgency, something of a Cold War 
conflict since their allies in the battle against US-backed Morocco were 
often radical states such as Algeria, Libya and Cuba.  -  Today, a 
10-year-old, UN-forged cease-fire is holding while debate drags on over the 
terms of an independence referendum.   (CNN, USA, 11 June 2001

* Zambia. Hosting the OAU Summit  -  This year's Organisation of African 
Union (OAU) summit will be historic because it will lead to the 
transformation of the continental body into an African Union, OAU secretary 
general Salim Ahmed Salim has said. Speaking after signing the hosting 
agreement between the Zambian government and the OAU on 9 June, Salim said 
Zambia had been honoured because the Lusaka summit would provide guidelines 
for the transformation of the idea, started by Libyan leader Muammar 
Gaddafi, into reality. He said the holding of the OAU summit in Zambia was 
testimony to Africans' recognition of the country's role in different 
struggles on the continent. "By coming to the OAU summit, they are coming 
to mark that recognition," said Salim. "I hope Zambians will live up to 
their civic and historic role in Africa." Salim praised President Chiluba's 
peace search in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He urged Zambians to bury 
their differences and support the holding of the OAU in Zambia as it was a 
great honour.   (The Post, Zambia, 11 June 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Overtures  -  Despite the recent overtures by the Commercial 
Farmers Union, whereby the CFU has offered the government one million 
hectares of "uncontested" land plus US $2 million spending money, 
Zimbabwe's tragedy has yet to reach its climax. The government "cautiously 
accepted" the offer. However there are no guarantees that the invasions 
will stop, because some war veterans are adamant: "We are the ones to 
dictate who should get what piece of land and not the whites," an official 
of the veterans told the government-controlled Zimbabwe Broadcasting 
Corporation recently. And what is even more disturbing is that contrary to 
earlier pledges that the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) will be apolitical 
even when a new government is installed, moves are being made behind closed 
doors to persuade troops to take up position with the Zimbabwe African 
National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) and invade the scene as activists. 
The local press has extensively covered the whirlwind tours of army 
barracks by the ZNA commander, Mr Constantine Chiwenga. His message is 
clear: "Rally behind ZANU-PF and Mugabe, and throw out Tsvangirai, the 
traitor". As a measure to ensure success, Mr Chiwenga has promised to award 
war veterans who are members of the army with more money and 
promotions.   (Stan Dongo, ANB-BIA, Zimbabwe, 30 May 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Mugabe appelle à la lutte  -  Le 8 juin, quelque 10.000 
personnes, dont des centaines de militaires en uniforme et nombre de 
dignitaires du parti au pouvoir, ont assisté aux funérailles de Chenjerai 
Hunzvi, dirigeant d'une organisation d'anciens combattants de la guerre 
d'indépendance et fer de lance du violent mouvement d'occupation des fermes 
des Blancs, décédé le 4 juin. Le président Mugabe a salué sa mémoire et lui 
a accordé l'auréole et les funérailles d'un héros national. Hunzvi a lutté 
pour la justice sociale et contre les vestiges du colonialisme, a dit M. 
Mugabe, qui a appelé ses militants à intensifier la lutte. -Selon le Daily 
News du 12 juin, un ouvrier agricole noir a péri, roué de coups par des 
"vétérans", sous les yeux de la police et devant les caméras de la 
télévision nationale. La police a ouvert une enquête.   (ANB-BIA, de 
sources diverses, 13 juin 2001)

* Zimbabwe. New wave of violence by militants  -  A new wave of violence 
hit white-owned farms across Zimbabwe, apparently triggered by the death 
last week of Chenjerai Hunzvi, the militant leader of violent land 
occupations, farmers said on 13 June. One farm worker died in weekend 
clashes with ruling party militants south of Harare, police and the 
Commercial Farmers Union said. A farm manager was assaulted in southwestern 
Zimbabwe and another was barricaded in his homestead. Tobacco planting was 
disrupted north of Harare, with planted seed beds being ripped up, and 
militants ordered another farm to stop work Friday to mourn Hunzvi's death 
on June 4 of malaria and AIDS complications. The ruling party declared 
Hunzvi, one of its most feared militants, a national hero last week for 
what it described as his "selfless commitment and dedication" to wrest land 
and economic resources from Zimbabwe's 50,000 whites, who dominate the 
economy in this nation of 12 million people.   (CNN, USA, 13 June 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Massive increase in fuel prices  -  Massive increases in fuel 
prices have come into effect in Zimbabwe, with petrol rising by 74%. The 
increases, announced by the state-run National Oil Company of Zimbabwe, are 
likely to exacerbate problems facing commuters and the transport industry. 
Zimbabwe has to import all its petroleum products. (Petrol is up 74%; 
Aviation fuel is up 82%; Diesel is up 67%). The Confederation of Zimbabwe 
Industries expresses dismay at the price increases.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 
13 June 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Le prix du carburant augmente drastiquement  -  Le 13 juin, le 
gouvernement a augmenté le prix de l'essence de 72% et celui du diesel de 
67%. On craint que l'inflation, qui est déjà de 70% par an, ne croisse 
encore par ces mesures. Mais le gouvernement espère que les entrées de ces 
taxes lui apporteront plus de devises étrangères, ce qui renforcerait la 
position de la monnaie nationale. La dernière augmentation des prix du 
carburant en octobre avait occasionné de violents affrontements.   (D'après 
De Standaard, Belgique, 14 juin 2001)

Weekly anb0614.txt - #8/8

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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