Weekly anb07056.txt #7

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

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 05-07-2001      PART #6/7

* Swaziland. Threats over monarch's decree  -  Swaziland's trade union 
movement warned on 2 July that the tiny African kingdom faced a series of 
mass protests similar to that last year when several people were injured in 
clashes with the police and army, news agency DPA has reported. A 
spokesperson for the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions (SFTU) said a 
mass meeting organised by the SFTU and political parties would be held this 
weekend to finalise mass worker protests. Tension has been building in the 
country for the past week, since King Mswati III's issued a decree giving 
him more powers, the report said. Spokesmen for the SFTU and political 
parties were quoted saying the protests would also be connected to a raging 
chieftaincy dispute in the Macetjeni and KaMkhweli areas. Two traditional 
chiefs, Mvuso Dlamini and Mliba Fakudze were removed last year to make way 
for the king's elder brother, Prince Maguga, according to the report. The 
two chiefs on 2 July refused to meet the king and his advisory body, the 
Swazi National Council Standing Committee, to explain why they went into 
exile in South Africa for over nine months. "We will not entertain such 
harassment because it's them who expelled us with our followers last year. 
We did not leave on our own, they forced us to leave," Fakudze said. 
According to reports from within the royal family circle, a clash was 
looming between the king, Prime Minister Sibusiso Dlamini and his legal 
advisor, Phesheya Dlamini, for formulating the controversial decree 
purported to extend the powers of the king, the report said. The decree, 
issued on 22 June, removed powers from the courts from hearing certain 
traditional and civil matters pending before Mswati and his advisory body. 
It also gave the government the power to ban newspapers and books at will. 
(IRIN, Southern Africa, 3 July 2001)

* Tanzania. $1bn needed to fight AIDS  -  Tanzania's President Benjamin 
Mkapa says his country needs $1bn a year to fight AIDS. In an end of the 
month address, Mr Mkapa said his government would make anti-retroviral 
drugs available to all those infected with HIV. The president also urged 
pharmaceutical companies to support Tanzania's efforts to fight the 
disease. "We must now rise up to the challenge and (take) collective 
responsibility for saving ourselves and our society from imminent 
extinction," said Mr Mkapa in his speech broadcast by state-owned radio and 
television. "This is a very heavy burden for us because the amount (needed) 
is equivalent to the government's annual revenue collection," he added. 
President Mkapa said the best way to stem the spread of HIV/AIDS was 
through a change of sexual habits.   (BBC News, UK, 1 July 2001)

* Tanzania/Zanzibar. Zanzibar Film Festival  -  The Zanzibar film festival, 
the largest cultural event in East Africa, opened in historic venues across 
the Indian Ocean archipelago. At least 40 countries are participating in 
the fourth film-and-music festival, dubbed Festival of the Dhow Countries, 
which opened on 19 June. The festival, which runs through July 14, includes 
film, video, music, dance and theatre performances, events for women and 
children, seminars and workshops for artists, and village cultural events 
in rural areas.Some 100 films and documentaries will be screened and judged 
for awards. Sorious Samuro, a documentary film-maker from Sierra Leone, is 
screening three films about his war- ravaged West African 
nation.   (InfoBeat, USA, 2 July 2001)

* Tanzania. Vice-President dies  -  Tanzania's Vice-President, Dr Omar Ali 
Juma, has died of a heart attack at the age of 60. Dr Juma, who comes from 
Pemba, was a veterinary surgeon before entering politics. He served as the 
Chief Minister for Zanzibar for the ruling CCM party before moving to 
Dar-es-Salaam to become President Mkapa's Vice-President. Seven days of 
national mourning have been announced.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 5 July 2001)

* Tchad. Le dispositif Epervier  -  Le délégué national à l'Afrique du 
Parti socialiste français (au gouvernement en France), M. Guy Labertit, a 
suggéré le retrait du Tchad du dispositif Epervier, dans un article publié 
à Paris en début de semaine. "Paris entretient toujours un dispositif 
coûteux mis en place à titre provisoire... en février 1986 pour aider les 
autorités tchadiennes à préserver la souveraineté de leur Etat", constate 
M. Labertit qui précise que "rien ne justifie aujourd'hui, sur les plans 
politique et militaire, pareil dispositif". Même si aucune réaction 
officielle tchadienne n'a pu être obtenue ce 3 juillet à Paris, les 
observateurs estiment que cette prise de position compliquera encore 
davantage les relations entre Paris et N'Djamena. Au lendemain de la 
dernière élection présidentielle tchadienne, le Parti socialiste français 
avait, rappelle- t-on, dénoncé des fraudes massives.   (PANA, Sénégal, 3 
juillet 2001)

* Tunisie. Prisonniers d'opinion - Appel commun  -  Amnesty International, 
Human Rights Watch et la Fédération internationale des droits de l'homme se 
sont associés, le 29 juin, aux organisations de défense des droits de 
l'homme tunisiennes afin de demander au gouvernement tunisien la libération 
immédiate et inconditionnelle de tous les prisonniers d'opinion et la fin 
du harcèlement quotidien subi par les anciens prisonniers d'opinion et les 
opposants au gouvernement. Depuis deux semaines, la répression à l'encontre 
des opposants au gouvernement s'est durcie, et des personnalités 
importantes ont été arrêtées, poursuivies en justice ou bien arbitrairement 
empêchées de voyager. Près de mille prisonniers politiques, pour la plupart 
des prisonniers d'opinion, se trouvent dans les geôles tunisiennes, où ils 
reçoivent un traitement cruel, inhumain et dégradant, poursuit la 
déclaration des trois organisations, qui demandent au gouvernement tunisien 
de "libérér tous les prisonniers d'opinion et de mettre fin à toutes les 
formes de harcèlement. Toute autre mesure constituerait un manquement à ses 
engagements internationaux".   (AI, HRW et FIDH, 29 juin 2001)

* Tunisia. Human rights organisations call for release of prisoners  -  In 
a joint statement on 29 June, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, 
and the International Federation of Human Rights, joined Tunisian human 
rights organisations today in calling on the government of Tunisia 
immediately and unconditionally to release all prisoners of conscience and 
end the routine harassment of former prisoners of conscience and critics of 
the authorities. The three organisations said the move must cover all known 
or suspected government opponents or human rights activists who have been 
imprisoned, prosecuted or harassed simply for the peaceful exercise of the 
right to freedom of opinion, expression or association.   (Amnesty 
International, 29 June 2001)

* Tunisia. Human rights quandary  -  The arrest on 26 June of Sihem Ben 
Sedrine, journalist and spokesperson for the National Council of Liberties 
in Tunisia (CNLT), has yet again focused international attention on the 
political situation in Tunisia. The arrest was condemned as a flagrant 
violation of civil liberties by several human rights organizations. Ben 
Sedrine's arrest also triggered a series of demonstrations in several 
European cities over the weekend and spurred the ruling Socialist Party in 
France, which still has strong economic and political ties with its former 
North African colony, to call for more respect for people's rights in 
Tunisia. Ben Sedrine was arrested after a Tunisian judge sued her for 
defamation. During a TV debate on the London-based Al-Mustaqilla Arabic TV 
Channel late last month, she quoted the judge as saying the Tunisian 
judiciary was controlled by the government. The statement led to a lawsuit 
against her and drew an indignant reaction from the Association of Tunisian 
Judges which accused Ben Sedrine of making unsubstantiated claims and 
spreading false information. The case will be tried on 5 July. But human 
rights activists say Ben Sedrine's case is the latest in a series of 
arrests, which suggest that the Tunisian authorities are determined to 
stifle liberties and crack down on dissent. They point to the arrest of 
several prominent opponents including Mohamed Moada, a former political 
prisoner and seasoned politician who sent a letter to President Zine El 
Abidine Ben Ali condemning the "lack of political pluralism" in Tunisia. 
Ben Ali has led the ruling Rassemblement Démocratique Constitutionnel since 
his 1987 take-over from the late President Habib Bourguiba who was declared 
unfit to rule by his doctors. Last February, Ben Ali told the Party that it 
will remain "the party of leadership today and tomorrow" because it helped 
the country make giant steps on the road of progress. Tunisia today is one 
of Africa's success stories. The economy has consistently grown at a rate 
over four per cent in recent years supported by a dynamic tourist industry 
which attracts an annual four million foreign visitors. But government 
critics say to achieve this economic success the government sacrificed 
political freedom. Many Tunisians who may have supported the President's 
crack down on the Islamists in the late 1980's and early 1990's now say 
more human rights and freedom of expression are the real guarantors of 
political stability.   (AllAfrica, 3 July 2001)

* Ouganda. Résultats des législatives  -  Victoire plutôt amère pour 
Museveni. Le président garde une majorité parlementaire, mais l'opposition 
prend un place importante. Les élections se sont déroulées dans un contexte 
un peu particulier. Les candidats se sont présentés individuellement en non 
en tant que représentants de partis, le multipartisme étant interdit. La 
presse rapporte que l'opposition est passée de 14 sièges à près d'un quart 
de l'Assemblée, qui compte au total 295 députés. Au moins une douzaine de 
ministres et une cinquantaine de parlementaires influents sortants ont subi 
une défaite retentissante. Les résultats officiels n'ont pas encore été 
annoncés, mais il semble que les opposants à Museveni ont triomphé dans un 
grand nombre de circonscriptions. La participation électorale n'aurait pas 
dépassé les 50%.   (Misna, Italie, 28 juin 2001)

* Uganda. Mountains of the Moon park reopens to tourists  -  The Ugandan 
government reopened the Rwenzori Mountains National Park to tourists on 2 
July, nearly four years after rebel activity forced the closing of one of 
the country's premier tourist attractions. "There has been a 100 percent 
reassurance that it is safe and you can all come and visit," Tourism 
Minister Edward Rugumayo said at the official reopening in the Ugandan 
capital. The snow-clad Rwenzoris, also known as Ptolemy's Mountains of the 
Moon, have been used since 1996 as a base for the Allied Democratic Forces, 
a rebel group seeking to overthrow the Ugandan government. But the army 
says it has been able to reoccupy the mountains and purge the rebels. 
"There is not a single ADF in the Rwenzoris," army chief of staff Brigadier 
James Kazini told tour operators and reporters at the opening ceremony. 
About 2,000 soldiers will remain permanently in the mountains and the army 
says it will build helicopter landing sites at strategic locations to allow 
for speedy troop deployment. The army also continues to occupy the part of 
eastern Congo adjacent to the mountains.   (CNN, USA, 3 July 2001)

* Zambie. Sommet de Lusaka  -  Le 29 juin, la Zambie a annoncé que 41 pays 
avaient confirmé leur participation au sommet de l'OUA à Lusaka, prévu du 9 
au 11 juillet, et dont l'un des temps forts sera le remplacement de 
l'organisation continentale par l'Union africaine. Ces pays seront 
représentés par leur chef d'Etat ou de gouvernement. Entre 2.000 et 3.000 
délégués devraient arriver à Lusaka à l'occasion de ce sommet historique. 
L'Acte constitutif de l'Union africaine a été adopté par les gouvernements 
africains en juillet 2000 à Lomé, et est entré en vigueur le 26 mai 2001, 
quand 45 des 53 pays membres de l'OUA avaient ratifié cet Acte, ce qui 
permettait juridiquement la création effective de l'organisation. Le 2 
juillet, s'est ouverte à Lusaka une réunion du comité des ambassadeurs et 
plénipotentiaires accrédités auprès de l'OUA, qui doit notamment préparer 
les détails de la mise en oeuvre effective et la création des institutions 
de l'Union africaine. La réunion soumettra son rapport au Conseil des 
ministres qui entameront leur réunion le 5 juillet en prélude au sommet. 
(PANA, Sénégal, 29/6-2/7 2001)

Weekly anb0705.txt - Part 6/7