Weekly anb07125.txt #5

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

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 12-07-2001  PART #5/5

* South Africa. A painful church split is being healed - Apartheid divided 
many churches in South Africa along racial lines. But the struggle against 
apartheid also caused tensions and splits in South African churches. One 
such church is the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in South Africa (EPCSA). 
Now leaders in the EPCSA have committed themselves publicly to bring 
healing and reconciliation to their church and to work together towards 
unity and renewal. The World Alliance of Reformed Churches warmly welcomes 
this development. The EPCSA (formerly the Tsonga Presbyterian Church) 
resulted from the work of the Swiss Mission in South Africa which began in 
the Northern Transvaal in 1875. The church became autonomous in 1962, but 
continues to have close links with the Swiss churches. In the 1980s, some 
of the EPCSA leaders were jailed by the apartheid government because of 
their opposition to the regime. In 1988, when the South African Council of 
Churches launched its "Standing for the Truth" campaign, some EPCSA members 
called on the church to adopt a similar stance. They felt that there was a 
need within the church to "clean house"; others felt that whatever house 
cleaning was needed should be done within and through the existing church 
structures. By 1991, division in the church was a reality. Congregations 
which remained under the jurisdiction of the church synod were loosely 
referred to as the "Establishment", while those who found themselves 
outside the structures of the church became known as the "Standing for the 
Truth Movement" of the EPCSA. A mediating team led by Dr Setri Nyomi, 
general secretary of the Alliance, brought the opposed leaderships together 
for a three-day meeting at the end of June. In a memorandum of 
understanding signed by all participants, they affirmed that "we all belong 
to the one Evangelical Presbyterian Church in South Africa" and 
acknowledged that the division of the last decade had brought "pain, 
suffering and much hurt to many". The conference, held in Kempton Park, 
Johannesburg, agreed to appoint a joint commission for unity and renewal in 
the EPCSA, with leading representatives from both groups. The joint 
commission will report to the synod of the EPCSA in October 2002, by which 
time the groups which emerged in the last decade will have been unified. 
(Paraic Reamonn, WARC, Switzerland, 3 July 2001)

* Afrique du Sud. Le rêve des sans-terre - Le mercredi 5 juillet, la police 
sud-africaine a procédé à plusieurs dizaines d'arrestations sur un terrain 
proche de Johannesburg où, depuis le week-end, des milliers d'occupants 
illégaux ont érigé des baraques, après avoir symboliquement "acheté" ces 
lopins de terre distribués illégalement par le Congrès panafricain (PAC). 
Le terrain, inoccupé, appartient en partie à des sociétés d'Etat. Déployée 
en force, avec des dizaines de voitures et véhicules blindés légers, la 
police a arrêté environ 70 personnes pour violation de propriété privée, et 
les a transférées au poste de police de Kempton Park (nord-est de 
Johannesburg). Le PAC entend protester contre la crise de logement de la 
communauté noire. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 6 juillet 2001)

* South Africa. ANC hits at rival's land settlement programme - The South 
African government on 5 July accused the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), its 
political rival, of inciting Zimbabwe-style land occupations by openly 
supporting an informal resettlement scheme on government and privately 
owned land. Motsoko Paleko, the deputy president of the PAC, and its 
general secretary, Thami ka Plaatjie, had voiced their support for a scheme 
in which 2,000 people bought a plot of land in Kempton Park, to the east of 
Johannesburg, for R25 ($3.10). The PAC said the resettlement programme was 
undertaken in response to delays in the government's housing and land 
redistribution programmes, which have fallen behind ambitious targets. The 
party said the R25 charged for access to land was taken by a civic 
organisation for the provision of services and had not been for party use. 
The government said it would charge those who orchestrated the resettlement 
scheme. However, the police began removing people from the area on 5 July. 
About 200 people were arrested, among them PAC organisers. The PAC has its 
roots in the black consciousness movement and represents more racialised 
politics in South Africa. It has not enjoyed strong support in the past two 
parliamentary elections, but could garner more support from those 
frustrated by the pace of change and wealth redistribution in South Africa. 
(Financial Times, UK, 6 July 2001)

* Swaziland. King urged to reconsider law - In a press release, Human 
Rights Watch urged King Mswati III of Swaziland to reconsider a recent 
royal decree eliminating bail for some crimes, banning two publications, 
and making the punishment for defamation more severe. In a letter to the 
King, Human Rights Watch called on the Swaziland government work with the 
Constitutional Reform Commission to ensure basic human rights. (HRW, 11 
July 2001)

* Togo. President to quit in 2003? - The Togolese President, Gnassingbe 
Eyadema, is reported to have confirmed that he intends to step down in two 
years time. He told the French news agency AFP he would retire in 2003, 
when his second term in office comes to an end. Mr Eyadema said that as the 
constitution's guarantor, he would respect it. The constitution says a 
presidential term lasts five years and is renewable once only. President 
Eyadema also said that he would not impose a prime minister on the country 
if his ruling Togolese Peoples' Rally party lost the legislative elections 
due in October this year. (BBC News, UK, 5 July 2001)

* Tunisie. Bensedrine reste en prison - Le 5 juillet, après une audience 
d'une quarantaine de minutes, Sihem Bensedrine, journaliste et militante 
des droits de l'homme, arrêtée le 26 juin à Tunis, a été reconduite à la 
prison pour femmes de Manouba (banlieue de la capitale). Le juge dispose de 
quatre jours pour répondre à la nouvelle demande de libération provisoire. 
A 47 ans, la porte-parole du Conseil national pour les libertés en Tunisie 
(non reconnu) et directrice du magazine Kalima, a été arrêtée et placée en 
détention pour avoir participé à une émission sur une télévision privée 
arabe de Londres, Al-Mustaquilla. (Libération, France, 6 juillet 2001)

* Tunisie. Plainte contre Sharon - Le parquet de Tunis a accepté une 
plainte déposée contre le Premier ministre israélien par l'Organisation 
arabe des jeunes avocats et l'Association tunisienne des jeunes avocats. 
Ariel Sharon est accusé de crimes de guerre et d'implication dans 13 
massacres dont celui de Sabra et Chatila, au Liban, en 1982. (La Croix, 
France, 10 juillet 2001)

* Zambie. Meurtre d'un ancien proche du président - Peter Tembo, ancien 
proche du président zambien Frederick Chiluba, qui avait rejoint récemment 
les rangs de l'opposition, a été abattu par deux hommes le 6 juillet au 
matin à son domicile de Lusaka, a annoncé son épouse. Selon elle, deux 
hommes armés de pistolets, auraient fait irruption dans la maison, 
réclamant de l'argent que Tembo aurait reçu du président Chiluba, avant 
d'exécuter l'homme politique à bout portant. M. Tembo était sur le point de 
témoigner dans une affaire de corruption impliquant trois ministres. 
(ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 7 juillet 2001)

* Zambia. Political campaigner killed ahead of tribunal - The former 
campaign manager of Zambian President Frederick Chiluba was shot dead in 
his home on 6 July. He had been due to give evidence at a tribunal 
investigating corruption allegations concerning three cabinet ministers. 
Paul Tembo, 41, was killed in front of his wife, Mr Tembo's lawyer Sakwiba 
Sikota said. Mr Tembo steered Mr Chiluba's re-election campaign in 1996 and 
also his unsuccessful bid to change the constitution to allow him a third 
term as president. However, last year he joined the opposition Forum for 
Development and Democracy party, formed by government ministers expelled 
from the ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy party after they 
campaigned against Mr Chiluba's third term. Mr Tembo had been scheduled to 
give evidence on Friday to the Anti-Corruption Commission on allegations of 
corruption and abuse of office against Katele Kalumba, the finance 
minister, Peter Machungwa, the home affairs minister and Godden Mandandi, 
the works and supply minister. Mr Sikota said the killing appeared to be 
political. "He had a wealth of information which was going to guarantee 
that a good number of powerful people in the ruling party would be locked 
away in jail for their corruption and other thefts," he said. (Financial 
Times, UK, 7 July 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Harare seeks food aid in move to avert crisis - The Zimbabwe 
government on 5 July acknowledged the country faces a food crisis, 
announcing that it is approaching donors for funds to finance food imports. 
At a media briefing on 5 July, Simba Makoni, finance minister, contradicted 
his cabinet colleague Joseph Made, the minister of agriculture, who until 
this week had insisted there would be no food shortage. Independent 
estimates suggest that Zimbabwe will need to import a minimum of 450,000 
tonnes of grain -- at least 350,000 tonnes of maize and probably 100,000 
tonnes of wheat. The decision to seek donor funding for food imports has 
had a mixed reception from opposition groups, who are convinced that any 
food aid provided will be used by the Mugabe government to win votes in 
next year's presidential election. The opposition Movement for Democratic 
Change supports the call for food aid but wants the assistance to be 
channelled through NGOs and not the government. Giving further details of 
the government's new export incentive scheme, the minister added to the 
confusion surrounding the proposal. Last week, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe 
(RBZ) officials told bankers that the incentive rate for foreign currency 
lent to the central bank for three months would be Z$120, compared with the 
current official rate of Z$55. But on 5 July, Mr Makoni said the RBZ would 
buy the foreign currency at the official rate of Z$55 to the US dollar, 
repaying the loan three months later at a higher exchange rate, though 
precisely what this would be had not yet been decided. (Financial Times, 
UK, 6 July 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Almost all white-owned farms are listed for take-over - 
Agricultural officials have said that almost all of Zimbabwe's white-owned 
farms have now been listed for take-over by the government. On 6 July, 
another 529 farms were added to the number. Previously, President Mugabe 
had said that only half of the 12 million hectares of white-owned land 
would be seized. Now it has been made known that nearly all the 6,000 
white-owned farms have been earmarked for resettlement. Zimbabwe's 
government has been warned repeatedly by experts, donors and the Opposition 
that such a radical programme of land reform would cut deep into Zimbabwe's 
food production. This warning has been ignored by the government. Many of 
the 104,000 black families who have been resettled on 3.5 million hectares 
of land in the past year have complained that they have been "dumped" with 
no government aid. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 6 July 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Soutien de l'OUA - Les ministres de l'OUA ont soutenu le 
Zimbabwe à propos de son programme controversé de réformes foncières. Ils 
ont accusé la Grande-Bretagne de tenter d'isoler et de calomnier son 
ancienne colonie en Europe et en Amérique du Nord. Les ministres ont 
désigné l'Afrique du Sud, le Nigeria, l'Algérie, le Cameroun, le Kenya et 
la Zambie comme membres d'un comité de soutien au Zimbabwe lors de futures 
discussions sur la réforme foncière avec l'Union européenne et avec 
d'autres parties. Des diplomates africains ont indiqué que cette résolution 
avait été adoptée le 8 juillet à l'unanimité par le conseil des ministres 
de l'OUA. Elle sera soumise aux chefs d'Etat de l'OUA réunis en sommet le 9 
juillet. Dans leur projet de résolution, les ministres estiment que la 
question foncière découle du colonialisme. (Reuters, 8 juillet 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Vague de répression - A moins d'un an de l'élection 
présidentielle, le président Mugabe semble prêt à tout pour museler 
l'opposition. Arrestations et procès se multiplient au Zimbabwe, menacé par 
la grève générale. Le 11 juillet, un dirigeant syndical a été arrêté pour 
sa responsabilité dans le mouvement social des 3 et 4 juillet qui a 
paralysé le pays. La police a également procédé à une perquisition, 
assortie de onze arrestations, le même jour, dans les locaux du Mouvement 
pour le changement démocratique (MDC), le principal parti d'opposition. 
Morgan Tsvangirai, son président, a prédit que des "violences sans 
précédent" auraient lieu lors de la campagne présidentielle après l'annonce 
de la destitution de tous les policiers soutenant l'opposition. Une purge 
qui intervient alors que les forces de l'ordre souffrent déjà d'un fort 
discrédit. M. Tsvangirai doit être entendu ce 12 juillet pour "trahison, 
terrorisme et incitation à la violence" par la Cour suprême. (Libération, 
France, 12 juillet 2001)

Weekly anb0712.txt - Part 5/5

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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