Weekly anb10116.txt #7

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

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 11-10-2001      PART #6/7

* Rwanda. Elections des juges populaires  -  Le 4 octobre, les Rwandais ont voté massivement pour les 260.000 juges des 11.000 juridictions populaires "gacaca". La participation a été beaucoup plus importante (90%) dans les cellules rurales visitées par l'agence Hirondelle que dans la capitale. On a noté une forte participation de femmes, ainsi que l'élection d'un nombre important de femmes comme juges. Les foules étaient disciplinées. Environ 11.000 tribunaux populaires sont en train d'être mis en place à quatre niveaux politico-administratifs pour juger au moins cent mille présumés exécutants du génocide. Les "gros poissons" relevant de la première catégorie continueront à être jugés par les treize tribunaux de première instance et les tribunaux militaires.   (Agence Hirondelle, Arusha, 4 octobre 2001)

* Rwanda. Aiming for "truth and reconciliation" plan  -  3 October: Rwandans are embarking on an ambitious and controversial "truth and reconciliation" experiment to overcome the legacy of the country's 1994 genocide, electing more than 250,000 judges to a traditional people's court system known as gacaca. With more than 100,000 people in jail awaiting trial, overwrought state structures have been unable to offer the climate of reconciliation which survivors and perpetrators alike say is essential to restoring a degree of normality to Rwanda's traumatised society. Gacaca, whose reintroduction was first mooted some years ago, is a centuries-old, dispute settlement mechanism where local elders passed judgment on family feuds before fellow villagers but which was watered down under Belgian colonial rule and officially abolished at independence. It is hoped that its openness will help rebuild the country's once tight-knit communities. "The truth heals," proclaimed a poster for the awareness campaign, showing Rwandans joining hands with their fellow villagers. Gacaca,due to become operational next year, will try minor crimes at the smallest "cellule" level while more serious crimes will be dealt in higher courts. The most serious cases will be reserved for the state. 4 October: Human Rights Watch says the election of more than 200,000 judges in Rwanda, offers hope of speeding up trials resulting from the 1994 genocide. But the innovative judicial system may be subject to political pressures, and lacks some basic internationally recognised safeguards, such as the right to legal counsel. The Rwandan Government is urged to rapidly complete the legislative and logistical steps needed to make the "gacaca" system operational, including a law on indemnization of victims. 8 October: Rwandans have now elected 260,000 judges. Voting was to have ended on 6 October but was extended to 7 October because of high voter turnout.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 9 October 2001)

* Rwanda. Transfert au TPIR  -  Le 3 octobre, l'ancien préfet de Ruhengeri (nord du Rwanda), Protais Zigiranyirazo (surnommé "Z"), a été transféré de la Belgique au Tribunal pénal international d'Arusha. Beau-frère de l'ex-président Juvénal Habyarimana, "Z" est poursuivi pour crimes contre l'humanité. Les charges retenues contre lui portent surtout sur des massacres commis à des barrages routiers. Selon l'acte d'accusation, "Z" a ordonné à des militaires et à des milices Interahamwe de tuer des Tutsi à ces barrages et ordonné, encouragé ou facilité d'autres massacres. - Le 10 octobre devant le TPIR, Zigiranyirazo a plaidé "non coupable".   (La Libre Belgique, 5-11 octobre 2001)

* Rwanda/France. Le cas de l'abbé Wenceslas  -  Le 9 octobre, deux juges d'instruction français ont écrit au ministre de la Justice du Rwanda pour s'étonner du manque de collaboration des autorités judiciaires locales à leur enquête sur un religieux rwandais poursuivi en France pour génocide. Une information judiciaire a été ouverte à Paris en janvier 1999 contre l'abbé Wenceslas Munyeshyaka, accusé d'avoir encouragé les massacres en 1994. Les deux commissions rogatoires internationales (septembre et octobre 2000) des juges français, dans lesquelles ils sollicitaient l'audition de témoins rwandais, sont restées sans réponse de la part du ministère de la Justice. Les juges demandent donc au ministre rwandais de la Justice, au cas où son pays serait "favorable à l'exécution de ces commissions rogatoires internationales", de bien vouloir leur "communiquer le nom et les coordonnées du juge d'instruction désigné par les autorités judiciaires du Rwanda" qui procédera aux auditions des témoins.   (AP, 9 octobre 2001)

* Rwanda. Population to be 16 million by 2020  -  Rwanda's population -- set to double to 16 million by 2020 at its current growth rate of 3.2 percent per annum -- will present a major challenge to the government, Finance and Economic Planning Minister Donald Kaberuka has said.The government, he said, needed to raise the gross domestic product from the current US $290 to $900 by 2020 if it is to cope with the increase in people. "This is an ambitious agenda requiring a growth of 7 percent to 8 percent per annum, implying fairly high rates of savings in the coming years," he told a conference reviewing the country's poverty reduction strategies.   (IRIN, 10 October 2001)

* Rwanda. Volontaire italien assassiné  -  Un volontaire italien, Giuliano Berizzi, a été assassiné le 6 octobre à Kigali, selon l'agence Misna. Cet assassinat provoque l'émoi de la communauté salésienne, à laquelle la victime était liée. Elle craint que le volontaire n'ait été tué à cause de sa collaboration avec les missionnaires locaux.   (La Croix, France, 10 octobre 2001)

* Somalia. Somalis protest over bank notes  -  Violent demonstrations in the Somali capital Mogadishu over the refusal of businesses to accept old bank notes has left one person dead and several others injured. The protest which involved tens of thousands of people including women and children, began about 0900 and then gained momentum as the morning wore on. Businesses argue that the notes are old, worn out and worth very little. But the government of President Abdulkassim Salat Hassan has ordered shopkeepers to accept the notes as legal tender. The president said: "I have ordered the police and the appropriate courts to take the necessary measures against those who try to destabilise the country by not accepting these notes." The smallest denomination businesses will take is the 1,000 Somali shilling note, worth less than five US cents. During the demonstration, hundreds of shops and restaurants on the main Soddonkah road closed as the demonstrators threw stones at the buildings. Traffic came to a halt after several buses and cars had their windshields smashed. The angry people said the refusal of shops to accept the 500 Somali shilling note had led to inflation and high prices. The price of a cup of tea has doubled virtually overnight. A few days ago it cost 500 shillings, now it is 1,000.   (BBC News, UK, 9 October 2001)

* South Africa/Mozambique. World's biggest elephant move starts  -  The world's biggest elephant relocation programme began on 4 October with the transport of the first of more than 1,000 elephants from South Africa to Mozambique. Scientists working in South Africa's Kruger National Park said its 9,000 elephants are all it can take. They are moving elephants over the border into Mozambique, where elephants were poached almost to extinction during the civil war. The scheme is being overseen by former South African President Nelson Mandela and is part of a wider plan to establish the world's largest nature reserve. The elephants are tranquillised before being loaded with cranes into trucks and taken across the border. Border fences are being dismantled to restore traditional seasonal migration routes for wild animals across what will be the Gaza/Kruger/Gonarezhou Transfrontier Conservation Area.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 4 October 2001)

* South Africa. Seeking observer status in Islamic Conference  -  South Africa is seeking membership of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the country's ministry of foreign affairs said on 4 October. Aziz Pahad, the deputy minister of foreign affairs, said South Africa wished to have observer status membership of the OIC to "lift the curtain of ignorance" between his country and the Islamic and Arab worlds. About 1.4 per cent of South Africa's 40m population are Muslim; 75 per cent are estimated to be Christian. The OIC has 57 member states, including South Africa's neighbour Mozambique and northern and western African states with large Muslim populations. The organisation has three observer states; Bosnia and Herzogovina, Thailand and the Central African Republic. A spokesman for the Jeddah-based OIC said observer status allowed a country to participate but not vote at its meetings. He said observer status was a route to full membership "after a while". Mr Pahad said South Africa was investigating what kind of membership it could qualify for under the organisation's rules. One reason for South Africa wishing to join the OIC is to monitor positions taken by the 25 African countries among its membership and to promote the goals of the New Africa Initiative, a development and governance plan launched by President Thabo Mbeki. Another is access to the Islamic Development Bank. "We don't have specific needs now but it would help the New Africa Initiative. We want to commit these very rich countries to take an interest in our continent," he said. While intended to bolster diplomatic and economic relations with the Arab world, membership of the OIC would also signal South Africa's support for the plight of the Palestinian people. The OIC, founded by Saudi Arabia in 1969, works to safeguard Muslim holy places and support the struggle of the Palestinians to liberate the occupied territories. It also promotes Islamic solidarity among member states, economic development and the well-being of the world's 650m Muslims.   (Financial Times, UK, 5 October 2001)

* Afrique du Sud. Pour des cadres africains  -  Un projet dénommé Desmond Tutu Leadership Academy vient de voir le jour en Afrique du Sud. Le programme, qui vise la formation de leaders africains, est une initiative de l'ancien archevêque anglican de Johannesburg, Mgr Desmond Tutu. "Ceux que nous devons former de toute urgence, ce sont les groupes désavantagés historiquement, comme les femmes et les réfugiés", a indiqué Mme Zola Makosana, une des responsables du programme. Le président sud-africain Thabo Mbeki partage la vision du projet et a été au premier plan du programme.   (DIA, Kinshasa, 8 octobre 2001)

* South Africa. African firm wins Aids drug permit  -  Pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline is to allow low-cost, generic versions of three of its anti-Aids drugs to be manufactured by a South African drugs company. Aspen Pharmacare has been given the patents to generically produce and supply anti-retroviral drugs to the government health service and to non-profit making anti-Aids charities. Under the agreement, the South African company is not allowed to profit from the sale of the drugs, AZT, 3TC and Combivir, or export them to any other African country. An estimated 4.7 million South Africans are HIV-positive, about 11% of the population. Africa has been hardest hit by HIV, with an estimated 25 million infected people, equivalent to two-thirds of the world's cases, UN figures claim. The concession by GlaxoSmithKline comes six month after the firm and 38 other drugs companies dropped legal action to stop South Africa from producing or importing cheap medicines. But there had been little progress since in improving the availability of the drugs to Africans. Under the Aspen deal, the British pharmaceutical company will waive royalties. The South Africa generic manufacturer would be expected to pay a 30% fee on sales to non-governmental agencies.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 8 October 2001)

* Afrique du Sud. Recensement  -  Le 10 octobre, commence en Afrique du Sud le deuxième recensement de l'ère post-apartheid. Cette tâche gigantesque devrait contribuer à mesurer les changements intervenus en cinq ans. Jusqu'au 31 octobre, 81.000 agents recenseurs vont visiter plus de 10 millions de foyers. Les résultats devraient n'être connus qu'après dix-huit mois.   (La Croix, France, 10 octobre 2001)

* South Africa. ANC dismisses land squatters as crooks  -  On 9 October, South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) dismissed a land invasion on the outskirts of Johannesburg that ended in the eviction of 2,000 squatters as the work of crooks and foreigners. Sankie Mthembi-Mahanyele, the minister of housing, said the land occupation at Bredell where people bought a plot of land for R25 ($2.70) in July was a cynical act of political opportunism. She said a survey of the land invaders had revealed they were political opportunists, crooks, people who had already been granted state-housing subsidies, small-business people and foreigners. The Bredell land invasion raised the spectre of Zimbabwe-style lawlessness around the issue of land in South Africa. The government, fearful that comparison with Zimbabwe might dent investor sentiment, was granted an eviction order to demolish the 1,300 shacks on the property. Of the squatters at Bredell, 56 people are being given shelter by a nearby Lutheran church under an agreement to head off violent clashes with the police. Although Bredell highlighted land hunger in South Africa's urban areas and the housing backlog, the ANC believes the invasion was organised by the rival Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) rather than being an upsurge of frustration among the landless. Illegal occupation of land by large numbers of people has, however, taken place in the Western Cape, KwaZulu Natal and Gauteng, where the waiting list for housing is the longest.   (Financial Times, UK, 10 October 2001)

Weekly News - anb1011.txt - End of 6/7