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Weekly anb06066.txt #7

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 06-06-2002 PART #6/7
* South Africa. Fighting education apartheid - 30 May: The higher education system in South Africa is to be radically restructured in an effort to remove the racial imbalance introduced and fostered by institutionalised apartheid. The government has given the traditionally white universities five years to make progress towards re-integration -- if they do not act, a quota system could be introduced. The black universities and colleges created under apartheid will also be restructured to improve education in poor communities and rural areas. Restructuring higher education in South Africa has been a priority for the government since it took over the legacy of apartheid in 1994. Education was strictly segregated and spending on whites was 10 times greater than for black students. Despite heavy investment in previously black schools and colleges and the ending of segregation, schools and universities remain one of the most obviously divided sectors of post-apartheid society. Official figures show that almost half all white students go on to university or college after school, whereas only 12% of black and coloured pupils carry on their education. Announcing the reforms, Education Minister Kader Asmal said the traditionally white universities had five years to visibly accelerate racial integration. "This marks an exciting turning point... away from our shameful apartheid past to a confident future," he said. He said the country's 36 universities and technical colleges will be merged into 21 higher education institutions in an effort to bring education closer to rural communities and poorer people. (BBC News, UK, 30 May 2002)
* South Africa. South African regional premier resigns - 1 June: The premier of South Africa's Western Cape province, Peter Marais, has resigned in the face of allegations of sexual harassment. The national leader of his party Marthinus van Schalkwyk said the resignation would allow Mr Marais time to prepare himself for possible legal action. He has denied any wrongdoing. The African National Congress, which is in a provincial coalition with Mr Marais' New National Party, welcomed what it said was a decisive move in a very messy political situation in the Western Cape. Mr Marais came to prominence last year, when his sacking as Mayor of Cape Town prompted a national re-alignment of South African politics, with his party moving towards a coalition with the ANC. (BBC News, UK, 1 June 2002)
* South Africa. Hansie Cronje killed - The bodies of former South African cricket captain Hansie Cronje and two pilots have been taken to a mortuary after a helicopter crew picked them up off the mountain side in Western Cape province where they were killed in a plane crash. Their remains were extricated from the wreckage on 1 June, but the bad weather delayed the helicopter's flight to the scene outside the city of George, about 500 kilometres east of Cape Town. Investigators have been collecting flight data recorders from the Hawker Siddeley 748 cargo plane which came down early on 1 June during bad weather, killing all three on board. Tributes have been pouring in for Cronje, with calls to forget the bribes scandal which led to his ban from professional cricket and to concentrate instead on his sporting achievements. A spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority said it was hoped that post-mortems on the bodies could be conducted on 3 June. South African media reported that Cronje had caught a ride on the cargo plane early on 1 June in the morning after missing a scheduled flight. Relatives of the 32-year-old said the plane was unable to land due to poor weather conditions in George and crashed at about 0500GMT (0600BST). It appears the pilot tried to circle before landing but crashed in the rugged Outeniqua mountains. Cronje was banned for life from the game by the United Cricket Board of South Africa in 2000. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 3 June 2002)
* South Africa. Scandals threaten Opposition - On 3 June, Cape Town's mayor, the latest casualty of a series of sex and corruption scandals that threaten to bury the two leading parties competing for South Africa's minority white and mixed-race vote, yesterday relinquished his ceremonial duties but continued to cling to political office. Gerald Morkel, a key leader of the Democratic Alliance party, stopped short of resigning outright following accusations by a high profile German fugitive accused of massive fraud that he gave the mayor tens of thousands of pounds in illicit payments. Mr Morkel's attempt to avoid political oblivion follows the resignation of the premier of Western Cape province on 31 May, amid a police investigation into gross sexual harassment. Peter Marais, the highest ranking public official in the New National party (NNP), which gave South Africa apartheid and has reinvented itself as a mostly "coloured" or mixed-race organisation, was Mr Morkel's main political rival in the region. The scandals have spread far beyond the individuals involved to tar the leaderships of both parties with charges of cover-ups and hypocrisy. President Thabo Mbeki's African National Congress is poised to take advantage in the days ahead with the introduction of a new law allowing elected officials to swap parties. (The Guardian, UK, 4 June 2002)
* South Africa. Prestige with a hefty price tag - World summits are nice to have but expensive to keep. So South Africa is finding in its quest to have its big cities play host to thousands of delegates to United Nations conferences. An estimated 65,000 participants in the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development will roll into Johannesburg in late August. The summit is billed as one of the largest ever held. But the South African government, which is frantically preparing an untested city for the onslaught, is hoping it is not also one of the costliest. It already knows that the prestige of hosting the UN comes at a price, having struggled to foot the R100m bill for last year's UN World Conference Against Racism. International donors were slow to show their financial support and months after the conference, South Africa's foreign ministry officials were still scratching about for contributions to cover the cost. Chastened by its experience in Durban, South Africa has been better prepared to drum up financial support for August's summit. Valli Moosa, minister of environmental affairs and tourism, signalled at the end of last year that the developing country -- with one of the highest HIV/AIDS infection rates in the world -- should not be left to find all the cash for the meeting of world leaders. He rattled the contribution box loudly to donors, including the business community. The early warning appears to have worked to a certain extent. But the summit's budget is still not entirely covered. The provincial government and the city of Johannesburg are contributing R150m of the R500m conference budget. Donor countries -- mainly European Union members -- are paying R120m. The business community and delegates will have to bridge the gap. (Financial Times, UK, 5 June 2002)
* Soudan. Revers pour le SPLA - "Après plusieurs jours de combats acharnés", l'armée soudanaise vient de récupérer la ville stratégique de Gaisan, dans la région du Nil Bleu, à la frontière entre l'Ethiopie et le Soudan, des mains des rebelles de l'Armée de libération du peuple soudanais (SPLA), a-t-on appris le 30 mai de source mllitaire à Khartoum. Gaisan, située au pied du Plateau éthiopien, est passée à plusieurs reprises alternativement entre les mains de l'armée et celles des rebelles. La reprise de Gaisan place Kurmuk, située à 30 km plus à l'ouest, sous la menace directe des forces de Khartoum. Ces villes sont toutes deux situées au nord du Soudan, mais le SPLA considère les Engassanas, qui vivent dans cette région avec d'autres tribus, comme des groupes ethniques originaires du Sud-Soudan. (PANA, Sénégal, 30 mai 2002)
* Soudan. Le contrôle des aides internationales - Il y a quelques jours, le gouvernement soudanais a demandé à l'Onu le transfert de la base de la mission onusienne Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS) de Lokichoggio à El Obeid, en plein territoire contrôlé par Khartoum. "C'est une évidente tentative de la part de Khartoum de maintenir sous contrôle les ONG qui fournissent de l'aide aux populations du sud", a commenté l'évêque de Rumbek, Mgr Mazzolari. "Je pense que les ONG réagiront négativement. Khartoum voudrait avoir un contrôle total des aides. Depuis des mois, elle empêche une grande partie des vols prévus d'arriver aux destinations où les besoins d'aide se font sentir". Depuis longtemps, les ONG internationales et les membres des Nations unies eux-mêmes ont dénoncé l'utilisation des secours destinés aux populations comme arme politique. De nombreuses ONG s'appuient sur l'OLS de façon marginale pour acheminer de l'aide vers les zones dont le gouvernement interdit l'accès. (D'après Misna, Italie, 30 mai 2002)
* Sudan. Sudanese army retakes key town - 31 May: The Sudanese army says it has recaptured the eastern town of Qeissan from the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), after fierce fighting. The town, described as strategic by the Sudanese military, had been held by the rebels since 1997. The army said it had inflicted heavy losses on the rebels and had seized tanks and artillery. There was no immediate confirmation from the southern-based rebel movement. The armed forces general command said in a statement broadcast by Omdurman Radio that the fourth infantry division was able to gain control of the town, about 580 km south-east of the capital Khartoum, on 29 May. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 31 May 2002)
* Sudan. Sudanese die crossing to Libya - Reports from Khartoum say that 45 Sudanese nationals, seeking jobs in Libya, have died after losing their way in the western desert. The Sudanese news agency, Suna, said the victims had probably died of thirst and hunger, and it warned others Sudanese not to attempt such an enterprise. It gave no further details of when the group got lost or whether there were any survivors. Correspondents say that thousands of Sudanese work in oil-rich Libya, many of them having taken the desert road. (BBC News, UK, 2 June 2002)
* Soudan. 45 morts dans le désert - 45 Soudanais, en route vers la Libye pour y trouver un emploi, sont morts pendant leur voyage après s'être perdus dans le désert, a rapporté l'agence officielle soudanaise le 2 juin. Selon un communiqué du gouvernement régional de l'Etat de Darfur, situé à la frontière de la Libye, les victimes sont probablement mortes de faim et de soif. Il ne précise pas quand le groupe s'est perdu et s'il y avait des survivants. En février, 18 hommes étaient morts de la même façon après que leur camion fut tombé en panne dans le désert. Des milliers de Soudanais traversent régulièrement le désert de sable dans l'espoir de trouver un emploi en Libye, pays riche en ressources pétrolières. (AP, 2 juin 2002)
* Swaziland. Rasta row shakes Swazi royals - 28 May: A row has broken out in the royal family in Swaziland about Rastafarian members of the royal household. King Mswati's aides have evicted six young men, including the king's nephew, for wearing dreadlocks and, allegedly, for smoking marijuana in the royal residence. Royal sources say the order to evict the men was made by King Mswati after they made abusive utterances against him. But the men deny the allegations against them and say that the real motive for their eviction is to prevent them gaining access to the king. They want to pass to the king a message from God they say they received in a dream. The father of one of the men, Prince Sulumlomo, has condemned the eviction and is reported to have sought an urgent meeting with King Mswati, who is his younger brother, over the eviction order. His son, Prince Bhamela, and the five other men, have been ordered not to set foot inside the Ludzidzini royal palace and in any of the royal residences because of their Rastafarian beliefs. They have also been asked to vacate the late King Sobhuza's royal residence where they sought alternative accommodation after their eviction. Royal sources say this is the second time the men have been ordered out of royal residences for their belief in Rastafarianism. The men say that they have been detained several times by police for their beliefs, but that they have never been charged. (BBC News, UK, 28 May 2002)
* Swaziland. King takes ninth wife - 3 June: King Mswati III has married once again, bringing the total number of his official wives to nine. The wedding during which the king married his ninth wife, Nontsetselelo Magongo, an 18-year-old girl forced to leave school last year amid protests from human rights and anti-child abuse institutions in Swaziland and abroad, took place on 1 June. Royal sources say that the ceremony was once again conducted by King Mswati's sisters, as well as the wives of his late father, King Sobhuza II, at the Ludzidzini royal residence. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 3 June 2002)
* Tchad. L'ex-président Malloum rentre au pays - Le vendredi 31 mai, l'ancien président tchadien Félix Malloum est rentré définitivement au Tchad, après 23 ans d'exil au Nigeria. En 1975, à la chute du régime du président Tombalbaye, il avait été porté par l'armée à la présidence du Conseil supérieur militaire, et présidé aux destinées du Tchad jusqu'à la fin de la guerre civile. En 1979, il décide volontairement de démissionner de ses fonctions de chef de l'Etat, pour s'exiler au Nigeria. Vendredi, à son arrivée, M. Malloum a été reçu par le président Idriss Déby, qui a salué son retour comme un événement national, appelant tous les Tchadiens exilés à revenir au pays pour apporter leur contribution au développpement du Tchad. (PANA, Sénégal, 1er juin 2002) 

Weekly anb06066.txt #6/7