[Prec. per data] [Succ. per data] [Prec. per argomento] [Succ. per argomento] [Indice per data] [Indice per argomento]

Weekly anb09121.txt #7

ANB-BIA - Av. Charles Woeste 184 - 1090 Bruxelles - Belg
TEL **.32.2/420 34 36 fax /420 05 49 E-Mail: editor at anb-bia.org
_____________________________________________________________
WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 12-09-2002      PART #1/7
* Africa. The "Summit of lost opportunity" - They called it the summit of stagnation and of lost opportunity; proof that the era of global summits was over; a triumph of platitudes over commitment. Few newspapers had much good to say about the Earth Summit. "The World Summit has left more grumbles than smiles," wrote Gulf Today from the United Arab Emirates. "The 65-page action plan is far short of what the world needs now." The Netherlands' NRCHandelsblad agreed: "Although Johannesburg has resulted in a plan of action, it is nothing more than that: a call that makes almost everybody feel comfortable, a promise that can be broken without incurring a fine." Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung said the action program agreed in Johannesburg, full of "vague declarations binding to no one," was not worth its name. Under the headline "The Summit of Lost Opportunity," the Irish Times commented: "This meeting was most useful and valuable for the way it reinforced the determination of non-governmental expert and campaigning groups to press ahead with their activities and improve their networks. What was missing in Johannesburg was the political will to take the strong, concerted action so urgently required to save the planet." "Johannesburg became the summit of stagnation. Most participants acknowledge that the excess of participants, documents and goals have a suffocating effect," wrote the Dutch Volkskrant. France's Liberation was one of several papers that criticized the United States -- which successfully opposed the setting of targets for the introduction of renewable energy and whose failure to send President George W. Bush was seen by many as a sign of indifference to development and the environment. (Editor's update: On 10 September, "The Independent" reported that no more summits are planned by the United Nations on environment and development, until governments put into practice what they have decided to do. Instead of high-profile summits, the United Nations will set up an unprecedented operation to report on how governments are performing -- naming and shaming those that do not do well -- and campaigning for change.) (CNN, USA, 5 September 2002)
* Afrique. Programme de coopération monétaire - Le 5 septembre, les gouverneurs des banques centrales africaines, réunis à Alger, ont adopté un programme de coopération pour la création d'une zone monétaire en Afrique. Celui-ci définit les étapes successives en vue d'aboutir à la mise en place d'une banque centrale et d'une monnaie unique africaines, selon le président de l'Association des banques centrales africaines (ABCA), Mohamed Laksici, gouverneur de la Banque d'Algérie. (Le Figaro, France, 6 septembre 2002)
* Afrique. Lutte contre la pauvreté - Un rapport publié le 9 septembre par les Nations unies constate que l'Afrique prend du retard dans la réalisation de l'objectif prioritaire de l'Onu en matière de lutte contre la pauvreté, qui est de réduire de moitié d'ici à 2015 les niveaux de pauvreté dans le monde. Se fondant sur les statistiques de la Banque mondiale, ce document affirme que de 1990 à 1999, le nombre de personnes qui vivaient dans l'extrême pauvreté avait diminué de 125 millions, à l'exception notable de l'Afrique, "où leur nombre continue d'augmenter". L'étude estime que les meilleurs moyens pour atteindre les objectifs de l'Onu sont de promouvoir l'égalité des sexes dans le domaine du travail et d'offrir aux femmes les droits et responsabilités indispensables pour contribuer efficacement aux efforts en ce sens. L'envoyé de l'Onu en Afrique australe dénonce le rôle du sida dans la détérioration de la situation alimentaire. (Centre de nouvelles de l'Onu, 9 septembre 2002)
* Africa. Action against the Media - Congo RDC: On 9 September, the organisation Journalistes en Danger (Kinshasa) reported that Delly Bonsange and Raymond Kabala, publisher and publications director respectively of Alerte-Plus, have been detained illegally at Kinshasa's Penitentiary and Re-Education Centre since 31 August. Gabon: Gabon's National Communications Council has (on 6 September) suspended two weeklies, the Misamu and Gabaon for three months, for publishing information that aimed to "discredit the state and dignity of the members of the institutions of the republic". Liberia: On 4 September, Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) expressed its serious concern about the fate of Hassan Bility, editor-in-chief of the privately-owned weekly newspaper "The Analyst. This journalist has been accused by the government of plotting with LURD rebels to kill President Taylor. Mauritania: On 9 September, The International Press Institute wrote to the President of Mauritania expressing disquiet at the seizure of issue number 219 of El Qalem, an Arabic-language weekly newspaper. Mozambique: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said (on 3 September) it is gravely concerned about the recent escape from maximum-security detention of Anibal Antonio dos Santos Junior ("Anibalzinho"). "We urge Mozambique's leaders to ensure the fugitive is speedily arrested and that preparations begin for a fair and public trial". He is a leading suspect in the murder of Mozambican investigative journalist Carlos Cardoso on 22 November 2000. Niger: In a 4 September letter to the prime minister, the CPJ expressed deep concern about the climate for independent journalists in Niger, following the recent arrest of two journalists and a presidential decree restructuring the Media. Sudan: In a 4 September letter to President al-Bashir, the CPJ protested the detention of journalist Osman Merghani, a columnist for the Khartoum-based daily Al-Rai Al-Aaam newspaper.--On 11 September, Human Rights Watch said the government of Sudan should end its recent crackdown on the press. Tanzania: On 5 September, The Media Institute of Southern Africa said the Tanzanian Government has issued a stern warning against "unethical" news media, saying that such conduct has contributed to the fall of moral standards in the country. Togo: Opposition leader Claude Ameganvi and the publishing editor of the newspaper Nouvel Echo, Julien Ayi, could be sentenced to four years imprisonment each for "defamation" following the publication of articles saying President Eyadema is one of the world's richest men. Zimbabwe: In a letter to President Mugabe on 2 September, the World Association of Newspapers and the World Editors Forum expressed serious concern at the bombing on 28 August of the offices of the Voice of the People Communications Trust, an independent radio production company. -- On 6 Sept, RSF protested against the Government's refusal to renew the work permit of AFP's journalist Griffin Shea. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 10 September 2002)
* Africa. Up-date on food/drought/economic crises - East Africa: On 9 September, The East African reported that Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda and Ethiopia are struggling to stem a deepening crisis in the region's coffee sector. Cape Verde: The Government has created an inter-ministerial committee to help minimise the anticipated impact of a bad food harvest this year. Congo-Brazzaville: A major nationwide food security programme is to be launched this month. Lesotho: The UN Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator urges donors to help Lesotho overcome a food crisis that affects one-in-five of the country's people. Madagascar: International donors have granted Madagascar close to US $600 million in aid to help rebuild the island's battered economy. Zimbabwe: An acceptance by Zimbabwe of food aid containing GM maize comes as humanitarian officials warn that the country's food crisis is set to worsen. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 10 September 2002)
* Afrique. Commémoration du 11/9 - En Afrique, l'anniversaire des attentats du 11 septembre est passé inaperçu ou presque, écrit le quotidien français Libération. Ironie du sort, le président libérien Charles Taylor, l'une des bêtes noires des Américains sur le continent, est l'un des rares à avoir présenté ses "sincères condoléances" aux Etats-Unis. L'office religieux célébré à l'ambassade des Etats-Unis à Nairobi -- la capitale du Kenya, durement touchée par un attentat d'Al-Qaeda qui avait fait plus de 200 morts en août 1998 -- n'a attiré que 200 officiels. La presse africaine ne s'est pas privée de critiquer la diplomatie américaine. "Nous ne pouvons pas soutenir les yeux fermés une campagne menée sans rime ni raison comme le sont les plans du président George Bush de renverser le président irakien Saddam Hussein", s'insurge The Nation, le plus important quotidien kényan. Même scepticisme teinté d'hostilité en Afrique de l'Ouest, où les tee-shirts Ben Laden connaissent un certain succès. Au Sénégal, la plupart des quotidiens estiment que l'Amérique n'a "pas compris les leçons" qu'elle aurait dû tirer du 11 septembre. Même Nelson Mandela, la "conscience" du continent noir, dresse un bilan pessimiste des Etats-Unis dans le monde: "Si vous prenez en considération ces problèmes, vous en arriverez à la conclusion que l'attitude des Etats-Unis est une menace pour la paix mondiale". (Ndlr.: Cette appréciation de Libération semble quelque peu sévère. Ainsi par ex., en Tunisie, une cérémonie officielle a été organisée à Carthage; au Bénin, une cérémonie de commémoration était tenue à Cotonou; en RDC, une célébration oecuménique a eu lieu à Kinshasa; au Gabon, une cérémonie du souvenir était organisée à Libreville; au Ghana, tous les drapeaux ont été mis en berne; le Premier ministre capverdien a rendu hommage aux victimes; le Parlement ougandais a exprimé sa solidarité...) (Libération, France, 12 septembre 2002)
* Africa. Africa marks 11 September attacks - The anniversary of the attacks on New York and Washington has been marked across Africa, while some newspapers have used the occasion to warn the United States against attacking Iraq. A ceremony has been held in Nairobi, Kenya, the scene of an attack by al-Qaeda in 1998 which killed 213 people, mostly Kenyans. Wednesday was declared a public holiday in both Liberia and The Gambia. Gambian President Yahya Jammeh, a devout Muslim, condemned those who use religion as a cover for acts of violence. Two Gambians were killed in the attacks on the World Trade Centre. Mozambique's President Joaquim Chissano repeated his country's sympathies for the victims of the 11 September attacks. But he urged the US to continue its war on terror "within the framework of the United Nations". Several South African newspapers echoed Nelson Mandela's call on the US not to take unilateral action against Iraq. Newspapers in Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal and Uganda have also used the anniversary of the 11 September attacks to urge restraint on George Bush. (BBC News, UK, 12 September 2002)
* Africa. Africa asks for mass retaliation in trade rows - African countries have asked for poorer states in the World Trade Organization (WTO) to be given the right to retaliate collectively against rich powers in disputes, trade sources said on 11 September. And India has called for new rules under which advanced economies who lose dispute cases against developing countries in the WTO would be ordered to contribute toward the legal costs of the defense, according to the sources. The proposals came in discussions in the 144-member WTO on how to improve the dispute settlement system which has been hailed by some officials as the "jewel in the crown" of the 8-year-old trade body. "The means provided for enforcement of (dispute panel) findings and recommendations -- trade retaliation -- are skewed against, and disadvantage, developing countries," Kenya's envoy Amina Chawahir Mohammed told the session. Presenting a paper on behalf of the African Group in the WTO, she said the system should "provide for and recognize the possibility of collective retaliation by all WTO members" against any rich power found breaking the rules. (CNN, USA, 12 September 2002)
* Africa/USA. Powell promotes peace, sustainable development in Africa - Secretary of State Colin Powell took a break from the frenzied debate on Iraq on 5 September to focus on peace in Angola and environmental conservation in Gabon. During a brief stop in the Angolan capital of Luanda, Powell urged the government in the war-torn country to stop siphoning the country's vast wealth and start spending money on reconciliation. Angola is facing the daunting task of recovering from nearly 27 years of civil war, which ended with a cease-fire and a peace agreement signed in April between the government and UNITA rebels, after the death of UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi. Powell, only on the ground for four hours, sent a powerful message that although the war is over, much work remains to heal the country's wounds and maintain the peace. Powell then travelled to Gabon, where he took a helicopter tour of a rainforest and then stopped for a roundtable discussion with Gabonese officials and environmental leaders. They reviewed a new US partnership with non-governmental organizations and Congo River basin countries to promote conservation of forests and wildlife resources. President Omar Bongo recently declared 13 national parks covering more than 10 percent of Gabon -- a move Powell said is an example to all of Africa and to the world. (CNN, USA, 5 September 2002)
* Algérie. 7 morts dans deux attaques - Dans la nuit du 5 au 6 septembre, des rebelles islamistes présumés ont tué sept personnes lors de deux attaques dans l'ouest de l'Algérie, dans la province de Chlef et le secteur d'Aïn Defla, rapporte l'agence algérienne APS. Deux jeunes filles ont été enlevées. Le gouvernement accuse les rebelles d'avoir enlevé des centaines de filles au cours des quatre dernières années pour les réduire à l'état d'esclaves sexuelles. Ces morts portent à plus de 1.000 le nombre d'Algériens tués au cours de raids de la rébellion et lors d'opérations militaires contre elles, depuis le début de l'année. (AP, 6 septembre 2002) 

Weekly News anb0912.txt - #1/7