Weekly anb10101.txt #7

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 10-10-2002  PART #1/7

* Africa. Profiteers re-route Africa-bound AIDS drugs to Europe - Nearly 
$18 million worth of reduced-price HIV drugs intended for Africa have been 
intercepted by profiteers and shipped back to Europe to be sold at 
marked-up prices, according to a current investigation. As a result of the 
scheme, nearly a quarter of the supply of the anti-retroviral drug Combivir 
that was intended for African patients has not reached them in the last 
year, said the drug's manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline. Instead, it and two 
other Glaxo HIV drugs were sold in Germany, the Netherlands, Britain and 
Switzerland by European wholesalers that now are under investigation. At 
least some of the drugs were shipped from a Glaxo factory in France and 
arrived in Africa, but the shipment "never made it out of the airport 
before it was turned back around by these wholesalers to Europe," said 
Raymond Salet, spokesman for the Dutch health care inspector's office. The 
drugs combat HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The apparent thievery and 
fraud was described in an internal Glaxo document obtained by The 
Washington Post; it was confirmed by Glaxo and several European officials. 
Glaxo used air-freight companies to transport the medicine to Africa. On 
the ground, according to the documents and Glaxo executives, the shipments 
were moved from one company that handles customs clearances on imports to 
another, and then to an air-freight service employed by the profiteers and 
flown to Europe. Delivered to wholesalers there, the drugs made their way 
into the regular chain of commerce. Because the drugs were identical to 
European versions, "the pharmacists who bought them could innocently have 
thought they were their usual orders," Salet said. (The Washington Post, 
USA, 4 October 2002)

* Africa. The diamond industry - Representatives of the international 
diamond industry are meeting in Antwerp, Belgium, 7-8 October for a high 
profile conference to discuss International Diamond Policies and 
Strategies. US former vice-President Al Gore and President Festus Mogae of 
Botswana are expected to attend. However, Global Witness, after nearly four 
years of proposals and industry rhetoric, wonders whether the diamond 
industry has any strategy or policy for implementing the Kimberley Process 
regulations on 1 January 2003, especially the much-discussed industry run 
and audited system of warranties. On 1 January 2003, an international 
certification and verification system for rough diamonds, known as the 
Kimberley process, designed to eradicate the trade in conflict diamonds is 
to be simultaneously implemented by nearly 45 diamond-producing, trading 
and marketing countries, and the diamond industry. These procedures will be 
legally binding in national law and regulations. (Global Witness, 5 October 
2002)

* Afrique. Les déplacés dans le monde - Les déplacés, victimes des conflits 
dans leur propre pays, sont 25 millions dans le monde, soit deux fois plus 
que les réfugiés, selon un rapport de Global IDP Project, une ONG basée à 
Genève et collaborant avec l'Onu. L'Afrique compte en 2002 plus de la 
moitié des déplacés par les conflits, soit 13,5 millions. Les déplacés sont 
souvent privés d'assistance et livrés à l'arbitraire. Seul un cinquième 
reçoit une assistance du Haut Commissariat pour les réfugiés, qui aide 
aussi 12 millions de personnes qui ont trouvé refuge à l'étranger. Le 
rapport, qui passe en revue 48 pays touchés, estime que dans 26 d'entre eux 
les gouvernements sont "directement responsables" des déplacements des 
populations. Dans les zones de conflit, les humanitaires se voient refuser 
par les combattants l'accès à des déplacés. L'étude reproche aussi aux 
donateurs de rester en général timorés alors qu'ils se montrent plus 
généreux quand les projecteurs sont braqués sur le sort de ces populations, 
comme en Afghanistan ou dans les Balkans. (Libération, France, 7 octobre 2002)

* Africa. Action against the Media - Congo RDC: On 7 October, Reporters 
sans Frontières (RSF) protested to the authorities of the RCD rebel 
movement, following the arrest of three journalists from an Uvira radio 
station. Eritrea: In a letter to the President of Eritrea (4 October), the 
organisation, Article 19, condemned the continued imprisonment of 
independent journalists, the denial of justice and the banning of the 
private press last year. Malawi: In an Alert on 17 September, the Media 
Institute of Southern Africa reported that the Catholic Church in Malawi 
has complained to the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority about 
Radio Islam saying that Radio Islam has aired what the Church describes as: 
"provocative and insulting programmes". Mozambique: In a Press Release (8 
October), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) expressed alarm over 
serious irregularities int the investigation into the murder of journalist 
Carlos Cardosa and for the safety of journalists reporting on the official 
inquiry. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 8 October 2002)

* Africa. Human Rights - Burundi: In a press release dated 7 October, 
Amnesty International called on the Heads of State meeting in Dar es Salaam 
to discuss the armed conflict in Burundi, to condemn in the strongest 
possible terms the escalation of unlawful killings of civilians in Burundi 
and to demand that the transitional government and armed political groups 
take immediate measures to improve the accountability of their armed 
forces. Egypt: On 1 October, the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights 
appealed for the release of Dr. Saad Eddin Ibrahim, former director of the 
Ibn Khaldoun Centre, because of his diminishing health. Dr Ibrahim is 
presently serving a seven year term in prison.-- On 8 October, Amnesty 
International said that its delegation has just returned from a 
fact-finding mission to Egypt, during which it was denied access to 
prisoners and detainees. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 8 October 2002)

* Africa. Global AIDS fund looks to tackle corruption - The global fund to 
fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria has appointed private auditors to 
oversee its projects in Asia and Africa in an attempt to cut corruption and 
inefficiency. The fund, a public-private partnership set up in January with 
United Nations backing, has appointed KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers to 
select local organisations in Tanzania and Sri Lanka that have the 
financial and medical infrastructure to run the fund's HIV, TB and Malaria 
control programmes. They will also monitor the operation of the programmes 
to ensure the money is spent as it was intended. The new effort for 
improving financial accountability was announced at IUATLD, the world 
congress on lung disease being held in Canada. It is the first time a major 
international donor has involved the private sector in such a large aid 
project. The decision to use auditors to monitor the programme comes less 
than a week after Dutch police seized AIDS drugs that had been illegally 
re-exported from Africa. The drugs were part of a scam to cash in on the 
steep difference between the cut price charged by in Africa by Western 
pharmaceutical companies and the price of the same drugs in Europe. 
(Financial Times, UK, 9 October 2002)

* Afrique. Forum des parlementaires sur le NEPAD - 8 octobre. A Cotonou, 
quelque 350 représentants parlementaires africains, européens et 
partenaires au développement du continent, participent au premier forum des 
parlementaires sur le Nouveau partenariat pour le développement de 
l'Afrique (NEPAD). L'objectif est d'étudier l'implication des populations 
africaines "pour relever le défi du développement socio-économique de 
l'Afrique". Il s'agira d'initier la mise en oeuvre des mécanismes de 
garantie de bonne gouvernance politique et économique pour sortir le 
continent du sous-développement et de la marginalisation. Les travaux 
dureront deux jours. - 9 octobre. A la clôture de la rencontre, les 
observateurs restaient sur leur faim. Le forum a laissé un goût d'inachevé, 
écrit le correspondant du Figaro. Ainsi, l'idée de "bonne gouvernance" pour 
lutter contre la corruption n'a pu dépasser le stade de déclaration 
d'intention. Le problème de la dette est lui aussi resté en l'état. Seul 
résultat concret, les participants ont décidé de créer dans chaque pays un 
comité de suivi. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 10 octobre 2002)

* Southern Africa. Mugabe shut out of senior regional role - Southern 
African leaders have barred Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe from 
assuming a senior role in the Southern African Development Community 
(SADC). He was scheduled to assume the rotating deputy chairmanship of the 
SADC, a post that would automatically lead him to becoming its chairman 
next year. Harare would also have become the scheduled venue for next 
year's meeting. Instead, Tanzania's President Benjamin Mkpapa has been 
appointed to the post. Next year's heads of state meeting will now take 
place in Tanzania. The new SADC chairman, Angola's President Jose Eduardo 
dos Santos; his predecessor, Malawi's President Bakili Muluzi; and the 
SADC's executive secretary, Prega Ramsamy, all emphasised the need for 
regional stability during the summit's opening ceremony this week. (The 
Independent, UK, 3 October 2002)

* Southern Africa. Five countries bid for ivory - 9 October: Five Southern 
African countries have launched a bid to be allowed to sell ivory, despite 
a ban intended to protect elephants. They are seeking permission to sell 80 
tonnes of ivory, arguing that their game parks have too many elephants and 
are not at risk of extinction. The trade in elephant products was outlawed 
in 1989, after poaching on a massive scale in the 1960s and 1970s led to a 
huge decline in elephant numbers in East Africa. The body which oversees 
the trade in endangered species is due to consider the southern African 
proposal in Chile next month. In 1999, the Convention of the International 
Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) allowed Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe 
to hold a one-off sale of 60 tonnes of ivory to Japan. Now, South Africa 
and Zambia also want to be allowed to sell some of their ivory stockpiles. 
A meeting of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in the 
Botswana capital Gaborone agreed to support the bid and step up lobbying 
outside the region. However SADC executive secretary Preg Ramsay said that 
those countries who want to sell ivory should "intensify their law 
enforcement" to fight poaching. (BBC News, UK, 9 October 2002)

* West Africa. Coastal regions threatened by sewage - The coastal regions 
of West Africa are among the most threatened by land-based pollution such 
as untreated sewage discharge, the United Nations Environmental Programme 
(UNEP) reported on 3 October. In a report detailing the global threat to 
coastal populations and the environment from untreated sewage discharges, 
UNEP called for wastewater emission targets, saying this would be a key 
step to cleaning up the seas. The report says the South Asian seas face the 
highest risk of pollution resulting from 825 million people living without 
basic sanitation services. West and central African have 107 million and 
East Africa 19 million. Klaus Toepfer, UNEP's Executive Director, said: 
"Lack of adequate sanitation has been emerging as one of the biggest 
threats to human health. It is estimated that global economic burden due to 
ill-health, disease and death related to the pollution of coastal waters is 
running at US $16 billion a year". (IRIN, Kenya, 3 October 2002)

* Algérie. Islamistes tués - Le 4 octobre, les forces de sécurité ont tué 
cinq islamistes armés, lors d'un ratissage dans la région de Relizane (300 
km à l'ouest d'Alger), rapportaient les journaux algériens. Cette 
opération, qui se poursuit, avait été déclenchée au lendemain de 
l'assassinat par un groupe armé de 7 personnes le 28 septembre, dans ce 
maquis réputé être une zone d'activité du Groupe islamique armé (GIA). -- 9 
octobre. Les forces de sécurité ont encore abattu dix hommes armés dans le 
maquis de Remka (préfecture de Relizane), a-t-on appris de sources locales. 
D'autre part, huit terroristes ont été arrêtés dans la préfecture de 
Khenchela (450 km au sud-est d'Alger) à la suite d'une minutieuse enquête. 
(ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 9 octobre 2002)

* Algeria. In Kabylie, violence resumes before municipal elections - 6 
October: A general strike called in the entire region of Kabylie and 
demonstrations on 5 October led to clashes between protestors and security 
forces. An error was made to programme the two events on the same day 
because it also coincided with the anniversary of the 1988 uprising that 
precipitated the end of one party's rule in Algeria. It also coincided with 
the last phase campaigns for local government elections to be held on 10 
October. The elections are rejected by representatives of Kabylie village 
committees who prevented several candidates from holding campaign rallies. 
Kabylie, which boycotted legislative election with a turnout rate of less 
than 6 percent, intends to repeat the same scenario. However, one of the 
region's main political parties, the Socialist Forces Front (FFS) has 
decided to participate in the forthcoming poll. Clashes between 
demonstrators and security forces occurred in various parts of Kabylie on 5 
October because they were banned. Delegates of Kabylie villages committees 
have warned that what happened then was just "a general rehearsal" for what 
will happen on 10 October polling day. 10 October: The FFS could be the 
main casualty in municipal elections being held today, amid fears of 
violence in the Kabylie region. The Front de Libération Nationale, the 
party that led Algeria to independence, is expected to dominate as it did 
in May's parliamentary elections. But analysts say the FFS, hitherto one of 
the most articulate voices of opposition to the rule of President Abdelaziz 
Bouteflika and his military-backed regime, could be severely damaged after 
deciding to put forward candidates following its boycott of the 
parliamentary poll. The party, led by its veteran leader Hocein Ait Ahmed, 
who lives in exile in Switzerland, draws its support from Kabylie. Several 
of its offices in the region have been attacked since campaigning began. 
More violence is expected, today, as security forces trying to keep the 
polling stations open clash with local youths, who organise themselves 
through tribal structures known as the Aarches, intent on enforcing a 
boycott. "In my view Hocein Ait Ahmed has made a grave error of judgment, 
believing that the Aarches is a small movement without links to Kabyle 
society. But they are the representatives of young people who continue to 
feel extremely frustrated and angry," Kadi Ihssan, a journalist and 
political analyst, said on 9 October from Algiers. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 10 
October 2002)

* Algérie. Elections locales -affrontements - Le 5 octobre, la grève 
générale et les marches dans toute la Kabylie ont tourné aux affrontements 
entre manifestants et forces de sécurité. Les élections locales, prévues 
pour le jeudi 10 octobre, ont été rejetées par les délégués des comités de 
villages kabyles qui, tout au long de la campagne électorale, ont empêché 
de nombreux candidats de tenir leurs meetings. Le 7 octobre, la campagne 
électorale s'est achevée en Algérie, tandis que les opérations de vote ont 
commencé dans les bureaux itinérants réservés aux régions reculées du sud 
du pays. Le 8 octobre, de nombreuses bourgades de la Kabylie ont encore été 
le théâtre de scènes d'émeutes entre la population et les policiers. - 10 
octobre. Quelque 17 millions d'électeurs sont appelés aux urnes pour 
renouveler les assemblées populaires communales et les assemblées de wilaya 
(conseils généraux). Depuis une semaine, un impressionnant dispositif de 
sécurité est déployé dans toute la Kabylie pour assurer la sécurité des 
électeurs. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 10 octobre 2002)

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