Weekly anb10246.txt #7

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

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 24-10-2002      PART #6/7

* Sudan. Truce and Peace Talks  -  17 October: Sudan's main rebel group, 
the SPLA, has accused the Sudanese Government of violating a truce between 
them only 10 minutes after it came into effect. SPLA spokesman Yasser Arman 
says that government forces have attacked rebel positions in eastern Sudan 
and he warns that the incident would damage renewed moves towards peace. 
The agreement to suspend hostilities was signed two days ago and comes into 
force today at 0900 GMT, as peace talks resumed in the Kenyan town of 
Machakos. The two sides have begun discussing a political settlement to end 
19 years of conflict between the Arab and Muslim dominated north and the 
mainly Christian and animist south. Mr Arman, speaking by telephone from 
Eritrea, said an attack was launched at 0910 GMT on Rassai, near the 
Eritrean border, which rebels had taken in a recent offensive. 18 October: 
Sudan denies it has broken a truce signed with rebels this week and insists 
it is committed to peace negotiations. Truce violations have been reported 
in eastern Sudan, where the SPLA said its positions had been attacked by 
government forces just 10 minutes after the truce came into force. However, 
the government says the rebel forces in the east get their real backing 
from Eritrea rather than from the SPLA. The Sudanese delegation at the 
peace talks in Kenya says in a statement issued in Nairobi that the 
government "reiterates its commitment to the Memorandum of Understanding on 
resumption of talks and cessation of hostilities... and categorically 
denies all claims of violations." But it says the agreement does not stop 
Sudan "repulsing aggression" from Eritrea, which it accuses of having 
attacked and occupied territory in eastern Sudan before the 
cease-fire.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 19 October 2002)

* Soudan. Difficiles négociations  -  19 octobre. Le gouvernement soudanais 
a réfuté les accusations du Mouvement de libération du peuple du Soudan 
(SPLM) selon lesquelles il aurait violé l'accord de cessez-le-feu signé le 
15 octobre, avant la reprise des négociations de paix à Machakos. Selon le 
gouvernement, l'action militaire n'était pas dirigée contre le SPLM, mais 
contre les forces de l'Erythrée qui ont occupé la ville frontière d'Old 
Rasai. Mais selon le SPLM, l'accord de cessez-le-feu couvre tout le Soudan 
et pas uniquement les régions sous son contrôle. - 21 octobre. Une mission 
d'information de l'Union africaine est à Khartoum pour enquêter sur les 
allégations du Soudan concernant l'agression militaire de la part de 
l'Erythrée. D'autre part, le président El-Béchir a menacé de se retirer des 
négociations de paix à Machakos, après avoir pris connaissance de certaines 
positions de l'IGAD (Autorité intergouvernementale pour le développement, 
médiateur dans le conflit) au sujet des violations présumées du 
cessez-le-feu par l'armée soudanaise.   (PANA et Misna, 19-21 octobre 2002)

* Sudan. Equatoria relief ban lifted  -  20 October: Sudan's government has 
lifted a ban on relief flights to the southern Equatoria region after it 
signed a cease-fire with southern rebels. "We believe that the reasons 
behind the ban are no longer valid," the commissioner for humanitarian 
relief, Sulaful Deen Mohamed Salih, said. "The signing of the memorandum of 
cessation of hostilities has paved the way and we have not noticed any 
violations now in Equatoria region." A spokeswoman for the UN World Food 
Program in Kenya, Laura Melo, said the United Nations had only been 
notified that it could resume flights to the government-held town of Juba 
in Equatoria. She said talks between the government, rebels and the United 
Nations to resume humanitarian flights to the rest of southern Sudan were 
scheduled for 23 October in Kenya. "We sincerely hope that the agreement to 
allow unimpeded access for humanitarian aid will be implemented as soon as 
possible," Melo said. Sudan banned flights to the area after the Sudan 
People's Liberation Army overran the town of Torit on 31 August.   (CNN, 
USA, 21 October 2002)

* South Africa. Pretoria acts on cash laundering  -  South Africa is to 
enforce strict financial regulations, Trevor Manuel, finance minister, said 
on 18 October at the launch of the Money Laundering Advisory Council in 
Pretoria. The council will examine draft regulations to curb dubious 
financial activities. The new rules will be published before the end of the 
year and will take effect at the beginning of 2003.   (Financial Times, UK, 
19 October 2002)

* Afrique du Sud. Un espoir pour les séropositives  -  Les séropostitives 
sud-africaines pourront bientôt éviter de transmettre le VIH à leur bébé. 
Jusqu'à présent distribuée dans le service privé, la névirapine, 
l'antiviral réduisant la transmission materno-foetale du sida, le sera dans 
le public d'ici à un an, grâce à un accord conclu le 15 octobre entre la 
branche sud-africaine du laboratoire allemand Boehringer Ingelheim et Aspen 
Pharmacare, une firme locale. Le premier a autorisé le second à produire et 
à exporter une copie générique de cette molécule. Le gouvernement 
sud-africain, qui s'opposait à son utilisation, y a été contraint par la 
justice. Aspen pourra exporter son générique dans treize pays d'Afrique 
australe.   (JA/L'Intelligent, France, 21 octobre 2002)

* South Africa. Mbeki visit encourages AIDS activists  -  South Africa's 
government took another step away from its controversial policy on Aids at 
the weekend when President Thabo Mbeki publicly associated himself with the 
provision of the anti-retroviral drugs that keep people with HIV/AIDS 
alive. He visited a clinic in Johannesburg which provides the drugs to 
pregnant women and infants and posed for photographs while cradling a sick 
boy, reportedly the first time Mr Mbeki had signalled approval for 
anti-retrovirals in such a way. AIDS activists welcomed the visit as 
further evidence that the government had decided to drop its opposition to 
the drugs. After criticism that the estimated 4.7 million South Africans 
living with HIV were being left to die, the cabinet said in April that it 
endorsed the use of anti-retrovirals. Zackie Achmat, a spokesman for the 
Treatment Action Campaign, which has lobbied for the drugs to be 
distributed, welcomed Mr Mbeki's visit. "It was PR, but it was a fairly 
substantive move. It was a sign that they are serious about changing the 
policy. We are very cautiously optimistic."   (The Guardian, UK, 21 October 
2002)

* South Africa. A "Colossus" of Mandela planned  -  Soaring above Port 
Elizabeth harbour in South Africa, the monument would face the sea and 
stand 30 storeys tall -- higher than the Statue of Liberty -- to give the 
world a carved colossus of Nelson Mandela. Modest the man may be, but the 
proposed statue is decidedly not. It is intended to be gigantic, towering 
110 metres to greet visitors to the Eastern Cape. After five years of 
discussion the provincial government has approved a feasibility study to 
report back by March. The plan's supporters hope the statue will be erected 
by 2006. A coalition of business and civic interests is determined to make 
it happen. The French government will be approached to see if it will pay 
for a French foundry to cast the monument, as it did for the Statue of 
Liberty more than 100 years ago. The steel construction is intended to be 
at least 65 metres high, compared with the 46.5-metre New York statute, and 
would stand on a 45-metre plinth which would house a "museum of freedom" 
celebrating national liberation struggles around the world. A 600-metre 
"long walk to freedom" -- the title of Mr Mandela's autobiography -- would 
lead up to the monument. The idea was conceived by a local advertising 
executive.   (The Guardian, UK, 21 October 2002)

* Swaziland. Mother-in-law sues king  -  A mother has taken the King of 
Swaziland, Mswati III, to court demanding her daughter's return after she 
was selected as a royal bride. The mother, Lindiwe Dlamini, says her 
18-year-old daughter, Zena Mahlangu, was taken away without parental 
consent and has called for her immediate release. A spokesman for the royal 
family said on 16 October that three young women, including Zena, were 
being held at one of the king's palaces to carry out "royal duties". The 
34-year-old king announced last month that he planned to marry once again, 
two months after marrying wives number eight and nine. Swaziland's high 
court is expected to rule on the case on 21 October.Zena's mother says her 
daughter has missed school and could waste her academic year if she is not 
allowed to write her end-of-year exams. "The continued detention of Zena 
without my consent is a criminal offence," Mrs Dlamini told the court on 15 
October.   (BBC News, UK, 17 October 2002)

* Swaziland. Pas de jet pour le roi  -  Le 18 octobre, le Parlement du 
Swaziland a rejeté l'idée d'acquérir un jet privé pour le roi Mswati III, 
déclarant que le pays avait des problèmes plus pressants à résoudre pour le 
bien du peuple. Les députés ont rejeté, par 25 voix contre 16, la 
recommandation du Premier ministre pour l'achat de ce jet, alors que le 
gouvernement avait déjà avancé 28 millions de rand (2,7 millions de 
dollars) pour cet achat.   (PANA, Sénégal, 19 octobre 2002)

* Tanzania. Privatisation steams ahead  -  A steam locomotive number 2927, 
built in Scotland in 1955 is on a publicity tour around the country's rail 
network. The government is hoping that an investor may be interested in 
buying the locomotive and more importantly, leasing the tracks on which it 
runs. The Tanzanian Railway Corporation is just one of around 400 
state-owned companies that have been, or are, being privatised. These 
companies include everything from handicraft shops to regional trading and 
transport companies, as well as major industries like electricity, telecoms 
and the national airline. Mass privatisation began in 1993 and is turning 
out to be a mammoth programme because Tanzania's socialist past means the 
country is top-heavy with state-owned businesses.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 21 
October 2002)

* Tchad. Nouveaux affrontements  -  Selon des communiqués de deux 
mouvements rebelles (le Mouvement pour la justice et la démocratie au Tchad 
[MDJT] et les Forces des organisations nationales armées pour la libération 
du Tchad [FONALT]) reçus le dimanche 20 octobre, une quarantaine de soldats 
gouvernementaux ont été tués et 15 faits prisonniers lors de combats qui se 
sont déroulés séparément samedi et dimanche matin dans le nord-est et l'est 
du Tchad. Le lundi, le parti du président Déby, le Mouvement patriotique du 
salut (MPS), s'est dit préoccupé par la situation militaire au Tibesti et a 
déploré les derniers affrontements. Le MPS a invité les rebelles "à 
accepter le règlement du conflit par la négociation et le dialogue, dans le 
cadre strict des accords de Tripoli du 7 janvier dernier". Les 
affrontements ont repris de plus belle dans le nord-est et l'est du pays, 
après le décès du chef rebelle Youssouf Togoïmi le 24 septembre dernier. 
D'autre part, selon un communiqué adressé à l'AFP à Libreville par l'Armée 
nationale de résistance (ANR), plus de 200 militaires gouvernementaux, dont 
18 officiers, ont rallié lundi l'ANR à Haraz Mangagne (sud-est du pays). Le 
20 octobre, l'ANR avait affirmé avoir pris, le matin même, le contrôle de 
la localité de Haraz Mangagne, non loin de la frontière centrafricaine, que 
le mouvement rebelle affirmait encore contrôler mardi. -- Par ailleurs, le 
22 octobre, le Front national du Tchad rénové (FNTR) accusait le Fonds 
monétaire international (FMI) d'hypocrisie. Lundi 21 octobre, en effet, le 
FMI annonçait le décaissement d'une tranche de 7 millions de dollars sur un 
prêt consenti au Tchad en janvier 2000, au titre du programme de réduction 
de la pauvreté et d'encouragement de la croissance (FRPC/PGRF ). Pour le 
FHTR, ce décaissement "relève d'une pure hypocrisie et malhonnêteté". Si la 
situation économique au Tchad est catastrophique, par contre, "la situation 
économique des tenants du pouvoir clanique a bien évolué", écrit le FNTR, 
pour qui le prêt FRPC/PGRF "n'a jamais été utilisé pour son objectif 
initial".   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 23 octobre 2002)

* Tunisie. Visite du directeur du FMI  -  Le Fonds monétaire international 
(FMI) est prêt à accompagner la Tunisie dans la poursuite de son programme 
de réformes, a assuré son directeur général Horst Koelher, le 19 octobre, 
au terme d'une visite officielle de deux jours. Il a salué "la croissance 
économique soutenue" réalisée par ce pays et "les progrès remarquables 
accomplis sur le plan social". Il a toutefois invité les autorités 
tunisiennes à "maintenir la cadence des réformes, notamment par les 
privatisations, la libéralisation du secteur des télécommunications et le 
renforcement du système financier". Durant sa visite, M. Koelher a aussi 
plaidé en faveur de l'intégration économique des cinq pays du Maghreb, 
soulignant qu'un marché maghrébin de 100 millions d'habitants serait plus 
intéressant pour les investisseurs.   (AP, 19 octobre 2002)

Weekly anb1024.txt - #6/7