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Weekly anb02136.txt #7

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 13-02-2003      PART #6/7
* Somalia. Fuel shortage hits Mogadishu - A severe fuel shortage has hit the Somali capital, Mogadishu, over the past two weeks, according to a local businessman. Fuel prices have sky-rocketed, with the price of petrol doubling within a week. The shortage was reportedly affecting not only the transport sector but many of the light industries which had proliferated in the city over the last couple of years, businessman Husayn Haji said on 5 February. He said the shortage was due to the fact that no cargo of petroleum had reached Mogadishu for "at least a month", and some traders were taking advantage to hike the price. The fear of a war in Iraq was also contributing, with "rumours that once war starts, there will be no fuel coming from the Gulf countries", he said. The bulk of fuel for Somalia comes from the United Arab Emirates. Petrol previously costing 8,000 Somali shillings (30 US cents) per litre two weeks ago was by 4 February selling for 16,000 shillings, Husayn said. Also contributing to the shortage was the unwillingness of some the traders to keep large reserve stocks due to fears of the fluctuations affecting the Somali currency. The exchange rate for one US dollar was 20,000 shillings on 5 February, Husayn said. (IRIN, Kenya, 5 February 2003)
* Somalia. Somali peace talks to switch to Nairobi - 10 February: The Somali peace talks, which have been dragging on in the western Kenyan town of Eldoret, are to move to the capital, Nairobi. Since October, the talks have been beset by infighting as well as financial difficulties. Now, the several hundred delegates are to be taken to Nairobi, where they will carry on attempting to hammer out some kind of workable form of government for Somalia. Somalia has not had a central government in 12 years of fighting between rival warlords. The talks are being moved to the capital because they will be more cost effective there, Peter Nyagah, an official of the Kenyan Foreign Ministry, which has been hosting the talks, said. "The aim of the plan... is simply to facilitate the conclusion of the talks, and also to try to reduce the costs, because the costs in Nairobi are relatively cheaper than the ones that have been incurred in Eldoret," Mr Nyagah said. "In Nairobi, per delegate, it will be about $40 a day, but in Eldoret, the spending has been close to $100 a day." He said that the talks would take place in government-owned buildings, whereas the talks in Eldoret have been held in private hotels. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 10 February 2003)
* Somalia/Kenya. Bantu refugees being prepared for life in the USA - The first Somali Bantu refugees will probably reach the United States this spring after the US agreed to take them in, according to a report released by the US State Department on 5 February. The 12,000 or so refugees under consideration for admission to the US have been in refugee camps in Kenya for over 10 years. Most of them were moved from the Dadaab camp in northeastern Kenya to Kakuma in the northwest between June and September last year, Sasha Chanoff, a spokesman for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.The refugees have already begun the process that will see them into the US. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 5 February 2003)
* South Africa. Cricket's World Cup opens - 9 February: Now that the cricket World Cup has got under way in Cape Town, South African papers celebrate the occasion -- though fears about politics remain. Pictures of the ceremony feature on many front pages, with the Mail and Guardian typical in its coverage. "The only cloud of the night, literally, hung over Table Mountain, but Newlands... was awash with sound and colour," it enthuses. It alludes to worries about England's match in Zimbabwe but does not allow these to dampen its mood. "It would be stretching a point to say that the World Cup is already smoothly up and running, but it couldn't have asked for a better introduction than that provided at Newlands," it concludes. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 9 February 2003)
* Sudan. 3rd phase of peace talks end on a positive note - The third phase of the talks underway in Kenya for an end to Sudan's civil war, have concluded on a positive note. It seems the positions of the government and the SPLA are becoming closer. The delegations of the two sides defined procedures for the sharing of power and the division of proceeds from the exploitation of the nation's immense oil resources. The government and the SPLA came to an agreement for the formation of a government of national unity that will guide the nation until the next democratic elections, and also established the formation of a mixed commission to work on a draft constitution. (MISNA, Italy, 7 February 2003)
* Sudan. Thousands displaced by fighting - On 9 February, a US monitoring team said thousands of southern Sudanese civilians have been displaced by recent fighting between the warring sides to the African country's 20-year-old civil conflict. "Regardless of which party may be responsible... many thousands of civilians have been forcibly displaced from their villages by direct military attack," according said Brigadier Herbert Lloyd, manager of the Civilian Protection Monitoring team in a report released at a press conference at the US Embassy in Khartoum. Herbert was referring to Lara, Tam, Nhialdou, Leel and villages south of Mankien and Mayo -- all areas in Western Upper Nile region of southern Sudan where a cease-fire was agreed upon in October. Throughout January, Herbert's team travelled to Western Upper Nile areas to inspect the affects of clashes between troops belonging to the Khartoum-based government and the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army. "What has happened is horrific and sad," US Charge d'Affaires Jeff Millington said during the press conference. "The government of Sudan bears responsibility for most of this. We are here to work with both parties to help reach the most valuable objective to stop fighting." (CNN, USA, 10 February 2003)
* Sudan. Killing fields discovered in Southern Sudan - An international team of investigators discovered fields of human remains, including those of children, in the Upper Nile province of southern Sudan, a group says. In a statement, the Centre for Religious Freedom, a division of Freedom House, said, "Interviews with local survivors confirmed that the remains were those of victims of an unprovoked attack [on] the unarmed civilian villages of Liang, Dengaji, Kawaji and Yawaji in April of 2002. It is estimated that from one-third to one-half of the 6,000 civilians originally living in the region were killed in the attack," the centre added. "The attackers were reported by the survivors to be the Sudan regular army from the Boing Garrison, commanded by Brigadier General Ibrahim Saleh," the Centre for Religious Freedom reported. Striking in the early morning while the villagers slept, the heavily armed Government of Sudan soldiers began killing the unarmed residents and burning their houses. The attackers were reportedly armed with 60 mm mortars, rocket-propelled grenades, 12.7 mm heavy machine guns and AK-47 assault rifles." (Zenith, Italy, 10 February 2003)
* Ouganda. 4.500 enfants enlevés en 2002 - Au cours de l'année 2002, le mouvement rebelle de l'Armée de résistance du Seigneur (LRA) a enlevé quelque 4.500 enfants dans le nord de l'Ouganda, selon un rapport d'une commission de l'ONU. Un chiffre bien supérieur à celui de l'année précédente. D'après le rapport, on ignore combien de ces enfants enlevés ont pu rentrer chez eux, combien ont été tués et combien sont toujours aux mains de la LRA. Toutefois, selon Els De Temmerman -- qui s'occupe à Gulu des enfants échappés ou libérés --, plus de 3.400 enfants ont été délivrés depuis juin 2002. Certains avaient été détenus durant six ans par la LRA. La commission onusienne a demandé au ministre américain Colin Powell de prendre une initiative pour mettre fin à cette guerre civile. Selon un leader de la population acholi, les rebelles seraient d'accord d'entamer des négociations de paix, si la communauté internationale y était impliquée. (D'après De Standaard, Belgique, 7 février 2003)
* Ouganda. La Croix-Rouge suspend ses opérations - Le 11 février, la Croix-Rouge ougandaise a annoncé la suspension de ses opérations dans le nord du pays, après une embuscade rebelle où six de ses employés ont été blessés et admis à l'hôpital dans un état critique. La Croix-Rouge est chargée de porter secours à des milliers de personnes ayant fui les combats dans les provinces de Gulu, Pader et Kitgum. Les combats avec l'armée se sont intensifiés ces derniers mois, faisant grimper le nombre de réfugiés de 500.000 à 800.000 en un an. (Le Figaro, France, 12 février 2003)
* Uganda. The Baganda call for federalism and autonomy - It was the biggest protest Uganda had seen for years. On January 28th, a crowd--200,000-strong, by the police's perhaps exaggerated estimate--marched through the normally traffic-choked streets of Kampala, Uganda's capital. The men wore long white tunics; the women colourful dresses with huge shoulder pads--the traditional garb of Buganda, the ancient kingdom from which Uganda derives its name. What did they want? "Federo!" chanted the marchers. The Baganda, Uganda's biggest tribe, want a new federal constitution, with their kingdom as a semi-autonomous state. Uganda's president, Yoweri Museveni, has to take them seriously. Like many African countries, Uganda is less a nation than an agglomeration of peoples, arbitrarily thrown together by British colonial map-drawers. The Baganda, a quarter of the country's 24m people, dominate the relatively prosperous south, and are fiercely proud of their history. Baganda politicians like to point out that when the British "discovered" Lake Victoria, their tribe was already living in a flourishing state there, ruled by a hereditary king, the kabaka.The present kabaka, Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II, still lives in a palace in Kampala. But today he rules little beyond his court. A federal constitution could change that; the king and his parliament of appointees and clan leaders want the power to make laws, and to tax and spend. They also want Kampala, now a bustling, multi-ethnic city, re-incorporated into the kingdom. (The Economist, UK, 8-14 February 2003)
* Uganda. Troubled areas - 10 February: The Ugandan Red Cross Society has announced that it is suspending its relief operation in the north of the country, after one of its convoys was ambushed by the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). Six Red Cross volunteers were injured -- three of them seriously -- when they were attacked on 8 February. Their radio equipment and personal possessions were stolen, and their vehicles were damaged. Meanwhile, 10 people and also students returning to school for the first day of term, were killed in an LRA ambush on 9 February. The LRA is the remnant of a rebellion in northern Uganda which erupted after President Yoweri Museveni seized power in 1986. It has achieved an international reputation for brutality, and for forcibly recruiting child soldiers -- although LRA leaders deny doing so. 12 February: At least 13 people have been killed and more than 2,000 others forced to flee in ethnic clashes in north-western Uganda. The fighting between the Lendu and Alur communities in Nebbi District was sparked off by the theft of timber and an ensuing revenge attack, police say. Police authorities in the region have asked the government for reinforcements as "the conflicts in neighbouring Congo RDC spill into Uganda", the daily New Vision reports. Thousands of people have been killed in ethnic tensions in the region, mostly on the Congolese side of the border where the Lendu have been fighting with the rival Hema community. Members of the Alur and Kebu communities razed half a dozen Lendu villages to the ground in the revenge attack near Nebbi town on 7 February. "Six villages were completely destroyed, hundreds of huts burnt, property looted and more than 2,000 people are without homes," Samson Onyai, Nebbi District police commander said. (BBC News, UK, 12 February 2003)
* Zambia. Ruling party wins by-election - 7 February: Zambia's ruling Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) has scored an important victory by holding on to their parliamentary seat in rural Keembe, about 100km north of Lusaka. No official results have yet been released, but Anderson Mazoka's United Party for National Development (UPND) has conceded defeat, even though it accuses the MMD of buying votes with beer and maize. Estimates from the ground indicate a MMD win with a resounding 70% of the vote. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 7 February 2003)
* Zambie. Des terres contre la faim - Le gouvernement zambien a annoncé, le 4 février, son intention de donner des terres aux fermiers. Avec un objectif: relancer l'agriculture nationale moribonde pour mieux lutter contre la famine et moins dépendre des exportations de minerais. Le projet concerne 190.000 hectares, situés dans le centre et le sud du pays, qui seront divisés en lopins de terre de 1.000 hectares chacun. Les fermiers bénéficiaires de ces terres devront produire du maïs, du tabac, des légumes, des fleurs et des fruits. (JA/I, France, 9-15 février 2003)
* Zambia. Re-thinking privatisation - 11 February: President Levy Mwanawasa has told a delegation from the International Monetary Fund he wants to re-think the country's privatisation programme. Mr Mwanawasa said privatisation of crucial state enterprises had led to poverty, asset stripping and job losses. Privatisation is important for Zambia because the IMF and other western banks will cancel $3bn of the country's $6.5bn debt, provided the agreed privatisation programme is seen through. Zambia's government must also show this year that it is managing the economy well. The Zambian president said that although he supported privatisation in principle, mismanagement by his predecessor Frederick Chiluba had caused the southern African country great misery. "There has been no significant benefit to the country," Mr Mwanawasa told the IMF's assistant director for Africa Robert Sharer. "Privatisation has contributed to high levels of poverty, loss of employment and asset stripping. This administration felt that it is necessary and essential to revisit the method by which government exits itself from public property." (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 11 February 2003) 

Weekly anb0213.txt - #6/7