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Weekly anb02207.txt #7

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 20-02-2003      PART #7/7
* Zambia. Chiluba loses immunity appeal - 19 February: In a landmark decision, Zambia's Supreme Court has ruled that parliament acted legally and properly last year in removing the immunity of former president Frederick Chiluba. This means that Mr Chiluba no longer enjoys protection from the law as guaranteed in the constitution and paves the way for an imminent arrest on charges of corruption. Mr Chiluba was stripped of his immunity after being accused by his successor, President Levy Mwanawasa, of misusing millions of dollars of government money. It is the first time such a decision has been made in Zambia and the Commonwealth and it will have massive ramifications for current and future Zambian presidents. Mr Chiluba denies all the allegations. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 19 February 2003)
* Zambie. Rejet de l'appel de Chiluba - Le 19 février, la Haute Cour a rejeté la demande d'appel de l'ex-président Fréderick Chiluba contre la levée de son immunité parlementaire, par laquelle il voulait éviter l'arrestation et le procès pour corruption. La Zambie est depuis plusieurs mois le théâtre d'une véritable lutte entre l'actuel président Mwanawasa et son prédécesseur. Le chef de l'Etat est accusé par Chiluba et par une partie de l'opposition d'avoir accédé à la présidence grâce à des fraudes électorales. En juillet dernier, Mwanawasa a répliqué en accusant Chiluba et une cinquantaine de ses plus proches collaborateurs de corruption. Ceci avait provoqué un véritable séisme politique suivi de démissions, d'échanges d'accusations et de menaces entre l'actuel gouvernement et Chiluba. L'ex-président et ses collaborateurs sont accusés d'avoir détourné l'équivalent de 80 millions de dollars en 10 ans de pouvoir. (Misna, Italie, 19 février 2003)
* Zimbabwe. Rift halts EU-Africa summit - Europe's relations with Africa suffered a severe blow yesterday when a summit between leaders of the two continents was shelved in a dispute over EU efforts to isolate Zimbabwe's elite. The meeting of European and African heads of government had been scheduled to take place in Lisbon in April, but has been postponed indefinitely after diplomats failed to persuade President Robert Mugabe to stay away. Southern African countries had defended Mr Mugabe's right to attend and threatened a boycott if he was not invited. But Tony Blair and several EU leaders made clear that they would not share a platform with the Zimbabwean leader. European sanctions against Zimbabwe have become highly sensitive since France invited Mr Mugabe to a Franco-African summit in Paris next week. On 12 February, EU ambassadors agreed to renew for another year the visa ban, asset freeze and arms embargo against more than 70 members of the Zimbabwean government and their associates, which would have expired next week. In return for French agreement, the UK and other states withdrew their opposition to Mr Mugabe's visit to Paris. Meanwhile it was revealed yesterday that a French aviation company is poised to help rescue Zimbabwe's beleaguered national airline. ATR is in talks to lease three or more aircraft to Air Zimbabwe. The airline is heading for collapse amid deepening economic woes and acute shortages of hard currency. (The Independent, UK, 15 February 2003)
* Zimbabwe. Sommet Europe-Afrique reporté - Le 13 février, l'Union européenne a décidé de reporter sine die le sommet Europe-Afrique qui devait se tenir le 3 avril à Lisbonne. Le bras de fer entre le gouvernement britannique et le président zimbabwéen Robert Mugabe entraîne ainsi une nouvelle détérioration des relations euro-africaines. Londres souhaite prolonger et renforcer les sanctions contre le Zimbabwe (gel des avoirs des dirigeants zimbabwéens et refus de visas de voyage), alors que d'autres pays européens jugent que l'isolement total du Zimbabwe n'est pas constructif. Beaucoup de pays africains boycotteront Lisbonne si M. Mugabe y est refusé, tandis que cinq pays européens sont prêts à boycotter la réunion si le président zimbabwéen y est présent. On a donc décidé le report de la réunion. (D'après La Libre Belgique, 15 février 2003)
* Zimbabwe. Réfugiés rwandais - Le Zimbabwe connaît une recrudescence d'arrivées de demandeurs d'asile en provenance de la région des Grands Lacs, a annoncé, le 15 février à Harare, le porte-parole du Haut-Commissariat des Nations unies aux réfugiés (HCR). Quelque 300 demandeurs d'asile sont arrivés le mois dernier, contre une moyenne mensuelle de 50 auparavant. Selon le porte-parole du HCR, le principal camp de réfugiés, celui de Tongogara, dans l'est de pays, était submergé par les nouvelles arrivées, principalement des Rwandais fuyant la Tanzanie, dont le gouvernement procède à des rapatriements forcés. La plupart des Rwandais hésitent à rentrer chez eux en dépit des assurances qui leur sont données concernant leur sécurité, et choisissent de quitter la Tanzanie pour d'autres pays de la région. Avant ces nouvelles arrivées, le Zimbabwe comptait environ 10.000 réfugiés, dont la plupart proviennent de la région des Grands Lacs. (PANA, Sénégal, 16 février 2003)
* Zimbabwe. "No peaceful end to crisis" - Zimbabwe's leading opposition figure has dismissed the chances of a peaceful solution to the country's political and economic impasse. In the midst of fierce international controversy over how to deal with President Robert Mugabe's regime, Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, said repression and economic collapse were pushing the country towards a popular upheaval. "I'm quite certain that we are not going to see a peaceful resolution of the crisis," he told the Financial Times. Last month Mr Tsvangirai confirmed that indirect contacts had taken place involving senior regime members aimed at substituting Mr Mugabe. But he said he opposed this plan. He argued that Mr Mugabe, in power since the end of white rule 23 years ago, would try to hang on to his authority but would be unable to contain the pressure mounting against him. "I think it's going to build up until the general population takes the necessary courage to confront the regime," he said. (Financial Times, UK, 18 February 2003)
* Zimbabwe. Living in fear of Mugabe's green bombers - On 18 February, human rights activists called on the Commonwealth to investigate the abuses perpetrated by a growing number of state-sponsored youth gangs in Zimbabwe. Investigations by the Guardian reveal that President Robert Mugabe's youth militia are increasingly well-trained in torture techniques that are then used on civilians. Police take virtually no action against the forces, widely known as "green bombers" for the colour of their military-style uniforms and for their reputation for violence. The trauma is evident on the face of Jameson Gadzirai, 23, three weeks after he and three others were abducted by the Zanu-PF youth militia. He had gone to Kuwadzana township in Harare as part of a residents' association team. "They were "green bombers". I could tell from the uniforms," Mr Gadzirai said. "They started beating us. They suspended us in the air and whipped our backs and our backsides. They beat the soles of our feet. They were organised, very systematic. And they kept asking us questions. Who did we work for? Who was paying us? Who were we spying for?" Mr Gadzirai added: "They seized our cell phones and when they found the numbers of lawyers and [Harare's] Mayor Elias Mudzuri, they said that proved we were spies." When they were released after a few hours they could hardly walk because of their swollen feet, and they could not sit down. Medical tests confirmed that the injuries were consistent with Mr Gadzirai's account. When they reported the incident to the police, they were arrested. No action has been taken against their attackers. Thirty similar reports in Kuwadzana were documented by the Human Rights Forum in January. (The Guardian, UK, 19 February 2003)
* Zimbabwe. Exchange rate adjusted - 19 February: Zimbabwe has adjusted the exchange rate for its currency, moving it closer to rates paid on the black market. Today, the government set the rate for exporters at 800 Zimbabwe dollars to the US dollar. Since August 2000, the Zimbabwe dollar had been artificially fixed at 55 units to the US dollar while on the black market the US dollar was worth up to 1,500 Zimbabwe dollars. Zimbabwe's business community has long wanted to change the country's chaotic foreign exchange policies. Companies are forced to pay black market rates for foreign currency needed to buy supplies but are forced to change export earnings at the official rate. Zimbabwe Finance Minister Herbert Murerwa admitted today that the economy was in dire straits. "The country is facing severe socio-economic challenges, amid a hostile external and domestic environment," he says. "This has resulted in a sharp decline in foreign exchange supplies and rising inflationary pressures." The minister also announced measures to boost agriculture and manufacturing and to fight corruption. By doing this, the government hopes to improve production and "guarantee the availability and affordability" of goods and services. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 19 February 2003) 

Weekly anb0220.txt - #7/7

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Un homme meurt chaque fois que l'un d'entre nous se tait devant la tyrannie (W. Soyinka, Prix Nobel litterature) 
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Everytime somebody keep silent when faced with tyranny, someone else dies (Wole Syinka, Nobel Prize for Literature) * 
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