Weekly anb03067.txt #7

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

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 06-03-2003      PART #7/7

* Tanzanie. Rapatriement des Burundais  -  Le rapatriement volontaire 
d'environ 320.000 réfugiés burundais vivant en Tanzanie va être accéléré 
suite à un accord entre le Haut commissariat des Nations unies pour les 
réfugiés (HCR) et les deux gouvernements, a annoncé un communiqué officiel 
à Dar es-Salaam le 27 février. Une commission tripartite qui s'est réunie 
durant trois jours sur la question, a observé que le rythme de l'opération 
était lent. Par conséquent, les trois points de sortie doivent être 
réactivés immédiatement en vue de faciliter le rapatriement, a déclaré le 
communiqué. Les réfugiés encouragés à rentrer sont ceux des communes de 
Makamba (sud du Burundi) et Ruyigi (est), où la situation sécuritaire s'est 
considérablement améliorée au cours des derniers mois. Bujumbura a été 
invité à effectuer des visites régulières dans les camps en Tanzanie en vue 
de sensibiliser les réfugiés sur l'opération de rapatriement 
volontaire.   (PANA, Sénégal, 27 février 2003)

* Tunisie. Opposant candidat à la présidentielle  -  Le 27 février, le 
dirigeant du Parti démocratique progressiste (PDP), une des six formations 
de l'opposition légale, Néjiv Chebbi, a annoncé sa candidature à l'élection 
présidentielle qui aura lieu en 2004 en Tunisie, en dépit d'une disposition 
contenue dans un projet de loi actuellement soumis au Parlement l'empêchant 
de postuler à la magistrature suprême. Adopté déjà en première lecture, le 
projet de loi exige que le candidat à la présidence appartienne à un parti 
représenté au Parlement, ce qui n'est pas le cas du PDP, seul parti à ne 
pas disposer de députés. Le parti de M. Chebbi compte par ailleurs 
présenter des candidats "en principe dans toutes les circonscriptions 
électorales" aux législatives qui auront lieu en même temps que la 
présidentielle. C'est le deuxième dirigeant d'un parti d'opposition à 
annoncer sa candidature, après M. Mounir Béji, chef du Parti social libéral 
(PSL) qui, lui, compte deux députés au Parlement.   (AP, 27 février 2003)

* Uganda. Rebels kidnap child recruits  -  28 February: Rebels of the 
Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in Uganda have been attempting to boost their 
forces by raiding schools. Children in both Gulu and Kitgum towns have been 
targets of abductions and residents are again complaining that the Ugandan 
army is not protecting the population. The army, however, says the rebels 
are dwindling in numbers because of the ongoing military operation. In the 
most recent attack, a group of LRA rebels targeted Oxford College secondary 
school in the northern town of Kitgum in the early hours of the morning. 
They abducted 12 teenagers, two of whom later managed to escape. Laz 
Ochira, the director of the school, described the attack as symbolic as it 
showed there was not enough security provided for the population. The 
rebels also seized five other secondary school pupils from their lodgings. 
The students had only recently moved to Kitgum after having been displaced 
from their home areas.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 28 February 2003)

* Uganda. LRA announce a ceasefire  -  2 March: The rebels of the Lord's 
Resistance Army (LRA), a notorious armed group operating in northern 
Uganda, have announced a ceasefire. The LRA has abducted tens of thousands 
of young Ugandans who are forced to carry out atrocities against the 
civilian population. The Ugandan Government has been on a major military 
offensive against the rebels while at the same time calling for a ceasefire 
and talks. In a statement read by religious leaders on a local radio 
station, today, the LRA declared an immediate ceasefire. The LRA says it 
will stop abducting civilians, ambushing vehicles and attacking government 
troops. This announcement of an unconditional ceasefire follows a meeting 
on 1 March between religious leaders and senior rebels of the LRA. The 
religious leaders said that during the meeting they spoke for over an hour 
via satellite phone with the leader of the LRA, Joseph Kony. This 
announcement of a ceasefire was swiftly welcomed by Lieutenant General 
Salim Saleh, a member of the government's peace team. Lieutenant General 
Saleh said arrangements are being made to organize face-to-face discussions 
with the rebels, and said he will personally take part in those talks. 4 
March: There is still optimism that the ceasefire will provide a chance to 
end the 16-year-old war in the north. But there is no sign that the 
military operation against the rebels is ending.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 4 
March 2003)

* Ouganda. Cessez-le-feu de la LRA  -  Les rebelles de l'Armée de 
résistance du Seigneur (LRA), actifs dans le nord de l'Ouganda, ont annoncé 
un cessez-le-feu unilatéral, indique l'agence AP le 3 mars. Selon l'ancien 
évêque Mgr McLeod Ochola, membre d'une équipe qui fait la médiation entre 
le gouvernement et la LRA, le chef des rebelles, Joseph Kony, a promis de 
cesser les attaques et les enlèvements. La LRA a déjà enlevé des milliers 
d'enfants pour en faire des soldats. Selon les organisations humanitaires, 
la guerre civile qui dure depuis 16 ans, a fait plus de 23.000 morts. Près 
d'un million de personnes ont été déplacées. - Selon l'agence Misna, le 
leader rebelle a demandé à rencontrer une délégation du gouvernement dans 
les prochains jours, avant le 10 mars. Le général Salim Saleh, frère du 
président Museveni, a donné son accord à la rencontre, confirmant que les 
forces gouvernementales adhèrent au cessez-le-feu, et souhaitant que les 
Nations unies et l'Union européenne puissent intervenir. - Toutefois, la 
LRA a déjà violé sa propre trêve. Les 2 et 3 mars, les rebelles ont tendu 
des embuscades qui ont fait dix morts: 5 civils et 5 soldats.   (ANB-BIA, 
de sources diverses, 5 mars 2003)

* Uganda. Treason charges against two boys should be dropped  -  On 4 
March, Human Rights Watch said the government of Uganda should drop treason 
charges against two boys formerly abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army 
(LRA). The boys, aged 14 and 16, were charged with treason in late 2002. 
One will next appear in court on 6 March 2003 in Moyo, while the other is 
set to appear in Gulu on 20 March. A Human Rights Watch representative met 
with the boys in Gulu on 6 February. Human Rights Watch has urged the 
government to immediately drop the treason charges, and release them to a 
rehabilitation centre.   (HRW, 4 March 2003)

* Uganda. Soldiers executed  -  4 March: The Ugandan army has executed 
three soldiers in public after they were found guilty of murdering several 
civilians near the northern town of Kitgum. The troops faced the firing 
squad in villages near Kitgum following a court martial close to the town. 
It is not the first time the Ugandan army has executed its own soldiers. A 
year ago two young soldiers were executed after being found guilty in a 
field court martial of murdering an Irish priest and his two Ugandan 
employees. There were accusations at the time that the executions were 
carried out swiftly in order to conceal the truth behind the murders. 
Private Richard Wigiri, who was found guilty of killing a civilian Monica 
Achiro in December last year, was executed by firing squad at midday on 3 
March, close to the scene of the crime in Kitgum Matidi township. A second 
court martial took place near the health unit at Pajimo outside Kitgum 
town, where Private Kambacho Ssenyonjo and Private Alfred Okech were found 
to have murdered three civilians on 4 January this year. The chairman of 
the court martial was the fifth division commander, Colonel John Mugume. 
According to a councillor present at the court martial, the hearing lasted 
for two days. There was no lawyer representing the two men, who were both 
found guilty at about 1630 on Monday. They were then taken to the bush 
about two kilometres away, where they were both blindfolded and 
shot.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 4 March 2003)

* Uganda. Children face severe hunger  -  5 March: The United Nations World 
Food Programme (WFP) has said that malnutrition has reached a critical 
stage for almost a third of the children in two refugee camps in northern 
Uganda. WFP surveys showed thousands of children under five were severely 
malnourished, in the camps of Anaka and Pabbo. A system to provide 
supplementary rations had to be set up immediately, the WFP said. Nearly 
one million people live in 60 crowded and impoverished camps in northern 
Uganda after fleeing fighting between the government and rebels of the 
Lord's Resistance Army. The WFP also welcomed the ceasefire announced by 
the rebels this week, saying it would ease the supply problem in areas 
previously deemed too dangerous to visit.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 5 March 2003)

* Zambia. No HIV recruits in army  -  5 March: Zambia's army will no longer 
recruit people with HIV, the virus which can lead to Aids, it has 
announced. The head of the defence force medical service said that the army 
could only take on people who are physically fit. Some 21% of Zambia's 
adult population is HIV positive -- one of the highest infection rates in 
the world. However, serving soldiers with HIV will not be forced out of the 
army. "Military life is in essence an extremely active one. Defence is not 
a kindergarten or Red Cross. We need people who are fit," said Brigadier 
General James Simpungwe.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 5 March 2003)

* Zimbabwe. Famine agency issues emergency alert  -  Zimbabwe faces a 
potential famine and should urgently speed up food imports to avert it, a 
US-based agency said on 27 February. The Famine Early Warning System 
Network (FEWSNET) issued its emergency alert following a poor harvest 
blamed on drought and President Robert Mugabe's controversial seizure of 
land from minority whites for redistribution to landless blacks. "FEWSNET 
recommends that the government co-ordinate its use of all five ports in the 
sub-region to allow timely imports to avert a potential famine," the agency 
said. "Indicators point to a dramatic rise in food insecurity. People in 
more than two-thirds of the districts are likely to be moderately, highly 
or extremely food insecure in the 2003/04 marketing year starting in 
April."   (CNN, USA, 27 February 2003)

* Zimbabwe. Citizenship choice forced  -  The Supreme Court in Zimbabwe has 
told a prominent human rights campaigner she will lose her citizenship 
within 48 hours unless she renounces her entitlement to New Zealand 
nationality. The court order against Judith Todd -- daughter of a former 
prime minister of white-ruled Rhodesia, Sir Garfield Todd -- could have 
implications for many thousands of Zimbabweans with foreign-born parents. 
Ms Todd, 57, has been struggling to keep her Zimbabwean citizenship ever 
since President Robert Mugabe's government amended the Citizenship of 
Zimbabwe Act two years ago to ban dual nationality. Although she was born 
in the country, her parents were from New Zealand, arriving in what was 
then Rhodesia as missionaries. Her lawyers argued that she had never 
claimed foreign citizenship, and couldn't be made to renounce something 
she'd didn't have. But the Supreme Court agreed with the government, which 
maintained that since her parents were foreign-born, she was apparently 
entitled to citizenship elsewhere. Now she has two days in which to decide 
whether she wants to remain Zimbabwean.   (BBC News, UK, 28 February 2003)

* Zimbabwe. Investissements britanniques  -  Les entreprises britanniques 
continuent toujours d'investir beaucoup au Zimbabwe malgré le coup de froid 
entre Londres et Harare, révèle une étude menée par la BBC. Selon le 
document, au moins un tiers des plus grosses entreprises britanniques ont 
soit investi au Zimbabwe, soit eu des échanges commerciaux avec ce pays. La 
Grande-Bretagne, qui est vivement opposée à la réforme agraire, a mené une 
campagne médiatique et diplomatique contre son ancienne colonie, y compris 
des sanctions sportives et économiques. -- D'autre part, le 28 février, la 
Grande-Bretagne a donné 5,25 millions de livres sterling ($8,2 millions) au 
Programme alimentaire mondial (PAM) pour une aide alimentaire au Zimbabwe. 
Quelque 7,8 millions de personnes y sont confrontées à des pénuries 
alimentaires en raison de la sécheresse. Cette aide porte à 15,5 millions 
de livres la somme que la Grande-Bretagne a accordée à son ancienne colonie 
au titre de l'aide pour la lutte contre la sécheresse.   (PANA, Sénégal, 28 
févr.-2 mars 2003)

* Zimbabwe. UK firms confirm links with Zimbabwe  -  At least one third of 
Britain's biggest firms have business links with Zimbabwe. Of the 50 
biggest UK firms listed on the London stock market, 18 said they had a 
presence in the country, or trading relationships with Zimbabwean 
organisations. A further 12 companies failed to respond. Firms surveyed 
included companies with long trading histories in the country -- BP and 
Shell have a joint venture there. Barclays has 39 branches and 1,700 staff. 
On a smaller scale, Cadbury Schweppes has a minority stake in a local 
confectionery business. Supermarket giant Tesco imports some vegetables 
from Zimbabwe. Drinks giant Diageo sees its Smirnoff, Gilbeys and Booths 
brands produced in-country. And pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has a 
small presence in Zimbabwe.   (BBC News, UK, 28 February 2003)

* Zimbabwe. Clergymen detained  -  28 February: Some 20 clergymen have been 
detained by police after attempting to protest in the Zimbabwean capital, 
Harare. The church men were seen being loaded onto the back of an open 
vehicle and driven away accompanied by two police vehicles. The clergymen 
in suits and dog collars went to police headquarters carrying three wooden 
crosses seeking an apology for the arrest of one of their colleagues two 
weeks ago at a church. The clergymen wanted to hand over a petition to 
police chief Augustine Chihuri asking him "to ensure that the police force 
in the country performs its duties with respect for the church and every 
citizen of Zimbabwe". They were quoted as saying that it was their duty to 
overcome "unjust laws that encourage the selective and vindictive exercise 
of authority". 1 March : Police have released the 19 clergymen. They have 
all been charged with public order offenses under a tough security law 
introduced by President Robert Mugabe shortly before his victory in a 
controversial poll last March. The lawyer for the clergymen said they have 
been released, but he expects that they will be summoned to court at a 
later date.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 1 March 2003)

* Zimbabwe. Arrestations  -  Depuis le 28 février, plus de 200 personnes 
ont été arrêtées, en majorité des opposants, mais aussi des religieux et 
des spectateurs d'un match de la Coupe du monde de cricket. 19 hommes 
d'Eglise, arrêtés le 28 février à Harare, alors qu'ils manifestaient dans 
la capitale pour dénoncer les abus de la police, ont ensuite été libérés. 
L'archevêque catholique de Bulawayo, Mgr Pius Ncube, continue de subir des 
pressions.   (Libération et la Croix, France, 3-4 mars 2003)

Weekly anb0306.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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