weekly anb06295.txt #6

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

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 29-06-2000      PART #5/6

* Somalia/Djibouti. Two more weeks for debate  -  26 June: Somali
delegates attending the peace talks in Djibouti, won more time in
which to agree on steps towards the selection of a new provisional
government. The move came on 25 June, at a meeting between the
steering committee elected by the conference delegates and the host
of the Djibouti peace initiative on Somalia, President Ismail Omar
Guelleh. It had been anticipated that the conference would move
towards establishing such a structure this week.   (IRIN,
Central/Eastern Africa, 26 June 2000)

* Afrique du Sud. Maree noire  -  Une maree noire menace la cote
sud-africaine, a la suite du naufrage d'un petrolier a quelque 10
km du Cap. La nappe de petrole fait environ 8 km sur 6. Elle ne
constitue pas un danger immediat pour les plages du littoral, a
precise le ministere de l'Environnement, mais elle met en peril
Robben Island, l'ilot rocheux ou etaient detenus les prisonniers
politiques sous le regime de l'apartheid et qui abrite une
importante colonie d'oiseaux. Le petrolier qui transportait quelque
1.300 tonnes de fuel et 130.000 tonnes de minerais, a coule le 23
juin peu avant l'aube. Ses 29 membres d'equipage sont sains et
saufs.   (AP, 23 juin 2000)

* South Africa. "It's not cricket"  -  Disgraced South African
cricket captain, Hansie Cronje, has begged for forgiveness for his
involvement in illicit gambling deals. In a statement published in
the Cape Times newspaper, Cronje admitted full responsibility for
his actions and apologised to the nation. "There is no excuse and
I have let the United Cricket Board, the team, the fans and the
game down", he said. "I am bitterly sorry for what I have done and
the pain I have caused". Cronje said he drew some consolation from
the fact he had never fixed a match and had always played to the
best of his ability.   (BBC News, 26 June 2000)

* South Africa. Oil spill worse than expected  -  27 June: Cape
Town: Their boots and overalls coated with a layer of shiny oil,
workers waded into rocky pools, today, to grab blackened pieces of
kelp. With more oil hitting the mainland with every tide,
authorities predicted the ecological damage from the spill could
get much worse. The large oil slick hit the mainland on 24 June,
the day after the Panamanian-registered Treasure, went down
carrying 1,300 tons of bunker oil and 90 tons of gas oil. So far,
only small patches of oil have been washed up on Cape Town's most
popular beaches, but the Robben Island nature reserve has been
badly hit.   (AP, 27 June 2000)

* Sudan. Comboni College attacked  -  On 21 June, between 15-20
members of the Sudanese police stormed the Comboni College in
Khartoum and ransacked the building, leaving a trail of destruction
behind them. The invading police were divided into two groups: one
entered the building while the other stood guard. The invaders
forced their way to the Principal's office and ransacked it,
stealing his mobile phone, photographs, files and valuable
documents. They plundered a second room belonging to a staff member
and also an electrical store. Upon receiving the news, Archbishop
Gabriel Zubeir Wako of Khartoum rushed to the scene accompanied by
two lawyers. The group spent about an hour assessing the damage and
attempting to establish the motive for the police action.   (Zenit,
Italy, 26 June 2000)

* Soudan. La guerre au sud  -  Les rebelles de l'Armee de
liberation des peuples du Soudan (SPLA, rebellion sudiste) ont pris
la ville strategique de Gogrial, dans la region du Bahr el-Ghazal,
au sud du Soudan, a affirme le 25 juin a Nairobi un porte-parole
des rebelles. Le sud du Soudan est dechire depuis 1983 par une
guerre civile qui oppose le regime arabo-islamiste de Khartoum a la
rebellion sudiste conduite par le colonel John Garang.   (Le Monde,
France, 27 juin 2000)

* Sudan. Al-Turabi to form rival party  -  27 June: The former
Speaker of the Sudanese parliament, Hassan al-Turabi, has declared
he is forming a new party. Mr Turabi's action follows his formal
expulsion from the ruling National Congress Party, which he helped
form and in which he served as secretary-general. Dr Turabi is far
from being a spent force because he attracts a considerable
following --especially among Muslim fundamentalists -- and his
group of supporters includes some wealthy individuals.   (BBC News,
27 June 2000)

* Soudan. Tourabi demis cree son parti  -  Le 26 juin, l'ancien
president du Parlement, Hassan El-Tourabi, en delicatesse avec le
chef de l'Etat, a ete demis de sa fonction de secretaire general du
Congres national (CN), le parti au pouvoir. M. Tourabi est remplace
par Ibrahim Ahmad Omar, ancien ministre de l'enseignement superieur
et de la recherche scientifique, dans l'attente de la tenue d'un
congres de parti. Le 27 juin, M. Tourabi a annonce la creation de
son propre parti, le Congres national du peuple (CNP). Deux
ministres ont demissionne du gouvernement et adhere au nouveau
parti. La nouvelle formation a fait une demande de legalisation
aupres des autorites.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 28 juin
2000)

* Sudan. UN delays lifting sanctions  -  At the request of the
United States, the UN Security Council has delayed a decision on
lifting sanctions against the Sudan until mid-November, after the
US presidential elections, diplomats reported. All other 14 council
members believe the Sudan has fulfilled the requirements to end the
embargoes, imposed after Khartoum was accused of harbouring
suspects in a 1995 attempted assassination of Egyptian President
Hosni Mubarak while he was attending a meeting in Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia. But a vote at this stage would draw a US veto in the 15-
member body, prompting council members to agree to the postponement
in the expectation the Clinton administration would change its
position, the envoys said on 28 June. Sudan for months has lined up
international backing for lifting the sanctions, including Egypt,
on whose behalf they were imposed, and Ethiopia, where the attack
took place. France's ambassador, Jean-David Levitte, this month's
council president, said that Sudan, during talks with the US
diplomats at the United Nations, had agreed to the delay. "This
agreement was registered and endorsed by the members of the
Security Council without further discussion," he said. The
sanctions, which went into force in May 1996, require all states to
reduce the number of Sudanese diplomatic personnel on their
territory and to restrict the entry or transit of Sudanese
government officials. The council then decided in August 1996 to
impose bans on flights by Sudanese aircraft. But those measures did
not go into effect because the council did not adopt a follow-up
resolution setting a date for their entry into force. However, for
Sudan the sanctions are symbolic and might prevent their vying for
one of 10 rotating nonpermanent Security Council seats next year,
a move diplomats say the United States is working hard to prevent
by encouraging Mauritius to run instead as an African candidate.
The 189-member General Assembly votes in October. In the interim,
the United States has sent a team of security and counter-terrorism
experts to Khartoum to talk about US allegations that the
government supports what Washington calls terrorist groups. The
team, the first of its kind to visit the country for some years,
has been in Khartoum since at least June 22.   (Reuters, 28 June
2000)

* Tanzania. Led-up to the elections  -  The Press has been
reporting activity leading up to the 29 October general elections.
7 June: The Guardian -- "The National Electoral Commission has
directed that government and ruling party leaders are not allowed
to use their positions or public facilities for political
campaigns". 19 June: The East African -- "The ruling Chama cha
Mapinduzi has picked the incumbent, President Benjamin Mkapa, for
the Tanzanian mainland, and Mr Amani Abeid Karume for Zanzibar".
The Sunday News (11 June) had already reported "that Zanzibaris are
happy with Karume as presidential candidate for Zanzibar. 17 June:
The Guardian -- "The Catholic Bishops call for the election of far-
sighted leaders". 21 June: The Guardian -- "No political party will
be entitled to receive a monthly government subsidy after October's
general elections".   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 29 June 2000)

* Togo. Up to 45 leaders expected for OAU summit  -  Togo, host of
July's Organisation of African Unity (OAU) summit, expects as many
as 45 presidents or heads of government to attend, including Libyan
leader Muammar Gaddafi, who is helping to fund the event. Togolese
officials said that Angola's President Dos Santos, who had called
for a boycott over a UN report linking Togo to war diamonds and
Angolan rebels, had been sent an invitation but had not responded. 
 (CNN, 28 June 2000)

* Tunisie/Algerie. Visite de Bouteflika  -  Le president algerien
Abdelaziz Bouteflika est arrive le 28 juin a Tunis pour une visite
d'Etat de trois jours en Tunisie, a l'invitation de son homologue
Ben Ali. C'est la premiere visite de M. Bouteflika dans un pays
maghrebin depuis son election a la presidence en avril 1999.  
(PANA, 28 juin 2000)

Weekly anb0629 -  end of part 5/6