Weekly anb07067.txt #8

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

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 06-07-2000      PART #7/8

* Togo. Lome gears up for 36th OAU Summit  -  The city of Lome is bustling
with activity in preparation for the 36th Summit of the Organisation of
African Unity (OAU), billed to open next week in the Togolese Capital. For
the past three months, authorities in Lome have been engaged in a race
against time in efforts to provide suitable accommodation for the large
number of invitees to the African gathering. Some 3,000 beds are required
to cater for all the invitees. Sources at the ministry of tourism told PANA
that in spite of European Union sanctions, Togolese authorities have been
able to establish new lodging facilities in Lome, "which normally could not
accommodate more than 1,700 guests." Prime Minister Eugène Koffi Adoboli's
government has committed all its resources into preparations for the
summit, assisted by other ministries and services. The Togolese capital has
been spruced up with luxury villas in Lome II, north of the old city. Open
gutters have been cleaned up, roads paved and bitumen slapped on some of
the main streets which have also been fitted with street lamps. However,
some of the work is still outstanding due to the "particularly short
notice". The "Cité OUA 2000", located a few hundred yards from President
Gnassingbé Eyadema's residence, is still under construction. Contractors
and labourers told PANA they were not optimistic the villas would be ready
before the summit, in spite of the fact that they are working round the
clock. Togolese authorities have refurbished rooms at the "Foire Togo 2000"
site, constructed bungalows and erected prefabricated houses in the city
centre and residential areas. They have also carried out repairs at the
city's main Hotel du 2 Février, whose 35 floors have been closed to the
public in the past three months. Less than a week before the summit opens,
only a few contractors, including Claire Ngo Djebet, a Cameroonian
businesswoman, have handed over the keys of completed houses to the
Togolese government. Most of the national firms and foreign private
economic operators are still at various stages of their projects.   (PANA,
Dakar, 5 July 2000)

* Tunisie. Demande d'amnistie  -  Quelque 250 opposants et défenseurs des
droits de l'homme ont exigé une amnistie générale pour tous les prisonniers
d'opinion en Tunisie. Dans ce texte concluant une Conférence nationale pour
les libertés et la démocratie, qui a eu lieu à Tunis ce week- end, les
participants demandent l'arrêt des poursuites judiciaires, le
rétablissement des droits civiques et politiques, ainsi que des réparations
pour les préjudices subis.   (Le Monde, France, 6 juillet 2000)

* Ouganda. Non au multipartisme  -  Les Ougandais ont rejeté à 91,5% des
votants le multipartisme, lors du référendum tenu le 29 juin. Ils ont
choisis de conserver le système dit du "Mouvement", dénoncé par
l'opposition comme un parti unique déguisé, qui est en vigueur depuis 14
ans. Ces résultats, publiés le 1er juillet, portent sur 85% des
circonscriptions. Quelque 9,6 millions d'électeurs étaient appelés aux
urnes, mais environ 50% seulement ont effectivement participé au
référendum, ce qui transforme le résultat en un demi-succès pour le
président Museveni. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 3 juillet 2000)

* Uganda. Voting for political future  -  29 June: A referendum to gauge
support for a political system credited with creating stability but
criticized as undemocratic draws a reportedly light voter turnout, today.
The nonbinding ballot question asks voters whether they support President
Yoweri Museveni's National Resistance Movement or want a multiparty system.
Traditional political parties, allowed to exist in name only, called for a
boycott of the vote. In his first public comment on the vote, Museveni says
if his Movement received less than 60 percent of the vote, he would
consider changing Uganda's political system. "If there are no problems in
the organization of the elections or natural causes like rain preventing
all the registered voters from casting their ballots, and the Movement gets
less than 60 percent, I will know there is a serious problem with the
Movement system. But we shall make a judgment after looking at the results
and the voter turnout". The private Central Broadcasting Station radio
reports a generally low turnout nationwide. Some polling stations in
Kampala said only half the registered voters on their lists had turned up.
The 16,500 polling stations close at 5 p.m., and vote counting gets under
way immediately. Results are to be announced by 1 July. The Electoral
Commission says 9.6 million voters had registered in the country of 22
million. News media report a higher turnout in rural areas. 30 June: Early
results show a clear majority in favour of retaining the country's current
no-party system. 30 June: First official results show that Ugandans wish to
continue with their present system of government. 1 July: President
Museveni's "no-party" system of government has decisively won the
referendum. About 50% of those registered to vote actually voted; of these,
91% voted for the current "no-party" system of government. The Uganda
People's Congress and the Democratic Party boycotted the referendum. 4
July: President Museveni makes the surprise announcement that he is willing
to consider a return to multi-party politics. "I have no problem with
political parties if they are not on the wrong basis", he told a news
conference. "Let's change society in such a way that if parties are brought
in, they are no longer a danger". 5 July: Multi-party advocates say they
will continue to fight for a pluralist system of politics. (ANB-BIA,
Brussels, 6 July 2000)

* Western Sahara. Talks end without gains  -  Talks between Morocco and the
Polisario Front ended in London on 28 June without any significant progress
on the implementation of the UN settlement plan for Western Sahara. "We
have talked about obstacles hindering the implementation of the peace plan,
but no progress has been made on the substance," the leader of the Sahrawi
delegation, Mahfoud Ali Beiba said after the talks. He said that such other
meetings would be held between both sides to discuss the technical aspects
on the implementation of the UN peace plan. Sources close to the Sahrawi
delegation in London revealed that another meeting for talks at the same
level has been scheduled for September. Morocco and the Polisario Front
have not yet agreed those to be registered to vote in the self-
determination referendum that is to decide whether Western Sahara joins
Morocco or becomes an independent state. Morocco and the Polisario Front
have been fighting over the Western Sahara since Spain left the territory
in 1975. (PANA, Dakar, 29 June 2000)

* Zambia. "Solidarity in face of the country's social crisis"  -  In a
Pastoral Statement issued on 16 June, Zambia's Catholic Bishops said they
wanted to strongly express again their deep concern for the situation in
Zambia, today, and to add their profound worry that nothing significant has
happened to improve that situation. The Bishops emphasise that: 1) The
health system continues to be in a state of crisis; 2) The education system
is similarly in a state of crisis. The Bishops remind citizens that the
primary challenge facing Zambia today is not resources but priorities. "It
is regrettable that even the meagre resources that are available for the
common good and for the benefit of the most vulnerable members of our
society, are not directed towards priorities that answer essential needs,
in other words essential needs are not provided". The Bishops call upon all
to be in solidarity in the face of the people's sufferings.   (Zambia
Episcopal Conference, 16 June 2000)

Wekly anb0706.txt - End of part 7/8