Weekly anb08311.txt #7

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 31-08-2000      PART #1/7

* Africa. Action against the Media  -  Algeria: On 22 August, IFEX reported 
that independent journalist El Kadi Ihsane was recently arrested by border 
police at the Oum Tboul border post. Several Algerian newspapers have 
reported that the journalist was travelling to Tunisia on a family vacation 
when he was arrested. Burkina Faso: On 21 August, Reporters sans Frontières 
(RSF) condemned the total immunity enjoyed by the Head of State and his 
brother. Congo RDC: In its hearing on 28 August, the Court of Military 
order announced that two arrest warrants were issued on 25 August against 
Mankenda Voka, publisher of the daily L'Observateur, and Pius Muabilu 
Mukala of L'Avenir, for refusing to appear before the Court. Ethiopia: On 
24 August, the Ethiopian Free Press Journalists' Association expressed its 
indignation over the big increase in printing costs. Malawi: On 30 August, 
PANA reported that the editor of the Daily Times, Rankin Nyekaneka, has 
been suspended by the newspaper's editor-in-chief for placing a lead story 
titled "Malawi police to serve in Kosovo" on 25 August, instead of one 
about the opening of a plastics manufacturing factory by President Muluzi. 
Mauritania: In a letter to the Minister of the Interior, (24 August), RSF 
protested the seizure of the most recent issue of the weekly La Tribune. 
The same organisation has also protested the seizure of the latest issue of 
the weekly Le Carrefour. Sudan: RSF has protested (29 August) the arrests 
of Alula Berhe Kedani and Osmane Mirghani, journalists with the private 
dailies Al Rai Akhar and Al Rai al A'Am, respectively.   (ANB-BIA, 
Brussels, 31 August 2000)

* Africa. Millennium World Peace Summit  -  Delegations from ten African 
countries are scheduled to participate at a three-day conference of world 
religions and spiritual leaders which opens at the UN headquarters in New 
York on 30 August. Organised by an independent group of interfaith leaders, 
the conference, termed: "The Millennium World Peace Summit" has attracted 
participants of different religions from more than 50 nations, including 
the Vatican which is to be represented by Cardinal Arinze. African 
countries participating are: Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, 
Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan and Uganda. Nigeria has the largest 
African delegation of 15 religious leader -- 12 Christians, 2 Muslims and 
one Indigenous religious practitioner.   (PANA, Dakar, 27 August 2000)

* Afrique. ONU: sommet religieux pour la paix  -  Du 28 au 31 août, l'Onu 
organise à New York un sommet mondial pour la paix des leaders religieux et 
spirituels. Toutes les grandes religions sont supposées être représentées. 
Une grande exception, toutefois: le dalaï-lama ne sera pas là, la Chine s'y 
opposant, ce qui "détruit la crédibilté du sommet", selon Desmond Tutu. Les 
organisateurs espèrent que la rencontre débouchera sur une déclaration pour 
la paix dans le monde et, surtout, sur la constitution d'un conseil 
permanent de personnalités religieuses que les Nations unies consulteraient 
en matière de prévention et de résolution de conflits. L'Afrique est 
représentée par l'Afrique du Sud, l'Egypte, l'Erythrée, l'Ethiopie, le 
Ghana, le Kenya, le Nigeria, le Rwanda, l'Ouganda et le Soudan. Le Nigeria 
est le pays africain avec la plus grande délégation: 12 délégués chrétiens, 
2 musulmans et 1 de religion traditionnelle. Le Vatican y est représenté 
par le card. Arinze.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 28 août 2000)

* Afrique. Aide alimentaire  -  La Banque africaine de développement (BAD) 
a fait don de 4,5 millions de dollars au Programme alimentaire mondial 
(PAM) pour une aide d'urgence à 9 pays africains. Le financement doit 
permettre au PAM de fournir une aide alimentaire d'urgence au Burundi, à 
Djibouti, à l'Erythrée, à l'Ethiopie, au Kenya, au Rwanda, à la Somalie, au 
Soudan et à la Tanzanie, neuf pays affectés par la sécheresse. En 1999, le 
PAM a fourni une aide alimentaire à plus de 89 millions de personnes de 82 
pays à travers le monde entier, pour la plupart des réfugiés et des 
personnes déplacées à l'intérieur de leur propre pays.   (PANA, 30 août 2000)

* Afrique. Dommages et intérêts pour l'esclavage  -  Une sous-commission de 
l'OUA, chargée d'évaluer les préjudices causés à l'Afrique par 
l'esclavagisme et par le colonialisme, estime le montant de la réparation 
des torts à 777 millions de dollars. Le paiement de la facture sera exigé 
par les pays africains dans le cadre de l'ONU et de l'OUA, ainsi qu'en 
passant par la Cour internationale de Justice et par l'Organisation 
internationale du travail. Certains pays européens qui pratiquaient la 
vente d'Africains ont annoncé qu'ils ne paieraient pas cette dette, parce 
qu'ils la jugent établie de manière unilatérale, vu que les chefs africains 
de l'époque étaient aussi impliqués dans le commerce des esclaves et dans 
le pillage des ressources. "Pareil argument ne tient pas debout", rétorque 
Hamet Maulana, membre de la sous-commission de l'OUA, "car ce ne sont pas 
les Africains qui ont construit des bateaux négriers et qui ont invité des 
trafiquants d'esclaves à venir s'adonner à leur commerce sordide en 
Afrique". La sous-commission de l'OUA s'est réunie à la mi-août à Accra au 
Ghana pour envisager des pistes en vue d'obtenir un dédommagement pour 
l'Afrique.   (CIP, Bruxelles, 31 août 2000)

* Algérie. Nouveau Premier ministre  -  Le 26 août, le président Bouteflika 
a nommé Premier ministre un de ses proches collaborateurs, Ali Benflis, en 
remplacement d'Ahmed Benbitour démissionnaire. Benflis, 56 ans, membre de 
la direction du FLN, passe pour un réformiste. Selon un diplomate 
occidental, sa nomination viserait surtout à renforcer le pouvoir de 
Bouteflika sur la bureaucratie civile. Dans son gouvernement, M. Benflis 
conserve l'essentiel des ministres sortants. Parmi les rares nouveaux 
venus, un autre proche de Bouteflika est nommé ministre des Affaires 
étrangères: Abdelaziz Belkhadem, réputé islamiste conservateur, farouche 
opposant à toute normalisation des relations avec Israël.   (D'après 
Libération, France, 28 août 2000)

* Algeria. New premier  -  President Bouteflika has named Ali Benflis, his 
closest aide and chief of staff, as prime minister in a move aimed at 
consolidating his authority in a regime where the army holds the main 
levels of power. The appointment follows the resignation of Ahmed 
Benbitour, who only served eight months as premier.   (Financial Times, UK, 
28 August 2000)

* Botswana-Zambia. Bridge across the Zambezi  -  Botswana's President 
Festus Mogae has said that plans are at an advanced stage for the 
construction of a bridge across the Zambezi River at the Kazungula border 
town with Zambia. He said that when completed, the bridge will enormously 
contribute to the smooth movement of goods and people between the two 
countries and the southern African sub-region as a whole. The realisation 
of the bridge has been the subject of delayed consultations between Zambia, 
Botswana and Japan, which President Mogae said are now at an advanced 
stage.   (PANA, Dakar, 24 August 2000)

* Burundi. Tense run-up to peace agreement  -  23 August: In a Press 
release, Amnesty International says that all parties to the Burundi 
conflict should refrain from inciting violence and other human rights 
abuses against unarmed civilians in the tense run-up to the possible 
signature of a peace agreement on 28 August. 25 August: Despite elaborate 
plans for the signing of the peace agreement, a leading figure in the 
San'Egidio community, Matteo Zuppi, says there is growing uncertainty that 
an end to the conflict in Burundi is really in sight. 28 August: President 
Clinton arrives in Arusha, Tanzania, for the signing ceremony. However, 
hopes are now fading for a comprehensive deal to end the violence. 
Discussions have stumbled on the question of who will lead a 30-month 
transitional government and on the timing of the ceasefire. Last minute 
talks have been taking place, mediated by Nelson Mandela. There have been 
fresh reports of fighting around Bujumbura.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 28 August 
2000)

* Burundi. Accord "sabotaged"  -  BBC News: Nelson Mandela has condemned 
representatives of the Tutsi minority in Burundi for dashing hopes of 
settling the country's seven-year old civil war. Six hardline Tutsi groups 
refused to sign a peace accord that had been hammered out by the former 
South African president, Nelson Mandela. "They wanted to reopen almost 
everything...sabotaging the agreement", Mr Mandela said in a fiery speech. 
President Clinton, who joined several regional heads of state to witness 
the signing, said it would be better if they signed up to a deal now rather 
than wait for more people to be killed. Instead, a scaled-down version of 
the deal was signed by Burundian President Buyoya and 13 of the 19 warring 
parties. CNN: Speaking to African leaders at the Arusha peace talks, 
President Clinton said: "I don't understand how continued violence will 
build schools for your children, bring water to your villagers, make your 
crops grow, or bring you in to the new economy. I think it is impossible 
that this will happen...If you let this moment slip away, it will dig the 
well of bitterness deeper, and pile the mountain of grievances higher, so 
that some day, when somebody has to come here and sit at a table like this, 
they will have an even harder job than you do". Independent: Burundi's 
President demanded last-minute changes to a power-sharing agreement. Whilst 
the African leaders waited on stage for two hours, President Buyoya refused 
to emerge until the chief mediator, Nelson Mandela, agreed to amend the 
deal the Mandela has pushed him to sign.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 29 August 2000)

* Burundi. After the signing  -  29 August: MISNA reports that everything 
is quiet in Bujumbura after the signing of the peace accord by two-thirds 
of the 19 delegations participating in the negotiations in Arusha. 
Burundians feel especially disappointed by the fact that various factions 
tied in with the Tutsi group failed to adhere to the agreement. Civil 
society sources say: "The people are afraid there will be a further 
outbreak of fighting. The agreement signed in Arusha did not even define 
some of the fundamental aspects of a peace process, such as the exact date 
of a ceasefire and who will lead the country during a transitional period 
that in two or three years should restore democracy". Two more ethnic Tutsi 
parties have added their signatures to the interim peace agreement. The 
AV-Intwari and the PRP have now signed the deal. Kofi Annan has called on 
all the warring parties in Burundi to sign the peace accord. But the 
refusal of four other Tutsi parties to sign the deal, and the deep 
reservations on the part of the government and several other signatories, 
casts grace doubts on hopes of ending the conflict. 30 August: Four Tutsi 
political parties who refused to sign the peace accord say they are now 
ready to reconsider, The four remaining groups -- Raddes, Anadde, the 
Social Democratic Party, and PIT -- have said they will now sign, despite 
remaining reservations over the deal. "We are not saying that we will not 
sign. But we have put forward conditions and we're waiting," said the 
leader of Raddes, Joseph Nzeyimana. Pope John Paul II launches an appeal 
for peace in Burundi. The EU promises to provide financial aid to help 
Burundi rehabilitate its infrastructure.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 31 August 2000)

Weekly anb0831.txt - End of part 1/7