Weekly anb11095.txt #7

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

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 09-11-2000      PART #5/7

* Sierra Leone. Looking for peace  -  2 November: The UN Secretary- General 
has issued a fresh and urgent appeal to member countries to contribute 
extra troops to the peacekeeping force in Sierra Leone. The Security 
Council has voted for an increase in the force to allow it to carry out its 
mandate. But at the moment, the force seems to be shrinking as countries 
pull out their troops faster than they can be replaced. Mr Annan's appeal 
to the Security Council should have a sympathetic hearing. the ambassadors 
from 11 of its 15 members have recently returned from a trip to Sierra 
Leone where they expressed serious concern about the future of the 
peacekeeping force. 4 November: President Kabbah has announced that his 
government will hold talks on 9 November with representatives of the RUF 
rebels. The meeting will be the first high-level discussion between the two 
sides since the RUF restarted the civil war in May. 5 November: In 
Freetown, UN peacekeepers and Sierra Leone security police open fire, 
mostly in the air, to disperse hundreds of tyre-burning youths demanding 
the lifting of a curfew. 6 November: The UN Secretary-General has appointed 
Major General Martin Luther Agwai of Nigeria, as deputy commander of the UN 
peacekeeping force in Sierra Leone. He will serve under Lt. Gen. Daniel 
Opande of Kenya who was appointed as force commander last week. The new 
chief of staff, Brigadier General Alaska Duncan was also appointed last 
week. The UN denies reports that its troops opened fire in Freetown 
yesterday. 9 November: Talks aimed at restarting the peace process begin 
today. Representatives of the government and RUF rebels are due to meet in 
Abuja, Nigeria. The meeting will also be attended by representatives of the 
UN and ECOWAS.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 9 November 2000)

* Somalia. 1.2 million people face starvation  -  On 2 November, UN 
agencies working in strife-torn Somalia, announced an ambitious plan to 
help the country undertake national reconstruction after it recently made 
positive political changes. The initiative, according to the UN, will be 
implemented in three phases ending in 2001, the world body said in a press 
release. Under the initial phase, funds to expand humanitarian programmes 
will be sought while immediate support for governance will commence. As a 
first step, the agencies say they have put in place an operational plan to 
support governance and peace building in order to help the country's 
transitional government and also assist people in "peaceful areas as 
Somaliland and Puntland." The UN resident and humanitarian co-ordinator for 
Somalia, Randolph Kent, said, "We now have an important opportunity to 
support peace and reconciliation in Somalia. But a difficult task lies 
ahead. It is now time for Somalia's international friend to support the 
struggle for peace in real tangible ways." He said the second phase to be 
implemented in 2001 will involve medium term transitional planning and 
continuing governance support, while the third phase will involve planning 
with international partners to ensure long-term development goals for the 
country "if the necessary conditions for lasting peace prevail". (PANA, 
Dakar, 2 November 2000)

* Afrique du Sud. L'Eglise et le racisme  -  Le racisme demeure omniprésent 
en Afrique du Sud, a constaté le président du Conseil oecuménique des 
Eglises d'Afrique du Sud (SACC), l'évêque Mvume Dandala, le 1er novembre, 
lors d'une conférence sur l'Eglise et le racisme. Durant la conférence, les 
délégués se pencheront notamment sur l'anti- sémitisme, l'apartheid et le 
conflit entre Juifs et Palestiniens. L'évêque Dandala a invité les 
ecclésiastiques à continuer à relever le défi actuel d'éradiquer le 
racisme. Parmi les intervenants figurent le théologien Charles 
Villavicencio qui traitera du thème "Racisme, la responsabilité des 
Blancs", le directeur général de Transnet, Saki Macozoma, sur "Race et 
affaires", et l'évêque Adam Richardson qui traitera du thème "Le racisme, 
le point de vue américain". La conférence prend fin le 2 novembre.   (PANA, 
2 novembre 2000)

* South Africa-Italy. Trade initiative  -  Italy and South Africa are to 
try to mobilise international support for the launch of a global trade 
round, by by-passing the bureaucracy of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) 
in Geneva. The plan was agreed in Cape Town on 2 November by Enrico Letta, 
Italy's trade and industry minister, and Alec Erwin, his South African 
counterpart. It stems from their frustration at stagnation in the WTO since 
its disastrous Seattle meeting last year. The ministers aim to create a 
core negotiating group of about 15 developed and developing countries to 
lay the political groundwork for a trade round. As G7 president next year, 
Italy would promote the issue among rich countries, while South Africa 
would use its considerable influence as "champion" of developing countries, 
to get them on board.   (Financial Times, UK, 3 November 2000)

* Afrique du Sud. Evêques contre achats d'armes  -  Une lettre adressée par 
Mgr Napier, archevêque de Durban et président de la Conférence épiscopale 
sud-africaine, au président Mbeki vient d'être divulguée le 3 novembre. Le 
document concerne le scandale relatif à une grosse commande militaire 
passée par le gouvernement, suite à laquelle un haut représentant des 
autorités et l'ancien ministre de la Défense Joe Modise ont été accusés de 
corruption. Dans sa lettre Mgr Napier dit notamment: "Lorsque le projet 
controversé d'acheter des armes fut connu du public, l'Eglise catholique 
exprima ses réserves quant au besoin d'armements aussi sophistiqués... Nous 
désirons réexprimer nos inquiétudes concernant l'augmentation prévisible du 
coût des équipements militaires. Nous croyons que ce type de dépenses est 
moralement et économiquement injustifiable. A notre avis, la plus grande 
menace pour notre sécurité est l'inacceptable montée de la pauvreté et des 
inégalités dans notre pays. Nous ne voyons aucune menace militaire dans 
l'avenir de l'Afrique du Sud...".   (D'après Misna, Italie, 3 novembre 2000)

* Afrique du Sud. Fièvre aphteuse  -  Les vétérinaires ont commencé 
l'abattage de plusieurs milliers de têtes de bétail dans le KwaZulu- Natal 
(est), touchés depuis septembre par la fièvre aphteuse. L'opération vise à 
freiner l'infection qui proviendrait de déchets organiques achetés au port 
de Durban pour l'alimentation des porcs. 17 pays ont imposé des 
interdictions partielles ou totales sur l'importation de viande d'Afrique 
du Sud depuis le déclenchement de la maladie. On estime que, si la maladie 
n'est pas éradiquée, elle pourrait coûter 300 millions de dollars au 
pays.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 6 novembre 2000)

* South Africa. Towards a PanAfrican Parliament  -  In a bid to define 
Africa's challenges and solutions, discussions by various heads of states 
and officials on the establishment of a Pan African Parliament will take 
place in Pretoria from 7-10 November. According to government sources, the 
Pan African Parliament's main thrust will ultimately be to establishing an 
African Union. The African Union, it is envisaged, will replace the 
Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and the African Economic Community 
(AEC). Thirty-one countries have given the union the thumbs- up, and there 
is hope that two-thirds of the 54 members of the OAU and AEC will have 
signed the protocol by December. The secretary general of the OAU, Salim 
Ahmed Salim, his two assistants, and 200 delegates from the OAU member 
states are scheduled to attend the meeting. In a statement on 6 November, 
the government said that the idea of Pan African Parliament is 
complementary to President Thabo Mbeki's campaign to promote the principles 
of African Renaissance, and the Sirte Declaration which intends to address 
social, political and economic realities in Africa. Following this week's 
discussions, it is expected that the African Union will be launched at an 
Extraordinary Summit in Sirte, Libya in March 2001, the statement said. The 
Sirte Declaration, signed after the OAU Algiers Summit in 1999, seeks to 
amend the OAU Charter so as to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of 
the OAU. The declaration also calls for the provision of "a common platform 
for our peoples and their grassroots organisations to be more involved in 
discussions and decision making on the problems and challenges facing the 
African continent".   (WOZA Internet, Johannesburg, S.Africa, 6 November 2000

* Afrique du Sud. Luttes pour la terre  -  Le 7 novembre, des fermiers 
blancs sud-africains ont lancé un appel à la communauté internationale 
contre les crimes qu'ils attribuent à une volonté organisée de les chasser 
de leurs terres. "Nous craignons pour nos vies", a dit Werner Weber, 
dirigeant d'un regroupement d'organisations agricoles Stop Farm Attacks. 
Entre janvier et août de cette année, 88 fermiers ont été tués et 288 
personnes blessées lors de 586 attaques. Selon M. Weber, ces attaques 
veulent "contraindre les fermiers soit à partager, soit à quitter leurs 
terres". La restitution de terres aux Noirs s'accélère en Afrique du Sud, 
avec plus de 10% des demandes satisfaites, a indiqué de son côté la 
Commission gouvernementale chargée du processus.   (La Libre Belgique, 8 
novembre 2000)

* South Africa. Racially-motivated violence  -  In a press release on 8 
November, Amnesty International said it welcomes the swift response of the 
South African authorities to the shocking evidence of the police torture of 
suspected illegal immigrants, broadcast on state television on 7 November 
2000. The arrest and suspension from duty without pay, of six members of 
the South African Police Service East Rand Dog Unit, and the clear 
statement by the Safety and Security Minister, Steve Tswete, condemning 
their brutal and racist treatment of the victims in their custody, should 
send an unequivocal message to all members of the security forces, that 
such abuses will not go unpunished.   (Amnesty International, 8 November 2000)

* Soudan/Erythrée. Plan de paix  -  Selon la presse soudanaise, l'Erythrée 
a proposé au Soudan un plan de paix entre Khartoum et l'opposition 
soudanaise basée en Erythrée, incluant l'instauration d'un gouvernement de 
transition. Le président el-Béchir garderait ses fonctions et le chef de 
l'opposition armée sudiste, John Garang, deviendrait Premier 
ministre.   (La Croix, France, 3 novembre 2000)

* Sudan. Classroom and homes bombed  -  Homes and a classroom were 
destroyed and a refugee-aid centre was damaged on 22 October when an army 
plane bombed a densely inhabited part of this city in southern Sudan. A 
day-care centre narrowly missed being hit. According to a Catholic 
missionary in Nimule, the first bombing occurred at 11:30 a.m. At 2 p.m., 
while people were still assessing the damage, the plane reappeared and 
dropped another dozen 12 bombs, the missionary said. Four of the bombs 
exploded near the St. Bakhita day-care centre, managed by the Torit 
Diocese, next to the area where the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) operates 
an educational project, where the classroom was destroyed. Other bombs, 
some falling five meters from the JRS facility, shook the earth and 
buildings, damaging a wall and destroying the windows, according to a JRS 
official. Seven bombs exploded near the headquarters of the Torit Diocese 
and Catholic Relief Services. Another bomb fell near the Norwegian People's 
Aid centre. There is no news on the wounded. Most people have moved to 
other areas of the city. Few children are now attending school.   (Zenith, 
Rome, 5 November 2000)

Weekly anb1109.txt - End of part 5/7