Weekly anb12141.txt #6

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 14-12-2000  PART #1/6

* Africa. Action against the Media - Angola: On 11 December, the Provincial 
and Supreme Court in Luanda ordered the National Emigration Police to lift 
the travel restrictions imposed on journalists Rafael Marques, Aguiar dos 
Santos and Antonio Freitas. However, less than day after the court's 
ruling, on 12 December, the border police refused to allow Marques to leave 
the country, and confiscated his passport. Kenya: On 8 December, the 
Communications Commission of Kenya ordered the immediate closure of a 
recently- launched Kenya Internet Exchange Point and ordered the 
disconnection of all Internet Service Providers linked to the new exchange. 
On 9 December, at least four journalists working for different media houses 
were injured after police violently dispersed a meeting in Busia town. 
Zimbabwe: On 9 December, the government announced it was planning to sue 
the independent newspaper, the Daily News for criminal defamation. 
(ANB-BIA, Brussels, 13 December 2000)

* Africa. In Africa, martyrdom isn't easy to distinguish - No one disputes 
that millions of Africans have died violently in recent decades. Less clear 
is how many of them were martyrs for the faith. This was a question taken 
up at an international congress on "The Martyrs of Asia and Africa," held 
earlier this week at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum. The 
congress was the last in a series of meetings organized by this university 
centre on "Martyrs of the 20th Century." Martyrdom in Africa poses a 
difficult question, given that many people died as victims of ethnic or 
political wars. "The victims of the violence that has bloodied Africa, 
especially in the last decades, are about 12 million," the director of the 
Kinshasa, Congo-based magazine Afriquespoir, Father Nazareno Coltran, told 
the congress. "Grave conflicts have been experienced in Algeria, Angola, 
Burundi, Congo Brazzaville, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, 
Mozambique, Sudan, Uganda. However, who can say how many of these people 
lost their lives in such circumstances that they merit the title martyr? He 
added: "These are people who have preferred to give up their lives, rather 
than do evil.... [They died] without a machete in their hand, without a 
spear or a Kalashnikov." Father Coltran favours a broad interpretation of 
the concept of martyrdom. Martyrs are people whose deaths point up the need 
for justice and less violence in the world, he indicated. "Their sacrifice 
helps us to understand better how the world should be, [with] tolerance, 
respect for the rights of every person," the Congolese priest added. This 
is a viewpoint shared by Armand Veilleux, abbot of the Scourmont monastery 
in Belgium, who emphasized the importance of the witness of contemplatives. 
He referred to the seven Trappist monks who were executed in Tibhirine, 
Algeria, in May 1996 by a Muslim fundamentalist group. The religious lived 
in that country only to give Christian witness and serve as a link in the 
dialogue with Islamic believers. "A proper process of canonization might be 
very difficult in the present circumstances," Father Veilleux explained, 
"as no judicial investigation has determined the identity of the killers 
and their superiors with certainty, nor demonstrated to what degree the 
motives for the killing were explicitly religious. However, there is no 
doubt that their death was caused by their evangelical attitude. Although a 
purely political reading of their life and death would be a patent error, a 
strictly spiritual interpretation, which ignores the courage and clarity 
with which they remained involved in the Algerian situation, not only would 
be naive but would also empty their very message of meaning. Did not the 
same thing happen with Christ's death?" Father Paul Buetubela Balembo, 
rector of the Kinshasa Catholic Faculties, contended, "The causes of 
martyrdom in Africa are different, but can be summarized in the novelty of 
life brought by the proclamation of the Gospel. The preaching of the Good 
News always creates a contrast between what was before, and what is after: 
adherence to Christianity. This contrast, this clash, is not acceptable to 
nonbelievers, or to totalitarian and dictatorial powers. The Word of God 
cannot be proclaimed without taking risks. Thus, the martyr often lives his 
faith in contexts of hostility and opposition." (Zenit, Italy, 7 December 2000)

* Africa. Leaders reiterate commitment to fight AIDS - On 7 December, 
African leaders reiterated their commitment to fight HIV/AIDS as they 
related the experiences of their respective countries to check the spread 
of the pandemic. Addressing the last day of the 2nd African Development 
Forum, which opened on 3 December in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to discuss the 
challenges of HIV/AIDS to the development of the continent, the leaders 
emphasised the crucial role of national moralisation, involving 
cross-section of society, with the government spearheading the campaign. 
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni stated such a campaign required "the 
largest and loudest alarm possible to the dangers of the syndrome." OAU 
secretary-general Salim Ahmed Salim, who chaired the plenary's "Heads of 
State and Government Forum" at which each leader delivered a statement, 
stated that the AIDS pandemic had indeed constituted a great leadership 
challenge as indicated by the theme of the gathering. Presidents Museveni, 
Festus Mogae of Botswana, Paul Kagame of Rwanda, vice -president Justin 
Malewezi of Malawi and Prime Ministers Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia, Nyagoum 
Yamassoum of Chad and Moustapha Niasse of Senegal took turns to express 
their country's commitment to stop AIDS in its tracks. (PANA, Dakar, 7 
December 2000)

* Africa. UNICEF calls for child investment - On 12 December, the United 
Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) called on world leaders to stop the 
massive squandering of human potential by neglecting the needs of very 
young children. In its annual report on the state of the world's children, 
Unicef says investment in the first three years of life reaps huge personal 
and development dividends. "For every one dollar invested in the physical 
and cognitive development of babies and toddlers, there is a 7 dollars 
return, mainly from cost savings in the future," the report says, citing 
studies of successful pre-school programmes in countries as varied as the 
US and the Philippines. An additional investment of dollars 80bn a year, 
less than 0.2 per cent of global income, would ensure every baby a good 
start in life, UNICEF argues. This would pay for essential services such as 
clean water and sanitation, primary healthcare and basic education. 
Instead, nearly 11m children die each year from mostly preventable 
diseases, 170m are malnourished, over 100m do not go to school and one in 
10 is disabled, the report notes. Many poor countries are paying far more 
in debt servicing than on basic social services, while others are mired in 
conflict or devastated by the Aids pandemic. War-torn Sierra Leone and 
Angola head UNICEF's 187-country rankings for under-five mortality rates. 
At the other end are Switzerland, Sweden, Singapore, Norway and Japan. The 
US, the world's richest country, ranks 32nd alongside Cuba and Cyprus, well 
behind other western nations. (Financial Times, UK, 13 December 2000)

* Algérie. Un journaliste échappe au meurtre - Un journaliste du quotidien 
El Watan a échappé à une tentative d'assassinat imputée à la mafia. 
Abdelbaki Djabali, directeur du bureau d'El Watan à Annaba, a failli être 
tué dans un accident provoqué par un conducteur de camion qui voulait le 
renverser du haut d'un pont. Ce journaliste est connu pour ses enquêtes sur 
la corruption dans la métropole industrielle. (La Libre Belgique, 11 
décembre 2000)

* Algeria. String of attacks - A dozen members of Algeria's security 
forces, a civilian and an insurgent were killed in a two-day period in 
ongoing violence in Algeria. An armed group ambushed an army unit on 9 
December in the mountainous region near Tissemsilt, 250 km west of Algiers. 
Five soldiers were killed, and four others wounded in the attack. In 
another attack the same day, insurgents shot to death three community 
guards in Boghar, 80 km south of Algiers, the daily Le Matin reported. The 
newspaper also reported that an armed group of about 10 people burst into a 
shop the same day in Bechloul, 150 km east of Algiers, killing two people, 
including a policeman. A third person was seriously wounded. On 10 
December, a member of a civilian security force was killed when an armed 
group tried to attack a crowded cafe after Ramadan fasting broke for the 
day, Le Matin said. In two other attacks the same day, assailants killed a 
community guard and a policeman. (CNN, 11 December 2000)

* Algérie. Nombreux morts - Les 9 et 10 décembre, 5 soldats, 2 policiers, 3 
gardes communaux, 2 membres des groupes de légitime défense, un islamiste 
armé et un civil, soit 14 personnes ont été tuées, rapporte la presse 
algérienne le lundi 11 décembre. Le samedi 9, dans une embuscade tendue par 
un groupe armé à une unité de l'armée dans les monts de l'Ouarsenis, près 
de Tissemsilt (250 km à l'ouest d'Alger), 5 soldats ont été tués et 4 
autres blessés. Le même jour, dans une autre embuscade dans la commune de 
Boghar (80 km au sud d'Alger) trois gardes communaux ont également été 
tués. Dans la soirée, un groupe armé a attaqué un magasin à Bechloul (150 
km à l'est d'Alger) tuant froidement deux personnes, dont un policier. Et 
le dimanche, après la rupture du jeûne, une attaque a visé une caserne de 
la garde communale dans la commune de Souk El-Tenine (130 km à l'est 
d'Alger). - Le 12 décembre, 9 gardes communaux et 5 militaires ont encore 
été tués dans des embuscades de groupes armés islamistes dans les régions 
de Jijel et de Mascara, respectivement à l'est et à l'ouest de l'Algérie, 
indiquaient les journaux. Dans la région de Mascara, une dizaine de 
militaires ont également été blessés. Au total, plus de 50 membres des 
forces de sécurité ont été assassinés depuis le 27 novembre, le début du 
ramadan, alors que le nombre de victimes civiles paraît diminuer. (ANB-BIA, 
de sources diverses, 14 décembre 2000)

* Angola. Diamonds and oil to settle $4 billion debt - Angola is set to use 
diamonds and oil to repay to Russia its outstanding Soviet-era military 
debt, estimated by Russian officials at about $4bn. The agreement follows a 
visit to Angola earlier this week by Ilya Klebanov, Russia's deputy prime 
minister. The two sides are working out a scheme which would see the debt 
paid back and increase Russia's presence in developing Angola's new diamond 
deposits. Alrosa, the Russian diamond monopoly, will continue working in 
Angola, developing new deposits and reconstructing a power station for the 
mines. Marketing of Angolan diamonds is currently controlled by the Lev 
Leviev, a Russian-born Israeli businessman. Mr Leviev last February formed 
a joint venture with the Angolan government, the Angola Selling 
Corporation, easing out De Beers, the international diamond group. Ascorp 
is the sole buyer of Angolan rough diamonds, which represent an annual 
volume of $1bn. Lev Leviev Diamonds, Mr Leviev's company, owns polishing 
companies which analysts estimate have an annual turnover of $1bn-$1.5bn. 
Mr Leviev appears to be a likely candidate to replace De Beers should 
Russia decide not to renew its long-term agreement with the group at the 
end of 2001. (Financial Times, UK, 8 December 2000)

* Burkina Faso. Un anniversaire contesté - Le 12 décembre, la police 
burkinabé a empêché l'accès au lieu où le journaliste Norbert Zongo, qui 
était connu pour ses critiques du régime, fut assassiné en 1998. Une 
centaine de journalistes et militants des droits de l'homme voulaient 
ériger une stèle près de Sapouy, à 100 km à l'est de Ouagadougou. 
L'organisation Reporters sans frontières lance une "campagne publicitaire" 
qui montre un gâteau sur lequel sont posées deux bougies avec comme 
message: "Le 13 décembre, les assassins de Norbert Zongo fêtent leurs deux 
années d'impunité". (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 13 décembre 2000)

* Burkina Faso. 2nd anniversary of Zongo's death - 13 December: A series of 
mass protests are expected to start today in Burkina Faso to coincide with 
the second anniversary of the death of the prominent journalist, Norbert 
Zongo. The protests, which include a three day general strike and march in 
Ouagadougou, have been organised by a coalition of political parties and 
human rights groups. An independent commission which investigated the death 
of Mr Zongo concluded that he was killed for political reasons. There have 
since been calls for the government to carry out a judicial inquiry into 
the murder. Later on, it is reported that clashes have broken out between 
the security forces and protestors. Police use tear gas to disperse 
demonstrators gathering at the cemetery in Ouagadougou, where Mr Zono is 
buried. (BBC News, 13 December 2000)

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