Weekly anb02016.txt #7

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

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 01-02-2001      PART #6/7

* Senegal. Leprosy "under control"  -  Leprosy was not a major public 
health problem in Senegal as its ratio is among the population is less than 
1 percent per 1,000 inhabitants, the director of the Institute of Applied 
Leprology in Dakar, Prof. Charles Insa Badiane, said on 27 January. He 
credited the multi-drug therapy (MDT) provided by WHO over the past 20 
years as being effective in the cure of the disease, but called on the UN 
health body to provide drugs that would prevent attraction of the bacteria 
which cause leprosy. He also asked the WHO to provide drugs that would help 
control reaction in patients who have been treated for the disease. MDT 
comprises Riforpicine, Dapsone and Clofazimine. In an interview with PANA 
on the eve of World Leprosy Day, Badiane affirmed that the multi-drug 
therapy cures patients with less bacteria in their bodies within six months 
while those overly affected must undergo treatment for at least one year. 
Before MDT was manufactured, lepers had to undergo treatment for a 
protracted period or for a lifetime. Badiane could not give the total 
number of leprosy patients in the country, but said field workers 
throughout Senegal to treat the disease have reported at least 500 new 
cases of leprosy in the past two years. He regretted that due to less 
public awareness about leprosy which "is not a very contagious disease, 
people with it do not report for early treatment."   (PANA, Senegal, 27 
January 2001)

* Sénégal. Manifestation sanglante  -  Un étudiant de l'université Anta 
Diop de Dakar a trouvé la mort, le 31 janvier, lors d'une manifestation 
violemment dispersée par les forces de l'ordre. Il a succombé à ses 
blessures suite aux échauffourées ayant éclaté à l'entrée du campus entre 
étudiants et policiers. De nombreux blessés et des dégâts matériels très 
importants ont été enregistrés lors de ces affrontements qui ont duré plus 
de cinq heures. Les étudiants, qui observent une grève depuis le 12 
janvier, réclament notamment l'octroi de bourses supplémentaires et 
l'équipement des laboratoires. Le président Wade a regretté la mort de 
l'étudiant et déploré la tournure prise par le mouvement des étudiants, 
estimant que ces derniers auraient dû solliciter une audience pour lui 
exposer leurs revendications. (PANA, Sénégal, 31 janvier 2001)

* Sierra Leone. Elections cancelled  -  The authorities in Sierra Leone say 
the presidential election due next month will not now be held because of 
continuing insecurity. Parliamentary elections due in march have also been 
cancelled. No new dates have been set. the electoral commissionsaid it 
could not conduct the elections because some parts of the country were not 
accessible because of the civil war. (BBC News, 31 January 2001)

* Sierra Leone. Elections annulées  -  Invoquant l'insécurité dans le pays, 
le gouvernement a annulé les élections présidentielle et législatives qui 
devaient se dérouler respectivement en février et mars. "La commission 
électorale a indiqué au président qu'elle ne pouvait organiser les scrutins 
parce que la guerre empêche l'accès à certaines régions du pays", a déclaré 
le ministre de la Justice, Solomon Berewa. Après neuf ans de guerre civile, 
le gouvernement et les rebelles du RUF ont signé un cessez-le-feu 
globalement respecté. Les rebelles contrôlent cependant toujours le nord de 
la Sierra Leone, ainsi que l'est, deux régions riches en diamants.   (Le 
Monde, France, 1er février 2001)

* South Africa. AIDS treatment project to begin  -  Within the next six 
weeks Nevirapine will be available free of charge to pregnant mothers with 
HIV in all of South Africa's provinces. The government project will begin 
in 18 major hospitals and their feeder clinics and will extend to more 
hospitals during the year. The Department of Health has told provinces it 
is "urgent" that they begin soon. Gauteng begins on February 1 and the 
Eastern Cape soon after. All health departments will be meeting today (26 
January) to iron out the final details of the project. A senior official at 
the health department said it was important that there was a "rural, urban 
balance. However, we also need to extend this project to those hospitals 
where most births occur, to ensure cost effectiveness. There is a national 
budget with provincial contributions too."   (Mail & Guardian, 
Johannesburg, 26 January 2001)

* South Africa. Government ousts head of arms probe  -  On 28 January, 
South Africa's ruling party ousted a leading member of a parliamentary 
committee probing a multibillion dollar arms deal and added several party 
loyalists to the panel in a move denounced by analysts as a step backward 
for democracy. The move followed statements by President Thabo Mbeki and 
several ministers that the arms deal, worth about $5.46 billion, was 
aboveboard and that anyone suggesting otherwise was attacking the African 
National Congress (ANC) government. Andrew Feinstein, the leading ANC 
member of the public accounts committee who had championed a probe into the 
deal, was ousted and replaced by the party's deputy chief whip, Geoff 
Doidge. Political analysts expressed concern about the government's action. 
"This is an open clash between Parliament and the executive," political 
analyst Sampie Terreblanche told Reuters. "This is a constitutional crisis. 
It would be a sad day if this would be the first sign of presidential 
authoritarianism." The ANC already had a majority on the committee, which 
is headed by a member of the Inkatha Freedom Party, but had made sure that 
it did not flex its political muscles in a forum that has traditionally 
been non-partisan. But the ruling party shattered the truce Monday as it 
moved several other loyalists, including chief whip Tony Yengeni, onto the 
committee and its study groups. The arms deal signed in December 1999, 
involving arms firms in Germany, Italy, Sweden, Britain, France and South 
Africa, is supposed to generate offset investments worth about $13 billion 
and create 65,000 much-needed jobs. But allegations of bribery and 
corruption have surrounded it, and a preliminary study by the 
auditor-general last year called for an in-depth review after finding 
serious flaws in procedure.   (CNN, 29 January 2001)

* Sudan. SPLA forces destroy three oil wells  -  27 January: For the first 
time since the start of production and export of Sudanese oil, SPLA forces, 
on 26 January, entered the oilfields in Western Upper Nile. The operation 
led to the destruction and burning of three oil wells, one oil rig and 
three camps in Eltomash region between Wankay and Mayom town on the new 
highway linking Mayom to Higleg. Fighting between our forces and government 
troops has continued until 27 January outside Bentiu town. A number of 
government troops were killed in Eltomash area and various pieces of 
government equipment captured and destroyed.   (Commander Yasir Said Arman, 
SPLM, Sudan 27 January 2001)

* Soudan. Intervention des Eglises  -  Le 29 janvier à Pretoria, une 
délégation du Conseil oecuménique des Eglises du nouveau Soudan (NSCC) a 
rencontré le ministre sud-africain des Affaires étrangères, Mme Skosazana 
Dlamini-Zuma. La délégation a demandé notamment de soutenir la campagne en 
faveur de la suspension de l'exploitation des ressources pétrolières et de 
soutenir le processus de paix mené par l'IGAD (Autorité 
intergouvernementale pour le développement). Mgr Paride Taban évêque 
catholique de Torit, a déclaré qu'il fallait décourager les initiatives de 
paix parallèles à celle de l'IGAD, telles que l'initiative 
libyo-égyptienne, et faire pression sur le gouvernement soudanais afin 
qu'il mette fin aux bombardements sur des objectifs civils. Mme 
Dlamini-Zuma a confirmé le refus sud-africain de rouvrir une ambassade à 
Khartoum et son opposition à l'entrée du Soudan au Conseil de sécurité de 
l'Onu. Elle a aussi affirmé que l'Egypte pourrait faire son entrée, tout 
comme le Nigeria et l'Afrique du Sud, au sein du forum qui soutient la 
médiation conduite par l'IGAD.   (Misna, Italie, 30 janvier 2001)

* Tanzanie. Graves incidents à Zanzibar  -  Le 26 janvier, la police 
tanzanienne a ouvert le feu sur des militants de l'opposition dans 
l'archipel semi-autonome de Zanzibar, tuant deux personnes, a annoncé le 
Front civique uni (CUF, opposition). Des militants ont lancé des pierres 
sur la police, venue les disperser. La fusillade s'est produite à 
l'extérieur des bureaux du CUF, dans la ville de Stone Town, à la veille 
d'une journée de protestation organisée par l'opposition pour réclamer de 
nouvelles élections. Lors des scrutins présidentiel et législatif du mois 
de novembre dernier, les observateurs internationaux avaient relevé des 
irrégularités et appelé à un nouveau scrutin sur les deux îles, mais le 
gouvernement refuse catégoriquement. Le 27 janvier, les violences ont 
éclaté à Pemba et à Unguja et ont fait 32 morts, dont 6 policiers. Les 
heurts les plus violents se sont déroulés à Pemba, où on déplorait 24 
morts. Le lendemain, la police annonçait avoir arrêté près de 400 
personnes; lors d'une démonstration à Dar es-Salaam, la capitale 
tanzanienne, au moins 140 partisans du CUF ont été arrêtés. 30 janvier. Le 
calme semblait être revenu. Alors que les derniers bilans officiels font 
état de 37 morts, un responsable du CUF a estimé à au moins 280 le nombre 
d'opposants tués par la police, affirmant que 150 cadavres avaient été 
découverts dans la forêt de Pemba. D'autre part, un groupe de 200 personnes 
fuyant la répression de la police dans l'île de Pemba aurait disparu; leurs 
deux embarcations auraient coulé après avoir quitté le nord de 
l'île.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 29 janvier 2001)

* Tanzania/Zanzibar. Unrest spreads  -  26 January: Tanzanian police have 
shot dead two people on the semi-autonomous island of Zanzibar. say 
officials of the main opposition Civic United Front (CUF) party. CUF 
officials say police opened fire after an argument when they raided their 
offices in Zanzibar town and arrested some party workers. They say the 
shooting is part of a government campaign against the front, which has been 
disputing the results of last October's elections. The party chairman, 
Ibrahim Lipumba, has also been charged in the main city, Dar-es-Salaam, 
with unlawful assembly and disturbing the peace. The CUF were planning a 
series of demonstrations on 27 January to call for a repetition of last 
year's elections. The government viewed these plans with suspicion and 
banned the rallies. 27 January: Violent clashes between Tanzanian police 
and opposition demonstrators on the semi- autonomous islands of Zanzibar 
and Pemba are reported to have left at least 31 people dead. Police fired 
teargas and then live bullets in the air as a warning, and then aimed at 
the crowd. Eyewitnesses spoke of running battles in the streets, with 
police firing repeatedly at supporters of the Civic United Front (CUF), who 
are demanding a re-run of last year's election. In one incident, on Pemba, 
a policeman was decapitated with a machete. Today's violence appears to 
have started when the police tried to prevent the demonstrations from 
taking place. "The police tried to disperse some groups and people 
reacted," said Issa Yusuf, an eyewitness at the scene of one incident in 
Zanzibar Town. He said the demonstrators threw stones and petrol bombs. 
"Police fired teargas and then live bullets in the air as a warning and 
then aimed at the crowd. About five people fell down, but I have seen two 
dead." Many of the demonstrators were reported to be carrying machetes. 
State television said more than 100 people had been arrested, as the 
violence spread to Dar es Salaam. The authorities' tactics have alarmed 
many of Tanzania's main aid donors, among them the European Union. The OAU 
makes an urgent appeal for an end to violence in Zanzibar. 28 January: The 
police are reported as having arrested nearly 400 people following the 
violence. 30 January: MISNA reports that at least 280 people were killed in 
the clashes over the weekend. Injured Zazibaris are fleeing the 
violence-hit islands to Kenya's port of Shimoni.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 31 
January 2001)


* Togo. Vers les législatives anticipées  -  Le 27 janvier à Lomé, le 
collège des facilitateurs du dialogue inter-togolais (composé de 
représentants de la France, l'Allemagne, l'Union européenne et la 
Francophonie) a annoncé l'échec de sa mission d'une dizaine de jours au 
Togo. A ce jour, la mission n'a pu rapprocher les positions de la mouvance 
présidentielle et de l'opposition afin de dégager un consensus sur la date 
des prochaines élections législatives anticipées et certaines de ses 
modalités pratiques. La mouvance présidentielle réclame, avant tout 
scrutin, l'organisation d'un recensement démographique afin de déterminer 
le corps électoral; alors que l'opposition, comme la facilitation, trouve 
cette opération trop coûteuse et trop longue, et propose une simple 
révision des listes électorales à partir du fichier électoral ayant servi 
lors des législatives de 1999. L'ambassadeur allemand, M. Georg Reich, a 
précisé que "le budget alloué par l'Union européenne pour la facilitation 
est actuellement épuisé par deux années de dialogue". Pour voter un nouveau 
budget, a-t-il dit, "il nous faut un apport positif, mais sans ces 
résultats, nous avons le sentiment que nos mandants ne vont pas renouveler 
notre mandat". - Le gouvernement togolais a cependant demandé à la 
commission électorale de publier dès le 29 janvier le calendrier électoral 
des prochaines élections législatives et de considérer la proposition de 
calendrier faite par les facilitateurs comme la base de sa délibération. - 
30 janvier. La commission électorale a annoncé que les élections 
législatives anticipées auront lieu le 14 octobre 2001, pour le premier 
tour, et le 28 octobre pour le second. Selon son président, ces dates ont 
été fixées par consensus des vingt membres de l'organe. (PANA, Sénégal, 
28-31 janvier 2001)

Weekly anb0201.txt - End of part 6/7