Weekly anb02087.txt #8

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

_____________________________________________________________
WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 08-02-2001      PART #7/8

* South Africa. Archbishop becomes a Cardinal  -  On 28 January, the Pope 
announced that Archbishop Wilfred Fox Napier of Durban will become a 
Cardinal. On 21 February, the Archbishop of Durban, along with 43 others, 
will be made a Cardinal at a consistory in Rome. As president of the South 
African Episcopal Conference in the early 1990s, Archbishop Napier made a 
positive contribution to Nelson Mandela's peaceful revolution, which 
brought an end to apartheid. He has been Archbishop of Durban since 
1992.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 6 February 2001)

* Soudan/Tchad. Importants accords  -  Le 3 février, le Premier ministre 
tchadien, M. Nagoum Yamassoum, a achevé une visite d'une semaine au Soudan, 
à l'issue de laquelle les deux pays ont conclu d'importants accords en 
matière de commerce et de coopération. M. Yamassoum a déclaré que le Tchad 
et le Soudan sont déterminés à renforcer leur coopération politique et 
économique. Les deux parties ont également conclu, dans le domaine des 
échanges commerciaux, un accord prévoyant la libre circulation des biens 
pour l'échange de produits industriels et agricoles.   (PANA, 4 février 2001)

* Sudan. Journalists imprisoned  -  Two journalists have been jailed for 
failing to pay fines ordered by a court for defaming the governor of 
Khartoum, their newspaper said on 4 February. A criminal court also ordered 
the left-leaning Al- Rai Al-Akhar daily to pay $390,000 -- the highest fine 
ever in Sudan against a newspaper -- for publishing the allegedly 
defamatory article, which appeared in August, the paper said. Al-Rai 
Al-Akhar is an independent daily. Amal Abbas, the paper's editor, and 
Ibrahim Hassan, the author of the article, on 3 February began a 
three-month jail sentence for failing to pay a fine of $5,900 each. Both 
told the court they did not have the money, according to Al-Rai Al-Akhar. 
Defense attorneys on 4 February went to court to contest the ruling, said 
Shadia Sidahmed, a journalist at the paper. Last August, Al-Rai Al-Akhar 
published an article accusing Majzoub Khalifa, the governor of Khartoum, of 
corruption and nepotism, but the court said the accusations have not been 
substantiated. In the 3 February verdict, the court said the sentences were 
designed to "serve as a lesson for the press" to seek accuracy and verify 
stories before publishing them. In January, Abbas spent two days in jail 
for refusing to publish an apology for an article that accused some justice 
departments of being the "mafia of the public sector." The justice minister 
intervened and released her.   (InfoBeat, USA, 5 February 2001)

* Soudan. Politique esclavagiste du gouvernement  -  Selon l'association 
Christian Solidarity International, les forces armées ont capturé 72 femmes 
et enfants le 21 janvier, et ont tué 53 civils lors de raids sur des 
villages du Sud-Soudan. Le 26 janvier, le ministre des Affaires étrangères 
a affirmé que "les enlèvements seraient poursuivis aussi longtemps que la 
guerre continuera".   (La Croix, France, 6 février 2001)

* Sudan. Minister meets with Bishops  -  "The Catholic Church has a long 
tradition of dialogue and we will benefit from this experience", said the 
Federal Minister of Social Planning, Dr. Kutbi Al-Mahdi, during his meeting 
with three Catholic Bishops on 7 February. Speaking with Dr. Kutbi, the 
president of the Sudan Catholic Bishops' Conference, Archbishop Paolino 
Lukudu Loro, said that as religious leaders, the bishops had come "to wish 
you God's blessings in the first place". He also said that during their 
recent plenary assembly, the bishops had felt that their 1995 position 
paper entitled: "A Position Paper of the Catholic Church on "The 
Miscellaneous Amendment Organization of Voluntary Work Act 1994"", which 
they had submitted to the Ministry, has not been followed. Archbishop 
Lukudu also mentioned that Church personnel had experienced a lot of 
hurdles in regard to the granting of visas, especially for expatriate 
personnel. He also said the Church finds it difficult to import Mass Wine 
and that there were difficulties, s far as Christians are concerned, in 
holding Sudan School Certificate Examinations on Easter Sunday.   (Dominic 
Ladu, Sudan, 8 February 2001)

* Tanzanie. Leader de l'opposition libéré  -  Le président du Front civique 
uni (CUF), Ibrahim Lipumba, arrêté le week-end dernier, a été libéré sous 
caution après quatre jours de détention, a-t-on appris le 1er février à Dar 
es-Salaam. Accusé d'avoir organisé une réunion déclarée illégale, M. 
Lipumba a déclaré que sa prochaine démarche serait de remettre de l'ordre 
dans son parti après les heurts entre ses partisans et la police, qui ont 
fait de nombreuses victimes. Neuf autres membres du CUF ont également été 
relâchés sous caution, six autres sont toujours en détention.   (PANA, 1er 
février 2001)

* Tanzania. Crisis on the islands  -  31 January: The European Union 
condemns the excessive use of force by the police on Zanzibar and Pemba 
islands, following opposition-led demonstrations protesting the results of 
last October's election. 1 February: Visitors planning to head to Zanzibar 
have been asked to avoid all holiday and non-essential travel to the scenic 
islands. "We advise against all holiday and other non-essential travel to 
Zanzibar, including Pemba Island, the British Foreign and Commonwealth 
Office has said. Visitors and residents already on the islands have also 
been urged to exercise extreme caution and stay clear of any political 
rallies and demonstrations. The prime minister of Tanzania, Frederick 
Sumaye, has defended the policing of demonstrations in the Zanzibar 
archipelago at the weekend in which more than thirty people were killed. Mr 
Sumaye said that the police response to what was not a peaceful 
demonstration had been appropriate and had been taken to prevent worse 
bloodshed. He said not many more than twenty-two people died in clashes 
between police and supporters of opposition parties protesting against the 
conduct of elections last year. Meanwhile, the Tanzanian foreign minister 
Jakaya Kikwete has said the country will take tough action against any 
group which attempted to use what he described as terrorism against the 
government and its embassies abroad.Tanzanian embassies in Sweden and India 
are reported to have received letters which threatened a campaign against 
Tanzanian interests abroad -- principally its embassies -- from a group 
called the Zanzibar Liberation Front. 3 February: Tanzania's President 
Mkapa offers talks to end Zanzibar's political crisis but he rejects 
opposition demands for a rerun of disputed elections there. 6 February: At 
least 14 Zanzibar opposition MPs have arrived in Kenya to escape violence 
on the islands. 7 February: The opposition Civic United Front hold a 
peaceful rally on the mainland.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 8 February 2001)

* Togo. Bribery claim is "utterly ridiculous"  -  In a Press Release (7 
February), Amnesty International described allegations that it had accepted 
a bribe as "utterly ridiculous and deeply insulting to the victims of 
Togolese terror". The organization's General-Secretary, Pierre Sane, 
branded Togo's Interior Minister, General Sizing Walla, who made the 
acusation yesterday, a "desperate man employing the tactics of a desperate 
government". General Walla claimed that Amnesty International had received 
a US $500,000 payment from Togolese opposition leader, Gilchrist Olympio, 
in return for writing a report that was critical of human rights standards 
in Togo.   (Amnesty International, 7 February 2001)

* Tunisie. Le frère de Ben Brick  -  Jalel Zoghlami, qui vient de lancer le 
mensuel l'Arc de la dignité à Tunis, a été agressé en pleine rue, le 3 
février, par cinq hommes armés de barres de fer. Des attaques comparables 
avaient déjà eu lieu en Tunisie, notamment contre un homme d'affaires, 
Riadh Ben Fadel, grièvement blessé en mai 2000 après avoir publié une 
tribune appelant le président Ben Ali à ne pas briguer de troisième mandat. 
Dans le journal de Zoghlami, l'éditorial abordait le même thème; "Ben Ali, 
treize ans, basta". Ce débat autour du troisième mandat, qui nécessiterait 
une réforme constitutionnelle, est visiblement la ligne rouge à ne pas 
franchir pour le régime. Zoghlami a entamé une grève de la faim pour que 
son mensuel soit légalisé. Son frère, le journaliste Taoufik Ben Brick, 
avait suivi l'an dernier un mouvement semblable, provoquant une prise de 
conscience internationale sur le régime. - Le 6 février, des policiers ont 
placé l'appartement de M. Zoghlami sous état de siège. Omar Mestiri, du 
Comité national pour les libertés en Tunisie (non reconnu), qui venait lui 
rendre visite, a été roué de coups.   (D'après Libération, France, 5-8 
février 2001)

* Uganda. UN worries about diamond exports  -  The United Nations has put 
Uganda on a watchlist of countries that export diamonds but have no known 
diamond production. A panel of experts will examine the relationship 
between diamond exports and military procurements. A final report by an 
expert panel on the illegal exploitation of natural resources and other 
forms of wealth, will be ready in March 2001. The report comes amidst 
growing concern in the UN and various organisations, of Uganda's 
involvement in commercial transactions of this nature. The Ugandan 
government says it is not particularly worried about being placed on the 
UN's "watchlist". The Minister of State in charge of the presidency says it 
is not a big deal. "Uganda has a liberal economy where both foreigners and 
local traders freely deal here. If they deal in diamonds then it is part of 
a liberalised economy".   (Crespo Sebunya, ANB-BIA, Uganda, 2 February 2001)

* Uganda. Towards the elections  -  22 January: Cardinal Wamala says the 
Catholic Church will not back any candidate in the 6 March presidential 
elections. (New Vision). 26 January: President Museveni has warned Ugandans 
who are resorting to violence and intimidation in the presidential election 
campaigns, that: "It is an offence to threaten violence, obstruct traffic". 
(New Vision). 5 February: Supporters of a leading challenger to president 
Museveni are claiming they are the targets of a deliberate intimidation 
campaign. On 4 February, three followers of presidential hopeful, Colonel 
Kizza Besigye, were killed as a truck drove into a crowd waiting for a 
campaign rally. New Vision publishes an opinion poll that gives Museveni 
54% of voters, compared to 37% for Besigye.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 6 
February 2001)

* Ouganda. Violences à la campagne électorale  -  Le dimanche 4 février, 
trois personnes ont été tuées et trente autres blessées, quand un véhicule 
a foncé sur la foule réunie pour accueillir l'un des candidats aux 
élections présidentielles du mois prochain. Un pick-up a foncé de façon 
apparemment délibérée sur un groupe de partisans du candidat Kizza Besigye, 
à Namanve (environ 8 km à l'est de Kampala). Les occupants du véhicule 
avaient eu une altercation avec des partisans de M. Besigye sur la raison 
pour laquelle ceux-ci le préféraient à l'actuel président Yoweri Museveni. 
M. Besigye, officier en retraite et ancien ministre, est le principal 
adversaire de Museveni aux présidentielles du 6 mars. La campagne 
électorale a été émaillée de violences, opposant le plus souvent les 
partisans de M. Besigye à ceux du président Museveni.   (La Libre Belgique, 
6 février 2001)

* Zambia-Congo (RDC). JMC is broke  -  The Joint Military Commission (JMC) 
for the supervision of the Congo RDC cease-fire agreement is broke, making 
it difficulty to supervise practically the actual implementation of the 
fragile peace deal. The newly appointed chairman of the Commission, 
Brigadier General Njuki Mwanika, said on 1 February, that the JMC, which 
has its headquarters in Lusaka, was finding it difficult to start 
operations on the ground because of lack of finances. General Mwanika, said 
that during his one-year (renewable) term as head of the JMC, he would 
ensure that the implementation of the Lusaka Cease- fire Agreement takes 
off. Gen. Mwanika, who was quick to defend the JMC's relevance, has as 
priority, to ensure the disarmament of the parties involved in Congo's 
conflict, takes place. He said the JMC is expected to facilitate an 
enabling environment before the United Nations Observer Mission for the 
Congo (MONUC)'s 5,000-strong peace keeping force enters that troubled 
nation. The General said that as soon as circumstances allow, the JMC will 
relocate to Kinshasa or any other convenient place in Congo.".   (Gideon 
Thole, ANB-BIA, Zambia, 1 February 2001)

Weekly anb0208.txt - End of part 7/8