weekly anb03167.txt #7

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

_____________________________________________________________
WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 16-03-2000      PART #7/7

* Uganda. Torture of suspects widespread  -  Torture of suspects
and prisoners in Uganda by members of security organs remains
widespread, the Uganda Human Rights Commission said in its annual
report released on 9 March. "Members of security organs and the
Uganda Peoples Defence Forces, must desist from arresting and
incarcerating people in ungazetted places," it said in the report
presented to parliament. The alleged violation of human rights
reflected a 263-percent increase in complaints received by the
commission compared to that of 1997. This is the second report by
the Commission since it was established by the government in 1996.
The present report covers the period from January to December 1998.
The Commission called on the heads of the army, police and
intelligence organs, in collaboration with line ministries, to
"stamp out this illegal and dehumanising practice," and requested
the ministers in charge of security and defence to assist in
enforcing this measure. "Those caught in the act should be
apprehended and prosecuted so as to serve as a deterrent to
others," it said. The Commission encouraged the government to
expedite the introduction of alternative forms of punishment to
offenders, including community service other than incarceration. It
also called on the government to construct more juvenile
rehabilitation homes to resolve the problem of adults being locked
up together with minors. The Commission noted exploitation of
prisoners' labour for personal gain by prison authorities and asked
the government to provide sufficient resources to prison
institutions to ease the suffering of prisoners. It urged
"government should review the present legislation which provides
for one Ugandan shilling per day to prisoners for their work."  
(PANA, Dakar, 9 March 2000)

* Ouganda. Fievre hemorragique inconnue  -  Une fievre hemorragique
inconnue, dont les symptomes s'apparentent a ceux du virus Ebola,
a tue 17 personnes dans le nord-ouest de l'Ouganda depuis deux
semaines, ont annonce des responsables ougandais le 12 mars. Le
ministere ougandais de la Sante et l'Organisation mondiale de la
sante (OMS) sont en train de travailler a l'identification de cette
fievre, qui provoque notamment des saignements, des maux de tete,
des vomissements et des diarrhees.   (Liberation, France, 13 mars
2000)

* Uganda. Peace far off in the north  -  The press agency MISNA
reports (on 15 March) that tension has taken hold over the Kitgum
district in northern Uganda. Though the rebels of the Lord's
Resistance Army have not carried out any raids against the civilian
population in the last few days, there is fresh apprehension of
raids by groups of Karimojong herders. On 13 March, killings were
reported in two different locations.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 16 March
2000)

* Zambia. Local Authorities are collapsing  -  Local authorities
are collapsing in the country with fears of the trend continuing if
nothing is done to redress the situation, Zambia Allied Union of
Local Authority Workers (ZULAWU) president Mwape Mutakila has
observed. Mutakila, at the presentation of the action plan document
of the national symposium on financing local governments in Lusaka
on 8 March, urged the ministry to consider recommendations
contained in the document to address the current problems facing
the local authorities. He said that in the past several people had
contributed viable ideas on how best to revitalise the local
authorities' operations but nothing had been done. He said the
document that was being presented if implemented would bring a lot
of changes in the local authorities. Local Government and Housing
Associations (LGHAZ) president Max Ng'andwe said local governments
have always channels of development anywhere in the world. "Unless
we put our house in order, we shall not benefit from the
developments. The recommendations emanate from our resolutions on
how best we can revitalise the local authorities," said Ng'andwe.
Receiving the documents, Sejani called for the revitalisation of
local authorities failure to which lives of people were affected.
He said the economic performance of the Local Government has been
eroded due to the ill financed local authorities. Sejani said there
would be a steering committee that will be put in place to ensure
implementation of recommendations after observations by Cabinet.  
(The Post of Zambia, 9 March 2000)

* Zambia. Tension on border region  -  Plans by the Zambian
government to take remedial measures to lessen persistent attacks
by suspected UNITA rebels from Angola on border areas in the
country's north-western province, have reached an advanced stage.
President Fredrick Chiluba warned that his government would not
hesitate to deal with such invaders. He said the Zambian government
was worried about the increasing number of people, including
traditional rulers, fleeing the border areas in north-western
province. Close to 10,000 people are believed to have fled the area
because of attacks by suspected UNITA rebels from Angola. Apart
from the reported acts of banditry, an estimated 5,000 head of
cattle have been taken away by the suspected UNITA rebels. On 8
March, Defence Minister Chitalu Sampa assured residents of north-
western province that measures had been set up to correct the
situation. The latest raids, which took place in Zambezi district
on 6 March, have forced over 2,000 villagers, a chief and five sub-
chiefs to flee from their homes.   (Gideon Thole, ANB-BIA, Zambia,
10 March 2000)

* Zambia. Chiluba -- "No" to another term of office  -  For the
first time in Zambian politics, a president has said he will not
wait for old age before retiring from active politics. President
Frederick Chiluba has made it clear that he will not seek another
term of office after his tenure comes to an end in November next
year. He says: "In view of next year's presidential polls, doubts
about my retirement should be put to rest" The President made these
remarks on the occasion of a ground-breaking ceremony for the
Frederick J.T. Chiluba Centre, where he also placed a plaque
inscribed: "National Leadership, including the Presidency, should
be seen as an opportunity to serve rather than a life time
occupation". He said: "Democracy should be nurtured and if the law
says you must go, you must respect it and go without giving excuse
that people still want you". The President explained that the
Institute will not be a Movement for Multiparty Democracy political
office, but will be open to every Zambian, and outsiders of
integrity, who wish to bring about multi-party politics in their
country".   (Albert Sinayobye, ANB-BIA, Zambia 13 March 2000)

* Zimbabwe/Grande-Bretagne. Les relations se deteriorent  -  Les
relations entre le Zimbabwe et la Grande-Bretagne ne cessent de se
deteriorer. Aux remous causes par la reforme agraire (qu'Harare
voudrait faire payer par Londres) vient de s'ajouter la question de
la valise diplomatique britannique. Un envoi, pesant 6,5 tonnes et
contenant du materiel de communication ultra-secret, a ete ouvert
par les douaniers zimbabweens, ce que le ministre du Foreign Office
a qualifie de "violation sans precedent de la convention de
Vienne". Londres a rappele son ambassadeur a Harare pour
consultation.   (D'apres La Libre Belgique, 10 mars 2000)
* Zimbabwe. Shaky relations with Britain  -  Relations between
Britain and Zimbabwe deteriorated significantly on 9 March, when
the British Foreign Office recalled its High Commissioner in Harare
for consultations, after Robert Mugabe's government broke open an
impounded British diplomatic bag. Foreign Office Minister Peter
Hain called in Zimbabwe's High Commissioner in London to protest
about the incident. He said: "This is not the act of a civilised
country. This is a grave breach of the Vienna Convention. Zimbabwe
should be in no doubt that this is totally unacceptable behaviour".
Zimbabwean television has been showing pictures of the freight
container amid semi-official hints that it could contain arms,
sophisticated spying equipment or other subversive material.
According to Whitehall officials, the local media has suggested the
material is intended to help opposition parties or the beleaguered
white farmers. In fact, Mr Hain said, it was "routine equipment" to
provide "protective screening" for diplomatic communications. The
equipment is now back in British hands, but may have to be sent
back to London in case it has been tampered with or damaged. On 12
March, Britain said it had put behind it the diplomatic row with
Zimbabwe, and will engage Zimbabwe in dialogue on other matters of
mutual interest. 15 March: Zimbabwe has accused Britain's Minister
for Africa, Peter Hain, of exacerbating relations between the two
countries as part of a pre-conceived plan to demonise and ostracise
President Mugabe's government. Zimbabwe's Foreign Minister, Stan
Mudenge, writing in the government-controlled Herald newspaper,
says Britain is inciting political and economic instability in an
effort to topple the government which faces a general election next
month.   (ANB-BIA, 16 March 2000)

* Zimbabwe. Mugabe given right to snoop  -  On 14 March, Parliament
passed a law allowing the President to order the interception of
any telecommunications including telephone calls, e-mails and
faxes. The bill passed its third reading with only 10 MPs present.
It only needs to be signed by President Mugabe to become law.  
(The Guardian, UK, 15 March 2000)

Weekly anb0316 - End of part 7/7

THE END

**********************************************************************
*              Si tu vas puiser a la fontaine veritable,             *
*               plus tu puises, plus elle est genereuse              *
*                  If you draw from a real source,                   *
*         the more you draw, the more the source is bountiful        *
*   (Antoine de St Exupery)                                          *
**********************************************************************
**********************************************************************
AFRICAN NEWS BULLETIN - BULLETIN D'INFORMATION AFRICAINE
A fornigtly publication of African news and information
Bi-mensuel d'information et actualite africaine
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

We hope you find our WEEKLY NEWS informative and helpful.
But maybe you don't know our printed
AFRICAN NEWS BULLETIN/BULLETIN D'INFORMATION AFRICAIN?
For further information and informed comment about Africa,
YOU NEED TO READ IT - Why not send for a FREE COPY 
and Subscription Details from our address on: <anb-bia@village.uunet.be> ?

Trouvez-vous nos "WEEKLY NEWS" interessantes et utiles?
Mais peut-etre vous ne connaissez pas notre publication
BULLETIN D'INFORMATION AFRICAINE / AFRICAN NEWS BULLETIN?
Il s'agit d'UN INSTRUMENT INDISPENSABLE
pour mieux comprendre et mieux connaitre l'actualite africaine.
Pour recevoir une copie gratuite et plus de renseignements
pour un abonnement envoyez-nous un simple E-mail
avec votre requete et votre adresse postale.

**********************************************************************
Greetings from: ANB-BIA, Av. Charles Woeste 184,B-1090, Brussel, Belgium
Ph.: 32-2 420.34.36-Fax: 32-2 420.05.49 - <anb-bia@village.uunet.be>
WWW:  http://www.peacelink.it/anb-bia/anb-bia.html
-------------------------------------------------------------------------