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Weekly anb03301.txt #7
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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 30-03-2000 PART #1/7
* Africa. Action against the Media - Angola: On 29 March,
prosecution witnesses in the trial of journalist Rafael Marques
claim that Marques has humiliated the government. Congo RDC:
Donatien Nyembo Kimuni, a journalist with the weekly La Tribune,
who was arrested on 13 March, was, on 22 March, transferred to the
Kasapa Central Prison in Lubumbashi. Cote d'Ivoire: On 28 March,
The Committee To Protect Journalists wrote to President Guei
stating it is deeply disturbed by several serious recent press
freedom violations. Morocco: On 27 March, the World Association of
Newspapers wrote to Morocco's Minister of the Interior, expression
concern at the banning of recent issues of Le Figaro and Jeune
Afrique-L'Intelligent. Sudan: Reporters sans Frontieres (RSF) has
protested (24 March) against the detention of five journalists who
work for the independent daily As-Sahafa. Swaziland: On 28 March,
it was reported that 31 journalists working for the national
television have been sacked, following months of wrangling over a
strike in support of better pay and working conditions. They were
sacked, even though an industrial tribunal had absolved the
journalists of striking illegally. Zimbabwe: On 20 March, the
Supreme Court reserved judgement on the application by Standard
journalist, editor Mark Chavunduka, and chief reporter Ray Choto,
who are challenging Section 50 of the Law and Order Maintenance
Act. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 30 March 2000)
* Afrique de l'Ouest. Production cerealiere record - Les
projections etablies a l'issue d'une mission d'evaluation indiquent
des productions cerealieres record pour 1999 dans neuf pays arides
de l'Afrique de l'Ouest. Les documents publies apres une reunion
regionale, tenue du 6 au 9 mars, estiment a 11,5 millions de tonnes
la production cerealiere au Sahel. Six pays ont connu des recoltes
record: le Burkina Faso, le Cap Vert, la Gambie, le Mali, la
Mauritanie et le Senegal, alors que la production du Niger reste
proche du record de 1998. Par contre, au Tchad on prevoit une
diminution de 9%, et la Guinee Bissau a moins produit a cause de la
guerre civile. (D'apres IRIN, Abidjan, 23 mars 2000)
* COMESA. To intervene in peace resolution - 27 March: The Common
Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) has begun meeting
in Lusaka to draw up a regional protocol on peace and security to
deal with armed conflicts which have ravaged more than half of the
21-member states of the economic grouping. The decision by the
organisation to come up with a legal framework on peace and
security, arose from a growing concern for the widespread and
persistent armed conflicts among its member states. The three-day
meeting is expected to identify and analyze the cause of conflicts,
wars and political instabilities within and among member states. 29
March: The summit is due to conclude today. (ANB-BIA, Brussels,
30 March 2000)
* Algerie. Attentat et interpellation - Le 23 mars, la presse
algerienne a rapporte que des rebelles islamistes seraient
responsables d'un attentat commis contre un gazoduc dans la
province de Boumerdes, a 40 km a l'est d'Alger. Selon la compagnie
Sonatrach, l'incendie a ete maitrise et les travaux de reparation
sont en cours. Il s'agit d'une des rares attaques des maquisards
islamistes contre des installations industrielles en Algerie. Le
dernier attentat significatif de ce genre remonte a 1998. --
D'autre part, trois dirigeants du Front islamique du salut (FIS)
ont lance un appel pour un soutien aux deux chefs historiques du
mouvement, Abassi Madani et Ali Benhadj, toujours emprisonnes,
ainsi qu'aux disparus. Dans un communique transmis aux redactions
algeriennes, les dirigeants appellent les theologiens, les
intellectuels, la classe politique, les defenseurs des droits de
l'homme, a soutenir les personnes portees disparues afin qu'elles
puissent rejoindre leurs familles ou, du moins, a faire la lumiere
sur les circonstances et les raisons de leur arrestation. (ANB-
BIA, de sources diverses, 25 mars 2000)
* Algeria. Human rights groups welcome - 29 March: In a dramatic
change to policy, President Bouteflika has invited four human
rights groups to visit the country. The invitation marks a
turnaround in a policy adopted in 1992, when foreign groups were
not welcome to investigate rights abuses during the Islamic
insurgency. Last year, the country refused entry to UN rapporteurs
who wanted to investigate allegations of torture and summary
executions by government forces. Amnesty International, Human
Rights Watch, the International Federation of Human Rights,
Reporters Without Frontiers, have been told they are welcome for
separate visits of up to 11 days in May and June this year. (BBC
News, 29 March 2000)
* Algerie. Geste d'ouverture - Le 29 mars, quatre organisations
de defense des droits de l'homme qui demandaient en vain
l'autorisation d'enqueter en Algerie, ont appris par la presse que
des visas de dix jours pourraient leur etre accordes, entre mai et
juin. Amnesty, la Federation des droits de l'homme, Reporters sans
frontieres et Human Rights Watch etaient devenus des epouvantails
du regime depuis la publication, il y a deux ans, de leur Livre
noir de l'Algerie. L'invitation algerienne a ete rendue publique a
Geneve au siege de la commission des droits de l'homme de l'Onu.
Ces visites coincideront avec le voyage officiel du president
Bouteflika en France. D'autre part, le meme jour, loin de la scene
internationale, des avocats algeriens tentaient de rendre public un
autre communique denoncant "la liquidation judiciaire" des dossiers
de disparus. (Liberation, France, 30 mars 2000)
* Angola. Salaires augmentes - Le 23 mars, le gouvernement
angolais a annonce par decret une augmentation de 300% des salaires
des fonctionnaires publics. Le salaire mensuel minimum passe a 14
dollars, le maximum a 120 dollars. Les enseignants d'universite
beneficient cependant d'une formule speciale: le salaire mensuel
minimum est fixe 700 dollars, le maximum a 3.000 dollars. (La
Libre Belgique, 24 mars 2000)
* Angola. Angolan army changes tactics - President Dos Santos
says Angola's forces have temporarily suspended operations against
UNITA. In an interview with Angolan television, the President said
the Angolan army would be using the suspension to change its
methods so it could deal more effectively with a new type of
guerrilla warfare he said UNITA was waging. The President said he
was confident that once the changes were put into effect, the army
would be able to limit the area of guerrilla activity and gain
control over all of Angola's territory. (BBC News, 27 March 2000)
* Angola. De Beers ban on rebels' diamonds - 27 March: The
world's biggest diamond company, De Beers, is to guarantee that the
diamonds it buys and sells do not come from rebel-controlled areas
in Africa. From today, all the boxes of rough diamonds that De
Beers sells, will carry a guarantee that they are not from these
areas. De Beers sells about 70% of the world's diamonds -- so that
what it does can have a huge influence on the international market.
29 March: De Beers says that a consignment of diamonds sent from
Angola to Antwerp, has been siezed by the Belgian authorities. The
seizure of rough diamonds destined for Ascorp, a rival company, is
the latest step in a legal battle over diamonds mined in Angola's
Cuango valley by SDM -- a joint venture between Ashton Mining of
Canada, Endiama, the Angolan state diamond company, and Odebrecht
of Brazil. It should be recalled that mining companies and others
in Angola previously sold diamonds through various marketing
mechanisms, but a decree on 31 January, declared that all
transactions must now go through Ascorp, a new state-controlled
company. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 30 March 2000)
* Burundi. Section speciale au TPIR? - Dans un rapport publie le
23 mars, l'organisation Human Rights Watch fait etat de
l'enlisement croissant des pays d'Afrique centrale dans le conflit
au Burundi, et demande que la juridiction du Tribunal penal
international pour le Rwanda (TPIR) soit etendue aux crimes
perpetres au Burundi. Le rapport donne des preuves detaillees de la
participation a la rebellion burundaise de Hutu rwandais qui, dans
certaines unites, constitueraient jusqu'a la moitie des forces
combattantes. Il donne aussi des indications sur diverses tueries,
tant par l'armee que par les groupements rebelles. Lors des
dernieres negociations de paix, on a pour la premiere fois evoque
une possibilite d'amnistie pour les massacres de dizaines de
milliers de civils. "Une amnistie au Burundi est precisement ce
qu'il faut eviter", affirme HRW, qui demande avec insistance la
creation d'une nouvelle division au sein du TPIR qui aurait pour
mandat de juger les crimes commis au Burundi. -D'autre part, le 22
mars, le president de la Conference episcopale du Burundi, Mgr
Ntamwana, a anime a Bujumbura une conference de presse axee sur "le
devoir du pardon" a travers un message destine a etre lu dans
toutes les paroisses a partir du 9 avril prochain. Selon Mgr
Ntamwana, "l'unique garantie de la paix au Burundi sera le pardon
offert et recu". A la question de savoir comment concilier pardon
et justice, il a souligne que la reconciliation ne va jamais contre
la justice des tribunaux, qui doit poursuivre son cours, mais "le
pardon chretien n'est pas necessairement attache a la justice".
(ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 23 mars 2000)
WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 30-03-2000 END OF PART #1/7