Weekly anb05171.txt #8

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 17-05-2001      PART #1/8

* Africa. Africa has 12 million AIDS orphans  -  The charity Christian Aid 
has called on the UK Government to double the amount of money it gives to 
help fight AIDS in Africa. In a report, the charity says the scale of the 
crisis in Africa - where millions of children have been orphaned by the 
disease - should encourage ministers to increase spending. It says the 
government spends more on hotel bills and conferences than tackling AIDS in 
developing countries. Mark Curtis, Christian Aid's head of policy, said: 
"The UK is committed to reducing world poverty -but there is no way we can 
meet these targets without tackling HIV and AIDS." More than 12 million 
children in sub-Saharan Africa - equivalent to the UK's entire child 
population - have been orphaned by AIDS, the report says. By 2010, this 
number will have risen to 43 million and £15.4bn will have been wiped off 
the economy of South Africa alone, it warns. The report, called "No 
Excuses", calls on the government to double its development assistance to 
tackle the crisis effectively.   (BBC News, UK, 14 May 2001)

* Afrique. Sida: 12 millions d'orphelins  -  Le sida a fait plus de 12 
millions de jeunes orphelins en Afrique subsaharienne, a annoncé 
l'association Christian Aid le 14 mai. Plus de 2 millions de personnes sont 
mortes du sida en 2000, et 25,3 millions sont malades ou séropositives, 
selon ce document appelé "No Excuses".   (Libération, France, 15 mai 2001)

* Afrique. UE: politique africaine commune  -  Le 14 mai à Bruxelles, le 
Conseil des ministres des Affaires étrangères des quinze pays de l'Union 
européenne a approuvé une position commune sur la prévention, la gestion et 
la résolution des conflits en Afrique. Un premier texte établit le cadre 
général de cette politique, que la Belgique sera chargée de dessiner. Il 
indique que la première responsabilité pour la prévention, la gestion et la 
résolution des conflits appartient aux Africains, et que le Conseil de 
sécurité des Nations unies est le premier responsable du maintien de la 
paix internationale. L'UE se concentrera sur la prévention des conflitrs 
violents, notamment par la promotion d'une intégration majeure de l'Afrique 
dans l'économie mondiale. Un second texte est largement consacré au 
Congo-Kinshasa. L'UE réaffirme son soutien à l'accord de Lusaka et se 
prononce en faveur d'une reprise graduelle de la coopération, qui 
d'ailleurs a déjà commencé.   (La Libre Belgique, 15 mai 2001)

* Africa. The UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries  -  14 May: 
The world's poorest countries must be given the chance to compete on equal 
terms with the developed world, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan tells major 
conference in Brussels. Opening the week-long gathering of the 49 poorest 
nations - the third of its kind - Mr Annan said the conflict and the threat 
of AIDS has made things worse, but the developing countries need to be able 
to sell their goods abroad into open markets in order to grow. The number 
of countries on the "least developed" list has almost doubled since the UN 
first defined them at the first of these conferences 20 years ago. Most are 
in Africa, places where people live on less than $1 a day, and one in six 
children do not live to their fifth birthday. Most of this week's 
conference will not be on expensive solutions, but on improving the ability 
of the poorest to improve their own government, encouraging democracy and 
an end to corruption. The same day, the World Bank president, James 
Wolfensohn called for a "new compact" between rich and poor countries to 
fight poverty. African countries on the list are: Angola, Benin, Burkina 
Faso, Burundi, Cape Verde. Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo 
RDC, Djibouti, Equat. Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea 
Bissau, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, 
Niger, Rwanda, Sao Tome e Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, 
Togo, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 15 May 2001)

* Africa. Action against the Media  -  Algeria: In a letter (11 May) to the 
Minister of the Interior, Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) protested the 
arrest of Saad Djaffar, a photographer from the Arabic language weekly 
Mechouar el Ousbou'a. Congo RDC: On 14 May it was reported that the Libre 
Afrique has been ordered to shut down after it published an article 
criticising the Zimbabwean army. The editor, Freddy Loseke, said he's not 
taking any notice of the ban. Côte d'Ivoire: RSF has written to the 
Communications Minister (14 May), protesting the three months prison 
sentences for libel, given to Méité Sindou and Patrice Lénonhin, both 
working with the Le Patriote. Guinea: In a letter to the Minister of 
Communications and Culture (10 May), RSF protested the arrest of Tibou 
Camara, publication director of the private weekly L'Observateur. Morocco: 
In a letter addressed to the Minister of the Interior, (14 May), RSF 
protested the circulation ban on an issue of the Spanish weekly Cambio 16. 
Namibia: The Media Institute of Southern Africa has recorded 22 violations 
of media freedom and freedom of expression in Namibia last year. South 
Africa: On 14 May, the Freedom of Expression Institute issued a statement 
saying it would like to express its support for Benny Gool, the Cape 
Town-based photographic journalist, who has refused to testify in the trial 
of Hard Livings gang leader Rashaad Staggie. Gool was present at the murder 
and took pictures that have since been widely published. He has refused to 
testify on two counts: firstly on principle as a journalist, and secondly 
by testifying in court his life will be in danger. Zambia: On 5 May, 
freelance journalist Obert Simwanza, was beaten by a police officer and 
suspected MMD supporters.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 16 May 2001)

* Africa. Coffee farmers face extreme poverty  -  Millions of coffee 
farmers in developing countries are faced with extreme poverty while 
business corporations in the industry continue to make record profits, 
according to a report published by the international development charity 
Oxfam. The report comes ahead of the first World Coffee Conference, a 
three-day gathering of leading figures in the industry in London, which 
begins on 17 May. Oxfam is concerned by the growing disparity of wealth 
between different parts of the coffee industry, following a 60% drop in the 
value of coffee on international commodity markets in the last three years. 
The charity says that in real terms coffee prices are lower than they have 
ever been. This, it is claimed, is having devastating consequences for poor 
farmers in coffee growing countries. Vulnerable at the best of times, Oxfam 
says, they now face a descent into extreme poverty, with serious 
consequences for health, education and social stability. Meanwhile, the 
charity claims, big multinational food companies, cafe and restaurant 
chains in rich nations have gained enormously from a drop in the cost of a 
key raw material. The value of raw coffee beans has fallen sharply in the 
last three years due to overproduction by farmers, but prices paid for the 
processed product in consuming nations have remained much the same. Oxfam 
says that the price of raw coffee exported from producer countries accounts 
for less than 7% of the eventual cost of coffee to Western consumers -the 
rest, over 90%, goes to coffee processors and retailers in rich 
countries.   (BBC News, UK, 16 May 2001)

* Africa. USA's African initiatives  -  12 May: US President George W Bush 
has announced a $200m donation to a global fund to fight AIDS and other 
diseases afflicting poor countries. The fund has been set up by the United 
Nations with the aim of raising between $7bn and $10bn - the United States 
is the first country to commit to it. Referring to the spread of AIDS in 
Africa, Mr Bush said: "In a part of the world where so many have suffered 
from war and want and famine, these latest tribulations are the cruellest 
of fates. We have the power to help." But AIDS activists have criticised 
the American donation - which will also be used to help fight malaria and 
tuberculosis - as paltry. 16 May: A US sub-Saharan African Trade and 
Economic Cooperation Forum is being established, and foreign, finance and 
trade ministers from 35 African nations will meet in Washington in October 
to launch it, President Bush announced today.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 17 May 
2001)

* Afrique. 3ème Conférence sur les PMA  -  La 3ème Conférence des Nations 
unies sur les Pays les moins avancés (PMA) se tient à Bruxelles du 14 au 20 
mai. Son programme est d'examiner comment faire sortir 49 Etats du cercle 
vicieux de la misère absolue et élaborer un programme d'action à partir 
d'engagements concrets, dans une approche plus pragmatique que les 
précédentes conférences (en 1981 et 1990), qui s'étaient fixées des 
objectifs ambitieux non tenus. De 25 en 1971, les PMA sont aujourd'hui au 
nombre de 49, dont 33 en Afrique. Un Forum des ONG, au travail depuis le 10 
mai, a déjà fait connaître ses revendications dans les grandes lignes: de 
vrais moyens pour le développement, un accès libre aux marchés des pays 
riches, l'annulation de la dette extérieure, et des programmes économiques 
sans ingérence des financeurs internationaux. - 14 mai. Les plaidoyers de 
dirigeants du Nord et du Sud sont allés dans les mêmes directions: les pays 
riches doivent faire de nouveaux efforts pour l'aide au développement et 
l'allégement de la dette; en échange, rien ne se fera sans bonne 
gouvernance et la fin des conflits dévastateurs. -15 mai. Le PNUD a annoncé 
le lancement immédiat d'un nouveau fonds pour financer la bonne 
gouvernance, reconnue aujourd'hui priorité absolue pour sortir ces 49 pays 
de la marginalisation. Le fonds entend se fixer six domaines d'action: le 
soutien aux parlements, l'aide à l'organisation d'élections démocratiques, 
l'accès à la justice, l'accès à l'information, la décentralisation et 
l'amélioration de l'administration publique. D'autre part, une session a 
été consacrée au développement des agricultures locales. La FAO a proposé 
la création d'un mécanisme financier doté d'une enveloppe de 98 millions de 
dollars pour aider les PMA à améliorer la qualité et la sécurité sanitaire 
de leurs produits alimentaires. - Le 16 mai, la conférence s'est penchée 
sur le problème des migrations. Tant le Nord que le Sud réclament une 
meilleure réglementation du phénomène.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 17 
mai 2001)

* Algérie. Le Nr 2 du FIS en danger de mort  -  Le numéro deux du Front 
islamique du salut (FIS, dissous) Ali Benhadj, en prison depuis 1991, est 
gravement malade et risque de mourir, ont affirmé le 10 mai deux quotidiens 
arabophones citant son frère. Depuis juin 1991, Ali Benhadj purge une peine 
de 12 ans à la prison militaire de Blida, où il vit isolé dans une cellule 
insalubre. - D'autre part, le 10 mai, le ministre algérien de l'Intérieur a 
affirmé devant le Parlement que quelque 4.880 personnes sont déclarées 
"disparues" lors des violences qui secouent l'Algérie depuis 1992, selon un 
bilan arrêté au 31 mars. Ce bilan est très en deçà des estimations des 
avocats et des ONG qui l'évaluent à plus de 15.000. Chaque semaine, les 
mères de "disparus" manifestent à Alger pour obtenir de leurs nouvelles. - 
Par ailleurs, huit policiers des forces spéciales antiterroristes ont été 
tués le 9 mai dans une embuscade près de Tigzirt, en Kabylie. Et le 10 mai, 
une nouvelle marche a eu lieu dans la capitale pour dénoncer la 
'"répression sanglante" lors des récentes émeutes en cette région de 
Kabylie.   (D'après Libération, France, 11 mai 2001)

* Algeria/France. French politicians in firing line for role in 
Algeria  -  Three separate lawsuits filed in the wake of a veteran 
general's chilling account of French army brutality during Algeria's war of 
independence may finally force France to confront one of the darkest 
periods in its recent history. Josette Audin, the widow of a leading 
Algerian communist who "disappeared" in 1957, Maurice Audin, lodged a 
formal complaint yesterday accusing persons unknown of kidnapping and 
crimes against humanity. Her move is plainly aimed at triggering a full 
judicial investigation. Ms Audin's suit followed those of an anti-racist 
group, MRAP, and the International League of Human Rights, which this week 
launched actions alleging that crimes against humanity had been committed 
by the general, Paul Aussaresses, who was head of the French army's 
undercover operations during the 1957 battle of Algiers. In his recent book 
Special Services 1955-1957, which has sparked outrage among French 
politicians and humanitarian groups, General Aussaresses, 83, recounts how 
he killed the Algerian pro-independence leader Larbi Ben M'Hidi, rigging 
the murder to look like a suicide. He also describes in callous detail how 
he and his "death squad" -acting, he alleges, with the knowledge and 
backing of the French government, including François Mitterrand, then 
justice minister - tortured and killed dozens more Algerian prisoners. The 
suits filed "in the name of justice and truth" by MRAP and the human rights 
league demand that the French courts examine "the cases of torture, summary 
execution and murder for which Paul Aussaresses has claimed 
responsibility". The unrepentant general, despite a fierce rebuke from 
President Jacques Chirac, has since insisted in interviews that torture was 
"a highly efficient tool" and that he is not afraid of going to 
court.   (The Guardian, UK, 11 May 2001)

weekly anb0517.txt - #1/8