Weekly anb06211.txt #8

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 21-06-2001      PART #1/8

* Africa. World Bank AIDS warning  -  The President of the World Bank, 
James Wolfensohn, has warned that African countries need billions of 
dollars of assistance to combat AIDS and poverty. In a speech in New York, 
Mr Wolfensohn said the world needed to wake up to the effects of HIV and 
AIDS, and he called on wealthy nations to convert half-a-billion dollars of 
interest-free loans into outright grants to fight the disease. Mr 
Wolfensohn, who has recently been on a major tour of the continent, said 
Africa's potential was without equal, but he warned that with no help from 
outside many African countries would be unable to tackle their own 
problems. He described HIV and AIDS as a global security issue, adding that 
for wealthy countries, giving aid was a matter of self-interest.   (BBC 
News, UK, 15 June 2001)

* Africa. "Its a scandal to keep African priests in Europe"  -  A nuncio 
has just sent an urgent message for African priests who work abroad: "Come 
home, your country needs you. It is a scandal to keep African priests in 
Europe, when we have a vital need in the mission territories to nourish the 
churches that are growing," said Archbishop Alberto Bottari De Castello, 
referring to the numerous cases of African and Asian priests who work in 
the West. The fact of Third World priests staying in First World countries 
is addressed in a new document of the Vatican Congregation for the 
Evangelization of Peoples. The "Instruction on the Sending Abroad and 
Sojurn of Diocesan Priests from Mission Territories" was published on 12 
June. Archbishop Bottari said that whoever does not encourage priests to 
return to their native country is unaware of the critical reality of 
Christianity in Africa and Asia.   (Zenit, Italy, 15 June 2001)

* Africa. Not much to celebrate on Children's Day  -  16 June was 
Children's Day in Africa. There was little to celebrate. Here are some 
figures on the situation of children on this continent. Three African 
countries Sierra Leone, Angola and Niger have the highest infantile 
mortality rates: respectively 182, 170 and 166 of every 1000; compared to 
Finland with the lowest rate: 4 of every 1000. Ten African countries have 
the lowest life expectancy: Sierra Leone (average 38 years), Malawi (39), 
Uganda (40), Zambia (40) Rwanda (41), Burundi (43), Ethiopia (43), 
Mozambique (44), Zimbabwe (44) and Burkina Faso (45). Three African 
countries have the highest illiteracy rate:: Niger (only 14,3%), Burkina 
Faso (20,7%) Gambia (33,1%). Three African cities, Brazzaville, Pointe 
Noire and Khartoum, are top of the list for the worst living conditions. 
Children are victims of the following situations: -- There are more than 
120,000 child soldiers in Africa (300,000 in the world). The countries with 
the highest number of child soldiers are: Algeria, Angola, Burundi, Congo 
Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, 
Sudan and Uganda.- 80 African children aged 5 to 14 are forced to work 
according to the International Labour Organisation. There are 250 million 
child workers. Children in countries such as Benin, Ghana, Nigeria and Togo 
are widely used in plantations and in Ivory Coast for domestic work. -- 12 
million African children are AIDS orphans. There are 22 million AIDS 
patients in Africa many are children infected by their mothers. -- 56% of 
the 3.6 million refugees in Africa are children mainly in Angola (69% of 
the refugees), Togo (64%), Guinea (63%), Burundi (62%), Rwanda (61%) Congo 
RDC (61%) and Sudan (60%).   (Fides, Vatican City, 15 June 2001)

* Africa. Action against the Media  -  Congo RDC: On 10 June, the 
organisation Journalists in Danger protested against former minister of 
communications Dominique Sakombi Inongo's efforts through various media, to 
obstruct the work of the commission of inquiry examining the legality of 
the Sakombi cabinet's 22 September 2000 decision to seize two private radio 
and television stations. Eritrea: On 13 June, a delegation from the 
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) met with the Eritrean ambassador to 
the USA in Washington to express its deep concern about 15 journalists 
alleged to have been jailed or forcibly conscripted for military service. 
Ethiopia: On 14 June, the CPJ called on the Ethiopian authorities to halt 
the unjust prosecution of Tamirate Zuma, former publisher and 
editor-in-chief of the defunct Amharic weekly Atkurot, on incitement and 
other charges relating to his work. Guinea-Bissau: On 19 June it was 
reported that the police in Guinea-Bissau have arrested a newspaper owner, 
Jaoa de Barros, and a journalist after a story was published linking 
President Kumba Yala to corruption. The article by the journalist, Athizar 
Mendes, in the Diario of Bissau accused the president of spending 
exorbitant sums on visits to other African countries, which had brought no 
benefit to Guinea-Bissau. A spokesman for the president said the arrest 
order had not come from his office. Namibia: On 14 June, the Media 
Institute of Southern Africa said that Namibia's ruling party, SWAPO, has 
joined the government in a an advertising and purchasing ban on The 
Namibian newspaper, because of the newspaper's alleged "hostile attitude" 
towards the government. South Africa: On 13 June, the Freedom of Expression 
Institute said it was shocked by the Public Prosecutor's deliberate breach 
of the people's constitutional right to receive information, and that of 
the media to report freely and openly on public interest matters by 
refusing live broadcasting of the hearing into the R43 billion arms deal. 
Togo: The arrest of Lucien Messan, one of Togo's most senior journalists, 
has led to protests from the country's private press as well as the West 
African Journalists Association. On 5 June, he was sentenced to 18 months 
in jail for "falsehood and the use of falsehood". Zimbabwe: On 15 June, RSF 
protested against the new restrictions placed on foreign journalists in 
Zimbabwe.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 19 June 2001)

* Africa. World Refugee Day -- 20 June 2001  -  The Jesuit Refugee Service 
(JRS) says that the numbers of refugees is increasing. War is still the 
main cause of forced migration, with armed conflict, often within national 
borders, forcing ever-increasing numbers of people to flee their homes. In 
nine cases out of 10, the victims of today's wars are civilians, who are 
subjected to gross violations of human rights by warring parties. 
Large-scale killing, rape, widespread use of torture, "disappearances" and 
other abuses are typical of current conflicts, fuelling massive 
displacement. According to Human Rights Watch, an estimated 50 million 
people worldwide are uprooted from their homes. The JRS says it is 
increasingly worried about refugees who have been displaced from their 
homes for several years, and who often face intensified animosity in the 
country of asylum. In some places, refugees are threatened by forced 
repatriation. Where voluntary return is a feasible option, the JRS urges 
the international community to ensure that repatriation proceedings 
guarantee return in conditions of security and dignity. The number of 
internally displaced people now reaches around 25 million and is on the 
rise, given the internal nature of most of today's conflicts. There is no 
agency which has the mandate to support people displaced within their own 
country. This exacerbates their vulnerability. JRS draws attention to the 
difficulty of access to such populations and their frequently insecure 
surroundings, which remain prevalent obstacles faced by humanitarian 
agencies. Despite the vast numbers of forcibly displaced people who face 
diverse and pressing needs, international assistance has decreased and 
countries are closing their doors to those in need of asylum.   (Jesuit 
Refugee Service, Italy, 19 June 2001)

* Afrique. Journée mondiale des réfugiés  -  Le 20 juin, la première 
Journée mondiale du réfugié a donné lieu à diverses célébrations dans le 
monde. Le 19 juin à Genève, Ruud Lubbers, Haut-Commissaire aux réfugiés de 
l'ONU (HCR) a souhaité que cette journée amène les gouvernements à 
réexaminer leur engagement en faveur du droit d'asile et à consacrer plus 
d'argent pour aider les personnes contraintes de quitter leurs maisons. "Le 
système de soutien aux réfugiés subit une pression sans précédent", a 
déclaré M. Lubbers, pour qui cette journée est destinée à encourager le 
"respect" envers les millions de personnes déplacées dans le monde. Le HCR, 
qui a vu ses fonds diminuer depuis le milieu des années 1990, a dû réduire 
ses opérations en Afrique, en Asie centrale et en Amérique latine. 
"J'espère seulement que tous les efforts destinés à attirer l'attention sur 
la Journée mondiale des réfugiés se traduisent par un soutien plus 
important au niveau politique et financier", a ajouté Ruud 
Lubbers.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 20 juin 2001)

* Africa. Air Afrique pleads for French help  -  The chief executive of the 
troubled airline Air Afrique, Jeffrey Erickson, has given a cautious 
welcome to a plan by the African shareholder governments to appeal to 
France to save the carrier. He said in an interview that even with fresh 
cash, the airline needed to halve its workforce. The French-speaking West 
African countries which own the airline agreed in Abidjan on 14 June to put 
in some more money and seek a partnership with France, which holds a 
minority stake in the airline. The Ivorian President, Laurent Gbagbo and 
the Senegalese President, Abdoulaye Wade, are expected to go to France next 
week for talks. Air Afrique has huge debts, several aeroplanes have already 
been repossessed and it has had to cancel many of its flights.   (BBC News, 
UK, 15 June 2001)

* Afrique. Pour sauver Air Afrique...  -  Lors d'un sommet tenu le 13 juin 
à Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire), les pays membres du groupe Air Afrique ont 
chargé le président ivoirien Laurent Gbagbo et son homologue sénégalais, 
Abdoulaye Wade, "de prendre les contacts politiques de haut niveau 
nécessaires à la résolution de la crise" que traverse la compagnie 
aérienne. Les pays membres -- Bénin, Burkina Faso, République 
centrafricaine, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Tchad, Mauritanie, Niger, 
Sénégal et Togo -- détiennent 68,44% du capital et Air France 11,8%. Avec 
six avions et 4.200 employés, la compagnie aurait besoin d'une 
recapitalisation de plus de 76 millions d'euros pour faire face à une dette 
"avion" énorme: 510 millions d'euros. L'hypothèse d'une liquidation pure et 
simple du groupe, évoquée par un cabinet américain mandaté par la Banque 
mondiale, a été rejetée par le sommet d'Abidjan.   (ANB-BIA, de sources 
diverses, 20 juin 2001)

* Africa. Denial and discrimination help to spread AIDS  -  If government 
censors get their way at next week's UN conference on HIV/AIDS, the denial 
and discrimination that have helped spread the disease will continue 
unabated, Human Rights Watch charged on 20 June. Several government 
delegations are attempting to delete from the draft declaration of the UN 
General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS any mention of groups at 
particularly high risk of HIV infection -- men having sex with men, sex 
workers and their clients, and injecting drug users and their sex partners. 
"Moral squeamishness shouldn't stand in the way of finding solutions to 
this terrible crisis," said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human 
Rights Watch. "At a conference devoted to fighting AIDS, governments must 
not replicate the silence and denial that have driven the spread of the 
disease." In language agreed to by Canada, Australia, and several Latin 
American and European countries, the draft declaration makes explicit the 
goal of reducing incidence among "men who have sex with men, sex workers, 
(and) injecting drug users and their sexual partners," as well as prisoners 
and refugees. The United States proposes striking this list and replacing 
it with the vague and anodyne phrase, "vulnerable individuals," including 
those engaging in "risky sexual behaviour." The Vatican prefers a similarly 
euphemistic reference to "people who have multiple sex partners." Egypt 
suggests substituting the judgmental phrase, "homosexuality among men, 
prostitution, and other forms of irresponsible sexual behaviour."   (PANA, 
Senegal, 21 June 2001)

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