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Weekly anb09277.txt #7
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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 27-09-2001 PART #7/7
* Tanzanie. L'opposition réclame une nouvelle Constitution - Les leaders
des douze partis d'opposition envisagent d'adopter une démarche commune
pour amener le gouvernement à réviser l'actuelle loi fondamentale en
vigueur dans le pays depuis 1977. Les leaders ont déclaré qu'une conférence
nationale constitutionnelle sera organisée dans les jours à venir pour
"faire progresser les choses". Les consultations de novembre verront la
participation du corps diplomatique, des ONG, des intellectuels, du chargé
de la législation des partis politiques et d'autres personnalités.
L'opposition a également prévu de renouveler sa demande pour la création
d'une commission électorale indépendante. (PANA, Sénégal, 23 septembre 2001)
* Tchad. Développement rural - La Banque africaine du développement (BAD) a
approuvé un prêt d'environ $11,6 millions en faveur d'un projet de
réduction de la pauvreté dans le département de Biltine, à l'est du Tchad.
Le projet tend à améliorer les revenus des cultivateurs, à augmenter de 20%
l'accès à la santé et de 10% l'accès à l'enseignement dans les six années à
venir, a indiqué la banque dans un communiqué le 19 septembre. Les autres
domaines visés par le projet comprennent la protection des eaux, le
développement de plans d'irrigation, l'amélioration des pâturages et
l'établissement de plantations agroforestières. (IRIN, Abidjan, 21
septembre 2001)
* Togo. Arms ring busted - Security forces in Togo say they have arrested
16 people in connection with an illegal arms network in West Africa.
Officials say the group -- 14 Nigerians and two Ghanaians -- was arrested
on the border with Ghana. The officials say members of the group were
carrying American-made weapons capable of firing missiles as well as
assault rifles, hidden in their vehicles. It is believed they were taking
the weapons to Nigeria. Officials say they are investigating the source of
supply. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 25 September 2001)
* Tunisie. 4ème mandat pour Ben Ali? - Le 25 septembre, le président Ben
Ali a été "exhorté" par son parti, le Rassemblement constitutionnel
démocratique (RCD, au pouvoir) à briguer un nouveau mandat présidentiel aux
élections prévues en octobre 2004, a indiqué l'agence Tunis-Afrique Presse
(TAP). M. Ben Ali achève en 2004 son troisième mandat, qui devrait être le
dernier, selon la Constitution tunisienne qui limite à trois les mandats
présidentiels d'une durée de cinq ans chacun. Les observateurs s'attendent
donc à une nouvelle modification du texte de la Constitution pour permettre
au chef de l'Etat de se représenter. Une grande majorité du Parlement
tunisien est composée de députés RCD. Les quotidiens de ces derniers jours
ont consacré des pages entières à des appels de soutien à la candidature de
M. Ben Ali. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 27 septembre 2001)
* Zambia. International observers to monitor elections - Lusaka residents
have welcomed a decision by the government to invite international
organisations to come and monitor elections due later this year in Zambia.
Citing a survey it conducted in Lusaka, the Zambian News Agency (ZANA)
affirmed on 20 September that most Zambians were impressed with the
government's move. ZANA said most people were of the opinion that
across-the-board confidence on the transparency of elections in the country
can only be possible where these are monitored by international
organisations. Earlier on 20 September, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
announced that the government had extended invitations to international
organisations asking them to come and monitor council, parliamentary and
presidential elections expected to hold before the year runs out. (PANA,
Senegal, 20 September 2001)
* Zambie. Observateurs aux élections - Les habitants de Lusaka ont
accueilli avec satisfaction la décision du gouvernement d'inviter les
organisations internationales à venir superviser les élections municipales,
législatives et présidentielles prévues à la fin de cette année en Zambie,
comme l'a annoncé le 19 septembre le ministre des Affaires étrangères.
Selon une enquête effectuée par l'Agence zambienne de presse (ZANA), la
plupart des gens estiment qu'une confiance à tous les niveaux sur la
transparence des élections n'est possible que si elles sont supervisées par
des organisations internationales. (D'après PANA, Sénégal, 21 septembre 2001)
* Zambia. More splits in ruling party - An influential figure in the
Zambian ruling party and a close aide of President Frederick Chiluba has
resigned as the party's national secretary, claiming the choice of Mr
Chiluba's successor was fraudulent. In what has been described as a
dramatic turn of political events, Michael Sata wrote to the Zambian
leader, accusing him of ignoring party rules when he named outsider Levy
Mwanawasa as his choice for presidential elections due later this year. Mr
Sata said the constitution of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy does
not give the party president powers to prescribe electoral rules or to
supervise party elections. His resignation, which has taken a lot of people
by surprise, comes four days after he resigned as minister without
portfolio. He has not said whether he will leave the party for a new one
but it is widely expected that he will do so. In April over 80 senior
members of the MMD, including the vice-president, formed the break-away
Forum for Democracy and Development party which is being seen as a serious
challenge to the MMD. Mr Sata added that as a committed Roman Catholic, he
"would rather lose" what he called "artificial honour and prestige than
accept illegal proposals." A spokesman for the government, Vernon Mwaanga,
described his decision to leave the party as honourable as Mr Sata has
never accepted Mr Mwanawasa as the party's presidential candidate. (BBC
News, UK, 25 September 2001)
* Zimbabwe. Mugabe's silence - Zimbabwe's presidential elections must be
held in 2002 as stipulated by the constitution. However, Mugabe's silence
over the election dates is raising questions, as political violence is
continuing unabated, the police and judiciary are being "doctored" and
"diluted" to meet Mugabe's objectives. People are now asking: "Is Mugabe
intentionally causing chaos so as to create an environment conducive for
him to declare a state of emergency?" If Mugabe should declare a state of
emergency so as to perpetuate his hold on power, this will only extend the
life of parliament by six-monthly-periods up to a maximum of one year, as
stipulated by the Constitution. Also, there is no provision in the
Constitution which allows for an extension of the President's office.
People are also wondering: Taking into consideration the plummeting economy
and mounting pressure Mugabe is facing from the European Union and Southern
African Development Committee states, will Mugabe be driven to call for
early elections before January 2002. The Constitution, however, calls for
elections to be held within 90 days, only if the President is dead, resigns
or is moved from office by Constitutional means. Mugabe's current term of
office started on 1 April 1996 and expires at midnight on March 2002. The
earliest permissible date for the presidential election, will be 6 February
and not beyond March 2002. (A. Deke, ANB-BIA, Zimbabwe, 21 September 2001)
* Zimbabwe. Elections partielles - Le parti au pouvoir au Zimbabwe, le
ZANU-PF est sorti vainqueur des élections partielles qui se sont déroulées
au cours du week-end, remportant ainsi une importante victoire
psychologique avant les cruciales élections présidentielles de l'année
prochaine. Le candidat de la ZANU-PF a obtenu 15.500 voix, soit plus du
triple des voix recueillies par le candidat du MDC, principal parti
d'opposition. Les analystes considèrent ces élections partielles dans la
circonscription de Chikomba comme une épreuve décisive pour tester la
popularité des partis avant le scrutin présidentiel. (PANA, Sénégal, 24
septembre 2001)
* Zimbabwe. By-election - 23 September: Large numbers turn out to vote in a
by-election for the seat left vacant by the late war veterans leader,
Chenjerai Hunzvu. The election is in the rural constituency of Chikomba.
However, human rights groups have said that the run-up to the vote was
marred by murder and intimidation. 24 September: Mugabe's ZANU-PF win the
seat. They have 15,570 votes against 5,207 for the main opposition Movement
for Democratic Change (MMD). (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 25 September 2001)
* Zimbabwe. Le FMI suspend son aide - Le 25 septembre, le Fonds monétaire
international (FMI) a annoncé qu'il suspendait son aide au Zimbabwe au
titre de la facilité pour la réduction de la pauvreté et la croissance, en
raison des arriérés accumulés par Harare (53 millions de dollars à la fin
août). Le conseil d'administration du FMI a appelé les autorités du
Zimbabwe à les régler au plus vite et "reconnaît que l'engagement pris de
procéder à des remboursements trimestriels est un premier pas vers le
rétablissement de la coopération avec le FMI". (Le Monde, France, 27
septembre 2001)
* Zimbabwe. Pressure mounts on Zimbabwe - 20 September: As pressure mounts
on Zimbabwe to restore the rule of law on white farms, the government is
seeking a Supreme Court ruling to endorse the controversial land reform
programme. Last December, the court ruled that the government should
restore order on the farms. It also told the authorities to come up with a
clearly defined programme for land distribution before acquiring land. That
order was however ignored and hundreds of farms have been occupied while
farmers and farm workers continue to be beaten and harassed. Still, the
government argues, it has restored the rule of law on the farms and there
are merely isolated cases of violence. But If it wins this case, then it
could claim that all previous land occupations were in accordance with the
law. However, the white-dominated Commercial Farmers' Union claims that 20
farms have been invaded and scores of farm workers and farmers attacked
since the Commonwealth Abuja agreement was signed two weeks ago. 25
September: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has barred Zimbabwe from
receiving any further assistance because the country has fallen behind with
its debt repayments to the fund. The IMF halted its main lending in October
1999, but the latest decision means Zimbabwe is also ineligible for any
further borrowing at low interest rates under a programme intended to
reduce poverty. The Fund said Zimbabwe was more than $50m in arrears with
its loan repayments, and urged the government in Harare to address this
issue promptly. The IMF said it would review the situation in three months'
time. -- President Mugabe has left for state visits to Singapore and
Vietnam and will attend the Commonwealth Summit in Australia next month. 26
September: Negotiations between the government and the white farmers are
reported to have collapsed. "There is a divide that cannot be bridged",
says Bharat Patel, the state attorney. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 27 September 2001)
Weekly anb0927.txt - end of #6/7
THE END
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Un homme meurt chaque fois que l'un d'entre nous se tait devant la tyrannie
(W. Soyinka, Prix Nobel litterature) - Everytime somebody keep silent when
faced with tyranny, someone else dies (Wole Syinka, Nobel Prize for
Literature) *
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