Weekly anb01241.txt #7

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 24-01-2002      PART #1/7

* Africa. "Red card to child labour"  -  The International Labour 
Organisation (ILO) intends to launch a campaign against child labour, 
dubbed "Red Card to Child Labour", at the start of the 2002 Africa Cup of 
Nations soccer tournament in Mali's capital, Bamako. On 15 January, the UN 
agency statement, said the campaign was symbolized by the red card handed 
out by referees for serious violations of soccer rules. Malian President 
Alpha Oumar Konare, the Confederation of African Football, and the 2002 
African Cup Organising Committee are expected to attend the opening 
ceremony. The campaign against child labour is to brought to other venues 
worldwide, including the World Cup.   (IRIN, 16 January 2002)

* Africa. Air Afrique to close down after failed talks  -  Efforts to 
maintain the regional African airline serving France's former colonies have 
collapsed amid sharp differences over the role of Air France and how to cut 
costs at the long-troubled Air Afrique. Last week, representatives of the 
11 ex-French colonies that formed Air Afrique in 1961 agreed to close the 
existing company after six months of fruitless negotiations. They said they 
would try to relaunch a regional airline, which would probably no longer 
have monopoly rights on some routes. The closure of Air Afrique is likely 
to be approved at a shareholders' meeting at the end of the month. It is 
expected to lead to increased emphasis on national airlines forging their 
own links with Paris, although the French government is under political 
pressure to find a solution that will preserve the close ties between West 
Africa and the former colonial power. In August, Air France offered to swap 
its existing 11.8 per cent stake in Air Afrique for a 35 per cent holding 
in a new airline based on a business plan that would see the airline 
operate a hub system, drop some unprofitable routes and have an independent 
management. To secure this independence, the French carrier wanted the 11 
states that control 68.4 per cent of the existing airline to own about 20 
per cent in a new airline and bring in more investors from the private 
sector. However, the African states appear to have run into a dispute about 
where cuts should be made and whether some states might be left without 
direct flights to Europe. In turn, African ministers have accused France's 
national carrier of complicating Air Afrique's situation by adopting an 
ambivalent attitude. Air Afrique employees have also laid the blame on Air 
France, recently staging strikes to block the airline's operations in 
African airports. The problems of Air Afrique have been exacerbated by the 
downturn in the airline industry following the terrorist attacks on the US. 
Apart from a small fleet of aircraft operating regionally, Air Afrique has 
only one aircraft for long-haul flights, compared with six a year ago. This 
makes it one of the world's most over-staffed airlines, with a workforce of 
4,000. It has debts of E510m ($454 million).   (Financial Times, UK, 17 
January 2002)

* Africa. Action against the Media  -  Burundi: In a 17 January letter to 
President Buyoya, Reporters sans Frontières protested the suspension on 14 
January of the private news agency Net Press. Cameroon: On 17 January, the 
Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN, condemned the legal 
irregularities surrounding the 5-year sentence handed down to Georges 
Baongla, publications director of the weekly Le Démenti, for alleged 
extortion. Mozambique: In a 16 January letter to President Chissano, the 
Committee to Protect Journalists protested the ongoing prosecution of 
Marcelo Mosse, formerly chief reporter for the now defunct Metical, on 
defamation charges. Sudan: On 21 January, Amnesty International called on 
the Sudanese authorities to stop harassing the independent daily Khartoum 
Monitor and its staff. Zimbabwe: On 18 January, the Information and 
Publicity Minister said he will not issue a licence to Bulawayo Dialogue, a 
civic group based in Bulawayo. -- On 21 January, Zimbabwean media groups 
petitioned the government and parliament to throw out the media bill. Over 
the weekend a senior government official had said that the Access to 
Information and Protection of Privacy Bill was going to be pushed through 
parliament because it was "crucial to restoring law and order in a media 
industry thriving on hate journalism, and abuse of journalistic 
privileges".   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 22 January 2002)

* Africa. Human Rights  -  17 January: Amnesty International says that in 
Cameroon, a human rights defender has been targeted and harassed on the eve 
of a major international human rights congress. Abdoulaye Math, president 
of the Movement for the Defence of Freedom and Human Rights, was arrested 
on 16 January in Yaounde by members of the National Centre for External 
Research. He was travelling to Dublin Eire, where he was to speak on the 
human rights situation in Cameroon. The same day, in Morocco, the 
Association for Defense of Victims of the Rif War says the Interior 
Ministry has banned an international conference the group had called on the 
continuing effects of toxic gas in the northern Rif region from the 1920s. 
18 January: The UN Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child 
prostitution and child pornography, entered into force, today, with UNICEF 
hailing it as a positive advancement in the fight against child 
exploitation. 21 January: Amnesty International says that an independent 
prosecution policy must be assured in Sierra Leone, if the Special Court in 
Sierra Leone is to tackle impunity effectively and fairly, and contribute 
to the peace and reconciliation process.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 22 January 2002)

* Afrique. Human Rights Watch s'inquiète  -  La priorité donnée à la lutte 
contre le terrorisme à la suite des attentats du 11 septembre, menace les 
droits humains, les libertés politiques et les économies en Afrique, relève 
Human Rights Watch (HRW) dans son rapport 2001. "Les questions des droits 
humains en Afrique, de celles liées aux problèmes de santé publique et à 
l'économie en passant par celles issues de répressions flagrantes et 
brutales, ont perdu en visibilité au fur et à mesure que la communauté 
internationale se tournait vers la lutte contre le terrorisme", écrit HRW. 
Des priorités antiterroristes peuvent se développer au détriment des 
questions de droits humains, comme dans la Corne (Somalie, Ethiopie) et en 
Afrique de l'Est, où les Etats-Unis soupçonnent l'existence de réseaux 
d'Al-Qaida. "Le Soudan a annoncé avec enthousiasme sa coopération dans la 
lutte contre la terreur, se servant de ses capacités en matière de collecte 
de renseignements sur Al-Qaida pour reformuler ses relations bilatérales. 
Le Kenya, l'Ethiopie et l'Erythrée ont semblé prêts à saisir cette 
opportunité pour marginaliser leurs éléments réformistes", souligne 
HRW.   (La Croix, France, 23 janvier 2002)

* Algérie. Législatives avant le 5 juin  -  Les élections législatives 
auront lieu dans les délais réglementaires, c'est-à-dire avant le 5 juin 
prochain, a affirmé le chef du gouvernement Ali Benflis, en marge de sa 
visite dans les préfectures du sud-ouest du pays. Certains quotidiens 
algériens avancent la date du 23 mai comme date probable de leur tenue. 
Mais le scepticisme reste de mise, en raison de la persistance de la crise 
en Kabylie qui, dans les conditions actuelles, rendent invraisemblable la 
tenue d'un scrutin aussi important. Le chef du gouvernement ne désespère 
pas cependant de voir cette crise se dénouer, à travers le dialogue initié 
par ses soins, avec des délégués qui ne bénéficient pas cependant du 
soutien de la majorité des populations kabyles.   (PANA, Sénégal, 19 
janvier 2002)

* Algérie. Gazoduc plastiqué  -  Le samedi soir 19 janvier, des islamistes 
présumés ont fait sauter une portion d'un gazoduc à usage purement 
intérieur dans la province de Bouira, à 90 km à l'est d'Alger, annonce la 
société nationale d'hydrocarbures Sonatrach, citée par l'agence Reuters. 
L'explosion a provoqué un incendie, qui a été ensuite maîtrisé, et a 
entraîné une coupure d'approvisionnement pour quatre provinces du pays. Les 
travaux de réparation de l'ouvrage, qui achemine du gaz naturel du Sahara 
vers la capitale et les provinces de Moumerdès, Blida et Aïn Defla, sont en 
cours et devraient prendre trois jours. Un raccordement à un autre gazoduc 
a été effectué pour rétablir l'approvisionnement. - D'autre part, entre le 
16 et le 18 janvier, huit personnes (quatre civils, dont deux enfants, et 
quatre islamistes) ont été tuées dans des attentats terroristes ou des 
accrochages entre islamistes armés et forces de l'ordre dans diverses 
régions de l'Algérie, rapporte l'agence AP.   (ANB-BIA, de sources 
diverses, 20 janvier 2002)
constitution from standing as a presidential candidate in elections for the 
union presidency on 14 April.   (IRIN, 16 January 2002)

* Comores. Démission de six ministres?  -  Le 21 janvier, six ministres 
appartenant aux partis d'opposition auraient démissionné du gouvernement de 
transition formé par le président, quelques heures à peine après la 
composition de ce cabinet d'union nationale. L'opposition, qui n'avait 
obtenu que six portefeuilles de second rang, a expliqué que "ni l'esprit ni 
la lettre des modalités que nous avions définies ensemble en présence de la 
communauté internationale" n'ont été respectés. La lettre de démission a 
cependant été signée non pas par les ministres concernés mais par deux 
représentants de l'opposition. Deux ministres, Hassan Ahmed Barwane et Said 
Omar Achraf, ont démenti cette démission collective. Le parti de M. Barwane 
a déclaré qu'il maintenait sa participation au gouvernement. M. Achraf, 
lui, a appelé l'opposition à ne pas limiter son combat au seul partage des 
postes ministériels.   (ANB-BIA de sources diverses, 22 janvier 2002)

Weely news - anb0124.txt - #1/7