Weekly anb03146.txt #7

[anb-bia <anb-bia@village.uunet.be>]

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 14-03-2002      PART #6/7

* South Africa. Pivotal decision in AIDS drug availability  -  On 11 March, 
the Pretoria High Court granted the government permission to appeal the 
Court's order to distribute a key AIDS drug at all public hospitals and 
clinics, but said the drug has to be made available in the meantime. The 
Constitutional Court, the country's highest court, is not expected to hear 
the appeal before the end of May. In December, the High Court granted an 
application by AIDS activists and a group of paediatrician asking the 
health authorities to be ordered to make the drug, Nevirapine, available to 
HIV-positive pregnant women countrywide, and to formulate a programme to 
prevent mother-to-child transmission of the virus. The government asked for 
permission to appeal the ruling, saying the Constitutional Court needed to 
decide whether courts could intervene in matters of policy.   (CNN, USA, 11 
March 2002)

* South Africa. Mbeki slams white attitudes within Commonwealth  -  South 
Africa's president Thabo Mbeki has reacted angrily to "white supremacist" 
criticism of the Commonwealth's decision to defer any action against 
political violence in Zimbabwe until after this week's presidential 
elections. r Mbeki has challenged the view that the Commonwealth heads of 
government meeting in Australia last week was a failure because it fell 
short of imposing sanctions and suspension on Zimbabwe. He has also 
strongly contested that the meeting was split along racial lines between a 
"white" camp of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK and that of more 
sympathetic African states. "The final decision on Zimbabwe was, in large 
measure, proposed by a member of the "white Commonwealth". This was not 
done to appease a "black Commonwealth", but to contribute to a constructive 
approach to a just stable and long-term resolution of the situation in 
Zimbabwe," Mr Mbeki wrote in a ruling African National Congress (ANC) 
publication, ANC Today. The Commonwealth gave responsibility to Mr Mbeki, 
Nigeria's president Olesegun Obasanjo and Australia's prime minister John 
Howard to determine a response to Zimbabwe after considering a report by 
the group's election observers.   (Financial Times, UK, 11 March 2002)

* Sudan. Church groups urge action on three key issues  -  On 7 March, 
delegates at last week's Sudan Ecumenical Forum in London, warned that any 
peace settlement in Sudan "must be just and lasting and not a quick-fix 
solution". Delegates called for pressure on the government of Sudan to put 
an end to bombings and other attacks on civilians, a suspension of oil 
production, and recognition of the right to self-determination of the 
southern Sudanese and other marginalised people in Sudan. "There are 
currently the conditions to achieve a peace deal in Sudan and no reason why 
we should not try," Clare Short, British Secretary of State for 
International Development, told delegates. "It is fantastically important 
that we try to end this war". The conference, from 4 to 6 March, brought 
together religious leaders from Sudan and their worldwide church partners 
in an effort to promote dialogue and "find solutions to the problems that 
lie at the heart of Sudan's conflict".   (IRIN, Kenya, 11 March 2002)

* Soudan. Ruptures et accords  -  Sadek el Mahdi, leader du parti Umma, un 
des principaux partis d'opposition, a annoncé la suspension des contacts 
avec le gouvernement de Khartoum. A peine rentré dans la capitale 
soudanaise d'un mois de voyage à l'étranger, l'ancien Premier ministre 
Mahdi a affirmé avoir constaté que le gouvernement n'était "pas prêt à 
poursuivre le processus démocratique". Il a imposé comme condition à la 
reprise du dialogue "la ratification d'une Constitution démocratique et 
l'annulation des lois qui limitent les libertés". - D'autre part, le 10 
mars, grâce à une médiation américaine, le gouvernement soudanais et les 
combattants du SPLA (Armée populaire de libération du Soudan) ont signé un 
accord sur la protection des civils dans la guerre qui ensanglante le pays 
depuis 20 ans. Cet accord devrait notamment mettre fin aux bombardements de 
civils par les forces soudanaises. Certains observateurs doutent cependant 
du sérieux de ces engagements.   (Misna, Italie, 11-12 mars 2002)

* Sudan. Protecting civilians  -  10 March: The Sudanese government and the 
SPLA sign a US-brokered agreement to protect civilians from "all types of 
military operations". The accord follows the arrival last week of 
international monitors to Khartoum, and a US announcement that an agreement 
was emerging to end government bombings of civilians. 12 March: The United 
States has given details of plans to deploy the international monitors in 
Sudan, to ensure compliance with a ceasefire agreed by the government and 
the SPLA rebel movement in January. US State Department spokesman Richard 
Boucher says a team of 15 monitors, together with support staff, will be 
led by a Norwegian officer, and will be deployed in the Nuba mountains for 
an initial period of six months. Some two million people have died in the 
19-year civil war between the government in Khartoum and southern rebels. 
The Nuba Mountains --one of the hardest hit areas - have been fought for by 
both the government and rebels of the Sudan People's Liberation Army. Mr 
Boucher says the SPLA leader, John Garang, will be meeting US officials in 
Washington this week.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 13 March 2002)

* Tanzania. Computer students "bridging digital divide"  -  A group of 38 
students has just graduated from an information and communications 
technology (ICT) course in Dar es Salaam, the focus of which was to promote 
development by bridging the so-called "digital divide" in least-developed 
countries like Tanzania. The students earned Cisco Certified Network 
Associate certificates -- the same as that awarded to students at many US 
universities and high schools -- after graduating from the University of 
Dar es Salaam computing centre, according to the United Nations Development 
Programme which is supporting the programme. The programme, which it is 
proposed to expand throughout the country, is intended to help Tanzania 
increase the number of ICT professionals able to solve technical problems 
in the workplace and help make organisations more efficient.   (IRIN, 
Kanya, 7 March 2002)

* Tanzania. Danish aid comes under scrutiny  -  Danish MPs have threatened 
to vote for aid cutbacks to Tanzania should the country forge ahead with 
plans to purchase a state-of-the-art air traffic control system worth 40 
million US dollars from a UK-based aerospace firm. The Danish Association 
of International Cooperation said in a press release that MPs in that 
country have petitioned their government to slice Tanzanian aid should the 
deal, criticised by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund 
(IMF) go ahead. However, the Danish embassy in Dar es Salaam said there was 
currently no change in its government support to Tanzania, which totalled 
52.45 billion Tanzanian shillings (Tsh) last year. Tanzania is looking 
ahead to closing the deal on the radar equipment designed to boost the 
country's defence and provide modern air security for its sky. Transport 
minister Mark Mwandosya told Parliament last January when Tanzanian MPs 
passed a motion in support of the purchase, that the country's present 
radar system was obsolete and poses "a great risk to national security." 
Negotiations have been going on for three years without public notice until 
the British press disclosed the deal, triggering protests.   (PANA, 
Senegal, 7 March 2002)

* Tanzania. World Bank to investigate miners' deaths  -  The World Bank has 
promised to investigate allegations that more than 50 small-scale gold 
miners were buried alive because police wanted to evict them from land to 
make way for a foreign company, operating with an investment guarantee from 
the bank. The government has denied accusations that police were to blame 
for the deaths -- which allegedly occurred when they were evicting the 
miners from land that had been sold to a foreign mining company. A 
prominent judge, Justice Mark Bomani, has called on the government to open 
an investigation into the murder allegations. In 1996 the northern 
Tanzanian gold mines of Bulyanhulu were sold to a foreign company. To start 
their mining operation, the company needed to move the small-scale miners 
who were working in the area. It was during this move that the police 
allegedly buried alive miners who had either refused to leave or were still 
in the pits. The government has always refuted the claims and Attorney 
General Andrew Chenge has asked Justice Bomani to produce proof of the 
alleged killings -- which the government says did not occur.   (ANB-BIA, 
Brussels, 8 March 2002)

* Tunisie. Jugement en appel  -  La cour d'appel de Tunis a ajourné au 30 
mars son jugement dans l'affaire des trois dirigeants du Parti communiste 
des travailleurs tunisiens, Hamma Hammani, Abdeljaber Madouri et Samir 
Tamallah, qui avaient été condamnés, en février, à des peines allant 
jusqu'à onze ans de prison. Par cette décision, annoncée le 9 mars, le 
tribunal satisfait à l'une des demandes présentées par plus de deux cents 
avocats de la défense, qui réclamaient plus de temps pour étudier le 
dossier; mais la Cour a ignoré l'appel répété des avocats en faveur de la 
libération des détenus.   (Le Monde, France, 12 mars 2002)

* Uganda. Selling off sugar works  -  Uganda's state-owned Kinyara sugar 
works is to be privatised by the end of the year, the government said on 11 
March. Kinyara, the second largest sugar company in Uganda, is managed by 
UK firm Booker Tate on behalf of the Ugandan Government. It produces 50,000 
tonnes of Uganda's 120,000 tonnes per year of sugar. Sugar refining is one 
of the main industries in Uganda, where more than 80% of the workforce is 
employed in agriculture. Kinyara owns 7,800 hectares of farmland, as well 
as receiving cane from out-growers who own a further 3,000 hectares of 
sugar plantations.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 11 March 2002)

* Ouganda/UE. Aide aux déplacés  -  L'Union européenne a accordé une aide 
humanitaire d'une valeur de 420.000 euros en faveur des personnes déplacées 
en Ouganda, annonce un communiqué officiel remis à la presse le 11 mars. 
Plus de 110.000 personnes déplacées dans le district de Gulu à cause des 
activités de groupes rebelles recevront de l'aide grâce à ces crédits. Les 
programmes financés par l'UE dans le cadre de cette nouvelle intervention 
est de 18 mois.   (PANA, Sénégal, 11 mars 2002)

* Ouganda. La lutte contre la LRA  -  Des soldats parlant avec un accent 
américain prononcé, se trouvent aux côtés des troupes ougandaises entrées 
au Soudan dans le cadre d'une vaste opération contre les rebelles de la LRA 
(Armée de résistance du Seigneur), rapporte l'agence Misna le 7 mars. Il 
s'agirait d'une trentaine de conseillers militaires américains qui doivent 
assister l'armée ougandaise pour éliminer le gros des forces rebelles 
guidées par Joseph Kony, dont les camps se trouvent dans quatre villages 
proches du fleuve Kit, l'un des affluents du Nil Blanc. L'opération 
ougandaise est menée en étroite collaboration avec le SPLA, le mouvement 
rebelle sud-soudanais. Le ministre ougandais de la Défense a reconnu que 
ses troupes ont pénétré à l'intérieur du Sud-Soudan à la poursuite des 
rebelles de la LRA. Le 11 mars, il a déclaré que l'armée ougandaise 
patrouillait à 40 km à l'intérieur du Soudan. - D'autre part, dans un 
rapport annuel rendu public le 12 mars, la Commission ougandaise des droits 
de l'homme (UHRC) lance un appel au président Museveni pour que soient 
rétablies de bonnes relations durables entre l'Ouganda et le Soudan, afin 
de mettre fin aux attaques de la LRA. "Le rétablissement de relations 
excellentes entre l'Ouganda et le Soudan donnerait plus de chance de priver 
la LRA du soutien si nécessaire du gouvernement du Soudan", dit 
l'UHRC.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 12 mars 2002)

* Uganda. Suspected cult members arrested -- child rescued  -  Police have 
arrested 16 members of a suspected religious cult that eschews medical 
treatment and rescued a dying child, a senior police official said on 12 
March. Police raided the headquarters of Believers in God in Akworo, 380 
kilometres northwest of Kampala, and rescued a 3-year-old sick child who 
had been denied medical treatment, district Police Commissioner Samson 
Onyai said. "This group has been in existence for some time, and we want to 
establish whether it is a real cult," Onyai said by telephone from his 
office in Nebbi. "We are holding 16 people, the leader is on the run and 
the child is in critical condition in hospital." The government New Vision 
newspaper said on 12 March that at least 10 people had died in the 
Believers of God camp in Akworo. The private daily Monitor said the bodies 
of 30 members who died after failing to receive medical treatment had been 
secretly buried. Onyai said he did not have information on the reports, 
adding authorities were investigating.   (CNN, USA, 13 March 2002

* Western Sahara. Polisario blasts Morocco's Sahara claim  -  The Polisario 
Front, the independence movement for Western Sahara, has condemned the 
latest speech by the king of Morocco claiming sovereignty over the disputed 
territory. A statement broadcast on Polisario radio described the king's 
words as "a declaration of war on international legality". In his address 
on 6 March, King Mohammed said Morocco would not give up an inch of the 
region. He was speaking during a visit to Western Sahara, his second in 
four months. The Polisario also accused Morocco of wanting to plunder 
Western Sahara's resources, which include phosphorous, fish stocks and, 
perhaps, offshore oil.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 8 March 2002)

Weekly anb0314.txt -  End of part 6/7