Weekly anb05161.txt #8

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 16-05-2002      PART #1/8

* Africa. IISS's scathing report  -  Zimbabwe faces economic ruin unless 
President Robert Mugabe changes his policies, an influential report has 
said. The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) made the 
claim in its annual report on Africa, released on 9 May sharply criticised 
South African President Thabo Mbeki for failing to take coherent action 
when Mugabe was controversially reelected. It added that the political and 
economic disintegration of Somalia and Kenya were causes for serious alarm. 
The London-based think-tank listed as positive developments in the ravaged 
continent the ceasefire in Angola, tentative peace in West Africa and calm 
in the Horn of Africa. It said the biggest single threat to regional 
security on a continent plagued by AIDS, poverty and instability lay in the 
political repression and imminent economic collapse of Zimbabwe, where 
famine is looming as inflation runs wild and state-backed farm seizures 
slash food production. It said Mugabe, who has held power since 
independence from Britain in 1980 and who won a new six-year term in March 
in what the Commonwealth said were deeply flawed elections, was practising 
"state terrorism." "Mugabe's re-election has created an unsustainable and 
deeply damaging situation in Zimbabwe, from which no escape route is 
apparent. Unless he changes course, 2002 is likely to witness the ultimate 
collapse of Zimbabwe's economy and more food shortages, as well as Mugabe's 
total international isolation," IISS said. The report was scathing about 
the leaders of Zimbabwe's neighbours of the former Rhodesia who had 
endorsed Mugabe's reelection even though refugees were already pouring over 
their borders. But it was particularly savage about Mbeki's dithering 
approach to the problem. "Mbeki has moved from tacitly supporting Mugabe to 
having no identifiable policy whatsoever," it said. "He has managed to 
endorse the reports of two election observer teams that reached 
diametrically opposing conclusions." Kenya too was a cause for growing 
concern as tribal unrest bubbles under the surface ahead of elections due 
by the end of the year at which President Daniel arap Moi is 
constitutionally bound to step down after 23 years in power, IISS said. On 
a positive note, the IISS report said Africa might in the long term be an 
unwitting beneficiary of the September 11 attacks, as nations backing the 
US-led "war on terror", try to prevent militancy spreading to unstable and 
poor nations.   (CNN, USA, 9 May 2002)

* Afrique. La longue marche vers l'Union  -  Engagé le 17 septembre 2001, 
le processus de mise en place de l'Union africaine (UA) risque de prendre 
plus de temps que prévu. La durée de 12 mois prévue dans le traité de l'UA 
pourrait bien être prolongée par le prochain sommet africain de Durban 
(8-10 juillet). A la dernière réunion du Groupe consultatif, les 3 et 4 mai 
à Addis Abeba, une dizaine de personnalités africaines ont donné leur avis 
sur le fonctionnement des cinq principaux organes de l'UA: la Conférence 
des chefs d'Etat, le Conseil exécutif, la Commission, le Comité des 
représentants permanents et le Conseil de sécurité et de paix. Le traité 
prévoit la création de 17 organes. Mais déjà, la mise en place des cinq 
organismes clés et leur financement posent problème. L'Union, qui succède 
théoriquement à l'OUA le 10 juillet, aurait besoin d'une année 
supplémentaire avant de pouvoir fonctionner correctement. (Ndlr.: 
Cependant, le 14 mai, le secrétaire général de l'OUA, Amara Essy, a exprimé 
son optismisme sur le fait que le sommet de Durban serait l'occasion de la 
naissance de l'UA).   (J.A./L'Intelligent, France, 13 mai 2002)

* Africa. Christian Aid Week  -  13 May: Rock star Bob Geldof is to lead a 
bid, to day, to press British Prime Minister Tony Blair to declare war on 
poverty in Africa. The call will come in a report marking Christian Aid 
Week that suggests nearly 600m people could be living in extreme poverty in 
sub-Saharan Africa by 2016. The Christian Aid agency wants Mr Blair and 
other leaders of the world's richest countries to change trade rules and 
commit more money to Africa to relieve poverty. The "Listen to Africa" 
report is written as an open letter to Mr Blair and will be launched at the 
Commonwealth Club in London by Mr Geldof. He will be joined by 
representatives from Christian Aid-funded organisations in Ghana, the 
Democratic Republic of Congo and Malawi. A copy of the report is to be 
presented to Mr Blair at Downing Street. It says it is right that Africa is 
treated as a priority at the forthcoming G8 summit. But it goes on: "The 
need now is genuinely selfless aid to be given, targeted at projects that 
African people themselves say are priorities. And for this to happen, the 
World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade 
Organisation and the governments of donor countries like Britain, simply 
must "listen to Africa"."   (BBC News, UK, 13 May 2002)

* Africa. OAU into African Union delayed  -  The transformation of the 
Organisation of African Unity (OAU) into the African Union has been 
postponed, just two months before it was scheduled to take place. Senior 
personalities overseeing the transformation believe more time is needed to 
complete the process of setting up the 17 key components of the new body. 
No time frame within which this process will be completed, has been given. 
However, the African Union is still scheduled to be officially launched in 
Durban, South Africa, between 8-10 July.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 13 May 2002)

* Africa. Action against the Media  -  Kenya: On 8 May, Parliament approved 
a new Books and Newspapers Act, making it illegal to sell newspapers, 
magazines or books that have not been submitted to the government for 
review. Journalists say the purpose is to control the Media during an 
election year. On 11 May, Human Rights Watch said that President Moi should 
not sign the bill into effect. Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) and the 
World Association of Newspapers have also expressed their concern. 
Zimbabwe: On 12 May, reports from Zimbabwe said the ruling party, Zanu-PF, 
is suing the main opposition party and media organisations for alleging 
that its supporters had beheaded a woman in front of her children. A 
pro-government newspaper the Sunday Mail says Zanu-PF has instructed its 
lawyers to take legal action against the opposition MDC -- for originating 
the story. It has also threatened all media outlets not to repeat the 
story. -- On 14 May, the state-owned daily newspaper The Chronicle called 
for the government to ban the Daily News.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 15 May 2002)

* Africa. Human Rights  -  Equatorial Guinea: On 12 May, it was reported 
that the authorities have thrown several key opposition figures into jail 
on charges ranging from "breach of national security", to "insulting the 
Head of State". Liberia: On 14 May, Human Rights Watch condemned the 
Liberian government for persecuting human rights defenders.   (ANB-BIA, 
Brussels, 15 May 2002)

* Afrique de l'Ouest. La fièvre Lassa  -  La fièvre Lassa, hautement 
contagieuse, affecte au moins 300.000 personnes par an en Afrique de 
l'Ouest, mais risque d'affecter plus de 100 millions de personnes dans la 
région si elle n'est pas judicieusement contrôlée, a averti Medical 
Emergency Relief International (Merlin). En Sierra Leone, des années de 
conflit ont créé des conditions propices à sa propagation, a précisé 
Merlin. Beaucoup de services de santé ont été détruits, ce qui n'a fait 
qu'augmenter les risques d'une épidémie. Au Liberia voisin, l'insécurité 
continue et, en particulier dans le comté de Lofa, empêche l'accès aux 
populations vulnérables, a noté l'ONG. Merlin effectue une étude en Sierra 
Leone sur les effets de la maladie, en vue d'un éventuel financement d'une 
approche plus intégrée. La fièvre Lassa, une maladie virale transmise à 
l'être humain par un contact avec les rats ou avec de l'eau contaminée par 
eux, est endémique en Afrique de l'Ouest. En l'an 2000, elle a tué cinq 
conseillers internationaux en Sierra Leone.   (IRIN, Abidjan, 8 mai 2002)

* East Africa. Devastating floods  -  9 May:Heavy rains caused by unusually 
high temperatures over the Indian Ocean have killed more than 112 people in 
east Africa in the last two weeks. Floods and mudslides have forced tens of 
thousands of people to leave their homes in Rwanda, Kenya, Burundi, 
Tanzania and Uganda. This is the rainy season in the region, but 
meteorological experts say the rains have been much heavier than usual. 
Rwanda has suffered the heaviest toll, with more than 50 dead in the last 
10 days, many of the deaths caused by landslides. "The toll could rise 
because the rainy season does not stop before mid-June," Benjamin Ndahirwa, 
a member of Rwanda's National Committee for Disaster Management, said. "At 
least 1,577 homes have been destroyed and many cattle killed." In Kenya, 
floods and mudslides have killed 46 people in the two weeks, police have 
said. In two incidents in central Kenya, 15 people died when mudslides 
overran their homes as they slept on April 30 and May 4. The spokesman for 
Kenya's National Disaster Operations Centre, Bonventure Wendo, says some 
50,000 people have been displaced in western Kenya. In northeast Kenya, 
local authorities have also asked up to 50,000 people living near the Tana 
River to move to higher ground. Several hydro-electric dams have been built 
along the river and are now overflowing. Further south, in Tanzania, 
reports say at least nine people died in floods and hundreds of families 
have been left homeless. Local officials say there has been considerable 
damage done to buildings and farms. In Uganda, a man and his six children 
were buried alive in a landslide caused by heavy rains and hundreds of 
families have had to leave their homes. In Burundi, 147 homes have been 
destroyed at a centre for displaced people. Paddy fields around the 
capital's airport lie under a metre of water.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 10 May 
2002)

* Afrique de l'Est. Pluies torrentielles  -  Près de 150 personnes sont 
mortes et 173.000 ont dû quitter leurs habitations en Afrique de l'Est et à 
Madagascar en raison de pluies torrentielles qui s'abattent sur ces 
régions, provoquant glissements de terrain et inondations. Le pays le plus 
touché est le Kenya avec 68 morts et 150.000 déplacés, selon des bilans 
officiels établis le 13 mai.   (Le Soir, Belgique, 14 mai 2002)

* Afrique centrale. Pauvreté en milieu rural  -  Décideurs politiques, 
experts, bailleurs de fonds et représentants de la société civile de la 
sous-région se sont concertés à Yaoundé (Cameroun) les 14 et 15 mai 2002, 
dans un séminaire sur l'évaluation de la pauvreté en milieu rural et les 
options et stratégies visant la réduction du phénomène en Afrique centrale. 
L'atelier était organisé par le Fonds international de développement 
agricole (FIDA), en collaboration avec les ministères camerounais de 
l'Agriculture et des Forêts et la Commission économique des Nations unies 
pour l'Afrique (CEA). Les statistiques indiquent qu'aujourd'hui, 1,2 
milliard d'êtres humains demeurent enfermés dans le piège de la pauvreté 
extrême et vivent avec moins de 1$/jour. Sur ce chiffre, 24% se trouvent en 
Afrique subsaharienne. 150 millions de personnes, dont quelque 120 millions 
dans les zones rurales, vivent dans le dénuement en Afrique occidentale et 
centrale. Les pays suivants ont participé aux travaux: Cameroun, Gabon, 
Guinée équatoriale, Congo-Kinshasa, Congo-Brazzaville et Sao Tomé et 
Principe.   (S. Tetchiada/ANB-BIA, Cameroun, 15 mai 2002)

* United Nations. Special Session on Children  -  8 May: UN Secretary 
General Kofi Annan has accused adults worldwide of failing children, 
forcing far too many to grow up in poverty or threatened by war. "To the 
adults in this room, I would say: let us not make children pay for our 
failures any more,"he told the first UN Special Session on Children in New 
York. The three-day conference is being attended by 60 world leaders and 
numerous celebrities, as well as about 250 child delegates. Addressing the 
children directly in his opening speech, Mr Annan told them they had the 
right to education, health, a clean environment, and to live without the 
shadow of war, poverty, abuse or exploitation. "These rights are obvious. 
Yet we, the grown-ups, have failed you deplorably in upholding many of 
them. We the grown-ups must reverse this list of failures. And we are 
pledged to do so," But there are serious divisions at the conference, which 
aims to produce a final document setting new goals for the international 
community on issues such as reducing child poverty. 9 May: Today, the 
speakers concentrate on the negative impact of armed conflict on children. 
President Jammeh of The Gambia says that as long as wars and violence 
sparked by hatred and greed continue, one might think that world leaders 
were the true enemies of children. Zambia's President Mwanawasa says that 
in light of the tragic events of 11 September, it is clear that tomorrow 
can be guaranteed for the world's children only if the entire international 
community comes together to combat emerging threats to peace and personal 
security. Ali Mohamed Shein, Vice-President of Tanzania, says in order for 
his country to realize a world fit for children, it has to break the cycle 
of poverty in which over 50% of households are unable to meet their basic 
needs. 10 May: Differences over sex education and the plight of Palestinian 
children are holding up negotiations at the Special Session. The draft 
General Assembly resolution says children under Israeli occupation "remain 
deprived of many basic rights". This has angered the Israeli's and the USA. 
--Children from across Africa have a face-to-face encounter with their 
leaders, and hold them to account. One child says: "Parliaments are only 
used as "democratic decorations"". Another, accuses the leaders of 
embezzling the loans they have been granted. One 12-year old tells Africa's 
leaders: "When you get the money, you embezzle it, you eat it". The King of 
Lesotho says it is the first time he has been addressed in such blunt, 
direct terms. -- The summit eventually approves a new blueprint to improve 
the world for children in the next 15 years. The agreement comes after 
contentious negotiations between the United States and other nations on sex 
education, abortion and the death penalty. More than 180 nations attending 
the General Assembly special session on children approve the hard-fought 
agreement just before midnight and adopt the final summit document: "A 
World Fit For Children", by consensus with a round of applause. Carol 
Bellamy, executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund, says the 
final document of the UN's children's summit focuses on four areas: 
promoting healthy lives, access to and completion of quality education, 
protection of children against abuse violence and exploitation and fighting 
HIV and AIDS.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 11 May 2002)

Weekly anb0516.txt - #1/8