Weekly anb06067.txt #7

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

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 06-06-2002 PART #7/7

* Tunisia. Ben Ali promulgates amended Constitution - On 1 June, President 
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali promulgated the new Tunisian constitution approved 
26 May in a referendum by 99.52 percent of the country's 3.5 million 
voters. Under the constitutional amendment, an incumbent president can run 
for an unlimited number of terms in Tunisia, and also pushed the age limit 
for president from 70 to 75 years. The old constitution limited the 
presidential mandates to three five-year terms, and grants immunity to 
former presidents. Ben Ali, aged 65, thus has the possibility of seeking a 
fourth term of office during the elections scheduled in 2004. (PANA, 
Senegal, 2 June 2002)

* Tunisie. Ben Ali prêt à se succéder - Le 1er juin, le président Ben Ali a 
promulgué la nouvelle loi constitutionnelle lui permettant de solliciter 
deux autres mandats présidentiels. Cette décision intervient à la suite du 
référendum du 26 mai, où 99,52% des votants se sont exprimés en faveur 
d'une réforme de la Constitution. Le troisième mandat de Ben Ali, au 
pouvoir depuis 1987, arrive à échéance en 2004. (Le Figaro, France, 3 juin 
2002)

* Tunisia. Government prevents contacts with human rights activists - The 
World Anti-Torture Organisation (OMCT) has condemned the fact that it has 
become impossible to contact its correspondents in Tunisia. Since 26 May, 
the date of the Constitutional referendum that opened the doors for a new 
term in office of President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, the OMCT has not 
managed to establish contact with its sources in Tunisia. "Since that day", 
explained the statement issued today, "the representatives of the civil 
society that had opposed the Constitutional revision, are no longer able to 
receive telephone communications from abroad, nor do they have access to 
their e-mails. Also the internet sites of international NGO's, in 
particular that of the OMCT, are not accessible from Tunisia". The OMCT, 
apart from expressing its deep concern, also took the occasion to criticise 
President Ben Ali. "Having proposed to host in Tunis the 2005 World 
Information Society Summit, it would be advisable for the citizens of his 
nation to have unrestricted access to communication means and be allowed to 
establish contacts abroad". (MISNA, Italy, 5 June 2002)

* Uganda. The disabled cast their votes - 5 June: Uganda's disabled persons 
got to elect their representative in the country's special polls on 4 June. 
In the eastern towns of Busia and Tororo, and around the country, they 
formed long lines outside polling stations as early as 0800 (0500 GMT) to 
cast their votes. Known here as Persons With Disabilities (PWD)s, the 
voters were participating in local elections for the disabled under 
Uganda's unique "Movement" system. The system allows political parties to 
exist but not to organise. Chanting pro-government slogans, PWDs came to 
the polling stations in wheelchairs and on crutches, accompanied by their 
wives and children. However, members of their families were not allowed to 
take part in the election if they were not themselves disabled. They were 
later joined across the country by youths who were also electing their own 
representatives in separate polls. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 5 June 2002)

* Zambie. Famine: désastre national - A son tour, dans l'Afrique australe 
frappée par la famine, le président zambien Levy Mwanawasa a décrété l'état 
de désastre alimentaire national. Dans un discours radio-télévisé le 29 mai 
au soir, il a réclamé une aide internationale d'urgence pour 4 millions de 
ses concitoyens menacés par la famine, précisant que la récolte de maïs de 
l'année serait épuisée d'ici août. Selon l'Onu, quelque 10 millions de 
personnes au Malawi, au Zimbabwe, au Lesotho et au Swaziland sont également 
menacées par la famine. L'évaluation par les agences internationales de la 
situation en Zambie et au Mozambique est en cours, et l'heure est au 
pessimisme. Ces pays n'ont plus que quelques semaines de réserves, estime 
la responsable régionale de la FAO. En Zambie, dans les zones les plus 
touchées, les gens ont déjà commencé à ne se nourrir que de racines et la 
plupart des enfants souffrent de malnutrition. Le volume de la dernière 
récolte ne permet de nourrir que six des dix millions de Zambiens, a 
précisé le président. (AP, 30 mai 2002)

* Zambia. Food disaster and poverty - 30 May: Zambia has declared the 
country's food shortage a national disaster, saying four million people 
face starvation. President Levy Mwanawasa said that current crop production 
would only feed six million people out of a total population of more than 
10 million. He said that Zambia would run out of food by July or August. 
Zambia's move comes a day after the United Nations warned that at least 10 
million people face starvation in four southern African countries unless 
the international community acts swiftly. "I make a passionate appeal to 
the international community to assist us in this time of need," Mr 
Mwanawasa said. He said crop assessments showed the country would have a 
maize shortage of 630,000 tonnes. Maize is the staple diet in southern 
Africa. "Given this scenario and concern for the survival of our people, my 
government has decided to declare a national disaster with regard to food 
insecurity in the nation and water shortage in the Southern province," Mr 
Mwanawasa said in a statement. Millions of Zambians would have to depend on 
foreign food handouts and imports, he warned. 31 May: The International 
Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved $317m financing for Zambia's 2002 economic 
plan to target poverty reduction. "The gesture by the IMF is tremendous 
testimony to its shift in addressing poverty in least developed countries," 
Finance Minister Emmanuel Kasonde said adding $62m would be released 
immediately. Zambia has declared the country's food shortage a national 
disaster, saying four million people face starvation. It also faces an 
economic crisis with mining giant Anglo American negotiating to pull out of 
the Konkola copper mines -- the country's biggest mining operation and 
major employer -- which accounts for 67% of foreign currency earnings. Mr 
Kasonde said in a statement $150m would be interim financing for the World 
Bank's Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) programme, while $167m would 
be loans to support the budget. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 31 May 2002)

* Zambie. Détenus malades graciés - Cent malades en phase terminale, 
détenus dans les prisons zambiennes, seront bientôt libérés, a annoncé le 3 
juin le ministre de l'Intérieur, précisant que par cette mesure on cherche 
à alléger la situation de surpopulation des centres de détention. Le nombre 
élevé de décès par maladie enregistré dans les prisons a poussé la 
Commission nationale pour les droits humains (ZHRC) à présenter une 
protestation formelle au gouvernement. Selon elle, cette situation provient 
principalement de la propagation de maladies contagieuses, en premier lieu 
la tuberculose, parmi les milliers de prisonniers séjournant dans des 
structures inadaptées. (Misna, Italie, 4 juin 2002)

* Zambia. RSF condemns journalist's mistreatment - On 5 June, Reporters 
sans Frontières (RSF) protested against the abuse suffered by Emmanuel 
Chilekwa, editor-in-chief of the private People newspaper. He was arrested 
on 4 June for insulting current President Levy Mwanawasa. In an open letter 
addressed by RSF's secretary-general, Robert Ménard, to Zambia's President 
Mwanawasa, the international organisation called on the President to "show 
respect for press freedom by not arresting journalists". This is the very 
reason why the RSF has called for the decriminalisation of the offence of 
"defaming the President". Based on RSF reports, the journalist was arrested 
by police without formal charges of defamation. In the past days, Chilekwa 
had written about rumours circulating, suggesting that Mwanawasa suffered 
from Parkinson's Disease. "I was handcuffed, savagely beaten and demanded 
to reveal my source on the President's health. A request which my 
professional ethics do not allow me to respond to", declared the 
journalist. Since Mwanawasa's rise to power, Chilekwa is the second 
journalist to be arrested in connection with his profession. The first was 
Fred M'Membe, editor-in-chief of The Post, arrested on 11 February. (MISNA, 
Italy, 5 June 2002)

* Zambia. President takes the bus - In an effort to cut costs, President 
Levy Mwanawasa left his official Mercedes Benz at home on 5 June and took 
the bus. Mwanawasa, who was elected in December promising to address 
poverty and corruption, took public transportation to the airport as part 
of a new push to save money, he said. Mwanawasa then flew to a meeting in 
South Africa. Mwanawasa said he hoped to set an example for his ministers, 
who should take the bus whenever they travel to the airport to send him off 
on official trips. Zambia's 10 million people are among the world's 
poorest. (CNN, USA, 5 June 2002

* Zimbabwe. Lutte contre la famine - favoritisme - Shari Eppel, directrice 
de la section de Bula (sud Matabeleland) de l'ONG Amanai Trust, a formulé 
de dures accusations contre les politiques de lutte contre la famine mises 
en oeuvre par le gouvernement. D'après l'ONG, la distribution des produits 
alimentaires par les structures gouvernementales, en particulier le 
Consortium étatique du blé (GMB), se fait de manière discriminatoire: 
seules les personnes en possession de vieilles cartes d'adhésion au parti 
au pouvoir, le ZANU-PF, arrivent à obtenir des denrées alimentaires. Le 
ministre des Affaires sociales estime que 5,9 millions de personnes vivant 
dans les zones rurales et 1,9 million des zones urbaines sont exposées à la 
famine. Dans les deux mois qui viennent, la situation pourrait encore 
empirer de façon dramatique. Le gouvernement vient de refuser 10.000 tonnes 
de maïs envoyées par les USA, parce que les certifications ne garantiraient 
pas assez la non-manipulation génétique du produit donné. (Misna, Italie, 
31 mai 2002)

* Zimbabwe. Opposants en détention - Le 31 mai, une cour de justice du 
Zimbabwe a placé trois importants leaders de l'opposition en détention 
provisoire jusqu'au 2 août, en raison d'accusations de tentative 
d'assassinat du président Robert Mugabe. Le dirigeant du Mouvement pour le 
changement démocratique (MDC) Morgan Tsvangirai, le secrétaire général du 
parti Welshman Ncube, et le député Renson Gasela sont accusés d'avoir 
projeté d'assassiner Mugabe avant les élections présidentielles de mars. 
Ces politiciens nient les allégations. La cour a indiqué qu'elle fixera la 
date du procès le 2 août à Harare. - D'autre part, deux autres voix 
dissidentes de la société civile, le président de la Law Society of 
Zimbabwe, Me Sternford Moyo, et son secrétaire Me Wilbert Mapombere, ont 
été arrêtés le 3 juin, puis libérés vers minuit, pour être à nouveau 
interpellés le lendemain. On leur reproche le contenu d'une lettre adressée 
à des bureaux gouvernementaux britanniques et au parti MDC, au sujet de 
l'organisation de manifestations de masse de la part du MDC. (ANB-BIA, de 
sources diverses, 4 juin 2002)

* Zimbabwe. Legal pressure - 30 May: A court in Zimbabwe has set trial 
dates for two journalists charged under the country's controversial Press 
and Media Law. Andrew Meldrum of the British newspaper, The Guardian, and 
Lloyd Mudiwa of Zimbabwe's Daily News are accused of having abused 
journalistic privilege. Their trials will begin on separate dates in June. 
They were arrested in connection with a story alleging that supporters of 
President Mugabe's governing Zanu-PF party had murdered a woman. The story 
was later found to be unsubstantiated. If convicted, they face up to two 
years in jail. If the trial goes ahead, it will set a precedent for the 
laws which critics say are aimed at stifling free speech and suppressing 
dissent against the government. 31 May: The MDC's leader, Morgan Tsvangirai 
appears in court with two other high-ranking party officials charged with 
treason. But the case has again been postponed until August. 4 June: Two of 
Zimbabwe's most senior lawyers have ben arrested on suspicion of agitating 
for political violence. The president of the Law Society, Sternford Moyo, 
and the group's secretary, Wilbert Mapombere, were picked up on the evening 
of 3 June, released at midnight and rearrested in the early morning of 4 
June. 5 June: MISNA reports that the Council for the Law Society of 
Zimbabwe has expressed "shock and surprise" at the arrests. (ANB-BIA, 
Brussels, 5 June 2002)

* Zimbabwe. Mugabe launches CD charm offensive - Zimbabwe has launched a 
marketing campaign in an attempt to improve its image, tarnished by years 
of political and economic difficulties. An interactive programme has been 
put together that provides "a factual and authoritative exposition... of 
what Zimbabwe really is", President Robert Mugabe said. He was speaking at 
the launch of a CD-ROM sponsored by the United Nations Development 
Programme, which was attended by foreign diplomats, business leaders and 
tourism officials. The Zimbabwean leader said his country had been treated 
unfairly by the world media, in particular over its land reform programme. 
"Over the past four years or so, the government and leadership have been 
subjected to a persistent and malicious media onslaught because we have 
seriously made attempts at correcting and redressing past colonial 
injustices, notably the skewed land distribution and ownership patterns. 
Never in modern history has a country and its leadership received as many 
column inches of print and many hours of television as Zimbabwe," the 
Zimbabwean head of state said. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 30 May 2002)

* Zimbabwe. Fears that Harare manipulating food relief - Concerns are 
mounting over political interference by the Zimbabwean government in the 
distribution of food relief to the 6m people facing severe food shortages 
in the southern African country. Physicians for Human Rights, a Danish 
non-governmental organisation, on 3 June urged international aid agencies 
to monitor the distribution of food relief more closely to prevent supplies 
being selectively given to ruling Zanu-PF supporters. The organisation 
fears President Robert Mugabe's regime is exploiting hunger to suppress 
support for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). It claims 
that Zanu-PF supporters, civil servants and traditional leaders are 
blocking MDC supporters from acquiring maize, a staple food. "It is clear 
that some schemes have been discriminatory for months without the donor 
being aware," the Copenhagen-based group said in a report on political 
antagonism in Zimbabwe following presidential elections in March. Maize is 
distributed through government public works schemes, the state-owned Grain 
Marketing Board and donor programmes. But Physicians for Human Rights 
believes the marketing board denies grain to those people not holding 
Zanu-PF membership and claims some public works programmes are reserved for 
government supporters. (Financial Times, UK, 4 June 2002)

Weekly anb06067.txt #7/7 - 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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