Weekly anb06205.txt #5

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

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 20-06-2002      PART #5/5

* Somalia. Rival militias clash  -  17 June: Heavy fighting has flared up 
between rival militiamen in the fertile Middle Shabelle region of southern 
Somalia. Supporters of Dahir Dayah, the interior minister of the 
Transitional National Government, clashed with forces loyal to warlord 
Mohamed Dhere, who controls the regional capital of Jowhar, some 90 
kilometres north of Mogadishu. According to eyewitnesses contacted on VHF 
radios in the Mahadday district, close to the fighting, the two sides 
started exchanging heavy gunfire outside the village of El-Baraf, about 
150km north of Mogadishu, just after morning prayers. The eyewitnesses 
confirmed seeing more than 13 battle wagons and hundreds of heavily armed 
militiamen from both sides. At about noon,today, the fighting seemed to 
have spread close to the Mahadday district in the villages of Ali-Foldhere 
and Magurti. It is difficult to obtain exact figures about the casualties 
as the fighting is still raging. However, independent sources have 
confirmed that at least 19 people were killed and more than 30 others 
wounded from both sides.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 17 June 2002)

* Somalie. Appel à intervention  -  Le 17 juin, 19 personnes ont été tuées, 
quand des combats ont repris dans le village d'El-Baraf, à environ 90 km au 
nord de la capitale Mogadiscio, entre des milices loyales du ministre de 
l'Intérieur et celles de son rival Moahmed Omar Habeb, un chef de guerre 
somalien qui contrôle la région de Middle Shabelle. Des infirmations 
indiquent que la plupart des victimes étaient des civils et que leur nombre 
devrait augmenter puisque les combats se sont étendus aux villages voisins. 
- Par ailleurs, le 18 juin à l'Onu, le leader du Communities Party, Mohamed 
Haji Barako, a invité l'Onu, l'Union européenne et la communauté 
internationale à intervenir en Somalie, en vue de mettre fin aux guerres 
claniques. Il accuse les seigneurs de guerre somaliens de perpétuer le 
désordre pour assouvir leurs propres intérêts égoïstes. Selon lui, aucun 
gouvernement central ne peut survivre dans un pays où les seigneurs de 
guerre règnent en toute impunité. En dépit des sanctions de l'Onu, 
plusieurs factions somaliennes continuent de recevoir des armes de 
l'étranger, et le voisin éthiopien est accusé de soutenir ces chefs de 
guerre opposés au gouvernement intérimaire.   (PANA, Sénégal, 18 juin 2002)

* South Africa. South Africa clears way to sell Telkom  -  The way has been 
cleared for South Africa's biggest privatisation to date -- the $1bn 
sell-off of the country's mainly state-owned telephone operator Telkom. 
Recently Telkom and the industry regulator ICASA (Independent 
Communications Authority of South Africa) have been arguing over Telkom's 
increased charges to its customers. They have now reached an agreement, 
thereby clearing an obstacle to the government's move. ICASA had wanted 
price rises limited to the rate of inflation, which is less than 1.5%. It 
said the rises were too steep and hampered the country's attempts to spread 
phone access to the poor. Telekom has agreed that its price rises of 5.5% 
will be the last increase this year. It will also limit increases over the 
next two years -- in effect foregoing income of around $32m. Telkom had 
agreed to lower the tariff for residential users. Furthermore, the company 
will not cut off customers who could not afford the higher tariff. "People 
are able to make emergency calls and they are also able to receive calls," 
he said.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 14 June 2002)

* Afrique du Sud. Orphelins du sida  -  L'Afrique du Sud, l'un des pays les 
plus touchés par le VIH-SIDA avec 4,74 millions de séropositifs, pourrait 
compter, à l'horizon 2015, 5,7 millions d'orphelins à cause du SIDA. Selon 
un document du Medical Research Council, la plus haute autorité de 
recherche médicale en Afrique du Sud, ce nombre massif d'orphelins de moins 
de 18 ans sera atteint si aucun changement radical n'intervient d'ici là, 
en terme de traitement des malades ou de changement des comportements 
sexuels. Le MRC prône une combinaison de mesures à court terme, à savoir le 
traitement de tous les séropositifs par anti-rétroviraux, et à long terme 
sous forme de prévention, programmes d'éveil sur les comportements sexuels 
et de généralisation des préservatifs.   (La Libre Belgique, 14 juin 2002)

* South Africa. Remembering the Soweto killings  -  16 June: The people of 
South Africa are commemorating the anniversary of the Soweto uprising of 
1976, one of the most emotive events in the country's history. Dozens of 
black school children who refused to be taught in Afrikaans, the favoured 
language of the apartheid regime, were shot by the police on that day. 
Rioting then spread across South Africa and hundreds of people were killed. 
Now, 26 years later, a special museum commemorating the events of 16 June 
has been opened in Soweto. One of the first children to be killed was 
13-year-old Hector Peterson. His agonizing death was captured forever in a 
famous photograph. Today, the government opens a Hector Peterson memorial 
museum, only yards from the spot where he was shot. The museum captures in 
video and photographs the momentous events which changed South Africa 
forever, as well as explaining the history of the vast Soweto township. The 
heroes of 16 June hope the museum will appeal to young people in Soweto for 
whom 1976 is distant history. Some South African commentators refer to 
today's township youths as a lost generation who have little appreciation 
of the past and little hope for the future. In 1976 black leaders urged 
South African children to boycott schools in protest at apartheid. At 
today's ceremony, speaker after speaker urged children to go to school so 
that they can build a better country.   (BBC News, 16 June 2002)

* Soudan. Pourparlers de paix  -  Une nouvelle série de négociations de 
paix soudanaises s'ouvre le 17 juin à Nairobi (Kenya), sous les auspices de 
l'Autorité intergouvernementale est-africaine pour le développement (IGAD). 
Selon des informations reçues le 16 juin, les délégations du gouvernement 
et de l'Armée/Mouvement de libération du peuple soudanais (SPLM/A) vont 
reprendre leurs négociations sous la supervision de représentants des pays 
occidentaux. Ces pourparlers prévus pour durer jusqu'au 21 juillet, vont 
porter sur les questions de l'unité soudanaise, du partage du pouvoir et 
des richesses, et sur la question épineuse de la relation entre l'Etat et 
la religion. Le gouvernement et la SPLA ont déjà organisé six séries de 
négociations peu concluantes sous les auspices de l'IGAD. Une pierre 
d'achoppement est la sharia, appliquée dans le nord du pays.   (PANA, 
Sénégal, 16 juin 2002)

* Sudan. Peace talks set to resume  -  17 June: Peace talks between the 
Sudanese Government and southern rebels are due to resume in Nairobi, 
today. But the omens for this round of peace talks are not good. The 
negotiations are scheduled to last several weeks and are designed to 
address the root causes of the conflict. But observers say there are no 
fresh proposals on the negotiating table and no real pressure from the 
international community. For nearly two decades, rebels and the Christian 
south have been fighting the government of the Muslim Arabic north in a war 
fuelled by religion, ethnicity and oil. The American government recently 
stepped up its diplomatic efforts in Sudan. But the results have been 
limited. There is a ceasefire in the Nuba Mountains, but there has also 
been intense fighting elsewhere. The SPLA recently captured the garrison 
town of Kapoeta in the east, while the government has been on the offensive 
around the oil fields in Western Upper Nile.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 17 June 
2002)

* Togo. Lomé sous la menace d'une inondation  -  Les pluies diluviennes qui 
s'abattent depuis plus d'un mois sur le sud du Togo ont transformé la 
capitale, Lomé, en cité lacustre, empêchant pour la plupart l'accès à des 
quartiers et la circulation sur certaines rues. Le sud du Togo, entré 
depuis deux mois dans la saison des pluies, a connu ces dernières semaines 
des pluies diluviennes qui ont entraîné dans la capitale Lomé pas mal de 
dégâts, créant des milliers de sans abris et des populations déplacées, 
victimes soit de l'écroulement de leurs maisons ou de l'inondation de leurs 
concessions. Les quartiers des bas-fonds, habituellement inondés en période 
de pluie, ont cette fois été surclassés par ceux de la banlieue nord. 
Plusieurs de ces quartiers sont sous la menace réelle de l'inondation. La 
situation s'est aggravée par une panne de la station de pompage construite 
depuis 1975 et qui permet d'évacuer l'eau de la lagune dans la mer en cas 
de débordement. Il y a plus de vingt ans, selon les statistiques, que Lomé 
n'a plus connu cette intensité de pluie. Cette pluie, tant attendue après 
les cinq longs mois de saison sèche, inquiète sérieusement les Loméens qui 
ne sont pas encore au bout de leurs peines.   (G. Mario, RFI-actualité, 
France, 19 juin 2002)

* Tunisie. Forte baisse du tourisme  -  Le nombre de touristes européens 
ayant visité la Tunisie en avril 2002, début de la haute saison 
touristique, a baissé de 38,9% par rapport à la même période de l'an 
dernier, selon un bilan officiel. La baisse a concerné en premier lieu 
l'Allemagne, le nombre de visiteurs allemands ayant chuté de 52,4%, de 
31,1% pour les Italiens et de 30,8% pour les Français. L'Allemagne 
fournissait à la Tunisie le plus gros contingent de touristes européens, 
près d'un million sur 5 millions de visiteurs par an.   (Le Figaro, France, 
17 juin 2002)

* Uganda. Donors tell World Bank to block dam in Uganda  -  The fate of 
Africa's biggest commercial investment hung in the balance on 17 June, 
after the World Bank postponed a decision on whether to fill a massive 
funding shortfall left by the withdrawal of sceptical financiers. 
Construction of Uganda's controversial $550m Bujagali hydroelectricity 
project, a 200-megawatt dam on the Victoria Nile, was due to start early 
this year, but was halted after Swedish, Norwegian and Finnish export 
credit agencies withdrew guarantees worth more than $200m. The Scandinavian 
agencies were apparently worried that the Ugandan government would be 
unable to repay the hefty project costs to AES Corp, the US power giant 
contracted to build the plant. Local civic groups and international 
environmentalists have questioned the economic viability of the project and 
say it could drive Uganda further into debt, just as it is starting to pull 
out of a vicious debt spiral. The World Bank board was due to meet in 
Washington today to approve a $215m guarantee to fill the funding 
shortfall. The meeting was postponed at the last minute after the board 
examined a stinging report that raised serious questions about the project. 
A World Bank spokesman said there would be "further discussion with the 
sponsors over the coming weeks". The investigation, by an independent 
panel, found that Bujagali breached five internal World Bank guidelines, 
lacked transparency and ignored potential risks that could result in 
electricity costs doubling in Uganda within seven years. The postponement 
was a victory for civic groups in Uganda and international 
environmentalists, who say the project may hold hidden dangers for 
Uganda.   (The Independent, UK, 19 June 2002)

* Western Sahara. Polisario releases Moroccan POWs  -  18 June: The 
independence movement in Western Sahara, the Polisario Front, has announced 
the release of 100 Moroccan prisoners of war. It said it had taken a 
"humanitarian measure" to try to solve the dispute over the future of the 
territory. The Polisario, which is based in Algeria, still holds about 
1,000 prisoners captured during the war which started when Morocco annexed 
the former Spanish colony in 1975. The long-running dispute over the 
territory led to the cancellation on 17 June of a summit of the Arab 
Maghreb Union scheduled to take place this week.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 18 
June 2002)

* Zimbabwe. Arrestations  -  Le 16 juin, environ 80 jeunes militants du 
Mouvement pour le changement démocratique (opposition) ont été arrêtés à 
Harare pour "troubles à l'ordre public", alors qu'ils avaient l'intention 
de manifester. D'autre part, selon The Herald, quotidien proche du pouvoir, 
l'ambassadeur britannique, Brian Donnelly, accusé de vouloir "miner" 
l'autorité du gouvernement du président Mugabe, a été placé sous la 
surveillance d'agents de la sécurité. Londres a démenti ces 
accusations.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 17 juin 2002)

* Zimbabwe. Fees demanded from Media  -  16 June: The Government announces 
that all media organisations and journalists must pay a fee to be 
recognised and accredited under its new media law. Also, all media 
organisations, including international news agencies and local newspapers, 
must divulge detailed financial information about their operations, and pay 
0.5% of the audited annual gross turnover of their local operations to a 
state-controlled media fund.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 17 June 2002)

* Zimbabwe. Anti-government demonstrations repressed  -  17 June: The main 
opposition party in Zimbabwe has warned President Robert Mugabe that it 
will organise more protests, after police cracked down on opposition 
militants in two cities at the weekend. The leader of the Movement for 
Democratic Change, Morgan Tsvangirai, said that the government should brace 
itself for more demonstrations. A rally by MDC supporters was dispersed by 
police in the capital, Harare, on 16 May. Police say at least 80 MDC youths 
and officials have been arrested and will be charged for violating the law 
on security and order. They are expected to appear in court tomorrow. Last 
week, state-run media reported that President Mugabe had put security 
forces on high alert to crush any mass demonstrations calling for a re-run 
of the March presidential elections.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 17 June 2002)


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