Weekly anb09126.txt #7

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

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 12-09-2002      PART #6/7

* South Africa. Summit boosts car market  -  A burst of new car sales in 
South Africa could lead to a further rise in the country's interest rates. 
Economists believe South Africa's central bank could put up rates for the 
fourth time this year when it meets next week. Their view was bolstered by 
new car sales figures for August which showed robust consumer demand 
despite price rises. Sales of new cars in August rose to 30,525, up from 
29,777 in the same month last year, figures from the National Association 
of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa) showed. It pointed to 
a "relatively resilient" demand and extra sales to car rental firms ahead 
of the World Development Summit which recently took place in Johannesburg. 
Rental firms beefed up their fleets to make sure they were able to ferry 
the 50,000 or so delegates, lobbyists and journalists around town. Monthly 
car sales in August actually fell compared to July, but this was mainly 
because the World Summit provided an even bigger boost to car sales earlier 
in the summer.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 5 September 2002)

* Afrique du Sud. Mandela accuse les USA  -  Dans une interview publiée le 
11 septembre par l'hebdomadaire Newsweek, l'ancien président sud-africain 
Nelson Mandela a déclaré que les Etats-Unis et la Grande-Bretagne méprisent 
les Nations unies et qu'il existe un élément racial dans leur comportement. 
Répondant aux accusations selon lesquelles l'Iraq accumulerait des armes de 
destruction de masse, Mandela a fait valoir que ni George Bush ni Tony 
Blair n'ont fourni la moindre preuve de l'existence de ce genre d'armes. 
"Ce dont nous sommes certains, c'est qu'Israël détient des armes de 
destruction de masse. Mais personne n'en parle". Selon Mandela, les 
Etats-Unis sont une menace pour la paix mondiale. Il a indiqué que les 
Etats-Unis avaient commis de graves erreurs dans la gestion de leur 
politique extérieure, erreurs dont les conséquences malheureuses se font 
sentir longtemps après la prise des décisions. Pour l'Iraq, Mandela propose 
que les Etats-Unis et la Grande-Bretagne s'en remettent aux Nations unies. 
"Si les Etats-Unis et la Grande-Bretagne saisissent les Nations unies, et 
si les Nations unies affirment que nous possédons des preuves de 
l'existence de ces armes, et si nous considérons que nous devons faire 
quelque chose à ce sujet, alors nous soutiendrons tous cette décision", 
a-t-il affirmé.   (PANA, Sénégal, 11 septembre 2002)

* Sudan. Bishops want non-Muslims exempted from Sharia  -  At their recent 
plenary assembly, Sudan's Catholic bishops expressed concern over the 
imposition of the Sharia and said that it must not be applied in the north 
of the country to non-Muslims. The bishops said the way to promote the 
country's well-being is to base a future Constitution and legislation on 
the dignity of the human person. They warned that national unity would be 
endangered if Sharia were made the source of law.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 5 
September 2002)

* Sudan. US in sanctions threat if Sudan peace deal fails  -  The US 
Congress looks set to approve legislation that would impose sanctions 
against the government of Sudan unless a firm peace agreement is reached 
with southern rebels over the next six months. But supporters of the bill, 
known as the Sudan Peace Act, have agreed to drop a controversial provision 
that would have prevented foreign oil companies that operate in Sudan from 
raising funds in US capital markets. The pending congressional action comes 
at a delicate time in Sudan, with negotiations suspended between the 
government in Khartoum and rebels of the Sudan People's Liberation Army 
(SPLA) in the south. The two sides reached the outlines of a peace 
agreement at the Kenyan town of Machakos in July, but Khartoum halted talks 
this week following a rebel capture of the government-held town of Torit. 
The congressional move is aimed at strengthening the US hand in efforts by 
the administration of President George W. Bush to facilitate a lasting 
agreement. "Congress is playing the bad cop here," said one congressional 
aide. The Sudan Peace Act has been stalled in Congress since last year, 
when the House of Representatives voted 422-2 in favour of the measure, 
which included capital markets sanctions. The Senate passed a milder 
version after strong opposition from the Bush administration and Wall 
Street lobbyists, but the two bills have not been reconciled.   (Financial 
Times, UK, 6 September 2002)

* Soudan. Enfants-soldats démobilisés  -  Dans le sud du Soudan, 562 
enfants-soldats ont été démobilisés au cours du mois d'août et ramenés au 
domicile familial grâce à un nouveau programme conduit par l'organisation 
internationale Save the Children-Suède. La plupart d'entre eux, libérés 
dans l'Etat de Jonglei, faisaient partie d'un groupe de défense civile. 
Selon le responsable du programme, d'autres démobilisations devraient avoir 
lieu dans les prochains mois. Save the Children annonce avoir identifié et 
listé 1.210 enfants enrôlés dans les rangs de l'Armée populaire de 
libération du Soudan (SPLA). Les jeunes démobilisés seront réintégrés dans 
leurs communautés et retourneront à l'école.   (JA/L'Intelligent, France, 9 
septembre 2002)

* Soudan. Reprise des pourparlers de paix?  -  5 septembre. Le gouvernement 
soudanais s'est engagé à reprendre les pourparlers de paix avec la 
rébellion au Kenya, suspendus le 2 septembre, a indiqué le président kényan 
Daniel arap Moi. Les pourparlers avaient été interrompus après de violents 
combats au Sud-Soudan. -- 9 septembre. Le Soudan ne reprendra pas les 
négociations de Machakos (Kenya) tant que les forces rebelles sudistes ne 
se seront pas retirées des zones qu'elles occupent, dont la zone de Torit, 
a déclaré, lundi à Tripoli, le conseiller politique du président soudanais. 
D'autre part, la veille, le ministre de la Justice a déclaré que le Soudan 
ne cèderait pas aux menaces du Congrès américain qui prévoient des 
sanctions économiques si Khartoum ne reprend pas les négociations de paix 
au bout de six mois. "Le Soudan ne cèdera à aucune menace. Il retournera à 
la table de négociations en position de force et quand l'autre partie sera 
convaincue que la guerre ne peut résoudre les problèmes", a-t-il affirmé. 
-- 10 septembre. Depuis quelques jours, la province de l'Equateur Oriental 
est le théâtre de vastes mouvements de troupes. Les soldats gouvernementaux 
sont transportés par avion de Khartoum à Juba, où se regroupent les forces 
régulières et les volontaires de mouvements paramilitaires; mais on signale 
également des colonnes de rebelles de la SPLA en provenance de tous les 
coins de l'Equatoria.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 10 septembre 2002)

* Sudan. Fighting delays Sudanese reconstruction  -  4 September: The 
collapse of Sudanese peace talks has delayed efforts by Arab states to fund 
the reconstruction of the war-ravaged southern part of the country. The 
Sudanese government suspended the talks in Kenya on 2 August after rebels 
seized the key garrison town of Torit in the far south. A meeting of Arab 
League foreign ministers in Cairo, Egypt, was expected to discuss Sudan's 
economic rehabilitation as well as US military threats against Iraq and 
Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories. -- Kofi Annan urges 
both sides to resume the peace talks. 5 September: Hundreds of government 
supporters have been out on the streets of Sudan's capital, Khartoum, to 
protest against the rebel capture of Torit. Addressing the crowds, 
President Omar al-Bashir vows that the garrison town of Torit will be 
retaken by government forces. 9 September: The SPLA says it is ready to 
fight off a government attack on Torit. -- The SPLA denies recent media 
reports that it is intending to attack and seize Juba. The Sudanese army 
has been mobilising forces, including recently recruited militiamen, in 
Juba ready to attack Torit. -- Bishop Paride Taban of Torit says that 
government forces have bombed Torit. Speaking from Nairobi, the bishop said 
that regular bombing from the air has been taking place "since the time 
that the town was taken".   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 10 September 2002)

* Swaziland. Opposition leaders hold defiant assembly  -  Leaders of 
Swaziland's banned opposition parties held their largest assembly in nearly 
two years on 8 September, vowing to end the rule of sub-Saharan Africa's 
last absolute monarch, King Mswati III. "Tinkhundla (Swaziland's royal 
government) can never be reformed. Our duty is to wipe it out completely," 
Mario Masuku, head of the People's United Democratic Movement told 200 
supporters in Manzini, 35 km east of the capital Mbabane. Masuku spent a 
year in a maximum security prison before the High Court of Swaziland 
acquitted him August 22 of charges of defaming Mswati at a rally in Mbabane 
in November 2000. Public political demonstrations and opposition political 
parties are banned by royal decree in the nation with a population of 
around 1 million. All Cabinet ministers are appointed by Mswati, who is 
also the chancellor of the University of Swaziland. "The law does not bar 
us from speaking out. It is our right," said Jan Sithole, secretary general 
of the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions. The gathering at a church in 
Manzini observed a prayer vigil. Former Prime Minister Obed Dlamini, now 
president of the opposition political party Ngwane National Liberatory 
Congress, condemned what he called police state tactics used by royal 
authorities against opponents. "The situation is sinful. The police are 
trained to harass people by taking orders from superiors who are not 
concerned with keeping law and order," he said.   (CNN, USA, 8 September 2002)

* Tanzania. Train crash aftermath  -  5 September: About 200 families of 
victims of the June train crash in Tanzania are to receive some $700 each, 
the government has announced. A much smaller amount --about $140 -- would 
also be paid to those injured, said government minister William Lukuvi. It 
is thought almost 300 were killed in the crash near Dodoma, but the 
government said payment would only be made on behalf of the 206 people 
officially identified and confirmed as victims. Many of the bodies were so 
badly disfigured they were not identified and they were buried together in 
a mass ceremony in Dodoma. Tanzania's worst-ever train crash happened when 
a passenger train broke down on a steep hill. Its brakes failed, and the 
carriages rolled back at high speed into the path of a following freight 
train. The train was carrying more than 1,000 passengers and President 
Benjamin Mkapa promised an official inquiry at the time. 10 September: The 
train disaster, which killed almost 300 people and injured hundreds more, 
was caused by human error and driver negligence, an official investigation 
has concluded. The crash occurred in June this year. "The basic reason why 
the train raced backward was a result of human error due to the driver's 
inexperience," the report said. Survivors said that the driver, Godfrey 
Chiwelesa, who has been on bail since the accident, jumped out of the train 
as it began rolling backwards. He suffered minor injuries in the disaster, 
but has not been charged so far. The government report also found that the 
train's third class compartments were overloaded and had no partitioning 
which made them collapse easily. The investigative team has recommended 
that the Tanzanian Government form a national disaster unit to cope with 
such disasters.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 11 September 2002)

* Togo. Appel aux législatives  -  Les sept juges du collège électoral du 
Togo, établi en mai pour remplacer la Commission électorale nationale, ont 
annoncé, le 6 septembre, que les élections législatives pourraient avoir 
lieu vers la fin de l'année. Il n'y a pas encore de date retenue, ont 
indiqué les juges, ajoutant qu'elle sera fixée une fois que l'équipement et 
le matériel nécessaires à une organisation satisfaisante des élections 
auront été reçus. Le communiqué a suscité des réactions mitigées des 
groupes d'opposition. Deux coalitions ont fait savoir qu'elles ne 
participeront pas au scrutin, tandis que le Front de l'opposition 
républicaine (FOR) a annoncé qu'il y participera si les élections sont 
libres et justes.   (IRIN, Abidjan, 9 septembre 2002)

* Tunisie. Hammani continue son action  -  Le 6 septembre, deux jours à 
peine après sa libération sous condition, l'opposant tunisien Hamma Hammani 
a déclaré qu'il entendait militer pour obtenir la reconnaissance de sa 
formation politique, le Parti ouvrier communiste tunisien (POCT, interdit). 
Selon lui, l'action qu'il compte entreprendre ne se limitera pas à son 
parti, mais s'étendra "à tous les mouvements et toutes les organisations 
qui réclament leur reconnaissance".   (AP, USA, 6 septembre 2002)

* Tunisia. Dissidents under pressure  -  5 September: The head of Tunisia's 
banned Communist Workers' Party says he will continue his political 
activity despite the threat of returning to jail. Hamma Hammami was 
released from jail on 4 August on health grounds just two days after losing 
his appeal against a three-year prison sentence. He was accused of 
belonging to an illegal organisation and inciting rebellion. President Zine 
al-Abidine Ben Ali keeps a tight reign on his country and routinely wins 
elections with 99.9% of the vote. In May, he won a referendum changing the 
constitution so he could stand for a fourth term as president. Human rights 
groups led a vigorous campaign for Mr Hammami's release, which included a 
38-day hunger strike by his wife. 6 September: Despite Hamma Hammami's 
release from prison, many others remain incarcerated. Amnesty International 
estimates that up to 1,000 political prisoners are currently in detention. 
Internet journalist Zouhair Yahyaoui was jailed in June, for what human 
rights campaigners believe was making fun of President Zine al-Abidine Ben 
Ali on his web-site, www.tunezine.com. Press freedom watchdog Reporters 
sans Frontières (RSF) says that the Tunisian Government censors the 
internet more tightly than any other country in the world, with the 
possible exception of China.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 6 September 2002)

Weekly News anb0912.txt - #6/7