Weekly anb10106.txt #7

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

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 10-10-2002  PART #6/7

* Somalie. Liberté de presse - Reporters sans frontières a protesté contre 
l'adoption par le Parlement somalien d'une nouvelle loi sur la presse qui 
empêche les journalistes d'exercer librement leur profession. "Sous 
prétexte de limiter les dérives éthiques de certains médias, les autorités 
adoptent un texte répressif qui menace l'ensemble de la presse 
indépendante", a déclaré le secrétaire général de RSF. Le texte incriminé 
interdit la publication d'informations allant contre "les intérêts communs" 
du pays, sans définir précisément cette notion. Les médias qui ne 
respecteraient pas cette disposition pourraient se voir retirer leurs 
licences d'exploitation. Le 2 octobre, la totalité des médias privés du 
pays ont entamé une grêve de deux jours pour protester contre l'adoption de 
cette loi. RSF rappelle que dans les deux régions autonomes du pays (le 
Somaliland et le Puntland) la liberté de presse est également très 
restreinte. (RSF, France, 3 octobre 2002)

* Somalia. Warlords threaten to boycott peace talks - 9 October: Several 
Somali warlords have said they will not attend next week's reconciliation 
conference which they say will only further divide the country. The 
warlords complain that 70% of the delegates on the conference's 
Intellectual Advisory Committee come from just one of Somalia's six clans. 
They also resent the fact that delegates from civil society far outnumber 
backers of the faction leaders. The conference is due to open in Eldoret, 
Kenya, on 15 October to try to put an end to 12 years of civil war. -- 
Invitations to attend the conference have been sent out. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 
9 October 2002)

* South Africa. Government brushes off strike - 2 October: The South 
African Government has pledged to go ahead with its privatisation policy, 
despite a second day of union strikes and protests. A cabinet statement, 
today, says that the low strike turnout showed that most South Africans 
support government policy on selling off state assets. Trade unions called 
two days of strikes and protests to register their strong opposition to the 
policies of the ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC). The 
Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) is in alliance with the ANC 
but says privatisation is causing unemployment and worsening poverty. The 
response to the strike call by the trade unions on the first day was 
"largely positive but mixed across the country", a Cosatu spokesman said. 
(ANB-BIA, Belgium, 2 October 2002)

* South Africa. Alleged racist plot - 8 October: To those communities 
feeling abandoned and threatened by a country they no longer recognise, to 
whom the coup to overthrow South Africa's government cannot come soon 
enough, the news is not good. The alleged plot has been betrayed, the 
weapons found, the suspects arrested. The latest setback came on 4 October 
when the police dug up a cache of guns, grenades and homemade bombs in the 
red earth of a farm near Modimolle, deep in the Boer heartland of Limpopo 
province. It included 16 ammonia-nitrate cylinder bombs, time switches, 
chemicals, and thousand of rounds for various firearms, including shotguns, 
rifles and 9mm pistols. Not a huge arsenal but significant, the police 
said, because it was intended to supply a rightwing conspiracy to take 
power through terror and to re-establish white minority rule in South 
Africa. The alleged plot was breathtaking in its ambition. A few thousand 
men were to seize radio and television stations, assassinate cabinet 
ministers and expel hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of black 
people. Since a democratically elected government ended apartheid rule in 
1994 there have been rumours of a violent backlash by white militants and 
it is claimed that a group known as Boeremag (Boerforce) decided to take 
action. "This was one of the most serious incidents. They had the capacity 
to harm a lot of innocent people," a national police spokesman said. The 
alleged plot came to light last month when a lorry packed with firearms and 
explosives was found abandoned at a filling station, leading to the arrest 
of 12 men. Described by the police as a "maverick, isolated group", they 
have been charged with high treason and terrorism and are due to go on 
trial in Pretoria in February. (The Guardian, UK, 8 October 2002)

* South Africa. PAGAD man finds out he can run, but can't hide - Police 
have recaptured one of three People Against Gangsterism and Drugs (PAGAD) 
members who escaped from the Cape High Court's holding cells last month. 
Cape Talk radio reported on 7 October that police cornered Faizel Samsodien 
in a Cape Peninsula suburb on 6 October. They hope that questioning him 
could lead them to the other two escapees Mogamat Isaacs and Ebrahim 
Jeneker. The trio broke out of the Cape High Court holding cells on 
September 19. It was the second time Jeneker had escaped from the same 
place. Police began a massive manhunt for the trio and the police watchdog 
the Independent Complaints Directorate is investigating possible police 
complicity in the escape. Police have withheld the details surrounding 
Samsodien's capture because of the sensitivity of the case and to protect 
their informants. Provincial police commissioner Lennit Max said police had 
received a lot of criticism after the breakout.The trio face charges of 
several counts of murder, attempted murder, the illegal possession of 
explosives, the illegal possession of firearms and ammunition and robbery. 
(Mail & Guardian, South Africa, 7 October 2002)

* South Africa. Mining assets charter amended - South Africa's government 
sought to restore international investor confidence on 9 October by 
approving a charter on black economic empowerment in the mining sector that 
was described by the industry as "a satisfactory compromise". The new draft 
differs significantly from a first version of the charter, which caused 
panic among investors when it was leaked in July. It proposed that 51 per 
cent of mining assets should be controlled by empowerment parties within 10 
years. The new targets are 15 per cent in five years and 26 per cent in 10 
years. The contents of the leaked charter, which investors described as 
creeping nationalisation of the country's vast mining assets, led to a 
sell-off of South African mining shares on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. 
London-listed AngloAmerican, which has most of its assets in South Africa, 
fell a fifth. The department of minerals and the Chamber of Mines moved 
quickly to contain the damage. The new-look charter approved on 9 October 
was the result of two months' intensive negotiations between the parties. 
(Financial Times, UK, 10 October 2002)

* Sudan. UN resumes aid flights - 6 October: The United Nations has resumed 
deliveries of food aid into southern Sudan after the Sudanese Government 
lifted an eight day flight ban. Khartoum imposed the ban citing security 
fears after an upsurge of fighting in the region. "We started flying this 
morning after the government of Sudan told us that we can resume flights," 
said World Food Programme spokeswoman Brenda Barton. Half a million people 
were affected by the ban. The flight restrictions were lifted a day earlier 
than expected and the food has already started to arrive. Two Hercules 
aircraft dropped 34 tonnes of aid into south-western Bahr-el-Ghazal, this 
morning. A UN spokeswoman said the gap in deliveries would not have caused 
people to starve, but it would have hurt those already suffering severe 
food shortages. (BBC News, UK, 6 October 2002)

* Sudan. Continuous fighting -- peace talks in doubt - 4 October: The 
Sudanese government and southern rebels have agreed to a cessation of 
hostilities and the resumption of peace talks to end the country's 19-year 
civil war. The talks -- which were being held in Kenya -- were suspended 
after the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) rebels took the key 
southern garrison town of Torit early in September. The Kenyan mediator 
Lazaro Sumbeiywo says that discussions will resume in 10 days' time, on 14 
October. A memorandum of understanding signed by the government and the 
rebels calls for a military stand-down by all forces and the maximum of 
restraint. A spokesman for the rebels, Justin Arop, said the SPLA has 
promised to stop fighting and will only use arms in self-defence. 6 
October: The Nuba Mountains Cease-fire Agreement is holding despite renewed 
hostilities in some areas further south of the country, the chairman of the 
Joint Military Commission (JMC) says. In a statement JMC chairman 
Brigadier-General J.E. Wilhelmsen of Norway said the agreement has been in 
effect for nine months without any hostilities. He said the pact was likely 
to hold for some more time as the two parties involved, the Khartoum 
government and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), have 
renewed their commitment to go back to the negotiating table. 7 October: 
Sudan has threatened to use military force against neighbouring Eritrea 
after accusing Asmara of backing rebels who have captured a number of towns 
in the east of the country. The National Democratic Alliance, an umbrella 
group for the rebel SPLA and the Democratic Unionist party, said it had 
captured the towns of Hamashkurb and Shallob in the east of Sudan and was 
heading for nearby Kassala. An Eritrean spokesman immediately denied the 
charges. 8 October: A sudden change -- the resumption of peace talks now 
looks to be in doubt. What's happened? A spokesman for the government's 
armed forces, General Muhammed Bashir Sulayman, has now said that the 
rebels have been given six hours to leave Torit, or face the consequences. 
-- The Sudanese Government says it has re-captured the strategically 
important southern town of Torit, which fell to rebels in September. The 
town changed hands following a night of fierce fighting. The news comes 
after the Sudanese authorities lost garrison towns in the east of the 
country to the rebels on 4 October. Despite the fighting, both sides have 
repeated their commitment to attend peace talks in Kenya later this month. 
Last week the belligerents agreed to a cessation of hostilities and the 
resumption of peace talks on 14 October to end the country's 19-year civil 
war. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 8 October 2002

* Soudan. Reprise des négociations - Le gouvernement de Khartoum et la 
rébellion de l'Armée populaire de libération du Soudan (SPLA) se sont mis 
d'accord pour observer une trêve et pour reprendre, le 14 octobre, les 
négociations de paix, ont indiqué les médiateurs à Nairobi le 4 octobre. 
Les négociations à Machakos (Kenya) avaient été interrompues au début du 
mois de septembre en raison d'une reprise des combats. Les médiateurs ont 
demandé aux belligérants de faire preuve de modération et de n'entreprendre 
aucune action susceptible de mettre en danger la reprise des pourparlers. 
Le gouvernement a exclu toute "négociation des questions déjà approuvées" 
lors des pourparlers à Machakos. - Notons que l'accord de cessez-le-feu des 
monts Nouba tient toujours, malgré la reprise des hostilités dans certaines 
régions du sud du pays. Le 5 octobre, le gouvernement a aussi annoncé avoir 
levé l'interdiction controversée imposée aux vols humanitaires vers les 
régions de l'Equatoria. -- Le 8 octobre, les rebelles ont déclaré n'avoir 
aucune objection à la signature d'un cessez-le-feu avant la reprise des 
négociations. Peu avant, le gouvernement avait affirmé avoir repris la 
ville de Torit, conquise par les rebelles en septembre. (ANB-BIA, de 
sources diverses, 9 octobre 2002)

* Soudan/Erythrée. Combats à la frontière - Dans l'est du pays, des combats 
opposent l'armée régulière et des forces soutenues, selon Khartoum, par 
l'Erythrée. Selon l'agence Misna, les forces antigouvernementales de 
l'Alliance démocratique nationale (NDA) ont pris Hamashkoreb et Shallub, et 
se trouvent à 15 kilomètres de Kassala, près de la frontière érythréenne. 
Khartoum a admis la perte de la ville de Hamashkoreb. Le gouvernement 
soudanais a annoncé qu'il allait protester auprès de l'Onu, de l'Union 
africaine et la Ligue arabe, affirmant que l'Erythrée appuie ces forces 
antigouvernementales. Mais Asmara a rejeté les accusations soudanaises. Le 
dirigeant libyen M. Kadhafi a appelé l'Union africaine (UA) à entreprendre 
une action urgente pour mettre fin à cette tension entre les deux pays. Le 
président de la Commission de l'UA a demandé à toutes les parties 
impliquées dans le conflit soudanais de cesser les hostilités comme preuve 
de leur engagement en faveur des pourparlers de paix qui doivent reprendre 
à Machakos. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 9 octobre 2002)

*Tanzania. Air Tanzania attracts $20m bid - 7 October: South African 
Airways (SAA) has offered to pay $20m for a 49% stake in Air Tanzania. If 
the bid is accepted, it will be the South African airline's first 
acquisition outside its home market. "SAA intends to establish and develop 
a strong East African hub based on a Tanzanian branded and network 
carrier," said a spokesman for the group. SAA emerged as the only bidder 
after Kenya Airways said it would rather concentrate its efforts on 
establishing a regional East African airline. Tanzania, one of the world's 
poorest countries, is privatising up to 75% of its airline in order to meet 
obligations to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Established 
in 1977, Air Tanzania owns one plane and leases two others. Based in 
Dar-es-Salaam, it serves the East African cities of Nairobi, Entebbe and 
Kigali, and sporadically flies to a handful of Central and Southern African 
capitals. SAA is Africa's biggest carrier and is in the process of 
acquiring 41 Airbus planes. It has recently introduced new routes to 
Ethiopia and Senegal. There is no immediate indication of how it plans to 
finance the purchase if its offer is accepted. (BBC News, UK, 7 October 2002)

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