Weekly anb11147.txt #7

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

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 14-11-2002      PART #7/7

* Togo. Manifestation à Lomé  -  Le 9 novembre, l'opposition togolaise a 
organisé une marche de protestation contre ce qu'elle appelle "la mascarade 
d'élections législatives" le 27 octobre dernier. Quand elle a été bloquée 
par la police, la manifestation a dégénéré en affrontements et s'est 
terminée en scènes de panique occasionnant plusieurs blessés par 
piétinement. Selon des sources officielles, deux éléments des forces de 
l'ordre et un nombre indéterminé d'autres personnes ont été blessés. Un 
communiqué du ministère de l'Intérieur indique qu'aucune interpellation n'a 
été opérée et rappelle aux organisateurs de manifestations publiques de 
veiller à garantir le caractère pacifique de celles-ci.   (D'après PANA, 
Sénégal, 10 novembre 2002)

* Togo. Démission du gouvernement  -  Le 13 novembre, le Premier ministre 
togolais, M. Koffi Sama, a présenté la démission de son gouvernement au 
président de la République, M. Eyadéma, qui l'a acceptée et a chargé les 
membres de l'équipe sortante d'expédier les affaires courantes. Le chef de 
l'Etat a ensuite nommé de nouveau M. Sama au poste de Premier ministre, qui 
devra former un nouveau gouvernement. M. Sama avait été nommé Premier 
ministre le 27 juin dernier et avait présenté son gouvernement le 5 
juillet.   (PANA, Sénégal, 13 novembre 2002)

* Tunisie. Opposants libérés  -  Six opposants tunisiens, deux communistes 
et quatre islamistes, ont été libérés à l'occasion de la célébration, le 7 
novembre, du 15e anniversaire de l'accession du président Ben Ali. Il 
s'agit de Abdeljabbar Maddouri et Ammar Amroussia, membres du Parti 
communiste ouvrier tunisien (POCT) condamnés en février dernier 
respectivement à 3 ans et 9 mois et 2 ans et 4 mois de prison pour divers 
délits liés à leur appartenance à cette formation d'extrême gauche 
interdite. Ces deux militants communistes avaient entamé vers la mi-octobre 
une grève de la faim pour demander leur libération. Les quatre autres 
opposants libérés sont des islamistes, dont le journaliste Abdallah Zouari. 
Membres du mouvement islamiste tunisien "Ennahdha", formation interdite, 
ils avaient été condamnés au début des années 90 à de lourdes peines.   (La 
Libre Belgique, 9 novembre 2002)

* Uganda. Take-off for Uganda's own helicopter  -  One particular exhibit 
has been drawing by far the most attention at an East African trade 
exhibition in the Ugandan capital, Kampala. Large crowds have been 
gathering around a red and white object, three metres long and less than 
two metres high made of scrap metal. It is Uganda's first home-built 
helicopter -- designed by boys from the Katwe Youth Development Project. 
One of them, Joseph Kantinti Mbazira, said they came up with the idea after 
watching helicopters flying overhead. "We wanted to do this for ourselves 
so we went to Entebbe [airport] to see how the helicopters worked," he 
said. With its engine adapted from a water pump, the helicopter can fly 
about four feet off the ground or three feet off the ground if it is 
carrying a pilot. After a great deal of discussion at the exhibition, there 
was a call for a collection of money to put some petrol into the 
helicopter. Rather dangerously, the rotor blades began whirring at roughly 
an average person's neck height. With the blades rotating, the crowd tried 
to persuade the pilot to get the helicopter off the ground. In fact, due to 
safety reasons the organizers of the trade fair banned the helicopter from 
taking off so two people wearing crash helmets held the helicopter down. 
But however crudely made it may be, the crowd seemed pleased.   (BBC News, 
UK, 5 November 2002)

* Zambia. Company accused of given money to president's 
campaign  -  President Levy Mwanawasa's election campaign used money from 
the state-owned electric company to print campaign posters, and regional 
chiefs were wooed with gifts of cash and vehicles, two former ruling party 
leaders testified on 13 November at a hearing into last year's election. 
Vernon Mwaanga, former secretary of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy, 
told the Supreme Court that the Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation paid 
more than 123 million kwacha (US $26,000) to print the posters. Earlier, 
Michael Sata, who had preceded Mwaanga as ruling party secretary, told the 
court he had used an air force helicopter to deliver money to regional 
chiefs' palaces. Sata, who is now leader of the opposition Patriotic Front, 
said chiefs were also invited to the capital, Lusaka, and given between 15 
and 30 million kwacha (US $3,200 and US $6,500). Some chiefs were given 
vehicles, he said. Mwanawasa, the handpicked successor of former President 
Frederick Chiluba, won the December elections with 29 percent of the vote 
in a crowded field in this impoverished southern African country. European 
Union election observers said the vote and its counting was seriously 
flawed. They also noted pro-government bias from both the electoral 
commission and the state-run media.   (CNN, USA, 13 November 2002)

* Zimbabwe. Food aid diverted  -  7 November: The European Union has 
condemned the government of President Robert Mugabe for diverting food aid 
to its own supporters and ignoring opposition activists. A Danish minister 
said "that is not acceptable". Last weekend, a United States official 
warned that the US may have to take "intrusive" measures to ensure that 
food aid was properly distributed. Bertel Haarder, European Affairs 
Minister of Denmark, which holds the EU presidency, was sparking at a 
meeting of EU and Southern African officials in the Mozambique capital, 
Maputo. The meeting was due to be held in Denmark but was switched to 
Mozambique because Zimbabwe's leaders are banned from entering Europe under 
EU sanctions.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 7 November 2002)

* Zimbabwe. 13 mineurs coincés sous terre  -  <$TEfWeight=4>Le 7 novembre, 
le gouvernement zimbabwéen a annoncé qu'il abandonnait la mission de 
secours pour 13 mineurs clandestins qui se sont retrouvés bloqués sous 
terre, près de la ville de Kadoma (centre), quand leur puits de mine s'est 
effondré. Les secours ont été abandonnés pour des raisons de sécurité. Les 
corps se trouvent à environ 50 mètres de la surface du sol. Pour les 
atteindre, les sauveteurs devraient ramper dans des conditions extrêmement 
dangereuses, car le sol de la mine est instable. L'exploitation minière 
illégale est en augmentation au Zimbabwe malgré les avertissements répétés 
du gouvernement et les mesures de répression de la police. De nombreux 
mineurs clandestins ont déjà trouvé la mort dans cette entreprise.   (PANA, 
Sénégal, 7 novembre 2002)

* Zimbabwe. Restrictions aux citoyens britanniques  -  Le 7 novembre, les 
autorités zimbabwéennes, évoquant des raisons de sécurité, ont imposé, avec 
effet immédiat, une restriction de déplacement aux responsables 
gouvernementaux et politiques britanniques, et une obligation de visa pour 
tous les ressortissants de ce pays. Le gouvernement a indiqué que cette 
interdiction de se rendre au Zimbabwe concernait 119 officiels et leaders 
politiques britanniques identifiés, dont le Premier ministre Tony Blair et 
l'ensemble des membres de son gouvernement. Cette mesure est considérée 
comme une réaction directe à des sanctions similaires imposées au Zimbabwe 
par l'Union européenne à la demande de la Grande-Bretagne. Le communiqué a 
révélé que le gouvernement allait aussi geler les avoirs des organisations 
britanniques et d'autres organisations internationales considérées comme 
une menace pour le Zimbabwe. Le Zimbabwe a, à plusieurs reprises, accusé la 
Grande-Bretagne de comploter pour renverser le président Mugabe.   (PANA, 
Sénégal, 8 novembre 2002)

* Zimbabwe. UK inquiry into jet parts for Mugabe  -  The British government 
has launched a formal investigation into allegations that a white 
Zimbabwean businessman -- one of the richest men in Britain -- has broken 
UK and European sanctions by supplying aircraft parts to the Zimbabwean air 
force. The allegations against the international financier John Bredenkamp 
have been made in a United Nations report into the "illegal exploitation of 
natural resources" in the Democratic Republic of Congo, published last 
month. In the past few days both the foreign secretary, Jack Straw, and the 
defence secretary, Geoff Hoon, have confirmed in parliamentary answers that 
an investigation has been launched.   (The Guardian, UK, 8 November 2002)

* Zimbabwe. Renvoi du procès de Tsvangirai  -  Le procès pour trahison de 
trois leaders de l'opposition, qui devait débuter le 11 novembre, a été 
renvoyé au mois de février 2003. La Haute Cour de Harare a justifié le 
renvoi par la plainte des prévenus de n'être pas entrés en possession de 
certains éléments nécessaires à la préparation de leur défense. Le leader 
du Mouvement pour le changement démocratique (MDC) Morgan Tsvangirai, le 
secrétaire général et le porte-parole de ce parti, Welshman Ncube et Renson 
Gasela, sont accusés d'avoir comploté d'assassiner le président Mugabe 
juste avant l'élection présidentielle de mars dernier.   (PANA, Sénégal, 11 
novembre 2002)

* Zimbabwe. Economic crisis  -  8 November: Zimbabwe's economic crisis has 
created crippling shortages, and now even bank notes are proving hard to 
come by. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has said it will step up monitoring 
of all but the smallest cash transactions, in the hope of stopping bank 
notes disappearing from circulation. Growing demand for large volumes of 
cash -- used, officials say, for untraceable money-laundering operations - 
has reportedly left big bank notes in short supply. The Bank has set up a 
Financial Intelligence Unit to track suspicious cash transactions, and may 
push forward plans to introduce a new 1,000-Zimbabwe-dollar note, twice the 
size of its current biggest denomination. The Bank's taskforce will look at 
all transactions in excess of 500,000 Zimbabwe dollars. At official 
exchange rates, that is over US $9,000, but on the black market, the 
Zimbabwe dollar is trading at around 1,800 in the US currency -- and 
falling fast. 12 November: Long queues have formed outside petrol 
stations.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 12 November 2002)

* Zimbabwe. Tortured journalist dies  -  13 November: Mark Chavunduka, 37, 
a journalist who was tortured by Zimbabwe's army for writing about an 
alleged coup plot, has died in Harare. The cause of death has not been made 
public but it is not thought to have been caused by the torture. Mr 
Chavunduka and his colleague, Ray Choto, were both held captive by the army 
for several days in 1999 despite court orders for their release. Mr 
Chavunduka was editor of the Zimbabwe Standard newspaper, which published a 
story written by Mr Choto, that sections of the army had plotted to oust 
President Robert Mugabe. Following his release, he received treatment for 
post traumatic stress disorder in both Britain and the United States. He 
often complained of nightmares following the beatings and electric shocks 
he received during his detention by the military. Trevor Ncube, publisher 
of the Standard, praised Mr Chavunduka as a champion of press freedom 
against Mr Mugabe's government. "He will be remembered for standing up to 
this regime," he said.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 13 November 2002)

* Zimbabwe. Archbishop Ncube speaks out  -  Giving the Archbishop Denis 
Hurley Lecture, November 2002, Archbishop Pius Ncube, Archbishop of 
Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, said: "I come to you today to appeal to you for prayers 
to ease out most serious situation in Zimbabwe and to appeal to you to 
lobby by all means possible for a peaceful solution to the Zimbabwean 
crisis. We face an absolutely desperate situation in Zimbabwe and the 
government is lying to the world about it. Our government continues to 
engage in lies, propaganda, the twisting of facts, half truths, downright 
untruth and gross misinformation, because they are fascists. My 
understanding of Christ and of the Church makes me believe that Christ is a 
prophet, a priest and a shepherd. (King). As a prophet He is a teacher to 
all nations and a carrier of God's word. He stands against sin, falsehood 
and injustice; and we are tasked to do the same. As priest he is 
self-sacrificing and offering his life for others. He is prayerful, holy 
and God-centred. The Church is called to the same posture. As shepherd he 
defends the poor, the marginalised and the minorities. Jesus calls the 
Church to do the same, to uproot sin and oppression. As Christians and as 
Church we are not called to go along with society, rather we are called to 
preach the values of the Kingdom of God, namely love, holiness, humility, 
respect for others, and their property, peace non-violence; to feel for 
others, to be gentle, compassionate, understanding, to be sincere, to be 
truthful, to be human, to be integrated, to be whole. To put people first 
before things, to be God-centred, to forgive, to be self controlled, to be 
prayerful, to heal, to sacrifice ourselves for others; not to take 
advantage of others, to suffer for the truth; to judge ourselves before we 
judge others, to be joyful to be the salt and the light of the world; to 
respect the poor, to be renewed with God's vision, to be motivated by the 
Holy Spirit to be free and to free others and to be full of hope." The 
Archbishop then goes on to describe the present political situation, the 
country's economic and social situation, and appeals for prayers to change 
the situation.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 14 November 2002)


Weekly News - anb1114.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)
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Everytime somebody keep silent when faced with tyranny, someone else dies 
(Wole Syinka, Nobel Prize for Literature) *
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