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Weekly anb02137.txt #7
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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 13-02-2003 PART #7/7
* Zimbabwe. Tsvangirai trial - 6 February: Lawyers defending Zimbabwe's
opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai have accused the key prosecution
witness of being a serial fraudster. They say that Canada-based political
consultant Ari Ben-Menashe video-taped a meeting with Mr Tsvangirai as part
of a government plot to stifle the opposition. Mr Ben-Menashe, a former
Israeli intelligence officer, says the three contracted him to assassinate
President Robert Mugabe before last year's elections. (ANB-BIA, Belgium,
6 February 2003)
* Zimbabwe. L'UE reconduit les sanctions - Le 5 février, les pays de
l'Union européenne ont trouvé un "accord de principe" sur la reconduction
pour un an des sanctions contre le Zimbabwe et les dérogations qui pourront
être accordées à des dirigeants zimbabwéens pour pouvoir participer à des
réunions en Europe, malgré leur interdiction de séjour. Cet accord
entérine, de fait, le compromis négocié le 7 janvier entre Paris et
Londres, la France ne s'opposant pas à la prorogation de sanctions jugées
inopérantes, la Grande-Bretagne acceptant en échange la participation du
président du Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, au prochain sommet franco-africain,
les 20 et 21 février à Paris. En revanche, quant à la venue du chef de
l'Etat zimbabwéen au sommet Europe-Afrique, début avril à Lisbonne, l'UE
s'est donnée encore une semaine pour persuader Harare d'y envoyer son
ministre des Affaires étrangères, moins encombrant sur la traditionnelle
photo de famille. A moins d'obtenir ce compromis, également envisagé dans
les concertations franco-britanniques préalables, le sommet de Lisbonne
devra être reporté. (Le Monde, France, 7 février 2003)
* Zimbabwe. The SADC Bishops' Statement on Zimbabwe - In a Media
Statement, the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference (SADC) said
that the Zimbabwean crisis requires urgent and direct intervention by the
South African Government, in the same way that the government has played a
leading role in the resolution of other political conflicts on the African
continent. The Bishops said: "There are deeply disturbing signs that
Zimbabwe is on the brink of total breakdown into civil war, with massive
food and fuel shortages, and increasing levels of organised state
terror". (SADC, 7 February 2003)
* Zimbabwe. Deux députés arrêtés - Durant le week-end du 8-9 février, la
police a arrêté deux députés de l'opposition pour avoir organisé des
rassemblements sans autorisation. Selon la police, Tendait Biti et Paul
Madzore, députés du Mouvement pour le changement démocratique (MDC), le
principal parti d'opposition, ont passé outre les lois sur la sécurité en
organisant une maifestation dans la capitale sans autorisation. Les deux
hommes ont été placés en garde à vue et devaient comparaître lundi devant
le tribunal pour répondre à l'accusation de trouble à l'ordre public et de
violation de la loi sur la sécurité. Le MDC a accusé à plusieurs reprises
le gouvernement de se servir des lois sur la sécurité pour réprimer ses
activités, particulièrement dans le cadre de ses campagnes
d'information. (PANA, Sénégal, 9 février 2003)
* Zimbabwe. Procès Tsvangirai dans l'impasse - Le 10 février, le procès
intenté au leader de l'opposition zimbabwéenne, Morgan Tsvangirai, accusé
d'avoir comploté pour assassiner le président Mugabe l'année dernière, est
entré dans une impasse du fait des divergences enregistrées au sujet d'un
contrat qui aurait été signé entre l'Etat et le principal témoin à charge.
La défense exige de l'Etat qu'il mette à disposition un exemplaire du
contrat que le gouvernement a conclu avec Ari Ben-Menashe, qui prétend que
sa société Dickens and Madson, basée au Canada, avait été contactée par des
responsables du Mouvement pour le changement démocratique (MDC) afin
d'assassiner Mugabe avant l'élection présidentielle du mois de mars 2002.
Cependant, l'Etat a refusé d'accéder à la demande, affirmant que la
publication des détails du contrat mettrait en cause la sécurité nationale.
Le juge a suspendu les débats, et devra se prononcer sur la possibilité de
contraindre l'Etat à révéler le contenu du contrat. -- Le 12 février, le
procès s'est poursuivi à huis clos. Le ministre de la Sécurité a signé un
certificat pour empêcher Menashe de révéler les détails du contrat et a
proposé de témoigner à huis clos pour expliquer comment cette information
pourrait remettre en cause la sécurité nationale. Le juge Paddington Garwe,
qui préside la cour chargée de l'affaire, a accédé à la requête du
gouvernement, tout en affirmant que du fait de la gravité des accusations,
il importe que la cour entende tous les témoignages possibles. (PANA,
Sénégal, 10-12 février 2003)
* Zimbabwe. Cricket World Cup turmoil - 10 February: It promised to begin
like any game of cricket, which was amazing enough in itself. All the
agonizing about security and protests came down to groups of people
converging on Harare Sports Club with a singular, unthreatening purpose: to
watch Zimbabwe's World Cup match against Namibia. But, moments before the
players took the field, the atmosphere changed. A sheet of paper was handed
to each journalist in the pressbox and printed on it was a statement signed
by Andy Flower and Henry Olonga. "It is a great honour for us to take the
field today to play for Zimbabwe in the World Cup," it began gently. But
the tone soon changed. "We cannot in good conscience take to the field and
ignore the fact that millions of our compatriots are starving, unemployed
and oppressed. We are aware that hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans may
even die in the coming months through a combination of starvation, poverty
and Aids. We are aware that many people have been unjustly imprisoned and
tortured simply for expressing their opinions about what is happening in
the country. We have heard a torrent of racist hate speech directed at
minority groups. We are aware that thousands of Zimbabweans are routinely
denied their right to freedom of expression. We are aware that people have
been murdered, raped, beaten and had their homes destroyed because of their
beliefs and that many of those responsible have not been prosecuted." The
list of charges went on - and the pair also vowed to wear a black armband
to mourn "the death of democracy". The courage of their words took many a
hardened hack's breath away, and in an instant they were winging their way
around the world. (England has told the International Cricket Council that
the team will not play its opening World Cup match in Zimbabwe -- but a
question mark still hangs over the game). 11 February: England will not
play their World Cup opener against Zimbabwe in Harare on 13 February. But
there is a chance the game could be relocated to South Africa later in the
tournament. The England and Wales Cricket Board decided to pull out of the
fixture because of fears over player safety. At the end of last week, it
emerged the England team had received death threats from an organisation
called the "Sons and Daughters of Zimbabwe". (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 11
February 2003)
* Zimbabwe. Soutien du Nigeria - Le président nigérian Olusegun Obasanjo
a demandé la réintégration du Zimbabwe, exclu depuis un an du Commonwealth.
Dans une lettre adressée au Premier ministre australien, John Howard, qui
préside la troïka du Commonwealth, M. Obasanjo estime "le temps voulu de
lever les sanctions" contre le régime du président Robert Mugabe et affirme
être soutenu par l'Afrique du Sud. L'Australie, l'Afrique du Sud et le
Nigeria forment une "troïka" mandatée pour réexaminer la mesure de
suspension prise en 2002. (Libération, France, 12 février 2003)
* Zimbabwe. Re: Suspensions and sanctions - 9 February: Nigeria wants
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe to make changes to help ease Western
sanctions imposed over his controversial re-election and land seizures,
government and African diplomatic sources say today. Nigeria's President
Olusegun Obasanjo paid a brief visit to Harare on 8 February and held talks
with Mugabe, a month before a review of Zimbabwe's suspension from the
54-nation Commonwealth. Officials from both countries refuse to discuss
details of Obasanjo's talks with Mugabe and with opposition leader Morgan
Tsvangirai, but some Harare-based African diplomats say the Nigerian leader
has urged Mugabe to soften some of his policies to make it easier for those
working to help him. 10 February: It's becoming clear that South Africa and
Nigeria do not want Zimbabwe's one-year suspension from the Commonwealth to
be renewed when it ends in March. Australia's Prime Minister John Howard
says the South African and Nigerian leaders have told him that they do not
agree with his view that further measures should be taken against Zimbabwe
because of political and human rights violations. 12 February: The European
Union has renewed its sanctions against Zimbabwe for a further 12 months,
but will allow President Robert Mugabe to travel to a summit in Paris next
week. At a meeting in Brussels, today, diplomats agreed to a temporary
"opt-out" for France, which is hosting a meeting of Franco-African leaders
on human rights. The current measures include a ban on President Robert
Mugabe and 71 of his officials travelling to Europe, because of concerns
about political repression and human rights abuses. The Commonwealth looks
set, however, to end its suspension of Zimbabwe after Nigeria and South
Africa argued that the situation had improved in the past 12 months.
Nigeria, South Africa and Australia were charged with monitoring events in
Zimbabwe on behalf of the grouping of former British colonies. Nigerian
President Olusegun Obasanjo has written to Australian Prime Minister John
Howard, saying that Mr Mugabe's controversial land redistribution programme
is now proceeding normally. Both sets of sanctions were imposed a year ago,
around the time of the presidential elections. Mr Mugabe was accused of
using violence and fraud to ensure his re-election. France had opposed
extending the travel ban, and African countries had warned they would not
go to Paris without Mr Mugabe. France believes it is better to engage Mr
Mugabe in dialogue, but several other EU members say he should not be
allowed into Europe at all. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 12 February 2003)
* Zimbabwe. A country with serious economic problems - 10 February: The
continued political unrest in Zimbabwe and the raft of economic problems
now facing the country is having a damaging effect on the workforce.
According to the ACCA in Harare -- a body that represents chartered
accountants -- thousands of professionals have already left the nation. The
medical profession has also been badly effected forcing Zimbabwe to recruit
personnel from other regions. But the exodus could bring some unexpected
economic benefits. Political uncertainty, sporadic violence and the daily
problems of food and fuel shortages are taking their toll on Zimbabwe's
white collar workforce. Accountants, engineers, doctors and teachers alike
are finding it impossible to maintain their standard of living in the face
of rampant inflation. The World Bank estimates that the level of inflation
will reach 500% this year. In 2002, more than 6,000 professionals left the
country. Most have joined the growing Zimbabwean expatriate communities in
Britain, South Africa and Botswana. But others have settled in regions as
far afield as the Caribbean and Australia. An ACCA spokesman, who did not
wish to be named, said there were plentiful opportunities for accountants
who choose to leave. "Worldwide there is an acute shortage of accountants
therefore our members are highly mobile," he said. "Regardless of the
economic situation we are facing, they have always been in demand in the
region and across the globe." Other professionals such as doctors and
nurses are also finding work in countries where their skills are in short
supply, for example in Britain. That is causing a problem back in Zimbabwe,
which has had to recruit medical staff from other regions. In private
sector, it is a different story. Although many workers are leaving, there
are plenty of candidates to take their place -- because so many companies
are closing their doors, as the economic climate worsens. Although the
general picture is bleak, there is an unexpected bonus for Zimbabwe from
this skills drain. Last year, Zimbabweans living abroad collectively sent
home more than $40m a month --providing a welcome boost for the country's
depleted foreign reserves. 12 February: Economically troubled Zimbabwe is
reportedly preparing to abandon its privatisation programme due to national
security concerns. "There is a deliberate policy shift by the government,
which now wants to ensure the viability of key parastatals rather than
selling them off," a Privatization Agency of Zimbabwe (PAZ) official told
state media. Air Zimbabwe, the heavily indebted airline, Zimbabwe
Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa), National Railways of Zimbabwe, the
National Oil Company of Zimbabwe and TelOne were named as state-owned
companies that may now not be sold. 13 February: MISNA reports that Kuwait
hs offered Zimbabwe 90 tonnes of maize-meal. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 13
February 2003)
Weekly anb0213.txt - #7/7
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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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