Weekly ANB0828_6.txt #6

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

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 28-08-2003      PART #6/6

* South Africa. Pollution fear for coast  -  22 August: Environmentalists 
have expressed fears of a potential pollution disaster following the 
spillage of oil from a container ship off the South African coast. The 
vessel carrying 3,700 tons of fuel ran aground on 21 August on Table Bay 
near Cape Town. The Sealand Express is also carrying 50 tons of uranium ore 
concentrate bound for the United States, to be turned into nuclear fuel. A 
nuclear engineer says the material is only mildly radioactive and that the 
oil poses a much bigger danger. Rescuers from Smit Marine South Africa have 
been trying to pump out the oil.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 22 August 2003)

* South Africa. Prosecutor drops graft charges  -  South African opposition 
politicians have expressed outrage after the country's chief prosecutor 
declined to press criminal charges against deputy president Jacob Zuma, 
even though he had found prima facie evidence of corruption against him. 
Bulelani Ngcuka, director of public prosecutions, decided at the weekend 
not to press charges for fear the state could not win the case. But it also 
emerged that France's failure to respond to South Africa's request for 
co-operation may have fatally weakened the case, which involves the French 
Thales group. Mr Ngcuka decided not to prosecute Mr Zuma after 
investigating allegations that Mr Zuma and Schabir Shaik, a Durban 
businessman, attempted to solicit bribes from Thomson-CSF (since renamed 
Thales) in connection with a multi-billion-dollar arms procurement. The 
two-year investigation was launched after a whistle-blower sent South 
African authorities a fax implicating the deputy president, Mr Shaik and 
Alain Thetard, former head of Thomson- MSCSF South Africa. It covered 
allegations of fraud and corruption, bribery, financial benefits received 
by Mr Zuma and "the undue use of public office" to advance Mr Shaik's 
business interests.   (Financial Times, UK, 25 August 2003)

* Sudan. Peace talks to resume in September  -  MISNA reports that the 
seventh round of peace talks held in Kenya between the Sudanese government 
and southern Sudanese rebels, aimed at ending the 20-year conflict in 
Sudan, are to end on 24 August and will resume once again in 
September.   (MISNA, Italy, 23 August 2003)

* Soudan. Négociations suspendues  -  22 août. Les observateurs restent 
toujours pessimistes quant aux chances de succès des négociations de paix 
entre les rebelles du sud et le gouvernement de Khartoum, qui doivent 
mettre fin à vingt années de guerre civile. Face à l'enlisement des 
négociations en cours à Nanyuki (Kenya), des exilés du Sud-Soudan ont 
demandé l'intervention du Conseil de sécurité de l'Onu. Quelques groupes 
ont envoyé des pétitions à diverses ambassades et manifesté devant le siège 
de l'Onu à Nairobi. Selon eux, Khartoum tente de ralentir l'avancée du 
processus de paix pour pouvoir exploiter davantage les ressources 
pétrolières du sud, qui représenteraient "le problème fondamental". Selon 
l'agence de presse égyptienne Mena, les rebelles du Soudan réclament 60% 
des revenus pétroliers du pays. -- 24 août. Des divergences sur le partage 
du pouvoir ont entraîné la suspension des pourparlers de paix, a-t-on 
appris de source officielle à Khartoum. Dirdeyri Mohammed Ahmed, le 
principal adjoint de l'ambassadeur du Soudan au Kenya, a déclaré que "les 
divergences ont débouché sur la suspension des négociations jusqu'au 10 
septembre, pour donner aux deux parties le temps d'organiser des 
consultations". Un haut responsable du gouvernement a toutefois affirmé que 
les pourparlers avaient enregistré de légers progrès et que la médiation 
avait fait des propositions qui ont aidé à surmonter les "problèmes de 
procédure". Ces "règles de négociation" devront être débattues à la reprise 
des négociations. -- Par ailleurs, selon la presse locale, les rebelles 
soudanais ont accusé les forces gouvernementales d'avoir tué 46 civils et 
détruit plusieurs villages dans l'Etat du Nord Darfour, dans l'Ouest du 
pays. "Des appareils Antonov ont bombardé, dimanche et lundi (24 et 25 
août), la ville de Kornoy, dans l'extrême-ouest du Nord Darfour, tuant 46 
personnes, dont des enfants, des femmes et des personnes âgées", rapporte 
l'agence PANA, citant la presse.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 28 août 2003)

* Swaziland. Democracy tested in candidate nominations  -  Swazis went to 
the polls at the weekend to nominate candidates to run in October's 
parliamentary election -- a process King Mswati said proved democracy was 
alive and well in sub-Saharan Africa's last absolute monarchy. However, his 
brother Prince Maguga Dlamini said he would ban a group of women from 
contesting the October poll because they had protested against his claim to 
be their chief two years ago, newspapers said. "If you defy the prince, and 
nominate these women, he said he will ensure that the elections are 
dismantled," polling supervisor Elphas Mklabela was quoted as telling 
voters by the Times of Swaziland on 24 August. The king has faced growing 
criticism in recent months from trade unions and rights groups in the 
landlocked country, where opposition parties are banned. They accuse him of 
autocratic rule and a disregard for the rule of law.   (CNN, USA, 25 August 
2003)

* Tunisie. Remaniement partiel du gouvernement  -  Le 25 août, le président 
Ben Ali a opéré un remaniement partiel du gouvernement tunisien, qui a 
touché deux importants départements. A la veille de la rentrée scolaire, 
Moncer Rouissi cède le portefeuille de l'Education et de la Formation 
professionnelle à Raouf Najjar, ex-ministre de la Jeunesse et des Sports. 
Le deuxième ministère qui a changé de mains est celui de l'Industrie et de 
l'Energie. Détenu pendant plus de cinq ans par Moncef Ben Abdallah, il est 
confié à Fethi Merdassi, qui avair été nommé récemment ambassadeur à Bonn. 
Trois nouveaux secrétaires d'Etat font par ailleurs leur entrée au 
gouvernement. Aucune précision n'a été fournie sur les raisons de ce 
remaniement.   (AP, 25 août 2003)

* Uganda. More northern Ugandan deaths  -  At least 120 people are reported 
to have been killed in northern Uganda in the past fortnight. According to 
Ugandan army spokesman Major Shaban Bantariza, most of those killed were 
Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels, who have been fighting to overthrow 
the government since the late 1980s. "In the past two weeks, the army has 
killed 90 rebels for 11 of its own soldiers, and not less than 20 civilians 
were killed during battles in northern Uganda," he said. He added that 16 
government soldiers had been injured. Earlier this week President Yoweri 
Museveni dared Uganda's rebels to abduct him rather than civilians after he 
moved to the central town of Soroti to direct the army's campaign against 
rebels. He was speaking after the army accused LRA rebels of killing 13 
children whom they had abducted. The government has appeared powerless in 
recent months to halt intensified rebel attacks. The LRA abducts boys to 
become fighters and girls to be sex slaves. They have become synonymous 
with torture, abductions and gruesome killings designed to instil fear in 
civilians.   (BBC News, UK, 21 August 2003)

* Uganda. Sudan re-arming Uganda rebels  -  26 August: Shaky relations 
between Uganda and Sudan could be further strained by new accusations that 
Khartoum is supplying arms to rebels of the Lords Resistance Army (LRA). 
The Ugandan Government also claims that LRA leader Joseph Kony has finally 
crossed back into southern Sudan via the northern Ugandan town of Gulu to 
acquire more supplies. But the Sudanese Government denies the charges, 
saying that only two weeks ago it presented a comprehensive report to 
Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni, showing Sudan was not providing weapons 
to the LRA rebels. The latest round of accusations follows reports that the 
Ugandan army received information from an LRA defector, David Oneka, about 
the alleged supply of arms, including anti-tank missiles, by Sudan to the 
rebels. Mr Oneka also claimed that he witnessed Mr Kony crossing into Sudan 
accompanied by his wives and 600 rebel fighters.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 26 
August 2003)

* Zambie. Grève des fonctionnaires  -  Le 26 août, les agents de la 
fonction publique zambienne ont déclenché une grève générale illimitée pour 
exiger le paiement d'indemnités de logement. Le système judiciaire est 
paralysé et certaines cliniques de Lusaka et de la région du Copperbelt ne 
sont pas épargnées. Les syndicats indiquent que les ministres et leurs 
adjoints perçoivent des indemnités de logement, tandis que ce droit est 
refusé aux travailleurs. Le gouvernement accuse les dirigeants syndicaux 
d'être manipulés par l'opposition.   (PANA, Sénégal, 26 août 2003)

* Zimbabwe. La menace de famine s'aggrave  -  La situation alimentaire au 
Zimbabwe risque de s'aggraver davantage encore suite à une nouvelle 
directive de l'administration du président Mugabe concernant la 
distribution des aides alimentaires internationales. La directive attribue 
en effet la responsabilité de la distribution et de la répartition des 
aides aux autorités locales et aux structures villageoises. Les 
organisations humanitaires devront se limiter à la seule fourniture des 
aides alimentaires. Dans le passé, l'opposition avait déjà accusé le parti 
au pouvoir, le ZANU-PF, de politiser les aides humanitaires en les 
distribuant à ses partisans en "récompense" et pour conquérir de nouveaux 
électeurs. Les organisations humanitaires ont tiré la sonnette d'alarme. Le 
PAM a fait savoir "être en pourparlers avec les autorités et les ONG 
partenaires pour examiner les applications concrètes de cette nouvelle 
politique".   (D'après Misna, Italie, 22 août 2003)

* Zimbabwe. Emergency budget  -  22 August: The Zimbabwean government has 
unveiled an emergency supplementary budget aimed at paying state employees' 
wages, and importing food, seeds and medicines. Finance Minister Herbert 
Murerwa asked parliament to approve a supplementary budget of $840 million, 
almost doubling the country's existing budget. He said the new budget would 
not boost the country's deficit, as it would be financed by the removal of 
price controls, and by increased tax revenues. The bulk of the new budget 
will be spent on pay rises for state workers who are struggling to survive 
in the face of soaring inflation which has made basic goods 
unaffordable.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 22 August 2003)

* Zimbabwe. UN warns over Zimbabwe aid  -  23 August: The United Nations 
World Food Programme (WFP) has said it will postpone food aid to any part 
of Zimbabwe where, in line with the new government directive, local chiefs 
take over the distribution of the aid. More than 3m Zimbabweans are 
dependent on food aid for survival. That number is predicted to rise to 
5.5m by the end of the year. The WFP in Zimbabwe has reiterated its 
standing policy that it will not tolerate any political interference in the 
distribution of food aid, and this comes at a very delicate moment. This 
week the Government of Zimbabwe ordered local chiefs to take over the 
distribution of food aid across the country. The WFP's policy is that if 
any village in Zimbabwe acts on the government's instructions and insists 
that local chiefs distribute the food aid, the aid would be suspended in 
that area. 25 August: The Government has given an assurance that the WFP 
will remain in control of humanitarian food distribution.   (ANB-BIA, 
Belgium, 25 August 2003)

* Zimbabwe. SADC leaders call for sanctions to be lifted  -  25 August: 
Southern African heads of state have called for sanctions against Zimbabwe 
to be lifted. The regional Southern African Development Community (SADC) 
has also urged President Robert Mugabe's government and the country's 
opposition to resume talks in order to end the country's political crisis. 
The call came after Mr Mugabe received a rapturous welcome at the SADC 
summit in the Tanzanian commercial capital, Dar es Salaam. The summit 
supported President Mugabe's controversial land reform policy, saying that 
the sanctions were unwarranted and only made life difficult for ordinary 
people. "Those sanctions should now be lifted," Tanzanian President 
Benjamin Mkapa said. "The quicker they are lifted, the quicker more 
influence for positive economic growth and social service delivery change 
can emerge," Mr Mkapa, the new SADC chairman, said.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 25 
August 2003)

* Zimbabwe. Accord d'investissement avec l'OPEP  -  Le 26 août, le Zimbabwe 
a signé un accord de protection des investissements avec le Fonds de l'OPEP 
pour le développement international qui, selon les officiels, pourrait 
attirer les pétrodollars des pays producteurs de pétrole. Selon le ministre 
des Finances, cet accord ouvre la voie aux entreprises des pays membres de 
l'OPEP pour l'investissement privé dans le pays. Le Zimbabwe s'était attiré 
de vives critiques pour avoir violé les droits de propriété en saisissant 
des fermes occupées par des Blancs. De nombreux investisseurs ont aussi 
boycotté le Zimbabwe, regrettant les inconvénients d'une économie instable 
(avec un taux d'inflation de 399,5%) et une atmosphère politique trouble. 
L'OPEP a financé de nombreux projets au Zimbabwe et octroyé récemment au 
pays 4,3 millions de dollars d'aide alimentaire.   (D'après PANA, Sénégal, 
26 août 2003)

* Zimbabwe. Mugabe's new palace  -  Builders are putting the finishing 
touches to a retirement home for President Robert Mugabe that will rival 
the most extravagant of African leaders' residences. The project is the 
latest sign of how his regime is prospering while vast numbers of 
Zimbabweans are close to starvation. The World Food Programme estimates 
that 5.5 million people --almost half the population -- will need hunger 
relief by the year's end. Several architects who have seen aerial pictures 
of Mr Mugabe's new mansion, 16 miles north of Harare, say it looks as large 
as a medium-sized hotel. Surveyors in Harare estimated the building cost 
about £3.75 million -- a colossal sum in a country where factory workers 
can earn as little as £6 a month. Final costs, including landscaping, 
security and interior decoration are expected to push the bill close to £6 
million. Contractors are working feverishly on the fittings while two lakes 
built for Mr Mugabe on the southern boundary have begun to fill. The 
residence offers more than three acres of accommodation, mostly on three 
floors, including two-storey reception rooms, an office suite, and up to 25 
bedrooms with adjoining bathrooms and spas. The Chinese-style roof is clad 
with midnight blue glazed tiles from Shanghai. The ceilings were decorated 
by Arab craftsmen. Mr Mugabe's mansion is more than three times the size of 
his present official residence and his offices at State House. Its scale 
has raised opposition concerns that -- if as is widely expected -- Mr 
Mugabe steps down as leader of his ruling Zanu-PF at the annual congress in 
December, or maybe after his 80th birthday in February, real power will 
move from his official government offices to his new residence.   (Daily 
Telegraph, UK, 27 August 2003)

Weekly anb0828.txt - #6/6 -  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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