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Weekly ANB1009_06.txt #9
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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 09-10-2003 PART #6/6
* Chad. Hoping for oil wealth - 3 October: The fortunes of the people of
Chad, one of the world's poorest countries, are set to be transformed by a
huge and lucrative oil pipeline that will transport oil from the country's
new oil fields to a terminal off the coast of neighbouring Cameroon. From
there, tankers will ship the fuel to the world markets, thereby bolstering
West Africa's role as an alternative fuel source to Saudi Arabia and the
Gulf. Such reduced dependence on oil from the Arab states was one of the
key objectives of President George W Bush's African tour earlier this year.
The 1,070 km pipeline will transport 250,000 barrels a day from Chad
through Cameroon. In total, the project should bring in $13bn over the next
25 years, assuming the oil price does not fall below $15 per barrel. If the
oil price remains at current levels, earnings could almost double. Of that,
Chad's share is set to be at least $2bn, and this should help lift the
income per head in the country from $250 a year to $550 a year by 2005,
according to a World Bank estimate. Cameroon will also earn about $500m
from the project. Today, the first shipment of 950,000 barrels of crude oil
coming through the Chad-Cameroon pipeline reaches the international oil
market. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 3 October 2003)
* Tunisie. Emigration clandestine - Le 3 octobre à l'aube, un clandestin
de nationalité nigériane est mort noyé au large des côtes italiennes, lors
du naufrage d'une embarcation transportant 29 candidats à l'immigration
illégale. D'autre part, onze Tunisiens qui avaient tenté de gagner l'Italie
illégalement ont été déférés en justice. Ils avaient été appréhendés dans
la région de Kélibia, un port du nord-est tunisien. Il s'agit d'une des six
opérations déjouées la semaine dernière par les services de sécurité et les
garde-côtes tunisiens, qui ont procédé à l'arrestation de 110 personnes au
total (ressortissants de diverses nationalités). Les clandestins traduits
en justice peuvent encourir un an d'emprisonnement, mais le passeur est
passible d'une peine beaucoup plus sévère, en vertu d'une législation
rigoureuse adoptée dernièrement par les autorités tunisiennes. (AP, 3
octobre 2003)
* Ouganda/RDC. Troupes à la frontière - Depuis la semaine dernière,
l'Ouganda a massé des troupes le long de sa frontière avec le Congo-RDC,
toujours en proie à des combats dans sa partie orientale. L'armée
ougandaise a affirmé que ses services de renseignement avaient détecté une
mobilisation des éléments restants des groupes rebelles regroupés au sein
de la Force démocratique alliée (FDA). Un autre groupe, dirigé par Taban
Amin, un fils d'Amin Dada, est également sur le pied de guerre. Tous ces
groupes seraient en train de se rassembler dans une zone montagneuse sur la
rive congolaise du lac Albert, et se prépareraient à attaquer et à
déstabiliser l'Ouganda. Les autorités ougandaises ont toujours brandi
l'argument de la protection de leur pays contre les attaques des rebelles
pour justifier leur invasion du Congo. Toutefois, le porte-parole de
l'armée ougandaise a affirmé que l'Ouganda ne déploierait plus ses troupes
en RDC, même s'il s'avérait qu'un groupe rebelle ougandais était en train
de s'y réorganiser. (D'après PANA et Misna, 2-3 octobre 2003)
* Ouganda. Grave accident à Jinja - Le 5 octobre, au moins deux véhicules
ont échoué dans les eaux du Nil, suite à un grave accident survenu près de
Jinja, sur la digue de Owen Falls, utilisée comme pont routier. Le nombre
de victimes n'a pas encore été précisé, car les voitures impliquées dans
l'accident ont été précipitées dans l'eau à au moins 200 mètres de
profondeur. De nombreux passagers se seraient trouvés à leur bord. Il
semble exclu qu'il y ait des survivants. L'accident aurait été causé par un
camion dont la remorque a échappé au contrôle du conducteur. (Misna,
Italie, 6 octobre 2003)
* Uganda. Call to "buy off" rebels rejected - The Ugandan army and
leaders of a peace initiative have rejected calls to offer money to the
rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in a bid to stop its devastating
insurrection. The Uganda Human Rights Commission suggested borrowing money
to buy the rebels off in a desperate last ditch attempt to end the 17-year
armed rebellion. But the army has dismissed the call, saying any money
borrowed should be used to enhance its capability to tackle the rebels
militarily. Army spokesman Major Shaban Bantariza said the move would be a
"waste of time", though he said the army understood the public's
frustrations. (IRIN, Kenya, 3 October 2003)
* Uganda. Security forces executions reported - On 3 October, Human
Rights Watch said that the Ugandan government must immediately investigate
the reported recent executions of four detainees by state security agents.
The authorities should also reveal the whereabouts on 10 others arbitrarily
detained, and must charge or release them. The four men reportedly executed
were among 14 detained in August by the Joint Anti-Terrorism Task Force, a
joint unit drawn from several state security agencies. The men were
apparently executed because they were accused of having links to a rebel
group. (HRW, 3 October 2003)
* Uganda. Baby flight sparks row - 5 October: Uganda's President, Yoweri
Museveni, has defended a decision to fly his daughter to Europe in the
presidential jet in order to deliver her baby. The media and opposition in
Uganda saw this as a clear example of wasting state resources. But Uganda's
president has now written to defend his action. In a lengthy statement in
the Sunday papers, Mr Museveni admits sending the presidential jet to
Europe so that his daughter and daughter-in-law could deliver their babies.
But, while the Ugandan leader rebuffs claims that the recent return trip
cost $90,000, many will still maintain that the $27,000 he claims it cost
is still poor use of the country's resources. An independent newspaper here
suggested that the money could have been better spent invested in the
purchase of mammogram machines to help detect breast cancer, or tens of
thousands of mosquito nets to prevent malaria -- two major killers in this
cash-strapped country. In his statement, the president declares that he
detests a wasteful lifestyle, but goes on to say that "when it comes to
medical care for myself and my family there is no compromise." He then
suggests that, as a leader, there have been enemy plots to kill him and he
even describes some doctors in Uganda as hostile, who cannot be trusted to
treat his family. Despite Mr Museveni's explanation, his critics will view
this whole episode as evidence that he is no longer living up to the tag of
a "new breed" of African leader, but is displaying characteristics of
much-criticised presidents from across the continent. (BBC News, UK, 5
October 2003)
* Uganda. Karamojong anger over cattle seizures - 6 October: Uganda's
Karamojong elders have expressed anger and vowed to hunt down cattle
raiders after the government confiscated 1,238 head of cattle from them.
Some of the cattle confiscated from the Bokora Karamojong will be given out
as compensation for the lives of 21 people killed by Karamojong warriors in
Katakwi district on 20 September. Others will be used to compensate the
lives of four Karamojong local defence unit personnel killed by the
warriors in an operation mounted by the army to impound stolen cattle. The
commanding officer of the Uganda People's Defence Force, third infantry
division, Colonel Andrew Guti, supervised the recovery of the cattle to be
given out as compensation. He said that 60 head of cattle would be paid to
the family of each of the people killed by the Karamojong. Colonel Guti
said that more cattle would be confiscated from the ethnic Pian Karamojong
in Nakapiripirit to make the required number of 2,057. The pastoralists
grinned and gnashed their teeth as they watched the counting process.
Colonel Guti, however, blamed them for allowing wrong elements to hide
amongst them -- he said that the warriors who killed people in Katakwi
district drove the stolen cattle through the grazing area where the
majority of the pastoralists kept their own herds. (BBC News, UK, 6
October 2003)
* Zambie. PME pour le tourisme - Le gouvernement zambien a annoncé une
facilité de crédit d'une valeur de 5 milliards de kwachas (environ 1
million de dollars) pour venir en aide à environ 300 petites et moyennes
entreprises du secteur du tourisme. Il s'agit d'un mécanisme destiné à
renforcer les capacités des Zambiens dans la création d'emplois et l'accès
à des financements pour les micro-entreprises et les PME afin qu'elles
puissent participer au développement de l'industrie touristique, a déclaré
le ministre de l'Environnement et du Tourisme, Patrick Kalifungwa. Les
premiers financements devraient être accordés à la fin du mois. (PANA,
Sénégal, 2 octobre 2003)
* Zambia, Marching against child rape - 3 October: Thousands of Zambian
men and women have staged an angry protests at the rising trend of the rape
of children. Almost every day local newspapers report on the cases of
children who have been sexually abused, often by their own relatives and by
men who mistakenly believe they will be cured of Aids if they sleep with a
virgin. Trade unionists, human rights group, the women's movement and
school children themselves united in a march through the streets of the
capital, Lusaka, to demand that more be done to control the rape of
children. Feelings in the country are running so high that some women on
the march waved about scissors, demanding that those found guilty of rape
are castrated. Emily Sikazwe, a leading member of the women's movement,
wants to see government taking greater responsibility for protecting
children. First of all, she wants stiffer penalties. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 3
October 2003)
* Zimbabwe. La faim s'aggrave - Selon un rapport de l'ONU, la crise qui a
dégénéré en famine dans certaines régions du Zimbabwe, s'est aggravée, la
majorité des districts du pays ayant épuisé leurs réserves alimentaires.
Des familles de plusieurs régions du Zimbabwe ont dû vendre des biens de
leur foyer; d'autres survivent en mangeant des fruits sauvages
habituellement réservés aux animaux. Le texte évoque également des pénuries
d'eau qui ont décimé le bétail dans la province du Matabeleland (sud),
ravagée par la sécheresse. (La Libre Belgique, 4 octobre 2003)
* Zimbabwe. Another newspaper threatened - The state media commission in
Zimbabwe is investigating another independent newspaper and has threatened
it with closure, it was reported on 5 October. The Zimbabwe Standard, the
country's only independent Sunday newspaper, said that Tafataona Mahoso,
head of the state Media and Information Commission, told one of its
reporters that regulators were scrutinising the publication's contents. "We
will be coming to you soon. You are writing lies," Mr Mahoso told the
newspaper. The commission refused to license The Daily News, the nation's
only independent daily newspaper, last month, saying it failed to follow
proper procedures to get a license and that it published illegally for
eight months. The Standard received a commission license under sweeping
media laws passed last year. Only licensed newspapers can publish under the
new laws. On 3 October, The Standard reported that the Information
Minister, Jonathan Moyo, called the newspaper and its sister weekly, The
Zimbabwe Independent, "running dogs of imperialism. Really, we should shut
these papers down because they are trash, they injured our national
interest," Mr Moyo said. The Sunday Mail newspaper, an officially
sanctioned newspaper, claimed The Standard was planning to publish a daily
edition using some staff from the banned Daily News. The Standard's owners,
however, have not announced any plans to ask for accreditation to bring out
a daily edition. The Sunday Mail also alleged "underground forces" were at
work to keep The Daily News staff on the payroll while efforts to restart
an independent daily are pursued. It said the Media Institute of Southern
Africa, a press freedom watchdog, was paying journalists from the banned
paper. It added that several international agencies and Britain, Zimbabwe's
former colonial power, were giving money to The Daily News to keep the
newspaper company financially intact during court challenges to their ban.
The Daily News, meanwhile, announced the launch on 5 October of a limited
electronic edition available on a website in neighbouring South Africa.
Five Daily News directors and 15 journalists have been charged with
violating Zimbabwe's media laws during a government crackdown against
dissent. (The Independent, UK, 6 October 2003)
* Zimbabwe. Fire rages in national Zimbabwe park - A fire has devastated
vast tracts of Zimbabwe's Matopos National Park and is threatening many of
its wild animals. Reports say that three-quarters of the central part of
the 43,000 ha park has been engulfed by a raging fire that has forced
hundreds of wild animals to flee the flames. Officials at the park, which
was recently designated a world heritage site by the United Nations, say
the blaze was probably started by poachers. A state-owned radio station,
however, described the fire as "an act of arson" probably caused by
poachers or by reckless villagers. Hunters sometimes set fire to bushland
to flush out wild animals, while small scale farmers light fires to clear
bush in readiness for planting crops. Earlier this year, the UN cultural
organisation, Unesco, listed the Matobo Hills as an area of world
significance because of its distinctive geological formations and ancient
rock paintings. It also contains the grave of Cecil Rhodes, who led
Britain's colonisation of southern Africa. It is the second time in three
years that the park has been hit by fire. Poaching is a big problem in
Zimbabwe, with the menace --especially on the formerly white-owned farms --
getting out of control. Experts say that 80% of wildlife on the formerly
white-owned farms have been by poachers in the past three years. In the dry
bush country of the Gwayi Valley, north of Bulawayo, anti-poaching patrols
are overwhelmed. The poaching is ruining Zimbabwe's safari and wildlife
industry -- once one of the most successful sectors of the Zimbabwean
economy. (BBC News, UK, 7 October 2003)
* Zimbabwe. Arrestations - Le 8 octobre, au moins une quarantaine de
syndicalistes, dont plusieurs dirigeants, ont été arrêtés par la police
dans plusieurs villes du pays, alors qu'ils s'apprêtaient à manifester
contre la cherté de la vie et la violation de leurs droits. Selon le
porte-parole de la Confédération des travailleurs du Zimbabwe (ZCTU),
l'ensemble de la direction syndicale a été placé en détention par la police
après une rafle menée contre les manifestants, particulièrement dans la
capitale Harare. La ZCTU avait appelé à une manifestation de protestation
nationale contre la hausse du coût de la vie dans un contexte
d'hyperinflation, aggravée par des impôts et les prix élevés des
transports. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 9 octobre 2003)
* Zimbabwe. Union leaders arrested - 8 October: 41 union leaders and
workers are arrested in Harare, ahead of a planned protest march organised
by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU). The ZCTU said they wanted
to demonstrate against the high level of inflation, increasing cost of
living and of transport costs in the country. Heavily armed riot police
started patrolling the streets of Harare from early in the morning. The
ZCTU had urged members to leave work and join the protest, but before the
demonstration was able to start, police arrested the leaders, members of
the ZCTU General Council and the general secretaries of individual unions.
They are currently being held by the police. Across Zimbabwe, the total of
union members and leaders arrested reaches more than 100. (ANB-BIA,
Belgium, 8 October 2003)
Weekly anb1009.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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