Weekly ANB1106_04.txt #7

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 06-11-2003      PART #4/5

* Mozambique. "Justice and Transparency in the Elections"  -  "We call on 
all Mozambicans to reflect on the social and economic reality in which we 
live, and to assume their duty to choose by means of elections, candidates 
able to find solutions to the problems weighing on our society and to 
improve the standard of living". This is the message launched by the 
Catholic Bishops of Mozambique in a Letter entitled: "Justice and 
Transparency in the Elections". Mozambicans will be called to vote on 19 
November this year in local government elections. The Bishops recall that 
in recent years, since the end of the long civil war in 1992, the country 
has made progress. Nevertheless there are still some problems which pollute 
political life in Mozambique. First of all intimidation during the election 
campaign: "It is urgent, to create and apply concrete measures to prevent 
these anomalies and guarantee the exercising of democratic rights". Other 
serious problems include corruption, disparity between rich and poor, 
deficiency in the economic development plan, education, health, 
agriculture, public transport and communications. The Bishops end their 
message encouraging "all Mozambicans of goodwill in particular those who 
believe in God to make their elective duty a political manifestation of 
their faith. We urge all believers to pray that the imminent administrative 
elections may be a celebration of culture, democracy and peace in our 
country".   (Fides, Vatican City, 28 October 2003)

* Mozambique. Mozambique to get anti-retroviral drug plant  -  5 November: 
Brazil has pledged to build a plant in Mozambique to produce 
anti-retroviral drugs for HIV/AIDS sufferers. President Luiz Inacio Lula da 
Silva gave his support to the project on a visit to the southern African 
state. "We intend to produce anti-retroviral drugs here... in the shortest 
possible time," said the leader who is best known by his nickname Lula. He 
was speaking on a five-nation tour of the continent which is also due to 
take him to Namibia and South Africa. Brazil has emerged as something of a 
model for the developing world in the fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic, 
having developed cheap copycat generic drugs to the anger of global 
pharmaceutical companies.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 5 November 2003)

* Namibia. Planned seizure of white-owned farms  -  Civic groups in Namibia 
are opposing planned seizures of white-owned farms by poor blacks, saying 
the move would plunge the southern African country into the same chaos that 
has ruined nearby Zimbabwe. The Namibia Farmworkers Union, which has 
support from landless blacks, farm labourers and the Namibian government, 
has announced that its members will start forcibly taking over 15 farms 
next week. The union said its aim was to ensure livelihoods for landless 
blacks, including the farm labourers it alleges have been mistreated and 
evicted from white-owned commercial farms. But the National Society for 
Human Rights, a coalition of civic groups, yesterday strongly condemned the 
proposed land occupation, saying it would do to Namibia what it had done to 
Zimbabwe. Alarmed white farmers represented by the Namibia Agricultural 
Union called on the authorities to protect privately owned land and warned 
that the action may have devastating economic consequences. The human 
rights coalition said it "does not support any unconstitutional and 
unlawful takeover of any commercial or communal farms, regardless of the 
colour and or political affiliation of the farm owners. If allowed to 
stand, the proposed invasion could become a most serious setback for the 
relative peace and tranquillity which this country has enjoyed since 
independence in 1990." It urged Namibian President Sam Nujoma, a close ally 
of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, to condemn the planned invasions. 
But Mr Nujoma had not done so by yesterday. Junior members of the Namibian 
government have condemned the plans but are powerless to stop them if 
approved by their authoritarian leader. Mr Nujoma has said African land 
must go back to its rightful owners -- black people. He has warned white 
Namibian farmers that they risk facing the same fate as their Zimbabwean 
counterparts unless they give up their land.   (Independent, UK, 6 November 
2003)

* Nigeria. Oil posts reshuffled  -  President Olusegun Obasanjo has 
reshuffled several of the country's top oil industry posts in what analysts 
say boosts prospects for reform. Edmund Daukoru, a free-market reformer, 
has been appointed presidential adviser on oil, replacing Rilwanu Lukman. 
And Funso Kupolokun replaces Jackson Gaius-Obaseki as chief of state-owned 
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). "The reshuffle is driven by 
political, ethnic and reform considerations. Daukoru is pro-reform," said 
Bismarck Rewane of consultants Financial Derivatives Company. President 
Obasanjo is known to want to remove NNPC's monopoly over import of refined 
oil products. In a television programme broadcast on 2 November, he said: 
"Maybe those who get involved in the monopoly of importation are also 
ensuring that the refineries are not working satisfactorily. Maybe if there 
is no monopoly it will be easier to get our refineries to work."   (BBC 
News, UK, 3 November 2003)

* Rwanda/UE. Aide à la ville de Kigali  -  L'Union européenne a décidé 
d'octroyer une aide financière de 3.860.000 euros à la ville de Kigali pour 
la réalisation de travaux à forte densité d'utilisation de main-d'oeuvre 
locale, annonce un communiqué publié le 3 novembre à Bruxelles. Le but est 
l'insertion sociale des démobilisés, dont 71% sont installés à Kigali. 
Cette ville, qui compte 600.000 habitants, doit faire face à l'afflux d'un 
grand nombre de démobilisés, alors qu'elle n'est pas en mesure de "leur 
assurer une vie convenable". La première phase de démobilisation 
(1997-2001) a concerné 18.692 ex-combattants; la seconde phase, qui a 
débuté en 2001, concerne 20.000 anciens soldats et 25.000 membres de 
milices rapatriés essentiellement du Congo-RDC. Le présent projet vise à 
procurer du travail pendant trois ans à 6.000 personnes, dont 3.000 
démobilisés et 3.000 chefs de ménages (en grande majorité des femmes, 
veuves de guerre).   (D'après PANA, Sénégal, 3 novembre 2003)

* Rwanda. Médiateur de la République  -  Le 4 novembre, le Sénat a élu M. 
Tito Rutaremara, membre influent du Front patriotique rwandais, comme 
Médiateur de la République, une nouvelle institution chargée de "concilier 
les gouvernants et les gouvernés et lutter contre les injustices et la 
corruption". Il sera secondé par deux anciens hauts fonctionnaires. Le 
Médiateur de la République, institution prévue par la nouvelle 
Constitution, se veut un organe indépendant des autres pouvoirs de l'Etat. 
Elle a pour mission de concilier la population avec les instances 
dirigeantes publiques comme privées, de prévenir et de lutter contre toute 
forme de corruption et d'injustice, de recevoir les doléances des personnes 
lésées dans leurs droits, sans s'ingérer dans le fonctionnement de la 
justice, et de recevoir les déclarations des avoirs des plus hauts 
responsables du pays avant leur entrée en fonction.   (PANA, Sénégal, 5 
novembre 2003)

* Senegal. Senegal's dying reptile skin trade  -  Trade in belts, shoes, 
and ladies bags made out of reptile skin is no longer a lucrative business 
in Senegal. The international treaty banning all exports of such items has 
meant a serious downturn for vendors in the craft market in the capital, 
Dakar. Hardly anyone now comes to the market to buy the products made out 
of reptiles such as snakes, crocodiles, alligators, lizards, and camel 
skins. And even the few who take the risk of buying struggle hard to 
smuggle the products to beat customs officials at international airports 
and inland border points. Mbye Seck, who has been engaged in making leather 
shoes, belts, ladies bags and wallets for the past 20 years, says that the 
desperation is now too much. "Most of the products that you see here have 
been lying here for the past three years or more because tourists who used 
to be our major buyers are no longer interested," he said. "They say the 
harassment they go through at international airports when they have 
products made out of reptile skins is not worth the trouble." Indeed the 
sale of products made out of reptile skins used to be a booming business 
here in Senegal. It was a business that most tourist vendors used to be 
involved in because goods sold fast. The products themselves are decorated 
in colourful and fashionable designs. But Mr Seck says that the shoes, 
belts and ladies bags are now more or less a liability. "You see the value 
of the products is far less now and every morning all what we do is to look 
at them like statues. What we cannot do, though, is it to throw them away," 
said Mr Seck. But despite the difficulty in selling the products, Mr Seck 
and his colleagues at the craft market in Dakar continue to make the shoes 
and bags from reptiles skins in the hope that one day they will be allowed 
to export the products to the outside world.   (BBC News, UK, 30 October 2003)

* Sénégal. Protestation contre la violence politique  -  Le 3 novembre, 
l'opposition sénégalaise s'est estimée satisfaite de sa rencontre avec le 
ministre de l'Intérieur, Macky Sall, qui a dit que la sécurité serait 
assurée lors de la marche de protestation contre la violence politique 
prévue le 6 novembre à Dakar. Les leaders du Cadre permanent de 
concertation (CPC) de l'opposition ont indiqué que leur marche a pour but 
de dénoncer les violences politiques, l'impunité, l'inertie des pouvoirs 
publics et la monopolisation des médias d'Etat. L'opposition a accusé le 
pouvoir du président Wade d'être "proche des criminels" qui ont agressé 
récemment l'opposant Talla Sylla, leader du parti Jëf-Jël. Les gardes du 
corps du chef de l'Etat et son porte-parole ont été entendus par la 
gendarmerie dans le cadre de l'enquête sur cette affaire, mais les présumés 
agresseurs n'ont pas encore été arrêtés. Selon les leaders du CPC le régime 
en place est à l'origine des violences politiques notées depuis quelques 
temps dans le pays, notamment l'agression de Talla Sylla dans la nuit du 5 
au 6 octobre. M. Sylla a été évacué en France pour traitement.   (D'après 
PANA, Sénégal, 3 novembre 2003)

* Somalie. Sécheresse dans le nord  -  La survie de milliers de personnes 
est mise à risque dans le nord de la Somalie. Selon le coordinateur de 
l'Onu, Maxwell Gaylard, il est fort probable que la brève saison des 
pluies, dite Deyr, de la plateforme septentrionale de Sool soit totalement 
inexistante, ce qui provoquerait un véritable désastre humanitaire qui 
pourrait toucher 15.500 familles de pasteurs, soit 90.000 personnes. La 
saison des pluies de septembre à octobre n'a donné aucune précipitation 
abondante. De nombreux animaux gravement sous-alimentés à cause du manque 
d'herbe et d'eau, sont en train de mourir. Ainsi, explique Gaylard, "des 
familles entières risquent de se retrouver au bord du gouffre et de devoir 
émigrer". Les Nations unies viennent aussi de lancer une alarme identique 
pour le Somaliland, situé à l'ouest du plateau du Sool, qui souffre 
également de trois années de sécheresse.   (D'après Misna, Italie, 3 
novembre 2003)

* Somalia. UN warns of Somalia terror link  -  4 November: United Nations 
investigators have raised fears of new terror attacks in East Africa, 
warning that surface-to-air missiles may recently have been smuggled into 
Somalia for use in neighbouring states. Last November's al-Qaeda attack in 
Mombasa, Kenya, was organised from Somalia. The information is contained in 
a UN report due to come before the Security Council shortly. The report is 
detailed and alarming. United Nations investigators say smugglers are using 
boats and small planes to pour weapons into Somalia. A key route leads from 
Yemen. Eight missile systems, perfect for use by terrorists, may well have 
been brought in this year alone. The UN believes the shoulder-launched 
missiles, as well as an anti-tank systems and consignments of explosives, 
are almost certainly intended for use in neighbouring countries like Kenya. 
Speedboats have been used in the past to smuggle weapons down the 
coast.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 4 November 2003)

* South Africa. Johannesburg's mine dump debate  -  Johannesburg is a city 
which goes by many names --Joburg, Jozi, Egoli, or "the City of Gold". It 
was built on the profits of the precious metal found thousands of feet up 
on the South African highveldt in the 1880s. Today's residents are 
constantly reminded of the city's past by the hundreds of mine dumps 
scattered around the city. Some see them as an eyesore, polluting 
Johannesburg with their dust, and demand their removal. While others look 
on them fondly as a reminder of the city's history and heritage. One 
hundred and twenty years ago there was nothing built where the sprawling 
city, built on the richest gold reef in the world, now stands. And the mark 
of a century's mining is etched on the landscape --the bright yellow mine 
dumps run for kilometres through the Wit-watersrand, a monument to the city 
of gold's mining past. It seems there are 101 uses for the hillsides of 
sand and spoil, among them the Top Star drive-in cinema -- as much of a 
landmark as Joburg's famous skyscrapers. And sports fanatics cannot resist 
the fine, dust-like sand. Without the mine dumps sand boarders who vie for 
space on the slopes with mountain bikes, motocross and quad biking would 
have to travel 600 kilometres to the nearest coastline. But for all those 
people who use and enjoy the mine dumps there are many others who think 
they should go. One way of shifting the dumps is soaking the sand into 
slurry and piping it back to be turned into bullion -- there is still 
enough gold in the man-made hills to make this a worthwhile 
enterprise.   (BBC News, UK, 29 October 2003)

* South Africa. Extremists plotted to expel blacks from South 
Africa  -  White extremists accused of planning to assassinate Nelson 
Mandela, plotted to expel South Africa's 35 million blacks and kill any who 
resisted, the High Court in Pretoria was told on 29 October. The 22 
right-wingers also intended to force a million South Africans of Indian 
origin to leave the country. The defendants, the first people to face 
treason charges in post-apartheid South Africa, wanted to reinstate the 
policies of institutionalised racial segregation that ended with all-race 
elections in 1994, the court was told. The accused are members of a 
fanatical organisation called Boeremag. They also face charges of terrorism 
and of planning to overthrow Mr Mandela's government. They were arrested 
after a spate of bombings in the black township of Soweto in October last 
year, which killed one woman. The trial was to have started in May but was 
delayed by pre-trial wrangling. The extremists refused to recognise the 
judiciary in South Africa, which is ruled by blacks. The trial began on 29 
October with the state's first witness, Johannes Coenraad Smit, a police 
informant and former right-winger. He said: "Black people would have been 
chased to Zimbabwe." The coup included plans for the country's Indians to 
be expelled to the east coast, from where they would have been shipped to 
India. Blacks and Indians who resisted would have been shot, he said. 
Details of the coup plot were in a document Mr Smit said he received from 
the organisation's leader, Mike du Toit, in June 2001. Codenamed "Document 
12", it outlines phases beginning with the recruitment of members followed 
by the elimination of a host of enemies, including Mr Mandela. It would 
have ended with the formation of a white government that would in effect 
have returned South Africa to apartheid. The South African Broadcasting 
Corporation, regarded by the extremists as a propaganda tool for Mr 
Mandela's ruling African National Congress, would also have been bombed, Mr 
Smit said. The trial continues.   (The Independent, UK, 30 October 2003)

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