weekly anb04191.txt #7

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 19-04-2000      PART #1/7

* Afrique. Sommet du G-77  -  Le sommet du G-77 s'est acheve le 14
avril a La Havane par un appel de 122 nations en developpement (80%
de la population mondiale) a l'instauration d'"un nouvel ordre
global, juste et democratique" permettant de reduire les disparites
entre pays riches et pays pauvres. Dans sa declaration finale, le
G-77 estime necessaire de proceder de toute urgence a "une reforme
fondamentale de l'architecture financiere internationale afin de la
rendre plus democratique, plus transparente et plus orientee vers
la solution des problemes du developpement". Le texte appelle les
pays industrialises a offrir aux pays en developpement un
traitement preferentiel pour leurs exportations, en eliminant
notamment leurs mesures protectionnistes. Il reaffirme enfin
l'engagement des pays membres a promouvoir la democratie et les
droits de l'homme, dont le droit au developpement, et condamne le
"pretendu droit d'intervention humanitaire" mis en avant par les
Nations unies ou les grandes puissances pour justifier des
interventions dans certains pays.   (Le Monde, France, 16 avril
2000)

* G-77. Closing the poverty gap  -  14 April: Developing countries
of the world, arguing that they risk being excluded from the
benefits of an increasingly globalised world economy, call for a
"new global human order" to close the gap between rich and poor.
Meeting in Havana, delegates of the G-77 (133-member) states,
agreed a declaration demanding a fairer deal for developing
countries in world trade, and greater participation in
international economic decision-making. "We stress the need for a
new global human order aimed at reversing the growing disparities
between rich and poor", the document stated. 17 April: Leaders of
the world's developing countries have said in the wake of last
week's G-77 meeting, that they will coordinate policies and "speak
with one voice" at the World Trade Organisation and other
international economic institutions.   (Financial Times, 15-17
April 2000)

* Africa. Action against the Media  -  Algeria: Reporters sans
Frontieres says (14 April) that after one year in office under
President Bouteflika, the Algerian Press is being watched closely
by the powers-that-be. Angola: Concern has been expressed (12
April) over the conviction of two journalists, Graca Campos and
Americo Goncalves, for defaming a senior government official. The
trial of reporter Machado Brandao and editor Leopoldo Baio, both
employed by the weekly Actual, opened on 11 April. They are accused
of defaming the Transport Minister. Cameroon: The organisation
Article 19 has warned (on 17 April) that in spite of a
parliamentary decree which apparently opens the way for private
broadcasters to finally begin operating in Cameroon, there is
unlikely to be substantial change to the diversity of broadcasting,
since licensing will remain firmly in the hands of the authorities.
The Gambia: The Committee to Protect Journalists reports the death
of popular journalist Omar Barrow,a news editor with the privately-
owned Senegalese radio station SUD FM. He was shot dead on 10 April
by a uniformed member of The Gambia's army anti-riot unit. Guinea:
On 13 April, the World Association of Newspapers and the World
Editors Forum wrote to President Conte, expressing concern over the
arrest of journalist Abdoulaye Sankara. Morocco: The weekly Le
Journal, printed in France, is stopped (16 April) from entering
Morocco because it published an interview with Polisario's leader,
Mohamed Abdelaziz. The weekly arab-language Assahifa, has suffered
the same fate. The BBC (19 April) says that in an apparent attempt
to muzzle criticism of Morocco's policy towards Western Sahara, the
authorities have launched a media clampdown in recent days. The
government has sacked three managers of a state-run TV channel and
banned editions of two newspapers. Namibia: On 12 April, the Deputy
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Information and Broadcasting, barred
a TV and radio news crew from covering an impromptu press
conference called by the Congress of Democrats in its parliamentary
office. Nigeria: In a letter (13 April) to President Obasanjo, the
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) expresses its grave concern
over the recent attack on the independent daily ThisDay. Swaziland:
On 18 April, a lawyer in Mbabane has demended the withdrawal of all
copies of the April edition of The Nation, the sole independent
news magazine for Swaziland, for allegedly contravening copyrights
of his client, Douglas Loffler. Tunisia: On 12 April, Human Rights
Watch strongly condemned the action by the authorities to close
down Editions Aloes, an independent publishing house in Tunis.
Also, the Tunisian Human Rights League has appealed to the
government to lift restrictions on local journalist, Taoufik Ben
Brik who has been on hunger strike since 3 April.   (ANB-BIA,
Brussels, 17 April 2000)

* G-7/World Bank/IMF. AIDS, famine, imbalances  -  12 April: (The
Washington Post): "The World Bank will be pushing for a more
aggressive fight against AIDS and better access for poor countries
to the markets of the industrial world, says bank President James
Wolfensohn, describing his priorities for the meetings of the bank
and the International Monetary Fund. AIDS has become "a major
development challenge, if not the most important development
challenge, confronting us in Africa today," Wolfensohn says. He
cites statistics showing HIV infection rates of more than 20
percent in five countries of Africa. "We need . . . a thoroughgoing
effort with support of vaccines" and AIDS treatment, he says. The
bank will "work with governments to come up with programs that will
make it culturally acceptable to talk about it and to deal with
it." He calls on rich countries to provide special access to their
markets for imports from poor countries". 15 April: (The Guardian):
"The spectre haunting these debates will be that of the terrible
plight of Ethiopia where 8m people are in danger of starvation. No
one can suggest that the blame for the Horn of Africa's food
insecurity can be laid entirely at the door of the IMF and the
World Bank. Of course the Ethiopian government bears a heavy
responsibility for a border war with Eritrea which is costing
reportedly 600,000 Pounds sterling a day, diverting much needed
resources, manpower and government attention from averting the
imminent famine. Much long-term aid and debt relief, is being held
back as a carrot to entice the countries into a settlement. But by
blaming the war for the crisis, other questions are obscured, such
as those arising from the role of the international institutions
and donors since the last famine in 1984 in assisting Ethiopia's
efforts to break out of a punishing cycle of crisis. The problem
has been that as soon as Ethiopia slips off our television screens,
the aid tails off". (Financial Times): "The finance ministers of
the Group of Seven (G-7) leading economies meet in Washington today
to discuss the threat posed by growing global economic imbalances,
ahead of the IMF and World Bank. The G-7 meeting is expected to
focus on ways by which these imbalances might be reduced". 16
April: In a communique, the G-7 group of countries have said:
"Prospects for the wold economy continue to brighten and that
fundamentals for economic growth have been strengthened". Thousands
of anti-globalisation protestors place the World Bank and the IMF
under seige in Washington. However the IMF's international and
financial committee goes ahead as planned".   (ANB-BIA, Brussels,
17 April 2000)

* Afrique. Sommet du FMI et de la BM  -  En marge des protestations
des manifestants anti-mondialisation, les participants au sommet du
Fonds monetaire international ont conclu la session d'ouverture, le
16 avril, en s'engageant a essayer de reduire la dette des pays les
plus pauvres du monde et a reformer le FMI pour qu'il puisse mieux
prevenir de futures crises financieres. Le 17 avril, le FMI et la
Banque mondiale ont poursuivi leurs travaux. Places sur la
defensive par les manifestations, ils ont plaide le malentendu.
Mais dans son communique final, le comite monetaire et financier du
FMI (son conseil d'administration) a admis que "les benefices que
l'economie mondiale retire de la liberalisation du commerce (...)
ne profitent pas a tout le monde" et en particulier aux pays en
voie de developpement. M. Gordon Brown, le chancelier de
l'Echiquier britannique qui presidait le comite, a promis que le
FMI se reformerait: plus de transparence, davantage d'evaluation
independante et une meilleure coordination avec la Banque mondiale.
Le directeur par interim du Fonds, Stanley Fischer, a appele les
membres a accelerer le programme d'annulation de la dette des pays
les plus pauvres. Par ailleurs, les Etats-Unis ont prone un
recentrage du FMI et de la Banque sur leurs missions principales et
une diminution de leur role au profit du prive, alors que les
Europeens (appuyes par le tiers monde) defendent plutot le statu
quo. Si tout le monde reconnait qu'une reforme est indispensable,
personne ne sait vraiment ce qu'elle doit etre.   (ANB-BIA, de
sources diverses, 18 avril 2000)

* Afrique. Le commerce de l'ivoire reste interdit  -  Reunies a
Nairobi dans le cadre de la Convention sur le commerce
international des especes menacees (Cites), 151 nations se sont
accordees, le 17 avril, pour maintenir l'embargo sur le commerce de
l'ivoire pendant les trois prochaines annees. Cette decision,
saluee par la plupart des ecologistes, resulte d'un compromis
politique entre pays africains, qui ont voulu eviter
l'affrontement. Le Zimbabwe, le Botswana, la Namibie et l'Afrique
du Sud qui demandaient une autorisation pour la commercialisation
de leurs stocks d'ivoire, ont retire cette demande. En reponse, le
Kenya qui avait demande la protection totale des elephants, a
retire a son tour sa proposition. La question sera reexaminee lors
de la prochaine conference de la Cites en 2003.   (ANB-BIA, de
sources diverses, 19 avril 2000)

* Afrique de l'Ouest. Integration economique  -  Le 18 avril, une
commission technique a commence a finaliser un rapport qui sera
soumis aux six chefs d'Etat de la CEDEAO, qui tiendront un mini-
sommet a Accra le 20 avril, pour accelerer le processus
d'integration economique de la region ouest-africaine. Il s'agit
principalement de la creation d'une seconde zone monetaire,
l'etablissement d'une zone de libre echange et la libre circulation
des produits et des services d'ici le 30 avril, la creation d'une
zone sans frontieres et la libre circulation des personnes.
L'approche couvre aussi des projets d'infrastructures regionales,
comme la construction d'une ligne ferroviaire entre Accra et Lagos,
et la promotion d'activites d'investissements dans le secteur
prive.   (PANA, 18 avril 2000)

Weekly anb0419 - end of part 1/7