Weekly anb09276.txt #7



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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 27-09-2001  PART #6/7

* Senegal. Call for African pact against terrorism - The President of Senegal, Abdoulaye Wade, has called for an African pact against terrorism. He has urged African leaders to come together to ensure terrorist groups are deprived of any kind of support in Africa. He suggests that the Organisation of African Unity should establish a seven-member committee of African heads of state to ensure that no country on the continent offers sanctuary to terrorist groups, much less money or aid. "Beyond verbal declarations, African countries should engage in direct actions in the global fight", says Mr Wade. He was speaking in Paris. Mr Wade had been part of a delegation of six African heads of state which held talks in UK with British Prime Minister Tony Blair. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 20 September 2001)

* Sénégal. L'enseignement religieux à l'école - Dans un entretien au quotidien Le Soleil publié le 24 septembre, le président sénégalais Abdoulaye Wade se dit favorable à l'éducation religieuse à l'école, ainsi qu'à la "formalisation" de l'enseignement dans les écoles coraniques. "Voir, à l'école primaire, le marabout dispenser des cours d'arabe et d'éducation coranique aux enfants musulmans, ne me dérange pas. Les chrétiens peuvent eux aussi assister à des cours de catéchisme. Je suis pour la liberté", a dit M. Wade. Il a annoncé également avoir "décidé de formaliser le secteur informel de l'enseignement coranique. Nous pouvons utliser les structures existantes pour y assurer d'autres enseignements que le Coran", ajoutant que les talibés doivent aussi apprendre un métier et d'autres disciplines, dont le français et l'anglais. (AFP, France, 24 septembre 2001)

* Sénégal. Liberté de presse - Le 24 septembre, le Comité de protection des journalistes (CPJ ) a exprimé sa "profonde inquiétude" envers ce qu'il a décrit comme l'accroissement du harcèlement des journalistes sénégalais par les autorités depuis que le président Wade a pris ses fonctions en avril 2000. "Nous sommes particulièrement perturbés par la persécution d'Aliouine Fall, rédacteur en chef du quotidien indépendant 'le Matin', accusé en particulier de publier des fausses informations", a indiqué le CPJ dans une lettre adressée à M. Wade. Il a précisé que le Sénégal a été longtemps un modèle pour la liberté de presse en Afrique de l'Ouest et pour le respect que les autorités sénégalaises ont généralement montré aux médias. Or, à au moins cinq occasions depuis avril 2000, les autorités ont utilisé divers règlements pour arrêter et interroger des journalistes dont le seul "délit" semble consister à couvrir des sujets sensibles, parmi lesquels le conflit en Casamance, a précisé le CPJ. Il a demandé à M. Wade de s'assurer que les accusations contre M. Fall étaient annulées et de faire tout ce qu'il pouvait pour annuler la loi de diffamation criminelle et d'autres lois qui criminalisent les journalistes. (IRIN, Abidjan, 25 septembre 2001)

* Sierra Leone. Call for justice - On 24 September, Amnesty International said that renewed commitment is needed to end impunity. The international community must honour its commitments to the people of Sierra Leone to bring to justice the perpetrators of the worst crimes under international law. The following day, 25 September, the RUF rebels threatened to bring disarmament to a virtual standstill, charging that pro-government militiamen are being allowed to keep some of their weapons. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 26 September 2001)

* Somalie. L'Onu quitte le pays - Les Nations unies ont déclaré, le 24 septembre, qu'elles retiraient leurs quelque 45 employés étrangers de Somalie, après que des assurances ont refusé de couvrir les vols pour s'y rendre, dans le sillage des attentats qui ont frappé les Etats-Unis. (Reuters, 24 septembre 2001)

* Somalia. UN pulls out of Somalia - The United Nations has pulled its international staff out of Somalia after being told flights to and from Mogadishu can no longer be insured after the suicide attacks on the United States. The European Union withdrew its expatriate staff last week because of "general tension and uncertainty there" following the attacks on the US. This comes a day after a massive demonstration in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, in support of Osama Bin Laden and against the United States. Last week, Somalia's Transitional Government denied having any links with Bin Laden and said that it was ready to co-operate with the US in its fight against international terrorism in the wake of the attacks on New York and Washington. US intelligence sources have suggested that the man held responsible for the attacks could be heading for Somalia. Diplomats in east Africa have said that some radical Islamic groups in Somalia may be linked to his al-Qaeda network. 45 UN staff have been flown to neighbouring Kenya until new insurance cover can be found but the UN says Somalia has not become any less safe than before. "I would like to stress that this decision has nothing to do with the security situation in Somalia, which remains stable and unchanged," said UN Resident and Humanitarian Co-ordinator Randolph Kent in Nairobi. (BBC News, UK, 24 September 2001)

* South Africa. The "cappuccino effect" - In South Africa they call it the "cappuccino effect". It is the mixing of black and white, the coming together of previously separate entities to create something new that is better than just the sum of its parts. South Africa has made huge strides in racial reconciliation and harmonisation since the transition to democracy in 1994. But the business world has lagged behind. Big, rich business remains white-dominated, while black business is still by definition small and underfunded. Access to markets and to capital remains far easier for a white business. Things have obviously changed: big white companies have developed a conscience and contribute millions of rands to social development projects; small black businesses get lucrative contracts from both the public and the private sector; there are more and more blacks sitting in boardrooms all over the country. Yet organised business has remained divided along racial lines. Even language is a dividing factor, reflecting and perpetuating the apartheid legacy. The South African Chamber of Business (Sacob) is English-speaking and represents mainly white business. The Afrikaanse Handelsinstituut represents Afrikaans speaking chambers. The National Federated Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Nafcoc) represents black business. On 20 September, however, with a formal signing ceremony in Johannesburg, a unified body to represent black and white business was being created. Sacob is merging with Nafcoc to create a single colour-blind entity called the South African Federated Chamber of Commerce (Safcoc). It is a marriage between giants: Sacob is by far the biggest white business organisation and Nafcoc, launched in Soweto in 1964, is the country's main black business movement. (Financial Times, UK, 21 September 2001)

* South Africa. South Africans call for AIDS emergency - President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa has been challenged to declare the AIDS epidemic a national emergency. The call came from a coalition of South African church, labour and civic groups after a meeting in Cape Town. The groups said Mr Mbeki and his government must recognise the scale of the problem because no-one in South Africa could afford to deny the terrible extent of the epidemic. They called for immediate publication of a report by South Africa's Medical Research Council which -- according to leaked details --apparently confirms AIDS as South Africa's biggest killer. Mr Mbeki has questioned the link between HIV and AIDS and the level of fatalities attributed to the epidemic. (BBC News, UK, 20 September 2001)

* Sudan. Rebels' battle claim - Sudanese rebels claim to have killed more than 150 soldiers and destroyed two warship steamers in a three-day battle with government troops along the River Nile in the south of the country. The Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) said on 20 September it had attacked a large enemy convoy of government forces and independent militias between Tonga and Barboy in southeast Sudan on 10 September. "Two warship steamers were destroyed and sunk with all their contents and more than 150 soldiers killed", the SPLA said in a statement released in Nairobi. There was no independent confirmation of the report. (CNN, USA, 20 September 2001)

* Soudan/Ouganda. Réconciliation - La réouverture, le 18 septembre, de l'ambassade ougandaise à Khartoum a mis un terme à un différend diplomatique et sécuritaire vieux de six ans. Initiée par le colonel Kadhafi, la réconciliation entre les présidents Museveni et El-Béchir a cependant mis du temps à se concrétiser. Il a fallu deux ans pour que l'accord de paix, signé en 1999, puisse enfin aboutir au rétablissement des liens diplomatiques et la nomination d'ambassadeurs. Les deux voisins se sont engagés à stopper leur soutien respectif aux rebelles ougandais (LRA) et soudanais (SPLA). Ils ont en outre commencé à libérer leurs "otages": prisonniers et réfugiés des deux côtés de leur frontière. (J.A./L'Intelligent, France, 25 septembre 2001)

* Sudan. USA backs away from helping rebels - The US has backed away from plans to step up aid to rebels in war-torn Sudan as a result of the Khartoum regime's co-operation in the US campaign against terrorism. Under pressure from the Bush administration, House Republican leaders late last week quietly pulled from the floor the Sudan Peace Act, a bill that would have bolstered assistance to the southern rebels in Sudan and potentially punished foreign companies doing business in the country. The move is the latest indication that the administration is prepared to mend relations with a host of what were once seen as hostile countries, if their governments are willing to aid in the fight against terrorism. "The administration and the State department believe that Sudan is playing ball right now and State is happy with what they're getting," said one congressional aide. In its latest report on terrorist-sponsoring countries, the US said that Sudan continues to be used as a safe haven by several different groups, including Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda organisation, the prime suspect in the September 11 attacks. But a State Department official said that US talks with Sudan over the past year have produced concrete progress in addressing US counter-terrorism concerns. The US, however, will be looking for further measures from Khartoum, including an expansion of efforts to identify and remove all remaining terrorists, a willingness to ship terrorists abroad to face justice, and closer co-operation with international intelligence and law enforcement efforts. (Financial Times, UK, 27 September 2001)

Weekly anb0927.txt - end of #6/7