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Weekly anb09196.txt #7

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 19-09-2002      PART #6/7
* Rwanda. Rapatriement de réfugiés - Le 12 septembre, indique l'agence PANA, le délégué du HCR au Rwanda, M. Kalunga Lutato, a récusé les rapports antérieurs de ses services faisant état de rapatriement forcé des réfugiés congolais installés dans deux camps dans les provinces de Kibuye et Byumba. Au cours d'une conférence de presse tenue conjointement avec la secrétaire d'Etat rwandaise aux Affaires sociales, il a déclaré que les nouvelles selon lesquelles le Rwanda contraindrait les réfugiés à retourner chez eux, résultent de manoeuvres d'une infime minorité de salariés dans les camps. "La décision de retourner est libre et volontaire, et est prise par chaque réfugié sans force ni intimidation", indique un communiqué, qui ajoute que les réfugiés qui décideront de rester au Rwanda, continueront de bénéficier du soutien concerté du HCR et du gouvernement rwandais. -- Malgré cela, selon l'AFP, le HCR à Genève a dénoncé à nouveau, le 17 septembre, les pressions exercées par les autorités rwandaises sur les nombreux Congolais tutsi dans les camps au Rwanda pour qu'ils retournent au Nord-Kivu. Il a aussi déploré les conditions déplorables dans lesquelles ils arrivent. Au cours des deux dernières semaines, 8.000 Tutsi congolais sont retournés au Nord-Kivu. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 17 septembre 2002)
* Rwanda. Withdrawing from Congo RDC - 14 September: Rwanda has announced it is to start withdrawing its troops from Congo RDC next week after four years of war. President Paul Kagame reportedly made the announcement on 13 September at a UN Security Council meeting in New York. His army chief of staff, Major General James Kabarebe, says the withdrawal would start in three of four days' time from the eastern Congo town of Kindu. 17 September: The first Rwandan troops ready to withdraw from Congo RDC have started assembling at Kindu airport. 18 September: The Rwandan army has now brought tanks and other equipment back to Kigali from Congo. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 18 September 2002)
* Sénégal. Paix entre leaders du MFDC - Le 11 septembre à Ziguinchor, l'abbé Diamacoune Senghor et Sidy Badji, les deux responsables principaux du Mouvement des forces démocratiques de Casamance (MFDC), ont scellé la paix entre eux. Un conflit de leadership les opposait depuis plus d'un an. Ils ont demandé "à tous de s'unir comme eux et derrière eux pour que les négociations soient engagées rapidement avec le gouvernement sénégalais en vue du retour d'une paix définitive en Casamance". D'autre part, M. Abdoulaye Faye, désigné par le président sénégalais pour diriger la commission gouvernementale pour de futurs pourparlers de paix à Bissau, a rencontré les deux hommes séparément pour préparer la rencontre de la capitale bissau-guinéenne. (PANA, Sénégal, 12 septembre 2002)
* Sierra Leone. Annan suggests scaling down UNAMSIL - United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has proposed that the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) be extended by six months and gradually down-sized before an eventual handover of security and other responsibilities to the government. In his latest report to the UN Security Council, Annan recommended that UNAMSIL's military component be reduced from the current level 17,000 peacekeepers to about 5,000 troops by late 2004, before settling on 2,000 troops "depending on need at that time". Annan suggested that the overall civilian presence should also be reduced, but that the number of civilian police be increased to about 185, mostly to help train Sierra Leone's police force. Sierra Leonean President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, in a letter dated 8 August, asked the UN to extend UNAMSIL's mandate by several months beyond a 30 September deadline, before commencing a gradual withdrawal, because of the threat to regional stability posed by continuing conflict in Liberia. Annan said Sierra Leone was making "steady and remarkable" progress in a number of important areas. He commended the government for taking steps to deploy its police and army, and to hold general elections. He also praised the Sierra Leonean authorities' efforts to establish both a truth and reconciliation commission and a special war crimes court to address past human rights abuses. These encouraging developments, along with a steady improvement in the security situation in Sierra Leone, had created new circumstances in the country that made it possible to consider beginning the gradual draw-down of UNAMSIL. (IRIN, Kenya, 12 September 2002)
* Sierra Leone. Retrait des casques bleus - La sécurité en Sierra Leone s'est améliorée au point que les Nations unies vont pouvoir entamer le retrait de leurs forces de maintien de la paix, après une décennie de guerre civile, a déclaré M. Kofi Annan. Dans un rapport au Conseil de sécurité (publié le 12 septembre) M. Annan estime que la mission de 17.400 hommes, la plus importante opération de maintien de la paix de l'Onu, pourra être réduite de 600 hommes d'ici à la fin de l'année et, si tout va bien, ramenée à 2.000 militaires d'ici à la fin 2004. Le pays a tenu en mai des élections présidentielle et législatives, après une opération conduite sous l'égide de l'Onu pour désarmer les milices gouvernementales et les rebelles. (Reuters, 13 septembre 2002)
* Somalie. Négociations de paix en octobre - Les négociations pour restaurer la paix en Somalie sous les auspices des six nations de l'Autorité intergouvernementale pour le développement (IGAD) reprendront le 15 octobre dans la ville kényane d'Eldoret, a-t-on appris le 11 septembre de source officielle à Nairobi. 300 délégués représentant toutes les franges de la société somalienne assisteront à la première phase des négociations qui devraient durer plusieurs semaines. Cette réunion tentera d'élaborer un cadre pour un Etat viable pour la Somalie qui n'a plus de gouvernement central depuis 1991. L'IGAD recommandera aux délégués de former des commissions pour se pencher sur des questions cruciales telles que la structure constitutionnelle et le degré de centralisation. Ils délibéreront aussi sur la propriété des terres et la démobilisation des milices armées. (PANA, Sénégal, 12 septembre 2002)
* South Africa. Row clouds Biko anniversary - 12 September: "They had to kill him to prolong the life of apartheid," Nelson Mandela has said of Steve Biko. Biko, a leader of the black consciousness movement in South Africa, died of major head injuries in South African police custody 25 years ago on 12 September 1977. His contribution to the black fight for freedom from apartheid is often placed as second only to that of former President Nelson Mandela. Steve Biko was never a member of the ANC and was active politically in the late 1960s and 1970s when the ANC was banned. At the time young black activists moved away from the ANC's stress on non-racial ideology towards one that emphasised black empowerment and consciousness. The arguments today in South Africa are about whether the ANC has taken on board his ideas and become an heir to his struggle for black rights or whether it is just appropriating his name when it suits them. ANC supporters and those who claim to be the heirs of black consciousness argue over whether he would have joined the ANC had he lived and whether he would have supported the policies of the ANC government. In a tribute to him, Nelson Mandela wrote that just before his death, Steve Biko was arranging a secret meeting with ANC leaders and was killed to prevent him joining forces with them. But the Azanian People's Organisation (Azapo), who still profess his black consciousness views, accuse the ANC of appropriating and corrupting his legacy. "Biko was not a neutral, apolitical and mythical icon that today he is scandalously made out to be in order to legitimise a black majority government that is weak,", Azapo said. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 12 September 2002)
* South Africa. Black and white unite against steel giant - Poor black and white communities in Vanderbijlpark, south-west of Johannesburg, have joined hands in a struggle against Africa's largest steel producer, Iscor. Residents of Steel Valley claim that for the last 40 years, the industrial giant has polluted their water, degraded their environment and brought sickness and suffering to their families. The communities are now embarking on a new course of action as 16 families take the company to court to demand compensation for their suffering. Iscor (the Iron and Steel Corporation of South Africa), started out as a state agency, a creation of the white minority apartheid regime and was privatised in 1994 with the advent of democracy in South Africa. Today the company ranks as the biggest producer of flat steel products in Africa. Last year, it boasted operating profits of more than 820 million rand ($77.5m), with the Vanderbijlpark plant producing more than 2.7 million tons of steel. A High Court ruling obtained by Iscor earlier this year prevents the company and the applicants in the court case from talking directly to the media about the situation. However Samson Mokoena, chairman of the Steel Valley Crisis Committee and spokesperson for the residents revealed why they were taking action. "We believe we've been fighting for sustainable development for more than 40 years. Most people have lost their properties here, they've lost their animals. We've been fighting and fighting and to us it's a continuous thing," he said. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 12 September 2002)
* South Africa. Church leaders have much to contribute to African unity - "Promoting church and ecumenical leadership is an essential part of reconstructing Africa. African leaders themselves recognise that the unity of the Churches is an essential part of the search for African unity", says World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary, Rev. Dr. Konrad Raiser. The planners of a pan-African conference called "Journey of Hope in Africa Continued", are in full agreement. Nearly 100 church educators, church and ecumenical leaders from over 25 countries, will be meeting in Johannesburg 16-23 September for a "critical evaluation of theological education and ecumenical formation". This is the first pan-African conference of its kind. (WCC, 12 September 2002)
* South Africa. Land reform - South Africa plans to redistribute about 30 percent of land currently owned by white commercial farmers by 2015 and will expropriate farms where necessary, a financial daily reported on 15 September. The Business Report quoted land affairs director general Gilingwe Mayende as saying the government would not apply the willing-seller, willing-buyer concept in its drive to address the problem of landlessness among the black majority. "We do have a target of redistributing 30 percent of all agricultural land in the country by the year 2015," Mayende said in an interview with the newspaper. The government is under pressure to speed up the land redistribution programme, since militants in neighbouring Zimbabwe, including veterans of the country's liberation war, started driving white farmers off their land in 2000. South Africa has repeatedly said it will not tolerate illegal land grabs. But fears of Zimbabwe-style land seizures have helped pressure the rand in the foreign exchange market. Unlike Zimbabwe, where the government has ordered some 2,900 white farmers to quit their land without compensation, South Africa is buying white-owned land for its redistribution scheme. Mayende said white farmers were being cooperative, but added that they could do more to help speed up the process. "As you can imagine the events from across our borders probably have played a role here. There is still a sense that many have this instinct of wanting to resist...," he said. "If the process of negotiations fail irrevocably, then we have the option of invoking the right of the state to expropriate land in the public interest." The government has so far avoided taking the expropriation route, with only one known case since 1994. More than 3.5 million blacks were driven from their homes, many at gunpoint during the 46 years of white apartheid rule that ended with Nelson Mandela's election as president in 1994. "Property rights are protected by our constitution, but the constitution says these property rights must be balanced against the public interest and the nation's commitment to land reform," said Mayende. He said while the legacy of apartheid had to be reversed swiftly, there was no case for Zimbabwe-style land grabs. (CNN, USA, 15 September 2002)
* Afrique du Sud. Complot d'extrême droite - Le 14 septembre, la police sud-africaine s'est emparée d'un camion chargé de munitions, d'armes et d'explosifs, appartenant à des extrémistes blancs nostalgiques de l'apartheid. A l'invitation d'une "autorité intérimaire de la république Boers", des Afrikaners devaient se rassembler à Lichtenburg pour renverser le gouvernement. A la suite d'une enquête discrète étalée sur un an, la police a investi les domiciles de plusieurs suspects. Pour l'instant, dix personnes ont été arrêtées, parmi lesquelles trois éléments des forces armées. La police accuse une organisation d'extrême droite baptisée "Boermag" (Force du Boer) d'avoir organisé l'opération afin de prendre le pouvoir et chasser les Noirs du pays. Un document a été saisi, donnant des précisions sur les préparatifs d'un projet visant la mise sur pied d'un nouveau gouvernement avec l'aide de quelque 3.700 membres de l'armée sud-africaine. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 16 septembre 2002)
* South Africa. The Billion Dollar Summit - The recently ended world summit in Johannesburg earned $1 billion and created 18,040 jobs. A report from South Africa's tourism ministry says that $8 billion was earned through increased economic activity and $2.6 billion from spending by delegates. The South African government spent $45 million on summit arrangements, while international sponsors of the conference, donor agencies and private companies put in $62 million. A survey commissioned by the tourism ministry involving 400 of the delegates, indicated that those who attended spent, on average, between $2,700 and $3,900 each. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 16 September 2002)
* South Africa. HIV puppet on Sesame Street - 17 September: The South African version of the children's educational programme Sesame Street has introduced an HIV positive character. The programme, aimed at very young children, wants to show that those living with HIV are no different to others and should be treated as such. About one in nine South Africans have the virus, with thousands of children having become orphans because of the AIDS epidemic. The provision of drugs to treat the disease has become a controversial political issue, with AIDS campaigners taking legal action to force the government to provide anti-retroviral drugs. The name of the latest addition to Takalani Sesame is Kami. She is five, she likes playing, reading and telling stories. The character has been introduced to the programme, with the HIV infection rate on the increase and with one in five South Africans now living with the virus. The idea is to teach children that people can live normal lives with HIV. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 17 September 2002)
* Afrique du Sud. Marée noire - 15 septembre. La marée noire menace la réserve naturelle de Saint Lucia, sur la côte est de l'Afrique du Sud, l'une des plus belles réserves d'animaux du continent. Des équipes de secours intensifient leurs efforts, notamment avec des barrières flottantes, pour tenter de contenir l'avancée d'une nappe de fioul et de gazole qui se dégage d'un cargo italien le Jolly Rubino, en proie à un incendie depuis le 10 septembre et échoué à 200 mètres de la côte. Les 22 hommes d'équipage ont pu être évacués. La nappe d'hydrocarbures menace de remonter les embouchures de la rivière Saint Lucia et du fleuve Umfolozi. La réserve marine menacée, inscrite au patrimoine mondial de l'Unesco, est l'habitat de 115 espèces différentes d'oiseaux, mais aussi d'hippopatames et de crocodiles. -- 17 septembre. De nouvelles fissures ont été repérées dans le cargo, forçant les sauveteurs à donner priorité au pompage des 800 tonnes de carburant restant dans les cuves, plutôt qu'au renflouage. Selon le scénario le plus optimiste, le pompage pourrait être achevé le 19 au soir. Pour l'instant, on assure que le carburant n'a pas pénétré dans les estuaires donnant accès à la réserve; seul le littoral a été souillé sur une distance de 1 à 2 km. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 17 septembre 2002) 

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