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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) 

Weekly anb1106.txt - #4/5