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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 18-01-2001

PART #4/4 - From SENEGAL to ZIMBABWE

* Senegal. 94 percent vote ‘Yes’ — Ninety-four percent of Senegalese who participated in the 7 January constitutional referendum voted ‘yes’, according to provisional results released in Dakar on 11 January by the National Election Observatory (ONEL). Out of 1,678,097 voters, 1,552,401 voted in favour against 99,032 or 6 percent, the electoral panel said. In total, 2,552,589 voters were registered for the poll whose turnout rate was about at 65.74 percent. The total numbers of ballots cast are estimated at 1,651,433 against a void of 26,644. The draft new constitution, which President Abdoulaye Wade submitted to the Senegalese people following his election in March 2000, provides for the dissolution of the Senate and the reduction of the number of MPs in the national assembly from 140 to 120. It also calls for the removal of the Economic and Social Council and the reduction of the presidential term of office from seven to five years. The quasi-totality of political parties had called for a “yes” vote, including the former ruling Socialist party. The referendum took place in the atmosphere of “calm, transparency, regularity and serenity,” chairman Louis Pereira de Carvahlo, of ONEL told reporters. (Pana, Senegal, 12 January 2001)

* Senegal. Parliamentary polls fixed for 29 April — Parliamentary elections would be held in Senegal on 29 April 2001, president Abdoulaye Wade announced in Dakar. Speaking at a meeting with representatives of the Front for Change (FAL), a coalition of parties that brought him to power in March 2000), Wade said that “public opinion”, in general, “is favourable to the dissolution of the National Assembly which was the principle agreed to by party members of FAL”. The Senegalese leader said that he intended to take “all the decisions quickly, particularly with regard to calling for elections, as soon as the new Constitution is promulgated”. Commenting on the possible transformation of rural communities into communes, he said he had no intention of doing so “by presidential order”. He further invited voters to discuss issues related to decentralisation, the prerogatives of regions, new regions or entities and the revision of the administrative division of prefectures. (Pana, Senegal, 16 January 2001)

* Sénégal. Vers les élections — Le président Abdoulaye Wade a décidé de dissoudre l’Assemblée nationale le 5 février et d’organiser des élections législatives, “probablement” le 29 avril. Le président a annoncé sa décision à la suite d’une rencontre avec la coalition des partis ayant soutenu sa candidature à la présidentielle. Le mandat de l’actuelle Assemblée élue en 1998 et dominée par le Parti socialiste de l’ancien président Abdou Diouf, se serait achevé en 2003. (Le Monde, France, 17 janvier 2001)

* Sierra Leone. Rebel leader still in Liberia — The prominent Sierra Leone rebel Sam Bockarie, known as Mosquito, is still in Liberia despite Monrovia’s announcement of his departure. Mr Bockarie said he had not been officially asked to leave and that requests to the international community to help facilitate his departure had not been met. Other prominent members of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) were also expelled in what the Foreign Ministry described as a new policy of disengagement from the rebels. Liberia has come under increasing international pressure to end its support for the RUF, and sanctions are currently being debated at the UN Security Council. President Charles Taylor is being treated as an international pariah, and Guinea is now encouraging Liberia’s own dissidents to strike across its northern border. In these circumstances, there has been public pressure on Mosquito to leave. But local human rights groups have been unenthusiastic about escorting him to the border, as he had earlier requested. It is also not clear whether he will be welcomed by his fellow rebels, as the RUF has undergone a change of leadership while he has been away. (BBC News, UK, 14 January 2001

* Sierra Leone. Le trafic de diamants — Le 13 janvier, le ministre des ressources minières, Mohamed Deen, a déclaré que l’armée et la police sierra-léonaises avaient reçu l’ordre d’arrêter tous les commerçants soupçonnés d’acheter des diamants du Front uni révolutionnaire (RUF), a rapporté SLENA. D’après SLENA, la mesure fait suite à une information publiée par le New York Times, concluant que des commerçants de Kenema achetaient des gemmes du RUF, bravant ainsi l’embargo de l’Onu sur le commerce des diamants de guerre. Tout commerçant ayant une licence et pris en flagrant délit d’achat de diamants de guerre au profit de compagnies d’exportation, ou toutes les compagnies ayant effectivement acheté des diamants de guerre, seront poursuivis et, s’ils s’avèrent coupables, auront leur licence confisquée, a déclaré M. Deen à Reuters. Il a ajouté que les efforts internationaux en vue de réduire la vente des diamants de guerre ont eu des résultats positifs en Sierra Leone. Les revenus des ventes autorisées ont augmenté de $1,5 million en 1999 à $10,7 millions en 2000. (IRIN, Abidjan, 15 janvier 2001)

* Somalia. UN backs Somalia peace mission

The United Nations Security Council has backed plans to send a peace-building mission to Somalia, nearly six years after UN troops were pulled out. The UN special representative to Somalia, David Stephen, said the mission would include political officers and aid agency officials, but not military force. The prime minister of Somalia’s transitional government, Ali Khalif Galayr, told the BBC his country did not need large numbers of peacekeepers, but it did need UN support for a programme of demobilisation of militia groups. Mr Galayr said the safety of UN personnel would be guaranteed. The Security Council has asked UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to prepare a proposal for a peace-building mission aimed at ending a decade of turmoil in Somalia. “There will be no huge mission or massive ambitions in Somalia,” Mr Stephen said, describing any future venture as “modest and practical”. But he stressed that Somalia’s administration needed assistance. Somalia has had no central government since 1991 and many of the country’s warlords oppose the transitional government formed in August last year and headed by President Abdulkassim Salat Hassan. In recent days, Somalia’s transitional government has accused neighbouring Ethiopia of sending troops into border areas. It also accuses Addis Ababa of arming and hosting militia groups. Ethiopia rejects the allegations. (BBC News, UK, 12 January 2001)

* South Africa. ANC begins soul-searching — Senior members of the governing African National Congress (ANC) have begun a four-day strategy meeting in South Africa. The gathering, or lekgotla, as it is known, is expected to give a frank assessment of the ANC‘s performance since President Thabo Mbeki was elected in June 1999. A spokesman for the ANC said members would be examining the party’s performance as an agent of change and social transformation in South Africa. ANC insiders say the meeting, at a secret location somewhere near Johannesburg, will present an opportunity for soul-searching about the direction of the party of government and the degree to which it is meeting the expectations of the electorate. Although the ANC took about 60% of the vote, turnout among black voters was exceptionally low. The challenge the ANC now faces is how to deliver on its local election promises of basic services such as water, housing and electricity. (BBC News, UK, 12 January 2001)

* Soudan. Enlèvement de femmes et d’enfants — Plus de 120 personnes, femmes et enfants, ont été enlevées au Sud-Soudan à la suite d’incursions de groupes de miliciens islamiques favorables au gouvernement de Khartoum. Ces incursions, qui ont eu lieu début janvier dans la région de Mariel Bai, dans l’Etat du Bahr el-Ghazal, à quelque 1.000 km au sud de la capitale, ont fait au moins 11 morts, selon des fonctionnaires de l’Onu. Les auteurs de ces attaques et de ces enlèvements sont des miliciens des “forces populaires de défense”, créées par le régime de Khartoum pour seconder l’armée dans sa lutte contre la guérilla du Sud-Soudan. (Ndlr: L’agence Misna pense plutôt à une incursion des Baqqara, éleveurs semi-nomades de souche arabe, auxquels Khartoum fournit des véhicules et des armes, leur condédant une sorte de “permis corsaire” pour piller les villages). Par ailleurs, selon la presse de la capitale, les forces rebelles auraient souffert de pertes importantes à la suite d’une offensive des troupes gouvernementales, faisant 60 morts dans la région d’Ayod, dans l’Etat du Haut Nil. (Zenit, Vatican, 11 janvier 2001)

* Sudan. Over 50 bombings in two months — In the last two months of the year 2000 the Khartoum airforce conducted over 50 bombings in South Sudan, killing over 47 people, for the most part civilians. The worst-hit region by the government Antonov planes was Equatoria, with over 20 bombings. In one of the latest attacks, on the city of Lui, 2 people were killed and the Cathedral of the local Episcopal church was destroyed. Between 7 and 8 air raids were instead carried out in both Bahr al Ghazal and the Blue Nile in the south. Sporadic attacks were also reported on targets in the High Nile and southern Kordofan. Yesterday another government raid was denounced in Mariel Bai (Bahr al Ghazal), in which 11 people were killed and some 120, for the most part women and children, were abducted. The raid was attributed to the People’s Defence Forces, but the dynamics of the attack were typical of those carried out by the Baqqara, nomad herders of Arab origin. The regime of Khartoum supplies these Islamic tribes with armoured vehicles and automatic weapons, given them a sort of go ahead to carry out continuous raids against villages of Sub-Saharan ethnic groups, such as the Dinka. In the past the Baqqara were known for robbing and abducting women and children, avoiding any form of bloodshed. (Misna, Iyaly, 12 January 2001)

* Sudan. Thousands said to flee rebel-held areas — Thousands of civilians have fled rebel-held areas in the remote Nuba mountains and sought sanctuary in government-controlled territory, a Sudanese government official said. Mohamed Haroon Kafi, a state minister in the Khartoum government, said rebels had held the civilians “in check” but failed to provide them needed services. More civilians are expected to flee, said Kafi, who was once a member of the rebel Sudan’s People Liberation Army but split to join the government in 1997. State-run Sudanese television said some 30,000 people had so far fled rebel-held regions and taken refuge in the town of Kadugli and nearby areas. The report said they fled after the army defeated a rebel force in the Nuba Mountains area, forcing some 500 guerrillas to surrender and hand over their weapons. A spokesman of the SPLA in Nairobi, Kenya, denied any civilians “have joined the government side.” The spokesman, Samson Kwaje, said the army has been bombing the area since December 22, but “the SPLA forces are in high morale.” The US-based Human Rights Watch in its World Report 2001 accused both the government and the SPLA of “gross human rights violations”. (AP, 17 January 2001)

* Togo. Dissoudre le Parlement? — 10 janvier. Le Comité d’action pour le renouveau (CAR), principal parti de l’opposition au Togo, a demandé au président Eyadema d’honorer un accord passé avec l’opposition en 1999 en dissolvant l’Assemblée nationale et en convoquant des élections anticipées en mars. “Le processus conduisant à la tenue d’élections législatives ne peut débuter que si l’Assemblée nationale, dans laquelle le Parti du peuple togolais, au pouvoir, détient la majorité, est dissoute”, a déclaré le chef du CAR, M. Yawovi Agboyibo, lors d’une conférence de presse. (L’accord de juillet 1999 contiendrait également un engagement de M. Eyadema de renoncer à briguer un nouveau mandat à la fin de 2003. Eyadema dirige le Togo depuis 1967). Le 11 janvier, un autre parti d’opposition, le Parti pour la démocratie et le renouveau (PDR) a critiqué vivement la demande du CAR, car la dissolution de l’Assemblée impliquerait des élections législatives anticipées. Or, dit le PDR, “à ce jour, l’état d’avancement des travaux de la Commission électorale nationale indépendante ne permet pas d’enfermer l’ensemble des opérations électorales dans les délais indiqués”. Il engage plutôt les partis à s’investir davantage pour aboutir à des législatives transparentes. On rappelle que l’organisation régulière de ces élections constitue le préalable à la reprise de l’aide internationale, suspendue depuis huit ans. -Le 13 janvier, le 34e anniversaire de l’arrivée au pouvoir du président Eyadema a été célébré à Lomé par un grand défilé militaire, en présence du nouveau président du Ghana John Kufuor. - Le 17 janvier, une délégation des “facilitateurs” du dialogue inter-togolais, composée de représentants de la francophonie, de l’Union européenne, de la France et de l’Allemagne, était attendue à Lomé, où elle devait aider à relancer le dialogue politique en perspective des prochaines élections législatives. (PANA, Sénégal, 10-17 janvier 2001)

* Togo. Catholic radio closed — The Catholic “Jeunesse espoir” radio station that broadcasts from the bell tower of the Mission of Tabligbo, in the diocese of Aneho (south Togo), was closed down last Saturday, a day ahead of the national festivity that marks the 1967 coup that brought current President Etienne Gnassingbe Eyadéma to power. The radio had just announced the celebration of a mass in memory of former president Sylvanus Olympio, killed on the 13th of January 1963 by a putschist military commando to which Eyadema belonged. The soldiers sent by the local prefecture sealed off the entrance of the radio station, which will remain closed indeterminately. Local radio’s are consented in Togo, but any kind of political or information programmes are forbidden, including news broadcasts. Radio “Jeunesse espoir” began a few years ago as an underground radio, but was then legalised. (Misna, Italy, 16 January 2001)

* Togo. Foreign ‘Facilitators’ to arrive in Lome — A delegation of facilitators comprising of representatives of the Francophonie, the European Union, France and Germany was expected Wednesday in Lome to help boost political dialogue between the ruling party and the opposition. The move fits within the framework of the implementation of the Joint Follow-up Committee, which would work along with the facilitators in a bid to foster dialogue among Togolese politicians culminating the setting up of a date for the holding of parliamentary elections. Political observers believe the arrival of “facilitators” was crucial toward the organisation of the belated. The sources said the Independent National Electoral Committee is already facing serious difficulties to operate, as a result of its internal dissension and the lack of means. (PANA, Senegal, 17 January 2001)

* Tunisie/UE. Conventions financières — Le 12 janvier, la Tunisie et l’Union européenne ont conclu deux conventions financières de 54,5 millions d’euros portant sur l’éducation et la mobilisation des ressources en eau. Les deux conventions ont été signées par le ministre tunisien des Affaires étrangères, Habib Ben Yahia, et le président de la Commission européenne Romano Prodi, arrivé la veille à Tunis dans le cadre d’une tournée dans le Maghreb. La première convention qui s’élève à 40 millions d’euros vise à appuyer les réformes engagées par la Tunisie dans le domaine de l’éducation de base. La seconde porte sur 14,5 millions d’euros destinés à assurer la protection et la valorisation des ressources en eau. (La Libre Belgique, 13 janvier 2001)

* Tunisie. Saisie d’un hebdomadaire — Les autorités tunisiennes ont saisi l’hebdomadaire “El Maouquif à l’imprimerie, le vendredi 12 janvier, a annoncé le rédacteur en chef de ce journal d’opposition, qui dénonce une manoeuvre du gouvernement destinée selon lui à museler la presse. El Maouquif est l’organe officiel du Rassemblement socialiste progressiste (RSP), l’une des six organisations de l’opposition légale reconnues. Ses responsables ont décidé en 1999 de donner la parole aux dissidents dans leur publication. L’édition saisie vendredi contenait des articles d’opinion et des reportages sur la situation des droits de l’homme en Tunisie. (La Libre Belgique, 15 janvier 2001)

* Uganda. Museveni promises free education — Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has launched his re-election campaign with a promise of free secondary school education. Under the plan, there will be a ceiling on fees in the short term, with a promise that fees will be scrapped in the longer term. There will also be bursary schemes and new schools built in each county, said the president. Mr Museveni, who has been in power for 14 years, is up against six challengers in the 6 March election. His toughest opponent looks set to be Kizza Besigye, a doctor and former army colonel, who has worked with the president since they fought alongside each other in a guerilla war in the early 1980s. The president also spoke of his plans to modernise farming methods, by reviving co-operative societies. Meanwhile Besigye called for an end to what he called the harassment of his supporters. (BBC News, UK, 12 January 2001)

* Uganda. Museveni faces six opponents — Campaigning has begun for Uganda’s presidential election, set for the 6th of March. Current President Yoweri Museveni, who is running for re-election, faces six opponents. His main opponent will probably be Kizza Besigye, a doctor and former guerrilla fighter alongside Museveni in the early 80’s, before becoming interior minister and a senior member of the army in 1986. Today Besigye is among the top critics of the President’s National Resistance Movement. Besigye has already expressed his favour for the withdrawal of Ugandan troops from the Democratic Republic of Congo and the opening of dialogue with the internal rebellion. The other candidates are Chapaa Karuhanga, the parliamentarian Aggrey Awori, Kibirige Mayanja, the actor Charles Ssenkubuge Siasa and Francis Bwengye, at the head of a dissident branch of the Democratic Party. Meanwhile, Museveni launched his re-election campaign with a promise of free secondary school education. (Misna, Italy, 16 January 2001)

* Uganda. Police to control campaign violence — Police have set up a team to fight election-related violence following the deaths of three people campaigning for candidates in the upcoming presidential election. The day before campaigning began January 11, Museveni’s campaign manager in Uganda’s central region was shot and killed after attending a strategy meeting. Museveni, 55, is seeking his final five-year term in the March 6 elections. He came to power in 1986 after a five-year guerrilla war and easily won election in May 1996 against two opponents under Uganda’s singular “no-party” system. This time, Museveni faces six opponents. Museveni suspended the activities of political parties in 1986, arguing that the parties, many of which had religious or tribal bases, were the root of the problems and conflicts that plagued Uganda and the rest of Africa. In a referendum last year, Ugandans voted to continue the suspension. Parties still exist but cannot conduct campaigns, publicly seek members or raise funds. Around 10 million people are registered to vote in this country of 22 million. (AP, 16 January 2001)

* Zambia. Retire, Chiluba advised — Three senior church leaders have said President Chiluba should retire from politics to crusade for peace using his vast experience and negotiating skills. In separate interviews the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ) executive director Thomas Lumba said Dr Chiluba’s potential should not only be localised but instead earn him international prominence as shown by his peace negotiations in Congo DR. “We want to see the President rise above partisan politics like South African former president Nelson Mandela, the late Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere and many others who had championed the call for democracy”. Northmead Assemblies of God senior pastor Joshua Banda echoed the same sentiments saying President Chiluba should be given the liberty beyond partisan politics to champion the young democracy he had begun as seen in the building of his Institute of Democracy and Industrial Relations. And Church of God regional superintendent Bishop John Mambo said the third term opinion polls on the President to be conducted by the National Organisation for Civic Education (NOCE) would not help. (Times of Zambia, 12 January 2001)

* Zambie. Economie et finances — Le 11 janvier, le président Chiluba a prévenu les milieux d’affaires locaux que son gouvernement serait obligé d’appliquer à leur encontre les lois en vigueur s’ils n’arrêtaient pas de faire baisser la valeur de la monnaie locale, le kwacha. S’exprimant lors d’une réunion avec les capitaines d’entreprise à Lusaka, ils les a accusé d’étouffer l’économie du pays et d’obliger le gouvernement à introduire des mesures restrictives pour endiguer la sortie trop importante de devises. Le kwacha a chuté à 4.700 contre le dollar américain ces dernières semaines, une situation que les autorités ont attribué à la fuite des capitaux. Ces deux derniers mois, le kwacha s’est déprécié de 22%, dont 16% pour le seul mois de novembre. Le mois dernier, M. Chiluba avait ordonné aux investisseurs étrangers de garder au moins 75% de leurs bénéfices dans le pays. - Le 13 janvier à Ndola, le président Chiluba s’est engagé à garder toutes les sociétés stratégiques publiques de son pays, déclarant que son gouvernement ne privatisera pas celles qui ne le sont pas encore, malgré les exigences de la communauté des bailleurs de fonds, dont la Banque mondiale. Il a notamment indiqué que son pays contestera la vente de la Société nationale de la distribution de l’électricité, de la Banque commerciale nationale, de la Raffinerie de pétrole d’Indeni, de la Société pétrolière nationale, de l’Autorité ferroviaire Tanzanie-Zambie et de la Société nationale de télécommunications, car, a-t-il dit, ces sociétés sont essentielles à la sécurité du pays. Il a souligné que certains investisseurs ne pensaient qu’à faire des bénéfices pour s’enrichir personnellement et enrichir leurs pays. Il a accusé les investisseurs étrangers d’être à l’origine de la fluctutaion du kwacha, en marquant leur préférence pour le dollar qu’ils avaient adopté comme la monnaire officielle. Il a averti que le gouvernement allait intervenir dans les opérations de ces investisseurs. (D’après PANA, Sénégal, 12-14 janvier 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Mesures financières — Le 11 janvier, le gouvernement zimbabwéen, qui connaît des problèmes de trésorerie, a indiqué qu’une chasse aux fraudeurs lancée il y a deux ans, a permis de recouvrir plus de 70,5 milliards de dollars zimbabwéens (1 $ US = 55 $ zimb.). Le gouvernement a par ailleurs annoncé son intention de réduire l’importation d’Afrique du Sud de produits non essentiels afin de mettre un terme à son déficit commercial avec son voisin d’Afrique australe. (PANA, Sénégal, 11 janvier 2001)

* Zimbabwe/Congo (RDC). 300 troops court-martialed — Up to 300 soldiers were court-martialed by the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) in the past month alone over their refusal to be deployed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as Zimbabwe sends more troops to ward off a rebel offensive, it was established this week. Although the army denied the court martials, authoritative military sources said a significant number of Zimbabwean troops had returned home in December for the Christmas holidays, just about the same time renewed fighting intensified in the DRC. Army spokesman Chancellor Diye said court martials were a routine thing in the army involving different cases but said he did not know of anyone who had been court-martialed over their refusal to go to the DRC. The sources also said a number of court martials had taken place within the DRC itself and these had affected, among others, four battalion commanders who fled from the rebels and left equipment worth millions of dollars. More court martials were expected against some commanders who were among the 300 soldiers who fled the DRC into Zambia last month alongside 1 000 Congolese troops. (Financial Gazette, Harare, 12 January 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Une victoire du parti de Mugabe — Le candidat du ZANU-PF du président Mugabe a remporté largement une élection législative partielle organisée le 13 janvier dans la circonscription de Bikita Ouest, à 400 km au sud de la capitale, a annoncé la radio le 15 janvier. Claudius Makova a obtenu 12.999 voix contre 7.001 pour le candidat du MDC (opposition). Les responsables du MDC ont affirmé que la violence de la campagne du parti au pouvoir avait intimidé les électeurs. Ce résultat a été analysé comme une marque de popularité du chef de l’Etat, à un an de l’élection présidentielle. (AP, 15 janvier 2001)

* Zimbabwe. By-election boost for Mugabe — President Robert Mugabe’s ruling Zanu-PF party has won a key by-election in south-eastern Zimbabwe, regaining a seat won by the opposition in the June election. The official Ziana news agency said the ruling Zanu-PF party’s candidate, retired Colonel Cladius Makova, had received 12,993 votes. Boniface Pakai, the candidate for the main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), won 7,001 votes. Despite violent incidents in the run-up to the by-election, officials said polling days had been largely without incident, and with a sharp drop in turnout on the second day. The MDC captured the seat of Bikita West by a narrow margin in general elections last June, but it fell vacant three months later when the MP died. The opposition had hoped to prove that it could hold on to the gains it made during the general elections. (BBC News, UK, 16 January 2001)