PAMBAZUKA NEWS 99 A weekly electronic newsletter for social justice in Africa
CONTENTS: 1. Editorial, 2. Conflict, Emergencies, and Crises, 3. Rights and Democracy, 4. Corruption, 5. Health, 6. Education and Social Welfare, 7. Women and Gender, 8. Refugees and Forced Migration, 9. Racism and Xenophobia, 10. Environment, 11. Media, 12. Development, 13. Internet and Technology, 14. eNewsletters and Mailing Lists, 15. Fundraising, 16. Courses, Seminars, and Workshops, 17. Advocacy Resources, 18. Jobs, 19. Books and Arts, 20. Letters and Comments If you have e-mail access, you can get web resources listed in this Newsletter by sending a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the web address (usually starting with http://) in the body of your message. Want to get off our subscriber list? Write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and your address will be removed immediately! /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 1.EDITORIAL CRICKET, HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AND THE TREASON TRIAL Patrick Burnett While the debacle over world cup cricket matches being played in Zimbabwe continues to attract headlines, there is mounting concern over the trial of Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai, with many believing that the charges against him have been manufactured to remove the opposition leader from the Zimbabwean political landscape. Tsvangirai, Welshman Ncube, the MDC secretary-general and MP for Bulawayo North-East, and Renson Gasela, the shadow minister of agriculture and Gweru Rural MP, are facing charges of hiring Dickens & Madson, a Canadian-based political lobby firm owned by Ari Ben-Menashe, leading witness for the state, to plot the assassination of President Robert Mugabe and subsequent overthrow of the Zanu PF-led government. The three deny the charges, but could face the death penalty if convicted. Evidence in the trial has so far consisted mainly of a video recording of a meeting between Ben-Menashe and Tsvangirai, in which Ben-Menashe says the two discussed “eliminating” Mugabe. The defence argues that the meeting was set up to trap Tsvangirai. Tsvangirai has claimed that he is innocent of all charges against him and that the videotape was heavily edited with the word “eliminate” taken out of context. Ben-Menashe claims that Tsvangirai had offered him money to facilitate the assassination of Mugabe, initiate a coup d'etat, and install a transitional government, but his credibility has been damaged by his ties to the Zimbabwean government. According to the Zimbabwean Independent, Dickens and Madson received a US$400,000 contract from the Zimbabwean government last May. They were hired to try and improve Zimbabwe's image abroad. The International Association of Political Consultants, a professional association of political advisers from more than 50 countries, has sharply criticized the trial. IAPC president Ken Feltman urged media organisations to focus on what he called a “bogus trial which could cause an innocent man to lose his life” and said the IAPC were “disturbed” that Ben Menashe was the star witness for the state. “We have learned that Ben Menashe’s firm, Dickens & Madson of Canada, was on President Mugabe’s payroll long before he met with Tsvangirai and had received $400,000 from the Mugabe government.” Feltman said although Ben Menashe had described himself as a political consultant, he was not nor ever had been a member of IAPC. “The directors of IAPC reject the contention that Morgan Tsvangirai is guilty of trying to plan an assassination and believe this is a plot organised by Ari Ben Menashe and financed by Mugabe as a means of eliminating Tsvangirai as a political opponent.” Meanwhile, the latest round of quiet diplomacy is being conducted by South African President Thabo Mbeki and Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, who has stressed “constructive engagement” to help Zimbabwe. Obasjano reportedly said: “We must help Zimbabwe out of its predicament and problem. We cannot do that if we become unduly and unnecessarily critical and antagonistic to Zimbabwe. We must remain constructively engaged with Zimbabwe. If there are points to be raised with Zimbabwe, like brothers we put ourselves in a room, we lock the door and we tell ourselves (the) truth.” The continued emphasis on quiet diplomacy despite its failure is viewed with dismay by human rights and democracy groups. In late January, Amnesty International issued a statement saying the level of fear among human rights activists in Zimbabwe had never been greater. And in a report released at the end of January, Tony Reeler, a former director of the Amani Trust, described the “grim picture” painted by a number of reports on the organised violence and torture that has afflicted Zimbabwe since February 2000 and the absence of credible government attempts to stop them. Gross human rights abuses had been perpetrated, including summary executions; extra-judicial killings; disappearances; torture; mass psychological torture; political rape; rape; illegal arrests and unlawful detentions. However, Mugabe continues to escape censure from African leaders for the human rights situation in Zimbabwe, something which Tsvangirai himself has described as being a result of a “dubious African brotherhood”. Obasanjo’s meeting with Mugabe this week apparently dealt with attempts to persuade Mugabe to implement reforms ahead of a Commonwealth meeting that would strengthen the case against renewing sanctions. This would in turn encourage Mugabe to implement more reforms. Mbeki, Obasanjo and Howard are due to meet in South Africa next month to review their decision to suspend Zimbabwe from the Commonwealth after Mugabe was re-elected last March in elections dismissed by Commonwealth observers as fraudulent. South Africa, Nigeria and Australia are tasked with reviewing the one-year suspension of Zimbabwe. A further diplomatic triumph for Mugabe has been the hosting of preliminary games of the cricket world cup in Zimbabwe. England was the only country to announce the cancellation of their match in Zimbabwe, but this was mainly due to safety concerns as opposed to being a result of taking a politically principled position. The only official statement of solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe emanating from World Cup structures that suggested there may be moral problems with playing a game in a country where torture and starvation were taking place came from Zimbabwean cricketers Andrew Flower and Henry Olongo, who wore black armbands during their game against Namibia. “We cannot in good conscience take to the field and ignore the fact that millions of our compatriots are starving, unemployed and oppressed. We are aware that hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans may even die in the coming months through a combination of starvation, poverty and Aids. We are aware that many people have been unjustly imprisoned and tortured simply for expressing their opinions about what is happening in the country,” the pair said in a statement. Two recent trials suggest that justice may prevail, says an article published by the Digital Freedom Network (http://www.dfn.org/news/zimbabwe/tsvang- trial.htm). The first is the dropping of charges against 41 white farmers who had refused to vacate their farms in protest of the government's land reform program that involves the involuntary seizure of land without adequate compensation. The second trial involved four MDC members, including Member of Parliament Job Sikhala, who were accused of plotting to overthrow the government. They filed a motion with the High Court in February to have their case dropped, claiming that a confession was coerced from them while under police custody. The judge ruled in their favour and dismissed the charges. But the DFN article also acknowledges that Mugabe has been known to fire judges and reverse their decisions on a whim and that if the court finds Tsvangirai guilty, then Mugabe would have succeeded in eliminating his political competition. Just how far will the failure in quiet diplomacy extend? Having said little or nothing about Zimbabwe’s human rights record, it remains to be seen what Mbeki and Obasanjo would have to say if Tsvangirai was found guilty and sentenced to death. Not so long ago a similar exercise in quiet diplomacy involving a human rights activist, a South African president and a despotic ruler ended badly. In that case the characters were Ken Saro-Wiwa, South African President Nelson Mandela and General Sani Abacha of Nigeria. But lets hope that’s where the similarities end. Links: * Who should be sanctioned? http://zwnews.com/issuefull.cfm?ArticleID=6108 * Treason trial in secret session http://zwnews.com/issuefull.cfm?ArticleID=6175 * Tsvangirai Briefs Obasanjo On Crisis http://allafrica.com/stories/200302110459.html * Ben-Menashe a Crook, Say Tsvangirai's Defence Lawyers http://allafrica.com/stories/200302040222.html * African nations to drop Mugabe sanctions http://news.independent.co.uk/world/africa/story.jsp?story=376474 SAY NO TO WAR ON IRAQ Over the last 40 years, the United States has bombed Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama, Grenada, Sudan, Libya, Iraq, and Yugoslavia. Millions worldwide will take to the streets on Saturday, February 15, 2003 in a coordinated anti-war protest to stop the next bombing: a planned war against Iraq. Read commentaries from Ali, Chomsky, Fisk, Monbiot and others by clicking on the links provided or browse through the selected background links, documents, news articles, web sites and poetry, before adding your name to any one or all of a number of petitions against the war. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=13252 /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 2.CONFLICT, EMERGENCIES, AND CRISES ANGOLA: CABINDA SEPERATISTS CONFIRM "EXPLORATORY" TALKS WITH GOVERNMENT http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=32232 Separatists in Angola's northern Cabinda province on Tuesday confirmed reports there have been "exploratory" talks with the government over the future of the oil-rich enclave. ANGOLA: UN SECURITY COUNCIL COMMENDS PEACE PROCESS http://www.panapress.com/index.asp?code=eng&dte=11/04/2002 Following an update from Secretary General Kofi Annan, the UN Security Council has commended steps taken by the authorities in Luanda towards full implementation of the Lusaka Protocol on peace in Angola. BURUNDI: EXILED REBEL LEADERS RETURN HOME http://www.sabcnews.com/africa/central_africa/0,1009,52842,00.html After almost a decade in exile, two of Burundi's key rebel leaders are due to return to the country following the signing of the ceasefire agreement last year. Analysts say this will help the peace process in Burundi. DRC: UGANDA TO PULL TROOPS OUT http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/2744215.stm Uganda has agreed to withdraw its troops from Ituri Province, in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. This is after the United Nations warned that Uganda and Rwanda had begun fresh deployments of troops near Bunia, in Ituri Province, despite pulling out most of their soldiers late last year under a peace agreement. DRC: UN CALLS FOR DEPLOYMENT OF MORE MILITARY OBSERVERS IN MAMBASA http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=32183 A military observer team should be deployed in Mambasa, near the Ituri river in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a United Nations-led inter- agency rapid assessment mission organised by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has recommended. IVORY COAST: PEACE EFFORTS REDOUBLED AS FIGHTING FLARES IN WEST http://allafrica.com/stories/200302090092.html Government troops in Cote d’Ivoire reported fresh fighting in the west of the country on Sunday, as efforts continued to persuade President Laurent Gbagbo and his rivals to implement a peace accord agreed in France last month. Related Link: * Death squads sow terror http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?a=37&o=15740 LIBERIA: HUMAN TRAGEDY IN THE MAKING AS THOUSANDS FLEE CONFLICT http://www.ips.org/index.htm A major human tragedy is in the making in the Liberian capital Monrovia, where thousands are seeking refuge after fleeing the conflict between government and rebel forces. MOZAMBIQUE: IMPENDING FOOD CRISIS IN THE SOUTH http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=940 A famine early warning agency has warned that southern Mozambique faces yet another poor harvest this year, which was likely to lead to a "dramatic increase" in food insecurity. In a report based on field assessments and analysis of satellite imagery, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network said that insufficient and erratic rains over the last three months has resulted in extremely poor harvest prospects throughout southern Mozambique, and in parts of the central region. SOUTHERN AFRICA: THE BIG ISSUES OF THE FOOD CRISIS http://www.caa.org.au/world/africa/bigissues/ The Southern African food crisis didn't appear overnight, nor is it the result of a single problem or issue. Natural, economic, health, political disasters and decisions all played their part. The Big Issue series looks at some of the major underlying reasons for the crisis, their impacts on the lives of ordinary people, and what can be done. SUDAN: BRINKMANSHIP ENDANGERS THE PEACE PROCESS http://www.crisisweb.org An offensive by government-backed southern militias in the Western Upper Nile oilfields of southern Sudan during the first month of 2003 presented the gravest threat to the peace process since its revitalisation in mid-2002. A strengthened cessation of hostilities agreement was eventually signed on 4 February and a memorandum of understanding codifying points of agreement on outstanding issues of power and wealth sharing was signed two days later. However the fighting raises serious questions about the government's commitment to peace, says the International Crisis Group. SUDAN: REPORT SAYS CIVILIANS TARGETED BY GOV'T AND AFFILIATED MILITIAS http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=32231 Civilians in Western Upper Nile (Wahdah State), southern Sudan, including women and children, have been targeted by the Government of Sudan and allied militia groups in a series of attacks since the new year, a new report has said. A preliminary report issued on Sunday in Khartoum by the independent Civilian Protection Monitoring Team (CPMT) stated that the attacks had occurred in villages around Mayom, Mankien, Tam and Leel. ZIMBABWE: ONE MILLION FACING STARVATION IN CITIES http://allafrica.com/stories/200302080103.html More than one million people in Zimbabwe's urban areas are facing starvation as the food situation in the country continues to deteriorate. This brings to seven million the number of people in need of humanitarian aid according to the latest United Nations food situation report. ZIMBABWE: POLITICAL VIOLENCE REPORT FOR JANUARY 2003 http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=951 Political violence has characterised the run up to the parliamentary by- election to be held in Kuwadzana over the weekend of 29 - 30 March 2003. The imposition of an unofficial curfew by ZANU PF supporters in Kuwadzana, following the death of ZANU PF member, Tonderai Mangwiro, in a petrol bombing, has stepped up organised violence and torture in the area. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 3.RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY AFRICA: DEFENDING DEMOCRACY - A SURVEY OF AFRICAN POLICY TRENDS While many African countries have made impressive strides in strengthening democracy and human rights within their own borders, there remains a serious gap in their support of democracy as a part of their foreign policy. This is the conclusion of Defending Democracy: A Global Survey of Foreign Policy Trends 1992-2002, recently published by the Democracy Coalition Project, a research and advocacy nongovernmental organisation involved in democracy promotion around the world. In addition to documenting an increase in support for democratic norms and processes internally, the survey established an upward trend in African countries' willingness to back international efforts that promote such institutions. However, serious problems remain. Recent developments such as those surrounding the flawed elections in Zimbabwe demonstrate enduring tensions between democracy promotion and the long-standing principles of non-intervention and solidarity that have traditionally governed Africa's interstate relations. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=13246 AFRICA: THE LINKS BETWEEN POVERTY AND DEMOCRACY http://www.sarpn.org.za/documents/d0000149/index.php Political analysts have long believed that sustaining democratic government in a poor society is harder than in a relatively wealthy one. This is a sobering thought for all those committed to democracy in Africa. Precisely why poverty undermines democracy, however, is much less clear. Perhaps poor people have far less time to devote to political participation. Or, given the imperative to satisfy basic survival, people may sacrifice "higher order" needs like self- government, freedom and equality, says an Afrobarometer Briefing Paper. IVORY COAST: 'HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS WILL BE PUNISHED' - DE MELLO UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Sergio Vieira de Mello has expressed "grave concern" over the growing violence in Côte d'Ivoire, condemning the propaganda carried by some national media aimed at inciting war, hatred and xenophobia. de Mello reminded all concerned that grave human rights violations were punishable as international crimes. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=13198 NIGERIA/ZIMBABWE: OBASANJO FAVOURS ‘CONSTRUCTIVE ENGAGEMENT’ http://allafrica.com/stories/200302080221.html Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo said last Friday he preferred a policy of ‘constructive engagement’ and effective diplomacy, rather than ‘antagonism’ towards Zimbabwe. Obasanjo was speaking in the South African capital, Pretoria, after talks with President Thabo Mbeki on the first day of a two-day state visit. NIGERIA: COURT RULES FEES CHARGED BY ELECTORAL BODY ILLEGAL http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=32187 A court in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, ruled last Thursday that the country's electoral commission acted illegally when it charged political parties fees to field candidates in upcoming general elections. NIGERIA: SAFETY FEARS AHEAD OF ELECTION As Nigeria prepares for the 2003 general elections, concerns for the safety and security of the population have increased, says the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) in its position paper for the fifty-ninth session of the UN Commission on Human Rights. "Given the experience of Nigeria's electoral history, the elections in 2003 also pose a heightened threat of outbreaks of inter-communal and religious violence as different political groups jostle for electoral advantage," said OMCT. The position paper - which deals with themes of the right to reparation; impunity; human rights defenders; violence against women and children; and economic, social and cultural rights - also contains a statement on the human rights situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=13212 NIGERIA: SHARIA LAW MOVES TO NIGERIA'S CHRISTIAN SOUTH http://iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=86&art_id=qw1044868683248B213&set_id=1 Islamic sharia law is making inroads into the predominantly Christian south of Nigeria at a time when religion is expected to be a crucial issue in looming general elections. SOUTH AFRICA: COMPENSATE VICTIMS OF THE PAST The South African government should urgently implement outstanding recommendations made by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), say Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch in a briefing paper. "President Thabo Mbeki should use the opening of the 2003 parliamentary session to announce a program of reparations for victims and to renounce any possibility of a further amnesty," the organisations urged. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=13304 SWAZILAND: KING FAILS TO ADDRESS KEY ISSUES http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=32186 King Mswati III delivered a much anticipated speech last Friday when he opened the Houses of Parliament, but his briefest State of the Kingdom address ever avoided mentioning the on-going political crises, and offered only one new initiative to combat AIDS, poverty and the current food crisis. ZAMBIA: UPROAR OVER "NATIONAL UNITY" GOVERNMENT http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=32240 Controversy has erupted over President Levy Mwanawasa's decision to appoint key opposition members of parliament (MPs) to his cabinet, a move that critics say is a breach of Zambian law and designed to weaken his opponents. ZIMBABWE: MUGABE COMES IN FROM THE COLD http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?a=37&o=15614 South Africa and Nigeria will allow Zimbabwe to be readmitted to the Commonwealth group of nations when its suspension expires next month, Australian Prime Minister John Howard said on Monday. Howard said a decision by South African President Thabo Mbeki and Nigeria's Olusegun Obasanjo to cancel a meeting with him next month would effectively see Zimbabwe readmitted to the 54- nation grouping of former British colonies. ZIMBABWE: STUDENT LEADERS ARRESTED http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=948 Police in Bindura have arrested Itai Masotcha Zimunya, the Zimbabwe National Student’s Union vice president. He was arrested in Bindura where he had gone to organise for mass action. ZIMBABWE: ZINASU WINS 2003 STUDENTS PEACE PRIZE http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=947 The Zimbabwe National Student’s Union fight for peace and human rights in Zimbabwe has received international recognition. The organisation has been awarded the Student Peace Prize 2003 by the International Student Festival in Trondheim. The ISFiT awards the Peace Price once every two years to a student or a student organisation that has made a particular effort for democracy and human rights. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 4.CORRUPTION AFRICA: SHORT WARNS OF OIL BOYCOTT OVER AFRICAN CORRUPTION http://www.transparency.org/cgi-bin/dcn-read.pl?citID=51593 UK International Development minister Clare Short has warned the oil industry there is the risk of more Brent Spar-style consumer boycotts if companies fail to join a global drive to stamp out corruption in the developing world by disclosing the payments they make to governments. Oil companies are meeting in London this week to discuss a British plan intended to promote more transparency in the industry. ANGOLA: ANGOLA'S BATTLE FOR SURVIVAL http://www.transparency.org/cgi-bin/dcn-read.pl?citID=51553 In Luanda there are two ways of getting high on Angola's wealth. You can become an oil executive and work from a penthouse office on Lenin Avenue, gazing beyond the shattered skyline out to sea. Or you can join the street children downtown who douse rags in petrol and sniff themselves into a chemical haze before competing with dogs to scavenge from mounds of rubbish. The two worlds have long co-existed in the capital but the approaching first anniversary of peace in a country that suffered three decades of war raises a crucial question: will ordinary Angolans benefit? No other country is so simultaneously rich and poor. LESOTHO: BRIBERY ROW MARS AMEC'S BALLOT WIN http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,3604,889566,00.html?81% 3A+Guardian+business+daily A row over bribery allegations took the shine off shareholder approval for the Amec board to proceed with its full takeover of French construction company SPIE this week. A legal case involving SPIE Batignolles and its involvement in a controversial dam known as the Lesotho Highlands Water Project was adjourned on Monday until October in an African court. MALAWI: HEADS ROLL AS INVESTIGATIONS CONTINUE INTO GRAIN CORRUPTION http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=32252 Malawi on Wednesday confirmed the arrest of two senior government officials accused of obstructing investigations into the sale of the country's strategic maize reserves which added to the country's food crisis. NIGERIA: NIGERIA SHINES LIGHT ON CORRUPTION AT THE TOP http://www.transparency.org/cgi-bin/dcn-read.pl?citID=51549 Nigeria's national assembly, long seen as one of the main centres of graft in a notoriously corrupt polity, is expected to begin within weeks public hearings on a document that will cause it great embarrassment. A 300-page annual report on government spending submitted last month by Vincent Azie, the country's auditor-general, reads like an extended charge sheet against parliament, the president's office, government ministries and the judiciary. NIGERIA: SENATE MISFIRED BY TARGETTING ME, SAYS AKANBI http://www.transparency.org/cgi-bin/dcn-read.pl?citID=51569 Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Justice Mustapha Akanbi, has said he has nothing to lose by giving up his chairmanship of the Commission. This follows a proposed ammendment to the ICPC Act by federal legislators. SOUTH AFRICA: RADEBE OUTRAGED AT REPORTS BLAMING HIM FOR BUNGLED TENDER http://allafrica.com/stories/200302090004.html Public Enterprise Minister Jeff Radebe and his director general said on Saturday they were "outraged" at media reports blaming them for the bungled privatisation of Transnet's production house to an allegedly ANC-linked company. SOUTH AFRICA: YENGENI TRIAL DELAYED BY BID TO STRIKE DEAL http://www.dispatch.co.za/2003/02/12/southafrica/cbid.html The fraud and corruption trial of former ANC chief whip Tony Yengeni and businessman Michael Woerfel appears set to get under way. A possible settlement deal between Yengeni and the state has not materialised. TANZANIA: CORRUPTION IS DECLINING, LUMBANGA SAYS http://www.transparency.org/cgi-bin/dcn-read.pl?citID=51570 Chief Secretary Marten Lumbanga has claimed it is untrue that corruption was on the increase. Speaking at the closing of a one-day conference on 'Good Governance' at the Courtyard Hotel, Dar es Salaam, he said the corruption index in Tanzania had fallen from 81 points to 71, according to Transparency International. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 5.HEALTH AFRICA: FEARS OVER AFRICA MENINGITIS EPIDEMIC http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2735783.stm Millions of people across Africa are to be vaccinated against a new killer strain of meningitis. The World Health Organisation has shipped an initial batch of 100,000 vaccines to Burkina Faso. It follows fears of a possible epidemic across what health chiefs describe as Africa's meningitis belt, which stretches from Senegal to Ethiopia. AFRICA: OF AID AND AIDS http://www.presentdanger.org/frontier/2003/0205aids.html President Bush has received kudos for his announcement that the administration will propose $15 billion over five years to combat HIV/AIDS abroad. But, says a commentary from Foreign Policy in Focus, many AIDS activists and experts are still waiting to see whether the administration will actually be able to wrestle the money away from a less enthusiastic Republican-controlled House of Representatives. There is also concern that the proposal has slighted multilateral efforts to combat HIV/AIDS - particularly the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria - in favour of a renewed emphasis on bilateral initiatives. AFRICA: PROTECTION FOR THE POOR, NOT FOR PATENTS http://www.choike.org/cgi-bin/choike/links/page.cgi?p=ver_informe&id=956 In November 2001, WTO members at a ministerial conference in Doha signed up to a 'Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health' which explicitly endorses the right of poorer countries to issue compulsory licences for the manufacture of patent-protected drugs in the face of a threat to public health. Also at the Doha conference, the TRIPS Council was told to find out, by the end of 2002, how a country can get access to generic drugs if it cannot manufacture them itself. At the end of November, talks on this question broke down, primarily because of the unbridgeable gap between the positions of the United States and the developing countries. The Doha 'Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health' calls for the Agreement to be interpreted in a way that promotes progress towards the goal of 'medicines for all'. It remains to be hoped that the industrialised nations will take this call to heart and heed it more fully in future negotiations within the TRIPS Council. AFRICA: SOUTHERN NGO REPORT BACK ON GLOBAL FUND Delays in the approval of NGO proposals from the first round of grants from The Global Fund To Fight AIDS, TB And Malaria (GFATM) was causing great concern amongst NGO board members due to the fact that it was frustrating efforts by civil society to participate in the grassroots response to HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria. This is according to the first year update for Southern NGOs from the Southern NGO board team. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=13199 DRC: 38 DIE IN SUSPECTED EBOLA OUTBREAK IN THE CONGO http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?a=37&o=15735 Thirty-eight people in the Republic of Congo have died in a suspected outbreak of the deadly ebola virus, the country's health ministry said late on Tuesday. KENYA: IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF LIVES People living with HIV/AIDS (PWAs) in rural Western Kenya are learning to improve the quality of their lives through better food production. The Kenya AIDS Intervention Prevention Project Group (KAIPPG) is a local NGO that has been running HIV/AIDS programmes in rural communities in the small town of Mumias, 50 km from the Uganda border. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=13209 LESOTHO: BORINGER-INGELHEIN TO SUPPLY THE ANTI-HIV DRUG TO LESOTHO FREE OF CHARGE FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=927 An agreement between the government of Lesotho and the Germany-based pharmaceutical company Boringer-Ingelheim has led to the launch of the AIDS drug nevirapine to combat HIV/AIDS in the country. SOMALIA: MEASLES OUTBREAK IN SOUTH http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=32266 Three children have died in an outbreak of measles in the Middle Juba region of southern Somalia, according to an international aid agency operating in the area. SOUTH AFRICA: FREE AIDS DRUGS AND THE TALK OF LIFE http://www.msf.org/countries/page.cfm?articleid=98CB3392-DF2C-46D4- 82B953E539C0F237 Every Monday morning, patients infected with the AIDS virus come to the red- brick clinic in this impoverished community of dilapidated shacks. In the waiting room, babies wail, nurses hustle and some young women fidget on wooden benches as their earrings dangle and their chipped pink toenails gleam. The clinic looks like one of the hundreds of medical centers overwhelmed by South Africa's AIDS epidemic. Yet there is little talk of depression or dying here. SOUTH AFRICA: NOW REST YOUR CASE, MISS MANANA http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/2003/02/02/news/news05.asp Mpumalanga's controversial health minister, Sibongile Manana, has tried once again to evict the Greater Nelspruit Rape Intervention Project from two of the province's hospitals. Manana and Grip - which provides free counselling, health care and anti-Aids drugs to rape victims in the province - have been at loggerheads since October 2000, when she lambasted Grip for providing the drugs to rape survivors. SOUTH AFRICA: TAC EMBARKS ON MARCH FOR TREATMENT ACCESS On February 14, the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) will embark on a march for access to HIV/AIDS treatment. TAC says if government fails to sign a national treatment and prevention plan that includes the use of anti-retroviral therapy, then they will be forced to embark on a national and international campaign of civil disobedience against the South African government. The link provided below contains a variety of background information and documents distributed by Africa Action dealing with issues relating to treatment access. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=13238 UGANDA: LEADING USER OF ANTI RETROVIRALS http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=32265 A total of 10,000 people, or one third of the 30,000 anti-retro viral (ARV) users in sub-Saharan Africa, are in Uganda, the ministry of health announced this week. "Uganda has been able to achieve this because it has made a marathon roll out of Voluntary Counselling and Testing or VCT's, which is necessary if drug misuse, and eventual resistance is to be avoided," the Minister of State for Health, Mike Mukula, told IRIN on Wednesday. UGANDA: UGANDA STARTS HUMAN TRIALS OF AIDS VACCINE http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?a=37&o=15742 Trials of a potential Aids vaccine for Africa have begun with human volunteers in Uganda, one of the worst hit countries on the continent. The vaccine is specifically designed to combat the A strain of the HIV virus, which is the type prevalent in east Africa. WEST AFRICA: UN URGES HELP FOR HEALTH SECTOR IN WAR-STRICKEN REGION http://allafrica.com/stories/200302080033.html As years of conflict and civil unrest continue to weaken the health sector in West Africa, the World Health Organisation has called for immediate donor support in order to avoid a total break down of the region's systems. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 6.EDUCATION AND SOCIAL WELFARE AFRICA: CHILDREN SHOULD NOT BE USED IN ADULT WARS On the eve of the anniversary of the entry into force of an international treaty banning child soldiers, the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers warned that the problem of child soldiers, far from being solved, is still prevalent. "Child soldiers continue to be abused as foot soldiers, porters, look-outs and sexual slaves - the problem is not decreasing but, with each new conflict, children are at risk of being drawn into the fighting," said Casey Kelso, Coordinator of the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=13279 AFRICA: POVERTY AND EXCLUSION AMONG URBAN CHILDREN http://www.unicef.org/newsline/2003/03pr09urban.htm Asserting that tens of millions of urban children around the world are living in poverty and life-threatening environments, UNICEF says that municipal authorities need to place the best interest of the child at the forefront of their decision-making. At the launch of the report, "Poverty and Exclusion among Urban Children", released by UNICEF's Innocenti Research Centre (IRC), UNICEF Deputy Director Kul Gautam stated: "The tens of millions of urban children who are denied basic social services - such as education and health care - are living proof that the world has systematically failed to protect them." AFRICA: UNITED NATIONS STEPS UP ACTION ON CHILD SOLDIERS http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=944 In a recent diplomatic dance to confront those governments and armed groups using child soldiers, the United Nations took both a firm step forward and a small side step. The challenge to act came in 2001 when the UN Security Council, led by France, adopted a ground-breaking initiative to compile a list of those using or recruiting children as soldiers in armed conflicts on its agenda. Non-governmental organisations campaigning against the use of child soldiers welcomed this landmark resolution. ANGOLA: BIGGEST-EVER EDUCATION DRIVE http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=32161 On Monday 250,000 Angolan children will return to school in the biggest education campaign in the country's history, backed by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Angolan government. The size and scope of 'Back to School' "underlines the fact that education is being unswervingly endorsed as the engine to drive Angola's long-term recovery" after three decades of civil war, UNICEF said in a statement. BURUNDI: SCHOOL FEEDING PROGRAMME LAUNCHED http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=32246 The World Food Programme (WFP), in partnership with World Vision, has launched a major school-feeding programme in the northern Burundi province of Karuzi, thereby boosting the chances of higher school attendance rates among otherwise hungry pupils. DRC: MONUC DENOUNCES RECRUITMENT OF CHILD SOLDIERS http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=32185 The United Nations has denounced the widespread recruitment of child soldiers by Thomas Lubanga's Union des patriotes congolais pour la reconciliation et la paix (UPC/RP), a largely Hema ethnic militia based in the northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) city of Bunia. ERITREA: PLEA FOR HELP AS CHILDREN START TO DIE http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=32172 Two thirds of the population of Eritrea are facing food shortages and 10,000 children are severely malnourished, the UN said last Friday. Musa Bungudu, head of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Eritrea, said that children were already starting to die in the tiny Red Sea state. KENYA: THE CHALLENGE OF PROVIDING FREE PRIMARY EDUCATION http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=32164 Free and compulsory primary education for Kenyan children was one of the key pre-election promises that led the current government, led by President Mwai Kibaki, to power in December 2002. Since then an estimated 1.5 million children, who were previously out-of-school, have turned up to attend classes. "We will not be content until every child of primary school age is enrolled…By educating the children we are investing in the future of this country. In the long term, educating children is one way to eradicate poverty," said the Minister for Education, George Saitoti, last week. Parents and children alike have greeted the move with euphoria. MALAWI: AN ATLAS OF SOCIAL STATISTICS http://www.ifpri.org/pubs/cp/malawiatlas.htm A social statistic map with and over-riding focus on poverty has been produced by the International Food Policy Research Institute. The spatial patterns seen in the atlas provide insights into key geographic factors associated with poverty, thereby assisting in the development and in the geographic targeting of programs designed to reduce it. SOUTH AFRICA: HOPE FOR STREET CHILDREN http://www.rnw.nl/development/html/030204othandweni.html The phenomenon of street children is nothing new. As many as 30,000 children were living on the streets of London in the 1850's, for example. In comparison, it's a relatively recent problem for South Africa, but with numbers steadily rising and the HIV epidemic set to make things worse, it is becoming a pressing issue. UGANDA: FREE EDUCATION FOR ALL, ANNOUNCES MUSEVENI http://iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=136&art_id=qw1044033120433B225&set_id=1 Ugandan public primary schools will now offer free education to all children of schooling age, instead of just four per family, President Yoweri Museveni announced here last Friday. Museveni told journalists at the State House here that government would pay school dues for 6,57 million children in its schools. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 7.WOMEN AND GENDER AFRICA: GENDER AND AIDS http://www.unaids.org/gender/docs/Gender%20Package/GenderandAIDSa lmanac.pdf This document - produced by UNAIDS - provides an overview of the impacts of the HIV/AIDS epidemic by gender and considers prevention and care issues, especially as they relate to women. AFRICA: INTERNATIONAL HONOUR FOR SA JUDGE WELCOMED http://www.witness.co.za/showcontent.asp?id=12936&action=full The Law Society of SA has welcomed the appointment of Judge Navanathem Pillay to the International Criminal Court. "Her involvement will no doubt boost the court's commitment to upholding women's rights worldwide. This is evidenced by Judge Pillay's work on the Rwanda Tribunal's bench, which proves that the presence of female judges can contribute significantly to effective prosecution of sexual violence against women," said the society. AFRICA: WOMEN JUDGES DOMINATE WORLD'S NEW WAR CRIMES COURT http://www.observer.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,891900,00.html Justice came of age in spectacular fashion in New York last week when women bagged six of the top seven judicial seats on the new International Criminal Court. Intensive lobbying by a women's rights group saw female candidates dominate early rounds of voting for judges on what will be the world's first permanent war crimes court. CONGO: LAUNCH OF NATIONAL DATA COLLECTION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=32254 In an effort to better understand and improve the status and quality of life of women in the Republic of Congo, the government has begun the compilation of data on violence against women country-wide. ETHIOPIA: UNICEF CALLS ON GOVERNMENTS TO FULFILL PLEDGE TO END FEMALE GENITAL MULTILATION http://www.unicef.org/newsline/2003/03pr08fgm.htm Troubled by figures indicating that between 100 million and 130 million women suffered female genital mutilation or cutting as girls, UNICEF has called on governments to abide by commitments they made at the UN Special Session on Children and move immediately to end the disturbing phenomenon by 2010. Related Link: * Kenyan girls flee mutilation http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/1/hi/world/africa/2736317.stm KENYA: KENYA TAKES STEPS TO DEVELOP WOMEN SCIENTISTS http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/1217 Declining numbers of women students pursuing science and technology courses in Kenya's institutions of higher learning are causing concern in this East African country. According to current Ministry of Education figures, women, who form 21.5 percent of Kenya's 45,000 university students, constitute less than 20 percent of students studying these courses. MALAWI: WOMEN RESPOND POSITIVELY TO HIV/AIDS WORKPLACE PROGRAMME http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=943 Research conducted by the Centre for Social Research at the University of Malawi suggests that 81.5% in the ministry of Labour and Vocational Training were found to be willing to go for voluntary counseling and testing (VCT). The ministry has commended women within the ministry for taking a leading role in the fight against HIV/AIDS in their on-going HIV/AIDS Workplace Programme. MALI: PROTECT THE LIVES OF PREGNANT WOMEN, RIGHTS GROUPS URGE http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=32153 Women in Mali face high risks during pregnancy and childbirth, and about one in 19 die from pregnancy-related causes, the New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights reported last Wednesday. A third of deaths among women aged 15-49 were due to complications resulting from pregnancy and childbirth, according to the institution. NAMIBIA: DISABLED WOMEN MARGINALISED http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=929 Women with disabilities are experiencing double discrimination and have been cut out of programmes generally aimed at empowering women, the Swapo Party Women's Council says. Disabled women are also being excluded from drought relief food because they are not registered to receive food. UGANDA: WORKING TO STOP DOMESTIC VIOLENCE http://www.mifumi.org/projects/domestic_violence.htm PROMPT, a UK based charity working in partnership with The Mifumi Project and The Nagongera Women's Guild in Tororo, Eastern Uganda, has established a pilot project with funds from Comic Relief, which is one of the first of its kind in Uganda. The purpose of the project is to promote protection for and support the needs of women experiencing domestic violence, by putting in place a number of policy, procedural and practical measures. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 8.REFUGEES AND FORCED MIGRATION BURUNDI: REFUGEES BENEFIT FROM UNHCR INTERNET PROJECT http://allafrica.com/stories/200302060146.html Despite having no electricity, coupled with an unreliable telephone system, Burundian refugees living in camps in northwestern Tanzania can now access the Internet, the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refuges (UNHCR) reported last Wednesday. ERITREA: ERITREANS REAPPLYING FOR REFUGEE STATUS IN SUDAN http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=32220 Tens of thousands of Eritreans are reapplying for refugee status in Sudan, according to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR). ETHIOPIA: MEASLES KILLING CHILDREN WHO FLED DROUGHT http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=32192 A measles epidemic is killing children in a camp where families sought sanctuary from the drought, an international aid organisation said on Monday. UK-based Christian Aid said that the crisis in the makeshift camp in Haraghe, in the eastern Oromiya region, is getting worse as more people arrive in search of food and promises of resettlement on fertile land. LIBERIA: REFUGEES FLEE LIBERIA BATTLE http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/2735833.stm Hundreds of people have been streaming into camps for previously displaced people in the western suburbs of the capital, Monrovia. Earlier last week, rebels from the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (Lurd) group were reported to be on the outskirts of Monrovia, sparking panic, but this later proved to be a false alarm. WEST AFRICA: REFUGEES INTERNATIONAL TO SEND HUMANITARIAN MISSION http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=32263 Refugees International (RI) is to send a mission to West Africa to identify humanitarian assistance and protection needs of Ivoirian refugees, Liberian refugees, and nationals of other countries displaced by conflict in Cote d'Ivoire, RI reported on Monday. WESTERN SAHARA: FORGOTTEN PEOPLE: THE SAHARAWIS OF WESTERN SAHARA http://www.refugeesinternational.org/cgi-bin/ri/other?occ=00600&spotlight=1 Imagine being torn from your family and your home by a foreign invasion. Imagine living in a refugee camp in one of the harshest desert environments on earth. Imagine having your time in exile extended to an entire generation due to political manipulation by the invader and the ineffectiveness of the political and peacekeeping arms of the United Nations. Imagine, finally, enduring this situation with precious little solidarity and attention from the wider world. This, in summary, is the plight of the Saharawis of Western Sahara, one of the world’s forgotten people, begins a report from Refugees International. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 9.RACISM AND XENOPHOBIA AIDS COVERAGE MARKED BY NEGLECT AND RACISM http://www.mediachannel.org/picks/ There is no constant flow of HIV/AIDS coverage in the international media and there is an element of "new racism" in existing coverage that presents the epidemic as a black disease, leading to the neglect of the disease in other parts of the world. EGYPT: MASS ARRESTS OF FOREIGNERS http://www.hrw.org/press/2003/02/egypt0206.htm Hundreds of foreigners, including refugees and asylum seekers, were beaten and jailed during two nights of racially-motivated arrests in Cairo, Human Rights Watch says. The threat of arbitrary detention, ill-treatment, and racially- based harassment continues to hang over many asylum-seekers and refugees in Egypt, says the organisation. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 10.ENVIRONMENT AFRICA/GLOBAL: CONSERVATION AND POVERTY ALLEVIATION: INCOMPATIBLE OBJECTIVES? http://www.id21.org/society/s2cbd1g1.html The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) aims to protect wild flora and fauna from threats posed by international trade. A paper from the Overseas Development Institute looks at the scope for the parties to CITES to commit themselves to linking conservation initiatives with measures to address rural poverty. It argues that it is time to give teeth to the belated, and still largely rhetorical, recognition that international conservationist goals must go hand in hand with a commitment to poverty reduction. CAMEROON: ILLEGAL LOGGING DETAILED http://www.globalwitness.org/press_releases/display2.php?id=175 A number of Cameroonian as well as internationally based logging companies have been sanctioned or are involved in ongoing legal cases brought by the Cameroonian Ministry of Environment and Forests (MINEF). Some of these cases result from the documentation of illegal logging by Ministry staff supported by Global Witness, says Global Witness in its latest field investigation reports that detail cases of illegal logging. KENYA: UN TO CONSIDER MERCURY TREATY AFTER US DROPS OPPOSITION http://www.ewire-news.com/wires/25B21BA9-2106-4194-AD4309D4240A4366.htm At a United Nations Environment Program Governing Council meeting, Environmental Ministers are expected to agree on taking immediate actions and consider further measures - including an international treaty - to address the significant adverse impacts of global mercury. NIGER/NIGERIA: NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT: REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL? http://www.id21.org/society/s2cmt1g1.html Do we understand enough about the impact of demographic change on natural resources management (NRM), farm investment and household income strategies in semi-arid areas? Is eco-disaster around the corner, or does land scarcity encourage investment in productivity-enhancing and land-conserving technologies? How should policy initiatives combine poverty reduction with environmental improvement? These questions were raised by a study of Machakos District in Kenya from 1930 to1990. They have now been tested further in four countries – Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Kenya – in research led by Drylands Research UK and carried out with in-country research teams. SOMALIA: FISHERMEN ACCUSE FOREIGNERS OF DEPLETING COASTAL WATERS http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=32244 Large foreign ships are harassing and intimidating Somali fishermen around the southern coastal towns of Marka and Barawe, according to local fishermen, who fear the ships are destroying the livelihood of Somali fishermen and their families. SOUTH AFRICA: CHERNOBYL OF THE NORTHERN CAPE http://tinyurl.com/5nnk Gencor has undertaken to pay out more than R460-million to compensate sufferers of asbestos-related diseases. This money will go into a trust fund to pay for treatment and to compensate families who lose breadwinners. But the bill for cleaning up the asbestos mines remains unpaid, and in villages in large parts of the Northern Cape and Limpopo people live in buildings made of asbestos and drive on asbestos roads, while children play on dumps of asbestos fibre. ZAMBIA: ZRA RECEIVES 1.5M EUROS http://allafrica.com/stories/200302120264.html THE French government has released a 1.5million euros grant to the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) for the preservation of the Zambezi River resource and promotion of tourism in the area. ZIMBABWE: GOVERNANCE FOR SUSTAINABILITY? BALANCING SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS IN HARARE http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=941 This article examines urban governance in the framework of sustainable urban development, and agrees with most analyses that sustainable settlements embrace social, ecological and economic dimensions. The discussion stresses that a form of governance that neglects any of these components cannot attain sustainability. It argues that, in Harare, sustainability hinges very much on the role of the governance system, especially as it relates to urban poverty and the day-to-day survival of the urban poor. It is this role of urban governance that eventually manifests itself in the state of society, economy and the environment. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 11.MEDIA AFRICA/GLOBAL: WHAT IS THE SPECIAL SIGNIFICANCE OF COMMUNITY MEDIA TO CIVIL SOCIETY? http://www.wacc.org.uk/publications/md/md2002-4/comm-media.html Community media provide a vital alternative to the profit-oriented agenda of corporate media. They are driven by social objectives rather than the private, profit motive. They empower people rather than treat them as passive consumers, and they nurture local knowledge rather than replace it with standard solutions. Ownership and control of community media is rooted in, and responsible to, the communities they serve. And they are committed to human rights, social justice, the environment and sustainable approaches to development. Read more about community media at the web site provided. ERITREA: CPJ CALLS FOR RELEASE OF JAILED REPORTERS Calling Eritrea the number one jailer of journalists in Africa, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) delivered more than 600 petitions last week to the Eritrean government urging authorities to release journalist Isaias Afewerki and 17 other colleagues being secretly held across the country. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=13274 ETHIOPIA: MEDIA PROFESSIONALS ISSUE JOINT STATEMENT PROTESTING DRAFT PRESS LAW Journalists of the Ethiopian free press, publishers and media professionals have issued a joint statement in protest against a new draft press law. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=13240 IVORY COAST: JOURNALIST DETAINED BY REBELS Reporters sans frontières (RSF), has urged the three rebel groups that operate in the western city of Man to do everything possible to secure the release of a reporter from the independent daily "Soir Info", who was detained by rebels on 6 February 2003. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=13194 LIBERIA: JOURNALIST TELLS OF TORTURE http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/2748287.stm A journalist has told the BBC his stay in a notorious Liberian prison was like being in a torture camp. Hassan Bility said that during his detention he was electrocuted, his penis was attached to electrodes, he was blindfolded and beaten. MOZAMBIQUE: PRESIDENT'S SON NOT IMPLICATED IN CARDOSO ASSASSINATION http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=933 The man convicted of being the leading figure behind the murder of Mozambique's prominent journalist Carlos Cardoso now declares that it was not the President's son that had ordered the assassination. SUDAN: COPIES OF OPPOSITION DAILY SEIZED Reporters sans frontières (RSF) has denounced the seizure of an edition of the Arabic-language daily "As-Sahafa" on February 8. "We denounce the policy of constant harassment against opposition newspapers," said RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=13306 SUDAN: STATE CONFISCATES EDITION OF SUDANESE DAILY http://iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=68&art_id=qw1044869043815B235&set_id=1 Sudanese authorities confiscated the Saturday edition of one of Sudan's oldest political daily newspapers, its editor said on Sunday. "We do not know why the paper was confiscated," Al-Sahafa editor Nur Elden Maddani told reporters. TUNISIA: AUTHORITIES URGED TO FREE JOURNALISTS Press-freedom conditions in Tunisia were under the spotlight last week as the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) called on Tunisian authorities to release two journalists from prison. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=13275 ZIMBABWE: NEW VOICE FOR NEWS AND INFORMATION http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=946 The Voice of America has launched a new radio program for Zimbabwe called Studio 7. The program is broadcast Monday to Friday from 7:30 to 8:00pm. Zimbabweans can listen to Studio 7 on medium wave at 909am or short-wave at 13600 or 17895. Studio 7 features balanced reporting on Zimbabwe and the region, as well as world and U.S. news. Sports, music, culture and health features are also part of Studio 7’s coverage of news, information and entertainment for Zimbabwe. ZIMBABWE: NEWS CREW ARRESTED http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=939 Three media workers, two of them who work for the South African Broadcasting Corporation, were arrested on 7 February in Zimbabwe while covering a demonstration at the Nigerian High Commission. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 12.DEVELOPMENT AFRICA/GLOBAL: WEF VS WSF: HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP FOR THE WORLD http://www.oneworld.net/specialreports/worldsocialforum/front.shtml So how did things go in the third round of the title fight to save the world? SustainAbility--a London-based strategic management consultancy and think-tank dedicated to promoting sustainable development--sent representatives to both the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Switzerland and the World Social Forum (WSF) in Brazil. AFRICA: NEPAD RECEIVES UN FINANCIAL BOOST http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=925 Africa's economic revival plan this week received a financial boost from the United Nations aimed at kick-starting the ambitious project more than a year after it was launched. AFRICA: NEPAD, UN SUPPORT AND CIVIL SOCIETY CONCERNS http://www.sarpn.org.za/documents/d0000141/index.php There was an "overall sense" from civil society that Nepad had gone for what was politically winnable in current terms, according to Neville Gabriel, a senior official within the Justice and Peace department of the Southern African Catholic Bishop's Conference, who was speaking at a Southern African Regional Poverty Network panel discussion on the decision by the UN General Assembly to make Nepad the framework for its relations with Africa. Gabriel said civil society would like to see a far more direct approach by Nepad to poverty reduction in Africa, noting that Nepad could only be seen to achieve its goals if African communities believed that it was delivering effectively at the community level. Other civil society concerns included debt cancellation and the extent of Africa's integration into the global economic order. AFRICA: RICH NATIONS URGED TO "REVISIT" DEVELOPMENT POLICIES http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=32227 The head of the UN's Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) has criticised the international community for often “undermining national development efforts”. Kingsley Amoako called on rich nations to “revisit their policies on aid, trade and debt” in order to reinforce their billion dollar development aid packages. SOUTHERN AFRICA: FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT: BRINGING JOBS AND NEW SKILLS? http://www.id21.org/society/s7bcj1g1.html FDI is not a magic bullet for development in the SADC, says research from the University of Oxford’s Centre for the Study of African Economies and the London School of Economics. The research warns that the developmental benefits of capital flows are not automatic and that mechanisms are needed to ensure the equitable distribution of the expected benefits of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). ZAMBIA: IMF URGED TO UNDERSTAND PRIVATISATION CONCERNS http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=32239 President Levy Mwanawasa has called on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) not to force Zambia to complete the privatisation of key public firms, the state-run Times of Zambia reported on Tuesday. ZAMBIA: THE FUND OR THE PEOPLE? Comment By Mulima Kufekisa Akapelwa, Economic Justice Programme Coordinator, Catholic Centre For Justice, Development And Peace http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/topic/adjustment/a3208zambia.html In the last five years, governance concerns have begun to move up the agenda in development. The multilaterals were among the last to change. What do we mean by governance? In simple terms, governance means openness, participation, accountability, help for the poor and achieving the common good. In Zambia, governance concerns have at various times in the past led to the withholding of bilateral support and most recently has led to debate over Zambia's agreement with the IMF. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 13.INTERNET AND TECHNOLOGY INTERNET ACCESS STILL A NIGHTMARE IN AFRICA http://www.dispatch.co.zm/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=180 The usage of the Internet - which has been described as a possible engine for economic growth - is still a ‘mountain to climb’ in many African countries. According to a report published by Africa Online, of the 770 million people in Africa, one in every 150, or approximately 5.5 million people in total, now uses the Internet. BOTSWANA TO HOST DISCUSSIONS ON TECHNOLOGY IN AFRICAN SCHOOLS http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=938 A Pan-African workshop focused on using information and communication technologies (ICTs) to support the education systems in Africa will be held in Gaborone from 28 April to 2 May 2003. An estimated 250 participants will be participating. LEARNING THROUGH NETWORKING AND INFORMATION EXCHANGE: HOW NGOS CAN INCREASE THEIR IMPACT http://www.id21.org/society/s8csm1g1.html How can international NGOs (INGOs) use networking, learning and information systems to increase their development impact? What is the state of their systems for accessing and processing information? How could they become more successful in sharing and learning information? NIGERIA'S NITDA PLANS OFFENSIVE AGAINST 419 SCAMMERS Disturbed by the negative impact of the increasing wave of cyber crime on the image of the country, the Nigerian Government says it will put legislation in place to deter the culprits. Gabriel Ajayi, Director-General of the Nigeria Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) who disclosed this, said the government is drawing up a comprehensive plan that would make cyber crime on the internet unattractive to the perpetrators, reports http://www.balancingact- africa.com. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=13270 OPEN SOURCE KNOWLEDGE BASE http://www.tectonic.co.za/default.php?action=view&id=95 Part technology, part academia, Wikipedia is taking the open source idea to new levels with an online, collaborative encyclopedia to which anyone can contribute. (from the Tectonic Newsletter: email [EMAIL PROTECTED]) SOUTH AFRICA: DO CODES OF ETHICS MAKE A DIFFERENCE? http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=950 On average, the morals of IT professionals who work for an organisation with a code of ethics are significantly higher than professionals working for companies that do not have a code. Communication and enforcement of a code of ethics is essential in raising public awareness of the code and in minimizing unethical behaviour. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 14.eNEWSLETTERS AND MAILING LISTS DRILLBITS & TAILINGS: NEWS AND CAMPAIGNING ON MINING, OIL AND GAS http://www.moles.org/ProjectUnderground/drillbits/index.html Drillbits & Tailings is a monthly mining, oil, and gas update published by Project Underground. It is available online in English and Spanish. Back-issues are archived on the web site www.moles.org. To subscribe, send a BLANK EMAIL to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT MAILING LIST The Coalition for the International Criminal Court is a network of well over 1,000 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) advocating for a fair, effective and independent International Criminal Court (ICC). If you are interested in keeping abreast of day-to-day developments pertaining to the ICC, you are invited to subscribe to the email list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe simply email [EMAIL PROTECTED] IRIN DAILY NEWS BRIEFS http://www.irinnews.org/aidsfp.asp?selectweekly=Daily IRIN PlusNews has launched a new service - the "Daily News Briefs". Sharply written, informative and original, the news briefs service was designed for use by radio stations. It is now available to regular subscribers who want a more comprehensive feed on HIV/AIDS news across Africa. NEW ZIM ONLINE PUBLICATION http://www.zim-messenger.com/ A new online Zimbabwean publication has launched, reports http://www.balancingact-africa.com. The Zimbabwe Online Messenger is comprised of voluntary employees that also include professionals in journalism as well as editors. The purpose of the on-line paper is to keep Zimbabweans living abroad informed about events taking place in Zimbabwe. The on-line paper also provides links to other Zimbabwean newspapers. NEWSLETTER ON RESOURCES FOR HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION ERC-L is a monthly e-mail newsletter about new resources for human rights education and training on the web site of Human Rights Education Associates (HREA). HREA's Resource Centre consists of: a Library; a Forums section with various discussion lists related to human rights and human rights education; a Human Rights Education Links section; and a Databases section. To subscribe to ERC-L send an e-mail to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the following message: subscribe erc-l. Archives of previous newsletters can be found at: http://www.hrea.org/lists/erc-l/markup/maillist.php /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 15.FUNDRAISING OSISA CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAMME GUIDELINES Any organization or individual wanting to get funds or establish partnership with OSISA, should send an initial letter of inquiry that shows how its own initiative relates to the mission, strategies and guidelines of OSISA. This letter should present the executive summary of the proposal and should include the project's goals and objectives, the activities of the project, the rationale and methodology, expected outputs, and a budget summarizing resources needed for the whole project and what is being requested from OSISA. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=13336 OSISA'S INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM GUIDELINES LAUNCHED The Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) has formally launched it's new Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Program Guidelines. We hereby invite organisations to engage with OSISA on developing effective proposals for ICT's and Development in Southern Africa. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=13337 SOUTH AFRICA: A SOLITARY COAST TO COAST JOURNEY TO RAISE FUNDS http://www.thusanang.org.za/index.php?option=news&task=viewarticle&sid=177 According to the Daily Dispatch, Steve Heath has embarked on a month-long journey from Cape Town to KwaZulu -Natal to raise funds for the Bobbi Bear Foundation. Bobbi Bear is a national charity for abused children. Steve is pushing a 85kg trolley which carries a tent, food, fishing rods and clothes as well as a South African flag and a red teddy bear. The Bobbi Bear Foundation is hoping to raise R500 000 from Steve's long journey. SOUTH AFRICA: ESKOM DONATES SEWING MACHINES http://www.thusanang.org.za/index.php?option=news&task=viewarticle&sid=178 The Daily Dispatch reports that the Eskom Development Foundation has donated 10 industrial sewing machines for the Happy Home Centre for Disabled Children in the Eastern Cape. The Foundation is providing a helping hand to the Centre for the second time after it realised the significant impact of a first donation it made in 2001. SOUTH AFRICA: SCHOOL GETS A NEW HOME http://www.dispatch.co.za/2003/02/13/easterncape/chome.html A school founded in a shearing shed seven years ago moved to brand new buildings last week, thanks to the work of the Vusisizwe Trust and the AngloGold Fund. Since 1990 the trust has funded and managed the construction of 1051 classrooms, administration facilities and toilets at 56 Eastern Cape schools at a cost of R96,4 million. UGANDA: UK GIVES SHS 1.5BN FOR EDUCATION POLICY http://allafrica.com/stories/200302120656.html Britain has given Shs 1.5bn (£600,000) to boost education in Uganda through the Commonwealth Education Fund. The fund was started in 2002 by the British government to help poor countries develop their education systems. Seventeen Commonwealth countries, including Uganda, are to benefit from the initial fund of £10m. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 16.COURSES, SEMINARS, AND WORKSHOPS 11TH TRAINING COURSE ON THE USE OF INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS PROCEDURES 25th - 30th April 2003, Niamey Niger, The Gambia The African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS) is a Pan- African organisation, established in The Gambia in 1989. Since its inception, the Centre has been at the forefront in promoting and protecting human rights and democracy in Africa, through training, action-oriented research, publications and documentation. The 11th Training Course on the Use of International Human Rights Procedures for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in Africa, is one of the main tools of ACDHRS to promote and protect human rights in Africa. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=13211 DIGITAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR AFRICA - COMMUNITY MULTIMEDIA CENTRES Dakar, Senegal 12-17 June 2003 UNESCO in collaboration with AMARC Africa is organising a pan-African symposium on Community Multimedia Centres from 12-17 June 2003 in Dakar, Senegal. The aim of this meeting is to find out more about how community radio stations across Africa are using ICTs in order to forge a strategy for larger-scale CMC development in Africa. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=13265 ELECTION OBSERVATION Pretoria, South Africa, 19-29 May 2003 http://www.hrea.org/erc/Calendar/463.html This unique two-week course aims to standardise, consolidate and strengthen the institution of election observation in Africa. Through this we attempt to contribute to a credible and genuine assessment of elections in Africa. The course will also deal with problematic issues such as cultural sensitivities on the continent. We are confident that this course will contribute to a culture where aspects such as democracy, civil society and human rights and a respect thereof form the basis of African societies. HREA DISTANCE LEARNING COURSE: INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION 1 September-23 November 2003 The course will introduce the international field of human rights education (HRE), including presentations of programming approaches, teaching and learning resources, and related theory. The course is intended for educators and trainers working in both the formal and non-formal sectors. Participants will be assisted in the development of a curriculum, training, or planning to use these skills to further their organisation's advocacy efforts. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=13260 HUMAN RIGHTS INFORMATION AND DOCUMENTATION MANAGEMENT Lagos, Nigeria, 25-28 February 2003 http://www.hrea.org/erc/Calendar/483.html This course is designed to meet the skills development needs of staff from human rights and development NGOs, government agencies, the judiciary, and other institutions with responsibility for information and documentation functions in Nigeria. THE SOUTHERN AFRICA INSTITUTE OF FUNDRAISING Workshops & Training Courses For February And March The Southern Africa Institute of Fundraising are pleased to announce a variety of Workshops & training courses to be held during February and March. Click on the link below for course information and contact details. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=13295 TRADITIONAL HEALING & HIV/AIDS CONFERENCE 20-21 July, 2004, Dakar, Senegal In association with the Government of the Republic of Senegal and ENDA TM, we shall host our 4th International Conference & Exhibition on Traditional Medicine under the theme: "Traditional Healing & HIV/AIDS" at Hotel Meridien President, Dakar, Senegal, West Africa. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=13261 /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 17.ADVOCACY RESOURCES CALL OF THE WORLD SOCIAL MOVEMENTS Focus On The Global South: Sign On Statement We are social movements that are fighting all around the world against neo- liberal globalization, war, racism, capitalism, poverty, patriarchy and all the forms of economical, ethnical, social, political, cultural, sexual and gender discriminations and exclusions. We are all fighting for social justice, citizenship, participatory democracy, universal rights and for the right of peoples to decide their own future. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=13234 LIVES BEFORE PROFITS http://www.actsa.org/action.htm Every day, 1000 people in South Africa die of HIV/AIDS because they cannot afford essential treatment. This is because the multinational pharmaceutical companies are keeping the prices of their drugs artificially high. Please sign ACTSA's petition demanding that GlaxoSmithKline, the world's largest pharmaceutical company, puts lives before profits. SHOW YOUR LOVE FOR ZIMBABWEANS: JOIN THE VALENTINES DAY WALK! Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) will walk against violence on Valentines Day, 14th February 2003, from 12 Noon to 12:45. The meeting place is Bulawayo City Hall Car Park. Further details are to be provided on Harare, Gweru, Mutare, London and Johannesburg. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=13242 /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 18.JOBS BURUNDI: SENIOR FIELD OFFICER Christian Aid We're looking for an experienced and motivated individual to represent Christian Aid in Burundi. With responsibility for Christian Aid's Burundi programme, you will manage the staff and field office, develop Christian Aid's policy and programme, and contribute to the strategic planning of the wider team. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=13253 KENYA: SENIOR ANALYST International Crisis Group http://www.fpa.org/jobs_contact2423/jobs_contact_show.htm?doc_id=147650 The job includes devising, in collaboration with the members of ICG's Central Africa team and the Africa Program Co-Director, a detailed schedule of field research and writing tasks to be carried out; Conducting field research into prevailing security, social, political and economic conditions in Central Africa and; Analysing specific issues linked to the political stability, economic regeneration and the prevention of further conflict. SENIOR DIRECTORS Amnesty International Amnesty International is a worldwide organization campaigning on human rights issues. The International Secretariat in London is the movements centre for international research, campaign action and policy making. It employs over 400 staff across international, regional and resource programs. As part of an extensive change process the International Secretariat has been reorganized and the management system is being restructured to strengthen leadership, delivery and accountability of all staff. To this end, Amnesty International wishes to appoint two new Senior Directors, who together with the Secretary General and the Executive Deputy Secretary General will form the senior leadership team. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=13255 SOUTH AFRICA: PROJECT COORDINATOR Municipal Services Project The Municipal Services Project (MSP) is looking for an experienced Project Coordinator to manage research and administrative activities in the second phase of the project. This is a three-year contract position from March 2003 to March 2006. The Coordinator will ideally be based in Cape Town at the International Labour Research and Information Group Trust (ILRIG) offices, affiliated with the University of Cape Town, although candidates located in Johannesburg or Durban will be considered. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=13256 /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 19.BOOKS AND ARTS ARE AFRICANS INTERESTED IN THEIR ART? http://www.chimurenga.co.za/ The Senegalese who saw the sculptor Moustapha Dimé emerge, grow, and die, or the Burkinabè who look on as the painter Ferdinand Nonkouni develops should logically be the people who love and understand these artists' output the best. However, when you take a closer look at recent art history in Africa, you realise that things are neither as simple nor as logical as one might think, no matter what the artistic field. During colonialism, the African poets and novelists who claimed to represent their subjugated compatriots as they dealt "pestle blows" to denounce the "cruel towns" and propose "myths that galvanise", were only read and appreciated by the elites whose social and political mores they attacked. After the "rains of independence", the dialogue of the deaf continued between black writers and their peoples who remained illiterate in the languages and art forms in which they conveyed their thoughts and moods. HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE ENVIRONMENT: CONFLICTS AND NORMS IN A GLOBALIZING WORLD Edited By Lyuba Zarsky http://www.earthscan.co.uk/asp/bookdetails.asp?key=3764 Processes of globalization have highlighted the need for ethical standards and norms wherever conflicts arise, particularly in developing countries which often have weak institutions and systems of redress. Through careful and sensitive exploration of case studies spanning the entire developing world, this publication shows how these new standards might be approached and the conditions they must meet to address fundamental issues of land rights, mineral and oil extraction, environmental ethics and development strategies. By showing what legal and institutional innovation is needed to mediate disputes and to enforce new ethics in the global economy that promote both human rights and environmental sustainability, this book makes a significant contribution to the development process as a whole. MANDELA'S NIGHT AT THE OPERA http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?a=11&o=15587 The first African opera, based on the life story of a Zulu princess who chronicled in song the brutalities of British colonialism, opened here last week to huge acclaim, not least from star guest, Nelson Mandela. Princess Magogo kaDinizulu, an exuberant mix of European and African musical traditions, is playing, ironically, at the Pretoria State Theatre, former showcase of apartheid's cultural icons. PEOPLE AND CHANGE: EXPLORING CAPACITY-BUILDING IN NGOS James, R http://www.capacity.org/16/editorial3.html In the last few years, after several decades in which development aid has had only a minimal impact, we have witnessed the emergence of a number of local development organisations, as well as non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that endeavour to support them. Unfortunately, this process has not been accompanied by the necessary capacity-building. People and Change: Exploring Capacity-Building in NGOs (2002) is based on the author's personal experience in Southern and East Africa, but appears equally applicable to other regions, including West Africa. This new book will therefore undoubtedly prove an excellent reference work for all those involved in capacity-building, whether as service-providers, beneficiaries or cooperation and donor agencies. SENEGAL'S STARS SCOOP MUSIC AWARDS http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/2740023.stm Legendary Senegalese band Orchestra Baobab, who reformed last year after 15 years apart, are the biggest winners at this year's BBC Radio 3 World Music Awards. The group, one of the most popular bands on the world music scene, won the prestigious critics' choice award and were named best African artists. THE WRONG MODEL: GATS, TRADE LIBERALISATION AND CHILDREN'S RIGHT TO HEALTH John Hilary http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/development/global_pub/wrongmodel.pdf In an era of unprecedented global wealth, millions of children across the world are facing a health crisis. Although the international community has set challenging targets for reducing child mortality and childhood diseases, in many of the world's countries the situation is getting worse not better. This report examines the global policy context behind the child health crisis. In particular, it looks at the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and the World Trade Organisation's drive to increase international trade in services such as water and health care. //\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 20.LETTERS AND COMMENTS KEEP FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT, STEPHEN Suzanne Marshall, Nigeria (reposted From AF-AIDS: [EMAIL PROTECTED]) We are so proud of your statements on behalf of PLWHA in Africa. We saw you on television before the G8 meeting in Canada last summer and lately we heard you on the BBC. We live in Nigeria but our roots are in Canada (Toronto). We belong to the Congregation of Our Lady's Missionaries but don't let that throw you. We have been working since 1991 in the rural part of Benue State, Nigeria, setting up programs for people infected with HIV. You met some of our people when you visited Benue State in 2002 or late 2001. They met you on the road coming from Alaide to Government House and you invited them back to Government House for a discussion. We encourage you to continue to fight for antiretroviral drugs for those infected although I suspect you need no encouragement. You give hope to people like us and to the Nigerians we work with in our programs. You are so articulate, passionate and sincere in your presentations. I applaud you whenever I hear you speak. You have unique and wonderful gifts, Stephen. Thank you for using them for Africa, the forgotten continent. STATEMENT BY ANDREW FLOWER AND HENRY OLONGA Zimbabwe Cricket Players It is a great honour for us to take the field today to play for Zimbabwe in the World Cup. We feel privileged and proud to have been able to represent our country. We are however deeply distressed about what is taking place in Zimbabwe in the midst of the World Cup and do not feel that we can take the field without indicating our feelings in a dignified manner and in keeping with the spirit of cricket. We cannot in good conscience take to the field and ignore the fact that millions of our compatriots are starving, unemployed and oppressed. We are aware that hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans may even die in the coming months through a combination of starvation, poverty and Aids. We are aware that many people have been unjustly imprisoned and tortured simply for expressing their opinions about what is happening in the country. We have heard a torrent of racist hate speech directed at minority groups. We are aware that thousands of Zimbabweans are routinely denied their right to freedom of expression. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=13278 THE EFFECT OF PATRICK BOND'S ARTICLE Ben Kobus Patrick Bond is evidently a very angry man, but uncontrolled anger makes bad journalism and can harm the cause he is so passionate about (Pambazuka News 98). By airing all sorts of negative judgments and comments, many of them personal, he has made his article read like a tirade that alienates most of whom he hopes to appeal to. Two kinds of people enjoy a tirade: one is the few who are as passionately attached to the rager's cause and who also share the rager's particular set of antipathies and prejudices. This is a small audience, and one which does not need winning over. The other kind of people get fun out of witnessing the rager rapidly digging his own grave and making a fool of himself, and is sure to include all those he evidently considers as enemies. The more merciful readers feel embarrassed and simply stop reading. I presume Patrick wants to be read, to win others to support his cause, and not to be enjoyed as a foolish spectacle. Better then to let facts speak for themselves (and be careful not to select facts to suit your cause: it may work in the short term, with the uninformed reader, but in the long term harms your credibility); and distinguish between facts, opinions, judgments, speculations and assumptions about people's motives (the last three belong to gossip not journalism). There is more than enough objective evidence that Africa is being cheated left right and centre; our own hearts tell us how to react to these abuses, without the need to be lectured to about what our response should be. And it is counterproductive to resort to unethical rhetoric, which does no credit to the writer or to the publication which agrees to print his words. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ THIS NEWSLETTER IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY FAHAMU, KABISSA, AND SANGONET Fahamu - learning for change Unit 14, Standingford House, Cave Street, Oxford OX4 1BA, UK [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.fahamu.org Kabissa - Space for change in Africa 24 Philadelphia Avenue, Takoma Park, MD 20912, USA [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kabissa.org Southern African Non-Governmental Organisation Network (SANGONeT) P O Box 31 Johannesburg, 2000 South Africa [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.sn.apc.org The Newsletter is an advocacy tool for social justice. The Newsletter is open to any organisation committed to this goal. You can use this Newsletter to tell others about your work, events, publications, and concerns. The quality and range of information depends on you. SUBMIT YOUR NEWS If your organisation is a regular provider of information, please ensure that your information is widely read by adding [EMAIL PROTECTED] to your addressbook and mailing lists. Help us in particular by making sure that sections relevant to your work are well represented. We consider every submission to that address for inclusion. Please attribute original sources by including a website address and/or contact e-mail. SUBSCRIBE The Newsletter comes out weekly and is delivered to subscribers by e-mail. Subscription is free! To subscribe, send an e-mail to <pambazuka-news- [EMAIL PROTECTED]> with only the word 'subscribe' in the subject or body. WRITE AN EDITORIAL We welcome original editorials. Typically, editorials run 300-500 words and include links and contact details of their authors. Space is available through the website for longer editorials. Please inquire to [EMAIL PROTECTED] FAIR USE This Newsletter is produced under the principles of 'fair use'. We strive to attribute sources by providing direct links to authors and websites. When full text is submitted to us and no website is provided, we make the text available on our website via a "for more information" link. Please contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] immediately regarding copyright issues. The views expressed in this newsletter, including the signed editorials, do not necessarily represent those of Kabissa, Fahamu and SANGONeT. (c) Kabissa, Fahamu and SANGONeT 2003 If you wish to stop receiving the newsletter, unsubscribe immediately by sending a message FROM THE ADDRESS YOU WANT REMOVED to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] should you need further assistance subscribing or unsubscribing. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\
