PAMBAZUKA NEWS 105 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 ZIMBABWE'S MARCH Mary Ndlovu Another momentous Zimbabwean March has come and gone. But this time it ends on a high note. The mix of menace and jubilation, of terror, fear, anger and defiance, is electric, explosive. The long-suffering, patient, apathetic Zimbabweans have had enough and are finally reacting to the horrors of the past three years. A year ago the mood was different. An election which most thought would relieve us of deepening poverty and intensifying government abuse had been stolen. The sacrifices which had been made by thousands of committed opposition cadres stretching their energies to the breaking point seemed to have been made in vain. We stared into a dark future, afraid, confused and deeply depressed. And our fears were justified. The past year has been horrendous. Government has used the Public Order and Security Act to prevent organised activity by the opposition as well as all civil society organisations, even during campaigning for by-elections. Opposition leaders have been continuously hounded, arrested, harassed and brutally tortured, while their supporters have been beaten, abducted, raped, and chased from their homes. The justice system has been subverted, with the police selectively arresting members of civil society and the MDC without any evidence of crime, while standing watching while government supporters commit the worst atrocities. Independent judges have been hounded out of office and replaced by those who appear more compliant. When these don't satisfy their ZANU PF bosses, they too can be arrested. Cases which threaten to embarrass the government never get hearing dates, with the result that some election petitions from the 2000 Parliamentary elections have yet to be heard, and one year later we are still waiting for the court challenge to the Presidential election. Constitutional challenges to restrictive press laws are also still awaited. The courts are rather spending their energies harassing opposition leaders with spurious charges ranging from fraud to murder to treason. The civil service has been systematically purged of non-government supporters. Those in senior posts are expected to publicly show approval of ZANU PF policies and make appearances at party meetings. Hundreds if not thousands of teachers have been chased from their schools as suspected opposition supporters. Graduates of the government militia who have been trained in propaganda, brutality and torture methods have been infiltrated into all government offices and placed on salaries, even though they have no relevant skills. Teachers colleges, nursing schools, polytechs and vocational schools have instructions to give priority to militia graduates: if they do not satisfy the entry requirements, no problem; just finish them before completing the course in order to get a certificate. These torturers and abusers are to be unleashed into our schools to prepare our children for life! And the economy. A year ago inflation was 70%; today it is 220% - officially. Unofficially probably over 300%. Few farms function at above subsistence level. Jobs are unobtainable; the “informal sector” rules. Those living on pensions or savings are destitute; the lucky ones have children outside the country who send pounds, or dollars, or rands. Those who can still afford to own cars cannot pay for insurance. And cannot buy petrol. Eight days in a queue is common. Those who rely on public transport must be on the street before 6 a.m. to get to work by 8, and even then they are often very late. School children often leave home at 5 a.m. and return at 6 p.m. Goods are scarce, and expensive. Government's answer to inflation was to control prices, when inputs cannot be controlled. The result was predictable - a further collapse of production and a flourishing black market, frequently controlled by ZANU PF bosses. Exports from the manufacturing sector have dropped catastrophically. The foreign exchange which they should earn to pay for fuel and electricity imports is not available. And we are producing less of our own electricity due to break down of machinery and lack of forex to buy spare parts. A very vicious circle prevails, producing what has been termed “meltdown”. The so-called land reform is a distant memory. The agricultural sector has diminished by gigantic proportions. But no one is sure what's happening on the farms - settlers, war vets, ZANU PF thugs, genuine land-hungry villagers and government cronies are all battling for a share of the spoils, which no longer exist, since all the movable property and crops have been plundered and few of the beneficiaries really wanted to farm. Those who do are struggling with lack of inputs. Poor rains at the beginning of the season have reduced the output of those who succeeded in planting crops, while much of the crop is being stolen from the fields by starving villagers and displaced former farm workers. The prospect for the next planting season later this year is grim, because very little seed maize has been planted and even less will be available for use, as it is being eaten. Donors are distributing food aid in many rural parts of the country, while in others, hunger and even starvation is common. Government continues to attempt to interfere, but has not succeeded in most cases. In towns, staple food is scarce, and is obtained through “connections”, political and otherwise. Long queues have frequently been attacked by riot police beating people (mainly women) with batons and chasing them away. The daily struggle for food and transport in towns is what has brought the people to the breaking point. Women have progressively amended their family feeding to omit more and more items - cheese, milk, chicken, meat, fruit - not affordable; mealie meal, flour, margarine, bread, vegetables, sugar - not available. We are left with beans and rice. And for most rice is also not affordable. As the position worsens by the week, government has become increasingly repressive. Zimbabweans did not easily give up hope that President Mbeki and the ANC would finally understand the true nature of our distress. But finally it has become clear that it was not a question of misunderstanding but deliberate prevarication in order to positively support Mugabe's dictatorship. The shift began with cricket. Failure to get the world to acknowledge the need to boycott Mugabe by shifting the World Cup matches made it very plain that our salvation would only come from ourselves. And so the protests finally began. Henry Olonga and Andy Flower set it off, as if singing the overture, at the first Harare cricket match. Then the women took up the score on Valentine's Day in both Harare and Bulawayo ; the cricket protests began in earnest when the scene moved to Bulawayo, and were brutally suppressed. International Women's Day saw more demonstrations in defiance of POSA, and further arrests. Finally the orchestra swelled into the massive support for a stayaway called by the MDC in mid-March. The brutality of the reprisal measures undertaken by the militia, army and police in the wake of the stayaway has only increased the anger and the determination. But the demonstrations and stayaway had taught beleaguered Zimbabweans the most important lesson: we have the power, we can face arrest, we can even face torture. The MDC followed up the stayaway with an ultimatum to the government to restore rule of law and human rights. It expired with the month at midnight March 31. As midnight struck Zimbabweans were jubilant - in the face of extreme intimidation, cheating and physical violence against voters, they had persevered and won so strongly that even ZANU PF could not deny them victory. And so March has ended. April lies before us. Will Independence Day on the 18th mark another new beginning? Maybe not just yet, but now the people are waiting and ready for the mass action which will finally bring the end of this evil regime. It cannot come soon enough. * Mary Ndlovu is a Zimbabwean human rights activist. * Previous editorial by Mary Ndlovu: March – Zimbabwe’s Month of Destiny http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?issuedate=2002-02-28 * Please send comments on this editorial to [EMAIL PROTECTED] /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 2.CONFLICT, EMERGENCIES, AND CRISES AFRICA: 'AFRICA'S HUNGER CRISIS MAY LAST GENERATIONS' http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=68&art_id=qw104934348355B251&set_id=1 More than 38 million Africans are threatened by starvation this year because of a food crisis that relief workers predict could last for generations as a result of the impact of Aids. Relief workers say the devastation from Aids is combining with the effects of poverty, war, bad governance, corruption and erratic weather conditions to cripple the ability of societies in sub-Saharan Africa to recover from famine. AFRICA: A WAR AFRICA DOES NOT WANT OR NEED Many of the most important challenges in the world today can be found in Africa and those challenges do not include the threat of terrorism or weapons of mass destruction. The US, and other rich countries in the so-called “Coalition of the Willing”, instead of spending tens of billions on an unjust war, should invest their energy in combating the AIDS epidemic that threatens entire countries, beating back a famine that threatens millions, cancelling debt which prevents countries from providing healthcare and education to their people, restructuring an exploitative trade system, and working without self-interest to promote peace, democracy and human rights. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=14311 BURUNDI: NATIONS TO SEND PEACEKEEPERS TO BURUNDI http://story.news.yahoo.com/news? tmpl=story2&cid=515&ncid=723&e=3&u=/ap/20030402/ap_on_re_af/burundi_peacekeeping Ethiopia, Mozambique and South Africa will send 3,500 peacekeepers to enforce a truce ending nearly 10 years of civil war in Burundi, the state-owned news agency said Wednesday. Defense ministers of the three peacekeeping nations said after a two-day meeting they had "finalized preparations and worked out a plan" to send the force to Burundi, the Ethiopian News Agency said. DRC: CONGO PEACE DEAL SIGNED IN SUN CITY http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=132&fArticleId=107213 Congolese representatives have hailed the historic signing of a peace agreement and said it paved the way for the reconstruction of the country. But delegates also noted that tough times lie ahead as they seek to implement the peace deal. All the sides in the Democratic Republic of the Congo signed a peace deal that will pave the way for elections in two years' time. Forty-four groups - including armed factions, exiled political parties and civil society groups - signed the Final Act at Sun City. The signing ceremony signalled the end of the South African-sponsored Inter-Congolese Dialogue (ICD) which began 14 months ago in the same venue. DRC: MONUC DEPLORES REBEL CAPTURE OF TOWNS http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33183 The UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), known as MONUC, denounced on Tuesday the capture of two towns in eastern DRC by a Rwandan- backed rebel group, the Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie-Goma (RCD- Goma). "The attacks caused large displacement of people and a report, yet to be confirmed, suggests that RCD[-Goma] has the intention of carrying on with territorial conquests in Kasuo, Bingi and Lubero, where MONUC opened a reception centre for the purpose of its disarmament, demobilization and repatriation (DDR) operations," MONUC said. Related Link: * New stand-off threatens peace deal http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?a=37&o=17869 ERITREA/ETHIOPIA: TIGRAYAN OFFICIALS WARN OF CLASHES OVER BADME http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33176 The president of Ethiopia’s Tigray region, which borders Eritrea, has warned of local clashes following a recent announcement that the controversial village of Badme is in Eritrea. Tsirgay Berhe, who heads the regional government in Tigray, said the local population might not accept the decision. On Friday, the independent Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) categorically stated that the symbolic village of Badme - where the two countries' border war flared up in 1998 - was in Eritrea. The EEBC rejected attempts by Ethiopia to "vary" the delimited border line, ahead of physical demarcation due to start in July. LIBERIA: GLOBAL WITNESS ACCUSES LIBERIA OF DESTABILISING REGION http://www.globalwitness.org/press_releases/display2.php?id=186 A new Global Witness report exposes the Liberian government’s violent destabilisation of West Africa, through its support of mercenaries in Cote d’Ivoire and Sierra Leone and through its regular import of weapons in violation of UN sanctions. The report, titled, ‘The Usual Suspects: Liberia’s Weapons and Mercenaries in Cote d’Ivoire and Sierra Leone’, outlines the threat posed by Liberia to international peace and security. LIBERIA: TROOPS 'RETAKE TOWN' http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/2897901.stm Liberian Defense Minister Daniel Chea has announced that government forces have retaken the central provincial town of Gbarnga. Mr Chea said that between 13 and 15 government soldiers and more than 100 rebels were killed in the counter- attack which, according to him, has put the rebels on the run. NIGERIA: SCORES FEARED DEAD IN NIGER DELTA UNREST http://www.iol.co.za/index.php? click_id=86&art_id=vn20030401064314960C743868&set_id=1 Scores of people were feared killed at the weekend in clashes over land rights near the Nigerian oil city of Port Harcourt in the troubled Niger delta, according to police. Fighting broke out on Saturday between two rival groups seeking control of Bakana, said state police spokesperson Barasua Ireju. SOMALIA: TNG SAYS IT WILL NOT LEAVE KENYA PEACE CONFERENCE http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33155 A spokesman for TNG Prime Minister Hassan Abshir Farah said on Monday that Somalia's Transitional National Government was not planning to leave peace talks in Nairobi, Kenya, despite a meeting in Mogadishu at the weekend between the TNG and faction leaders. Ahmed Isse Awad, head of the prime minister's office, told IRIN the meeting was not an alternative to the Kenya conference. He described it as a consultative meeting to discuss ways of bringing stability to the Somali capital. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 3.RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY MALAWI: LEADER TO GO GRACEFULLY http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?a=37&o=17980 Malawi's President Bakili Muluzi is to step down next year, abandoning attempts to change the constitution to allow him to run for a third five-year term. In an address to the nation Muluzi said he had endorsed a cabinet proposal for the economic planning minister, Bingu Wa Mutharika, to run as the ruling United Democratic Front candidate. NIGERIA: 17 PARTIES ALLEGE PLAN TO RIG POLLS http://allafrica.com/stories/200303310646.html A coalition of political parties in Enugu State has petitioned the Inspector- General of Police, Mr. Tafa Balogun alleging a plot to foment violence by the state government at the April elections using 135 senior and junior police officers aided by thugs. NIGERIA: AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL AND LEPAD CONCERNED ABOUT RIGHTS VIOLATIONS http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33204 Amnesty International and the Nigerian Legal Defence and Assistance Project (LEPAD) on Monday expressed deep concern about human rights violations and an increase in political violence in the run-up to Nigeria's federal and state elections, scheduled for April and May 2003. In a joint statement, the organisations said that reports of political violence, including the assassination of political leaders, clashes between supporters of different political persuasions - both within political parties and between rival parties - and the intimidation and harassment of candidates and sympathisers had risen considerably in recent months. NIGERIA: ELECTION PLAN ON COURSE, SAYS INEC http://allafrica.com/stories/200303310413.html Nigeria's Electoral Commission, Inec, last week announced that with 64 million voters registered, it was on course with preparations for next month's elections. Officers promised that providing there is security in the country, the vote would go ahead. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed is secretary to the Commission. NIGERIA: VIOLENCE AGAINST NIGERIAN POLITICAL ACTIVIST An armed group of eight men broke into the Port Harcourt home of Ledum Mitee on March 22, searching for him unsuccessfully. Mitee is president of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) and has been a strong critic of the Rivers State government. Human Rights Watch said the attack highlights the need for additional efforts to protect government critics in the crucial pre- election period. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=14187 SUDAN: CALL TO BOOST HUMAN RIGHTS Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have called on the UN Commission on Human Rights to continue to strengthen its human rights monitoring presence in Sudan, as the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva debates the human rights situation in "any part of the world". "The positive changes in Sudan have taken place largely as a result of international pressure to make meaningful moves to end human rights abuses," the two international human rights organisations said. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=14226 SUDAN: NO IMPROVEMENT ON HUMAN RIGHTS FRONT, UN SAYS http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33152 The human rights situation has not improved in either the north or rebel-held south of Sudan, according to Gerhart Baum, the UN's Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Sudan. "I have seen no fundamental change since my last visit, in spite of further commitments by the government," he told a briefing at the UN Human Rights Commission last Friday. TANZANIA: TANZANIA PREPARES PERMANENT VOTERS' REGISTER Tanzania will soon have a permanent voters' register, which may be used in the country's next general election in 2005. The Director of Elections of the country's National Electoral Commission (NEC), Rajab Kiravu, said in Dar es Salaam this week that the register would be ready by November 2004. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=14199 ZIMBABWE: ELECTION NETWORK DEPLORES BY-ELECTION VIOLENCE The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) has deplored the violence that erupted in Highfield after the announcement of the election results. The Movement for Democratic Change’s (MDC) Mr Pearson Mungofa won the election with 8 759 votes beating his main rival Mr Joseph Chinotimba of the ruling ZANU PF party who polled 4 844 votes. Mr. Chinotimba indicated that he is not accepting the results. In Kuwadzana MDC’s Mr Nelson Chamisa won the seat by 12 548 votes against his main rival Mr David Mutasa of ZANU PF who polled 5002 votes. "We note with concern however, the pre-poll violence, intimidation and visible vote buying that characterised these by-elections," said the ZESN. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=14245 ZIMBABWE: MDC DEPUTY CHIEF BATTLES FOR BAIL http://www.zwnews.com/issuefull.cfm?ArticleID=6506 Gibson Sibanda, deputy president of Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), was due to find out on Thursday if his bail application had succeeded. He was arrested on Monday on charges of contravening the Public Order and Security Act. A packed Bulawayo courtroom, surrounded by troops and police, heard the state tell the court why it should deny Sibanda bail. ZIMBABWE: MDC TRIO'S APPLICATION FOR BAIL RELAXATION FAILS http://allafrica.com/stories/200304010183.html Justice Paddington Garwe, the Judge President, this week threw out an application for the alteration of bail conditions imposed on Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC president, and two of that opposition party's top officials facing high treason charges. The court also refused to grant an application for the temporary release of Welshman Ncube's passport. ZIMBABWE: OPPOSITION TRIUMPH http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2901295.stm The opposition Movement for Democratic Change has comfortably retained two parliamentary seats in the Zimbabwean capital after by-elections at the weekend. The weekend polls were described as largely peaceful by diplomats and the police, but marked by strong opposition claims of voter intimidation and ballot fixing. ZIMBABWE: PERSONAL TESTIMONIES OF STATE REPRESSION http://www.zwnews.com/March2003violence.doc "In short, the most recent wave of violence, like other acts of political violence in Zimbabwe, are part of an organised, coordinated and targeted campaign meant to terrorise and intimidate any voices of dissent into silence by brutally retaliating against perceived dissidents," says the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition in a report highlighting just a few of the hundreds of cases of victimisation by state agents against individuals who were believed to have organised the recent stay away. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 4.CORRUPTION AFRICA: 'FOREIGN AID HARMS AFRICA' http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/News/0,6119,2-11-1447_1334925,00.html Foreign aid was harmful to Africa and non-governmental organisations were "professional beggars", the SA National NGO Coalition (Sangoco) conference was told on Tuesday. Professor Shadrack Ghutto of the Centre for Applied Legal Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand said the structural adjustment programmes (SAPs) attached to foreign aid, and other forms of "conditional aid" to Africa had several harmful consequences. Trade and investment deals had been "secrets known only to leaders", and this culture of secrecy had widened the gap between governments and their peoples. AFRICA: HOLDING GLOBAL ORGANISATIONS TO ACCOUNT http://www.oneworldtrust.org/Ch99/htmlGAP/report/report.htm Launched in January 2003, the Global Accountability Report, 'Power without Accountability? is the first report to compare the accountability of inter- governmental organisations, transnational corporations and international non- governmental organisations. Eighteen of the world's most powerful organisations have been assessed and the report provides scores for their performance in two key aspects of accountability: member control of governance structures and degree of online access to information. The results show clear accountability failings across several sectors. NIGERIA: GOVERNMENT URGED TO CHECK CORRUPTION http://www.thisdayonline.com/news/20030327news21.html Corruption is a major obstacle to development, lowering investment and retarding economic growth, Center for Public Accountability (CPA), chief executive officer Prince Bowo Olateru-Olagbegi has said. He advised government to give adequate attention to addressing the issue of corruption because of its adverse effects on the nation's socio economic development. SOUTH AFRICA: 'BRIBERY IS A WAY OF LIFE IN SOUTH AFRICA' http://www.iol.co.za/index.php? click_id=594&art_id=vn20030403060553284C906359&set_id=1 Most South African businesses believe that bribery has become an accepted practice and that police officials were the most corrupt of all, the first comprehensive assessment of corruption in the country has found. The finding is contained in the "perception-based" Country Corruption Assessment Report, compiled over two years by the department of public service and administration with assistance from the United Nations office on drugs and crime. SOUTH AFRICA: GOVERNMENT BLACKLISTS CORRUPT BUSINESSES http://www.transparency.org/cgi-bin/dcn-read.pl?citID=52253 The government has established a database of corrupt businesses that departments are banned from using, while a plan for the blacklisting of corrupt employees from the public service has been approved. While the blacklisted companies are published on the Treasury website, legal issues around banning corrupt employees still have to be resolved, according to a government progress report on its anti-corruption measures. SOUTH AFRICA: WINNIE-COME-LATELY TRIES TO DUCK CENSURE http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?a=11&o=17886 African National Congress (ANC) MP Winnie Madikizela-Mandela will seek an urgent interdict on Tuesday to stop National Assembly Speaker Dr Frene Ginwala's public reprimand, pending the outcome of a High Court challenge next month. "We will serve papers today and will set it down for tomorrow," Madikizela-Mandela's attorney Votani Majola said on Monday. Ginwala last week advised Madikizela-Mandela that she should be present in the National Assembly at 3pm on Wednesday to be reprimanded for contravening Parliament's Code of Conduct. TANZANIA: CORRUPTION INDEX: DON'T SHOOT THE MESSENGER! http://www.nationaudio.com/News/EastAfrican/Current2/Business/BusinessOpinion3.h tml There are two opposing views on corruption in Tanzania. Some observers, including former anti-corruption Commissioner Joseph Warioba and global watchdog Transparency International (TI), see endemic official corruption in the country as an abuse of human rights and a major factor undermining the country's development prospects. Others, including many senior government officials, take the view that corruption is not a fundamental problem and that Tanzania's poor image – last year, Transparency International ranked it among the four most corrupt in a poll of 85 countries – reflects the more "widespread and open discussion" of corruption in Tanzania. ZAMBIA: CORRUPTION PREVENTION MEASURES NEEDED http://www.transparency.org/cgi-bin/dcn-read.pl?citID=52297 Global anti-corruption NGO Transparency International (TI) has described the Zambian system of governance as "rotten" in its latest report. The "National Integrity Systems TI Country Study Report - Zambia 2003", delves into the conduct of the executive, legislative and judicial arms of government. The report provides a "devastating analysis of how a government can loot its treasury, corrupt key agencies, distort privatisation and banking processes, and use the resources of the state to fund its dominance of the election process and pay for its retention of power", TI said in a statement. ZIMBABWE: MUGABE GAVE WHITE FARMS TO `VIOLENT' ASSOCIATES http://www.transparency.org/cgi-bin/dcn-read.pl?citID=52267 An inquiry into President Robert Mugabe's land reforms in Zimbabwe has uncovered massive corruption in the allocation of farms seized from white farmers, ostensibly for the resettlement of landless black peasants. The black farmers, originally resettled on the farms, are being evicted to pave the way for Mr Mugabe's cronies, many of whom own up to five farms. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 5.HEALTH AFRICA/GLOBAL: A NEW SECURITY THREAT: HIV/AIDS IN THE MILITARY http://www.worldwatch.org/bookstore/merchant.mvc? Screen=PROD&Store_Code=WIB&Product_Code=EP162B This paper describes the possible extent and consequences of HIV/AIDS prevalence among military personnel worldwide. The author states that the risk the epidemic poses to both national and international security is extremely serious and has begun to be recognised by governments. AFRICA: UN AGENCY CONCERNED AT DROP IN RESOURCES FOR REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=6639&Cr=population&Cr1=# The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has expressed concern that the world has dropped further behind commitments made at a 1994 global conference to invest $17 billion a year on population and reproductive health by 2000. “Given rising demands and HIV/AIDS infections, the mobilization of resources is more critical to the success of the Cairo Programme of Action and the Millennium Development Goals,” UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Obaid said. GHANA: ANTI-RETROVIRAL DRUGS EXPECTED FOR AIDS VICTIMS IN MAY http://allafrica.com/stories/200303310011.html The Atua Government Hospital has been selected as one of the health institutions to administer anti-retroviral drugs to full-blown AIDS patients as from May this year. The drugs are expected to boost the health of AIDS patients to ensure prolonged lifespan. The hospital is the only one selected for the pilot project on the administration of Nevirapine, the drug for the prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV/AIDS positive women during labour as well as the newly-born baby. MALAWI: SERIOUS BRAIN DRAIN HITS MALAWI'S AILING HEALTH SECTOR http://allafrica.com/stories/200304010411.html While Malawi's health sector is already hurt by shortages of drugs due to a constrained government budget, and a rising death toll because of HIV/AIDS, an exodus of medical personnel to richer western nations is threatening to cripple the already ailing sector. SOUTH AFRICA: SCIENTIST SLAMS HEALTH MINISTER'S AIDS DIET http://www.irinnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=1916 South African Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang last week recommended a combination of garlic, onions, virgin olive oil and the African potato to boost the immune systems of people living with HIV/AIDS. However, a local immunology professor on Monday said the African potato turned the food combination into a lethal concoction. SOUTH AFRICA: TAC EXTENDS CAMPAIGN http://www.sabcnews.com/south_africa/crime1justice/0,1009,55466,00.html The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) says their civil disobedience campaign will be extended to all government departments. Zachie Achmat, TAC leader, and more than 100 others were arrested at Cape Town's Caledon Square police station this week after laying charges of culpable homicide against Manto Tshabalala- Msimang, the Health Minister, and Trevor Manuel, the Finance Minister. SOUTH AFRICA: THE HIGH COSTS OF PRIVATE HEALTH http://www.health-e.org.za/view.php3?id=20030404 Government attempts over the past five years to get private medical schemes to take care of more South Africans have failed as high costs have generally precluded those earning less than R5 000 from joining private schemes. Medical inflation has outpaced overall inflation by around 5% every year, and this has virtually nullified regulations introduced from January 1999 aimed at opening up the private sector. SOUTHERN AFRICA: HIV/AIDS AND FOOD SECURITY IN AFRICA http://www.sarpn.org.za/documents/d0000235/P227_AIDS_Food_Security.pdf This paper summarises existing evidence and experience concerning HIV/AIDS and food security in Africa. It deals with two major issues: the impact of HIV/AIDS on agrarian livelihoods and how this can be mitigated; the implications of a concurrent generalised HIV/AIDS epidemic and an episode of acute food insecurity, what is termed 'new variant famine'. UGANDA: CHOLERA OUTBREAK CONTAINED, SAYS HEALTH OFFICIAL http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33208 The Ugandan health authorities on Tuesday said several medical teams had been dispatched to districts affected by a cholera epidemic sweeping through most of the country's western regions, bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). ZAMBIA: SCEPTICISM OVER AIDS DRUGS ROLL-OUT http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33203 A government programme to provide anti-AIDS drugs to HIV-positive Zambians had ignored those who needed it most and was simply "a lot of hot air", activists told IRIN. Last year, the government announced that up to 10,000 people living with HIV/AIDS (PWAs) would receive free antiretroviral (ARV) drugs in nine provincial treatment centres. The project would also provide a team consisting of a physician, faith healer, counsellor and social worker in each centre. But the Network of Zambian People Living With HIV/AIDS (NZP+) has expressed concern that PWAs who are poor and powerless, still have no access to treatment. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 6.EDUCATION AND SOCIAL WELFARE AFRICA/GLOBAL: WHITHER EDUCATION?: HUMAN RIGHTS LAW VERSUS TRADE LAW http://www.right-to-education.org/content/index_9.html Tension is intensifying in the education sector in the context of on-going negotiations at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) aimed to achieve widespread trade liberalization, including trade in education services. These negotiations are progressing under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). The November 2001 Doha Development Agenda was launched by WTO members to achieve, among other things, further liberalization. This includes the export education industry, with agreement slated to be reached by 2005. Pursuing free trade in the education sector requires dealing with education according to trade law principles. This conflicts with the protection of the right to education in international human rights law. DRC: "BUSINESS AS USUAL" FOR CHILD SOLDIERS http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33215 The NGO Refugees International (RI) has called for leaders of groups that employ child soldiers to be declared war criminals and prosecuted as such by the International Criminal Court. In a report published on 1 April highlighting the plight of child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), RI said that despite UN Security Council resolutions and international protocols prohibiting the recruitment and use of child soldiers, there had been too little progress in eliminating this form of child abuse in the DRC. ETHIOPIA: CHILD LABOUR COMMON http://allafrica.com/stories/200303280236.html For millions of children all over the world going to school, having a decent meal and a clean place to live in are a luxury. According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) about 246 million children are involved in child labour. These children are exposed to the worst form of working conditions. They are engaged in work that is hazardous to their health and general well being. ETHIOPIA: REACHING RURAL CHILDREN http://tinyurl.com/8qj2 In Amigna Daba, a small rural village in the south-central Ethiopian highlands, girls must overcome distance as well as cultural and religious barriers to education. The village has no services, no safe water, and no roads, or other basic infrastructure. The nearest school is a three-hour walk away. The challenges children face in going to school in rural Ethiopia are hard to imagine. Sixty-four percent of the population in the country lives in absolute poverty. This harsh statistic translates into a weak educational infrastructure, which serves only 57 percent of the total school age population and 47.0 percent of school age girls. MOZAMBIQUE: A FEW NAILS AND A YARD OF WIRE http://www.scienceinafrica.co.za/2003/march/nails.htm There is a general complaint in Southern Africa that there is a lack of laboratories, no science apparatus and no chemicals. But in this article, Keith Warren of the Eduardo Mondlane University in Mozambique argues that this is the wrong way to view the situation. People have become accustomed to seeing problems and complaining, he says. But there is an alternative - to find opportunities. Warren describes how he and his colleagues have used simple local resources - such as a few nails and a yard of wire - to teach children basic scientific concepts and transmit some knowledge and confidence to the country's younger generation. RWANDA: YOUTH STILL SUFFER FROM GENOCIDE, WAR Rwandan children still suffer the devastating consequences of the 1994 genocide and the war that preceded and followed it, Human Rights Watch says in a 80-page report, “Lasting Wounds: Consequences of Genocide and War for Rwanda’s Children”. In the report, Human Rights Watch documents the widespread abuse and exploitation of children in 1994 and since. In the violence nine years ago, hundreds of thousands of children were killed and maimed, physically and psychologically. Hundreds of thousands of children were orphaned and many now try to cope on their own. Families all over the country have opened their homes to needy children but, themselves living in poverty, they have not always respected foster children’s rights. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=14247 UGANDA: CHILD ABDUCTIONS SKYROCKET IN NORTH Children are being abducted in record numbers in northern Uganda by the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), Human Rights Watch says in a new report. The children are subjected to brutal treatment as soldiers, laborers and sexual slaves. Since June of 2002, an estimated 5,000 children have been abducted-a striking increase from 2001, when fewer than 100 children were abducted. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=14189 WEST AFRICA: STOP TRAFFICKING IN CHILD LABOR West African governments are failing to address a rampant traffic in child labor that is growing worse because of the AIDS crisis, Human Rights Watch charges in a new report. The 79-page report, "Borderline Slavery: Child Trafficking in Togo," highlights Togo as a case study of trafficking in the region. The report documents how children as young as three years old are exploited as domestic and agricultural workers in several countries. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=14227 /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 7.WOMEN AND GENDER AFRICA/GLOBAL: GENDER EQUITY AND PEACEBUILDING: FROM RHETORIC TO REALITY http://www.icrw.org/docs/gender_peace_report_0303.pdf This paper looks at how gender concerns are being integrated into policies and programs that shape post-conflict societies. Findings indicate a slow but positive shift in international opinion and understanding about the consequences of conflict on women and the importance of their participation in peace building processes and post-conflict social transformation. However, gender discrimination continues to manifest itself in such forms as political exclusion, economic marginalization, and sexual violence during and after conflict that deny women their human rights and constrain the potential for development. AFRICA/GLOBAL: NEW DATABASE OF ELECTORAL QUOTAS FOR WOMEN The representation of women in national parliaments currently stands at 15 percent worldwide although it is shown that 76 countries have introduced some type of gender quota. Given the slow rate by which the number of women in politics is growing, quotas have come to be seen as an important mechanism to increase the political representation of women, with more and more countries legislating the introduction of quotas for women. A new website gives the first overview of the use of electoral quotas for women worldwide. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=14217 AFRICA/GLOBAL: THE IMPACT OF NEO-LIBERAL GLOBALIZATION ON THE ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS OF WOMEN http://www.whrnet.org/docs/issue-globalisation.html#Overview The new globalized world is the result of processes relating to the restructuring of capital. It has changed the relationships between sexes, changed people’s opinions and values, and has reordered the political world landscape. This globalization process has evolved unequally across regions, socio-economic groups within regions, and between sexes, with multiple consequences that continue to erode the quality of people’s life. Women are not only affected as part of the family and as a disadvantaged group of society, but also as a result of their position in the sexual division of work, says this report from WHRnet. AFRICA/GLOBAL: TUNNEL VISION: WOMEN, MINING AND COMMUNITIES http://www.caa.org.au/campaigns/mining/tunnelvisionpapers/tunnelvisionreport.pdf This Oxfam paper provides practical examples of situations where women and children have consistently suffered disproportionately from the negative impacts of mining projects due to the policies and behaviour of the companies involved and presents a list of common grievances expressed by women during the research. AFRICA: A STEP TOWARDS SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS Close to 200 policy makers, researchers, health care providers, activists, academics, lawyers and advocates from 22 different African countries came together for the African Women's Sexual & Reproductive Health & Rights conference in Johannesburg, South Africa in February. The conference succeeded in creating an on-going forum and opportunity for progressive forces in Africa to come together and support each other in their joint efforts to improve the health, social, and civil rights status of women and girls. Read the executive summary of the conference and copy of the draft International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) statement written at the conference which outlines the position of the delegates in attendance regarding the ICPD + 10 process currently taking shape. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=14246 GAMBIA: STRIDES ON WOMEN'S RIGHTS http://allafrica.com/stories/200303310796.html Nominated Member of the National assembly Fatoumatta Jahumpa Ceesay has reiterated the strides government has made in empowering Gambian women, citing the adoption and ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (Cedaw) as an example of progress. SOMALIA: WOMEN PEACE DELEGATES LOBBY FOR THEIR RIGHTS http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33113 Somali women attending the ongoing peace conference in Nairobi, Kenya, have called for women's rights to be included in all stages of the peace process. Their call came at a three-day workshop for women delegates, supported by the regional body Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP). SOUTH AFRICA/UGANDA: TOWARDS A GENDER-AWARE ENERGY POLICY http://www.wougnet.org/documents.html#GEP Despite the efforts of South Africa and Uganda to genderize their energy policy, a clear idea of what engendering energy policy is about is still lacking. The study addresses the question: what are the characteristics of a gender-aware energy policy and what conditions, based on the experience of South Africa and the developments in Uganda, enable the integration of gender in a national energy policy? SOUTH AFRICA: FARMWORKER WINS BATTLE AGAINST EVICTION http://www.iol.co.za/index.php? click_id=13&art_id=vn20030402104132971C709990&set_id=1 A Franschhoek farmworker has won a historic victory for women's rights and the rights of farmworkers in the Land Claims Court. Clarina Julius - a worker at the farm Wonderland that belonged to Anglo American Farms until recently - opposed an application by the company to evict her and 14 other families from their home at Languedoc, near Franschhoek. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 8.REFUGEES AND FORCED MIGRATION ANGOLA: OVER 1.7 MILLION RETURN HOME http://allafrica.com/stories/200304020487.html More than 1.7 million internally displaced persons (IDP) have returned home since peace was achieved in the country in April last year. This was announced on Tuesday in Luanda by social welfare Minister Joao Baptista Kussumua, who pointed out the provinces of Bie, Huambo, Huila, Kwanza-Sul and Malange as the largest recipients. BURUNDI/TANZANIA: CURFEW CONTINUES IN REFUGEE CAMPS A curfew imposed a month ago after several nights of violence in two Burundian refugee camps in western Tanzania continues, IRIN learnt on Thursday. Calm has returned to the Mtabila and Myovosi refugee camps, near Kasulu, but the 20:00 to 06:00 local time curfew imposed by the Tanzanian authorities is still in place. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=14312 BURUNDI/TANZANIA: REFUGEES, AGENCIES BRACED FOR POLITICAL TRANSITION http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33219 In Burundi the first period of a three-year transitional government is drawing to an end. Under the terms of the peace agreement to end the civil war, presidential powers are to be transfered from a Tutsi to a Hutu on 1 May. But speculation among analysts and commentators over what the future holds for Burundi is rife. Aid agencies in western Tanzania and some Burundians are not relying on a smooth transition of power. They believe that waiting till the day will be too risky. The result is that refugee numbers have been mounting steadily and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has put in place a contingency plan to deal with a fresh influx. BURUNDI/TANZANIA: WFP ANNOUNCES SLIGHT FOOD INCREASES http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33123 The severely depleted food rations of refugees living in camps in Western Tanzania are to be increased slightly by mid-April, the World Food Programme announced. Aid agencies in the west of the country welcomed the 16 percent rise in caloric value of the rations, but refugees and local officials continued to voice their concerns over the lack of food in the camps. ERITREA: REFUGEE REPATRIATIONS FROM SUDAN TO RESUME http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33154 The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, says the voluntary repatriation of Eritreans from Sudan is set to resume soon. The convoys, returning Eritrean refugees to their homeland, stopped last October due to military activity in the Kassala area of Sudan and the closure of the Eritrea-Sudan border. RWANDA: BATWA LAND RIGHTS IN RWANDA http://www.minorityrights.org/Dev/mrg_dev_main.html Traditionally hunter-gatherers, the Batwa forest peoples of Rwanda are recognized as having been the first inhabitants of the land. Yet the Batwa have been forced to the edges of their ancestral forests. With no compensation and no alternative forms of livelihood, most have become beggars and landless labourers. This study from Minority Rights International highlights the plight of the Batwa and the need for allocated lands to allow them to preserve their culture, values and traditional livelihoods. SIERRA LEONE: UNHCR JOINS FIGHT AGAINST LASSA FEVER IN SIERRA LEONEAN CAMPS http://tinyurl.com/8qle The UN refugee agency has signed an agreement with the government of Sierra Leone and various non–governmental organisations (NGOs) to combat the deadly Lassa fever that has so far infected 80 people in the country's refugee camps and nearby host communities. SOUTH AFRICA REFUGEE CENTRES CAN'T COPE http://www.witness.co.za/content%5C2003_04%5C14297.htm Refugee reception centres in South Africa are critically understaffed and cannot meet their obligations, Home Affairs Minister Mangosuthu Buthelezi said on Wednesday. He was replying to a written question in the National Assembly on whether his department has sufficient capacity to process applications for refugee status. SOUTHERN AFRICA: NEW CHALLENGE OF HIV/AIDS IN HUMANITARIAN CRISES http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33228 In a humanitarian emergency, HIV/AIDS prevention and reproductive rights are not likely to be seen as a priority. But Africa's refugees and displaced persons face the prospect of a life of poverty, powerlessness and social instability: conditions that increase their vulnerability to HIV/AIDS. "Refugees and IDPs (internally displaced persons) are often at a higher risk of HIV/AIDS, but often in crises, reproductive health is put on the backburner," Helen Jackson, regional HIV/AIDS advisor for the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) told IRIN. SUDAN: IDP'S IN OIL AREAS CAUSES CONCERN http://www.idpproject.org/weekly_news/weekly_news.htm#3 Humanitarian and human rights conditions for IDPs from oil-rich regions in Sudan's Western Upper Nile state are very disturbing, said a German charity, reports AFP. After visiting the region, the director of Hoffnungszechen voiced concern for IDPs in southern Sudan uprooted to make way for oil exploration, adding that many IDP children were malnourished. TANZANIA: SLIGHT REPRIEVE FROM MALARIA AS RAINY SEASON ENDS April brought the end of the rainy season in western Tanzania, where approximately 500,000 refugees from Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) live in refugee camps. It also brought a slight reprieve from the malaria that accompanied the rains and badly affected the refugees. Thanks to effective drugs, health workers said case fatalities were relatively low, but at the peak of the rains, malaria filled paediatric wards, drained precious health resources and affected pregnant women. Poverty and a lack of awareness in the camps led to preventative methods failing. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=14313 /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 9.RACISM AND XENOPHOBIA AFRICA: GENETICISTS EXPOSE RACISM AS NONSENSE http://allafrica.com/stories/200303310083.html Gene experts have declared race to be no more than an accident of geography - and predict the future of black and white South Africa will probably be more shades of brown. Racism is scientifically unfounded, confirmed Professor Trefor Jenkins, Professor Emeritus at Wits University, and Dr Himla Soodyall, director of the Human Genomic Research Unit. The genetic pool in the country was already so mixed that supremacists had no hope of a pure lineage, they said during a series of workshops at the National Festival of Science, Engineering and Technology in Grahamstown this week. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 10.ENVIRONMENT AFRICA/GLOBAL: HOW SUSTAINABLE IS OUR DEVELOPMENT? http://www.enn.com/news/2003-04-01/s_3601.asp Sustainable development is a popular concept based on the assumption that we know enough to "manage" our natural resources in a way that will enable them to flourish indefinitely. With so many people in the world and a steeply rising demand for consumer products, it's certainly an enticing idea. But do we really know enough to manage natural resources sustainably? AFRICA/GLOBAL: HOW SUSTAINABLE IS OUR DEVELOPMENT? http://www.enn.com/news/2003-04-01/s_3601.asp Sustainable development is a popular concept based on the assumption that we know enough to "manage" our natural resources in a way that will enable them to flourish indefinitely. With so many people in the world and a steeply rising demand for consumer products, it's certainly an enticing idea. But do we really know enough to manage natural resources sustainably? AFRICA/GLOBAL: MASSIVE SWING TO CLEAN POWER VITAL http://www.scidev.net/frame3.asp?id=2803200314080332&authors=Katie% 20Mantell&posted=28%20Mar%202003&c=1&r=1&t=NB At least three quarters of the world's power must come from clean sources by the end of this century to sufficiently limit global warming, according to estimates released in this week's Science. The study shows that even the most conservative estimates of future warming point to a need for tremendous amounts of clean power development. AFRICA/GLOBAL: WATER SUMMIT'S VALUE QUESTIONED http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=1115 The value of international summits and forums and the high costs of organising such events were questioned by many participants at the end of the 3rd World Water Forum in Kyoto, Japan. Critics say the expected outcome and activity plans of such international events do not justify the huge amount of money pumped into organising them. They argue that the money would be much better used in achieving the Millennium and World Summit on Sustainable Development targets set in Johannesburg last year. AFRICA: SOUTH AFRICA'S 'WORLD IN ONE COUNTRY' EXPERIENCE http://www.id21.org/insights/insights45/insights-iss45-art01.html Africa is facing a water and sanitation crisis. An estimated one in three Africans do not have access to adequate water supply and sanitation facilities. In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) 40% of people lack access to a safe water supply and almost half suffer from water related diseases. In the face of these statistics, can the water and sanitation goals be met in Africa? KENYA: KENYA MOVES RARE RHINOS IN DART AND CAPTURE GAME http://www.enn.com/news/2003-04-02/s_3637.asp It is mid-morning, and terrified Ernest is charging as fast as he can toward Lake Nakuru in the heart of Kenya's scenic Rift Valley, sending a flock of pink flamingos squawking into flight. The 3-year-old white rhino is the target of wildlife authorities trying to capture him and take him to another game park hundreds of miles away. They are keen to revive the number of rhinos which were nearly wiped out in a poaching attack years ago. SOUTH AFRICA: INDIGENOUS GROUP TO SHARE ROYALTIES FROM ANTI-OBESITY DRUG http://www.scidev.net/frame3.asp?id=2603200312114127&t=N&authors=Tamar% 20Kahn&posted=26%20Mar%202003&c=1&r=1 A group of South African hunter-gatherers is to receive six per cent of all royalties received by South Africa's leading research organisation from a potential anti-obesity drug derived from the local hoodia plant. Under the deal, the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) will also pay the San community eight per cent of all milestone payments received from Phytopharm, its UK-based licencee for the drug. The money will be used for the "general upliftment, development and training of the San community". SOUTHERN AFRICA: AFRICA'S RAINFOREST MAP SHAPED BY SEA TEMPERATURES http://www.scidev.net/frame3.asp?id=2703200312174610&authors=Katie% 20Mantell&posted=27%20Mar%202003&c=1&r=1&t=NB Changes in sea surface temperatures were the main cause of shifting rainforest patterns in southern Africa in the past, according to new research. The study looked at marine deposits dating from 450,000 to 1.2 million years ago, and suggests that fluctuations in sea temperature in the tropical Atlantic determined the expansion and shrinkage of rainforests and dry savanna belts in southern Africa over that period. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 11.MEDIA AFRICA/GLOBAL: JAILING OF JOURNALISTS UP The number of journalists behind bars rose sharply in 2002, while heightened awareness of journalist safety and a decline in the number of global conflicts last year contributed to a decrease in the number of journalists killed for their work, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists' (CPJ's) annual survey of press freedom conditions around the world. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=14253 ERITREA: RSF CALLS FOR RELEASE OF JOURNALISTS Reporters sans frontières (RSF) has called on the European Union to intervene on behalf of detained journalists in Eritrea. RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard said in a letter: "Our organisation particularly calls on the European Union to condition the resumption of economic aid to Eritrea on the release of the 18 journalists it has imprisoned and the re-emergence of a free, privately- owned press in the country." Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=14255 IVORY COAST: INVESTIGATION DEMANDED IN MEDIA KILLING The Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN has called on the Ivoirean authorities to carry out an exhaustive investigation into the killing of journalist Kloueu Gonzreu and to bring those responsible to justice. Gonzreu's body was discovered on 19 March 2003 in the Toulépleu region. Gonzreu was also a teacher as well as working for the Red Cross. The bodies of two other Red Cross workers and his son, Thierry Gonzreu, were also found with the journalist. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=14251 NIGERIA: COVERAGE OF PARTIES, CANDIDATES: MEDIA ACCUSED OF BIAS The presidential candidate of the Progress Action Congress (PAC) Mrs Sarah Jibril, has accused the nation's mass media of not giving adequate publicity to the so-called smaller political parties and their candidates. Jibril, who spoke in Abuja at a workshop on election reporting organised by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), said the press have tended to report "richer" parties more to the disadvantage of others. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=14250 TOGO: AUTHORITIES CENSOR FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS Reporters sans frontières (RSF) reports that on March 26 the Communications Ministry's press attaché informed all foreign correspondents, including those with Radio France Internationale, Agence France-Presse, Reuters and the BBC, that the minister was barring them from practicing their jobs "until further notice." Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=14252 ZIMBABWE: JOURNALIST RECOUNTS ORDEAL AT HANDS OF POLICE, AWAITS TRIAL DATE Mutare-based freelance reporter Stanley Karombo says police beat him and searched his home after arresting him on 19 March 2003. The police also confiscated his mobile phone and tape recorder. Karombo was arrested under the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) for allegedly practicing journalism without accreditation. He was released on 24 March on Z$5,000 (approx. US$6) bail. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=14254 /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 12.DEVELOPMENT AFRICA/TANZANIA: STUDY CHALLENGES BANK'S ROLE IN MINING http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/topic/environment/e3320mining.html A new study from Canadian researchers examines the World Bank's influence in establishing mining codes in Southern countries. It finds that the Bank's assessment of what was needed to attract foreign investment did not consider broader development objectives. GHANA: GHANA FACES IMF ARM-TWISTING http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/topic/adjustment/a3308ghana.html After the IMF intensified retaliatory measures on Ghana for failing to comply with its requirements, the country appears eager to appease the Washington institution, probably at a high social cost. Having been portrayed as an adjustment success story in the 1990s, Ghana was denied renewal of IMF financial assistance at the end of 2002 after failing to implement conditions in its Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility agreement with the Fund. Now, to get the funding renewed, the government is implementing conditions for which Ghanaian people will have to pay a high price. KENYA: AGRICULTURE, ECONOMIC GROWTH AND POVERTY REDUCTION http://www.kippra.org/Download/OPNo3.pdf Does agriculture have a role to play in economic growth and poverty reduction? This paper considers the role of agriculture in Kenya. A brief discussion of the role of agriculture in economic growth and poverty reduction is provided and the performance of Kenya's agricultural sector is discussed, focusing on both the policy and structural constraints that have impacted on agricultural performance. The author concludes that the agricultural sector has not received the attention and recognition it deserves in relation to the importance of its role in economic growth and poverty reduction. SOUTHERN AFRICA: SOCIAL MOVEMENTS WAGE WAR AGAINST CORPORATE GLOBALISATION http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=1113 Corporate globalisation continues to wreck havoc in Southern Africa. It is characterized by deregulation of markets, trade liberalization and dumping of harmful products in poor countries. It includes privatization of essential public utilities, immobility of labour; diehard paragons of this job-killing doctrine such as the European Union, the International Monetary Fund, the United States of America, the World Trade Organisation and transnational corporations, define as a process of restructuring the world economy. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 13.INTERNET AND TECHNOLOGY AIDS ORPHANS OFFERED FREE INTERNET ACCESS http://allafrica.com/stories/200303270516.html A computer centre that will allow Zimbabwean children orphaned by HIV/AIDS access to Internet facilities has been opened in Harare's high-density suburb of Glenview. The centre, named Cybergateway, was opened last Sunday and will enable HIV /AIDS orphans in Glenview to receive and send electronic mail messages free of charge. ANTI-WAR PROTESTERS TAKE DIGITAL TURN http://www.govtech.net/news/news.phtml?docid=2003.03.27-45008 As bombs blasted Baghdad last week, dozens of cell phones in China buzzed with messages about where to stage an anti-war protest. In Cairo, activists tapped out text messages to summon 5,000 demonstrators to a central square, and in San Francisco, technophiles beamed live footage from protests to anti-war Web sites. Prohibitively expensive only a few years ago, gadgets ranging from the cell phone to the mini digital video camera simplify protests from Brussels to Manila. CONNECTING WITH CAUSES LARGE AND SMALL http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/5231681.htm Columnist Mike Cassidy is encouraged by the role of the Web and email in organizing and informing political movements. He notes that new communication technologies have connected people with causes as big as the anti-war movement and as small as a one-day fast in protest of corrupt Indian politics. (Sourced from the The TAD Consortium. Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]) OPEN SOURCE GAINS MOMENTUM http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/software/2003/0303310913.asp? A=ITG&S=ITinGovernment&O=E The open source software (OSS) movement is undoubtedly gaining momentum in SA with the local enterprise market and government starting to gain a better understanding of the value proposition behind the adoption of OSS. This is according to Mark Rotter, senior analyst at African ICT research house BMI- TechKnowledge. WORKSHOP ON IMPORTANCE OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY HELD http://allafrica.com/stories/200304010376.html A science and technology stakeholders' workshop aimed at discussing the importance of technology in modern society was held in Harare recently. Among some of the workshop's objectives included promoting public awareness of science and technology. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 14.eNEWSLETTERS AND MAILING LISTS ONLINE FORUM: AN INFORMATION SOCIETY FOR UGANDA, APRIL 14 - 30, 2003 Following the WSIS PrepCom II in Geneva, two basic working documents have been produced: a draft Declaration of Principles and a draft Plan of Action. Comments to the two working documents may be submitted by May 31, 2003. To facilitate contribution to the WSIS working documents and Uganda's input to the WSIS, WOUGNET is hosting an online forum: 'An Information Society for Uganda'. For details and to register, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit: http://www.wougnet.org/WSIS/ug/isug.html PROGRAMME TO PROMOTE CIVIL SOCIETY DISCUSSIONS ON AFRICA POLICY CHOICES The quarterly SADC Barometer examines the programmes of the Southern African Development Community, reporting on developments in regional trade, integration, development and other crucial areas affecting the region. The SADC Barometer is part of an effort by the South African Institute of International Affairs to promote reform and a more involved, robust civil society discussion on African policy choices. As a result SAIIA has launched two programmes to involve and inform key members of business and civil society about regional and continental issues not covered in the mainsteam media. The second project is aimed at informing civil society about the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). In the coming months, SAIIA will produce a monthly journal, Africa in Perspective, which will provide in-depth analysis of the latest developments in NEPAD and a variety of other reforms and innovations in Africa. In addition, SAIIA will roll out an active programme to survey your views on key policy priorities and feed these views to the media and government decision-makers. These journals will be distributed by electronic mail to key players in business, academia, government, media, non-governmental organisations and other civil society organisations. To forward suggestions or comments or to subscribe or unsubscribe to the SADC Barometer please write to SAIIA at [EMAIL PROTECTED] Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 15.FUNDRAISING MOZAMBIQUE: FURTHER DANISH SUPPORT FOR AGRICULTURAL SECTOR http://allafrica.com/stories/200304020505.html Mozambique and Denmark signed in Maputo on Monday a memorandum of understanding for further cooperation in the area of agriculture, particularly for the National Agriculture Development Programme (PROAGRI).The Danish programme to support Mozambican agriculture is budgeted at 278 million Danish Crowns (about 79 million US dollars) to be used over the 2000-2004 period. NAMIBIA: SWEDES PUMP N$3M INTO FFF http://allafrica.com/stories/200303310249.html Sweden on Friday announced it was giving nearly N$3 million to the Forum For the Future (FFF), a non-governmental organisation. RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP ON AFRICAN YOUTH IN A GLOBAL AGE The Social Science Research Council (SSRC) and the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), in partnership with the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) and South Africa's National Research Foundation (NRF) is pleased to announce the 2003-4 program for research and training on Understanding Exclusion, Creating Value: African Youth in a Global Age. Funding for the program is provided by the Education for Democracy and Development Initiative of the U.S. Agency for International Development, CODESRIA, the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA), and the NRF. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=14218 SOUTH AFRICA: EAST LONDON MUM RAISES FUNDS, JUMPS FOR CHARITY http://www.dispatch.co.za/2003/03/31/easterncape/FUNDS.HTM East London mum Sabrina Burton, 45, at the weekend became the first person in the Eastern Cape to take a 10 000 foot "jump for charity". Burton raised over R3000 for the South African Guide Dogs Association. Her "reward" was a tandem 10 000 foot leap of faith out of a plane with Jump for Charity (JFC) jump master Ralph Ridge. STATE STREET CORPORATION ANNOUNCES $3.2 MILLION IN GLOBAL PHILANTHROPY PROGRAM GRANTS The State Street Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Boston-based financial services company State Street Corporation, has announced 269 grants totaling more than $3.2 million through its Global Philanthropy Program during the fourth quarter of 2002. The grants bring the foundation's total giving in 2002 to $10.4 million. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 16.COURSES, SEMINARS, AND WORKSHOPS ALL ABOUT ANGOLA Public Information Series http://www.transafricaforum.org/events/angola0416_3003.shtml It has been just over a year since the end of decades of brutal war in Angola, the second richest country in Africa. What are the current challenges facing Angola and how does this country factor into Africa’s future? The All About Angola series is an effort to provide the general public with information concerning the exigencies of Angola and to serve as a unique networking opportunity for people of African descent, and all peace and justice loving people who wish to foster the development of progressive issues and agendas related to Africa. JUSTICE AND THE GLOBAL REDISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH Jubilee South Africa Seminar, 9 April 2003 University of Chicago philosophy professor Iris Marion Young is in Johannesburg and has agreed to give an informal presentation to civil society activists and intellectuals interested in global justice. She will be sharing ideas with Jubilee South Africa and anyone else interested in the question of how we justify our demands for the global redistribution of wealth, and what modus operandi might help achieve our goals. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=14304 SESSION ON DISASTER MANAGEMENT AND RESEARCH IN AFRICA The International Emergency Management Society, June 3 To 6 2003 TIEMS, The International Emergency Management Society, is conducting an assessment to identify what are the unmet needs of emergency management professionals in Africa and how the Society can help to address these needs. TIEMS' annual conference will be held in Provence France from June 3 to 6 2003. The conference organisers have set aside a session period for discussions on disaster management and research in Africa. The intent of this session is to identify key areas where further efforts are needed to support and expand disaster management and research in Africa. The format of the session will be based on short presentations followed by discussions. Individuals interested in participating in the session, or wanting to express opinions on disaster management and research in Africa, are encouraged to attend the conference. Recognizing the short lead time before the conference and often long lead times needed to secure travel funds and documents, an option for "virtual participation" in the session is available. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=14302 /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 17.ADVOCACY RESOURCES HIGHLIGHTING THE RIGHTS OF OLDER PEOPLE HelpAge International Africa Regional Development Centre have produced five radio plays available on CD as parts of their Rights Programme highlighting rights issues as they affect older people. The titles are: The effects of HIV/AIDS on older people in Africa; Poverty and older people in Africa; Abandonment of Older people in Africa; Witchcraft accusations and violence against older people in Africa; Health care for older people. They also have a two-part documentary highlighting the abuse of older people's rights. The titles are: The rights of older people: the mark of a noble society; The rights of older people: possible solutions. Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] for copies. POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGY PAPERS (PRSPS): A ROUGH GUIDE http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/topic/adjustment/PRSP%20rough%20guide/PRSP% 20rough%20guide.htm What is the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP)? How does the PRSP relate to WB and IMF lending? Do PRSP countries still get structural adjustment loans? What is the connection with the HIPC debt relief initiative? Are PRSPs really nationally owned? What does ownership mean? Do PRSPs do away with conditionality? Do PRSPs depart from the Washington Consensus in the choice of policies? Find out more about PRSP's by delving into this rough guide. PROTEST ARBITRARY ARRESTS IN SUDAN A series of arbitrary arrests have taken place in Sudan. The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) is gravely concerned about the arrests and requests that you urgently write to the Sudanese authorities to ensure the safety of those arrested. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=14303 SIGN THE MONEY FOR AIDS, NOT FOR WAR STATEMENT! Africa Action is circulating the statement available through the link to a worldwide audience. They are seeking endorsements from organisations around the world and will release the statement publicly on or around April 15. Please register your organisational endorsement on their website at http://php.africaaction.org/action/moneyaids.php and please circulate the statement to other organisations and networks. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=14237 WORKINGFORCHANGE.COM ENCOURAGES ONLINE ACTIVISM http://www.workingforchange.com/index.cfm WorkingforChange.com has recently posted a list of 5 things it encourages readers to do about Iraq. The ideas give readers a variety of ways to take action online such as pre-written emails to governmental officials, local events calendars and online donations, reports NetPulse, a project of PoliticsOnline: Fundraising and Internet tools for politics. (http://netpulse.politicsonline.com) /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 18.JOBS AFRICA PROGRAMME MANAGER Open Knowledge Network (OKN) The Open Knowledge Network, www.openknowledge.net, is an initiative of the G8 Digital Opportunity Taskforce (DOTForce) linking together existing grassroots information and knowledge-sharing initiatives to promote both the creation and the exchange of local content as widely as possible across the South, supported by a range of different information and communication technologies (ICTs). The programme is coordinated by OneWorld International and its network of southern offices. The Africa Programme Manager will lead the development of the OKN, managing programme planning, coordination and implementation. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=14296 ANGOLA: DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS Population Services International http://www.fpa.org/jobs_contact2423/jobs_contact_show.htm?doc_id=159875 Responsibilities include, but are not limited to, planning and supervising the expansion of social marketing activities nation-wide, including overseeing program sites in the interior, hiring and training PSI field staff, and coordinating with local NGOs. KENYA: EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/ ADVOCACY OFFICER/ OFFICE ASSISTANT The Independent Medico Legal Unit The Independent Medico Legal Unit is a non-profit organisation. Its focus is the promotion and protection of human rights by providing medical and legal assistance to victims of survivors of torture. The IMLU is currently seeking qualified candidates for the above positions. More details can be obtained at the website http://www.imlu.org or by writing to: The Managing Trustee, IMLU, P.O Box 1271-0606, Nairobi, Kenya. NIGERIA: TOP LEVEL NURSES Center For The Right To Health Center for the Right to Health (CRH) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization dedicated to the full realization of the right to health in Nigeria and the promotion of ethics and human rights in healthcare policies and practises, especially for vulnerable groups such as people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). CRH has its head office in Lagos and a Voluntary Counselling and Testing office in Abuja. CRH presently seeks to recruit top level Nurses to join her multi-sectoral programme staff in tackling HIV/AIDS prevention, care and support and in defending the human rights of PLWHA. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=14232 SUDAN: PROGRAMME ADVISOR Landmine Action http://www.reliefweb.int/w/res.nsf/wDocs/F137D74149392630C1256CE7005D3958 The Sudan Landmine Information & Response Initiative (SLIRI) is the only indigenous cross-conflict mine action entity, working with a civil society network of organisations operating on both sides of the conflict in Sudan. The project aim is to develop an accurate overview of the impact of landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) throughout the current and former combat zones of Sudan. WEST AFRICA: ANALYST International Crisis Group http://www.fpa.org/jobs_contact2423/jobs_contact_show.htm?doc_id=159867 The successful candidate will conduct extensive field research into prevailing security, social, political and economic conditions in West Africa (Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia, Ivory Coast). /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 19.BOOKS AND ARTS ORGANISATION DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANT FORMATION IN AFRICA - REFLECTIONS FROM PRACTICE Sue Soal (CDRA), Rick James And Liz Goold (INTRAC) And William Ogara (CORAT) http://www.cdra.org.za/ Promoting an organisation development (OD) approach to development practice, this book is addressed primarily to those readers who work as donors and have an interest in finding creative ways of developing and supporting an organisation development consultancy resource in the countries and regions in which they work, and for those who work in NGO support organisations, particularly when a strategy of providing OD consultancy is pursued. ORGANISATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT - TOWARDS BUILDING A PRACTICE James Taylor http://www.cdra.org.za/ A succinct description of a developmental practice and the nature of organisation required to support it. SOUTH AFRICA: MUSO WILLY MANGANYI RELEASES A CD "VARHANDZANI" http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=1109 Despite having only standard five as an education qualification and living under sordid conditions of abject rural poverty; there is no force that can stop the hard-working and strong-willed Willy Manganyi from brilliantly strumming his guitar. He is making indigenous African music that soothes the soul of a nation ripped to shreds by poverty, HIV/Aids, unemployment, prostitution, mis-education, inertia, jealousy, corruption and other social evils. WOMEN'S VOICES AND AFRICAN THEATRE Theatre in most of Africa has for centuries been an important social phenomenon, playing a central role in religion, ritual and social practices, as an art form and as a vehicle for passing on information and traditions, as well as for expressing ideas. In recent years, theatre has started to play a role in development and as a means of political expression. Women and women’s groups have also started to make use of this powerful expressive medium to promote equality in the home and in society, as well as to educate and advocate around their issues. This report explores the significance of theatre as a means to freedom of expression for women in four African countries: Zimbabwe, Kenya, Mali and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=14231 /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 20.LETTERS AND COMMENTS AN ACCOUNT OF THE REMAND HEARING OF MDC VICE PRESIDENT GIBSON SIBANDA MP This is an account of the fiasco I witnessed in the Remand hearing of MDC Vice President Gibson Sibanda MP. Sibanda and another Reggie Moyo appeared before Provincial Magistrate Masimba charged under the Public Order Security Act (POSA). Prosecutor Mary Zimba-Dube allowed bail of $20 000 for Moyo but declined to allow bail for Sibanda. Both were alleged to have violated the Act by organising last weeks successful stay away. The hearing finally got underway at 3:40pm after a day of arguments back and forth. Zimba-Dube said the State were opposing bail out of the suspicion that Sibanda had pending cases (a disputed point) and that he would interfere with other witnesses still at large. Sibanda was defended by Josaphat Tshuma, who argued that the arguments were baseless. Zimbwa-Dube then stated that the State could not present their argument for a denial of bail as the investigating officer was unavailable. This despite the fact that the officer was one of a team of four, the other men being present. During the hearing, (4:20 pm) a man walked in and judging by the comments he appeared to be the 'unavailable' officer, Ngwenya. A man who only seems to posses one suit and is well known enough to have appeared on the list of notorious officers which appeared in The Standard newspaper Sunday. Many brave members of the public noticed him enter and whispered his name and gestured to each other. He came in and left with another of the investigating officers. He probably bowed his head to the magistrate upon entrance and exit. However when this was raised by the lawyers and an officer went into the corridor to call his name - no response was forthcoming. Masimba then decided to adjourn the hearing to Wednesday 2nd April at 8:30 am, punishing the Sibanda with a further night in custody. Worse still it is believed that Sibanda was removed to Khami Prison some 30 km outside Bulawayo. Remand cases are normally held in central or suburban stations. His wife has been denied access to him tonight. BOTSWANA: TAKING THE SHINE OFF OF BOTSWANA’S GLITTERING DIAMONDS Ian Taylor, University Of Botswana http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=1108 I read your article “Diamonds: Forever or For Good? The Economic Impact of Diamonds in Southern Africa” with interest. Whilst I agree with a lot of what Ralph Hazleton wrote, I fear that he has let Botswana off the hook a bit too much. TIM SYMONDS Eyecatcher Associates/Shevolution http://www.shevolution.com I read with great interest the feature on developing African women's human rights and opportunities (Pambazuka News 103). I am a British male who has worked with Lesley Abdela of Eyecatcher/Shevolution for 25 years in the advance of women in politics. We believe that African women are Africa's only hope, not just Africa's best hope, because Africa is slipping back in economic, political and social development, not moving forward. Africa's women need political power or they will always be calling through the window at the men who hold power and misuse that power. Africa's women must seek at least parity (50%) in the Town Halls and Parliaments in every country. Holding power means the ability to decide what is best for your community. It means you can allocate available resources. It means you can start to suppress wrongs like domestic violence because you can change or introduce new legislation to fit the need. It means girls' rights can be enhanced, including equal access to education. It means women can decide how the economy should develop, including agriculture and small business. I can tell you, I have been in many countries with Lesley Abdela, conducting skills workshops for between 20 and 80 future women leaders, and I am completely certain that Africa's best hope for progress, stability and international acceptance will come when women are at least 50% of every Parliament, from Cape to Cairo! Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 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) Fahamu, Kabissa 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. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\
