wfn.org | All Africa News Agency June 2 2003 (a)

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

AANA BULLETIN No. 21/03 June 2, 2003 (a)

ALL AFRICA NEWS AGENCY
P. O Box, 66878, 00800 Westlands, NAIROBI, Kenya.  Tel: 254-2-4442215,
4440224
Fax: 254-2-4445847, 4443241; Email: aanaapta@insightkenya.com , 
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NEWS   SECTION

Now Zimbabweans Are Having Trouble Getting Cash

HARARE (AANA) June 2 - Cash has joined the long list of scarce commodities 
in Zimbabwe. Long winding queues have become the order of the day in many 
banking halls in the country.

Some unscrupulous business people are now taking advantage of the scenario 
to offer cash to desperate clients, at a fee.

Zimbabwe has been hit by acute shortage of basic commodities, earning 
itself the name "land of queues".

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has been mum over the cause of financial 
shortages, leaving it to speculation.

It has, however, been confirmed that the central bank has no foreign 
currency to import the special paper that is used to print notes.

Economists have also blamed the shortage on the high rate of inflation. The 
year-on-year rate of inflation for April was 269.2 percent.

Prices of goods have almost quadrupled in the last two weeks, following a 
move by the government to decontrol prices. The cost of most basic 
commodities have been under government control since October 2001.

"The increase in prices means one has to carry more cash, and the central 
bank is arguing that they would not print more notes because it would fuel 
inflation," says Dr Samuel Undenge, an economist.

He adds: "What this means is that the demand for notes has surged, but the 
supply remains subdued."

According to Dr Undenge, the argument that if the central bank stops 
printing more notes then inflation would be arrested, holds no water.

"The money they need to print should meet the demand for notes that has 
resulted from inflation and this would not increase inflation at all," he 
explains.

Some banks are closing for business prematurely as they are unable to issue 
out money to their customers.

Some business men and women are no longer making daily deposits into the 
banks, instead, opting for the now more lucrative informal transactions, 
where they charge a commission for making cash available to desperate 
customers.

Reported by Namutatanga Makombe

Church Leaders Object To Condom Distribution In Prisons

BLANTYRE (AANA) June 2 - Leading clergy in Malawi have condemned proposals 
by some members of parliament (MPs), that condoms be freely distributed to 
inmates around the country's prisons, to check the spread of HIV/AIDS, 
following rampant homosexual practices in the institutions.

Members of the National Assembly were sharply split, when Loveness Gondwe, 
an opposition MP, blamed the government for not taking action against 
widespread sodomy in prisons.

He told the government to stop pretending sex was not taking place in 
jails.	"Prisoners are citizens like everybody else and must be protected 
from the AIDS scourge with free condoms," charged Gondwe, in response to a 
report by the Inspectorate of Prisons, that deplored inhuman conditions in 
most of the country's 23 prisons.

But some MPs spoke strongly against the idea, arguing that it would defeat 
the concept of rehabilitation, as inmates were not allowed any social 
pleasures in the course of serving their sentences.

Church leaders were particularly irked by the proposal, saying 
homosexuality was a sin, and that promoting condoms in prisons would 
encourage immorality among inmates.

Pastor Gibson Nachiye of the Deeper Life Church, and Bishop Andrew Dube of 
the Assemblies of God, issued a stern criticism against the move during a 
press interview here. "Homosexuality is a sin before God, therefore, such 
act as distribution of condoms would only encourage immorality," noted 
pastor Nachiye.

Bishop Dube, on the other hand, quashed another suggestion by some members 
who favoured the idea of occasionally allowing prisoners to sexually 
interact with their spouses.

"When one is in prison he is denied the right to freedom and social life. 
Bringing wives for prisoners would be killing the whole idea for confining 
wrongdoers," affirmed Bishop Dube.

Generally, churches in Malawi have been opposing free distribution of 
condoms to check AIDS. The Catholic Church commands the largest following, 
with 8 million members out of Malawi's 10 million population.

It has been in the forefront in discouraging the faithful from using 
condoms, even for family planning purposes.

The clergy assert that even though Malawi is one of the most badly affected 
country in southern Africa by HIV/AIDS, condoms are not the solution.

They have, accordingly, embarked on various programmes to promote 
abstinence, especially among the youth.

Reported by Hobbs Gama

Appeals Chamber Hands Down First Genocide Conviction

ARUSHA (AANA) June 2 - The Appeals Chamber of the United Nations 
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), last Monday (May 26) 
handed down its first war crimes conviction for the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

The Chamber upheld a sentence of life imprisonment against George 
Rutaganda, a key player in the genocide.

Mr. Rutaganda, 45, at the time of the massacres, was a businessman and 
political leader in charge of the Interahamwe militia group that largely 
carried out the massive killings of Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

An estimated 800,000 people were slaughtered in 100 days in the  genocide, 
which the Church remains accused of having abetted.

Rutaganda was first sentenced by the ICTR on December 6, 1999, after he was 
found guilty of what the tribunal termed as three counts of genocide, 
extermination as a crime against humanity and murder as crime against
humanity.

Those charges stemmed from his participation in an orchestration of an 
attack against thousands of people who had sought refuge in a technical 
college in Kigali, "throwing grenades, shooting and killing the refugees 
with machetes and cudgels," according to the Tribunal.

At the appeal, presiding Judge, Theodor Meron, confirmed that the first two 
sentences had been upheld, but that Mr. Rutaganda had been acquitted of 
murder as a crime against humanity, after finding "inconsistencies" in 
witnesses' evidence.

Reported by Muuna Wamuli

  Pope Appeals For Peace After Abduction Of Seminarians

VATICAN/GULU (AANA) June 2 - Pope John Paul II, in a message to Bishop 
Mathew Odong of Gulu Diocese in Northern Uganda, has asked both the Ugandan 
army and rebel Lords Resistance Army (LRA), to lay down their arms and talk 
peace as a matter of urgency.

The Pope's earnest appeal follows the abduction of 44 seminarians and at 
least 10 other people from St. Marys' Seminary in Lacor, outside Gulu, on 
May 11.

The Pope called on national and local authorities "to do everything 
possible to ensure the safety of the civilian population."

Since the abductions by LRA, at least two seminarians have been killed, 
possibly because they could not keep up with their abductors.

At least 10 civilians seized with the seminarians were forcibly taken from 
the verandas of the seminary, where many families go at nightfall to seek 
refuge.  The surrounding countryside is often unsafe.

In spite of the worsening security picture, government forces had only a 
small troop to guard the seminary. They reportedly had taken off to patrol 
elsewhere, when the attack occurred that Sunday night.

Meanwhile, other reports indicate that about 50 people travelling to the 
north-western town of Arua, fled into the bush when their bus was hit by 
LRA rebels on 28 May. At least four people on board were killed.

Reported by Sam Gonza

Reports Link Uganda With Regional Arms Trafficking

KAMPALA (AANA) June 2 - A six man Judicial Commission of Inquiry, appointed 
here by the government to investigate illegal exploitation of Democratic 
Republic of Congo (DRC) resources, has also highlighted Uganda's pivotal 
role in promoting international arms traffickers.

The Commission, led by Justice David Porter, a British expatriate judge, 
showed how one Victor Bout, described in the report as "transnational 
criminal", is supported by Ugandan institutions, and how his easy access to 
state facilities has enhanced his role in arms trafficking.

The report said Bout has registered seven airlines with the Civil Aviation 
Authority (CAA) namely, Odessa Air, ACS, Air Cess, Central African Air, 
AirPass, Military and Nyota Airlines.

The Commission noted that 97 flights of Bout's firms, from Entebbe to 
eastern Congo, were recorded by CAA between 1998 to 2002.

Also noted was the increase in business activity by East Europeans in the 
region through Uganda. A United Nations (UN) panel that investigated 
illegal exploitation of DRC resources, established a link between some 
foreign-owned Coltan mining companies and arms importation into the region.

The team noted that arrangements allowed arms either to be bartered for 
mining concessions, or through direct payments. A web of firms, and in most 
cases joint ventures, facilitated arms imports.

Nevertheless, Porter Commission found no basis to support the allegations.

Reported by Crespo Sebunya

Many African Countries Are Now Keen On Land Reforms

NAIROBI (AANA) June 2 - Issues pertaining to land took centre stage here 
last week at the on-going constitutional conference, with a law professor, 
Okoth Ogendo, reminding delegates that a number of African nations had 
realised the need to review land policy matters.

Opening debate on land and property on May 26, the Kenyan scholar, an 
expert on land issues, told delegates at the conference that several 
countries in eastern, central and southern Africa, namely South Africa, 
Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Rwanda, Malawi, and Zimbabwe, were currently 
reforming their land policies and laws.

The reforms, he explained, were addressing fundamental issues, such as land 
policy principles; land tenure and distribution; land management and use; 
land administration, and the overall legal structure.

Prof. Ogendo, who is also a commissioner in the Constitution of Kenya 
Review Commission (CKRC), noted that recent laws in countries such as 
Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, Namibia and Zambia, had placed land on the 
constitutional agenda.

But Kenya is yet to institute a national policy on land. On this, Prof. 
Ogendo expressed hope that such a policy would be realised "this time 
around... now that the current national conference on constitutional review 
is deliberating on the issue".

In an interview with AANA, Lumumba Odenda, co-ordinator for Kenya Land 
Alliance, blamed problems pegged on land to the fact that the country had 
delayed in instituting a national land policy, through which matters 
concerning land could be effectively addressed. The alliance is a network 
of civil society organisations and individuals advocating for land reforms.

Reported by Osman Njuguna

  Sour Ties Between Burkina Faso And US May Soon End

OUAGADOUGOU (AANA) June 2 - The United States (US) deputy under-secretary 
for African affairs, Pamela Bridgewater, last Monday intimated that 
relations between her country and Burkina Faso could improve.

"Yes, we had some difficulties in our relations...but we have found means 
to bring the relations to normal, we still have some problems, but there is 
a political will to solve [them]," she said after meeting with President 
Blaise Compaore. She refused to elaborate on details of their discussions.

Relations between Burkina Faso and the US soured in early 1990s after the 
west African country sent soldiers to back  Charles Taylor in Liberia, to 
oust Samuel Doe.

And recently, reports emerged that there were suspicions that Burkina Faso 
was hosting diamond traders with links to Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda network.

This added to the United Nations' accusations that the country served as a 
transit route for smuggled diamond from Sierra Leone, Angola and 
Liberia,  and therefore played a role in fuelling civil wars in those 
countries.

"I think Burkina Faso has a capital role to play to bring peace in the 
sub-region, and in the efforts for peace in Cote d'Ivoire and Liberia," the 
US diplomat added.

She accordingly appealed: "The current situation in Liberia is serious. 
Liberians are really suffering, so all actors in the region need to work 
together for a sustainable solution for the Liberian people."

According to the diplomat, who was also scheduled to visit Cote d'Ivoire, 
Ghana and Nigeria, the west African region was "very important partner" in 
the war against international terrorism.

Reported by Brahima Ouedraogo

Yet Another Somali Declares Interest In The Top Seat

NAIROBI/MOGADISHU (AANA) June 2 - Rashid Mohammed Hure, 47, becomes yet 
another presidential candidate for Somalia, after he declared his 
intentions to vie for the top seat last week.

Addressing an international press briefing in Nairobi, Hure, who is a 
delegate at the ongoing peace talks on Somalia, declared: "Let the Somali 
people choose between me and those who have taken up guns, raped and maimed 
and killed them".

Without naming names, he said that his non-participation in the long fought 
war in his country should not be taken to mean that he is inexperienced.

The war-torn Somalia has been without a central government since early 1990s.

Hure promised a government that would join the international communities in 
fighting terrorism, respect international treaties, and strive to unite the 
Somali population with their Kenyan and Ethiopian neighbours.

Coming from the bigger Dorad clan of the upper and lower Juba regions 
bordering Kenya, Hure called on Somali people to avoid clan politics, 
pointing out that it was such politics that had caused suffering and havoc 
in the country.

Accompanied by huge number of delegates, Hure, a media professional, said 
that he had the goodwill of professionals, Somalis in the Diaspora and the 
local populace who are tired of war.

Besides Hure, Abdinoor Darman, warlord Hussein Farah Aideed, and former 
head of Confederation of East and Central Africa Football Associations 
(CECAFA), Farah Ado, have so far declared their candidatures.

According to sources close to Somali peace talks in Nairobi, more 
candidates for the presidency may soon emerge.

The issue of presidency came forth after delegates at the peace 
negotiations agreed on the need for elections in the troubled country in 
the Horn of Africa, to form a transitional government.

Reported by Henry Neondo