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SOUTHERN AFRICA
IRIN-SA Weekly Round-up 62
09 - 15 March 2002


CONTENTS

ZIMBABWE: Mugabe to be inaugurated amid protests, threats
ANGOLA: Guns fall silent as government declares truce
MADAGASCAR: Army calls for talks as violence flares
MALAWI: Hunger has claimed lives - government
ZAMBIA: Minister's dismissal shows up party divisions


ZIMBABWE: Mugabe to be inaugurated amid protests, threats

The European Union (EU) and United States were considering further
sanctions against Zimbabwe by the end of the week as Robert Mugabe
prepared to be inaugurated as president once more.

AFP reported that the European Parliament denounced the presidential poll
in which Mugabe trounced rival Morgan Tsvangirai to extend his rule by
another six years. The parliament said the election had been marked by
"flagrant electoral fraud" and urged the EU to enact tougher sanctions
against Zimbabwe.

On Thursday 14 March Washington said it was also considering further
punitive measures. Mugabe and 19 political associates have already been
the targets of sanctions, which include travel bans and the freezing of
assets, by the EU and US.

There were hopes that Mugabe would bow to regional pressure and form a
government of national unity that would include Tsvangirai, an analyst
told IRIN. Instead, it appeared Mugabe was meaning to crack down on the
independent media and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change
following the election.

He promulgated a tough new media law placing curbs on the independent and
foreign press on Friday 15 March. And police, who had been placed on high
alert, broke up a meeting of Zimbabwe's labour movement a day earlier. The
meeting was called to agree plans on protest action in response to the
controversial election, senior union officials told IRIN.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=25435&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=ZIMBABWE

Labour protest expected over election result

IRIN reported on Wednesday 13 March that Zimbabwe could face further
instability as the powerful Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) was
under pressure from members to embark on mass action to protest against
Mugabe's re-election.

Mugabe had been declared winner with more than 50 percent of the vote - an
announcement that received an angry response from ZCTU members.
General-secretary Wellington Chibebe said: "We have received numerous
calls from workers calling for action ... to show the government that we
do not recognise the electoral process."

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=25095&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=ZIMBABWE

Election flawed - observers

As observers began to release their initial reports on Tuesday 12 March,
it became clear that their opinions on the presidential poll varied
vastly. The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) told IRIN the poll
could not be endorsed as too many people had been disenfranchised, while
the Electoral Institute of Southern Africa (EISA) said they were impressed
by the overall arrangements for the poll.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=24694&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=ZIMBABWE

Allegations of poll rigging

On Monday 11 March, the court-ordered third and final day of polling, it
became evident that Mugabe was likely to emerge victorious.

After two days of voting, allegations of electoral irregularities had
emerged and the opposition had gone to court to ask for a fourth day of
voting. But their appeal was turned down, and at 19H00 polling stations
turned away long queues of people waiting to vote.

Chris Maroleng, a researcher with the African Security Analysis Programme
of the Institute for Security Studies, told IRIN that with Mugabe's
victory assured, there was likely to be a fight to succeed him in the
ruling ZANU-PF.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=24536&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=ZIMBABWE

ANGOLA: Guns fall silent as government declares truce

Headlines in Angola this week were dominated by President Jose Eduardo dos
Santos' declaration on Wednesday 13 March of an immediate cessation of
hostilities with the rebel UNITA movement.

The much-awaited announcement was accompanied by news that the Angolan
Armed Forces (FAA) were initiating contact with rebel leaders on the
battlefield to discuss a ceasefire and the possibility of a negotiated
political settlement based on the tattered 1994 Lusaka Peace Protocol.

On Friday 15 March, secretary-general of Angola's ruling MPLA party said
the government should follow a two-track policy in seeking a peace deal
with UNITA rebels, discussing military issues with commanders in the bush
and political issues with the UNITA-Renovada faction of the rebel movement
which is represented in parliament.

National RNA radio quoted Joao Lourenco as saying that any other approach
"would be very difficult" given the shattering of UNITA's leadership
following the capture and death of key leaders in recent army operations.
UNITA leader Dr Jonas Savimbi was among those killed in battle with
government troops on 22 February.

Contributing to hope that the truce would finally bring peace to Angola
were media and Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) reports that no military action
had been reported in the country for at least a week. Also, truck and bus
drivers began travelling alone along a key route in Kwanza Norte province,
Lusa reported on Thursday - an action that would have resulted in probable
death or injury from guerrilla attack in the past three years.

Interview with Eugenio Manuvakola

On Tuesday 12 March, UNITA-Renovada president Eugenio Manuvakola told IRIN
that UNITA fighters still in the bush had no choice but to accept a peace
deal with the government. Manuvakola, who heads the Luanda-based faction
of the rebel movement that split from Jonas Savimbi in 1998, said the
rebels had no reason to continue fighting following the death of their
leader, Dr Jonas Savimbi, last month.

For the full interview:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=25438&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=ANGOLA

Use opportunity for peace, UN urges

On Thursday 14 March, the United Nations welcomed the government's
declaration of a truce with UNITA, saying it hoped all leaders would use
the opportunity to end Africa's longest-running civil war which spawned a
monumental humanitarian crisis.

Speaking to reporters after the Wednesday announcement, Mussagy Jeichande,
Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to Angola,
said: "It is imperative that this opportunity not be wasted. We hope that
the cessation of hostilities will in the short term lead to a definitive
ceasefire."

He said he was satisfied that President Jose Eduardo dos Santos'
announcement "contemplates fundamental themes like the cessation of
hostilities, amnesty, elections and all the other tasks stipulated in the
Lusaka Protocol (signed but never fully implemented in 1994)".

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=25440&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=ANGOLA

Anxious wait for government peace plan

Earlier, Reverend Daniel Ntoni-Nzinga, executive secretary of the
Inter-Ecclesiastical Committee for Peace in Angola (COIEPA), told IRIN he
hoped the government plan would include a "response to the humanitarian
situation".

"One thing that is clear is that the humanitarian situation is really,
really bad ... There are more people in serious need now than we had two
or three weeks ago. How it will improve depends on the capacity to respond
to those needs. If we failed to respond to needs that were already there,
how hard will it be to respond? We still hope we will develop the
capacity," he said.

Ntoni-Nzinga's comments followed UN reports detailing the deteriorating
humanitarian situation.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=24538&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=ANGOLA

MADAGASCAR: Army calls for talks as violence flares

The island state's army urged President Didier Ratsiraka and self-declared
president Marc Ravalomanana to resolve their increasingly violent power
struggle on Friday 15 March after 38 protesters were wounded in clashes
with security forces, Reuters reported.

The army, issuing its strongest statement since the crisis began in
January, said Ratsiraka and Ravalomanana should hold talks as soon as
possible. "We refuse to let Madagascans and the army be divided," General
Bruno Rajaonson was quoted as saying in a radio and television address.
"We invite the two protagonists to immediately tell their respective
followers to avoid all violence, all clashes and all provocation."

The army is split over the leadership wrangle on the island, where
peaceful opposition rallies have been followed by violent clashes which,
according to state radio reports, killed at least eight people in the port
city of Toamasina this week.

There was no independent confirmation of the deaths, but residents said
they were the worst clashes since mass protests to demand that Ratsiraka
step down began in the capital, Antananarivo, Reuters reported.

At the same time, Ravalomanana continued his purge of government
ministries on Friday by replacing the army chief of staff, the head of the
national police force and the secretary general of the defence ministry

Protestors shot in rising violence

IRIN reported on Thursday 14 March that Tamatave remained tense after
security forces reportedly shot dead several protesters. Up until Thursday
demonstrations were largely peaceful. Analysts, however, warned that the
renewed violence had taken on a more "sinister" tone, with tensions
flaring between the Merina of the highlands and the coastal population in
Tamatave.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org./report.asp?ReportID=25441&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=MADAGASCAR

OAU calls for government of national unity

After spending a week in Madagascar, an Organisation of African Unity
(OAU) delegation called for a government of national unity to be set up
until a new ballot was held to resolve the political crisis.

More details :
http://www.irinnews.org./report.asp?ReportID=25091&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=MADAGASCAR

MALAWI: Hunger has claimed lives - government

About 100 people had died from hunger-related illnesses since the
beginning of the year, Malawi's Commissioner for Disaster Preparedness,
Relief and Rehabilitation, told IRIN on Thursday.

Lucius Chikuni said his department was working with aid organisations,
including the World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Development Programme
(UNDP), on an intervention plan following the government's declaration of
a food emergency last month. He said an assessment was under way to
determine how many people needed help.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org./report.asp?ReportID=25439&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=MALAWI

ZAMBIA: Minister's dismissal shows up party divisions

Information and broadcasting minister Vernon Mwaanga was sacked from the
Movement for Multiparty Democracy early this week. His departure,
according to analysts, signals a growing rift within Zambia's ruling party
between the 'new deal' administration of President Levy Mwanawasa and the
party's old guard, which still remains loyal to former president,
Frederick Chiluba.

More details :
http://www.irinnews.org./report.asp?ReportID=24693&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=ZAMBIA


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