U N I T E D   N A T I O N S
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Integrated Regional Information Network for Southern Africa

Tel: +27 11 880 4633
Fax: +27 11 880 1421
e-mail: irin-sa@irin.org.za


SOUTHERN AFRICA
IRIN-SA Weekly Round-up 65
30 March - 05 April 2002


CONTENTS

ANGOLA: Calls for TRC, ceasefire is formalised
MADAGASCAR: 'State of war', says opposition
ZIMBABWE: Up to 50,000 displaced need help - rights group
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Food shortages could increase HIV/AIDS deaths
NAMIBIA: Farmers question land tax

ANGOLA: Calls for TRC

The week ended with jubilation at the signing of a ceasefire agreement and
warnings that without a proper reconciliation process there could be no
lasting peace.

On Friday a human rights organisation called for the establishment of a
South African-style Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) to take
forward Angola's peace process.

With the country celebrating an agreement that effectively ends a nearly
three-decade long civil war, the Namibian based National Society for Human
Rights (NSHR) called on the Angolan parliament to "seize the
reconciliatory climate" and establish a TRC "to deal with atrocities" that
may have been committed by the various combatants.

On Wednesday the rebel group UNITA and the Angolan Armed Forces signed a
ceasefire deal aimed at paving the way for adherence to the UN-brokered
1994 Lusaka Peace Accord.

For details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=27127

On Thursday IRIN reported that Angola's peace plan could fail if the
government did not have the capacity to meet the needs of UNITA soldiers
and their families during the demobilisation process.

UNITA parliamentarian Jaka Jamba told IRIN the plans for peace could come
to nought if the 50,000 UNITA soldiers and their 300,000 relatives "felt
abandoned" during the demobilisation process. These soldiers are to be
guided back into civilian life. Meanwhile, some UNITA officers and
soldiers are to be integrated into the Angolan army.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=27117

Earlier in the week the World Food Programme said stronger army escorts
and increasing prospects for peace in Angola were already having a
positive impact on the delivery of humanitarian aid across the country.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=27093

As hopes rose that the ceasefire agreement would lead to a lasting peace,
the importance of a unified UNITA was highlighted. IRIN reported on
Tuesday that UNITA's various factions would meet in Luanda to negotiate
the unification of the party under a new leadership after the signing of
the ceasefire agreement on Wednesday.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=27067

On Monday, aid workers told IRIN that peace would present a new set of
challenges for the humanitarian community after almost three decades of
civil war.

Four million Angolans - one-third of the population - have been displaced
by the conflict. With the humanitarian operation already stretched to the
limit, the initial impact of a ceasefire agreement could be to add an
estimated 100,000 to 300,000 people to the numbers already needing
assistance.

"We will have to work on two fronts: impress again on the government that
they could do more, and go back to the donor community [for increased
funding]," UN Humanitarian Coordinator Erick de Mul told IRIN.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=27037

MADAGASCAR: 'State of war', says opposition

In a dramatic turn of events, Madagascar's self-proclaimed president, Marc
Ravalomanana, declared on Friday that the country was in "a state of war".
News reports said that in a televised address to the nation, Ravalomanana
said a council of national security would be set up to "hunt down the
enemies of the state". He also urged the army to help lift the blockade
which has starved the capital of fuel and vital supplies, and to rebuild
bridges that were destroyed in the week, Associated Press reported.

On Tuesday two bridges linking the capital to the rest of the country were
destroyed. United Nations Development Programme Resident Representative
Adama Guindo told IRIN that essential medicines were running out as the
political crisis in the country continued.

He said: "The readiness of clinics to deal with emergencies has
deteriorated tremendously since the political crisis started. Vital
medicines have become increasingly scarce in Antananarivo, and people
could start dying if the country's leadership crisis is not resolved
soon."

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org./report.asp?ReportID=27062

On Monday aid agencies said they were concerned that the strangulation of
the opposition-held capital Antananarivo by a blockade laid by the army
and government supporters, could spark a humanitarian crisis in the city.
Fuel was unobtainable in the capital Antananarivo, few public transport
services were in operation and queues for sugar and salt had started to
spring up in the city, they said.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org./report.asp?ReportID=27035

ZIMBABWE: Up to 50,000 displaced need help - rights group

Headlines in Zimbabwe this week were dominated by food shortages, planned
talks between President Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF and the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and reports of further attacks on MDC
members and supporters.

The human rights group, Zimbabwe in Crisis, appealed for urgent assistance
on Friday for at least 50,000 people who it said had been displaced by
political violence and land seizures.

"We are dealing with a humanitarian crisis and are asking organisations
like the United Nations and the United Nations High Commission for
Refugees to help," spokesman Kumbirai Hodzi told IRIN.

Hodzi said the displaced were mainly rural victims of political
intimidation and farm workers rendered homeless through land seizures. The
worst hit areas were Chimanimani, Mashonaland east, west and central and
the farmlands of Shamva, Norton and Mazowe, Hodzi said.

For more details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=27136

South Africa's Kgalema Motlanthe, secretary general of the ruling African
National Congress, and Nigerian diplomat Adebayo Adedeji, arrived in
Harare on Wednesday night to bring the ruling ZANU-PF and opposition
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) together in the wake of the political
violence and economic crisis brought on by the 9-11 March poll.

Hopes were high that the two would bring the parties negotiators together
to discuss a resolution to the country's pressing problems. By Friday 5
April, however, it was still not clear if the parties had overcome enough
of their differences to meet and begin discussions.

The MDC has rejected President Robert Mugabe's re-election and is
demanding fresh elections. ZANU-PF's Emerson Manangagwa told IRIN his
party was waiting to hear from the facilitators and would not divulge the
party's position on the talks. "We cannot do it through the media," he
said.

For more details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=27092

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Food shortages could increase HIV/AIDS deaths

With reports of widespread famine sweeping across Southern Africa, aid
organisations said this week that the severe food shortages and resultant
poor nutrition could contribute to a rise in HIV/AIDS-related deaths in
the region.

A Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) report said that rural areas had
the added disadvantage of a lack of HIV/AIDS education and poor health
services, making these poor communities increasingly vulnerable to HIV
infections during periods of food shortages. The FAO estimates that nearly
four million people in Southern Africa will need emergency food assistance
this year, mostly in rural areas.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org./report.asp?ReportID=27087

NAMIBIA: Farmers question land tax

Commercial farmers will have to pay a special tax from this month to
facilitate the government's land redistribution programme, but say they
are concerned about the way in which the revenue will be used.

The tax, says the government, is to prevent commercial farmers from owning
excessive tracts of land. The National Agricultural Union is opposed to
the tax and told IRIN it was concerned that the tax was seen only as a way
to buy up farms for redistribution, while the money made from the tax
should be used for the redevelopment of the land.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org./report.asp?ReportID=27109


IRIN-SA
Tel: +27 11 880-4633
Fax: +27 11 447-5472
Email: IRIN-SA@irin.org.za

[This Item is Delivered to the "Africa-English" Service of the UN's IRIN
humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views
of the United Nations. For further information, free subscriptions, or to
change your keywords, contact e-mail: IRIN@ocha.unon.org or Web:
http://www.irinnews.org . If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this
item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Reposting by commercial
sites requires written IRIN permission.]

Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2002


distributed by
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Center for International Disaster Information
Volunteers in Technical Assistance
                                          web: www.cidi.org
                                     listserv: www.cidi.org/listsub.htm
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Southern Africa                  www.cidi.org/humanitarian/irin/safrica