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Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Integrated Regional Information Network for Southern Africa

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SOUTHERN AFRICA
IRIN-SA Weekly Round-up 60
23 February - 01 March 2002


CONTENTS:

MADAGASCAR: Martial law declared
ANGOLA: No immediate peace
ZIMBABWE: Focus moves to CHOGM, Australia
MALAWI: Food emergency declared
LESOTHO: Election date announced

MADAGASCAR: Martial law declared

The week ended in Madagascar with self-declared president Marc Ravalomana
on Friday forming a rival government, a day after martial law came into
force in the island state. Ravalomanana, the main opposition leader and
mayor of Antananarivo, said he had formed his cabinet "by presidential
decree".

The cabinet, comprising 16 ministers and a secretary of state, included
new faces from Madagascar's political scene. Madeleine Ramaholimihaso, who
headed an independent NGO that had monitored the December election, told
IRIN: "Despite the imposition of martial law, it's business as usual on
the streets of Antananarivo ... [But] for the increased police presence is
making sure people know the repercussions of illegal gatherings."

On Thursday President Didier Ratsiraka declared martial law in the capital
Antananarivo. Ratsiraka's move was aimed at restoring order after weeks of
opposition protests at ending his long rule. Ravalomanana's spokesperson
said earlier on Thursday that the mayor's camp would be opposed to any
declaration of martial law by Ratsiraka as a means of resolving a
two-month-old political deadlock.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=23323

Ravalomanana has orchestrated seven weeks of largely peaceful protests
following the presidential elections on 16 December. He calimed they were
rigged by the government to keep him out of power. Madagascar's deepening
political crisis deepened with the first deaths reported on Monday. Two
opposition supporters were killed and the home of a pro-government member
of parliament was torched by opposition militants.

More details :
http://www.irinnews.org./report.asp?ReportID=22922

ANGOLA: No immediate peace

The week ended with UNITA pouring cold water on hopes for an immediate
ceasefire. Certain conditions would have to be met before it agrees to a
ceasefire called for by the Angolan president, a spokesman told IRIN on
Friday.

Speaking from Luanda, UNITA member Jaka Jamba told IRIN that UNITA
representatives abroad must first be allowed to have talks with the United
Nations. Jamba also called for the easing of UN imposed sanctions on
UNITA.

Following the killing of UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi in a battle with
government forces on 22 February, there has been pressure on both sides to
end the 27-year-old civil war that has ruined the country.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=23444&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=ANGOLA

On Wednesday US President George Bush, after a meeting with his Angolan
counterpart Jose Eduardo dos Santos in Washington, said "we agreed that
all parties have an obligation to seize this moment to end the war", and
that "Angolans deserve no less than peace".

The European Union (EU) presidency, Spain, said in a statement that in
light of the recent death of the UNITA leader, "it is the strong
conviction of the EU, that the end of the Angolan conflict can only be
achieved through an effective engagement of all in peace and national
reconciliation, on the basis of the Lusaka protocol".

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=23324

In midweek IRIN reported that the Angolan government was expected to
remove two provincial governors who had been "obstructions" to the
delivery of much needed aid. Aid workers told IRIN that the governors of
two of the worst affected provinces, Luis Paulinho dos Santos of Bie and
Flavio Fernandes of Malanje, were expected to be sacked.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=23117

On Tuesday IRIN reported that the humanitarian crisis in Angola could be
worsened by the late arrival of seasonal rains, further undermining food
security in the country. The lack of rain and the delayed delivery of
agricultural inputs has meant that in some areas people have been forced
to eat seeds and prematurely harvest crops to avoid theft, the Office for
the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=22926
See a related article:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=22614

ZIMBABWE: Focus moves to CHOGM, Australia

Yet another tumultuous week in Zimbabwe ended on Friday with international
media attention focussed on a small Australian town where Commonwealth
heads of state are gathering.

Ahead of the summit, Commonwealth ministers held key talks on Zimbabwe in
the seaside town of Coolum, but refused to reveal if they had called for
sanctions against Harare as a response to the worsening political
violence, AFP reported.

Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon told reporters after the
eight-nation Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) meeting that
there was evidence of a deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe as the country
heads to 9-10 March presidential polls.

For a list of Zimbabwe officials targeted by European Union sanctions see:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=23116&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=ZIMBABWE

Back in Zimbabwe, on Thursday police arrested 31 members of the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in Harare, and nine people were
injured in the melee, the opposition party said. The police were not
available for comment, and international election observers could not at
the time confirm the incident.

The MDC has begun legal action in Australia over the broadcasting of a
secretly filmed videotape that appeared to show party leader Morgan
Tsvangirai discussing the elimination of Mugabe. The MDC has described the
film as "malicious propaganda" and an attempt to smear Tsvangirai before
the election.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=23327&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=ZIMBABWE

The MDC on Wednesday reiterated its concerns that the current climate of
political violence prevented a free and fair poll. In a submission to the
Southern African Development Community (SADC) election observers, an MDC
team said the violence "made it impossible to campaign". They raised
concerns over the activities of pro-government militia in allegedly
intimidating local communities, and draconian legislation which prevented
the opposition from effectively canvassing.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=23115&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=ZIMBABWE

Zimbabwe police on Tuesday charged two senior opposition party officials
with treason over the alleged plot to kill Mugabe, news reports said. MDC
secretary-general Welshman Ncube and the MDC's shadow minister of lands
and agriculture, Renson Gasela, were charged and released after two hours
of questioning. Tsvangirai was allegedly charged with treason on Monday in
the same affair.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=22929&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=ZIMBABWE

As international election observers in Zimbabwe again came under attack by
ruling party supporters at the weekend, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan
urged the government to create the conditions for a free and fair
presidential poll. The UN chief said on a visit to London on Monday that
the "situation in Zimbabwe is worrying. I believe people in Zimbabwe
should be given a chance for free and fair elections".

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=22615&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=ZIMBABWE

MALAWI: Food emergency declared

Malawi is facing a famine emergency but remains in trouble with the donors
over its governance record. Britain, Malawi's largest aid donor, on Friday
challenged the government to explain why it exported 60,000 mt of maize to
Kenya from strategic grain reserve silos amid the food crisis, AFP
reported.

"Malawi must assess and explain factors which led to the present maize
shortage, including circumstances surrounding last year's sale of the
strategic maize stocks," the British High Commission in Lilongwe said.
"Malawi must implement measures to avoid food shortages in future," the
statement added.

President Bakili Muluzi declared a national disaster on Wednesday, and
made an urgent appeal for food aid as officials warned that 70 percent of
the country's 10 million people were at risk of starvation. He said that
food shortages had reached critical proportions, especially in rural
areas.

"The reports are really bad," WFP Country Director Adama Diop-Faye told
IRIN. "The only problem is you can't prove people died from hunger but I'm
sure the deaths we're recording are hunger-related one way or another."

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=23320&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=MALAWI

Meanwhile, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission met the Malawian
government this week to discuss the country's deepening economic problems.
Earlier this year, Britain suspended aid to the southern African country
citing government over-expenditure and the lack of fiscal discipline.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=23321&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=MALAWI

LESOTHO: Election date announced

The Kingdom of Lesotho will go to the polls on 25 May to elect a new
national assembly of 120 members. As polling day was announced the
Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) unveiled a programme of activities
to finalise preparations for the general elections.

"The biggest challenge is explaining the change in the electoral model to
the rural constituencies. We don't have much time to do this. Also our
resources are limited which means we have to employ creative strategies to
get to those people. We are targeting the marginalised communities like
the disabled and women in the voter education campaign," Seabata Motsamai,
Exective Director of the Lesotho NGO Council told IRIN.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=23319&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=LESOTHO


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Email: IRIN-SA@irin.org.za

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


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