AFRICANEWS
Views and news on peace, justice and reconciliation in Africa
October 2001
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AngolaThe Catholic Church in Angola has launched a new campaign to end the war in the country, which has raged almost uninterrupted since independence in 1975, ANB has said. The campaign a joint venture with the international human rights organisation the Open Society Foundation -- believes that the conflict between the government and the UNITA rebels is being conducted against the will of Angolans. The campaigners aim to mobilise civil society to put pressure on the warring parties to seek a negotiated peace.Other sources said that the European Parliament has short-listed Angola's peace campaigning Catholic Archbishop Zacarias Camuenho of Lubango for its prestigious Sakharov human rights prize, The European body will make its final decision later this month. (Source: CISA) DRCongoKinshasa's Roman Catholic leader has asked authorities in the DR Congo to give members of religious denominations their "quota" in political peace-making talks.Uganda's New Vision reported last week that Archbishop Frederic Etsou also urged politicians and other participants in the forum due to start on October 15 to "leave their petty jockeying for status and their political tricks on one side." The prelate added that all religious faiths, "and particularly the Roman Catholic Church," should be given a "quota" of delegates to the talks aimed at paving the way for a democratic transition after years of fighting and the plunder of resources under successive regimes. The government, opposition, rebel groups and representatives of civil society are set to meet this month at Addis Ababa for the start of the talks. This forum is a political aspect of a peace plan signed in August 1999 by the government, rebels and five countries drawn into the war. EgyptChristians in Egypt are holding three days of prayer and total fasting to obtain peace in the world and to pray that the decisions taken by the United States to eliminate terrorism will not provoke more violence and more innocent victims.The initiative, taken by Mrs Marie Assaad, for many years vice-president of the World Council of Churches in Geneva, was readily adopted by various groups and communities of the different Christians in Egypt, Orthodox, Catholics and Protestants. Pope Shenouda II, Copt Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria, encouraged the initiative. Numerous bishops and clergy and lay members of different Churches are taking part in the three days of prayer and fasting. (Source: Fides) EritreaThe annual workshop for the Head of Women in Development (WID) centers was held recently in Imbatcalla, the latest issue of Eritrea Catholic Secretariat bulletin has said. The participants were nuns and laywomen actively involved in the Women in Development programs within the Catholic Church in Eritrea. The main objectives of the workshop were, among others, to develop listening techniques, confidence in, appreciation of one another and to encourage teamwork. The workshop also stressed the need to update and create awareness on Women's legal rights so as to develop understanding on the circumstance of women and to plan for the future. (Source: CISA)KenyaPolice on 13 October conducted a major operation within the city and arrested 24 aliens, among them three Chinese nationals. The raid, which was carried out by Immigration Department officials, regular police and the banking Fraud Unit officers, targeted forex bureaus, bars and guest houses within Eastleigh and the Central Business District.The Nairobi Provincial Officer, Mr Geofferey Muathe, said operation was targeting illegal aliens and will be continuous. He said it was aimed at curbing the escalating crime in the city. Others arrested were people believed to be of Ethiopian and Somali origin but their identities were still being verified at the local police stations. South AfricaVeteran anti-racism campaigner Archbishop Desmond Tutu has said HIV/Aids is South Africa's "new apartheid".He criticised his country for dithering while people died for the disease. "This is the new apartheid, the new enemy," Archbishop Tutu told South African Broadcasting Corporation television on 7 October. "People are dying, people whose lives could be extended by getting the right drugs. Discussing whether this or that is the cause is a luxury we cannot afford," he said. One in nine people in South Africa are living with Aids or HIV. President Thabo Mbeki has caused widespread protests by questioning the causal link between HIV and Aids and the efficiency of anti-retroviral drugs. (Source: Reuters)
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