AFRICANEWS
War and Peace
Congo (RDC)On 6 April Zambia's President Chiluba says African heads of state and the continent's mainly Western donors were concerned that vast resources put at the disposal of the Great Lakes region were financing the war effort in Congo RDC at the expense of poor citizens. He said he has consulted the Presidents of Congo RDC, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Mozambique in Cairo to seek fresh pledges on ending the conflict. On 5 April, Chiluba stopped in Rwanda on his way home for a meeting with military strongman Paul Kagame, a key player. "There have been violations reported and violations have become the rule rather than the exception. That is not good for us," Chiluba told reporters. "Neither the Congo nor any of the countries involved have money enough to sustain the war effort. We don't want them spending the cash on war, we want that money for development." Chiluba is trying to arrange "a summit of disengagement" for countries involved in the war. (Reuters, 6 April 2000)
GambiaGambia's capital, Banjul, and surrounding towns remain calm after students and city hoodlums fought pitched battles with police which resulted in several deaths, Police Public Relations Officer Abdoulie Sanyang told IRIN."People are going about their normal business," he said. However, he said police were patrolling the streets of Serrekunda, a vast semi-residential neighbourhood and the centre of demonstrations some 12-15 km southwest of Banjul on 10 April. Thousands of protestors threw stones, attacked public buildings, burnt cars as well as four police stations. Sanyan and other witnesses said the protest only turned violent when hoodlums joined the demonstration. "They (the hoodlums) were the cause of all this. Most looters were definitely not students," a news source told IRIN. "There is visible evidence of selective attacks on places where one would find cash or goods," another news source added. News reports said the students were protesting the recent death of one of their number at the hands of firemen in the town of Brikama, some 30 km south of Banjul, when the Police Intervention Unit used tear gas and guns to break up the demonstration. But the police said they did not know the reasons for the demonstration since the six accused firemen had been arrested and remanded in custody.
South AfricaPolice are claiming success in an anti-crime crackdown which has resulted in more than 20,000 arrests, but the massive operation in South Africa's most notorious areas has drawn fire from human rights observers. Police oficers and soldiers have beeen cordoning off high crime neighborhoods and searching residences, vehicles and pedestrians since the operation began in March. Those lacking proper identity documents are often hauled away. Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi said he considered the operation "extremely successful" (Source:AP)
EthiopiaThe lives of millions of starving Ethiopians can be saved if international donors respond quickly to new requests for food aid, the UN special envoy to the Horn of Africa said on 14 April. Catherine Bertini, who is also head of the UN World Food Programme, said more relief than originally estimated was needed to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe as the number of people threatened by drought-induced food shortage increased. "More and more people are at risk because the rains have not come, "Bertini told a news conference.In January, the Ethiopian governemnt made a formal appeal for 836,800 tons of emergency food aid to assist an estimated 7.7 million people, and WFP agreed to clal for pledges amounting to 250,000 tons.
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