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CONTENTS:

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK:

1. World
2. Africa
3. Americas
4. Asia Pacific
5. Europe
6. Middle East
7. South Asia
8. Cyberterrorism and Information Warfare
9. Finance
10 Human Rights
11. Law and Legal Issues
12. Narco-terrorism
13. Transportation
14. Weapons of Mass Destruction
15. Recently Published

FEATURE ARTICLE:
Zimbabwe

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK

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1. World

Worrying news this week on the infectious disease front. Further research indicates that the suspected coronavirus accounts can be detected in only some forty percent of Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) cases; that the virus seems to be mutating rapidly; and that the death rate may be twice what was previously thought, perhaps as high as fifteen percent. Despite this, the number of deaths has remained low and public health measures including quarantine still hold out the possibility of containing the spread of the epidemic and stopping it from emerging as an endemic disease.

African Malaria Day was on April 25. More than 3,000 people die of malaria every day. Only about 300 have died from SARS.

Talks were held between the US and North Korea this week, with assistance from China. Although the final word on the troublesome translations is not yet clear, North Korea may have stated that it possesses at least one nuclear weapon and is prepared to test or sell the devices. This disclosure led to the break down of the initial talks. A delegation from South Korea has arrived in the North and will proceed to clarify the situation and make clear that a nuclear program in the North is unacceptable.

US Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld is visiting abroad. One of his stops will be Afghanistan, where he will discuss the formal end of combat operations in the war that began in October 2001. It is no surprise that there is no date set for a similar declaration in Iraq. In both places, the level of internal security remains poor and infrastructure repair and rebuilding remains a future goal, with little funding yet in place.
 

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2. Africa

Burundi rebels of the Forces for the Defense of Democracy (FDD), that has joined the government in a number of ceasefire violations, plans to increase attacks unless talks over a transitional government begin.

Democratic Republic of Congo rebels of the Rally for Congolese Democracy Goma faction (RCD-Goma) have agreed to join the transitional government. Ugandan troops have begun to depart the northeastern region amid concerns this will leave a dangerous power vacuum in which more incidents of tribal militia violence, including cannibalism, could occur.

The government of Ghana has imposed a curfew in the northern town of Tamale following two days of fighting with opposition supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in which four people died.

Ivory Coast saw renewed violence in the center and northeast. Discussions with Liberia over border security will take place next week.

Liberia's own security situation is so volatile that aid workers have been unable to reach refugees and internally displaced persons.

Nigeria's presidential elections passed off with objections of ballot rigging, fraud, intimidation and corruption, but an acknowledgment that it was much better than before and that perhaps a somewhat flawed result is better than none at all. Nonetheless, flaws in the legitimate reelection of President Obasanjo may lead to continued questions regarding his governance and thereby risk international aid, as well as opening the possibility of increased political violence and intimidation.

Even while Uganda begins to move its troops out of DR Congo, possible peace talks with the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels have collapsed and the government has announced a renewed offensive against them. During the six weeks in which a proposed ceasefire was on the table, the LRA allegedly killed more than 60 and kidnapped nearly 200 civilians.

Zimbabwe's political violence has accelerated further as the war in Iraq distracted international attention. Members of the opposition MDC party have been subject to particularly brutal torture and arbitrary arrests. The Green Bomber Zanu-PF militia force has occupied a town in the north, taking MDC supporters hostage and attacking security forces that try to intervene. There was a 3-day general strike that has now ended.

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3. Americas

Argentina's presidential elections are underway at the end of a week that featured hundreds of angry demonstrators protesting the eviction of factory workers, an incident that symbolized the ongoing economic crisis.

Colombian security forces were unable to ensure a safe Holy Week holiday. Fifteen people were kidnapped, including 8 from the island of Mucura who were later released. Fighting between rebels and government forces left more than 20 dead mostly rebels. The week ended when guerillas of the National Liberation Army (ELN) shot dead a young teacher after her father refused to murder a right-wing paramilitary.

The Colombian Permanent Committee for the Defense of Human Rights provided statistics on violence in 2002, including 32,000 homicides of which more than 5,000 were politically motivated and another 5,000 carried out by right-wing paramilitaries against "undesirables".

Cuban President Fidel Castro defended the execution of three hijackers and arrest of 75 dissidents as necessary in order to defeat the conspiracy between the US and dissidents and the US practice of unconditional asylum for Cuban refugees.

Presidential elections are underway in Paraguay.

Peruvian farmers marched in the thousands to protest restrictions against growing coca.

In the US, intelligence and enforcement efforts related to homeland security continue to attract widespread criticism. Intelligence sharing is still not a common occurrence. Instead, increasing secrecy, including the refusal to release confidential documents to the national commission investigating the September 11 attacks.

The US immigration registration deadline for the last group of targeted nations that includes Egypt, Bangladesh, Jordan, Kuwait and Indonesia, passed on Friday. The important role of immigrants in the US was highlighted during the war in Iraq that has featured significant representation in the military of non-US citizens. The first Marine killed in southern Iraq, Jose Gutierrez, was a street child from Guatemala granted asylum as a teenager.

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4. Asia Pacific

Cambodian judge Sok Setha Mony was shot dead, probably as a revenge killing. He has been involved in a number of trials of extremist groups including the Cambodian Freedom Fighters and the Khmer Rouge.

At Jakarta airport, Indonesia, a bomb exploded, leaving at least six dead and eleven injured. Responsibility is unknown.

Indonesian radical Habib Rizeiq Shihab of the Islamic Defenders Front was arrested and on his way to jail when his supporters stormed the attorney general's office and freed him. He is now in hiding. Another 17 suspected members of Jemaah Islamiyah have been arrested.

An Indonesian military tribunal sentenced seven elite soldiers to jail terms of two to three and a half years for the murder of Papuan independence leader Theys Eluay.

In Aceh, a series of setbacks to the peace agreement between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) were scheduled for this weekend but have been cancelled.

In Laos there has been another gun attack on a bus that has killed at least ten people. It may be the responsibility of Hmong rebels.

Two rebel attacks in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao killed six.

In the Solomon Islands, militia leader Harold Keke killed nine people he suspected of collusion with government authorities. Keke is the only rebel leader who did not sign up to the 2000 peace agreement.

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5. Europe

In Cyprus, the border between the Turkish north and the Greek south have been reopened for the first time in almost 30 years.

Chechen rebels attacked Russian troops, killing seven and injuring seven. In a bus explosion, rebels killed at least sixteen.

Serbia has arrested twelve people in connection with the assassination of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic. The state of emergency has been lifted, 42 days after the assassination.

In Hampshire, England, the Animal Liberation front raided Wallops Wood Farm to release more than a thousand battery hens.

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair laid down three demands for the Northern Ireland republican Sinn Fein party. These are:
"When the IRA say that their strategies and disciplines will not be inconsistent with the Good Friday agreement, does that mean an end to all activities inconsistent with the Good Friday agreement, including targeting, procurement of weapons, so-called punishment beatings and so forth?

"Secondly, when they say that they are committed to putting arms beyond use through the decommissioning commission, does that mean all arms so that the process is complete?

"And thirdly, when they say that they support the Good Friday agreement and want it to work, does that mean that if the two governments and the other parties fulfil their obligations under the Good Friday agreement and the joint declaration, does that mean the complete and final closure of the conflict?"

While these questions hover over the peace process, loyalist paramilitaries, possibly from the Ulster Defense Association (UDA), forced two Catholic families to flee their homes and republican paramilitaries with the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) captured two teenage boys, tied them up and tarred them.

Elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly are still scheduled for May 29.

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6. Middle East

As the Arab world digests the collapse of Iraq, there is deep pessimism around the region. This pessimism is strengthened by militant statements on the part of US officials addressed against Iran and Syria by an Israeli/Palestinian roadmap widely seen as being guided by Israeli interests.

After intense negotiations and international pressure the new Palestinian Prime Minister, Mohmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) and Yasser Arafat have reached agreement on a new cabinet, in which Abbas holds the internal affairs ministry. This paves the way for the publication of the long-awaited roadmap.

Iran's main opposition group, the People's Mujahadeen (MKO) and the US government have agreed to a ceasefire.

Iran has denied US charges that it has interfered in Iraq, encouraging the massive Shia demonstrations that have occurred there.

At an Israeli train station, a Palestinian suicide bomber killed himself and the security guard that was trying to stop him, and injured 13.

In Syria, the government has cooperated with US demands to turn over Iraqi refugees, including children and Ba'ath party officials. Hamas leaders based in Syria have refused to rule out suicide bombings.

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7. South Asia

Fighting in Afghanistan continues to increase. It involved attacks on US and Afghan forces by a variety of fighters, including Taliban and al Qaeda fighters as well as militias belonging to local warlords. Afghanistan and Pakistan are discussing ways to improve border security and cut back the increasing numbers of attacks. Senior Afghan military commanders have agreed to work towards unified security.

India and Pakistan are also in discussions regarding border security and ways to reduce nuclear tensions between the two. India has insisted that Pakistan stop supporting militants before talks proceed in earnest. Last week, Indian soldiers killed seven militants as they attempted to cross from Pakistan into Indian-administered Kashmir.

Indian-administered Kashmir was the scene of more violence when a bomb, planted by suspected Islamic separatists, exploded killing six and injuring 13. A landmine wounded four soldiers. Fifteen suspected militants were killed by Indian troops in two separate incidents. A suicide raid against an Indian military camp killed two soldiers and three attackers. Another landmine then killed three people.

In Nepal, peace talks between Maoist rebels and the government have been delayed.

Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers have withdrawn from a rehabilitation meeting, asking the government to first implement earlier promises.

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8. Cyberterrorism and Information Warfare

US public television's Frontline program has prepared an excellent feature on Cyberwar. You can watch the program and get additional information online at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cyberwar/

A new computer virus, Coronex-A, uses the SARS virus to tempt people into opening an infected attachment. It affects Microsoft Windows Outlook users and has had minimal impact.

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9. Finance

Following approval by the US Congress, President Bush has signed into law the Clean Diamond Trade Act that implements the Kimberly Process to combat traffic in blood diamonds.

The online job board Monster.com has implemented a policy that bans job postings or applications to countries under US sanctions.

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10. Human Rights

Three children under 16 when first imprisoned more than a year ago are being held at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Human Rights groups condemned their detention as "enemy combatants" as illegal, repugnant, and injurious to the children.

US Attorney General John Ashcroft has issued a ruling that says illegal immigrants can be held indefinitely without consideration of individual circumstances if immigration officials determine there is an individual or collective risk to national security.

The International Criminal Court has elected its first prosecutor, Argentine lawyer Moreno Ocampo.

The UN Commission on Human Rights has completed its annual meeting. During the week they adopted measures on the human rights situations in Cuba, Belarus, DR Congo and Burundi; approved a 3-year extension of the working group on arbitrary detention; passed resolutions related to indigenous issues and measures regarding Haiti, Colombia, Afghanistan, Somalia, Cambodia and Sierra Leone.

Human Rights Watch (http://www.hrw.org) called the session disappointing and said that the commission was in "serious decline", affected by a destructive role played by the US and the active role of an "abusers club" of hostile governments.

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11. Law and Legal Issues

Shoko Asahara, leader of Aum Shrinrikyo, has been on trial for seven years. Prosecutors concluded their presentation requesting the death penalty. Defense lawyers will conclude their arguments in October.

Abu Bakar Bashir, suspected spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiyah and planner of bombings, is on trial in Indonesia for treason and immigration offenses.

Janet Halstead, a US Homeland Security official, was indicted for bribery and conspiracy in connection with alleged smuggling of illegal immigrants.

Slobodan Milosevic and eight associates have been charged in connection with the murder of former Yugoslav President Ivan Stambolic.

Zacarias Moussaoui suspected "20th hijacker" will be able to see a top-secret US government report as a substitute to interviewing terrorist suspect Ramzi Binalshibh. The federal judge's ruling may be appealed again.

Semi Osman was sentenced to 11 months in prison by a Seattle, Washington, US court on weapons charges related to a terrorist investigation of a mosque.

Miroslav Radic, former Yugoslav army captain, has turned himself in to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia

Nelson Vargas Rueda of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) will be extradited to the US for his alleged role in the 1999 killing of three US activists.

Abu Rusdan, thought to have replaced Abu Bakar Bashir as leader of Jemaah Islamiyah, has been arrested in Indonesia.

Omar Shishani of Michigan, US, has pleaded guilty for possession of $12 million counterfeit cashier's checks. After being held in prison for more than nine months as a suspected terrorist, no terrorism charges have been brought against him.

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12. Narco-terrorism

Peruvian farmers marched in their thousands to protest restrictions against growing coca.

Indian officials discovered a shipment of heroin smuggled inside oversized almond shells.

Jay Solomon and Jason Dean report on "Heroin Busts Point To Sources of Funds For North Koreans" in The Wall Street Journal, April 23.

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13. Transportation

The US Congress has committed $8 billion to airport security. Cargo security requires $6 billion, of which only $350 million has been promised.

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14. Weapons of Mass Destruction

The UN and the UK's Royal Society have asked for details of sites in Iraq targeted with weapons containing depleted uranium to allow the areas to be cleaned up and avoid the serious environmental contamination seen in the Baltics. British soldiers returning from the Gulf will be tested for exposure. For the latest on the use of DU, see "Depleted uranium casts a shadow over peace in Iraq" by Duncan Graham-Rowe in New Scientist, April 19.

The US Energy Department announced it has resumed production of plutonium parts for bombs, for the first time in 14 years.

Russia and the Ukraine are investigating the possibility that the concrete safety shield put up around Chernobyl is collapsing.

A nuclear reactor in Texas has been closed due to a leak of coolant water.

The UN Disarmament Commission concluded its 2003 session with no concrete proposals.

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15. Recently Published

Stephen Brill "After: How America Confronted the September 12 Era" Simon and Schuster

Michael Moore, "A World Without Walls: Freedom, Development, Free Trade and Global Governance" Cambridge University Press

Richard Pipes, "The Degaev Affair" Yale University press

Nicholas Rankin, "Telegram from Guernica: The Extraordinary Life of George Steer, War Correspondent" Faber

Edward Said, "Freud and the Non-European" Verso

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FEATURE ARTICLE: Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is in southern Africa, with South Africa to the south, Mozambique to the east, Botswana to the west, and Zambia to the northwest. It is home to the Victoria Falls, herds of wild game, and a range of metal and mineral resources. Most of the land is not arable, but until recently Zimbabwe was able to feed itself and also export agricultural crops. It was the third largest tobacco exporter and also exported significant amounts of cotton, as well as its mineral resources.

The majority Shona people have been established for millennia, but Ndebele and other tribes make up around 16 percent of the population, mixed and Asian a one percent, and whites less than one percent. White Europeans only began to arrive in the 19th century, and in 1889 Cecil Rhodes colonized the area that was to be named after him.

Majority opposition to colonial rule began at once but was brutally suppressed until it grew to an overwhelming force in the 20th century. The white minority also desired independence from Britain and the maintenance of their privileged position. In 1965, Ian Smith of the Rhodesian Front unilaterally declared independence under white minority rule. For a sense of what colonial Rhodesia was like, see "Ironing the lawn in Salisbury, Rhodesia" by Simon Hoggart, The Guardian, February 9, 1980, http://www.guardian.co.uk/zimbabwe/article/0,2763,211420,00.html

By 1972 there was a full-fledged guerilla war against white rule, in which Robert Mugabe played a key role. At the end of the decade, the British mediated a peace agreement and new constitution and supervised elections. Independence for the new Republic of Zimbabwe was achieved on April 18, 1980, with Mugabe as the first Prime Minister.

At the time of independence, Mugabe (born 1924) was seen as a revolutionary hero fighting for the freedom of his people from white oppression. A former teacher, he helped ensure Zimbabwe achieved the highest literacy rate in Africa (90 percent for males; 80 percent for females). At the same time, he consolidated his power, cracked down on his former revolutionary comrades turned political opposition, and diverted international aid to his supporters. He changed the constitution and has remained in power ever since.

When things were going well, his increasingly autocratic rule raised few alarms, but the economy began to collapse at the end of the 1990s, followed by riots and strikes that often focused on the land question. Zimbabwe's participation in the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo also drained financial resources.

Twenty years of independence later, 4,400 white farmers still owned a third of agricultural land, including nearly three-quarters of the most fertile areas.

Mugabe addressed the violence with more violence. He developed a plan for compulsory seizure of white farms and by early 2000 his supporters began to attack white farms and white farmers, killing both the farmers and their black workers.

The economy now is in a state of near collapse. Inflation is running at 100 percent. Excessive government deficits mean that international support from the International Monetary Fund has been withheld. Income disparities are huge, with government supporters being offered substantial financial incentives, including choice land. A quarter of the adult population has HIV/AIDS.

And land reform? The chaos and violence that accompanied the use of force has utterly derailed the commercial sector, virtually ended exports, and hugely increased unemployment. Once a food exporter, Zimbabwe now faces a food shortage, with millions of people threatened by starvation.

The economic crisis has led to a commensurate political crisis. The most recent evaluation of the situation was in the "Secretary-General's Report To The Commonwealth Chairpersons' Committee On Zimbabwe". This restricted report was leaked by the British Conservative Party and thus made available to the general public.

The report finds that "the general political, economic and social situation in Zimbabwe has deteriorated since March 2002". This includes a campaign of violence and intimidation on the part of the ruling ZANU-PF party against the opposition MDC, rather than the dialogue and reconciliation called for by the Commonwealth. None of the recommendations for improving the legislative or electoral framework have been implemented. Instead, new action was taken through the Public Order and Security Act, Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, and General Laws Amendment Act have hurt the press as well as limiting freedom of movement or association. Using these new laws to their advantage, enforcement has been selective, and the police are accused of widespread abuse of power and interference to the judiciary.

Regarding land reform, the report agrees that it is needed and accepts the necessity of moving quickly, but cites continued compulsory acquisitions, exclusion of immigrant farm workers, and other undesirable consequences. In short, they found "the Government's 'Fast Track' land reform programme to be 'chaotic' and 'the cause of much political, economic and social instability'". In turn, Zimbabwe faces an immediate food crisis, made worse by "allegations of selective, politically motivated food distribution policies by the Government of Zimbabwe using its control over the importation and distribution of food to direct assistance towards those areas that are supportive of the ruling ZANU-PF party."

Why was the report suppressed? Its findings are no different than those published elsewhere. Instead, this reflects a serious north/south divide within the Commonwealth and elsewhere. Although South Africa and Uganda have privately expressed their concerns over the situation to Mugabe, the continent has in general maintained its solidarity against developed countries that are seen as racist, naive, and at best unhelpful. The positions taken regarding sanctions against Zimbabwe's rulers have consistently divided along north/south/racial lines.

Even an issue as critical as treatment for HIV/AIDS victims has become racially divisive. South Africa's minister of health recently suggesting that anti-retroviral drugs were a white man's treatment, and that traditional herbal remedies are all that is necessary. This attitude will kill people. The mistrust and lack of communication that has allowed it to become so deeply rooted must be overcome. The responsibility for these deep roots of mistrust lies with the developed western world that has so long exploited the resources of Africa.

If the west wants security, and wants to stop the spread of international terrorism, it must deal with the root causes of instability and prevent the collapse of more countries. Zimbabwe is in danger of collapse.

International mechanisms exist within which improvements can be made. Key to this will be the role of NEPAD, the New Partnership for Africa's Development (http:// www.nepad.org/). The developed western world and international organizations should provide immediate and sustained support for NEPAD initiatives.

Further Reading:
"Country Reports on Human Rights Practices" US Department of State http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2002/18234.htm
"Fast Track Land Reform in Zimbabwe" http://www.hrw.org/reports/2002/zimbabwe/
"Kenya, Moi and Africa’s Big Men" in https://terrorismcentral.com/Newsletters/122902.html
" Restricted Secretary-General's Report To The Commonwealth Chairpersons' Committee On Zimbabwe" leaked by the British Conservative Party http://www.conservatives.com/news/article.cfm?obj_id=58516
"Zimbabwe: The Battle for Land" http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/in_depth/africa/2000/zimbabwe_crisis/slideshow/default.stm

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