| Daily Press Cuttings |  |
| Daily Press Cuttings | |
Friday 15th October 1999
The Independent: Tanzania: Obituary on Julius Nyerere, former President of Tanzania. Nyerere inspired among his people both devotion and respect and returned the compliment by complete dedication to his work as head of state. When he retired from politics in 1985, he was one of the few African leaders to do so voluntarily. Independent leader comments on the death of Julius Nyerere. “Tanzania has precious few resources. but at least the only war it has fought in recent times was to enter Uganda and remove the appalling Idi Amin from power. A leader can make a difference for the better—Nelson Mandela is the outstanding example. Perhaps Nyerere should also belong to this too small club.
The Times: Nigeria: Switzerland has frozen all Swiss bank accounts belonging to General Sani Abacha, Nigeria's late military ruler, along with the accounts of his key associates. The move comes after the Nigerian authorities accused the former hard-line military ruler of systematically looting Nigeria's central bank and appealed for help in recovering the money. Five Swiss banks in Geneva and Zurich are co-operating with the investigation, which could result in the return of billions of dollars in hard cash stolen by General Abacha and his cronies during their four and a half years in power. More than £450 million has been recovered already, much of it from the vast sums of cash that General Abacha's family kept in their homes. On one occasion, Maryam Abacha, the late general's wife, was detained while trying to depart for Saudi Arabia with 38 suitcases full of foreign currency. Yesterday, the new government of President Obasanjo seized more than 60 private properties illegally bought with public funds by General Abacha's henchmen.
The Guardian: Tanzania: Obituary of Julius Nyerere describes him as a giant of the African independence struggle. Tanzania/UK: Tony Blair paid tribute to the late Julius Nyerere, saying: “That Tanzania is at peace with itself and its neighbours is in large part a tribute to Nyerere.” Nigeria: Mohammed Abacha, the son of the late Nigerian military ruler General Abacha was charged in a Lagos Court with the murder of Kudirat Abiola, wife of the late opposition leader Moshood Abiola. Debt: The Archbishop of Canterbury comments on how the religions must act to break the downward spiral of international poverty and war. He says that he is delighted that the efforts on debt relief by so many people, on behalf of the world's poorest inhabitants, are beginning to bear fruit. But as everyone agrees, debt relief will not of itself end poverty and its destructive consequences.
FT: Tanzania: Julius Nyerere, the former president of Tanzania who died yesterday at the age of 77, was a beacon of integrity in a troubled continent. Armed with a moral authority matched only by Nelson Mandela, he served Africa until his final days, leading efforts to end the war in Burundi and pleading the causes of debt relief for the world's poorest countries and a fair international trading system. Nigeria: Switzerland has frozen bank accounts in Geneva and Zurich belonging to Sani Abacha, the late Nigerian dictator, members of his family and business associates. The Nigerian government has evidence that more than $2.2 billion had been stolen from the country's central bank by Abacha and his circle. Apart from Abacha and his family, the frozen accounts concerned Alhajo Ismaila Gwarzo, his former security adviser, Abubakar Attiku Bagudu, an associate, four Nigerian business people and a series of companies. World Trade: The World Trade Organisation yesterday replied to environmentalist critics who argue that freer trade harms the environment. It said that environmentalists should campaign for sound environmental policies at national and international level. Russia: The World Bank said it might withhold future financial support to Russia if the cost of the fighting in its troubled breakaway North Caucasus republic of Chechnya “destabilises” its budget.
The Economist: Hunger: Report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation shows that much needs to be done to reach the goal set in 1996 of halving the number of hungry people by 2015. Two out of five children in the developing world are stunted, one in three is underweight and one in ten is “wasted”.
The Guardian: ECGD/Debt: Journalist George Monbiot describes Britain's Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD) as depraved debt collectors, and says that the organisation should be closed down. The ECGD exists to provide insurance for British companies operating abroad. If the host countries cannot or will not pay for the goods and services these companies provide, the agency coughs up instead. It then uses its government-backed muscle to force the reluctant country to reimburse it, with interest. It is in other words, a debt collector for British corporations. He argues that the reason that ECGD has to underwrite projects that the private sector will not support is because many of them are roaring white elephants. The think-tank Cornerhouse has documented that the agency's activities conflict with the public policies of at least three government departments.
The department is responsible for 95 per cent of the debt owed by southern countries to the British government. It pursues its money with ruthless determination, even when the debts were incurred for projects crawling with corporate corruption. The article focuses on one project currently being considered for support by ECGD: Turkey's Ilisu dam project. This has two main functions. The first is to hold its neighbours—Syria and Iraq--to ransom. The Ilisu dam is big enough to stop the flow of the Tigris completely for two or three months, with ruinous consequences for the countries downstream. The second is an ethnic cleansing operation. The dam will flood one of the most important centres of Kurdish culture and resistance.
For years campaigners have been calling for reform of this agency, arguing that it should apply ethical criteria to its loans. But it seems to me that export credit is be its very nature both corrupt and corrupting. There is no acceptable future for the ECGD. It must be destroyed. Chile: Chile is to take complaints against the US, Japan and India tot he World Trade Organisation, demanding all three tear down tariff barriers to the import of copper. At stake in this case is a market worth $10 billion a year. Chile is the world's largest copper producer. Pakistan/IMF: Pakistan was facing international economic isolation last night as global financial lenders cut off the new military regime from financial assistance. The IMF said that it had suspended the loan discussions it had been holding with Pakistan's prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, and said that talks would not resume until democracy was restored.
FT: Pakistan: FT leader comments that Pakistan's democracy is weak. It has been overlaid on what is still basically a feudal society. The entrepreneurial urban middle class which could be the backbone of a modern democracy is lacking. But the task now is to create the conditions in which democracy can work, not to make the failure of Pakistan's democratic governments an excuse for dictatorship. UN/Indonesia: United Nations officials yesterday rejected allegations of mass murder committed by pro-Jakarta militia groups in East Timor, but acknowledged that nearly half the territory's population was unaccounted for since the August 30th independence poll. The UN said that about 400 000 people could be hiding in the jungles and bushland of East Timor. Nigeria: The state government in Nigeria's commercial capital, Lagos, has taken a step toward Africa's first water privatisation. It has asked the International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank, to arrange to privatise the Lagos state water corporation and its sanitation services. Global finance: The level of defaults on bonds globally has surged to its highest since 1991, driven mostly by bankruptcies in the US and emerging market turmoil, such as in Ecuador. The credit rating agency, Moody Investor's Service, said the proportion of defaults had risen to 5.78 per cent of bonds.
FT: India: Open letter from economist Martin Wolf to Atal Behari Vajpayee, the newly re-elected prime minister of India, saying that he can now accelerate the growth of one of the world's best-performing economies. He is the first incumbent prime minister to retain power in India for almost three decades. This achievement creates an extraordinary opportunity. With the right decisions, India can be on the way to ending mass poverty within a generation. Global finance: Comment from William Rhodes, vice-chairman of Citigroup, that plans to reform the global financial architecture would be counter-productive if they force banks and other creditors to waive claims on troubled countries. Population: The world's six billionth person—as designated by the United Nations—was born yesterday at two minutes past midnight to Fatima Nevic, a 29-year-old first time mother in Sarajevo. In Bosnia, where more than 1600 children have died in war, the birth of the 8lb baby boy, marked a new beginning. In London, where Clare Short, the international development secretary, released 6000 balloons to mark the event, it was a reminder that Britain faces a “birth dearth”.
The Guardian: Debt: Letter from Kevin Watkins, Senior policy adviser for Oxfam, responds to Professor Robin Marris' article that claimed that debt relief was a red herring. He says that many of the world's poorest countries are spending over one-third of government revenues on debt repayments, while basic needs are unmet. In Tanzania, one in four children dies before the age of five and 2 million children are out of school, yet debt is absorbing more government revenue than primary education and health combined. Nigeria: The son of the late Nigerian military ruler General Sani Abacha is to appear in a Lagos court this week charged with murder. It is in connection with the death of the wife of the late opposition leader Moshood Abiola.
IHT: Burundi: Nine people were killed on Tuesday when Hutu rebels attacked a UN relief convoy in southern Burundi. Among the victims were Luis Zuniga of Chile, the Unicef representative for Burundi, and Saskia von Meijenfeldt of the Netherlands, a logistics officer with the UN World Food Programme. Water: Comment from the Worldwatch institute that the world should beware, because the water we all need is running out. As the world's population reaches 6 billion, water in many places is being used more quickly than it is replenished. If that trend continues, it will have a profound adverse impact on food production and living standards. Water tables are falling in China, India and the United States, which together produce half the world's food.
FT: Ecuador: FT leader says that Ecuador's recent decision to default on its Brady bonds was a demonstration that the global financial system is evolving. The private sector can no longer be sure of being bailed out when crisis strikes. This development deserves to enjoy more support. Michel Camdessus said in a speech yesterday that there is not a consensus within the IMF on this issue. Yet if a country cannot meet its liabilities to the private sector, the IMF should not simply refinance them. Uganda: Human Rights Watch, the US-based organisation, has attacked Uganda's “no party” political system in a report, published today, that documents government harassment of independent political activity. The report says that Uganda, the darling of the western powers, is moving away from democracy, not towards it.
The Independent: Indonesia: Amid an atmosphere of mounting political tension in Indonesia, legal authorities have decided to drop a corruption investigation into crimes allegedly committed by the former dictator Suharto during his 32-year rule. The investigation, which was set up by the Indonesian parliament almost a year ago, focused on charitable foundations which were alleged to have siphoned off state funds for the enrichment of the former president and his children. Among opponents of Mr Suharto, the charities are widely suspected of being at the heart of his family fortune which has been estimated at $16 billion in land, property, companies and art holdings all over the world.
The Guardian: Corruption/World Bank: The World Bank president, James Wolfensohn, said yesterday that corruption had become so pervasive in poor countries that rich nations were balking at providing development aid. He was speaking at a five-day conference in South Africa organised by the Berlin-based lobby group, Transparency International. South Africa/EU: South Africa accused the EU of disgraceful negotiating tactics and naked self-interest yesterday, just hours before a wide-ranging trade agreement, under negotiation for four years was finally signed in Pretoria. Mexico: Hundreds were missing yesterday in addition to the official death toll of at least 600 after a week of torrential rain and flash floods in Mexico and Central America which also made 500,000 homeless. Entire villages were engulfed by mud and water. US/Indonesia: Noam Chomsky comments on US/Indonesian relations, and the fact that the crimes in East Timor could so easily have been halted by the international community a long time ago. He says that the rich resources of Indonesia and its strategic location guaranteed it a central role in US global planning. These factors account for western support for the regime of killers and torturers who emerged from the 1965 coup.
IHT: World Trade/Environment: Director general of WWF International comments on the forthcoming World Trade Organisation meeting in Seattle. He says that the WTO's evident lack of transparency has long been a problem. Discussions within the organisation should take account of the fact that the world's resources are limited, and there should be discussions about the effect of liberal trading reforms on sustainable development.
The Guardian: Chad/Cameroon/World Bank: Leaked memos from senior staff show that the World Bank board is likely to approve a loan to help finance an oil pipeline through Chad and Cameroon, a project opposed strongly by international environment and human rights groups. The pipeline, which could transform the economies of two of the world's poorest countries, is to be built by a consortium of Exxon, Shell and Elf .It is expected to double Chad's economy in 10 years. Without the bank's backing, including a £60 million loan tot he Chad and Cameroon governments to finance their part of the deal, the oil consortium cannot raise the £1 billion it needs from international banks to finance the project. NetAid: Organisers of the biggest charity music event since Live Aid will announce today whether the global viewing figures reached the target of one billion. Cisco Systems, the technological backer of the event, was still counting how many people had logged on around the world but said there had been big response. They said that there had been no technical hitches in accessing the service. Review of the concert says that the music was enjoyable, but the message of why everyone was there was not clearly conveyed. Debt: Article by Robin Marris, emeritus professor of Economics at Birkbeck, arguing that eliminating debt will not save the poor. “God is in heaven. The Pope has pronounced, and Third World debt has been redeemed. I have to say that I think the whole affair has been a giant red herring. More importantly I think it is a major distraction from the task of reducing world poverty. He argues that the poverty in Asia in sheer numbers of people dwarfs that of Africa, yet Asia will not benefit from only a quarter of the relief on offer. his second grievance with the anti-debt campaign is that it seems to cast a slur on the role of international capital in the task of global poverty reduction, and exaggerates the repayment problem. Finally he says that the campaign distracts attention from the fundamental challenge in the next century, that of eliminating absolute poverty world-wide. Sierra Leone: Article contrasts the needs of Sierra Leone with those of Kosovo, and argues that it badly needs foreign aid to recover from its civil war.
FT: NetAid: Article looks at the NetAid concerts in London, Geneva and New York broadcast over the internet. John Chambers, Cisco's Chief Executive, whose company sponsored the events, said that it was an enormous technological feat and proof that the internet had finally come of age. More than 40 performers at the different concerts sought to draw attention to the plight of the 1.3 billion people around the world who live on less than $1 a day. World Trade: The European Union, Japan and other countries have accused the US of trying to rig the agenda for a new world trade round to suit its own interests. Trade officials are accusing Washington of unfairly exerting pressure behind the scenes to try to exclude from the Seattle proposals with which it disagrees. Feature article looks at the opposition to free trade and the fears of trade officials that there is little public support for free trade world-wide. The article says that the World Trade Organisation must find a way to respond effectively to the