|
Last Update: March 18, 2002 |
| RSA-O Homepage | Live Chat | Find-A-Friend | Events/Announcements |
| Previous Editions: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 |
|
Now SA MPs say Zim poll wasn't free and fair South Africa's parliamentary observer team, which has begun debate on its report into the Zimbabwean presidential election, has dropped a draft conclusion that the poll was "substantially free and fair" after pressure from MPs, a source said on Monday. The draft was being debated behind closed doors on Monday by members of the multi-party team in the office of ANC Chief Whip Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, who headed the team. An MP said it was clear the report would not be completed by lunch time, and the special parliamentary debate - which was brought forward from Wednesday - had been rescheduled for Tuesday. "We are going through the draft report line by line. There was a conclusion that the election was substantially free and fair, but we said that was impossible and agreed to drop that. "We want to start afresh on the basis of our own conclusions," said the MP, who asked to remain anonymous. Meanwhile, National Assembly Speaker Dr Frene Ginwala has rejected a Democratic Alliance statement she had insisted the debate be held on Monday. Ginwala said she had consulted Mapisa-Nqakula on whether it was possible to debate the report before the Commonwealth made a decision about Zimbabwe. A three-man Commonwealth troika, which includes President Thabo Mbeki, is meeting in London on Tuesday about the issue. "If the Commonwealth makes a decision, we can't be the only parliament that has not spoken." Ginwala said she met the observer team on Monday at 9am and said she would prefer its report to be debated either on Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning. The MPs said they would prefer Tuesday morning, she said. Earlier on Wednesday, DA Chief Whip Douglas Gibson said he had been informed by a parliamentary official on Sunday that National Assembly Speaker Dr Frene Ginwala "insisted" the report had to be debated on Monday, instead of Wednesday as originally scheduled. "The report has not yet been prepared, let alone studied and considered." Referring to Zimbabwe's ruling party, Gibson said the DA wished to protest strongly against the "Zanu-PF-ication" of the South African parliament. "Quite clearly, the travesty of an election in Zimbabwe is already affecting our parliament. "The only conclusion can be that someone has taken a decision about the views of the members of the observer mission without doing them the courtesy of consulting them." Gibson said whoever was responsible obviously did not care about the mission's view, and was happy to ignore the views of opposition parties. PAC Chief Whip Patricia de Lille said it was clear parliament had been overtaken by events and was now under pressure to fit into President Thabo Mbeki's schedule, since the president was travelling to London later in the day to discuss Zimbabwe's future in the Commonwealth. Moreover, there was no "country report" as the South African Observer Mission (SAOM) was divided after its team head, Sam Motsuenyane, described the election as legitimate in an interim report. The SAOM will reportedly meet in Pretoria to finalise its report on Monday. Ginwala was not immediately available for comment. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ]  Kytie Koekblik ColumnKytie Koekblik Washington D.C. - Ek maak die deur van my ge-airconditionde kantoor agter my toe en voel die son op my bleek arms waarvan die eens blonde haartjies in hierdie winter bruin geword het. My lyf is die kleur van ‘n eierdop just about - nie ‘n spierwit mass-produced eier nie maar daai gewone organiese soort wat "menskleur" of "velkleur" is. Ook net Afrikaners sal 'n wit mense se vel kleur "menskleur" noem. Wat 'n on-PC term, ek hoop en bid dit is lankal nie meer in gebruik nie en dat skool kinders nie die woordtjie geleer word nie. In elk geval, ek is nou daai regte bleek kleur. Tydens my dae in "Afrika" was ek altyd - selfs in die winter, so 'n ligbruin. 'n African waarvan die binnekante van my arms my blouwit verraai het. Nou lyk g’n niks meer soos ‘n African nie, ek lyk soos ‘n spierwit Amerikaner met die buitekante van my arms dieselfde kleur as die binnekant. “You have a fair skin” hoor ek deesdae i.p.v. “Jy brand seker lekker bruin.” Maar die winter is verby. Unfortunately beteken dit dan ook die einde van my kort loopbaan as Rink Guard by die buitelug ysskaatsbaan, maar ek is nou bereid om enige opofferings te maak ter wille van son. Lente aan die ooskus is mos die mees ongelooflikste tyd van die jaar wanneer die humiditeit nie jou volvuis in die gesig slaan as jy buite te toe gaan nie. En orals is die kaal-arm bome nou oortrek met bloeisels. Die winter, is finally amper verby. Admittedly was ons mos geseend met ‘n baie lou winter vanjaar, maar in vergelyking met die Grahamstad winters waarin ek soms in die middel van Julie met moulose kleertjies kon rondhol, was dit steeds bitterlik koud in my opinie. Enige winter wat jou forseer om handskoene te dra is ‘n koue winter. As ek daaraan dink dat dit so amper-amper lente is, kry ek daardie tipiese Vrydag-middag gevoel, asof jy op vakansie gaan en al die energie losbreek in jou kop. Ek gaan juis op ‘n kort trippie San Francisco toe saam met die Misterieuse Rollerblader volgende week. San Francisco is mos een van daai plekke waarop jy grootword in SA: Dis ‘n destination in jou kop so onwerklik soos Mars; ‘n stad met ‘n movie naam. Soms dink ek aan die Kuilsrivier-kind wat altyd gedroom het van Hollywood en New York en LA en Washington DC. Daai stede was magiese plekke en Amerikaners was God’s gift to the world. Nou is ek mos ouer, meer wereld wys, ek waag dit om Amerikaanse kultuur te kritiseer en soms generalise ek en se “Americans are superficial.” En ek verlang terug na die warmte van kleindorpie Afrikaners, terwyl ek eens op ‘n tyd nie kon wag om te ontsnap nie. Nou is Washington net nog ‘n plek en soms moet ek myself knyp om te onthou dat ek nie maar altyd hier gewoon het nie. Nou het Kaapstad daai eksotiese smaak in my kop. “Yes I was born in Africa.” Soms kan ek dit nie glo nie. Ek’s African?? Ek weet nie. Ons het mos grootgeword met die illusie dat Suid-Afrika nie in Afrika is nie. En Kaapstad is mos die een of ander klein planeet op sy eie, die mediterranean city waarin ek grootgeword het. “I’m a Capetonian” se ek soms. Ek weet nie eers of Capetonians wragtie Suid-Afrikaners is nie - selfs ons weer is anders as die res van die RSA. Nou dat ek skielik besef ek is oppad na San Fran toe, is dit asof ek van vooraf besef:Ek wat Kytie Koekblik is, is in ‘n vreemde land besig om vreemde dinge te doen soos om met ‘n Misterieuse Amerikaanse Rollerblader uit te gaan wat baie anders is as ‘n boerseun of ‘n liberal Afrikaner cityboy. Ek het ook skielik onthou toe ek die eerste keer ON THE ROAD deur Jack Kerouac gelees het. Frisco en die jazz clubs en die Beatnik kultuur was my Amerika. Ek het myself verbeel ek is die female reincarnated version of Jack, asof sy spirits in my voortleef en maak dat ek frantic skryf asof daar ‘n einde gaan wees aan woorde. Nou is ek oppad na Jack se Amerika, sy Frisco (ander mense se San Fran) en ek gaan dit myne maak in my kop en ‘n foto neem van myself in Jack Kerouac straat en ek gaan dit stuur aan al my buddies in daai klein developing world country waar ek vandaan kom. “Kytie Koekblik in Amerika.” gaan ek daarop skryf. EN ek gaan vir ‘n oomblik vergeet van die AIDS en die CRIME RATE en die korrupsie en die poverty en unemployment en die scars van rassisme en ek gaan onthou hoe ek ‘n happy Kytie was in daai landjie met drome. En dat San Fran ‘n droom is wat waar word. Ek kan nou wel 24 wees en ‘n raps meer sinies en minder droom-oog en meer realisties en meer materialisties en al daai boring goed wat die grootmenswereld bring, maar dis nogsteeds ‘n tienertyd-SA droom wat ek hierdie volgende week gaan laat waar word. Kytie K. Kytie Koekblik would like you to respond to her tongue-in-cheek running commentary on suburban life in America in this editorial. Fresh off the boat, she is ready to explore and experiment with American bath plugs and to drive on the other side of the road. You can contact her here. © RSA-Overseas & Matheson Communications [ Top ] SA a hit at tourism expo in Germany Berlin - A handful of tour guides and a sangoma or two are wowing the crowds at one of the world's largest tourism indabas. Representatives from more than 20 South African small, medium and micro enterprises are taking part in the International Tourism Exchange - the biggest annual tourism exhibition of its kind - in Berlin, Germany. Young, unknown tour guides and operators from South Africa shared the platform with some of the most established travel and tourism operators in the world to showcase their products and promote their business. Sangoma Joe Mafela is causing a stir in his traditional garb and bag of bones. Visitors stop to stare and are eager to take photographs of him and engage him in conversation at his stand. Mafela and the young tourism entrepreneurs are part of about 10 000 exhibitors representing over 180 countries at the 22nd annual exhibition, which began on Saturday. Guesthouse owners, tour guides and operators from South Africa are attending workshops to learn about the German market and how to take full advantage of what the market offers. They are also granted an opportunity to interact with tour operators in Germany and Austria. On Sunday, South Africa won the Golf Journal Travel Award 2002 for the best sightseeing and most spectacular golfing destination. South African Tourism chief operating officer Moeketsi Mosola said the government was taking every opportunity to promote tourism, which had provided more than 800 000 jobs since 1994. Research conducted by the department of travel and tourism in Frankfurt has shown that South Africa is the second most popular destination for Germans, after the United Kingdom. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ] R105-million cocaine seized in Cape Town Narcotics Squad detectives have identified the senders and the destination of 350kg of pure cocaine, with a street value of R105-million, seized in Table Bay Harbour at the weekend. The haul, found in a shipping container from Peru on Saturday, is the biggest cocaine bust yet in the Western Cape. The container had been unloaded from a ship which sailed from Lima via the Bahamas, and arrived in Cape Town on Friday. It was awaiting another ship to take it on to Lome in Togo. Narcotics squad chief Riaan Redelinghuys said police had identified a Peruvian company which had paid for the container to be loaded. They had also established the address in Togo where the drug consignment was to be delivered. He said if the drug had reached its final destination it would have been processed and distributed to centres across Africa, where its street value after being mixed with glucose and milk powder would be around R600-million. Redelinghuys said Western Cape police were working closely with Interpol in their investigation to expose the traffickers. The weekend's discovery follows two huge cocaine busts on two vessels off Saldanha Bay last August. Consignments of 155kg and 116kg were found in sealed packets in the water intake filters of the Malta-registered ships. "The packers carefully chose various types of material, including tin foil, carbon paper and plastic to avoid detection by X-ray scanners," Redelinghuys said. "The smugglers also used mustard and black pepper to confuse sniffer dogs," he said. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ]  Nel's KitchenRagel Nel Ragel Nel Washington D.C. - This week's column is dedicated to anyone who has ever dealt with, is dealing with or is going to deal with the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (INS). (By the way, if you fall into the latter category: GOOD LUCK.) To those of you (very lucky) people who don't know who the INS is: it's the American government agency that decides - apparently at random and by very secretive and impossible to decipher means - which foreigners get to enter the United States. And if they are extremely lenient, they may even allow you to leave the airport building and stay here for a while. The INS is almost like the Freemasons. You are aware of the fact that they exist, but no one knows for sure WHO they are. Outsiders find it impossible to penetrate their secret circle. The only thing I can tell you for certain about the INS is that only extreme Xenophobes seem to work for it. In fact, I think Xenophobia is among their main job criteria, right up there with punctuality and loyalty. I'm dedicating a whole column to them this week, because I think I've finally found the answer to - if not how to get around them - at least gain their approval. First, you have to get here if you can (that process involves saving up for a plane ticket and charming the American Embassy in your native country into giving you a tourist visa. It's difficult, but considering what you will be up against later, that is actually the easy part.). Once you've arrived at an airport in the United States, try to look as inconspicuous as possible in order to get past customs. That would probably be a good time to remove all Contra ban, biltong and weapons from your luggage. Yes, even the Cuban cigars. trust me: they won't accept them as bribes. By the way, watch those customs officials closely. (They will certainly be watching you!) Theirs are probably the last actual faces that you will be able to associate with the INS for a very long time. From then on, the INS will become nothing but the invisible holders of your sanity, your freedom and your very elusive Green Card; communicating with you only by means of letters written in a type of impossible to understand, secret code. Those letters will usually be accompanied by a stack of forms resembling the size of the original War and Peace manuscript that will have to be filled out by lucky you. Oh, did I mention that the forms aren't very user-friendly at all? (And that's putting it mildly. Government agencies don't seem to sweat a lot over easy accessibility or gaining the affection and trust of the common man, do they?) Except the bit on the forms where they ask for your money. that is usually stated in very clear and simple language. I wish I could say that I was exaggerating (as I usually do. But that's besides the point.), but unfortunately it's all the bitter and sad truth. But back to the helpful hints of how to get what you want from the INS: Once you are safely inside the country, find an immigration lawyer, apply for a student visa, become a terrorist and then die whilst executing the most horrific attack in history on American soil. Six months later, you will have your approved student visa. Signed, sealed and delivered. Honestly, it's happened! (Not even I could suck something as elaborate as that out of my thumb.) Last Monday, the director at the Huffman School of Aviation in Venice, Florida - notorious as being the flight school where two of the nineteen hijackers involved in the September 11 attacks learned to fly - received a letter from the INS. The contents of it made his jaw drop (and not because he couldn't decipher the language it was written in either.). It turns out that it was the approved student visas for the two hijackers who had flown one of the airliners into the World Trade Centre in New York. Not only were they confirmed terrorists, their names and faces all over the news, but they've been dead for more than six months. Fine, you probably can't expect the INS to keep up with the passing of every resident alien (the charming name for people like us). What's more, so many foreigners dare to be inconsiderate towards INS officials by having identical first names!! After a while, I'm sure, one probably finds it extremely difficult to distinguish between all those Middle-Easterners called Mohammed or Abdul. But, one would naively THINK that they would at least take the time and trouble to fish out the applications of deceased, confirmed terrorists and destroy them as fast as possible to avoid all potential "oops-slipped-through-the-cracks", highly embarrassing moments. Also, the rest of the non-terrorist resident aliens who are very much alive and kicking and still waiting for visas or Green Cards, would greatly appreciate being moved up a few places in the seemingly infinite pile of pending applications. As you all can imagine, President George Bush was furious at the news. He did what any good President is supposed to do and ordered Attorney General John Ashcroft to get to the bottom of the matter immediately. Still nameless (and happier than ever about their anonymity, I'm sure) INS officials issued sheepish written statements about how sorry they are and how embarrassing the matter is. but then promptly resorted to finger pointing and blaming it on their tremendous backlog. At least the INS isn't the only US government agency that's had a major screw-up lately. A few weeks ago, right here in Maryland, a 20-year old local guy was happily and innocently driving along with his 16-year old girlfriend. They didn't break the speed limit, they both had their seatbelts on (something that proved to be nearly fatal for him, mind you, but let me not get ahead of myself here) and they weren't drunk or on drugs. Yet, a few minutes into their drive, they were surrounded by unmarked vehicles and people pointing machine guns at them (It almost makes you homesick, doesn't it, fellow South Africans?). Needless to say, the were frightened beyond belief, so when they were ordered to get out of the car, they obliged without any fuss. But that's actually where the glitch comes in, because when the young man reached over to unbuckle his seatbelt, one of the gunmen apparently thought that he was reaching for a weapon and promptly shot him. In the face. The gunmen, it turns out, weren't prospective hijackers, but agents for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). They were working undercover that night, patrolling the streets in search of a serial bank robber and his girlfriend. Apparently the unlucky guy and his girl matched the descriptions of the real suspects (But that, mind you, has not been officially verified or proven in the weeks since.). Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time! Now, I'm no expert in policing, but - apart from the most obvious mistake made: shooting the wrong guy - even I detect a few other major flaws in this story. I understand that if you work undercover you drive unmarked vehicles and don't wear a hat, shirt or uniform that will identify you as a police officer or FBI agent. But - and this is just from what I've learned from the movies and television - once you've rounded up who you think is your suspect, don't you yell: "Freeze, FBI!" or something equally dramatic? Call me overly paranoid, but if I'm driving along and am then suddenly forced off the road and surrounded by several people pointing machine guns at me for no apparent reason, I'm going to get a little nervous. (Granted, I get nervous for lesser reasons, like when I get pulled over by police for speeding - not that it's ever happened! - but still.) And aren't they then supposed to tell you to put your hands somewhere visible, like say, above your head, on the dash - gee, even over your ears? As far as I know, it's really difficult to get out of the car while you are still wearing your seatbelt (I've tried it by accident a few times, but even a scatterbrain like me catch on after a while.). But disregarding all of the above. So they decide they have just cause to shoot you. Should they really do it at close range with a machine gun and in the FACE? The young man survived the shooting. He is going to require many surgeries to reconstruct his face though, for many years to come. Unfortunately his medical insurance lapsed at the end of January. This is the one time that I will be in full support of a lawsuit. The shooting happened on a Friday night, but the FBI didn't issue a report until FIVE days later. Even then they got extremely defensive when reporters and private investigators started asking too many probing questions. Perhaps the INS and FBI should team up. Maybe, somehow, the two agencies could find a way to work together that would satisfy both the trigger-happy FBI and the burning need of the INS to issue visas to dead criminals. © RSA-Overseas [ Top ] Mbeki under pressure to toe line on Zim President Thabo Mbeki faces what could be the most important 48 hours of his presidency as the world - and particularly Britain - await his response to President Robert Mugabe's re-election. At stake is Western support for his brainchild, the New Partnership for Africa's Development. A statement initially attributed to Mbeki on the ANC website ANC Today, but which ANC spokesperson Smuts Ngonyama later said was attributed to him by mistake and was in fact an ANC statement, said "the will of the people of Zimbabwe has prevailed". This is in direct contradiction to the view of several observer missions, including that of the Commonwealth. British Prime Minister Tony Blair was said at the weekend to be deeply concerned about Mbeki's reaction, and it was suggested that the next 48 hours would be crucial to Blair's "special relationship" with Mbeki. Mbeki and Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo were due in Harare on Monday to consult Mugabe and his defeated opponent, the Movement for Democratic Change's Morgan Tsvangirai, before deciding on a course of action for the Commonwealth. The two presidents were to meet Mugabe in the morning and Tsvangirai in the afternoon. On Tuesday they will be in London to meet Australian Prime Minister John Howard to determine the Commonwealth's response to the election, which has been widely condemned by non-African observers as fatally flawed. Mbeki, Obasanjo and Howard were mandated by the Commonwealth to decide on action on Zimbabwe if the observers' report was negative. The troika will decide on action ranging from collective disapproval to suspension. The Commonwealth might have difficulty recommending tougher action against Zimbabwe as the ANC said the election was "legitimate" and that the focus was now on rebuilding Zimbabwe. Obasanjo might also be reluctant to recommend tougher action. His country declared the Zimbabwean result "legitimate". Howard said at the weekend he had a clear idea of what had happened in Zimbabwe but would not say what action he would recommend to the Commonwealth. "This is an issue which is based very much on principles. Democracy and free and fair elections are a cornerstone of what the Commonwealth and our way of life is meant to be all about," he said Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ] |
|
