Issue No 44-no 53
Issue no 53 Feb. 26 - Mar.4,1998
CUT boycott
The opposition Civic United Front has reiterated that its members of
the House of Representatives will continue their boycott of the House sessions
as attending them will be tantamount to recognising the Zanzibar government.
Nipashe reported that the statement by CUF Secretary General Shaban Mloo
was in reply to a statement by the ruling party (CCM) National Executive
Committee asking the opposition party to allow its members of the House
of Representative to attend the House sessions.
The paper quoted Mloo saying that to allow their members to attend the House
sessions will mean that the political crisis on the Isles was over. Meanwhile
SHABA had it that the CUF has emphasised that the Zanzibar political crisis
was not a result of the opposition party refusing to recognise the 1995
general election results but the ruling party itself was the root cause
of the problem.
The paper quoted the opposition party publicity director Ramadhani Mzee
telling journalists that his party refused to recognise the presidential
election results because CCM and the Zanzibar Electoral Commission violated
Section 41 (c) of the isles constitution in announcing the results. SHABA
quoted Mzee saying a letter written by the CCM Deputy Secretary General
on the Isles Ally Ameir Mohamed denouncing election results was meant to
bring about misunderstandings between political parties in Zanzibar.
Issue no 51 February 12 - 18,1998
Govt blows the lid off Isles crisis
By Fredrick Longino
PRESIDENT Benjamin Mkapaﾕs resolve to send emissaries to intervene in the
Zanzibar political stand-off has been widely welcomed, with the Civic United
Front (CUF) calling it a sign of maturity, while the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi
(CCM) maintaining the opposition first needs to recognise Dr Salmin Amour
as their President before negotiations are held.
The local press recently reported that the Union president had sent a team
of unnamed top government officials to talk to the CCM government as part
of the efforts to diffuse the growing tension.
In an interview with The Express, both the CUF and CCM members of the House
of Representatives showed they were ready for a commonly negotiated solution,
but each side advanced conditionalities before the negotiations were held.
Zakiya Omar Juma, special seat representative for the CUF, showed surprise
as to why Mkapa had decided to act now while her party had so demanded for
almost two years now, alleging that attempts to solve the crisis by international
organisations and foreign envoys, including Thabo Mbeki, South Africaﾕs
Vice-president, were also turned down.
Zakiya Omar showed faith in Joseph Warioba, the former Union premier, but
challenged him to meet senior officials on both sides if his efforts were
to be fruitful.
Abubakar Hamis, representative for Mgogoni, Micheweni, Pemba supported the
move but called for involvement of neutral brokers from inside and outside
the country.
At last, those who said there was no crisis in Zanzibar have come to the
senses and admit it openly. He should have done this long before, he said
Hamis who is also a leader of the opposition in the House.
Mkapa also got approval of Musa Haji Kombo, Chakechake representative, but
he charged the CCM side with employing delaying tactics in finding a solution
to the impasse.
By accepting the reality and sending the emissaries, Mkapa looks mature
now as the Union President. It also has proved the ability of the CUF to
expose the stark reality to the outside world, he said, supporting Warioba
as a trustworthy broker.
Being new to the State House and presidency, he said, Mkapa had to take
time to learn and all the while he was waiting for directives from Nyerere.
Now he has learned to work on his own, Kombo said.
CCM Iddi Pandu Hassan, nominated representative, said Mkapa mission needed
to meet all conflicting sides, saying that the Union Presidentﾕs efforts
may fail if CUF did not recognise the Dr Amour government.
Like all CCM cadres, he refuted claims that there was a political crisis
in the Isles.
What I know is there is crisis within the CUF itself not between CCM and
the opposition, he asserted, The Mkunguni representative on CCM ticket,
Ali Suleiman Ali, welcomed any move to enable CUFﾕs representatives to participate
in the House of Representativesﾕ sessions for their presence and contribution
would create genuine discussions on issues.
He, however, added a clause that CUF had to accept Dr Salmin Amour as the
President.
We shall go on working as hard as ever even if they go on with their stand
not to recognise the CCM government, he said.
On various occasions during the week, both CCM and Zanzibar government refuted
reports that there was a political crisis in Zanzibar and Chief Minister
Mohamed Bilal said those who complained of human rights violation in Zanzibar
should go to the courts of law and open a case.
Issue no 49 Jan. 29 - Feb 4,1998
Salmin to re-shuffle cabinet
ZANZIBAR President Dr Salmin Amour was reported busy, this week, re-arranging
his cabinet in a move to contain the opposition on the Isles.
HEKO quoted sources from the Zanzibar State House saying that Dr Salmin
has reshuffled his cabinet but has not brought in any new faces to his government.
The paper quoted the sources saying that the Minister for Agriculture, Livestock
and National Resources, Adam Mwakanjuki was being moved to the Ministry
of Regional Administration. The Minister for Finance Amina Salum Ali has
been moved to the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs while Mr Ali Shamhuna,
who was Minister of State responsible for Planning and Investment takes
over the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Natural Resources and another
Minister of State Mohamed Ramia is said to have taken over the Ministry
of Finance.
Apart from the cabinet reshuffle other posts which have been affected by
the move are those of regional and area commissioners, HEKO said.
Nyerere admits
The father of the nation Mwalimu Julius Nyerere has admitted that there
was a political crisis in Zanzibar discarding claims by those who were saying
there was no crisis on the Isles.
Mwalimu was quoted by Majira telling journalists, in Arusha, that there
was a tendency by African leaders not to declare in public that they had
problems in their countries.
The former president was quoted saying may be the leaders were afraid to
admit publicly that they were facing problems, a situation which, he said,
did not give the international community chance to offer a solution to the
problems, Majira added.
At the same time, SHABA had it that the opposition Civic United Front (CUF)
has said that it has sent letters to various nations, which are against
violations of human rights, protesting against Dr Salmin's oppression of
CUF leaders on the Isles.
The paper quoted the party deputy director of foreign affairs Antar Sangali
saying the party has distributed the letters to inform the international
community of violations of human rights by the Zanzibar government.
Issue no 47 January 15 - 21,1998
Salmin warns opposition
By Frederick Longino in Zanzibar
THE Zanzibar President, Dr Salmin Amour, has warned all politicians on the
Isles to stop immediately disseminating antagonistic politics amongst the
Islanders which eventually lead to the breaking of the countryﾕs laws.
Addressing a mass rally on the Zanzibar Revolution Day anniversary at the
Aman Stadium, this week, Dr Salmin said there has been tendency by some
politicians here who incite their followers to break the law. When the government
raises its hand on them these politicians allege that Salminﾕs government
was against human rights, Dr Salmin said.
I cannot tolerate this behaviour anymore as it threatens unity, tranquility
and peace among the people. The year 1998 will not allow forced politics
from the opposition camp,ﾓ the President warned.
Dr Salmin said that he was satisfied with the existing political atmosphere
in Zanzibar though there were some political leaders who use the differences
in policies of political parties for their personal interests. He added
that the differences in party policies are there to stay and warned people
who have been capitalising on the political competition to carry out their
personal motives.
At the same time, Dr Salmin said that the Islanders have been giving him
an impression that they now understand the talents of various leaders weighing
who had the capabilities to lead them and thus have been cooperating with
the government in solving their economic and social problems.
The President added that some people were withdrawing their membership from
political parties they thought were led by incapable politicians.
Dr Salmin advised opposition leaders to wait untill the next general election
when they will ask the people to vote them into government. He said there
were only about 600 days to the campaigns for the year 2000 general elections.
Dr Salmin said there were some outsiders who were bent on disturbing Zanzibarﾕs
peace by using some groups on the Isles.
He, however, said that such outside pressure will not succeed in distabilising
his government adding that if there was any political misunderstanding in
Zanzibar, it must be solved by the Zanzibaris themselves and not by people
from outside the country.
Issue No 44 December 25-31,1997
Talks on Isles crisis flop
By Express Reporter
THE first dialogue meeting between the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi and Civic
United front whose aim is to find a solution to Zanzibar's simmering political
crisis, which was planned to be held last Thursday, did not take place after
CCM came out with conditions that the opposition party must first recognise
Dr Salmin Amour as the legitimate President of Zanzibar.
Earlier the two sides, after exchanging correspondence and through a third
party, had agreed to meet without conditions.
Well informed sources told The Express that the meeting, which was earlier
scheduled to take place at Mbuyuni Hotel in the city suburbs, switched to
Hotel Vatican at the last minute, after reports of the crucial meeting leaked.
The sources revealed that a few hours before the meeting was scheduled to
start, CCM sent a letter to the CUF pointing out that the ruling party was
only prepared to take part in the talks if the CUF recognised the government
of Dr Salmin.
Three days earlier, the CUF had sent a note to CCM that it would take part
in the dialogue under protest following what it described as arbitrary arrests
of its leaders and members on the Islands. The CUF has all along insisted
that the centre of the problem, which has resulted in the Isles political
crisis is Dr Salmin, whom it claims never won the Zanzibar Presidential
elections.
However, the Zanzibar Electoral Commission, whose members were appointed
by Dr Salmin and some of whom work in the Zanzibar state House rigged the
election results and installed their boss in office, CUF claimed.
The CCM-CUF meeting was supposed to be attended by 10 people, five from
each side. Several names of distinguished Tanzanians, who include judges
and lawyers, were proposed to chair the meeting, that the CCM side would
have been led by the Tunduru Member of Parliament, Mr Juma Akukweti.
Other members were two other CCM Parliamentarians, one from Zanzibar and
another from the Mainland, a member of the Isles' House of Representatives
and an officer from the CCM headquarters.
The CUF delegation would have included the House of Representative Member
for Wawi Mr Hamad Rashid and another MP, Ms Naila Majid.
Others would have been a Parliamentarian, a members of the House of Representatives
and an officer from the CUF headquarters.
Meanwhile, the CUF has expressed regret that some members of the judiciary
in Zanzibar are being guided by their love of CCM rather than the constitution
and the existing laws in discharging their duties.
As a result, the CUF argues that some magistrates decide to send CUF Members
of the House of Representatives to remand prisons even after the police
had said they had no objection to bail being granted to the accused Representatives.
The CCM-CUF dialogue is one of the recommendations made by several countries,
donor countries and agencies, as well as the Hague-based Peace Council,
whose members visited the country twice this year in an attempt to make
a breakthrough in solving Zanzibar's boiling political climate. During its
visits to Tanzania, members of the Peace Council had talks with Dr Salmin,
CUF Chairman Mr Musobi Mageni, retired President Mwalimu Nyerere and President
Benjamin Mkapa.