Amnesty urges speedy publication of Zanzibar inquiry findings

The London-based human rights organisation, Amnesty International, has urged the Tanzanian government to publish the findings of a commission of inquiry set up to investigate the violence which occurred in the semi-autonomous islands of Zanzibar in January 2001, and to expedite implementation of its recommendations. The commission, set up in January 2002, is due to present its findings to Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa in July. "Encouraged by the work of the commission, we now await with much interest the publication of the results," the organisation stated on 14 June. "It is our hope that the inquiry and other positive human rights developments will herald a new era for human rights promotion and protection in Tanzania, and Zanzibar in particular," it added. Violence erupted in the Indian Ocean islands of Zanzibar and Pemba on 26 and 27 January 2001 when the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) organised demonstrations demanding a rerun of the October 2000 elections, which local and international observers deemed to have been flawed. At least 22 people were shot dead on Pemba, allegedly by armed police, "in circumstances suggesting unlawful use of lethal force", according to Amnesty International. Over 2,000 refugees fled to Kenya as a result of the violence, but most have since returned home, according to the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Human rights organisations have accused Tanzania's ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) of reluctance to investigate the circumstances surrounding the violence, urging speedy investigations into the attendant human rights abuses. According to the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), Tanzanian security forces killed at least 35 people during the violence and wounded more than 600 others, as part of an operation to suppress opposition demonstrations. "Not until a year after these shocking events did the Tanzanian government appoint a commission of inquiry," HRW said in a statement on 9 April. "We welcome that decision, but urge the commission to move quickly to gather the evidence necessary to bring those responsible to justice." The establishment of the commission of inquiry was included in an agreement signed on 10 October 2001 between CCM and CUF to end the political stalemate that followed the violence. Since its establishment in January 2002, the commission has heard the testimonies of hundreds of victims, their families and other witnesses to the events, according to Amnesty. "The fact that Amnesty International was invited to present its findings to the commission in Zanzibar on 22 May 2002 demonstrates a real commitment to learning exactly what happened during the violence," the statement added. "It is our hope that the inquiry and other positive human rights developments will herald a new era for human rights promotion and protection in Tanzania, and Zanzibar in particular," Amnesty added. Among these developments is the passing in April this year of a constitutional amendment by the Zanzibari parliament, which was seen as an important step towards the implementation of the October 2001 reconciliation agreement between the two parties. The 8th Constitutional Amendment Act provides for a review of the judiciary and the Zanzibar Electoral Commission, as well as the establishment of the post of director of public prosecutions. The duties normally associated with such a position have until now been performed by the attorney general. These changes emerged as fundamental elements of the October agreement, after years of political and social tensions on the islands - initially arising from the CCM's widely disputed 1995 electoral victory in Zanzibar, and subsequently exacerbated by its winning again in October 2000, in controversial circumstances. On Saturday, the national Radio Tanzania quoted Tanzanian Vice-President Ali Mohamed Shein as saying that government and leaders of the ruling CCM and of the CUF had shown "great determination" in ensuring that the implementation of the accord between the two parties was a success. Shein said the two parties had been "unshakable" in their efforts to implement the various clauses of the accord.