Treason defendants accused of training paramilitaries

The prosecution in the controversial treason trial of 18 members of the CUF party on Tuesday amended the charge sheets to add that the defendants trained former Tanzanian soldiers to overthrow the Zanzibari government. The 18, including four members of parliament, are charged with plotting to overthrow the government of President Amour following the disputed 1995 election. Human rights groups and donors have said they believe the charges are politically motivated and aimed at silencing peaceful opposition to the Zanzibar government. Foreign donors, who suspended bilateral aid to Zanzibar after the contested 1995 elections, are understood to be closely monitoring the treason case, in which another pre-trial hearing is scheduled for 1 June.

Meanwhile, an envoy of the British Commonwealth Secretary-General, Moses Anafu, this week arrived in Zanzibar to discuss with the Inter-Party Committee the possibility of implementing the political reconciliation agreement signed in June last year aimed at ending the political crisis between the CCM and the CUF, the Tanzanian ‘Tomric’ news agency reported. The key provisions of the Commonwealth-brokered agreement included reform of the Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC), a review of the constitutional and electoral laws, and compensation for property destroyed during the political crisis. Amour’s government has since said it would not be forced to implement the agreement in a hurry, that it had decided not to reform the electoral commission, and that ZEC members - including its chairman - would continue to be presidential appointees, contrary to the terms of the peace accord, the ‘Tomric’ report stated.