Refugees still arriving in Kenya despite plea to return

The authorities in the semi-autonomous islands of Zanzibar have said the situation is now peaceful and urged hundreds of refugees who fled to Kenya to escape violent clashes last month to return home. At least 30 people were killed in the fighting which broke out when the security forces used strong-arm tactics to put down opposition protests on the main islands of Unguja and Pemba. Members of the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) party were protesting against what they termed as fraudulent elections last October, demanding an annulment of the result which returned the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) to power. The CUF says about 70 people died in the clashes. According to the UN refugee agency UNHCR, over 1,000 refugees from the islands have arrived at the Kenyan coastal town of Shimoni since the 27 January fighting. It voiced concern that some of them were either sleeping under trees or out in the open. "The refugees have not been allowed to leave the small bay," a UNHCR spokesman said. Along with the Kenya Red Cross, UNHCR has provided tents and food for the refugees and is trucking in water from Mombasa, 120 km away. But both organisations have expressed disquiet that the situation may become "desperate" as more people arrive. In its amnesty offer, the Zanzibar government assured potential returnees they would not face prosecution, but refugees arriving in Kenya say that suspected opposition leaders "are being sought" on the islands. Fifteen members of parliament are among the new arrivals in Kenya. A further 35 refugees are injured, some of them with bullet wounds and one person has had his leg amputated, UNHCR stated. Tanzanian Prime Minister Frederick Sumaye on Tuesday said the situation on the islands had returned to normal, and urged refugees to go home, claiming that "some people are bent on seeking a political refugee status in Kenya", the Tanzanian 'Guardian' daily reported. The government conceded that Tanzania's reputation as a peace-loving nation had suffered. The return of the refugees would be a first step towards restoring the country's prestige, a government statement said. The Tanzanian authorities have tried to justify the show of force in the islands, claiming opposition supporters were planning to occupy police stations. But on Tuesday, 12 opposition parties on the Tanzanian mainland urged the UN Security Council to take action against President Benjamin Mkapa over the deaths and the government's "deliberate oppression". In scenes vastly different from those of 27 January, the CUF was allowed to hold a rally in Zanzibar on Sunday which passed off peacefully, observers told IRIN. About 10,000 people, demanding fresh elections, gathered at the venue and heard calls for an international enquiry into the killings. International observers commented that the events on Zanzibar and Pemba were the "ultimate sign of the repressive system that exists in Tanzania".