EC links Zanzibar support with political agreement

The European Commission (EC) on Thursday welcomed the signature in Zanzibar of an agreement between the CCM (Chama Cha Mapinduzi) ruling party and the CUF (Civic United Front) opposition party, which marks the end of several months of talks between the two parties, and promised that implementation of the agreement would enable the EC to strengthen its cooperation with the semi-autonomous island chain. As a first step, it stood ready to support work on democracy and good governance, and would increase ongoing poverty-reducing assistance through NGOs, said Poul Nielson, Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian aid. "We have already decided to step up assistance, via NGOs, for the most urgent needs of the people of Zanzibar," Nielson said. "I have recently given the go-ahead to a new NGO project for just over one million euros [almost US $903,000] to combat HIV/AIDS in Zanzibar. This new project will complement existing EU assistance to Tanzania to combat HIV/AIDS," he said. The Commission also intends to reassess its potential long-term support to Zanzibar, taking into account priorities as they emerge in the course of implementation of the agreement, Nielson added. For more details, go to http://europa.eu.int The European Commission and a large number of bilateral donors cut off development assistance to Zanzibar after the CCM's widely-disputed win in the 1995 general elections in Zanzibar, commonly known on the islands as "the stolen elections". A reconciliation agreement was signed in May 1999, under the auspices of the Commonwealth, to end the then four-year political crisis but has never been implemented. Under Wednesday's agreement, electoral procedures in Zanzibar will be reformed. An investigation will be undertaken into January's violent political clashes, and measures will be taken to ensure that all remaining refugees return safely, according to the EC. Representatives of both sides are due to form a new Supervisory Commission to ensure the implementation of the agreement.