Zanzibar inquiry receives considered welcome

The appointment by the Tanzanian government of a team to investigate killings that occurred in Zanzibar during political clashes between police and supporters of the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) in late-January 2001 has been welcomed as "long overdue". However, the nature and composition of the investigation team has drawn mixed feelings. Violence erupted in the semi-autonomous Indian Ocean islands of Zanzibar and Pemba on 26 January last year when CUF organised demonstrations demanding a re-run of the October 2000 elections, which local and international observers deemed to have been flawed. At least 22 people were shot dead on Pemba island, allegedly by armed police, "in circumstances suggesting unlawful use of lethal force", according to the human rights organisation 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 (UNHCR). Tanzanian media reported on Thursday that President Benjamin Mkapa had appointed an eight-member commission of enquiry to investigate the circumstances under which people were shot dead on Pemba during the violence that rocked it and the neighbouring island of Unguja [commonly known as Zanzibar] on 26 and 27 January 2001. The commission, to be chaired by retired Brigadier Hashim Mbita, is due to probe the "causes and effects" of the violence, and present its findings by 31 July 2002, the Guardian newspaper reported in Tanzania, quoting terms of reference outlined in a presidential statement. The commission (whose other members include Masauni Yusuf Masauni, Ali Abdalah Suleiman, Salama Kombo Ahmed, Hassa Mlawa, Bruno Mpangala, Kassim Ali and Philip Mcamanga, as secretary) is also mandated to establish the number of people affected by the violence, propose ways of providing compensation or humanitarian aid to those affected, and suggest measures that could pave the way for reconciliation in Zanzibar, the newspaper reported. Mkapa's announcement of the enquiry commission on Wednesday came just 10 days before the first anniversary of the deaths. Professor Ibrahim Lipumba, chairman of CUF, said he welcomed the commission, but expressed disappointment at its composition, the BBC reported on Friday. "The only problem I have is the composition of the commission. This is a legal matter, and should have involved legal people. But this is not the case with the commission, so I am upset about that," it quoted him as saying. Lipumba was also quoted by local media as saying that it was "very unfortunate to note that many often commission members are known to have affiliation with the government currently in power, or the ruling party". James Mbatia, who heads the opposition NCCR-Mageuzi party, said it was "good to note" that Mkapa had now decided to form a commission, but that the decision was "long overdue", the Guardian reported on Friday. To tell the commission that its should advise the government on possible mean of avoiding similar incidents in future amounted to saying that the government had no clear code of conduct; otherwise, there would be no need to probe the Pemba killings, it quoted Mbatia as saying. The human rights organisation Amnesty International on Thursday welcomed the appointment of the probe commission but said it would be seeking assurance from the government that the enquiry would be "truly independent". "Obviously, we are happy that a commission has been set up, but we are waiting to find out more about how it will carry out its work and whether the findings will be made public," Sharon Critops, a researcher with Amnesty International, told IRIN. Critops said that Amnesty had been calling for an independent enquiry on the violence since March 2001, and had presented its preliminary findings to the Tanzanian government through a memorandum, but had not received any reply so far. "We invited the government to respond to our memorandum but we have not yet seen any. We see the formation of the commission as a sign of their goodwill but we are waiting to see what happens," Critops told IRIN from the organisation's secretariat in London. Preliminary findings by an Amnesty mission to Tanzania had confirmed reports of torture, including rape and beatings, as well as the indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force against civilians, including women and children, the NGO said in a statement last March. There was also evidence that Tanzanian security forces had "violated" the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms, which states that the "use of lethal force must be still be consistent with the principles of necessity and proportionality", according to the statement. "If the rule of law, the protection of human rights, and justice for victims and survivors of the recent spate of violence are to be ensured, the Tanzanian government must establish and explain what happened, as well as bring to justice any public official responsible for human rights abuses and unlawful action," it added. Amnesty had outlined key recommendations for the establishment of the inquiry, calls for compensation to be provided to the victims of the violence or their families, and for anyone found responsible for human rights violations to be brought to justice. "For too long human rights violations have gone unpunished in Zanzibar. The authorities now have the opportunity to correct this culture of impunity and to provide justice and compensation for those whose rights were violated," Amnesty stated in November 2001.