Dar es Salaam. Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania on Tuesday, November 30, 2021.
Human Rights Watch: No justice for Zanzibar election violence
A new Human Rights Watch report has revealed that the Tanzanian government has until now not held security forces and aligned militia accountable for killings in Zanzibar during the 2020 elections.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the New York-based human rights organization noted that neither the Tanzanian authorities nor Zanzibari authorities have acknowledged, let alone investigated, the full scale and toll of the violence that took place during the 2020 elections.
This is despite a public outcry within the country, and calls for investigations, including by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Human Rights Watch said.
The right group alleged that at least 14 people died and 55 were injured, as police, soldiers, and armed men in civilian clothes were teargassed and shot at crowds, between October 26 and 30, 2020.
The armed men also arbitrarily arrested, detained, and tortured opposition supporters on Zanzibar’s main islands of Unguja and Pemba, the group added.
Oryem Nyeko, the Tanzania researcher at Human Rights Watch, said: “The leaders of both Zanzibar and Tanzania should demonstrate their commitment to justice by ensuring accountability and compensation for survivors and the families of those who died at the hands of government security forces.”
According to Human Rights Watch, a total of 57 people were interviewed by phone between October 2020 and November 2021. They included victims and witnesses, journalists, and opposition party officials about election-related violence in Zanzibar, the semiautonomous archipelago.
To end the cycles of election-related violence in Zanzibar, Human Rights Watch recommends that authorities in Tanzania and Zanzibar, including the Tanzania Police Force and the SMZ special departments, should identify and dismantle any structures that enable government-allied militias to operate in Zanzibar and close all unofficial places of detention.
It also calls on the international community to urge Tanzanian and Zanzibari authorities to conduct credible, effective, and impartial investigations into the 2020 election-related abuses; make findings from investigations publicly available; and ensure that all security forces responsible for abuses are held accountable, in line with Tanzania’s obligations under international and regional human rights law.
Tanzania, Italy to organize a joint business forum
Tanzania’s embassy in the Italian capital of Rome will partner with the Tanzania Investment Centre and Zanzibar Investment Promotion Agency in organizing the Tanzania-Italy Business Forum, which will take place as part of the commemoration of 60 years of Tanganyika’s independence.
According to a statement released on Tuesday, the forum that will take place on December 2, 2021, at TH ROMA Carpegna Palace Hotel will bring together more than 100 participants from different backgrounds in Tanzania and Italy.
These will include tourism and hospitality; manufacturing; agriculture; mining; construction; and real estate among others.
“Investors and business persons will get an opportunity to discuss possible joint ventures, challenges facing the business environment and a way forward for improving business relations between the two countries,” the statement said.
It added that the business community would explore further through networking and one to one meetings to support mutual economic development for both Tanzania and Italy
Mulamula holds talks with China’s foreign affairs minister Wang Yi
Minister for Foreign Affairs Ambassador Libereta Mulamula on Tuesday met and held talks with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sideline of the ongoing 8th Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).
Mr Wang Yi, considered one of China’s top diplomats, has been meeting ministers from various countries since the commencement of the forum on November 29, 2021.
According to a statement by Tanzania’s foreign affairs ministry, Wang Yi expressed China’s readiness in financing some of the projects, including the construction of the Ruhudji hydroelectric power plant.
The Ruhudji power project is a 358 MW project that is expected to cost around $470 million for the plant and $53.2 million for the transmission lines.
On the other hand, he reaffirmed the Chinese government commitment in providing financial and technical support to Tanzania.
How Tanzania shifted its approach in countering violent extremism
Tanzania has been changing its approach towards dealing with violent extremism in the country lately, a move seen by many analysts as a step in the right direction, The Chanzo’s contributor Tony Alfred argues in this analysis.
He describes the approach as one that departs from an earlier strategy that involved denials, control of the narratives and limiting the flow of information around the issue.
The change in the approach can be observed in two areas, according to the writer.
The first one is on the admission of the threat that violent extremism poses to Tanzania’s security situation while the second area can be observed in inviting Tanzanians in the fight against the scourge that continues to make governments worldwide sleepless.
You can read Tony’s full analysis here.
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