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afrol.com, 31 January - Clashes this weekend beteen the Zanzibari opposition and police have resulted in at least 37 death, and there are reports of mass graves increasing the death toll to over 200. Following these ongoing clashes on the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar, the human rights watchdog ARTICLE 19 today condemned the violent police tactics being used against opposition supporters. The most recent fighting broke out between members of the Civic United Front (CUF) opposition party and police after a brutal police crackdown against peaceful CUF-organised demonstrations on Saturday to demand a rerun of the discredited October elections. The official death toll is set at 22, but independent media report at least 37 people being killed. A prominent opposition member from Zanzibar, Hiza Tambwe, even claims that at least 280 people were killed in the weekend clashes and that a mass grave has been discovered. Tambwe told Reuters that 150 bodies had been discovered in a forest in The Police Force spokesman Aden Mwamunyange yesterday told the Tanzanian newspaper The Guardian in Dar es Salaam that more than 30 people fled to Mombasa because of the weekend clashes. Media reports from Kenya, however, said yesterday more than 50 people from Pemba fled to Mombasa. Mwamunyange denied the reports that police helicopters had attacked boats ferrying victims to Kenya, saying the plane had been sent to Pemba to ferry injured policemen to Mnazi Mmoja hospital in Unguja. However, he said police were following up reports that islanders were feared drowned after their dhows were allegedly shot at. Andrew Puddephatt, Executive Director of ARTICLE 19 today strongly protested against the reports of police brutality on the island. "The international community must take tough action to resolve the long-running political crisis. We have been warning since April 2000 that unless there is genuine political reform, Zanzibar might descend into violence. The scheduling of new elections is the only answer," he said. The organisation calls for an immediate OAU/ Commonwealth/ UN high level mission to be sent to the islands to push for urgent political reform. According to the human rights organisation, "three issues need to be tackled ahead of such elections: Reform of the Zanzibar Electoral Commission, which remains an instrument of the government; An end to harrassment of opposition party members and supporters by the security forces and; An end to government control over the publicly-funded media, which pumped out pro-government propaganda throughout the election campaign." Andrew Puddephatt added that "it is time for the international community to make it clear to the Union government that events in Zanzibar are its responsibility and that unless it takes steps to end the crisis, it cannot be "business as usual" in its relations with the outside world." The Zanzibar islands are the "zan" in the Tanzanian federation, and have experienced much political violence, contrary to the more stable continental part, former Tanganyika. The collection of semi-autonomous islands off Tanzania's coast have been rocked by seven bomb explosions since contested elections in October 2000 after almost six years of sporadic violence since disputed multi-party elections in 1995. The Tanzanian government earlier has expressed its will to let foreign mediators help resolving the conflict on Zanzibar. Earlier this month, Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa for the first time called on the international community to help restore peace in the troubled Zanzibar islands. "Help us to heal our wounds and not open fresh ones," Mkapa told foreign diplomats in Dar es Salaam on 10 January. So far, no foreign aid has arrived. Sources: Article19, The Gueardian, AENS and afrol archives
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