|
Tanzanian Opposition Welcomes Amnesty Call For Probe Into Killings
DAR ES SALAAM, March 2 (News Agencies) - Tanzania's main opposition party, the Civic United Front (CUF), on Friday welcomed a call by the London-based human rights group Amnesty International for an independent probe into political violence on Zanzibar and Pemba last month.
"We are very pleased with the recommendation ... In fact we have repeatedly called for such a commission so that the truth is known," said Ernest Lyanga, CUF deputy director of human rights.
Lyanga said in an interview that the government had been giving biased reports on how the police handled the January 27th demonstrations, which, according to the CUF, led to the deaths of about 70 people.
Tanzanian government authorities and those in the semi-autonomous Zanzibar and Pemba islands consistently put the number of deaths following clashes between police and demonstrators at 23.
Reports collated by AFP put the toll at around 33.
Lyanga said that investigators as well as Tanzanian and foreign journalists were denied access to some important areas in Pemba, especially in Micheweni where many people were reportedly killed.
"There are reports that innocent people suspected to be CUF supporters were being beaten, raped and their homes looted by police and other state security agents," Lyanga said.
Amnesty International issued a statement late Thursday saying its mission to Tanzania had confirmed "reports of torture, including rape and beatings, as well as indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force against civilians, including women and children."
Meanwhile, the police force is reportedly rotating its staff in Pemba to other parts of Tanzania and vice versa.
"At least 12 policemen from each of the country's 20 mainland regions are being transferred to Pemba," a local daily, Mwananchi, reported, quoting an unnamed police source.
|
