Opinion
Analysis
Rebels or terrorists, what’s
the difference?
Last week Tanzania played host to the 22nd Summit of the Great Lakes Regional
Peace Initiative on Burundi and witnessed the presence of heads of state of the
concerned region.
The meeting did not have on its agenda to solve the latest crisis in Burundi in
which the rebel Hutu group, FNL, claimed responsibility for the recent killing
of about 160 Congolese Tutsi refugees in Burundi.
It would have been seen as something extraordinary if the leaders at the end of
the summit declared that they found sound and reliable means to bring stability
to the country and committed themselves to perhaps some sorts of
peace-keeping/sharing agreements.
What the meeting managed to produce was a statement saying that the FNL should
be labelled terrorist. In this day and age it has become increasingly
commonplace to brand groups that do not conform to agreed norms and rules,
terrorists.
However, one has to question what difference the term terrorist makes for the
people affected by its terror. Does it mean that the Congolese refugees should
feel that outside intervention is more likely if they are being attacked by a
group of terrorist rather than a group of rebels? Does it mean that the heads of
state who attended the meeting are more inclined to see an end to the conflict
if they are dealing with a terrorist threat rather than a rebel uprising?
Does it mean that a country such as the US (which has declared a war on terror)
are more eager to provide help if it is told that a terrorist group is causing
havoc in Burundi, instead of what often is referred to in the press as clashes
between different tribes?
UN officials and experts on the conflicts in the region claim that the killings
has brought Burundi to the brink of war and that the FNL poses a serious threat
to the peace keeping process.
One can only hope that the meeting was part of long and profound efforts by
neighboring countries to come to terms with the problem; that the dubbing of FNL
as terrorist only was the first step in a series of attempts to resolve the
situation.
African countries possess tremendous respect and the continent’s leaders do
listen and pay attention to each other’s condemnations and statements.
Bearing that in mind, the just ended meeting could have served to produce a much
more powerful statement regarding the crisis in Burundi. The opportunity was
there, what was lacking were signs of willingness.
A million to one chance for
medals
As the 2004 Olympic reaches its second week today, the chances of Tanzanian
representatives winning even a single medal remains a million to one following
the easy exits of Tanzanians in six races consecutively.
We saw to our dismay our athletes falling one after another. Samwel Mwera who
was to compete in 1,500m dodged, then Restituta Joseph lost in 5,000m and
10,000m respectively while Banuelia Mrashani failed to finish the marathon.
Likewise John was unlucky in the 10,000m and left Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia to
win it easily.
We however, think the remaining athletes Samson Ramadhani, Christopher Isegwe,
Nada Saya and Zebedayo Bayo must work hard to win one of the three top positions
in the marathon or else Tanzania, as in the past six Olympics, will earn zero in
Athens.
The farewell speech made by Premier Frederick Sumaye at Holiday Inn, Dar es
Salaam, insisted that everything the athletes would do in Athens, Greece would
have an impact on the country’s reputation overseas.
The young athletes, as Premier Sumaye acknowledged them, should know that every
Tanzanian banks on them for medals though the country has failed to win any
medal in five Olympics after Suleiman Nyambui and Filbert Bayi won their medals
in 1980.
For how long will we just be watchers of others’ progress? It is now time
Tanzanian sportsmen and women worked hard to join Nyambui and Bayi in Tanzania’s
gallery of great sportsmen and women.
We know that there are many good athletes in every category there, but that does
not stop extra efforts from being used so as to achieve desired goals.
We hope the motivational promises made by various well-wishers including Premier
Sumaye himself will yield fruits, though we should not let financial motivations
outpace the true patriotism.
Look beyond CCM clique for next president!
By Evarist Kagaruki
We have about eight months before we know who will be the ruling party (CCM)
candidate for the Tanzania presidency in the 2005 general elections. This, in
normal life, is a short time. But in politics no time is ever short – even a day
means a lot! For that reason, the speculations, predictions and perceptions of
the people, which we read about in the press today regarding the “possible”
presidential candidates may not be the same by year’s end.
Under the single-party system, there was no predicting or guessing who was going
to run for the presidency, since it was always the same person standing (in the
case of the first-phase government), or because, as happened in 1985 (when Ali
Hassan Mwinyi succeeded Mwalimu Julius Nyerere) protocol demanded that the First
Vice President at that time should be the next president without regard to other
considerations. In that respect the nomination of a presidential candidate was
only a matter of procedure, as indeed was his election a foregone conclusion.
Not any more! Now CCM, the party that continues to be dominant, has in place a
transparent and democratic system of choosing its presidential candidate.
Everyone who thinks they have all the requisite qualifications to stand for the
position can step forward and declare their intentions.
CCM’s choice of its candidate in the next presidential elections is definitely a
matter of great public interest, essentially because it is mostly likely that,
given the weak and fractured opposition, the ruling party will produce the next
president. The strength of CCM, some pundits surmise, lies in the disunity of
the opposition.
In the recent days, the local press has been carrying speculations about the
possible CCM presidential candidates, and names have been named. There are two
important things about these speculations, which are interesting to note.
One, none of the persons named has come out publicly to confirm or deny they
have presidential ambitions. Even those who, in the past, had assured the public
they won’t run in the next presidential elections have decided to be mute.
Silence in these matters is taken to mean affirmation.
Two, and this is perhaps most important, the speculations mostly revolve around
the same personalities – the same old guys who belong to the CCM caucus (the
politburo), or are members of the cabinet. There seems to be a mindset among
many people that our next president (if it is agreed that he or she will most
likely come from CCM) should be a person who is in the inner circle of the
ruling party. There is also the notion that the experienced (seasoned) or
long-serving politician is necessarily the best presidential material.
This is wrong! Because out there, I believe, there are talented young CCM
members who have all the attributes of a leader that this country needs and
deserves: well-educated, intellectually alert, patriotic and, above all, morally
clean. Some of these people may not have any presidential ambitions and might
therefore need to be approached and persuaded to run.
Mwalimu Nyererer once remarked that good people are often reluctant to step
forward on their own top take leadership positions. They had to be induced to go
into leadership, he correctly argued.
In the race for the 2005 Tanzanian presidency, already, we are informed by the
press, there are certain CCM presidential aspirants who are frantically making
“secret” visits to the isles to seek approval from, and lobby the support and
assistance of, some power-brokers within CCM-Zanzibar. (The “bloc-vote” of
Zanzibar in the CCM-presidential nomination process is very critical to the
mainland presidential contenders).
But, the big question here is: Why the lobbying at this time when CCM has not
even announced the date and procedure for picking the nomination forms? Why the
hurry?
Those who deserve (on merit) to be picked by CCM for the presidential candidacy
are standing silently aside, watching as the drama of unofficial and shady
campaigns unfold on the political horizon. They may be few, but we know they are
there.
These, in my view, are the right people who should be approached, persuaded and
urged to take the nomination forms for the presidency. Otherwise there is a real
danger that we shall continue to be ruled by the same leaders, some of who have
completely run out of political and intellectual steam.