18 held for Zanzibar violence

2005-03-08 14:25

Zanzibar - Police on Tanzania's semi-autonomous island of Zanzibar have arrested 18 people in connection with weekend political violence that left more than two dozen people injured, officials said on Tuesday.

"We arrested 18 people and our investigations are still going on," said Zanzibar's senior assistant commissioner of Police, Ramadhan Kinyogo. "They will be taken to court."

According to witnesses, about 100 police officers overnight Monday raided homes of people suspected of involvement in Sunday's rioting that wounded 26 people and destroyed three offices and vehicles belonging to the opposition Civic United Front (CUF).

They said the raids took place in the early morning hours of Tuesday and that five people were injured in addition to some minor property damage.

Kinyogo said the police operation was continuing and appealed to the public to help identify those who took part in Sunday's clashes between supporters of the CUF and the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM -Revolutionary Party).

"We are still going on with the operation so that we can arrest all the culprits who took part in Sunday's fracas," he told AFP. "We ask the general public to identify all other offenders who are still at-large."

CCM and CUF supporters hurled stones and knives after attending separate rallies as Zanzibar and the rest of Tanzania prepare for October general elections.

Police blamed the violence - the latest on the island which is prone to such incidents - on political leaders inciting their supporters to extremes during events aimed at boosting support ahead of the October 30 polls.

Accusing each other

There were widespread incidents of violence in Zanzibar in the run-up to elections in 2000 and a year later the two parties, long-time rivals, signed the so-called "Muafaka Accord" aimed at preventing further attacks.

The CCM and CUF have blamed each other for the latest violence and after the arrests the rival parties renewed their accusations, each alleging that other was intent on sabotaging the Muafaka pact for political gain.

"All that is happening in Zanzibar has been planned by the ruling party and the police to ruin the Muafaka Accord," said CUF leader Seif Shariff Hamadi.

"The CCM are intending to ruin the elections too, so that they can remain in power," said Hamadi, who has twice lost bids for Zanzibar's presidency in bitterly contested polls against CCM candidates in 1995 and 2000.

But CCM spokesperson Vuai Ali Vuai said the violence was a desperate attempt by the CUF to curry international sympathy ahead of the vote.

"What happened in Zanzibar was a violation of the law and the Muafaka Accord so the CUF can win sympathy from international organizations because it has already sensed it will lose the next general elections," he said.

- AFP