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Tanzania: Catholic Bishop Says Accord Will Keep Peace in Pemba
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Catholic Information Service for Africa (Nairobi)
13 May 2008
Posted to the web 13 May 2008
Pemba
A Catholic bishop has called for the speeding up of efforts to solve the political crisis in Zanzibar to reduce the pressure for secession by some elders in neighbouring Pemba Island.
The appeal follows a controversial move by twelve elders from Pemba, who presented their secession plea to United Nations System Resident Coordinator, Oscar Fernandez-Taranco, and asked him to forward it to the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon. They want to break away from Zanzibar and the Union government.
Commenting on the elder's call, Dar es Salaam's Catholic Auxiliary Bishop Methodius Kilaini told The Citizen that the sealing of the Zanzibar 'Mwafaka' pact between the two rival parties, Civic United Front (CUF) and Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), would have helped to unite the people of Unguja (Zanzibar) and Pemba, leading to the building of one strong and peaceful nation.
Bishop Kilaini said the Zanzibar crisis must be addressed as agreed in the talks between CUF and CCM, which took 14 months, culminating in the pact, which the ruling party executive, however, failed to endorse.
"The Mwafaka will, indeed, help strengthen the Union and maintain the peace, which people have been enjoying since the 1964 revolution," Bishop Kilaini said.
The bishop said that the fact that Pemba is dominated by the opposition CUF was a good enough reason to speed up the agreement that would introduce some form of power-sharing in the isles government.
Bishop Kilaini said the destiny of the people of Pemba "lies with the two political parties" as it was no secret that Pemba is CUF's stronghold and Unguja is CCM's territory.
The elders have accused the Zanzibar government of President Amani Abeid Karume of marginalizing Pemba. Last month, they asked the US Ambassador to Tanzania, Mark Green, to tell President George Bush to help them break away from Pemba's union with Zanzibar and the Tanzanian mainland.
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According to a document released recently by opposition politicians, out of the 192
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