4 Jun 2013
3 Jun 2013
3.6.13
Evarist Chahali
No comments
THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA
DIRECTORATE OF PRESIDENTIAL COMMUNICATIONS
Telephone: 255-22-2114512, 2116898
E-mail: [email protected]
Fax: 255-22-2113425 |  |
PRESIDENT’S OFFICE,
THE STATE HOUSE,
P.O. BOX 9120,
DAR ES SALAAM.
Tanzania.
|
TAARIFA KWA VYOMBO VYA HABARI
Ban Ki Moon ampongeza Rais Kikwete kuhusu njia mpya ya kuleta amani DRC
KATIBU Mkuu wa Umoja wa Mataifa (UN) Mheshimiwa Ban Ki Moon amempongeza na kumshukuru Rais wa Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania Mheshimiwa Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete kwa kutoa mapendekezo muhimu na murua ya aina yake ya kuanza kutafuta amani ya kudumu katika eneo la Maziwa Makuu kwa njia ya mazungumzo badala ya kutegemea mapambano ya silaha peke yake.
Aidha, Katbu Mkuu huyo wa UN ameishukuru Tanzania kwa kuchangia askari wa kuunda Brigedi Maalum ya Kusimamia Amani katika Jamhuri ya Kidemokrasi ya Congo (DRC) na pia kutoa kamanda wa Brigedi hiyo.
Vile vile, Mheshimiwa Ban Ki Moon amemwomba Rais Kikwete kuendelea kuunga mkono jitihada za kuleta amani na utulivu katika DRC na eneo lote la maziwa makuu kupitia Mchakato wa Kanda wa Kusimamia Amani (Regional Oversight Mechanism) katika eneo hilo.
Mheshimiwa Ban Ki Moon ametoa shukrani na pongezi hizo kwa Rais Kikwete wakati viongozi hao walipokutana leo, Jumapili, Juni 2, 2013, kwa mazungumzo wakati wa Mkutano wa Tano wa Tokyo Kuhusu Maendeleo ya Afrika (TICAD V) unaoendelea mjini Yokohama, Japan.
Wakati wa mazungumzo hayo kwenye Hoteli ya Intercontinental ambako viongozi hao wamefikia, Mheshimiwa Ban Ki Moon amemwambia Rais Kikwete: “Nakushukuru sana Mheshimiwa Rais kwa mchango wako mzuri kwenye mkutano wetu wa Jumapili asubuhi mjini Addis Ababa. Yako yalikuwa mapendekezo bora zaidi na mapya katika mkutano wetu mzuri. Asante sana kwa kuunga mkono Mchakato wa Kanda wa Kusimamia Amani katika eneo la Maziwa Makuu. Tunaomba uendeleaa kuunga mkono Mchakato huu.”
Ameongeza Katibu Mkuu wa UN: “Nilipokuwa Goma karibuni nilikutana na Jenerali kutoka Tanzania ambaye ni Kamanda wa Brigedi Maalum ya Kulinda Amani katika DRC iliyoko chini ya Umoja wa Mataifa. Tunakushukuru sana kwa kuchangia Brigedi hii na tunakushukuru sana kwa kukubali kutoa Kamanda wa Brigedi hii.”
Katibu Mkuu Ban Ki Moon pia amemwalika Rais Kikwete kushiriki katika kikao kijacho cha Mchakato kilichopangwa kufanyika kwenye Umoja wa Mataifa Septemba mwaka huu wakati wa Mkutano wa Baraza Kuu la Umoja wa Mataifa kwa mwaka huu.
“Nakusudia kuitisha kikao kingine cha Mchakato wetu katika wiki kati ya Septemba 20 na 27, mwaka huu, 2013 wakatiwa Baraza Kuu la Umoja wa Mataifa na napenda kukualika ushiriki katika kikao hiki muhimu sana katika jitihada zetu za kuleta amani katika eneo la Maziwa Makuu na hasa katika Congo,” Mheshimiwa Ban Ki Moon amemwambia Rais Kikwete.
Rais Kikwete amemwambia Katibu Mkuu wa UN kuwa anaendelea kuamini kuwa matumizi ya nguvu za kijeshi na askari peke yake hayataweza kuleta amani katika eneo la Maziwa Makuu ikiwamo DRC.“Huu ndio msimamo ambao niliueleza katika mkutano ule wa Jumapili iliyopita mjini Addis Ababa hata kama baadhi ya watu hawakufurahishwa sana na msimamo huu.”
“Tumekuwa tunajaribu kutumia nguvu kuleta amani katika DRC tokea mwaka 1997 na bado mpaka sasa hatujafanikiwa kuleta amani ya kudumu katika nchi hii jirani – tokea wakati huo tumejaribu kuunga mkono uasi mmoja baada ya mwingine lakini bado tuko pale pale na ndiyo maana naamini kuwa wakati umefika wa kuelekeza nguvu zetu katika mazungumzo ya hatua tatu kama nilivyoelekeza katika mkutano ule wa wiki iliyopita.”
Viongozi hao wawili pia wamejadili hali ilivyo katika Madagascar na maandalizi ya uchaguzi mkuu nchini humo. Aidha, viongozi hao wawili walijadili maendeleo ya kisiasa katika Zimbabwe ambako Katibu Mpya imepitishwa na sasa maandalizi yanafanywa kwa ajili ya uchaguzi mkuu nchini humo.
Rais Kikwete ambaye ni Mwenyekiti wa Asasi ya Siasa, Ulinzi na Usalama ya Jumuia ya Maendeleo Kusini mwa Afrika (SADC) ametoa ufafanuzi wa ndani kuhusu jitihada ambazo zimekuwa zinafanywa na Asasi yake kuhusu suala la Madagascar baada ya kuwa ameombwa na Mheshimiwa Ban Ki Moon kuhusu jitihada hizo.
Rais Kikwete amemwambia Mheshimiwa Ban Ki Moon kuwa viongozi wa SADC watakutana mjini Maputo, Mozambique wiki ijayo kujadili matukio ya karibuni katika Madagascar na maendeleo ya kisissa katika Zimbabwe.
Mapema leo, Rais Kikwete amekutana na kufanya mazungumzo na Waziri wa Uchumi, Biashara na Viwanda (METI) wa Japan Mheshimiwa Toshimitsu Motegi.
Katika mkutano huo, Mheshimiwa Motegi ameomba Serikali ya Tanzania kuyasaidia makampuni ya Japan ambayo yanajaribu kuwekeza katika uchumi wa Tanzania.
Imetolewa na:
Kurugenzi ya Mawasiliano ya Rais,
Ikulu,
DAR ES SALAAM.
2 Juni, 2013
2 Jun 2013
1 Jun 2013
- 1.6.13
- Evarist Chahali
- No comments
Tanzanian Foreign Minister Bernard Membe has wondered at Rwanda's strange atitude to over react on a simple advice given in good faith on how to engage and find amicable solution to negative forces in Eastern DRC, saying it is up to Rwandan Government to accept or turn down the advice...FOR MORE, CLICK HERE
http://www.tanzaniangovernment.blogspot.co.uk/
- 1.6.13
- Evarist Chahali
Rwanda, TANZANIA- No comments
The Tanzanian Foreign Minister Bernard Membe wondered at Rwandan government strange attitude to overreact on a simple advise given in good faith to the country in full presence of the Rwadan Delegation in Ethiopia saying it is up to them accept or refuse the advise.
The Foreign Minister also stated categorically that the government will not move even an inch to apologize Rwanda since he still believed that engaging the enemies was the best option for Rwanda which he said has failed to to find amicable solution through wars for more than 15engage the rebels in the last 16 years.
Speaking before parliament in Dodoma yesterday, the visibly irked Minister wondered as to why was making lots of politics with a simple advise that a they either dumed to accept or refuse to.
Using the famous quotation used once by the Former Israel Prime Minister, Yizak Rabin Mr Membe said "We negotiate peace with our enemies not our friends" adding that" there is no need for Rwanda to sound an alarm for the advise given in the open table in Ethiopia."
Assah Andrew Mwambene
Po box 9000 Dar es Salaam
Mobile +255782-553737
+255756887880
On 26 May 2013 in
Addis Ababa the UN Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon and the Chairperson of the
African Union Commission Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, convened the
first meeting of the Regional Oversight Mechanism of the Peace,
Security and Cooperation Framework for the DRC and Region. It was at this
important meeting where the President of the United Republic of Tanzania, H.E. Jakaya
Mrisho Kikwete made what many level headed commentators have referred to as candid
and commonsensical remarks about the protracted conflicts in the Great Lakes
Region. President Kikwete - a seasoned and consummate diplomat who has helped
broker many peace deals in Africa - remarked that it was high time Rwanda and
Uganda gave serious attention to peace talks with FDLR and ADF rebels
respectively. He said, and correctly so, that it was evident the barrel of the
gun cannot bring about the ultimate answer as testified by the
recurrence of fighting in our region. He never condoned the role that the FDLR rebels
played in the 1994 genocide. He was being reasonable and pragmatic.
Rwanda should know better
than any other country that there is no way Tanzania would condone or sympathize
with the perpetrators of genocide. To make such insinuations is, quite frankly,
a demonstration of breathtaking ignorance about Tanzania’s enviable and
unparalleled history - the history of speaking out against any forms of crimes
and injustices. Moreover, for Rwanda to make such insinuations is to show just what
a short memory span this country has.
Admittedly, genocide
brought about painful and unforgettable misery to the people of Rwanda but its
spillover effects were felt well beyond its borders. The effects of genocide were
felt right inside Tanzania which had to shoulder the burden of providing for thousands
of Rwandan refugees. By the way, Tanzania has a long history of taking good
care of Rwandan refugees both before and after genocide. The sons and daughters
of the Rwandan refugees benefitted from Tanzania’s generous education system by
studying, for free, at the country’s Universities and many of them are now occupying
high positions in the Government of their motherland.
So given the foregoing, I
have to say that I have been taken aback by our neighbors’ over-reaction to
what was a completely innocuous statement by President Kikwete. Indeed, what the
President said could (and should) have been said by other leaders a long time
ago. What he said is a no-brainer! It is
commonsensical! Negotiations have a much
better chance of resulting into durable peace than the use of force. Thus, I find
the reactions from Rwanda not only disturbing but also objectionable and utterly
impudent! What is even more shocking is the discourteous behavior shown by the Rwanda’s
Foreign Minister. She seems to be getting
too much big for her boots as to suggest that President Kikwete’s statement was
absurd! She even has the audacity to ask that he should retract it. If
anything, I think it is our Foreign Ministry which should summon the Ambassador
of Rwanda in Dar es Salaam and ask him to clarify his Minister’s inadvisable
utterances.
For far too long now the international
community has adopted a softly softly approach with respect to Rwanda and this
has meant that this tiny country gets away with literally everything, even
murder. Rwanda has become like a spoiled child - untouchable and overly
sensitive to everything even the slightest suggestion of censure. Rwanda has a tendency of not taking kindly any
form of criticism whether from within or without. And its leadership comes
across as snobbish and delusional. May be the western countries’ plaudits about
its so called success story have finally got into the heads of Rwandan leaders
so much that they think they know it all.
For Rwanda to say that
they cannot engage in talks with FDLR rebels because of their role in 1994
genocide is to allow themselves to be the captives of the past. History is
replete with numerous instances of former sworn enemies burying their hatchets
and extending an olive branch to one another for the sake of peaceful
coexistence and future prosperity. This happened in South Africa where ANC and
other progressive movements sat down with the perpetrators of one of the most
brutal and inhumane policies in the history of mankind (apartheid) and agreed
to work together in an inclusive and democratic society. Similarly, after many
decades of committing some of the most heinous crimes against the people of
Angola, UNITA is now part of the democratic government of that country. And in
2011, US and its allies initiated direct talks with some elements of the Taliban
in Doha (Qatar), if my memory serves me well.
Rwanda should wake up and
smell the coffee! Being delusional has not worked and won’t work. It is now close to 20 yrs since the 1994 genocide
and during all that time Rwanda has not been able to achieve its objectives
visa vis FDLR rebels through the use of force.
Any sane person in Kigali should see the wisdom of changing the
tactic/strategy which is, for all purposes and intents, what our President said
in the Statement. Rwanda should understand that by calling for direct talks,
Tanzania does not suggest, by any stretch of imagination, that the architects
and executors of genocide should go scot free. Not at all! Talks can, and
indeed should, offer the mechanism of dealing with known perpetrators of
genocide by isolating them from non-perpetrators such as those born after 1994.
This is just one example of approaching talks. I am sure there are many others.
But
talking of genocide, am I wrong in recalling that even President Kagame himself
was once found to be complicit in this crime by a French Magistrate? I recall
that Rwanda’s reaction to this finding was, as we have come to expect, fast and
furious to the extent of severing its diplomatic relations with France. Again,
this goes to show that this “spoiled child” can’t stand any sort of censure or
straight talking. I also recall that as recent as last year a UN report revealed
that Rwanda’s Kagame had committed or assisted in committing genocide in DRC!
Despite
all this compelling evidence, neighbors of Rwanda are still ready to engage
that country in talks. Why can’t Rwanda show the same attitude? And lest he
forgets, Kagame himself and his RPF henchmen come from a background of
rebellion. They were rebels operating from Ugandan forests before taking over
power in 1994. However, despite their “rebels” status they were invited and
took part in the Arusha peace process of the early 1990s.
Finally,
I have a gut feeling that Rwanda doesn’t want FDLR rebels to go away that’s is
why it is vehemently opposing the suggestion of talks which is one sure way of
ending this conflict once and for all. This because, the perpetual presence of
FDLR rebels in DRC gives Rwanda a convenient excuse to interfere in the DRC’s
affairs thereby making the country ungovernable for its own economic and
geopolitical interests. I read somewhere that Rwanda’s army – which is one of
the biggest for a country of that economy and size - is mainly sustained by the
exploitation of DRC’s natural resources. So, Rwanda goes into the DRC on the
pretext that it is in hot pursuit of the FDLR rebels but in actual fact what it
does is to plunder the resources.
And
Rwanda is particularly angry with Tanzania because by being part of MONUSCO in DRC, its misdeeds will be exposed
and curtailed by our non-nonsense troops. So the over-reaction to our
President’s innocuous statement should not be seen in isolation. It is part of
the frustration born out of the uneasy situation which Rwanda finds itself in
as a result of our troops being part of the UN/SADC intervention force in DRC.
I
submit.
Concerned Citizen
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