In response to the president of Tanzania’s request for the West to stop interfering with Tanzania’s internal affairs, the United States Ambassador to Tanzania, noted that America would continue to remain honest in matters pertaining to democracy and human rights.
Speaking at a democracy conference in Dar es Salaam on Thursday, Mr. Battle acknowledged that, as it gets ready for its own presidential election this year, the US was not “immune to challenges and imperfections” in upholding democratic standards.
However, as reported by the East African, he insisted that America’s support for Tanzania, which, he indicated, has thus far contributed to roughly $7.5 billion in aid commitments in recent years, would still remain contingent on respect for democracy and human rights.
“As long as we remain Tanzania’s partner, we will always speak openly and honestly on these principles. We will not back away or hold back. It is an obligation fundamental and paramount to human dignity and human respect,” he said.
The debacle in question relates to the abduction and murder of Ali Mohamed Kibao, a member of the main opposition Chadema party’s secretariat, in Tanzania.
Envoys from numerous Western states had requested an investigation into the unfortunate event.
However, President Samia noted that the West does not need to interfere as Tanzania is well aware of its responsibilities to get to the bottom of the case.
The first public statement condemning the heinous crime against the opposition leader came from the US mission in Dar.
In an emphatic statement issued on September 9, the embassy defined the incident and other recent abductions, arrests, and abuses involving political and human rights activists in Tanzania as “efforts to disenfranchise citizens ahead of (the) elections,” and demanded an “independent, transparent, and prompt investigation.”
What President Samia Hassan had said
In the face of complaints about the West’s tendency to intervene, she insisted that foreign diplomats in her country adhere to the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
She had made the demand at the 60th anniversary celebration of the Tanzanian Police Force, in response to statements issued by ambassadors from the US, UK, Canada, and the European Union on the death of Ali Mohamed Kibao.
She emphasized that Tanzania has an established constitution and does not require orders from outside.
She also explained that there had been two assassination attempts on a certain political leader, and that the country was permitted to resolve the situation internally.
“When such incidents occur, we do not send our diplomats to issue statements,” she had said at the time, questioning whether such opinions reflected the positions of the envoys’ nations of origin or were just utterances made by the representatives themselves.
Ali Mohamed Kibao was discovered dead on Saturday, August 7th, a day after being pulled from a bus going for Tanga, according to party chairman Freeman Mbowe.
As a result, international diplomats demanded that an inquiry into the death of a senior politician be conducted.
