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Pemba `cessation` plan: More suspects...
2008-05-17 09:41:10
By Judica Tarimo
The number of people held over suspicions of pressing for the cessation of Pemba Island from Zanzibar and the United Republic of Tanzania has risen, Inspector General of Police Said Mwema has said.
He made the revelation at a news conference in Dar es Salaam yesterday that interrogation of the first 12 suspects had enabled the police to get more suspects linked to the attempt to form a separate Pemba state.
However, the IGP fell short of giving the specific number and names of the newly held suspects or their present whereabouts.
Twelve elders from Pemba Island, most supporters of the opposition Civil United Front (CUF), were arrested last week in connection with the reported secessionist attempt.
They were said to have been dissatisfied with the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi`s perceived rejection of the formation of a coalition government in Zanzibar.
Director of Criminal Investigation Robert Manumba, who attended the conference, said disclosing the number and names of the suspects would pre-empt on-going police investigations.
``We cannot reveal the names of these suspects for now…All we can say is that our preliminary investigations and the interrogation of the first 12 suspects have helped us nab more people in connection with the case,`` he said curtly.
``Making their names public will make further police investigations increasingly difficult,`` he added.
With the investigations and interrogation of the suspects continuing, police said yesterday that they were working on bail arrangements for the 12 Pemba elders.
Without giving details, IGP Mwema said the bail was expected to be granted later yesterday but there was no immediate confirmation that this was actually done.
He stated that hatching a secessionist plot clearly amounted to treason ``because it would be seeking to break a national government structure formed according to the country`s Constitution``.
``The attempt would be a threat to the sovereignty and security of the United Republic of Tanzania. As a state organ entrusted with protecting the country`s security and sovereignty, the police cannot keep a silent watch over the development,`` explained the IGP, adding:``That is precisely why we have arrested the suspects and that is why investigations are going on.``
Reports of the arrests have been met with fierce criticism from some quarters in both the Isles and mainland Tanzania, with some people accusing the police of keeping the suspects hostage.
But the IGP said the accusations were baseless “because the elders were arrested and interrogated as suspects and could be bailed out in accordance with the law and police procedures”.
``We were acting along existing legal lines when we arrested and interrogated them. There is completely no violation of laws or procedures. After the completion of police investigations, they could be charged in accordance with the law,`` he noted.
In a recent statement, the government condemned calls for Pemba`s secession as a treasonable and malicious attempt to tarnish the country`s image.
According to confirmed reports, CUF elders have presented their secession plea to the Union Nations offices in Dar es Salaam.
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