Tanzania security officers who took part in peacekeeping missions in various parts of the world have called for maintenance of peace and tranquility in the country and appealed to political and religious leaders to desist from divisive rhetoric that may plunge the nation into turmoil.
Home Affairs Minister Emmanuel Nchimbi
Officers from both the police force and the Tanzania People’s Defence Forces (TPDF) jointly spoke about the importance of maintaining peace, insisting that breaching the peace was easier than restoring it.
Speaking yesterday ahead of the International Peacekeepers Day that will be commemorated today, the officers said that war, among other impacts, greatly affected innocent women and children while stunting economic progress.
The Minister for Home Affairs, Dr Emmanuel Nchimbi, is expected to grace the occasion that is to be held at Mnazi mmoja grounds in Dar es Salaam today morning. Maj Peter Mnyani and Maj Hoja Ngwesheni from TPDF, who were on a peace-keeping mission in Lebanon and Darfur, respectively, advised the government to contain all incidents of violence by pre-empting them.
Maj Mnyani said that so far TPDF had sent peacekeepers to Sierra Leone, Eritrea, Darfur, Lebanon and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a move that had helped the country to win United Nations’ recognition in peacekeeping missions.
He also criticised the misconception among the public about sending troops to hostile places, noting that it was not mistreatment against the officers but their task as soldiers. Representing peacekeepers from the police force, ASP Kamilya Pamba and ASP Ally Nyawigi said peacekeeping missions were not easy because they called for the moral support from the public.
“We are not happy to send troops in these war zones. But as it is one of the resolutions of the UN Security Council, we must do so to help troubled countries,” said ASP Nyawigu. He said from 2004, a total of 417 police officers had gone on such missions, 80 of whom were women.
According to ASP Nyawigu, this year the police force had already recruited 776 candidates currently waiting for UN assessment before being posted to various conflict-ridden countries. ASP Kamilya said Tanzanians were supposed to take all necessary measures to keep the peace because peace and security were too precious to lose.
By CHRISTOPHER MAJALIWA, Tanzania Daily News
