Tanzanian civil society groups have called on the government and
security forces to protect fundamental human rights, in a rare
outspoken criticism of the rule of President John Magufuli.
The
coalition, the Civil Society Organisations Directors Forum, made up of
65 influential rights groups from across the nation, said they had
watched with alarm the deterioration of rights over the past two years.
"Democratic
rights, freedom of assembly and association is getting worse," the
group said in a joint statement, released late Monday.
"For us, this situation can be viewed as a threat to national unity and disruption of national peace."
Critics say Magufuli has unleashed a wave of oppression since his election in 2015, cracking down on opposition figures.
"Leaders
should respect national laws and the constitution," the statement read,
saying the security forces should ensure "political meetings are
protected, instead of banning and disrupting them."
The police were "suppressing multi-party politics", the group
said, noting that "internal meetings of opposition parties have been
attacked or banned."
Talks
They
also called on Magufuli to hold talks directly with opposition parties
and leaders, warning of "restrictive" laws on parties they said violated
the constitution.
The group includes the Legal and
Human Rights Centre (LHRC) and the Tanzania Human Rights Defenders
Coalition (THRDC), both key civil society groups, as well as
organisations from Zanzibar, the semi-autonomous Indian Ocean
archipelago.
All said they were concerned that a
deterioration in basic rights would undermine peace in Tanzania, and
wanted to raise a red flag warning that the country was headed in the
wrong direction.
"Being citizens of the United Republic
of Tanzania, with a constitutional duty to protect national solidarity,
unity, justice and peace, we have seen it advisable to speak up and
advise our political and government leaders," the statement read.
"Our
fear is that, if this condition persists, we will build a nation with a
big group of people who feel that they have been excluded and
discriminated," it added.
Last month, Freeman Mbowe,
head of Tanzania's main opposition party Chadema, condemned what he
described as a climate of fear installed by a "police state" after he
was held in prison for more than three months.
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