Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister Bernard Membe

In addition to the commitment, Tanzania has appealed to conflicting parties in South Sudan to lay down arms and negotiate towards a permanent peaceful solution.

Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister Bernard Membe told reporters in Dar es Salaam on Thursday that Tanzania’s response came following a recent request by the United Nations (UN) to join the peace effort by volunteering troops to South Sudan.

“We must be in the frontline in ensuring that we help our neighbours also to live peacefully. We have been doing this in DR Congo, Darfur and Lebanon. It is the superiority of our military that has attracted UN’s attention, compelling the international body “to seek our support’’.

Mr Membe noted that Tanzania’s readiness in contributing troops to troubled zones and performing arbitration roles in regional conflicts are some of the factors that have enabled the country to be re-elected by the Africa Union (AU) to be one of the members forming the Peace and Security Council (PSC).

He pointed out that the efforts are some of the factors which made Tanzania to be revered internationally.

“We were the first country to volunteer in the Force Intervention Brigade (FIB) in DR Congo. We contributed about 1,283 out of 3,069 troops. The remaining came from South Africa and Malawi,” he reported.

Mr Membe also warned those who were giving rabble-rousing remarks that were likely to jeopardisediplomatic relations between Tanzania and Rwanda.

He insisted that the two countries have been enjoying good diplomatic relations thus it was absurd seeing such relation was being dissuaded illogicall

The minister took a swipe at some media outletsthat have a hidden agenda and which were trying to cultivate hatred between Rwanda and Tanzania, saying the media has to be fair and stop “supporting horrid and fabricated provocative information’’.

Recently, the Rwandan government-owned newspaper published fabricated and malicious reports accusing President Jakaya Kikwete of supporting members of rebel groups opposed to the government in Kigali.

On Tanzania-Malawi border conflict which was also likely to risk relations between the two countries, Mr Membe said that the conciliation panel, led by Mr Joaquim Chissano, the former president of Mozambique, will summon the conflicting parties in Maputo early next month.

He appealed to Malawi to show up as evidences were already presented before the panel, which he believed will let justice prevail on the lake in question, Nyasa.
“In case we will be discontented with the decision of this panel, the matter will be taken to the International Court of Justice (ICJ),” he pointed out.

On dual citizenship, Mr Membe noted that the issue has to be incorporated in the new constitution. It should also await the setting of some terms that would guide the matter.

He insisted that the constitution must safeguard the right of a Tanzania by birth even if he or she acquires citizenship in another country.

“In our country, when a foreigner stays for over ten years and applies for citizenship, we give him. So we must look into the the possibility of our people in the Diaspora to also be allowed to have dual citizenship for it has a number of advantages,” he added.

By CHRISTOPHER MAJALIWA, Tanzania Daily News