ZANZIBAR: BIG TURNOUT FOR EMBASSY ZANZIBAR AFFAIRS

UNCLAS DAR ES SALAAM 000565 AF/E FOR JLIDDLE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV TZ SUBJECT: ZANZIBAR: BIG TURNOUT FOR EMBASSY ZANZIBAR AFFAIRS OFFICER "COMING OUT PARTY" ¶1. The August 28 Embassy reception to announce the creation of the new Zanzibar Affairs Office and to introduce the new incumbent saw the largest turnout of any official USG Zanzibar representation event in institutional memory. Almost 200 people attended, including several Ministers and &A-listers8 from government, police and military, religious leaders, NGO,s, civil society and the small but influential American community. About two-thirds of those invited attended the event, and some host-country guests commented that the reception proved to be a good venue for networking because of the depth and diversity of the attendees. ¶2. Conspicuously absent, however, was senior leadership of the main opposition party CUF. At a follow-up meeting with senior CUF political adviser Dr. Juma Ameri Muchi, Dr. Muchi said that CUF was having an important party-wide caucus in Dar es-Salaam at the time of the event (septel). The Ambassador will soon meet with CUF senior leadership. ¶3. COMMENT: Although Zanzibar accounts for less than five percent of Tanzania,s population, its national influence and the extent of U.S. engagement is significant, with Millenium Challenge Account, PEPFAR and the Presdient,s Malaria Initiative, inter alia, totaling tens of millions of dollars. The Embassy,s &Zanzibar Affairs Officer8 will be based in Dar es-Salaam until such time as an American Presence Post can be funded and established, as originally planned. END COMMENT. ¶4. The speech of the Charge d'Affairs received national press play, the most-quoted portions excerpted below: The friendship between our two peoples is based on shared values, experiences and aspirations. The first American diplomat came to Zanzibar in 1837, 171 years ago. We recently established the Zanzibar Affairs position at the American Embassy as a means of strengthening our historic partnership with the people of Zanzibar. Ambassador Green often reminds us that we serve the United States Mission to the United Republic of Tanzania, not the United States Mission to Dar es Salaam. We work with people throughout this great country. In the case of Zanzibar, we recognize your historic role as a principal source of Swahili culture. A peaceful, well-governed, healthy and prosperous Zanzibar can greatly influence the entire region for the better. We wish to patrner with the people of Unguja and Pemba, and with their government, political, religious, business and civil society leaders to achieve these common aims. David Scott's job as Zanzibar Affairs Officer will be to help us support the effort of Zanzibari Tanzanians to build a better Zanzibar and so a better Tanzania. We respect Zanzibar's history, its cultural achievements and its unique union with mainland Tanzania. I note that Tanzanians have often debated particular aspects of the Union Agreement, and continue to do so to this day. Lively debate about fundamental issues characterizes free societies. Tanzania is clearly a free society. In our view, it is healthy for such a debate to be moderated by mutual respect and tolerance. This is a challenge for politicians worldwide, including in my own country! I said that the new Zanzibar Affairs Officer will work to strengthen our partnership with the Zanzibaris. That partnership has produced benefits for both peoples We distributed a fact sheet listing achievements of that partnership, and let me cite a few highlights... GREEN