britanicca
JF-Expert Member
- May 20, 2015
- 15,636
- 30,004
European ambassador in Tanzania shown the door
ISSUE 1484 DATED 02/11/2018
The head of the European Union (EU) delegation in Dar es Salaam, Roeland van de Geer, has been asked by the government to leave Tanzanian soil as of tomorrow, 3 November, according to information obtained exclusively by the Indian Ocean Newsletter.
The delegation's number two, Charles Andrew-Stuart, will stand in for him while the powers that be in Brussels decide what stance to adopt in the face of this unprecedented situation. Officially, the ambassador has been ‘called back for consultation' to Brussels.
Roeland van de Geer is known for speaking his mind and, according to our sources, he is understood to have been too overtly critical of the policies of John Magufuli's government regarding civil liberties.
Back in late February, the EU encouraged member states and embassies in several countries to issue a press release denouncing ‘the recent developments which threaten democratic values and the rights of Tanzanians' in the country after a female student was shot dead by a police officer, the opposition MP Tundu Lissu (CHADEMA) was attacked and several journalists disappeared.
Source: TANZANIA : European ambassador shown the door
======
Gazeti la nchini Uholanzi: ’Nederlandse EU-gezant uit Tanzania gezet’
Tafsiri yake kwa Kiingereza
DAR ES SALAAM - The government of Tanzania has deported the Dutch top diplomat Roeland van de Geer, according to the Indian Ocean Newsletter, a newspaper that is seen as reliable and independent.
Van de Geer is the head of the diplomatic delegation of the European Union. He is known for his 'openness' and 'empowerment' and would have been too openly critical about the theme of human rights.
Local media point to an earlier statement by the EU, in which Member States were encouraged to denounce 'recent developments' in Tanzania that 'undermine democratic rights'. That statement followed the death of a student, the attack on an opposition figure and the disappearance of several journalists.
'No link with Máxima'
Why Van de Geer was actually sent away is not clear. The Government Information Service denies 'firmly' that the decision of Queen Máxima, who had to cancel a visit to the country on behalf of the UN because of intestinal complaints, has something to do with the measure.
=======
THE CITIZEN (Tanzania)
Credible sources privy to the matter told The Citizen that the envoy had been given an ultimatum to leave the country by this Saturday over a fallout with the government.
He will depart from the Julius Nyerere International Airport aboard a KLM Royal Dutch flight to Amsterdam at 11.55pm.
When contacted on Thursday night, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, Dr Augustine Mahiga, was non-committal on the said recalling of the envoy.
He told The Citizen through the telephone that he would speak about it later.
He said: “I have just arrived from abroad; it’s a controversial issue that I need to first cross-check with colleagues at the ministry. Let’s talk about the matter tomorrow.”
Efforts to reach Dr Mahiga yesterday for elaboration as promised were futile as calls made to his phone as well as a text message went unanswered by the time of writing this report.
Other multiple sources in the diplomatic community told The Citizen that the EU Ambassador has had rocky relations with the government over reports on matters related to human rights in the international circles painting Tanzania negatively.
“Yes, there have been tensions recently between the two parties over human rights issues coming up a lot in the international media,” one of the diplomatic sources who wished not to be named said.
In the absence of an official explanation from the government, the reason(s) why the Ambassador had to be recalled remained unclear.
Mr Stuart did not also want to discuss what “political level talks on Tanzania situation” meant. Ambassador Roeland will meet with his bosses in Brussels, Belgium, on his scheduled Monday appointment.
Roeland’s fate as EU’s top diplomat in Tanzania is also in limbo as his ‘recalling” may suggest his stay in the country would no longer be tenable.
Mr Innocent Shoo of the Centre for Diplomacy and Foreign Relations told The Citizen yesterday in an interview that “recalling’ is the diplomatic way of describing a situation when a foreign representative is unwanted for breaking the rules of engagement.
Ambassador Roeland would be the second diplomat to leave Tanzania in recent years, following the April 2017 expulsion of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) country boss Ms Awa Dabo.
The government then said Ms Dabo was expelled over sour relations with members of staff of the UNDP.
=======
OFFICIAL:
The European Union’s Head of Delegation to the United Republic of Tanzania and the East African Community will travel to Brussels next week to meet with senior Officials to discuss the political situation in Tanzania.
As part of ongoing dialogue with the Tanzanian authorities, he will be discussing the EU’s future cooperation between EU, it’s Member States and Tanzania
ZAIDI:
Bila ya kukanusha wala kuzikubali taarifa za awali zinazodai kafukuzwa nchini, EU imesema Balozi wao, Roeland van de Geer atasafiri kwenda Brussels nchini Ubelgiji kujadili hali ya kisiasa nchini Tanzania wiki ijayo
Ubalozi pia umesema Roeland anaenda kukutana na Maafisa Wajuu wa Umoja huo kujadili pia ushirikiano wa mbeleni kati ya EU, Wanachama wake na Tanzania.
Balozi Roeland akizungumza na JamiiForums hakuweka wazi iwapo atarudi tena nchini ama la...
ISSUE 1484 DATED 02/11/2018
The head of the European Union (EU) delegation in Dar es Salaam, Roeland van de Geer, has been asked by the government to leave Tanzanian soil as of tomorrow, 3 November, according to information obtained exclusively by the Indian Ocean Newsletter.
The delegation's number two, Charles Andrew-Stuart, will stand in for him while the powers that be in Brussels decide what stance to adopt in the face of this unprecedented situation. Officially, the ambassador has been ‘called back for consultation' to Brussels.
Roeland van de Geer is known for speaking his mind and, according to our sources, he is understood to have been too overtly critical of the policies of John Magufuli's government regarding civil liberties.
Back in late February, the EU encouraged member states and embassies in several countries to issue a press release denouncing ‘the recent developments which threaten democratic values and the rights of Tanzanians' in the country after a female student was shot dead by a police officer, the opposition MP Tundu Lissu (CHADEMA) was attacked and several journalists disappeared.
Source: TANZANIA : European ambassador shown the door
======
Gazeti la nchini Uholanzi: ’Nederlandse EU-gezant uit Tanzania gezet’
Tafsiri yake kwa Kiingereza
DAR ES SALAAM - The government of Tanzania has deported the Dutch top diplomat Roeland van de Geer, according to the Indian Ocean Newsletter, a newspaper that is seen as reliable and independent.
Van de Geer is the head of the diplomatic delegation of the European Union. He is known for his 'openness' and 'empowerment' and would have been too openly critical about the theme of human rights.
Local media point to an earlier statement by the EU, in which Member States were encouraged to denounce 'recent developments' in Tanzania that 'undermine democratic rights'. That statement followed the death of a student, the attack on an opposition figure and the disappearance of several journalists.
'No link with Máxima'
Why Van de Geer was actually sent away is not clear. The Government Information Service denies 'firmly' that the decision of Queen Máxima, who had to cancel a visit to the country on behalf of the UN because of intestinal complaints, has something to do with the measure.
=======
THE CITIZEN (Tanzania)
Credible sources privy to the matter told The Citizen that the envoy had been given an ultimatum to leave the country by this Saturday over a fallout with the government.
He will depart from the Julius Nyerere International Airport aboard a KLM Royal Dutch flight to Amsterdam at 11.55pm.
When contacted on Thursday night, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, Dr Augustine Mahiga, was non-committal on the said recalling of the envoy.
He told The Citizen through the telephone that he would speak about it later.
He said: “I have just arrived from abroad; it’s a controversial issue that I need to first cross-check with colleagues at the ministry. Let’s talk about the matter tomorrow.”
Efforts to reach Dr Mahiga yesterday for elaboration as promised were futile as calls made to his phone as well as a text message went unanswered by the time of writing this report.
Other multiple sources in the diplomatic community told The Citizen that the EU Ambassador has had rocky relations with the government over reports on matters related to human rights in the international circles painting Tanzania negatively.
“Yes, there have been tensions recently between the two parties over human rights issues coming up a lot in the international media,” one of the diplomatic sources who wished not to be named said.
In the absence of an official explanation from the government, the reason(s) why the Ambassador had to be recalled remained unclear.
Mr Stuart did not also want to discuss what “political level talks on Tanzania situation” meant. Ambassador Roeland will meet with his bosses in Brussels, Belgium, on his scheduled Monday appointment.
Roeland’s fate as EU’s top diplomat in Tanzania is also in limbo as his ‘recalling” may suggest his stay in the country would no longer be tenable.
Mr Innocent Shoo of the Centre for Diplomacy and Foreign Relations told The Citizen yesterday in an interview that “recalling’ is the diplomatic way of describing a situation when a foreign representative is unwanted for breaking the rules of engagement.
Ambassador Roeland would be the second diplomat to leave Tanzania in recent years, following the April 2017 expulsion of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) country boss Ms Awa Dabo.
The government then said Ms Dabo was expelled over sour relations with members of staff of the UNDP.
=======
OFFICIAL:
The European Union’s Head of Delegation to the United Republic of Tanzania and the East African Community will travel to Brussels next week to meet with senior Officials to discuss the political situation in Tanzania.
As part of ongoing dialogue with the Tanzanian authorities, he will be discussing the EU’s future cooperation between EU, it’s Member States and Tanzania
ZAIDI:
Bila ya kukanusha wala kuzikubali taarifa za awali zinazodai kafukuzwa nchini, EU imesema Balozi wao, Roeland van de Geer atasafiri kwenda Brussels nchini Ubelgiji kujadili hali ya kisiasa nchini Tanzania wiki ijayo
Ubalozi pia umesema Roeland anaenda kukutana na Maafisa Wajuu wa Umoja huo kujadili pia ushirikiano wa mbeleni kati ya EU, Wanachama wake na Tanzania.
Balozi Roeland akizungumza na JamiiForums hakuweka wazi iwapo atarudi tena nchini ama la...
