According to The East African, "Blue Guards" are vigilante groups organized by the CUF in its formative years in the early 1990s, while the ruling party Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) also set up its own "squads" known as "Maskani" (6 Nov. 2000). They are reportedly the security wing of the Civic United Front (CUF) (Guardian Reporters 19 Sept. 2000).

While denying that CUF had trained youth groups to deal with election rigging, the acting deputy secretary-general of CUF, Maalim Abdulazzin Ali, told The East African that the formation of youth guards-white for girls and blue for boys-was not a new development. He reportedly added that the role of "Blue" and "White" guards was to defend the party (7 Aug. 2000).

The Zanzibar police allegedly accused them of "fomenting chaos during the on-going election campaigns in Zanzibar" and "the cause of frequent breaches of the peace process in Zanzibar since the election"(Guardian Reporters 19 Sept. 2000).

No reports on whether or not the "Blue" and "White" guards are armed could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

The East African. 6 November 2000. Michael Okema. "Actually, Zanzibar was Primed for Violence." http://www.nationaudio.com/News/Eas...an/12112000/Opinion/Opinion18.html [Accessed: 6 Nov. 2000]

_____. 7 August 2000. "Fear of Poll Rigging Raises Tension in Zanzibar." http://www.nationaudio.com/News/Ea.../07082000/Regional 16.html [Accessed: 21 Feb. 2001]

Guardian Reporters. 19 September 2000. "Police Accuse Blue Guards of Fomenting Chaos." http://www/ippmedia.com/election/election68.htm [Accessed: 21 Feb. 2001]

Sources Consulted

Africa Confidential

Amnesty International

Africa Research Bulletin

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1999. 2000.

Indian Ocean Newsletter

IRB Databases

LEXIS/NEXIS

Keesings Record of World Events

Resource Centre. Country File. Tanzania.

Search engines including:

Google.

Mamma

Internet sites including:

All Africa News.