Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0365/03654.txt

Text File | 1991-06-25 | 26KB | 418 lines

$Unique_ID{COW03654}
$Pretitle{262}
$Title{Tanzania
Chapter 5A.   National Security}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Eugene K. Keefe}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{military
forces
army
tpdf
armed
national
service
police
african
british}
$Date{1978}
$Log{}
Country:     Tanzania
Book:        Tanzania, A Country Study
Author:      Eugene K. Keefe
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1978

Chapter 5A.   National Security

     In the late 1970s the security of the country was in the hands of an
army, a navy, and an air force (known collectively as the Tanzania People's
Defense Force-TPDF), the People's Militia, and the national police forces. The
mission of the TPDF was to protect the integrity of the country's borders and,
when necessary, to assist the national police in the maintenance of public
order and internal security.

     The London-based International Institute of Strategic Studies estimated
that the 1977 strength of the TPDF was 18,600-about 600 in the navy, 1,000 in
the air force, and 17,000 in the army. Ten years earlier the TPDF had been
only a token military force numbering under 2,000 army troops without naval or
air force components. The growth of the TPDF over the ten-year period was
dramatic as external pressures demanded that the country develop armed forces
capable of defending its sovereignty and as internal attitudes about the role
of a front-line state in southern Africa's liberation struggle also seemed to
demand something more than a token army. Despite that growth, maintaining
these relatively small forces out of a total population of about 16 million in
mid-1977 did not put any strain on the nation's manpower resources. During the
1970s the People's Republic of China (PRC) has been the chief sponsor of
Tanzania's military forces.

     The constitutional commander in chief of the armed forces was the
president of the United Republic of Tanzania. He was advised and assisted at
the top civilian level by the minister for defense and national service.
Actual military command was vested in the commander of the TPDF who held the
rank of major general. In early 1978 President Julius K. Nyerere was commander
in chief; his long-time friend and political associate, Rashidi M. Kawawa, was
minister for defense and national service; and Major General Abdallah Twalipo
was commander of the TPDF.

     At the beginning of 1978 there did not appear to be any major threat to
internal security. The early and mid-1970s had seen no great upheavals within
the society, no unruly mass demonstrations had disturbed the peace, and there
had been no rioting. University students had held demonstrations at various
times, but they posed no threat to public order, the preservation of which
presented no extraordinary problems to the country's police and security
forces in early 1978.

     Ordinary (nonpolitical) crimes were said to be increasing, but no
statistics were available to prove or disprove the premise. At any rate the
police were kept busy trying to curb the illegal activities of thieves, cattle
rustlers, poachers, smugglers, and others. The incidence of crimes of
violence was not very high, but increasing numbers of assaults and armed
robberies worried authorities. Corruption among government officials and
employees was a recurrent theme in newspaper reports and editorials, but
observers considered the scale of corruption relatively low compared with many
other African states.

     The police forces are national organizations under the supervision of the
Ministry of Home Affairs. Police work is constitutionally a national matter
but Zanzibar has exercised a large measure of autonomy ever since unification,
and central government records in the late 1970s listed the Zanzibar Police
Force separately. The national police on the mainland were listed as the
Police Main Force. In addition to these two basic police forces several
specialized organizations existed for specific kinds of functions and
operations. The police were aided in their operations by the People's Militia,
which has become an important instrument in maintaining public order. At the
beginning of 1978 there were no obvious subversive movements and no organized
political opposition.

Armed Forces

Constitutional Basis

     The authority to raise and maintain armed forces in Tanzania is contained
in the country's Constitution. Day-to-day affairs of the military are
regulated by acts of the National Assembly. Because Tanzania is a one-party
state, however, that party-the Revolutionary Party, known as Chama Cha
Mapinduzi (CCM)-is the most powerful element in the entire society, and it is
the party that has dictated the wording of the Constitution as well as the
content of legislation passed by the assembly. The CCM was created in early
1977 by the merger of the mainland party-Tanganyika African National Union
(TANU)-and the Zanzibari party-Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP). The premise that
national security must be everybody's business is basic to party philosophy as
well as to the philosophy of Nyerere. The party has stated that, "Tanzania's
defense and security depend on Tanzanians themselves-every Tanzanian, in
particular each patriot, each specialist."

     In stressing that defense and security must be public affairs, the party
guidelines state that the regular army is but a core around which a widespread
popular defense movement is built. "Our army must be the people's army, used
in teaching the people how to defend themselves in their localities and to
enable them to report on matters of national security." The TANU Guidelines
(Mwongozo) called for the formation and training of a militia that would be
posted throughout the country working in cooperation with the regular army "to
defend our territorial borders, our air space and to expose traitors and
enemies." The People's Militia, armed and trained by the TPDF and estimated to
have 35,000 members in 1977, was the answer to the party's call for a
citizen's army.

     The president is commander in chief of the TPDF as prescribed by the
Constitution. Subject to the provisions of any act of parliament the commander
in chief has the power to order the armed forces into operations in defense of
the homeland. He also may order the forces to assist the police in maintaining
public order, to respond to emergencies such as natural disasters, and for any
other purpose "appearing to the commander in chief to be expedient" whether
they exist within the country's borders or outside. The president's
prerogatives also include the authority to commission officers, to appoint
officers to command positions, to terminate appointments, and to dismiss
personnel from the forces.

Attitudes Toward the Armed Forces

     To some of the sophisticated, urbanized Tanzanians, armed forces
personnel seem to have inherited the perquisites that had formerly been
reserved to the European colonists. To some extent this attitude damages the
acceptance that the authorities have carefully tended to instill in the people
by integrating the military closely into the political and governmental
apparatuses. Despite the efforts at integration the military by its very
nature-organized, disciplined, and armed-stands out because it is different
from civilian institutions. In areas of the country where the government
ordered soldiers to force people to abandon their homes and move into ujamaa
villages, there have been hard feelings and antagonism toward the army. For
the most part, however, the military seems to be an accepted part of Tanzanian
life, and its small size gives it a low profile. One authentic present-day
hero in 1977 was Filbert Bayi, a captain in the TPDF, who was known throughout
the country not for his military exploits but for his spectacular feats as an
international track star. Bayi first gained prominence as an army private
breaking track records in 1973.

     The true attitude of the people toward the country's armed forces is
difficult to discern. There are no published publ