Mwinyi: Peace is kept by the people, not the army

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He said peace to some extent is not broken by the elderly and women, it is destroyed by the youth, and that the forum should be a catalyst for maintaining Tanzania’s existing solidarity.

Unguja.  Defence minister Hussein Ali Mwinyi said yesterday that the quality of military weaponry and the size of the army a country has cannot sustain peace, but rather it is kept by the people.

Dr Mwinyi, who is also CCM’s Zanzibar CM’s Zanzibar presidential candidate, made the remarks  as he addressed the audience at the World Peace Day conference organized by the National Youth Council and held at the former House of Representatives in Unguja.

“Many think peace is brought about by security forces, I tell you, it is not the quality of the weaponry or the number of soldiers you have, peace is brought about by the solidarity of the people,” said Dr Mwinyi.

He said peace to some extent is not broken by the elderly and women, it is destroyed by the youth, and that the forum should be a catalyst for maintaining Tanzania’s existing solidarity.

He said the effects of the breach were being felt in a number of countries: “I advise you to be con- tent with the problems facing our colleagues in various countries.”

 He said if a country’s peace is broken, it cannot develop and even time for worshipping freely cannot be found, as all would be disrupted.

 “I urge the youth to be ambassadors of peace, breach of peace is not caused by the elderly or children, but the youth, so protect our peace,” said Dr Mwinyi.

 He said the existence of a youth council is good thing as it is where they build unity and it makes it easier for the government to reach them for support of various kinds.

“It is not easy to help you individually, but when you are in youth groups like this one, it is easy to reach and find solutions to your challenges,” said Dr Mwinyi.

 Earlier, speaking at the forum, the deputy permanent secretary of the Ministry of Youth, Mr Amour Hamil Bakari, said they were reviewing the youth policy and effectively managing the employment programme.

He said they were also preparing a guide to teach young people matters of patriotism in this financial year. Zanzibar Youth Council executive secretary Hamisi Farah Abdal- lah said the World Peace Day was being used to promote maintenance of unity, solidarity in society, particularly among the youth.

 “We have high expectations from you and we believe you will make a difference for us,” he said. Khairia Mohamed, who is the chairman of the ZAHILFE committee, for his part said that by working together young people can protect the country’s existing peace.

Regarding the October 28 elections, Khairia said: “Let us choose the right leaders who will sustain the existing peace, who will preach about it, because development cannot be achieved without it.