ZanzibarNative name: Al Jazeera Al Khadra (the green island)LocationIndian Ocean/Area-984 km²/Largest cityWete Demographics-Population362,000 (as of census 2002) Density428 /km2 (1,110 /sq mi) Political solution:In October 2009 Zanzibar President Amani Karume met with CUF Secretary Seif Shariff Hamad at the State House to discus how to save Zanzibar from future political turmoil and to end the backlash between them,a move which was welcomed by many people including the USA and political parties. It was the first time CUF agreed to recognize Karume as the legitimate president of Zanzibar. The relationship between Zanzibar government and Tanzanian Mainland has not been so well in recent years since Tanzania Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda's remark about the Isles' sovereignty that Zanzibar is not an independent country outside the Union Government, within which it can only exercise its sovereignty.Members from both the ruling party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), and the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) disagreed with Mr Pinda's interpretation and stand firmly in recognizing Zanzibar as a fully autonomous and full state,the move which is widely unrecognized by the formation of the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania which raises a backlash between Members of Parliament from the Tanzania mainland and Zanzibar. In 2008 Tanzanian president Jakaya Kikwete tried to silence the matter when he addressed the nation in a live conference by saying that Zanzibar is a state internal but semi-state international. Zanzibar / Islands Unguja and Pemba is a semi-autonomous part of the United Republic of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, 2550 kilometres (1631 mi) off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, informally referred to as Zanzibar), and Pemba. Zanzibar's main industries are spices, raffia, and tourism. In particular, the islands produce cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and pepper. For this reason, the islands, together with Tanzania's Mafia Island, are sometimes called the Spice Islands (a term also associated with the Maluku Islands in Indonesia). Zanzibar's ecology is of note for being the home of the endemic Zanzibar Red Colobus and the (possibly extinct) Zanzibar Leopard. Zanzibar — Both Islands —Area - Total2,643 km2 (1,020.5 sq mi)/Population (2004) - Total1,070,000

• published: 15 May 2010
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