– Opposition leader demands dialogue only with international mediation
– European Union and USA call for an end to violence and propose dialogue and negotiations
By António Cumbane, Sheila Nhancale and Aurélio Muianga
Maputo (MOZTIMES) – Violence dramatically increased in Mozambique after the Constitutional Council, the country’s highest body in matters of electoral law, announced the definitive results of the 9 October general elections, confirming the victory of the ruling Frelimo Party in the parliamentary elections and of its candidate, Daniel Chapo, in the presidential election.
The protests began immediately after the announcement of the results on the afternoon of 23 December. Maputo, and the neighbouring city of Matola were the epicentre of the post-election violence, but other important cities also faced rioting.
Over the last 24 hours, rioters attacked and set on fire three bank branches, two in Maputo and one in Matola. Shops, including large supermarkets, were looted by groups that included women and children. The goods stolen range from foodstuffs to electrical products.
The Minister of the Interior, Pascoal Ronda, gave reporters a balance of the protests on Tuesday night. He said that, in the previous 24 hours, the police had registered 236 acts of serious violence throughout the country, which resulted in 21 deaths, including two members of the police. 25 people – 13 civilians and 12 police agents – were injured. 25 vehicles, including two police cars, were set on fire. 11 police sub-units and one prison were attacked and vandalised. The rioters released 86 prisoners.
Ronda also said that four tollgates were set on fire, three health units and one medical warehouse were vandalised. Ten local offices of the ruling Frelimo party were burnt down. In connection with the riots, the police arrested 78 individuals.
“As you can see, nobody can call these criminal acts a peaceful demonstration”, stressed the Minister. “We are not looking at peaceful demonstrations, we are looking at public disorder”.
The police and the armed forces were sent into the streets in an attempt to re-establish order. However, the riots were taking place in several places simultaneously, making it difficult for the authorities to operate.
In some places, the police acted with brutality, firing live ammunition, which caused deaths and injuries among the protestors. This increased the anger of the crowds. Unlike the police, the troops adopted a more cautious approach, attempting to negotiate peacefully the re-opening of the roads.
The main roads leading into Maputo are blocked with boulders and other large objects. The same situation is reported from cities such as Beira, Nampula, Pemba and Quelimane.
Two courtrooms were burnt down, one in Maxaquene neighbourhood (Maputo) and the other in Ndlavela (Matola).
The main border post with South Africa, at Ressano Garcia, was blocked during the day and traffic along the rail and port corridors is compromised, including the highways from Maputo to South Africa and from Beira to Zimbabwe.
In Inhambane province, rioters threatened to occupy the petrochemical unit of Sasol, in Temane, which processes natural gas and exports it to South Africa via a gas pipeline. In Morrumbene, a group set fire to the Malaia locality headquarters and to the home of the local chief, who escaped before the attack.
In Beira, three trucks were burnt on the road to Zimbabwe, in the area of Manga Mungassa. There is no record of any merchandise entering or leaving the port, which is essential for the exports and imports of the countries of the hinterland.
“Several shops owned by Nigerians were vandalised in Munhava on Tuesday, which obliged the police to intervene, resulting in many injuries. Data from Beira Central Hospital indicate the entry of 21 people suffering from bullet wounds, five of them in a serious condition”, a local journalist told MOZTIMES.
In Cabo Delgado, in Montepuez district, an 11-year-old girl, Odete Anifo, was shot by members of the Rapid Intervention Unit (UIR – the riot police) while she was on the veranda of her house, in Merige neigbourhood.
“We are very sad, and we are asking that the case be investigated and those who shot her be held responsible”, said Sábado Murane, a relative of the victim, adding that the police did not assist the child, who is now under medical care in the Montepuez Rural Hospital.
The President-Elect, Daniel Chapo, told the Bloomberg agency that he can do nothing before he takes office, in a ceremony scheduled for 15 January. He promised that he will commit himself to political dialogue but did not say how.
The self-exiled opposition candidate, Venâncio Mondlane, who has led the protests from a hideout believed to be somewhere in Europe, on Tuesday urged his supporters to stop looting. In a live broadcast, transmitted on his Facebook page, he told his followers to avoid the destruction of private property, arguing that the struggle is not against business people.
He stressed that ambulances and emergency vehicles should be allowed to circulate freely, but he urged his supporters to continue their protests.
Mondlane claimed that what he called “demonstrations” are intended to force the ruling party to accept a dialogue which, he added, will only be possible with international mediation.
The European Union issued a statement expressing concern at the situation in Mozambique and calling for dialogue. The EU recalled that its Election Observation Mission “detected irregularities during the count of the votes and unjustified changes in the election results”.
Though a publication on Twitter, the African Affairs Office of the United States government expressed its disappointment at the decision of the Constitutional Council. “We are urging everyone to refrain from acts of violence and to negotiate the necessary reforms”, said the US publications.
Lutero Simango, the presidential candidate of the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM), declared that he does not recognise the results proclaimed by the Constitutional Council and called for the annulment of the elections – something that is legally impossible since there can be no appeal against decisions of the Council. (AC/SN/AM)
