The full bulletin in pdf is on https://bit.ly/Moz-El-346
Police killed 13 demonstrators yesterday
The day after Interior Minister Pascoal Ronda warned that there would be “zero tolerance” for demonstrators, police shot and killed 13 demonstrators yesterday (Wednesday 4 December).
At a press conference Tuesday (3 December), Ronda accused Venâncio Mondlane of calling “demonstrations that, although allegedly peaceful, have become violent and subversive in nature because they jeopardise the exercise of other citizens” fundamental legal rights. Therefore, he said, the intervention of the FDS [security forces] to contain demonstrations and marches should not be seen as ‘excessive use of force’. (LUSA 3 Dec)
Most deaths yesterday were in the Nampula Province (7 deaths). Others were in Inhambane (2), Cabo Delgado (2), Maputo Province (1), and Sofala (1). Five platforms and civil society organisations monitoring demonstrations have come together to record casualties. They are CIP, Decide, CDD, Amnesty International and the Bar Association. The say that the deaths to date are 89, slightly lower than the number we gave in the previous bulletin.
The Minister’s warning seems to have served as fuel for the demonstrators, which were larger and in more places across the country yesterday. Early on Wednesday morning (4 December) the streets of Maputo and Matola were blocked. Cars were abandoned in the middle of the street, with their engines switched off. But the greatest surprise came from Gaza province, regarded as a stronghold of Frelimo, particularly in Chibuto and Xai-Xai.
—————
Gaza: the revolt of a stronghold?
In Chibuto, Gaza, it all began in the local secondary school. The pupils refused to sit their annual exams in support of the protests by their teachers who are demanding payment they are owed for the overtime worked. The pupils demonstrated on the patio of the school, and then gathered in the centre of the town, particularly at the local roundabout. The Police were called to the place and began to open fire against the pupils. The video shows the police shooting and spectators yelling “You are shooting at children”: https://drive.google.com/file/d/19rLIdUwBukW8-cN-cnnnZD8pSqyeno9_/view?usp=sharing. Another video shows the pupils challenging the Police to fire, standing in front of them shouting: “duvula! duvula!”, (meaning, “shoot! shoot!”).
During the afternoon, when more demonstrators marched along some avenues of the city. Later, the demonstrators invaded the swimming pool of a local tourist complex, where they swam for several hours. A policeman was injured after he was attacked by demonstrators. He received medical care at the district hospital.
In Xai-Xai, the epicentre of the demonstrations was the Limpopo Market, and in the evening the demonstrators attacked and set fire to the provincial headquarters of the Frelimo Party. The fire brigade intervened but the fire damaged part of the building. Demonstrators then threw stones at the firemen, breaking the windows of their vehicles. The police arrived and began to fire against the demonstrators, who then left.
Gaza has been a Frelimo stonghold, but in this election there was a major Frelimo boycott. In Chibuto and Xai Xai turnout was only 36% of registered voters. https://bit.ly/Moz-El-335
—————
Police stations and Frelimo offices vandalised
The Frelimo party office in Cariaco, Pemba, was attacked and vandalised, as shown above. In Muecate (Nampula), the Frelimo office was also vandalised, as was the home of the Frelimo First Secretary. On Tuesday, the Frelimo office and the home of the Frelimo First Secretary were burnt down in Moma, Nampula province.
In Morrumbala, Zambézia, demonstrators assaulted the district police command and hijacked a police vehicle to drive through the town. Several Frelimo Party offices were also vandalised and set on fire.
—————
In Matola and Maputo
In Matola, the centre of confrontation was the neighbourhood of Malhampsene, at the crossroads between EN4 and Avenida das Indústrias. Police were called early in the day, and fired tear gas. In response, the demonstrators attacked the police with stones, and the police fled. The police station in Malhampsene was set on fire. The demonstrators also set fire to a bus of the company Transportes Lalgy which was being protected by the police.
Also in Matola, the demonstrators tried to attack the Tsalala 9th police precinct, but without success. The police fired several shots, to disperse the demonstrators.
The road from Maputo to Ressano Garcia (the border with South Africa) was cut from 08.00 to 16.00, the period envisaged for the demonstrations.
In Maputo city, as from 08.00, the roads were blocked. No car could circulate between then and 16.00.
—————
Politicians in Strasbourg and diplomats in Maputo see a different Mozambique
The perception gap between diplomats in Maputo and their bosses in European capitals is growing. This was shown by an emergency debate on Mozambique in the European parliament on 26 November, which was very cautious. By contrast, the joint statement the next day by five embassies in Maputo – Norway, Switzerland, Canada, UK, and US – strongly condemned the escalating violence against civilians. (See bulletin 343 https://bit.ly/Moz-El-343)
The short debate at the European Parliament in Strasbourg had statements lasting one minute by MEPs from the various factions.(All statements on https://www.europarl.europa.eu/plenary/en/home.html ) Those who had taken part in election observation missions spoke very emotionally about the events of the past few weeks, but their contributions showed little knowledge of the background and current political situation.
Laura Ballarín Cereza of the Spanish PS, who led the election observation mission, called for the Constitutional Council to analyse the appeals submitted. She also reiterated the observer demand that the CNE publish results broken down by polling station. Finally she said the right to peaceful demonstration must be respected, that excessive use of force be avoided, and that all parties refrain from using inflammatory rhetoric.
MEP João Oliveira, for the Portuguese Communist Party, described the debate as superfluous and clearly sided with the Mozambican government.
Cabo Delgado took a prominent place in the statements. The only speaker to be highly critical of the EU military training mission was the representative of the French far right, Rassemblement national (Rody Tolassy), who put his finger on the problem:
“Rename a mission and allocate a further €14 million for military training that is already inadequate. But where is the effectiveness and where are the results?
Millions of euros have been invested since 2021, and yet the situation continues to worsen.”
Marie Toussant, the representative of the French Green Party, cited recent research which showed that the Mozambican army massacred 150 prisoners at the TOTAL site in Cabo Delgado in July 2021, and called on the EU to demand an international investigation. “This bloodbath was perpetrated by the Mozambican army operating in a gas field managed by Europe’s largest oil and gas company, Total Energy. Total knew, but let it happen.” https://bit.ly/Moz-643
Many contributions condemned the security forces’ use of violence against the demonstrators, but without attacking the government or calling on it to ensure that these excesses of violence were stopped.
The debate on Mozambique opened with the official position on Mozambique given by Commissioner for Equality, Helena Dalli, on behalf of departing High Representative (EU Foreign Minister) Josep Borrell. “The brutality of the repression from the state apparatus and the police has exacerbated the situation. We deplore the considerable number of fatalities over the past weeks, and we also condemn the assassination of two opposition politicians on 19 October, ” she said. But she also said “I stress that the EU and the Electoral Observation Mission are not taking any sides, and only act on the basis of principles as an important partner and friend of Mozambique, solely in the interest of the Mozambican people.” She ended by saying “We will work with Mozambique in the most constructive way, and in full respect of the EU’s interests and values.”
The EU faces a dilemma regarding Mozambique. The economic “interests” are too great, due to the important natural resources, especially for the energy transition, the special interest of some member states, above all France but also Italy with regard to gas exploitation, the close ties with Portugal and the geostrategic interests, which do not want to leave Mozambique entirely to the influence of China or Russia.
For this reason, the EU is not expected to take a clear position on the election fraud and the current repression by the state apparatus in Mozambique, as it did in the case of Venezuela and is now doing with great clarity in Georgia, where it is even threatening with sanctions.
On 1 December, Estonia’s former prime minister Kaja Kallas took office as the EU’s new foreign policy chief (High Representative). Will she set a different course for Mozambique under the new composition of the EU Commission and a far more right-wing conservative composition of the European Parliament?
