
PODEMO's presidencial candidate, Venâncio Mondlane
Maputo, 15 Nov (AIM) – Mozambique’s fugitive opposition leader, Venancio Mondlane, has called on citizens to bang and whistle for an hour on Friday night to show their support for his demand “to restore the truth about the elections”.
Friday is the third and final day of what Mondlane calls “the first part of the fourth phase” of anti-government demonstrations. The three days were intended to be characterised by marches in all the provincial capitals, and disruptions along the borders and in the ports. Mondlane said explicitly that this was intended to damage the Mozambican economy.
In most of the provincial capitals and ports nothing at all happened. But the demonstrators scored a huge success by shutting down the Ressano Garcia border post between Mozambique and South Africa for three days.
Mondlane does not seem to know what his next steps should be. So he urged his supporters simply to make a noise. In a live broadcast, transmitted on his Facebook page, he said that at 21.00 everyone should bang pots and pans, blow on whistles and other improvised musical instruments, or simply clap their hands – anything to make a noise.
Mondlane wanted the noise to continue for an hour. There is no way to measure the noise, or judge how many people are taking part, and so Mondlane will simply claim victory.
He claimed that 100,000 people were watching his broadcast, and that this was a record for Africa. He said this was further evidence that he had won the 9 October presidential election.
Journalists who visited Ressano Garcia on Thursday reported a festive environment among the demonstrators. They had blocked the road, but were determined to have a party. They set up tables and chairs on the tarmac and served beer and water. They even had a DJ and a sound system to entertain the protesters.
As of Friday midday, the armed forces and the police, although present in some force, took no measures to clear the demonstrators and re-open the border.
Officials are expecting the border to re-open on Saturday, since Mondlane had limited the demonstrations on the frontiers to three days.
Mondlane is still in hiding. There is considerable speculation about his whereabouts, but it is most likely that he is somewhere in South Africa. When he returns to Mozambique he will probably be arrested, since the police have vowed to start criminal proceedings against him.
(AIM)
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