“Almost a state of siege”, says minister

Maputo, 6 Feb (AIM) – The riots and looting of December have plunged Mozambique into “almost a state of siege”, Defence Minister Cristovao Chume has claimed.

Speaking on Wednesday, in Maputo, at a ceremony where the new director of the Centre for Strategic Analysis of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP), Joao Pires, was sworn into office, Chume admitted that the country had descended into chaos which attempted to reduce the authority of the state “almost to nothing”.

“As a society and as a state, we were not prepared for what we lived through”, said the Minister, cited in Thursday’s issue of the independent newssheet “Mediafax”.

Chume classified the situation as “almost a state of siege” to which the defence and security forces were obliged to respond. He thrust some of the blame onto social media “where affronts to the law, impunity and the burning of individual and collective dignity are their daily fare”.

Chume was concerned that the violence might in future “open the door to the decapitation of our national unity and the expansion of terrorism”.

The rioting was sparked off by the election results announced by the Constitutional Council, Mozambique’s highest body in matters of electoral law, on 23 December. The Council admitted that the results were marked by what it delicately called “irregularities”, but it refused to bring the situation under control by ordering a recount of the votes.

Supporters of presidential candidate Venancio Mondlane, who claimed he had won the election, took to the streets and rioting broke out. So far over 300 people have died in the clashes between rioters and police, and hundreds of others were injured.

Chume admitted that far-reaching reforms are needed in the defence and security sector, particularly in training so that the military and the police can accompany the evolution of society.

Chume also denied reports of an increase in the number of Rwandan forces stationed in Cabo Delgado. His reaction followed a statement from the Rwandan Defence Ministry announcing the sending of more troops to Mozambique, but without adding further information.

Chume explained that the Rwandans were just rotating their forces, and there was no overall increase.

“I can confirm that the personnel who were here at the beginning of the Rwandan Military Mission in Mozambique always had a moment of rotation”, said Chume. “However, I do not confirm the information published in the national and foreign press last week about the deployment of new Rwandan troops in Cabo Delgado”.

The minister also expressed his concern at the kidnapping of minors in the Cabo Delgado district of Mocímboa da Praia. He said that “these crimes, which include the kidnapping of girls and the beheading of defenceless citizens, could occur because the troops were not at the scene of the crime in time to prevent it.”

Chume claimed that the current situation in Cabo Delgado is “stable” and “tranquil”, compared with the situation a year ago. But terrorist raids would continue, he warned, since the Mozambican and Rwandan forces cannot be everywhere at once.
(AIM)
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