Maputo, 6 May (AIM) – Residents of Balama district, in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado, have accused the Rapid Intervention Unit (UIR – the country’s riot police) of using live ammunition against a group of people protesting against the work carried out by the company Twigg Exploration and Mining Ltd at a graphite mine.
Twigg, which is a subsidiary of Syrah Resources Limited, listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX), has been mining graphite in Balama. However, the company is accused by local residents of not giving proper compensation to those who were displaced by the project last September.
The protesters have been demanding fair compensation for the land occupied and for the dismissal of workers without just cause. As a result of the impasse, the peasant militia, known as the Naparamas, last month took control of the area to prevent any attempt to reopen the mine before a solution was reached.
According to sources cited in Tuesday’s issue of the independent newsheet “Carta de Moçambique”, the UIR arrested some members of the community, who were camped outside the graphite exploration company, demanding fair compensation for their land.
As a result of these detentions, relations between the Defence and Security Forces (FDS) and the population of Balama have soured since Saturday.
“In the early hours of Saturday morning, agents from the UIR fired real bullets into the air to disperse representatives of the communities of Balama, Pirira, Mualia, Ntete, Ncuite, Marica, 7 September and Nacole. These people had been camped outside the company since last December”, a source told “Carta de Mocambique”.
The protesters had not resorted to violence, but the Police used force in attempts to disperse them,
“They went there at dawn, opened fire several times and some of the protesters are now being held at the police station. This is an attempt to intimidate the victims so that they don’t receive their money”, said a source.
The FDS are also accused of burning down houses belonging to the local population. “They burnt almost all the huts. It was the FDS who did it and the people had to leave. The police even used armoured vehicles to position themselves at the scene”, said a source.
In addition to the arrests, since Saturday the FDS have frequently moved through the main streets of the town of Balama, an action seen as a strategy to dissuade any attempt to hold demonstrations.
A fortnight ago, after negotiation, some of those who claimed not to have received compensation for their land signed a memorandum with a mediation committee to allow graphite mining to resume, while the majority, forced to leave by gunfire, refused to sign, demanding the presence of the company’s management.
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