Maputo, 12 Jun (AIM) – The claim that the Mozambican Minister of Justice, Mateus Saize, has rejected the name “Anamalala” for the new political party being established by former presidential candidate Venancio Mondlane is untrue, and, according to the independent television station “TV Sucesso”, no decision has yet been taken.
On Wednesday, Mozambican social media was full of the story that the name had been rejected. The source for this claim seems to have been an article in the strongly anti-government electronic paper “Canal de Mocambique”.
This article claimed that the Ministry of Justice had ordered Mondlane to change the name of his party. The reason given was that parties must not use names in Mozambican languages because these would supposedly promote divisions and oppose national unity.
But in fact ANAMALALA is an acronym, standing for Alianca Nacional para um Mocambique Livre e Autonomo (National Alliance for a Free and Autonomous Mozambique). These are all words in the official language, Portuguese.
Most Mozambican parties use acronyms – the ruling party’s acronym, Frelimo, means “Frente da Libertacao de Mocambique” (Mozambique Liberation Front) while the name of the former rebel movement Renamo means “Resistencia Nacional Mocambicana” (Mozambique National Resistance). You will not find these names – Frelimo, Renamo or Anamalala – in any standard Portuguese dictionary.
It is, however, true that, in the Makua language, widely spoken in northern Mozambique, the word Anamalala means “It’s finished” or “that’s enough”. It became a slogan used in the demonstrations called by Mondlane against the general election results, widely regarded as fraudulent. The “it” which had “finished” was assumed to be the political system instituted by Frelimo.
There is nothing in Mozambican legislation which bans names in any language just because somebody might take offence.
But had the Justice Ministry really banned Anamalala? None of the websites that reproduced the “Canal de Mocambique” story bothered to check.
But “TV Sucesso” did check, and found that there is no ban. Mateus Saize told reporters that the legalisation of the Anamalala Party is progressing “normally” and he has not received any indication that anybody else has rejected the name. He said he had granted an audience to representatives of Anamalala on Tuesday, to brief them on the current state of formalisation of the party. Saize stressed that to date no official decision has been taken.
If a decision is eventually taken to ban the name, that would arguably be unconstitutional. Article 9 of the Constitution states that the Mozambican state should value national languages, which would certainly not be achieved by banning a name in one of the most widely spoken of national languages.
(AIM)
Pf/ (445)
