CIP Mozambique Elections: Violence and bandits in Gurue
Noticias (File photo)
The government on Thursday 15 December released a report on alleged human rights violations in the Tete districts of Moatize and Tsangano, concluding that the information circulating was incorrect.
Due to the actions of armed Renamo men, the report maintains, people from Ndande and Mondjo villages in Nkondezi were forced to flee to neighbouring Malawi for refuge, but were now returning en masse thanks to the return of stability in their home areas.
Reports circulated by national and foreign media, together with the report published by Human Rights Watch and a BBC video showing images of alleged human rights violations, have led the Mozambican government to investigate the claims.
The allegations covered alleged summary executions, sexual abuse, mistreatment, house arrest and destruction of crops allegedly perpetrated by defence and security forces.
The government commission, led by the Deputy Minister of Justice, Constitutional and Religious Affairs Joaquim Veríssimo, found that the allegations were untrue, and that the displacement of people was due to instability caused by Renamo.
The mission, which also included staff from the ministries of the Interior, State Administration and Public Service, the National Institute for Refugee Support, the Information Office and the General Command of the Police of the Republic of Mozambique, spoke to people in the places indicated but found nothing related to what was reported.
The Minister of Justice, Constitutional and Religious Affairs, Isac Chande, told the press that from the inquiries made and from the talks held, there was no evidence to support claims of summary executions and houses being burned, much less sexual abuse.
According to the minister, there have been reports of people abducted by armed men, but the profile described in the Human Rights Watch report does not coincide with the principles and mission of the security forces, which are concerned with protecting the public and ensuring order and security.
“The commission did not find any burnt houses. On the contrary, it found lots of corn, peanuts and other crops waiting to be harvested and some houses uninhabited but intact, suggesting a climate of tranquility,” Chande said. The government, he added, would continue to monitor the security situation in the areas affected by Renamo destabilization.
Concerning the refugees in Malawi, Chand said that the government had mandated the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Oldemiro Baloi, to ascertain the facts about the exodus and the conditions in which 11,575 Mozambicans [UNHCR figure] are accommodated in the two centers in Malawi.
It was concluded that the drought and hunger combined with the efforts of the armed forces to restore security disturbed by Renamo led some people to take refuge in Malawi, but at this point, with the restoration of stability, there is a massive voluntary return movement afoot.
Chande said that at present only a total of 1,508 refugees were living in Malawi, indicating as reasons for the voluntary return of refugees the impact of the Mozambican government’s message, the food crisis afflicting that neighbouring country and the 50 percent reduction in food distribution by the PAM.
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