Mozambique: Políce detain activists near coal mines

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Mozambique: Políce detain activists near coal mines

3:31 CAT | 24 Nov 2021

Photo: Justiça Ambiental

The Mozambican police detained four people in Tete, central Mozambique, for illegally collecting money on behalf of mining company Vale, a source told Lusa on Tuesday, but the organisation to which they belong said the detention was illegal.

The police said they had acted after “a popular complaint” about four activists who were “illegally collecting money from residents so that they could be included in a supposed list of people to be compensated,” by the mining company, said Feliciano da Câmara, spokesman for PRM in Tete.

The arrest was made on Saturday in the neighbourhoods of Nhantchere and Bagamoyo, in Moatize, near the coal mines of mining company Vale.

“They introduced themselves to the population as Vale employees,” the spokesman said, adding that the group had just over 3,000 meticais (€42).

“The issue is not the gathering” of the population, “but is the collection of money under the pretext of compensation for the damage caused by the company,” added Feliciano da Câmara.

The Mozambican Network of Human Rights Defenders (RMDDH), a civil society organisation, said that the police action was “illegal,” noting that the four activists were known and that human rights violations by the police were recurring.

The residents reportedly said that the amount would serve to “guarantee the logistics of activities to defend their interests”, it added.

The Brazilian company Vale said it has been holding meetings with community groups but is unaware of “the holding of meetings on the margins of official forums” and “the request for community contributions” aimed at pressuring the company.

In Mozambique, Vale is the main coal mining company, one of the country’s main export products, mainly to Asia.

In January, Vale announced its intention to sell coal mining in the country, justified by its aim to be carbon neutral by 2050 and reduce some of its primary sources of carbon pollution by 2030.

Source: Lusa