Mozambique: Amnesty International calls on SADC to take a “strong stand” on violence

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Mozambique: Amnesty International calls on SADC to take a “strong stand” on violence

2:45 CAT | 15 Nov 2024

File photo: Lusa

Amnesty International today urged the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to take a “strong stand” on the violence that has spread in Mozambique following the October 9 elections.

“The situation in Mozambique gets worse every day as the death toll spirals, yet the Southern African Development Community remains shockingly silent,” states Amnesty International Deputy Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, Khanyo Farisè.

“Regardless of the outcome of the elections, SADC must take a strong stand against the assault on the right to protest and the killing of protesters,” she added.

The SADC bloc has been “painfully slow to respond to the crisis in Mozambique”, Farisé notes. “The bloc must forcefully speak out now against the ongoing violations of human rights by Mozambican security forces and put human rights and accountability at the centre of its upcoming summit”, which takes place from 16 to 20 November in Harare, Zimbabwe, she added.

“The African Union must also do much more to hold authorities in Mozambique accountable, including by requesting the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights to conduct investigations into the ongoing human rights violations in Mozambique,” Farisè concludes.

Mozambique, and especially Maputo, have been experiencing work stoppages and demonstrations called since 21 October by presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, who does not recognise the results of the general elections, announced by the National Electoral Commission (CNE) and which gave victory to Daniel Chapo and the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo, the ruling party).

Mondlane called for a new period of national demonstrations in Mozambique, starting this Wednesday in all provincial capitals, including Maputo, and extending to ports, the country’s borders, and the transport corridors that connect these infrastructures, appealing to truck drivers to join in by protesting against the electoral process.

The general commander of the Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM), Bernardino Rafael, said on Tuesday that there must be an “end” to the demonstrations and strikes, stating that they are “urban terrorism” with the intention of “altering the constitutional order”.

On Tuesday, Mozambican businesspeople estimated the losses caused in ten days of strikes and demonstrations, during which 151 businesses were vandalized, at 24.8 billion meticais (354 million euros).

The Mozambican Public Prosecutor’s Office (PGR) has already opened 208 criminal proceedings to hold accountable the “moral and material” perpetrators of violence in the post-election demonstrations, the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) also announced on Tuesday, holding presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane responsible.

Source: Lusa