“We can not talk about truce while there are murders in Mozambique” – MDM leader

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“We can not talk about truce while there are murders in Mozambique” – MDM leader

11:17 CAT | 26 Jan 2017

DW (File photo) / MDM leader Beira mayor Daviz Simango

The Mozambican Democratic Movement (MDM) has already recorded six alleged political killings with the goal, says its leader Daviz Simango, of weakening the party.

Mateus Chiranga MDM delegate for the Tambara district of Manica province, who had been missing since 15 January, was found dead last Monday. He was shot dead at his residence, but his body was found more than 400 kilometres away.

Police in central Manica have declined to issue a statement about the crime but say they will investigate the case.

It is yet another apparent case of political assassination of opposition members. Other members of MDM, the third-largest political party in Mozambique, and especially of Renamo, the main opposition party, have been killed and intimidated.

DW Africa spoke to MDM leader Daviz Simango, also mayor of Beira, Mozambique’s second-largest city, on the subject.

DW Africa: What tally does the MDM make of assassination victims?

Daviz Simango (DS): We counted around six. At least for this [MDM member], we have a body. He was murdered at his home in Tambara. We spent three days searching for the body; we searched most of the province. Unfortunately, three days ago we ended up locating his body.

DW Africa: In your opinion, do you really think there is a truce, bearing in mind that these murders that have taken place?

DS: You can not speak of a truce, because when you speak of a truce it means that there is tranquility, peace, even if it is provisional. But peace does not include death and assassinations.

default — The aim of the killings and intimidation is to weaken the MDM, says Simango

What is happening is rather the other way round. If one kills, assassinates, it means that the people who declared truce, which presupposes the silence of the arms … it is not happening. People are dying at the barrel of a gun. Our deputy was shot dead. And as if that were not enough, they killed him in one place and, to confuse the situation, transported his body and left it in another place. The situation is intolerable.

DW Africa: How do you explain these apparent political assassinations of opposition, MDM members in particular?

DS: It is known that the MDM is the awakener of the people, it is the great competitor to the two opponents [Frelimo, in power, and Renamo, in opposition]. And, of course, they seek to weaken the MDM. They are creating conditions so that as elections approach, members of the MDM will be afraid of armed men. They are promoting an armed democracy, in which the one with the weapon is the most powerful.

But they forget that you can not build a democracy with powerful people or powerful parties, but only with decent parties. Therefore, they, the bearers of arms, must definitely put an end to summary executions, to this genocide. This member of ours, besides being a delegate, was a teacher, an educator. These are students left without a teacher, his four children left without father. This creates trauma in people.

DW Africa: Is there a climate of intimidation and fear affecting the lives and work of MDM members and leaders?

DS: There is, because when one [member of the party] is killed, the others are afraid.

People are afraid even to move. This is a serious situation. Any kind of intimidation, violence, creates fear. And many times, when we come to elections, people vote out of fear, while we want people to vote out of conscience.

DW Africa: How does the MDM interpret the position of the police and the authorities in general in relation to this type of cases?

DS: The problem is this: how will any police or other authority act? Take action against whom? Government authorities control the Defence and Security Forces and, at some point, use these Defence and Security Forces for party interests. So the Defence and Security Forces, who must be nonpartisan, Republican, instead get cornered. They are willing, they are competent, they can act. But in as much as political power wants to override the Forces of Defence and Security, it nullifies the exercise of the functions of these forces.

DW Africa: What has the MDM done to end the political-military crisis in Mozambique?

DS: We have tried to participate at the negotiating table, but they would not accept us. We presented our proposal for a revision of the Constitution of the Republic that was accepted at the dialogue table. However, this document had then to pass to the legislative body, the Assembly of Republic, and dialogue unfortunately ceased in December. We expected the seven principles would go to the Assembly of the Republic, but they did not.

The MDM wants to act within the legal system of the country. We do not want to act outside the legal system. We will insist that, in fact, there is a revision of the Constitution, there is a reduction of powers of the head of state, there is election of the governors, there is administrative and financial freedom of magistrates. Meaning, that there is effective decentralization and self-governance all round.

So we want there to be power sharing. It cannot happen that those who win general elections win everything. There must be elections for the presidents of municipalities, assemblies, and governors. This allows for power sharing. And then we will all contribute to the country’s development in a meaningful way.

Source: Deutsche Welle