Defence Forces should assess vulnerabilities – Nyusi

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Defence Forces should assess vulnerabilities – Nyusi

8:54 CAT | 03 Nov 2017

Notícias

Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi on Thursday declared that the country’s defence and security forces should assess, in a proactive manner, national security vulnerabilities, so as to prepare an adequate and effective response to threats and risks to Mozambican sovereignty.

He was speaking in Maputo at the opening of a meeting of the Coordinating Council of the Ministry of the Interior.

Nyusi urged the participants “to commit ourselves to advancing with pragmatic actions that produce tangible results, taking as our horizon the overcoming of common challenges”.

One of those challenges, the President added, was the threats to national security “and we must be prepared and vigilant to overcome them”.

In this epoch, said Nyusi, national frontiers were becoming increasingly fluid, obliging countries to share their efforts in meeting threats to national security.

“Threats of an assorted nature are among the challenges we must be prepared to meet”, he added. “That is why we have recently made appointments with the purpose of improving the organisational structure of the defence and security forces in general, and of the police in particular”.

Nyusi was referring to the appointment of Bernardino Rafael, formerly head of the Maputo City Police Command as the new General Commander of the Mozambican police force, and of Timoteo Bernardo, formerly police commander in Manica, as his deputy.

In this reshuffle, the former general commander of the police, Julio dos Santos Jane, was moved sideways to become the general director of the State Intelligence and Security Service (SISE). Nyusi also appointed Lazaro Menete the new chief of staff of the armed forces (FADM), replacing Graca Chongo.

Nyusi urged the Interior Ministry and the police “to consolidate the traditional bonds of cooperation with the community. This practice allows genuine insertion of the police into the community, contributing to the prevention of crime and the identification of criminals”.

He praised the defence and security forces for “complying with their mission to guarantee law, order and public tranquillity throughout the national territory. We recognise their commitment and readiness to serve the nation at any time, particularly under the circumstances imposed by the reality of our country”.

For his part, Interior Minister Basilio Monteiro mentioned the recent attacks on police stations and “acts of disinformation”. He was referring to events such as the abortive islamist attacks on the police in Mocimboa da Praia district, in the northern province of Cabo Delgado on 5-6 October, and the wave of rumours about vampires, particularly in Zambezia province.

The disinformation campaigns, said Monteiro, “are a clear affront to the public powers in order to subvert public opinion and create panic”.

Source: AIM