Manica Governor condemns dumping of bodies in central Mozambique

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Manica Governor condemns dumping of bodies in central Mozambique

4:20 CAT | 06 Jun 2016

The governor of Manica province in central Mozambique on Saturday condemned the dumping of bodies in Macossa district, stating that it clearly represented a violation of human rights.

“We unequivocally declare that the Provincial Government of Manica vehemently condemns this and any other action or omission that violates human rights, as constitutionally enshrined and protected,” Alberto Mondlane said in a report by TV channel STV.

The governor of Manica spoke to the parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Human Rights and Legality which began the second phase of its investigations on Saturday, having held a series of hearings in Maputo and Beira and, on Tuesday, denying the existence of the mass grave in Canda, Gorongosa district reported by farmers to Lusa in late April.

Mondlane said that the provincial government “is deeply concerned since it took note of the information according to which in Macossa district, in Tropa, near the N1, there are dead human bodies lying in clear and blatant violation of human rights”.

The parliamentary committee travelling to the site more than a month after the allegations first surfaced is being boycotted by the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo) party and comprises only deputies of the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo) majority and the Mozambique Democratic Movement.

According to the governor’s statements and research entities heard on Saturday in Manica, the authorities continue to count the bodies number at eleven, while several journalists claim to have found at least twenty.

On April 30, journalists from various media organisations including Lusa photographed 15 bodies scattered in the bush on the border between Gorongosa district in Sofala province and Macossa in Manica.

These bodies were later seen by several more Mozambican reporters and the Doha-based Al-Jazeer television channel, which filmed human remains still visible three weeks after they were discovered.

Five more bodies have since been found by a group of journalists from France Presse (AFP) and Deutsche Welle (DW) in Macossa, bringing to twenty the number of corpses discovered in the region, the French news agency said on Wednesday.

The bodies were dumped near where farmers claim to have seen a mass grave with more than 100 bodies whose existence is so far denied by the authorities and unconfirmed by journalists, in a heavily militarized zone in the centre of the country.

Journalists made several attempts to get access to the site but failed due to the strong military presence in the area, in the context of the ongoing conflict in the country, and were unable to document these claims. Neither the Mozambican National Commission on Human Rights nor international organizations such as the UN have commented further on their attempts to gain access to the site.

The Gorongosa region, presumed whereabouts of Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama, has recently been the scene of numerous clashes between Renamo’s armed wing and government forces.

Source: Lusa