Mozambique: Human right breaches ‘will not be tolerated’ – president

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Mozambique: Human right breaches ‘will not be tolerated’ – president

7:26 CAT | 08 Apr 2021

Screen grab: TVM

Mozambique’s president, Filipe Nyusi, said on Wednesday that human rights violations by members of the Defence and Security Forces (FDS) in the fight against armed groups in the north of the country would not be tolerated.

The Mozambican head of state was speaking in an address to the nation on Mozambican Women’s Day, which is marked today, precisely two weeks after the armed attacks on the village of Palma, Cabo Delgado province, in the north of the country.

“All possible human rights violations will be thoroughly investigated, and appropriate action will be taken,” he added.

The army, he continued, must assume that victory against the armed groups carrying out attacks in the northern province of Cabo Delgado will be unachievable without the collaboration of the population if they are victims of abuses.

“No victory will be achieved without total trust and mutual help with the civilian population,” the Mozambican president said.

Filipe Nyusi maintained that the preparation of government forces includes ethical and moral training and is not limited to aspects merely linked to defence and security.

Nyusi pointed out that the FDS should be inspired by the values of the national liberation struggle against Portuguese colonialism, noting that the victory was only possible thanks to the support of the communities to the guerrillas of the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo).

“The Defence and Security Forces know their noble mission of protecting citizens, they exist to defend the people and the nation, and they will always be subject to the highest ethical standards,” he added.

Human rights organisation Amnesty International (AI) this week again demanded the investigation of possible human rights abuses by the forces in conflict in the war in Cabo Delgado, maintaining a concern it has already expressed several times regarding the fate of the civilian population in conflict zones.

“Until now, all the actors [Mozambican armed forces, insurgent groups and private security or paramilitary companies] have acted with total impunity, even before [the latest episodes in the town of Palma, in the far north of Cabo Delgado province, northern Mozambique, last 24],” said Pedro Neto, executive director of AI in Portugal, speaking to Lusa.

“We were on the ground, we suffered threats, journalists were arrested in Cabo Delgado because of denouncing the situation, the bishop himself, Luís Fernando Lisboa, who was the bishop of Pemba had to leave Pemba a few months ago, not of his own will, but because he was threatened with death numerous times, and so there was an attempt to cover up this whole situation,” described the activist.

The violence unleashed more than three years ago in Cabo Delgado province gained a new escalation about a fortnight ago, when armed groups first attacked the town of Palma, which is about six kilometres from the multi-million dollar natural gas projects.

According to United Nations data, the attacks caused dozens of deaths. They forced thousands of Palma residents to flee, worsening a humanitarian crisis that has affected some 700,000 people in the province since the conflict began.

The terrorist movement Islamic State claimed control of the town of Palma, near the border with Tanzania. Still, the Mozambican Defence and Security Forces (FDS) completely retook control of the town, the spokesman for the Northern Operational Theatre, Chongo Vidigal, announced on Monday.

Several countries have offered Maputo military support on the ground to combat these insurgents. Still, so far, there has been no opening for this, although there are reports and testimonies pointing to security companies and mercenaries in the area.

Source: Lusa