Police threaten to repress illegal protests – AIM

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

Police threaten to repress illegal protests – AIM

6:25 CAT | 25 Apr 2016

DW (File photo) / Mozambique's Police spokesperson Orlando Mudumane

The Mozambican police warned on Monday that they will prevent the holding of any illegal marches in the capital.

The warning, made by Orlando Mudumane, spokesperson of the Maputo City Police Command, at his weekly press briefing, was in response to anonymous calls in social media for demonstrations in protest at the huge government-guaranteed loans, contracted in 2013-2014, but which are only now coming to light.

“The police are working and are ready to repress any illegal march which might endanger public order”, said Mudumane.

He noted that so far calls for such a march have been made anonymously, and condemned those who hide behind a shield of anonymity. “The police strongly condemn those individuals who use social networks to feed intrigues, rumours and above all political disorder”.

But the police would have no objection to a march that was called in accordance with the law, and would provide such a march with an escort, Mudumane added.

For a march or other demonstration to be legal, the Municipal Council and the police must be notified at least 72 hours in advance. A source in the Council told AIM that the municipality has received no notification from anyone of an intention to hold a march.

Messages suggesting that marches will be held at the end of the month began to circulate last week, shortly after Mozambican society was informed, through the media, that the previous government, led by President Armando Guebuza, had contracted hidden loans for more than a billion US dollars.

These loans had not been disclosed either to the Mozambican public or to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF reacted by cancelling a mission that was to have visited Mozambique last week, and suspending the second instalment of a 283 million dollar loan from the Fund’s Standby Credit Facility (SCF).

Source: AIM