Renamo clandestinely marks anniversary of its founder’s death – VOA

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Renamo clandestinely marks anniversary of its founder’s death – VOA

3:19 CAT | 18 Oct 2016

Voa / Renamo Facebook / Andre Matsangaissa

Members of Renamo, Mozambique’s main opposition party, have reportedly marked the 37th anniversary of the death of the movement’s founder, André Matsangaissa, in secret [“escondidos”].

Matsangaissa died in combat in Gorongosa, on 17 October 1979, and Renamo counts the downfall of the single-party system as one of the main achievements of his struggle.

Party members did not gather to celebrate publicly in Chimoio, capital of Manica province, for fear of police reprisals, Manica party youth leader Caetano Augusto said.

“Our members are suffering persecution” by the Rapid Intervention Force, he claims.

Augusto said that every day, lifeless bodies, mostly of Renamo members, are found, making meetings and public demonstrations impossible.

A Renamo message, read to a group of members in a private residence in Chimoio, recalls that André Matsangaissa pioneered the struggle for democracy, and few Mozambicans believed in his ideals when the armed struggle against Frelimo began in 1977 two years after the country’s independence.

“It was worth Mozambicans taking up arms and fighting Frelimo’s communism, even though it was very hard,” the message says, noting that despite the ugly names attached to the group, “today we can speak out loud, trumpeting democracy”.

One of the first fruits of this struggle was the end of single-party rule, stressed the message.

Renamo says it is committed to following Matsangaissa’s ideals and pressing the Frelimo government to “correct the mistakes of the past, and to create a country truly belonging to all Mozambicans”.

Manica-born André Matsangaissa has a square named after him in Beira, Mozambique’s second city, led by Democratic Movement of Mozambique, MDM.

Source: Voa Portugues