Renamo demands resignation of Interior Minister – Mozambique

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Renamo demands resignation of Interior Minister – Mozambique

9:52 CAT | 25 Jan 2016

RfI / Renamo MP Ivone Soares, seen here in a file photo, addressing the Mozambican parliament.

Renamo is pinning the blame for the murder and persecution of its members on Frelimo and demanding the dismissal of the interior minister.

At a press conference in the city of Quelimane, Renamo parliamentary leader Ivone Soares linked all such incidents to Frelimo, accusing the ruling party of repeated assassination attempts on the opposition’s leaders.

Speaking on January 21, a day after Renamo secretary-general Manuel Bissopo was shot by unknown assailants, Soares said that the country is in a critical situation as a result of the wave of murders of Renamo members and civilians opposed to Frelimo.

“The government must cease these attempts on the lives of politicians, academics, journalists and businessmen unconditionally,” she said.

Renamo secretary-general and member of parliament Manuel Bissopo, was shot in Beira on January 20 just after holding a press conference denouncing alleged abductions and murders of members of his party. He was seriously injured and his security guard died on the spot.

According to Soares, since the election of Filipe Nyusi, kidnappings, murders and persecution of the Renamo leadership and members have soared.

“The abuses that the Interior Ministry is pursuing in this country must stop immediately. If the Minister of the Interior believes that he is the Rambo in this situation, then let the president dismiss him from office immediately. Because in a short period of time he has made it so that this country has again entered a situation of uncertainty about the future. We do not want a bloodsucker minister who lives at the expense of the blood of innocent people.”

Soares added that in recent years, Frelimo governance has harmed the population of the central region of the country and in the provinces of north and south where Renamo achieved victory in the elections.

The Renamo member of parliament for Zambezia says the living conditions of the population of these provinces is poor compared to the situation experienced by people in the provinces where Frelimo has a majority. She points out that her party is prepared to defend democracy in the country, “when the people exercise their right to vote, you hope to improve your life. What we have been watching in this, our country, in this, our rich province of Zambezia, is shameful. If Frelimo does not know how [to govern], [it should] leave. In this country we still have a long road to go, but we will not give up. Each of you must feel a real fighter for effective democracy,” she concluded.

Mozambican Interior Minister Jaime Basilio Monteiro, who last Thursday concluded a visit to Zambezia, says Renamo does not constitute any security threat and describes actions at Renamo headquarters and elsewhere as normal policing to guarantee citizens’ security. “Our goal, our insistence, is to remove all security threats from the population. The country is stable. All institutions are functioning,” he said.

Frelimo spokesman Damiao Jose has also expressed dismay over the shooting of the Renamo secretary-general.

Speaking to Lusa on January 21, he said: “It was a criminal action which we deeply deplore. Of course we condemn any action that jeopardizes the physical wellbeing of Mozambican citizens. We hope that Manuel Bissopo improves quickly and returns to the conviviality of his family and his party, to resume his contribution to political life in opposition.”

Jose brushed off Soares’ accusations saying were “baseless and hasty”, adding that just because Bissopo works for Renamo and as an MP it cannot be concluded that the crime against him was necessarily political.

Source: Deutsche Welle