Good afternoon. Will it take riots over the disputed election results from 9 October to bring ruling party Frelimo to the negotiating table? In any case Mozambique seems to be edging in the direction of greater disorder, with violence happening in cities and towns all over the country, not just in the capital Maputo. Initial signs that the police were being restrained in their control of election protests have not lasted, as at least 11 civilians have now died in demonstrations (see below), and that number looks likely to increase. Footage has emerged of police firing on demonstrators, instead of firing in the air as they usually do to scare away protesters. Firing into the air is bad enough, but on occasions the police seemed to have been aiming at the demonstrators. Violence has spawned violence: according to the election observer group Plataforma Decide, three police officers have been killed in protests, most likely in revenge attacks. In the administrative post of Chalaua, in Nampula province’s Moma district, rioters set fire to the police station and vehicles.
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Tom Gould
Today, opposition presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane is due to broadcast another live video, where he is expected to call for more demonstrations. His videos since the election have been extremely popular, getting over 100,000 views live (and the last attracted over 200,000). Although Mondlane has urged his supporters to protest peacefully, it is safe to assume that more demonstrations will mean more violent confrontations, especially if the police continue cracking down on opposition marches as they have done in some parts of the country.
