Good afternoon. Today and the next seven days look set to see the longest yet period of demonstrations sparked by the disputed election results and called by presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane. And as was the case last week, the government’s grip on law and order is being seriously challenged. Despite what interior minister Pascoal Ronda said yesterday about the government using all means to stop them, the protests have gone ahead as Mondlane requested, at least in the cities of Maputo and Matola, and the streets were blocked by parked vehicles and barricades from 8am this morning if not before. At the time of writing, police were avoiding confrontation with the demonstrators, again similar to their behaviour in the last set of protests.
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Fernando Lima
If Mondlane can be pleased that he is still able to command the support of masses of people, he should however be concerned at what some supporters, and others, are doing during these protests. As we noted last week, there is a widespread perception that anyone who does not show support for Mondlane, for example by displaying posters with appropriate messages in the window of their car, risks being attacked. This is hardly behaviour compatible with a movement that is supposed to be about restoring political rights to the people. Although Mondlane has spoken out against vandalism during the demonstrations, he has not yet condemned this kind of thuggish attitude. He needs to do so now, both on principle and if he wants to avoid justifiable criticism.
