Good afternoon. A number of tragic deaths in Nampula province at the weekend (see below) has not brought the crisis over the disputed election results any closer to a conclusion. The strikes and demonstrations called for by opposition presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, which lessened over the weekend, are expected to gear up again today.
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The government continues to try to dampen down the protests, with the help of privately owned media. As well as the state-owned broadcaster TVM, the independent TV networks STV and TV Successo have been pushing a noticeably pro-government line recently, giving the impression that life is going on as normal and promoting establishment voices. STV unusually hosted a police spokesman on one of its discussion programmes last night. The network’s owner, Daniel David, is a Frelimo supporter who has been under pressure to restrict coverage of the protests. Access to social media, which is important for coordinating protests, is being restricted yet again, with no internet access via the Movitel network this morning.
