MOZAMBIQUE - ONE DOZEN KILLED IN POLITICAL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MAPUTO 001158 SIPDIS SENSITIVE AF/S - JMALONEY E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PINR PHUM SOCI MZ RENAMO SUBJECT: MOZAMBIQUE - ONE DOZEN KILLED IN POLITICAL VIOLENCE IN NORTHERN MOZAMBICAN TOWN REF: MAPUTO 681 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: On September 6 violence broke out in the small town of Mocimboa da Praia in northern Mozambique between the police and supporters of the main opposition party, RENAMO, resulting in 12 deaths and nearly 50 wounded. Order has since been restored, but several RENAMO figures from the area may have gone into hiding. The events appear to be a localized RENAMO protest, the result of a disputed mayoral election. End summary. ¶2. (U) According to press reports, in the morning of September 6, in the small northern town of Mocimboa da Praia, shots were fired and a dozen people killed (including a policeman) and nearly 50 wounded. Violence continued in the town throughout much of the day, with altercations largely between police and supporters of the main opposition party, RENAMO, although gangs of rival FRELIMO (the ruling party) supporters were reportedly involved, too. A number of houses were burned, including the house of the mayor, Amadeu Pedro (see below). ¶3. (U) On September 4, RENAMO supporters had held a mock "installation" ceremony at their office in a suburb of Mocimboa da Praia for Saide Assane, the RENAMO candidate for mayor of the town. RENAMO claims that Assane won the May 21 by-election in Mocimboa da Praia, and since then RENAMO activists have said that they would not recognize as mayor the FRELIMO candidate, Amadeu Pedro, who took office last month. (Note: The May by-election was held because the previous mayor, also from FRELIMO, succumbed to an illness last October. See reftel for a report on the disputed by-election. End Note.) On September 5, according to the government-owned newspaper Noticias, RENAMO supporters marched around the town celebrating Assane's "installation," and blocked traffic and otherwise tried to provoke civil disobediance. Police forces in Mocimboa da Praia evidently received reinforcements from the provincial capital, Pemba, during the day. The next morning, when the strengthened police force acted to restore order, the shooting began. ¶4. (U) There are conflicting accounts of what prompted the shooting. According to the pro-government Noticias, in the morning of September 6 some RENAMO agitators fired first and the police reacted. According to the independent newspaper Zambeze, quoting remarks given in Maputo on September 7 by the RENAMO party spokesman, the police set off the violence by firing into the RENAMO headquarters in the town, killing several people. ¶5. (U) President Guebuza said on September 7 that government would "work to ensure that the rule of law is respected" in Mocimboa da Praia. Minister of the Interior Pacheco, who had served as governor of Cabo Delgado province (where Mocimboa da Praia is located) from 1998 until earlier this year, flew up to the town later that day. He announced that the government would show "zero tolerance" toward any further violence. Returning to Maputo today, he reported that five RENAMO figures had been detained. (Note: It is unclear who these RENAMO figures are. This morning Armindo Milaco, RENAMO's deputy in the National Assembly for Mocimboa, called in to a radio talk show from his cell phone, saying that he feared arrest and had gone into hiding. At the time he said the "installed" mayor, Saide Assane, was hiding from the police, as well. End note.) ¶6. (U) Maximo Diaz, the leader of one of the smaller political parties, MONAMO, who called the embassy on September 8 to express his condolences over hurricane Katrina damage, said he thought that the violence in Mocimboa was largely homegrown and not anticipated by RENAMO president Dhlakama. According to Diaz, Dhlakama has lost considerable clout within RENAMO since his poor showing in the 2004 elections and has far less control than before over RENAMO at the grass roots level. ¶7. (SBU) Comment: The disturbances in Mocimboa da Praia are a repeat, though on a much smaller scale, of violence that erupted during demonstrations by RENAMO supporters around the country in November 2000. Then RENAMO refused to accept FRELIMO's claims to victory in the 1999 general elections. The government will likely move swiftly to calm the situation and round up the perpetrators, basing its actions on the need to respect the law. Although there will probably be charges in the media that the police overreacted, we see little evidence at this juncture that the events in Mocimboa da Praia will resonate strongly with RENAMO supporters throughout the country. La Lime