Mozambique: June Socio-Political Digest

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MAPUTO 000780 SIPDIS SIPDIS AF/S FOR HTREGER, AF/RSA FOR MBITTRICK MCC FOR SGAULL USAID FOR AFR/SA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: POL PGOV PREL MZ SUBJECT: Mozambique: June Socio-Political Digest ¶1. This is a summary of significant socio-political developments in Mozambique that occurred during June ¶2007. We provide it as a supplement to our other reporting. -- Provincial Elections Scheduled for December 20, 2007; Election Process Moves Forward -- Recent Increase in Crime Rate Viewed as Proof of Ineffectiveness of Guebuza Government -- 3 Children, 5 Soldiers killed in two separate Malhazine-related Munitions Accidents -- Former RENAMO Deputy Defects to FRELIMO -- Police Beat Lawyer Provincial Elections Scheduled for December 20, 2007; Election process moves forward. -------------- -------------- ¶2. Against the advice of senior electoral civil servants, December 20th has been set as the date for the first provincial assembly elections. Analysts view the December 20th date as very difficult to achieve since the oversight group (CNE) must set up election commissions in all provinces and districts and register the entire Mozambican electorate within days after the country is set to complete its first population census since 1997. An additional potential complicating factor is that December is well into the rainy season. ¶3. The Mozambican government (GRM) estimates that the elections will cost approximately $44 million of which the GRM is able to provide $12 million. Donors have been asked to pay the balance, but largely due to questions concerning the feasibility of organizing the registration and election process, no donors have yet offered financial assistance. Increase in Crime Rate Viewed as Proof of Ineffectiveness of Guebuza Government -------------- -------------- ¶4. Despite official government statistics noting a decrease in crime during 2007 compared with 2006, a recent spate of well publicized crimes has led to criticism of the current government. Some of the crimes reported in the past several weeks include: a gang attacked a police station in Matola city and robbed a car that the police had seized earlier that day; criminals stole AK-47s from the police and used the weapons to steal $40 thousand from a bank in Matola city; and unknown persons shot and injured two policemen responding to the attempted robbery of a cell-phone store. ¶5. The inability of the government to deter crime, along with the increasingly violent nature of the crimes, is viewed by some as proof that current government policies have been ineffective. In response President Guebuza has made several public statements and visited the Ministry of Interior and several police stations in Maputo city. Interior Minister Pacheco noted the criminal activity had terrorist characteristics that resembled a war and called for a similar police reaction, in which elements of the Mozambican armed forces (FADM) would begin patrolling the areas in and around Maputo City with regular police officers. Despite these actions, there appears to be public doubt that the Guebuza government has the ability to control crime. 3 Children, 5 Soldiers killed in two separate Malhazine- related munitions accidents -------------- -------------- ¶6. The death toll from the March explosion of the military ammunition dump located in the Maputo neighborhood of Malhazine continues to rise. In two separate incidents three teenagers and five soldiers, including one South African, were killed. The teenagers died when they struck a buried munition while playing in the yard of a home. The FADM immediately began another search of the area to locate other buried bombs; experts believe many more munitions are buried, serving as a hazard to all in the area. The five soldiers were killed when an explosive detonated unexpectedly during routine MAPUTO 00000780 002 OF 002 destruction of remaining munitions. Former RENAMO Deputy Defects to FRELIMO -------------- ¶7. The former parliamentary deputy of Mozambique's main opposition party, RENAMO, has defected to the ruling FRELIMO Party. Cristovao Nhacatete had been a RENAMO activist since 1991. He was a RENAMO delegate in the Sofala district of Chemba from 1991 to 1999, when he was elected to the country's parliament, the Assembly of the Republic. Police Beat Lawyer -------------- ¶8. Policemen severely beat a lawyer in a Matola city police station. His injuries required him to be hospitalized. The lawyer had gone to the police station to represent several clients, but attempted to leave after becoming intimidated by the aggressive nature of questioning by interrogators. Police versions of the story claim the lawyer was fleeing and subsequently became involved in a scuffle with other police officers, but photos of the injuries he sustained are more consistent with a severe beating. The Mozambican Bar Association demanded an investigation and measures to punish the involved police officers. DUDLEY