With international human rights organisations urging Mozambican authorities to investigate and bring to account police, from who gave the orders to those in the streets violently repressed nationwide peaceful protests, for violating the human rights of protesters including international law, observers are asking whether heads will roll. Note that in many cases the protests didn’t even took place, the police place heavily armed personnel and attacked the gathered persons, by standers and walkers.
Mozambique’s police forces brutally cracked down on peaceful protesters who on Saturday assembled nationwide to pay tribute to the late rapper Azagaia nee Edson da Luz, who died on 9 March from an epileptic seizure. Azagaia’s rap songs were very critical of the regime’s injustices against Mozambicans.
Security sources told Mozambique Insights that orders to repress the demonstrations came “from above” which led to the mobilisation of police nationwide, and the anti-riot police (UIR – Rapid Intervention Unit), units of the normal police as well as the municipal police were placed strategically in the spots chosen for the march to start and end. In Mozambique is normal the used of the expression “superior order” to disguise either solo or bad decisions because no one dares to question nothing “superior” or “from above”.
However, the visible faces of the brutal repression were UIR and the normal police, which are under the command of Mozambique’s Police General-Commander Bernardino Rafael, with family ties with Nyusi, who told to Voice of America reporter early this year that he wrote three books and the only thing missing is “being President of the Republic”.
In the aftermath of the brutal crackdown, the United Nations Human Rights sent out a tweet expressing concern by of “disproportionate use of force by police amid peaceful marches” honouring Azagaia. It further called “on the prompt release of those arbitrarily detained & (sic) investigation into alleged violations”.
Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for East and Southern Africa, Emerlynn Gill, was quoted as saying said that the “Mozambican police’s heavy-handed response to these peaceful demonstrations, including beating up protesters with baton sticks, causing them injuries, is an outrageous act of unfortunate policing against these defenceless protesters.”
“There’s no doubt that police were aiming to suppress the demonstrations, with the intention of belittling Azagaia legacy in Mozambique,” said Gill, adding that police’s actions “are a disturbing pattern of reckless and unlawful tactics against people during the protests.”
Because the police made arrests and injured scores of protesters, Gill called on the authorities to “swiftly investigate police who arrested people in Maputo and subjected them to beating and ensure that they are brought to account for violating the human rights of protesters including international law.”
Internally, Prominent figures denounced the action of the police. Samora Machel Jr, son of Mozambique’s first president, Samora Machel, wrote on his Facebook page that “we witnessed in the streets of several cities of our country, unjustifiable acts of violence against defenceless citizens, perpetrated by members of the Defence and Security Forces, who violated the constitutional definition of Mozambique as a Democratic State under the Rule of Law based on pluralism of opinion and expression. ”
Furthermore, Machel Jr added that they had also “violated the very constitutional duty of the Defence and Security Forces to ensure respect for the Democratic Rule of Law and the STRICT observance of the fundamental rights and freedoms of ALL citizens.”
Machel Jr called this “a betrayal of fundamental values and principles of the ruling party that governs our state, a betrayal of the glorious traditions of the Mozambique Liberation Front in defence of the interests of the Mozambican people, and a betrayal of Frelimo as the Party of Peace and Dialogue.”
What was strange about the police behaviour is that the nationwide peaceful protests had been approved by the respective authorities.
Observers point out that the regime is likely to be more repressive as President Filipe Nyusi, fearful of civil society organisations, seeks to secure a third term which is not backed by the constitution.
Although there is hardly no precedent to suggest that Frelimo might back down, if his adversaries within Frelimo and the international community continue to demand that those responsible for the brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters, it could be likely that Nyusi sacrifices someone to shift the blame away from him.
The question then is whose head will it be.
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