Mozambique's security forces have brutalized protesters in Cape Town, South Africa (AP) (AP) in South Africa, with three months of crackdowns on protesters, a leading international rights group said Wednesday.
In its new report, Amnesty International called on Mozambique authorities to investigate post-election murders and all rights violations and bring law enforcement officers to justice.
Thousands of Mozambiques participated in the protests in the weeks following the presidential and parliamentary elections on October 9, and the ruling Frelimo Party’s Daniel Chapo was declared the winner of the winning allegations of manipulation and election fraud raised by its challengers and international observers.
The protests were in support of Venancio Mondlane, an independent candidate but were supported by the opposition Podemos party.
The demonstrations were intensified after the October 18 killing of Mondland's lawyers and a Podmos official who were fatally shot by gunmen in a car in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique.
Mondlane condemned the murder as a political assassination and called for a 25-day protest, one day of each of the 25 bullets that fired a car. Mondlane left the country for two months citing concerns about her own safety, but returned in January.
The Mozambique police and the Army used deadly forces to fight against largely peaceful marchs and gatherings, shooting live ammunition, rubber bullets and tear gas cans on protesters and bystanders, according to Amnesty International’s report.
The amnesty gave the Mozambique civil society group Plataforma's decision, which was 315 people killed in protests between October 21 and January 16 – a loss far exceeding the figures recognized by the authorities. Police said in January that 96 people died in protests, including 17 officers, in the three-month period.
“Police illegally use guns and fewer deadly weapons, killing and injuring protesters and bystanders,” the amnesty said. “The Army also recklessly and illegally use force and deadly weapons.”
Amnesty said its report was based on interviews with 28 people, including witnesses, victims, relatives of victims, doctors and lawyers. Other rights groups reported that there were at least 10 children in the protests.
Amnesty International, police arrested protesters and bystanders, including teenagers, on a large scale. Platformaforma decided to say more than 4,000 people were arrested, most of them arbitrary.
Amnesty also said there is evidence that Mozambique internet providers have restricted access to social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, as well as messaging service WhatsApp, “at a critical moment during the protest.”
In January, Chapo was sworn in. He and Mondlane mediated in March, and the president promised to investigate the protests of the death.
The Frelimo Party has ruled Mozambique since independence from Portugal's colonial ruler in 1975 and is often accused of manipulating the election by bringing officials loyal to the election. A report by EU election observers said last year's vote damaged Frelimo's vote due to intentional invalidation of opposition votes and changes in poll results and ballot box filling.
Mozambique’s politics was largely composed of a 15-year civil war between Frelimo and Renamo, the Rebel Group, which ended in 1992, which later became an opposition party. The protests in support of Mondlane, formerly a member of the Renamo party, were the biggest threat to Frelimo's rule.
After the protests, the protests disappeared, but the violence remained.
Mondlane visited the port city of Quelimane this week, and the Gunners shot one of his main campaign organizers Joel Amaral on Sunday. He was shot three times, including one in the head, but survived and stayed in an intensive care unit in the hospital.
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Mangwiro reported from Maputo, Mozambique.
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