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DE RUEHTO #0840/01 1921336
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 111336Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY MAPUTO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5665
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP 0062
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MAPUTO 000840
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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM MZ
SUBJECT: MOZAMBIQUE: JUNE POLITICAL DIGEST
MAPUTO 00000840 001.2 OF 002
Sensitive But Unclassified - Handle Accordingly
1. (U) This is a brief summary of significant political
developments in Mozambique during June 2006. We
provide it as a supplement to our other reporting. The
items discussed are:
-- Presidential Guards Accused of Murder
-- FRELIMO to Elect 1600 Delegates to its IX Party
Congress
-- RENAMO Claims Tete Detainees are Political Prisoners
Presidential Guards under Investigation for Murder
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2. (U) Three members of Mozambique's Presidential
Guard, the police unit charged with ensuring the
security of President Armando Guebuza, are under
investigation for the murder of a 25-year old
Mozambican man. According to a June 30 report in the
independent weekly "Savana", Abdul Monteiro Daude was
pursued by three Presidential Guards after he disobeyed
orders to stop after hitting their vehicle as he was
leaving a popular local nightclub. Monteiro was
eventually pulled over near Maputo Central Hospital, at
which time eye-witnesses report that he was handcuffed
after voluntarily exiting the vehicle. Monteiro was
then reportedly beaten and shot three times by an
individual identified as a Presidential Guard.
3. (U) Deputy Minister of Interior Jose Mandra defended
the guards' actions, stating that it was within rights
of police to pursue a car if the driver disobeyed an
order to stop. Mandra stated that the guards did not
intend to kill Monteiro; however, he did confirm that
the matter was now in the hands of the Criminal
Investigation Police (PIC), where a case file on the
killing has been opened.
4. (U) PIC Director Alexandre Cavele confirmed to local
press that a member of the Presidential Guard was
arrested on July 3, and taken to the top security jail.
He did not name the suspect, and gave no further
details, other than that the investigation into the
incident was continuing.
5. (U) Guebuza's office reportedly contacted Monteiro's
family after the incident, offering the President's
condolences, and guaranteeing that justice would be
done in this case.
FRELIMO to Elect 1600 Delegates to its Ninth Party
Congress
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6. (U) On June 25 the ruling FRELIMO party began
elections for delegates to its Ninth Party Congress to
be held in Quelimane, Zambezia province, November 10 -
14, 2006. The FRELIMO Party Spokesperson, Edson
Macuaua, announced that 1,600 delegates would be
elected during the three-month selection process. The
complex, four-phase electoral cycle, which includes
elections at the branch, circle, district, and
provincial levels, will run from June 25 to September
24, ending with the 11 provincial conferences electing
both the final delegates to the Party Congress as well
as candidates to the new FRELIMO Central Committee, the
powerful 160-member FRELIMO decision-making body.
7. (U) At the district and provincial level, new first
secretaries and party committees will also be elected.
SIPDIS
This electoral process is further complicated by
FRELIMO's system of "renewal and continuity," which is
intended to ensure that new blood enters the party
structure, while at the same time guarantees that
institutional memory is retained. As per the statutes,
60 percent of all elected party committee members must
have served before, while 40 percent should be first-
time members. As least 20 percent of the elected
members of these party organs must be women. (Note: New
statutes will be debated at the Party Congress, and
some political observers expect significant changes.
End Note.) In addition, FRELIMO branches in countries
with significant Mozambican emigrant communities are
entitled to elect at least one delegate to the Party
Congress. This includes South Africa, Swaziland,
Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Malawi, Kenya, Portugal and
Germany.
MAPUTO 00000840 002.2 OF 002
RENAMO Claims Tete Detainees are Political Prisoners
--------------------------------------------- -------
8. (U) Mozambique's main opposition party, RENAMO, has
claimed that ten of its party members are being held as
"political prisoners" in Mutarara district in the
western province of Tete. Speaking at a June 9 press
conference in Maputo, RENAMO spokesperson Fernando
Mazanga alleged that the police had arrested RENAMO
members "at random" after a May 31 clash between groups
of RENAMO supporters and those of the ruling FRELIMO
party. The incident occurred during a visit to
Mutarara by RENAMO Secretary General Ossufo Momade.
Mazanga claimed that a RENAMO convoy of vehicles came
under attack by FRELIMO supporters wielding sticks and
stones. According to Mazanga, RENAMO supporters
retaliated and the ensuing clash resulted in nine
injuries, one RENAMO and eight FRELIMO supporters,
respectively. Six of the FRELIMO victims reportedly
suffered serious injuries.
9. (U) In addition to the detentions, RENAMO further
claimed that some of its offices had been destroyed and
party members' homes looted and burned down in the
aftermath of the incident. Mazanga asserted that only
due to the urging the party's leader, Afonso Dhlakama,
was further violence avoided and warned that should the
victims of "these terrorist acts lose control of their
emotions," only President Guebuza would be to blame for
"doing nothing" do stop the wave of political violence.
10. (SBU) Comment: RENAMO has made similar statements
regarding Dhlakama in the past, implying that the
masses, particularly those in rural areas, remained on
the brink of rebellion and that only Dhlakama's words
of restraint kept them from acts of violence. However,
there is little evidence to support such comments.
DUDLEY