Social activist Graça Machel argued today that Mozambican society must rid itself of the “culture of fear”, considering that only the union of the people can “liberate” the civic space, when complaints of limitations to freedoms are multiplying.
“The current Mozambican President [Filipe Nyusi] said during his inauguration in his first term that his boss was the people. So we have to remind these who are now oppressing the people that we are the boss. This must be done in an orderly, organised and respectful way towards the institutions, but we have to dismantle fear in this country,” Graça Machel said.
The activist was speaking in Maputo during a debate on the construction of the Democratic Rule of Law in Mozambique, reacting to a question posed by the audience on the episodes of 18 March, when the Mozambican police repressed peaceful marches in honour of the social intervention ‘rapper’ Azagaia, who died on 9 March.
For the former wife of Mozambique’s first president, Samora Machel, who died in an air crash in 1986, the responsibility for stopping limitations on the exercise of citizenship lies with the people, who should join together in movements to, within the law, demand that repression does not become frequent in Mozambique.
“We have to dismantle fear in the country. Those who oppress citizens should be afraid of us,” said the activist, recalling, however, that “not all police officers oppress the people.
The episodes of 18 March were condemned by several entities that warned about the unjustified police violence against peaceful and unarmed groups, classifying them as one of the most visible signs of limitations to freedom of expression and demonstration in Mozambique.
The police repression, which occurred mainly in Maputo, Beira and Nampula, left several people injured, and subsequently the organisers of the marches submitted appeals to the national and foreign authorities for accountability for what they consider disproportionate force exercised by that corporation.
The Mozambican President, Filipe Nyusi, announced investigations into the police action in the marches, considering, however, that the authorities had information that there were “infiltrators” who wanted to achieve “other purposes” with the tribute to the ‘rapper’ Azagaia and regretting the disturbances that occurred
