The Mozambican Minister of Transport and Communications admitted today that the restrictions on the internet, especially on social networks, were the result of the operators’ own actions, so that it wouldn’t be used to “destroy” the country, in the context of the post-election demonstrations.
It’s a combination of many factors. The destruction of infrastructure, but also the safety of the operators themselves, who have to work in a safe environment. Also the civil responsibility of the operators, I can say, when they see that the Internet is being used for the destruction of the country,’ said Minister Mateus Magala, questioned by journalists in Maputo province.
‘They themselves have certainly taken measures to prevent the Internet from being a collective good, not an evil used to destroy our country,’ he added.
For almost two weeks now, access to the Internet, particularly social networks and WhatsApp, has been restricted, as these are the usual means of calling for and publicising demonstrations.
‘When we see violations that jeopardise the integrity of all Mozambicans in the nation, we have to act as such, so that our means of communication are not used to destroy the country. It’s in this context, for example, that many people, for the sake of security, didn’t go to work. Did the government tell them not to go to work? No, the government said ‘let’s go to work’, but people took the decision, because they realised the risk of where they were, that they couldn’t move,’ Magala added.
The minister appealed to the population ‘to be civic-minded and to protect the transport and communications infrastructure’ so that ‘there is no interruption’ of these services in the country.
The announcement by Mozambique’s National Electoral Commission (CNE) on 24 October of the results of the 9 October elections, in which it awarded victory to Daniel Chapo, supported by the Mozambican Liberation Front (Frelimo, the party in power since 1975) in the election for Mozambican President, with 70.67% of the vote, sparked popular protests called by presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane.
According to the CNE, Mondlane came second with 20.32%, but the latter said he did not recognise the results, which still have to be validated and proclaimed by the Constitutional Council, which has no deadlines for this and is still analysing the dispute.
After street protests that brought the country to a standstill on 21, 24 and 25 October, Mondlane once again called on the population for a seven-day general strike from 31 October, with nationwide protests and a demonstration in Maputo on Thursday 7 November, which caused chaos in the capital, with several barricades, burning tyres and police firing shots and tear gas throughout the day to disperse them.
Venâncio Mondlane announced on Thursday that the protests would continue until the electoral truth was restored.
At least three people were killed and 66 injured during clashes between demonstrators and the police on Thursday, the eighth day of the strikes called by Venâncio Mondlane, announced Maputo Central Hospital (HCM), the country’s largest health centre.
‘In all our entrance doors we had a cumulative of 138 admissions, of which the adult emergency department had 101 patients. Of the 101 patients, 66 were victims of these manifestations and the rest were due to other causes,’ said the director of the Adult Emergency Service at HCM, Dino Lopes.
Lusa
