Socialist MEP Marta Temido from Portugal warned on Tuesday of the need for an independent investigation to find those responsible for the repression of demonstrations in Mozambique, which has left more than 300 people dead.
At the end of a hearing of several observers in the European Parliament (EP), she told Lusa that, whatever the assessment of the election results in Mozambique, there was a “clear lack of respect for human rights” during the demonstrations that followed the vote.
Marta Temido, a former Portuguese health minister, denounced the police and military’s “disproportionate reaction” against the population, considering it a violation of freedom of expression and demonstration between the elections and Daniel Chapo’s swearing-in as president.
“There needs to be an independent investigation into what was a reality of disrespect for human rights, there were countless violations of this right,” she said, adding that “the people involved must be held accountable”.
“Without an independent investigation, society will not be able to reconcile,” she added.
She pointed out that, according to the information provided, 8’% of the bullets firedagainst demonstrators “were real bullets aimed at the chest or head”.
She called on the European Union to assume its “role of specific responsibility” in “training the military and security forces”.
According to the Decide electoral platform, a non-governmental organisation that monitors electoral processes, post-election demonstrations in Mozambique have caused at least 315 deaths, and around 750 people have been shot in protests that have been going on since 21 October, called by presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, who does not recognise the results, alleging “electoral fraud”.
Lusa
