23 December 2011
Maputo — The self-imposed deadline for Afonso Dhlakama, leader of Mozambique’s former rebel movement Renamo, to announce the date for street demonstrations intended to bring down the government has come and gone, and there is still no sign of the “December revolution” he promised.
Speaking at a rally in Beira last Saturday, Dhlakama threatened to bring the entire country to a standstill through mass demonstrations “before Xmas”.
But he gave no date for the demonstrations “for strategic reasons”. Instead, he promised to call journalists to his house in the northern city of Nampula “on Wednesday or Thursday” to announce the date, time and place for the start of the demonstrations.
But from Beira he travelled, not to Nampula, but to the western city of Tete, where he met with demobilized Renamo fighters. The promised press conference in Nampula did not happen on either Wednesday or Thursday.
Instead, according to a report in Friday’s issue of the independent newsheet “Mediafax”, about 500 members and supporters of Renamo gathered on Thursday at the Renamo office in Nampula, supposedly to discuss details about the impending “revolution”.
“Mediafax”, however, says that the real purpose of the gathering was to test the police response, in order to gauge how the police might react in the event of a real demonstration.
Police, including members of the riot police, gathered in large numbers in the streets, particular in areas near the Renamo office and near Dhlakama’s house. But there were no clashes – all that happened was that every time a police patrol car drove past the office, the Renamo crowd yelled insults at it.
At about 11.00, the Renamo Nampula provincial delegate asked the crowd to go home. They had now, she claimed, drawn up their strategy.
Initially there was resistance. “No, we don’t want to leave!”, shouted members of the crowd. “We want to demonstrate because we’re tired of the thieves and liars of Frelimo”.
But a few minutes later they did disperse, and the situation in the streets around the office returned to normal.
If Dhlakama is to keep his promise of demonstrations “before Xmas”, they will have to happen either on Friday or on Xmas Eve – days on which millions of Mozambicans, Renamo members included, are busy shopping for the weekend festivities.
AllAfrica – All the Time