[Onthebarricades] MOZAMBIQUE: Mass revolt over price rises

[Andy]

*  Massive street unrest over rising fuel and food prices in Mozambique
*  Minibus taxi drivers protested price hikes introduced by the government 
under World Bank pressure
*  Thousands joined mass protests, burning tyres, building barricades and 
fighting back against police
*  Beginning in the capital Maputo, the unrest spread to other towns
*  Several protesters were killed as police attacked to clear roads
*  The government was forced to back down following the unrest

Publicly Archived at Global Resistance: 
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http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/world.aspx?ID=BD4A699702

Posted to the web on: 06 February 2008
Police kill protester in Maputo fuel riot
Charles Mangwiro

Reuters
MAPUTO - Police opened fire on at a crowd protesting at transport price 
hikes in Mozambique's capital yesterday, killing one person.
Thousands of people joined the protests in Maputo, burning tyres and 
throwing stones at police cars. Police fired rubber bullets as they tried to 
clear roads, residents said.
"We are aware that one person was killed," police spokesman Arnaldo Chefo 
said yesterday. "We will investigate in what circumstances police resorted 
to live ammunition instead of rubber bullets or tear gas."
Fares have been driven higher by rising fuel prices. This year the price of 
petrol in Mozambique has increased 46% and diesel almost 90%. Paraffin 
prices climbed 61%.
OTM, the largest Mozambican trade union federation, said workers were 
spending 35% of their wages on transport. A recent United Nations 
development report said that nearly 40% of Mozambique's people were living 
on less than $1 a day.
The union federation has called for an extraordinary meeting of officials 
from labour unions, the government and other associations to discuss rising 
fuel prices.
Mozambicans often use overcrowded and battered buses because state-owned 
transport companies have a shortage of vehicles.

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=8b04b393-4726-4372-863b-8032f6d642d2&k=16494

Mozambique capital erupts in riots soon after Province reporter arrives
By Elaine O'Connor, The Province
Published: Tuesday, February 05, 2008
MAPUTO - The capital of Mozambique exploded into violence on Tuesday as 
citizens rioted in protest against increased bus prices.
All across the large southern city, impromptu roadblocks of burning tires 
and overturned dumpsters were set up at the main bus depots. Men wielding 
rocks and clubs stopped traffic cold and attacked cars that dared try to 
pass.
The price of fuel in the region has risen rapidly in the past month, from 29 
Meticals per litre to 35 Meticals per litre (about $1.21 to $1.47 Cdn), and 
the bus and taxi drivers were demanding the government dramatically increase 
fares to compensate, up to a 15 Meticals increase.
View Larger Image
Protesters outside a Maputo bank where employees and Province reporter 
Elaine O'Connor were holed up during rioting in the Mozambique capital on 
Tuesday.
Ben Botha
As a compromise, the government increased fares on short routes from 5 to 
7.5 Meticals and from 7.5 on long routes to 10. Those fares went into effect 
Tuesday.
The trouble began in the morning as a simple bus strike - with the minibuses 
called chapas that are the mainstay of local traffic, staying off the 
roads - leaving people to walk to work.
But by mid-morning, the strike had transformed into a violent protest. 
Groups of men were setting up roadblocks at half a dozen points in the city.
Police opened fire crowds with rubber bullets throughout the day. But in at 
least one case, resorted to live ammunition. One person was reported killed 
as of 4:30 p.m. local time.
Thousands of people joined the protests across the city, and calls to the 
local television station from protesters threatened to escalate rioting and 
violence if the government failed to lower fares. By afternoon, thick acrid 
clouds of smoke rose above the capital's highrises.
The country's largest trade union, OTM, stated that the average Mozambican 
worker spends 35 per cent of their wages on transportation. UN data reports 
that  40 per cent of Mozambicans live on less than US $1 a day, making even 
a few cents increase in chapa fares a great hardship.
This year in the southern African country, fuel prices have been on a tear: 
gas is up almost 46 per cent and diesel 90 per cent.
At one primary school in downtown Maputo, the Escola Primaria 3 de 
Fevereiro, the 2,300 students were panicked and being kept on the grounds as 
volleys of gunfire rang out around the city. Police shot into the air to 
scatter the protesters and allow traffic through, but only periodically.
By noon, traffic on the main routes was at a standstill.
Outside the Opportunity International Bank (Banco Opportunidade de 
Mocambique) on Avenida 24 de Julho, dozens of men gathered and set tires 
alight and beat back cars.
The bank had closed at 10 a.m. after the U.S. Embassy in Maputo issued a 
security alert citing widespread rioting in the city and some violence 
involving fires and car vandalism. By 1 p.m. the area became impassable, and 
riot police were called in. Several ambulances drove into the crowd. Shots 
rang out.
"This is pretty extraordinary, this is pretty violent," said bank director 
Trudi Schwartz.
Protests after price increases are common - about once a year - but they 
rarely take such a turn.
And, as Schwartz recalls, as her bank employees peer out the windows at the 
crowds, at least this time their windows remained intact.
Last year, after a munitions plant exploded, some of the bank's windows blew 
just as the CEO was on a conference call with the Gates Foundation.
It is, she points out, just a part of doing business in this part of Africa.
- Province reporter Elaine O'Connor is in Rwanda and Mozambique this month 
reporting on B.C. residents who are working for change in Africa. She is the 
recipient of a CIDA-Jack Webster Foundation Seeing the World Through New 
Eyes Fellowship. Her reports will appear periodically online and in The 
Province.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200802060964.html

Mozambique: Fare Rise Leads to Rioting And Barricades

Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique (Maputo)
6 February 2008
Posted to the web 6 February 2008
Maputo
Traffic ground to a halt in many Maputo neighbourhoods on Tuesday morning as 
rioting broke out against the increase in fares charged by the private 
minibus operators who provide much of the Mozambican capital's passenger 
transport.
Last week, the Transport Ministry and the Federation of Road Transport 
Associations (FEMATRO)agreed fare increases of up to 50 per cent for the 
minibuses (colloquially known as "chapas". In Maputo and the neighbouring 
city of Matola the fare for a journey of up to five kilometres rose from 
five to 7.5 meticais. The flat fare for longer journeys rose from 7.5 to 10 
meticias (at current exchange rates there are about 24 meticais to the US 
dollar).

The main reason given for these increases was the latest rise in the price 
of fuel. Due to the surge in crude oil prices, the Ministry of Energy on 23 
January decreed a 14 per cent increase in the price of diesel and an 8.1 per 
cent increase in the price of petrol.
The fare rises were to take effect on Tuesday - but crowds came onto the 
streets shouting "Five meticais! Five meticais!", and physically prevented 
minibuses from operating.
Barricades were improvised, out of lumps of concrete or burning tyres, on 
several of Maputo's main thoroughfares. Enormous clouds of smoke billowed 
from the burning tyres that blocked Lurdes Mutola avenue in the 
neighbourhood of Malhazine.
The demonstrators even stopped vehicles belonging to the public bus company, 
TPM, from circulating, even though the TPM flat fare has only risen from 4.5 
to five meticais. In the suburb of Magoanine, AIM reporters watched as 
protestors stopped a TPM bus, and obliged all its passengers to leave the 
vehicle and join them.
Schoolchildren took an active part in the protests. Pupils from the Laulane 
Secondary School told AIM "some of our colleagues are studying, but we 
prefer to be here to show that the increased cost of transport is a problem 
that affects everybody".
In some areas, demonstrators turned against journalists. Stones shattered 
the windows of a vehicle belonging to the television station, STV, and one 
of the STV reporters was injured.
Riot police intervened, firing rubber bullets into the crowds in an attempt 
to bring the situation under control. Despite the police presence, most 
chapa owners gave up any attempt to take their vehicles onto the streets.
Thousands of workers found themselves unable to reach their workplaces, 
while pupils who live a long distance from their schools found it impossible 
to reach classes. Some people resigned themselves to walking to work or 
school.
Reports reaching the AIM newsroom, not yet confirmed, spoke of several 
people injured in the demonstrations and at least one death. A police car 
was reportedly burnt in Zona Verde, in Matola.
But Matola was much quieter than Maputo, probably because Tuesday is a 
public holiday in Matola, marking the 36th anniversary of its elevation to 
the status of a city.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200802121018.html

Mozambique: Choke Riot - More Details

Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique (Maputo)
12 February 2008
Posted to the web 12 February 2008
Maputo
Although the authorities insist that only one person died in Monday's riot 
in the town of Chokwe, in the southern Mozambican province of Gaza, 
eye-witnesses cited in Tuesday's issue of the independent newssheet 
"Mediafax" put the number of deaths at between three and six.
The Chokwe District Administrator, Agostinho Faquir, told the paper that the 
man who died "was in the middle of the demonstrators, waving a pistol. He 
began to open fire on the police, and the police had to react. It was then 
that the police shot and killed this person. But it's not true that three 
people died".

This time it seems certain that the police were using live ammunition rather 
than rubber bullets. Seven people were admitted to the local hospital, at 
least two of whom were suffering from gunshot wounds.
The rioters were protesting against the high cost of living, particularly 
rises in the price of food and of fuel. The disturbances began at about 7.30 
on Monday morning, and at about 11.00 degenerated into a full scale battle 
between the police, and rioters. The police only gained the upper hand once 
reinforcements had arrived from the provincial capital, Xai-Xai.
At least three shops and a warehouse were looted. An eye-witness told 
"Mediafax" that one shop only avoided the same fate because its owner was 
armed, and managed to close his establishment in time.

Reports from Chokwe on Tuesday morning suggest that life there has now 
returned to normal. However, disturbances on Tuesday spread to the Gaza town 
of Chibuto, where a group of youths looted stalls in the town's central 
market.
A Chibuto municipal official, interviewed by the private television station 
STV, described these rioters as "a group of opportunists", who were merely 
interested in stealing goods from market stalls.
The disturbances started at about 10.00, but the police brought the 
situation under control within about half an hour, the official said.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200802130702.html

Mozambique: Copycat Riots in Chibuto And Jangamo

Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique (Maputo)
13 February 2008
Posted to the web 13 February 2008
Maputo
Disturbances spread on Tuesday to the town of Chibuto, and the district of 
Jangamo, in the southern Mozambican provinces of Gaza and Inhambane, as 
gangs of youths sought to copy the riots that took place in Maputo on 5 
February.
The rioters, protesting against the high cost of living, attacked the main 
market in Chibuto, looting several stalls and destroying shop windows. They 
also threw up barricades on the main road into the town, preventing access 
to Chibuto for part of the morning.

According to Wednesday's issue of the Maputo daily "Noticias", police shot 
into the air to disperse the crowd. There are no reports of deaths or 
injuries, but the police say they arrested 12 of the protesters.
The local police commander, Francisco Taimo, said the police were able to 
prevent any worse damage, because they were already on a state of alert. 
Police officers were stationed at strategic points in Chibuto before the 
riot began.
The Chibuto district administrator, Zacarias Soto, said "it's unclear what 
the group of protestors wanted".
In Jangamo district, protestors mounted barricades at Malaica on the 
country's main north-south road. Traffic was interrupted for several hours 
before the police cleared the road. Again the specific objectives of the 
protesters were not at all clear.

Meanwhile, in Maputo the city authorities have launched a campaign in 
schools to urge children not to take part in demonstrations. This backfired 
when pupils at the Laulane secondary school told Maputo city governor, Rosa 
da Silva, that they believed the 5 February riots were justified.
The teenagers rejected the commonly held view that they were "made use of" 
by the adult demonstrators. An outspoken teenage girl, Lurdes Muianga, 
speaking on behalf of the pupils, told Silva they had taken part in the 
riots, not because anybody else told them to, but because the problem of 
increased transport fares directly affected them.
Speaking to reporters, Muianga pointed out the awkward truth that rioting 
can work. It was only in the wake of the riots that the government and 
transport operators cancelled the fare increase.

http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSL07903820

Mozambique says will not compensate for riot damages
Thu Feb 7, 2008 8:20am EST
By Charles Mangwiro

MAPUTO, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Mozambique will not pay compensation for property 
damaged during violent protests over increased transport fares that left 
three people dead and 104 others injured, a senior government official said 
on Thursday.

Thousands of people took to the streets early this week, protesting against 
a 50 percent rise in the cost of mass transport. Protesters looted shops, 
damaged vehicles and burnt some electricity poles.

Police using live ammunition, shot and killed three people while trying to 
disperse the crowd.

Transport and Communications Minister Antonio Mungwambe said the cost of 
damaged property could total millions of dollars but the government had no 
plans to compensate for the losses.

"No where in the world the state compensates for losses sustained by any 
person in respect of damages by riots," he said in a statement.

Fares have been driven higher by rising fuel prices. This year the local 
price of petrol has climbed 46 percent and diesel almost 90 percent. 
Kerosene prices rose 61 percent.

Transport operators said they would scrap the planned fare increases and 
continue to negotiate with the government for a solution.

Mozambicans frequently use overcrowded and battered buses because 
state-owned transport firms have a shortage of vehicles.

Mozambique's largest trade union federation, OTM, has said workers spend 35 
percent of their wages on transport. A recent U.N. development report said 
nearly 40 percent of Mozambique's people live on less than $1 a day. 
(Editing by Phumza Macanda and Mary Gabriel)

http://allafrica.com/stories/200802070775.html

Mozambique: Government Will Not Pay for Riot Damages

Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique (Maputo)
7 February 2008
Posted to the web 7 February 2008
Maputo
The Mozambican government will not assume any responsibility for damages or 
loss of property incurred by individuals, business and other institutions as 
result of the riots that shook the Maputo and the surrounding neighbourhoods 
on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Angry mobs destroyed property worth millions of dollars in many Maputo 
neighbourhoods on Tuesday morning as rioting broke out against the increase 
in fares charged by the private minibus operators who provide much of the 
Mozambican capital's passenger transport.

The fuel price rise that led to the increase in minibus fares results form 
the soaring prices of oil in the international markert. Furthermore the 
owners of the minibuses had not increased their fares since 2005.
Initially, minibus owners were demanding the fare to be increased from the 
current 5.0 and 7.5 meticais to 18 or 19 meticais per journey. Eventualy 
they were forced to settle with 7.5 to 10 meticais for journeys within 
Maputo and Matola (at current exchange rates there are about 24 meticais to 
the US dollar).
Following the riots that plunged the capital into a total chaos, however, 
the government and transport operator reached an agreement to reverse the 
fare increase.
The statement of the government follows the concerns expressed by a number 
of citizens whose property and other goods and assets have been vandalized 
by the demonstrators.
"Nowhere in the world the State compensates for losses sustained by any 
person in respect of damages by riots", said Mozambican Minister of 
Transport and Communications, Antonio Mungwambe.
This means that individuals, shop owners, business and other institutions 
whose property was destroyed will have to cover their own expenses for the 
losses incurred.
Only a handful of businesses have already started to assess the losses 
sustained, and most are expected to embark on the same exercise later in the 
week when things settle down.
Demonstrators also attacked a secondary school which bears the name the 
country's President, Armando Guebuza, in the neighbourhood of Chamanculo and 
that was opened about seven months ago.
According to the representatives of "Olhar de Esperanca" (A Look of Hope), a 
project from the Mozambican Ministry of Education, that sponsored the 
construction that school the damages sustained amount to over one million 
dollars.
"Olhar de Esperanca" is a public-private partnership that aims at promoting 
the improvement of the learning-teaching process through the construction of 
schools and the acquirement of the basic means for students and teachers.
Among other business that have been severely hit by the riots include a huge 
warehouse of the milling company Sasseka, a recently inaugurated branch of 
ProCredit Bank in the neighbourhood of Jorge Dimitrov, few petrol stations, 
several hundred of private vehicles, and two police vehicles.
Meanwhile, three people have been killed, two adults and one adolescent, who 
were victims of stray bullets. This despite the claims of deputy Interior 
Minister, Jose Mandra, did not use live bullets to disperse the 
demonstrators.
Relatives of the deceased were on Wednesday demanding the authorities to pay 
for their funerals.
On the other hand, the number of injured have risen to 104, this according 
to Thursday's issue of the daily paper "Noticias".
To alleviate the current transportation crisis in Maputo, Mungwambe said the 
government will have to address urgently the problem.

To that end, that government is planning to increase its fleet from the 
current 40 to reach a number of 150 buses. The government is well aware that 
even this number will not meet the current demand.
"We are seriously addressing the issue of public transportation. We can't 
say when the problems will be resolved, but the situation will certainly 
improve", said the minister.
Mungwambe also said that the government is planning also to revamp the whole 
transportation system that could see dedicated roads for public transport, 
to speed up the traffic.

http://www.globalvoicesonline.org/2008/02/06/mozambique-a-riot-organized-through-sms-and-reported-by-bloggers/

Mozambique: Riot organized via SMS is covered by bloggers

Wednesday, February 6th, 2008 @ 19:27 UTC
by Paula Góes

Three people died and more than 250 were injured in a riot yesterday in 
Maputo, which followed a protest against the increase in fares charged by 
the chapas (private minibus operators from the Mozambican capital). One of 
the first people to bring the news to the public was the blogger and 
sociologist Carlos Serra [pt], in a post just after 8:00 am, which was 
continuously followed up as he had fresh information to share.
He reported on barricades being improvised to prevent minibuses from 
operating and halting of all bus and mini-bus services soon after, as well 
as the police intervention, stranded commuters and the first person left 
dead. People started to contact the blogger directly to provide their first 
accounts of what they had heard and seen.
While most of the local TV stations were showing soap operas and the radios 
broadcasting football, people flocked to the Internet to get more 
information. Carlos Serra received dozen of comments on his report, with 
many readers thanking him for his minute-to-minute updates, the only source 
of virtually real time information available. Micas [pt] said in his 
comment:
Revoltante! A Rádio não deveria estar ao serviço da informação, ao serviço 
do povo? Não é um serviço público? Que me desculpem mas o futebol poderá 
ficar para depois.
Disgusting! Shouldn't the Radio be at the service of information, at the 
service of the people? Isn't it a public service? Excuse me, but football 
can be left for later.
Bayano Valy [pt] brought today an analysis of the poor participation of the 
mainstream media and its consequences:
O que me pareceu ter acontecido ontem foi que mais uma vez os órgãos de 
comunicação públicos furtaram-se de cumprir com uma das suas obrigações de 
informar o público sobre questões de interesse público. E me parece que as 
manifestações de ontem eram de interesse público. Ao furtarem-se do dever e 
obrigação de reportar sobre o que estava a acontecer não terão os nossos 
órgãos públicos contribuido para que mais pessoas se pusessem à rua com 
todas as consequências que daí podiam advir?
What seemed to have happened yesterday was that once again the public media 
avoided complying with one of its obligations: to inform the public on 
matters of public interest. And I think that yesterday's events were of 
public interest. On avoiding the duty and obligation to report on what was 
happening, wouldn't our public agencies have contributed to more people 
going to the street with all the consequences that could arise from this?
Other citizens were recording the events even closer. The short video below, 
by KaeDhee was shot from a roof terrace in one of the quietest areas, Coop, 
near OMM Square at around 14:30.
SMS mobilization
Such widespread demonstrations are unprecedented in Maputo and apparently 
the mobilization started soon after the Transport Ministry and the 
Federation of Road Transport Associations (FEMATRO) agreed that fares would 
increase up to 50% for the chapas (from 5 meticais to 7.5 - US$0,20 to 
US$0,30). People used SMS to send text messages inviting others to protest 
in the day the new fare would take effect, according to Orlando Castro [pt]:
Hoje o protesto registou uma inovação. Foi convocado por sms e incluía 
fortes críticas ao Governo da FRELIMO: "O povo está a sofrer, os filhos de 
ministros, deputados e outros dignitários não andam de chapa e os chapas 
estão caros. Vamos fazer greve e exigir justiça. Lutemos contra a pobreza".
The protest today had an innovation. It was convened through sms and 
included strong criticism of the FRELIMO's government: "People are 
suffering; ministers, parliamentarians and other dignitaries' children don't 
travel on chapas and they are expensive. Let's go on a strike and demand 
justice. Let's fight against poverty. "
The increases were justified by th latest rise in the price of fuel, which 
saw a 14% increase in the price of diesel and an 8.1% increase in the price 
of petrol. On the other hand, the official minimum wage is less than US$2 
per day, and the poorest people would be the most affected by the new fares. 
Some bloggers, such as Ivone Soares [pt], were not happy satisfied with this 
justification:
O salário mínimo está aquém das necessidades básicas das populações, ademais 
que o índice de desemprego em Moçambique é vergonhoso para um Governo que se 
diz do Povo, mas que preocupado com os mega-empreendimentos.
The minimum wage is below people's basic needs, and in addition to this the 
unemployment rate in Mozambique is shameful for a government which is said 
to be [a government] of the people, but is concerned only about 
mega-ventures.
Manoel de Araújo [pt] writes an open letter to Mozambican president Armando 
Guebuza asking him to speak up about the unprecedented event in Maputo:
Pela primeira vez depois da independencia nacional a populacao de Maputo 
saiu a rua com um unico proposito- dizer de forma clara e inequivoca de que 
ja esta farto das instituicoes estatais e que pelo menos desta vez, iria 
resolver os seus problemas, usando as suas proprias maos!
For the first time after the national independence, the population of Maputo 
gained the streets with a single purpose - to say in a clear and unequivocal 
way that they are already tired of the state institutions and that at least 
this time, they would solve their problems themselves, with their own hands!
Leonardo Vieira [pt] says he is not surprised that people have run out of 
patience after so many price rises in less than one month: fuel, bread, and 
the chapas fare. He blames the government for its passivity, which leaves 
the population with no choice but the use of violence. In this case, the 
protesters achieved what they were fighting for:
E qual foi a consequência??? Na pessoa do ministro dos transportes, o 
Governo anuncia que já não mais irão subir os preços.
And what was the result? Through the minister of transport, the Government 
announced that it will no longer raise the prices.
In a comment to the above blog post, Nelson Livingston [pt] agrees with 
Leonardo's theory that people's patience is coming to an end, and makes a 
dark prediction [pt] for the future:
O que me intriga é como o governo subestima o povo. Como não lê os sinais de 
insatisfação. Será por estar demasiado desligado da situação popular ou por 
uma cruel insensibilidade que se "ignora" o resultado de algumas medidas 
tomadas lá no topo. Agora aprendeu o povo que "criança que não chora não 
mamã". Aprendeu que "governo não gosta de barulho". O povo aprendeu a "mexer 
o remoto control" o futuro é assustador.
What I have been intrigued by is how the government underestimates people. 
How it does not read the dissatisfaction signs. Is it because they are 
turned off to people's situation or is it a kind of cruel insensitivity 
which "ignores" the consequences of some decisions made up there. Now people 
have learned that "the squeaky wheel gets the grease." They have learned 
that the "government is averse to noise." People have learned how to 
"operate the remote control". Future is frightening.
A phantom city
Today, Carlos Serra reports that after the protests continued in some places 
into the evening, this morning Maputo was like a phantom city. There was no 
public transport, most schools and shops remained closed. Rubbish was soon 
building up along remnants of the barricades thrown up the day before. Only 
in the afternoon the chapas started again to circulate.
However, there are still some tension in other parts of Mozambique. Carlos 
Serra has been, as usual, providing all the last updates, quicker than any 
other media in the country. In his 28th update today at 20:40, the latest at 
the time of publication of this piece, he reports:
Três mortos e 268 feridos - eis o rescaldo dos levante popular de ontem, 
segundo a estação televisiva TVM no seu noticiário das 20. Mas segundo o "O 
Paísonline", calcula-se em 93 o número de feridos que deram entrada no 
Hospital central de Maputo, dos quais 25 continuam ainda internados.
Three dead and 268 injured - this is the aftermath of yesterday's popular 
uprising, according to the TV station TVM in their news at 8 pm. However, 
according to "The Paísonline", it is estimated that there were 93 wounded 
brought to the Central Hospital of Maputo, of which 25 are still in 
hospital.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200803200866.html

Mozambique: Renamo Lines Up Behind Rioters

Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique (Maputo)
20 March 2008
Posted to the web 20 March 2008
Maputo
Parliamentary deputies of Mozambique's main opposition party, the former 
rebel movement Renamo, have enthusiastically defended the Maputo riots 
against fare rises of 5 February.
On that day, rioters protesting at increases of up to 50 per cent in the 
fares charged by the private minibuses (colloquially known as "chapas") that 
provide much of the capital's passenger transport effectively shut the city 
down. The rioters erected barricades of burning tyres, and stoned any 
vehicles that attempted to drive past. There were repeated clashes 
throughout the day between the police and gangs of stone throwing youths.

The rioters won, in that the government rapidly renegotiated the fares with 
the Federation of Road Transport Associations (FEMATRO). The fare increase 
was withdrawn, and the government opted to offer the chapa owners a fuel 
subsidy instead.
At a parliamentary debate on Thursday on the cost of living and rises in the 
price of fuel, Renamo deputy Francisco Maingue declared that the "unbearable 
cost of living" had been the cause of the riots, and the fare rise was "the 
last straw".
He described the 5 February rioters as "heroes", and condemned the police 
for daring to arrest several of them. The country was being paralysed by 
"the Marxist government of Frelimo", he declared, apparently unaware that 
Frelimo had jettisoned Marxism in 1989.
Although Renamo claims to be a party of the right, in favour of free 
markets, some of the proposals its deputies made were straight out of a 
command economy textbook. Thus Viana Magalhaes called not only for a minimum 
wage but also for a maximum wage and suggested that the minimum wage should 
be ten per cent of the maximum wage.
Magalhaes may be unaware of it, but this is rather similar to Lenin's policy 
on wages after the Bolshevik revolution. Like Renamo, Lenin demanded both a 
maximum and a minimum wage - the only difference is that Lenin wanted a 
maximum wage no more than four times the minimum, while Magalhaes would 
allow it to be ten times as large.
Another Renamo deputy, Manuel Pereira, seemed nostalgic for the days of the 
one party state. He called for a return to the food subsidies that had 
existed in the early 1980s.
Deputies from the ruling Frelimo Party argued that, while the right to 
demonstrate was enshrined in the constitution, it must be exercised 
peacefully. "Violence never resolves any problems. It only worsens them", 
said Edson Macuacua. "Violence generates violence".
Renamo deputy Luis Gouveia replied with the remarkable claim that there is 
no such thing as a peaceful demonstration. "Demonstrations are never 
peaceful anywhere in the world", he declared. "The only place where there 
are peaceful demonstrations is a cemetery".
Some Frelimo deputies traced poverty and the high cost of living back to 
Renamo's war of destabilisation. "You (Renamo) destroyed Mozambique 
yesterday, and today the Mozambicans are paying the bill", declared Damiao 
Jose. "You were being manipulated, you were pleasing your bosses, and you 
didn't realize what the consequences would be".
A critical remark by a Frelimo deputy about an anti-government rap singer 
who uses the stage name Azagaia, led to Renamo suggestions that Frelimo 
wants to censor musicians. "All musicians are free to sing !", declared Luis 
Boavida.

Moreira Vasco immediately retorted that there are no musicians among the 
Renamo deputies, but the Frelimo parliamentary groups contains several 
(indeed it does - AIM counts at least three, namely the head of the Frelimo 
group, Manuel Tome, Roberto Chitsondzo, and Esau Menezes)..
"If Renamo were in power, there would be total chaos", said Vasco. "They 
forget that they used to blow up factories, schools, hospitals, bridges. Did 
they think they were improving citizens' lives then ?"

http://maputo.wantedinafrica.com/news/news.php?id_n=4171

transport: Government to subsidise fuel for chapas owners.
The government has decided to subsidise the cost of fuel for "chapas" 
operators following a recent hike in the cost of diesel. The decision comes 
after it revoked a rise in fares introduced in early February to offset the 
increase in operating costs for public transport providers, which sparked 
violent protests in Maputo and neighbouring Matola.
Now operators of the privately owned mini-bus taxis will pay the old price 
of 31 meticais per litre of diesel rather than the new price of 35.35 
meticais per litre introduced on 23 January as a result of rising oil prices 
on the global market. However the government and representatives of chapas 
owners still have to work out how to implement the decision without damaging 
the interests of petrol pump operators.
Meanwhile, the police have now admitted using live ammunition as well as 
rubber bullets during the February riots in Maputo and Matola that left four 
people dead and over 100 more in need of hospital treatment. Of these, 68 
had been shot and ten were suffering from tear gas poisoning. Until now the 
police had insisted that they only used rubber bullets.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUKL1263886620080212

Mozambique cuts fuel price to end street protests
Tue Feb 12, 2008 7:02pm GMT

By Charles Mangwiro

MAPUTO, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Mozambique's government agreed to cut the price 
of diesel fuel for private minibus taxis on Tuesday to end a wave of 
protests over high fuel prices and the rising cost of living in the southern 
African state.

The booming but impoverished country has been rocked by violence that has 
killed six people and injured more than 100 after police clashed with crowds 
of demonstrators who looted shops, destroyed vehicles and burned electricity 
poles.

Commuters were angered by high fuel costs and a decision, later scrapped, to 
raise transport fares by 50 percent.

"The decision to reduce the price takes effect immediately," Transport and 
Communication Minister Antonio Munguambe said, after announcing the diesel 
price would fall to 31.0 meticais ($1.30) a litre, from 35.35.

Last week, three people were shot to death by police and more than 150 were 
injured. Violence erupted again late on Monday in the southern province of 
Gaza when protesters, some wielding machetes, seized a popular market, 
sealed off roads and looted shops, Radio Mozambique said on Tuesday.

Six people were seriously injured when police moved in to disperse the 
crowd, which the broadcaster said was linked to anger over rising 
transportation and other costs.

"We called them (the protesters) for a dialogue, but nobody accepted our 
offer, making it difficult for us to understand the real motives of the 
violent demonstration," Jorge Macuacua, the mayor of Chokwe, told Radio 
Mozambique.

Bus companies and other transport operators had announced steep price 
increases in response to rising fuel costs, but these were later scrapped. 
The price of petrol has climbed 46 percent and diesel by nearly 90 percent.

Although Mozambique's economy is expected to grow robustly in 2008 -- GDP 
growth is forecast at 7 percent, versus 7.5 percent in 2007 -- the bulk of 
its 20 million people continue to eke out a subsistence living and many are 
mired in poverty.

Economic growth in the former Portuguese colony has also triggered inflation 
that has pinched Mozambicans. The inflation rate for 2007 was 8.4 percent, 
higher than the government's forecast of 6.4 percent. (Editing by Michael 
Winfrey)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7242323.stm

Mozambique riots push fuel down

Police were accused of opening fire on protesters
Mozambique has revoked a recent increase in the price of diesel fuel for 
private minibus taxis.
The move follows a week of clashes between police and rioters that killed at 
least four people and seriously injured more than 100.
Transport Minister Antonio Mungwambe said the price of diesel would drop by 
14% for minibus owners.
In the immediate aftermath of the riots, the government cancelled plans to 
raise transport fares by up to 50%.
Temporary measure
During the demonstrations, crowds looted shops, destroyed vehicles and 
burned tyres and electricity poles.
The key problem is people's low salary

Agostinho Matsinhe
Transport operator
The price of fuel was increased by 14% last month in response to rising 
prices on the world market.
Food prices have also increased as a result.
Analysts view the government move as a temporary measure while it works out 
a durable solution to the crisis.
"The key problem is people's low salary," transport operator Agostinho 
Matsinhe told the BBC at one of the terminals in the outskirts of Maputo.
"So, passengers are right when they complain and so are the transporters.
"Practically, the reduction in the price of fuel does not help much for both 
of us."

http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:wTbAMQLdnGUJ:www.gg.rhbnc.ac.uk/Simon/GG3072/Moz-Bull-125.pdf+maputo+fuel+protest&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=23&gl=uk&client=firefox-a

5 DEAD IN DEMONSTRATIONS;
NOTICIAS EDITOR SAYS
CAUSE IS GOVERNMENT
OBEDIENCE TO WORLD BANK
Demonstrations in Maputo on 5 February and then four other towns against the 
high
cost of living, triggered by an increase in bus fares, have shocked 
Mozambique. At
least five people were killed and more than 100 injured, many shot by the 
police.
Frelimo dismissed the rioters as marginals and vandals, and writers 
initially argued
that government had no control over world oil and wheat prices. But in the 
past few
days, the government-owned daily newspaper has published a series of more
thoughtful articles.
Rogerio Sitoe, editor-in-chief of the government owned daily, Noticias, led 
the way
with a remarkable column, arguing that the root cause is "the religious way 
we
applaud and accept the prescriptions of the World Bank and International 
Monetary
Fund", when these are really "poison prescriptions". They have destroyed 
jobs and
failed to promote agricultural development, which has "contributed greatly 
to the
impoverishment of the countryside and forced a migration to the cities, 
particularly of
the youth." The government needs its own development policy and needs to 
stop
treating World Bank and IMF statements as if they were "bible verses".
A subsequent letter to the editor was published saying the demonstrations 
were not
vandalism, but a strike by the people demanding their rights. And a 
columnist said
the demonstrations were useful because before the riots, the elites simply 
did not
understand the economic crisis of not just of the poor, but of the middle 
classes.

In Maputo in the 5 February demonstration, between four and eight people 
were
killed, and over 100 injured - including 68 shot by the police; 31 people 
were
arrested. Police in Maputo admitted they used both live ammunition and 
rubber
bullets.
Disturbances spread to Chokwe in Gaza on 11 February. Between one and six
people were killed. The following day there were demonstrations in Chibuto 
in Gaza
province and Jangamo in Inhambane. Later, protestors in Chidenguele in Gaza
blocked the main road through the town to protest at the increase in the bus 
fare to
the provincial capital, Xai-Xai. At least 20 people were arrested in the 
Gaza
demonstrations.
In Maputo a deal was agreed with minibus operators that they would pay only 
31
meticais ($1.30) a litre for diesel, the price before the 23 January 
increase to 35.35
meticais a litre