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Writes Charles Mangwiro
Maputo (Mozambique) – The National Governing Council of MISA-Mozambique has strongly condemned the attack against journalists which occurred last Monday, perpetrated by the Mozambican Police Force (PRM), during the strike called by the opposition party PODEMOS, in protest
against the murder of its members Elvino Dias and Paulo Guambe.
Riot police in Mozambique’s capital, Maputo, fired tear gas on Monday to disperse a crowd protesting against alleged electoral fraud days after two opposition allies were shot dead.
Several hundred people, including journalists, scattered as heavily armed police marched down a main street on Monday.
In a statement, MISA said the attack by the PRM against journalists is a violation of the press freedom enshrined in our Constitution of the Republic.
“The National Governing Council of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) considers that the attack against journalists, which was broadcast live, was a genuine lack of respect and consideration and an unacceptable abuse of authority against journalists. As the images show, the PRM acted deliberately, and its behavior is an affront against the Constitution of the Republic and a lack of respect for the freedoms of media professionals.
The National Council stresses that the function of the police of guaranteeing public order and tranquility should not be opposed to, or put at risk the integrity of reporters carrying out their duties.
Journalists, when they do their job of covering demonstrations, are in full use of a constitutional right and duty, and the police should not act violently to restrict this right”, reads a MISA statement issued on Wednesday.
According to MISA, freedom of the press is a fundamental pillar of democracy and allows society to enjoy access to essential information and citizens to participate actively in public debate, and attacks against journalists do not only threaten the security of media professionals but also compromise the integrity of information and hence of democracy itself.
“Thus, in the name of respect for and the dignity of the mass media in Mozambique, the National Council of MISA-Mozambique urges media editors and managers to unite around this cause. They must include in their working agendas involving the police and the Attorney General’s Office a request for an explanation of this attack until those responsible for this barbaric behaviour are identified and held criminally responsible, MISA-Mozambique said adding In the coming days, it will resent requests to the state bodies of justice, demanding condemnation of these attitudes, and that the case be clarified speedily.
