The Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM) has a "carte blanche" signed by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Defense Forces of Mozambique, Daniel Chapo, to assassinate the Mozambican people, according to the Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM).

"The Commander-in-Chief of the Defense and Security Forces, by making the statement he did, is not only directly directing the Defense and Security Forces to act in this way, thus spilling the blood of the demonstrators, but he is also encouraging the police to act in accordance with this direction. Therefore, the Police of the Republic of Mozambique now have a carte blanche to be able to murder the Mozambican people," said Ismael Nhacucue, MDM spokesperson.

This is the reaction of the political grouping to the pronouncements of Daniel Chapo, President of the Republic, on Monday in Cabo Delgado, where during his speech he said he would make the demonstrators' blood gush.

Yesterday, during the Council of Ministers, Chapo explained that the interpretation of that part of his speech was marginal to the context. He clarified that he was referring to illegal demonstrations and in ways that were not provided for in the Constitution of the Republic. At the time, he criticized the media, which goes to great lengths to spread false information. Chapo's position was emphasized in the Executive's press briefing by spokesman Inocêncio Impissa.

However, even after these clarifications, the MDM recalled that members of opposition political parties have been murdered by the police, and warned of a possible escalation of police violence to alarming levels.  

On the other hand, he accused Daniel Chapo of not knowing the history of Mozambique by creating analogies between the start of the 16-year war and the demonstrations.

"The President, by saying that the civil war also started with this level of demonstrations, by comparing the demonstrators to armed bandits, trying to distort the state, simply shows that he doesn't know the history of Mozambique. Because this comparison, 32 years after the Rome Accords, shows that the Frelimo party is still an arrogant, exclusionary party that has no confidence in Mozambican society," he said.

For the MDM, the President of the Republic must take a sufficiently firm stance to accept his mistakes, "and create mechanisms for the cohesion of the Mozambican state, unity and national reconciliation," it said, quoted by the STV.