CONFIDENTIAL
MOZAMBIQUE
Report by HM Embassy, Maputo
General Observations
1.
The People's Republic of Mozambique has a one-party revolutionary Government whose basic Marxist-influenced philosophy is antipathetic to certain Western standards and cherished freedoms, but these have never been enjoyed and are of doubtful relevance in an under-developed African country newly freed from oppressive colonial rule. The 1975 Inde- pendence Constitution purports to guarantee individual liberties subject to the overriding interests of the People; but it is not yet fully operative.
2.
1975/6 has been a period of tension, with the risk of subversion, acts of violence and 'economic sabotage' The ruling party, Frelimo, run a hard, spartan regime but they are not brutal, nor wantonly oppressive. They genuinely aim to promote the well-being of the people according to their lights.
Right No.
(i)
(ii)
Rating suggested
by Post
There are 're-education camps' with some hundreds of inmates. They resemble open prison farms. Before and after independence (June 1975) the urban jails were full of detainees, many of them foreign; but most of these have now been released. There are no reliable figures of the numbers in prison. Arrest, imprisonment and release are mostly arbitrary, but may become less so as a new judicial system is developed.
The regime follows humane principles and there is no evidence of systematic torture despite some reports of ill-treatment of detainees (almost certainly due to lack of education and discipline in the security forces).
(iii) Slavery and forced labour belong to the
Portuguese colonial past and no longer exist in Mozambique.
(iv)
No fundamental criticism of the regime is permitted and careless speech can lead to detention. Press (nominally independent) and radio (state-owned) are closely con- trolled on the East European model by the Ministry of Information.
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