18 November 2008
Maputo — Police arrested at least 20 former seasonal workers of the now defunct Malema tobacco company (ETAMA), in the northern Mozambican province of Nampula, on Monday while preparing a demonstration of about 2,000 people, to demand compensation they claim the government still owes them, reports Tuesday's issue of the Maputo daily "Noticias".
Another 10 people, including some Malema residents who were not part of the group, were injured in the incident while trying to find somewhere safe to hide, after the riot police unit dispatched from the provincial capital, Nampula city, fired rubber bullets and tear gas at the would-be demonstrators.
The demonstrators, armed with spears, machetes and clubs, and wearing clothes made out of sisal sacks, had gathered at the house of Jamal Francisco, the leader of the protest.
According to the "Noticias" report, when the police approached Francisco's house, they asked the leaders of the demonstrators to speak with them. After the fourth such appeal over police megaphones, the crowd attacked the riot police unit. The police say that, since the demonstrators outnumbered them, they had no option but to defend themselves with rubber bullets and tear gas.
After the confrontation, the police started a hunt for Francsico, who had fled. The police have promised to find him and bring him to court, where he will face charges of incitement to public disorder.
After this incident, calm was restored in Malema town, with all shops and public institutions reopening, except for the Malema factory, once owned by ETAMA, and now operated by a private concern.
The demonstrators had threatened to occupy the factory.
The Nampula provincial government has already stressed that of the about 4,000 former workers of the company, only 701 had contracts signed with ETAMA, and those have already received their due compensations The government says the case and closed and no compensation at all is owed to the casual workers.
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