Maputo — The 16 Renamo parliamentary deputies who took their seats at the first session of the new Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, on 12 January, in defiance of orders from Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama, on Thursday defended their actions and denied that they had "betrayed" their party.

By now almost all the 51 Renamo deputies elected last October have taken their seats. But the first 16 did so very publicly, while the others have trickled in, almost shamefacedly, one by one, signing their oaths of office away from the gaze of TV cameras.

It is the first 16 who have been vilified and threatened with unspecified disciplinary measures. They include the former head of the Renamo parliamentary group, and current second deputy chairperson of the Assembly, Viana Magalhaes, the head of the Renamo election office, Luis Gouveia, and the former Renamo parliamentary spokesperson, Jose Manteigas.

At a Thursday press conference, the 16 did not denounce Dhlakama by name, but he was obviously their target. They pointed out that the decision to boycott the new parliament was not taken by any Renamo body.

When the Renamo Political Commission met in Nampula on 19-21 November, and discussed the elections, it did decide to hold demonstrations across the country against what it regarded as fraudulent election results.

But that meeting did not say a word about boycotting the Assembly. The 16 say they were surprised to hear threats of disciplinary action against them since, as far as they were concerned, they had not broken any party rules.

"It is our understanding that, under the party statutes, decisions of the party are taken by the National Political Commission, or by the National Council", they pointed out. Neither of these bodies had ordered the elected deputies not to take their seats.

Speaking for the entire group, Anselmo Vitor noted that, after the Constitutional Council validated and proclaimed the election results (on 28 December), Renamo "did not react and gave no perspective to its members and supporters about the demonstrations".

"Against all expectations, and to the surprise of the party's members and sympathizers, the Renamo President and various party spokespersons then transmitted through the media something which had not previously been decided - namely that the members of the Provincial Assemblies and of the Assembly of the Republic elected on the Renamo lists were forbidden from taking their seats", said Vitor.

The man who made the most violent public attacks on the 16 was a former Renamo guerrilla, Meque Braz, who is currently a member of the Zambezia Provincial Elections Commission. Speaking to the independent television station STV on 24 January, he denounced the 16 as "traitors", and suggested that severe punishment was in store for them.

The 16 warned that they would not be made "scapegoats" for Renamo's crushing defeat in the October elections. They noted that ever since the first multi-party elections in 1994, it had been Renamo's practice to look for scapegoats.

They asked Meque Braz (and thus, indirectly Dhlakama) whether he did not think the time had come "to reflect, discuss and find the true reasons for electoral failures, instead of trying to distract the public".

A further blow to Renamo on Thursday came with the announcement by a member of the Renamo National Council, Fernando Carrelo, that he is leaving the party. Carrelo claims to have been a member of Renamo for more than 30 years - which means he joined while it was still an irregular unit in the armed forces of the illegal Rhodesian regime of Ian Smith.

Carrelo, who is now a businessman in the central city of Beira, called a press conference to announce his break with Renamo. He said he was leaving "to give more opportunities to the younger generation, and to dedicate more time to my business interests".

Renamo in Beira was severely weakened by the split in late 2008, when the city's mayor, Daviz Simango, was expelled from Renamo. When Simango then set up the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM), large numbers of Renamo members in Beira defected to the new party, including Carrelo's wife, Dulce, who is the member of Beira City Council responsible for agriculture.

Carrelo said he was not thinking of joining any other party in the immediate future. Instead he would have discussions with close friends "and only then will I know about my political future. But for now it is clear that my marriage to Renamo is over".

Cited in Friday's issue of the independent daily "O Pais", the Renamo Sofala Provincial Delegate, Manuel Bissopo, expressed surprise, saying he had been unaware that Carrelo planned to leave the Party.