Maputo, Mozambique — Parliamentarians of Mozambique's main opposition party, Renamo, on Wednesday once again disrupted the work of the House despite a concession made to them on the agenda.

Last week, Renamo had successfully sabotaged the Assembly by making such an appalling noise that it was virtually impossible to hear anything said from the rostrum. Not only did Renamo bang and thump on the tables, but they also brought in whistles, kazoos and hooting to add to the din.

Renamo's demand was that the Assembly should first of all discuss the question of parliamentary immunity from prosecution.

Renamo objected to a decision by the Assembly's governing board, the Standing Commission that authorised the Criminal Investigation Police to question those Renamo deputies suspected of criminal behaviour during the 1999 election campaign and the riots of 9 November last year.

On Monday, the Commission had caved in to Renamo and agreed that the first item on the agenda would be the authorisation for the police to interrogate deputies, and Renamo's appeal against this.

But when the Assembly plenary resumed on Wednesday Renamno had found a new excuse for delaying matters.

Luis Boavida and Jeremias Pondeca of Renamo raised a point of order and questioned the remarks made by the Standing Commission's spokesperson, Mateus Katupha during last Saturday's phone-in programme on Radio Mozambique.

The two expressed indignation that during the two hour programme Katupha had called Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama "crazy".

Assembly chairman Eduardo Mulembue tried to push ahead with the parliamentary agenda, promising that the Standing Commission would ask for the tapes of the programme from Radio Mozambique, and would then discuss the matter.

But Pondeca declared that the slight against Dhlakama's mental health was "a matter of national interest". Until the matter was cleared up, there were "no conditions for the Assembly to continue working".