Note to Editors: Please see attached soundbites in English and Afrikaans by Willie Aucamp MP
The DA is highly concerned about recent reports of escalating violence and political instability in neighbouring Mozambique.
Reports of widespread violence, alleged human rights violations, and destruction of private property, including that of South African citizens residing in Mozambique, raises fears of an imminent collapse of the country’s social order.
The Mozambican government is responsible for ensuring the safety and wellbeing of every person within its borders, and must take responsibility for the safeguarding of the human rights of every person residing in the country.
The DA calls on all stakeholders, and in particular the Mozambican government, to take all steps to ensure the safety of South African residents and visitors and their property.
The DA has already written to the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans to request an urgent meeting to discuss the deteriorating security situation. The Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Leon Schreiber, has already given the DA his assurance that all South African nationals arriving at the border from Mozambique will be able to return home safely.
The Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, must also, as a matter of utmost urgency, engage with his counterpart in the Mozambican government to work towards a peaceful resolution.
The DA calls upon South African citizens currently in Mozambique to contact our public representatives with any information on the ongoing crisis.