Mozambique: African nationalism and the armed struggle (1960-1975)

Updated Jan 2008

Portuguese colonial policy coupled ruthless and racist exploitation of the colonial populations with equally ruthless repression of anything that might be construed as dissent. A measure of this was the way in which a cooperative movement amongst peasants in the Capo Delgado province in 1959 and 1960 was suppressed and the leaders arrested; similarly a peaceful protest in the same province on 16 June 1960 was fired on and more than 500 people killed (Crawfurd 2002). Any organisation that emerged to oppose the harsh conditions imposed by Portuguese colonialism, were harassed by the security police and their leaders arrested or forced into exile (Stanford Undated; ISS Undated).

The Portuguese government would not countenance independence for the colonies, but the degree of unrest and nationalist ferment that that was emerging in them in spite of the extreme repression led to a degree of reform (ISS Undated). A series of laws was passed between 1961 and 1963 that had the effect of abolishing forced labour, but this proved to be too little too late (Columbia Encyclopedia 2007; Crawfurd 2002).

The Mozambican Liberation Front (FRELIMO), was founded by exiles from three political organisations, the Mozambique African National Union (MANU), the National Democratic Union of Mozambique (UDENAMO) and the National African Union of Independent Mozambique (UNAMI), who came together in Dar es Salaam on 25 June 1962 under the sponsorship of Tanzanian leader Julius Nyerere (IIASA 2001; Crawfurd 2002). Dr Eduardo Mondlane was chosen as the president of FRELIMO and the organisation set about readying itself for armed struggle; Mondlane attempted to obtain aid from the United States but was unsuccessful, and funds were secured from private donors for social welfare projects while military assistance was obtained from Algeria, Russia and China (Young 1991). FRELIMO's diplomatic initiatives were not without success, winning moral and material support form the World Council of Churches while the Vatican also provided support (Sengulane & Goncalves 1998).

In late September the first of FRELIMO's guerrillas infiltrated across the northern border of Mozambique from Tanzania and launched the armed struggle for independence from Portugal by attacking an administrative post (ISS Undated; Young 1991). For a number of years the northern provinces of Capo Delgado and Niassa remained the focus of FRELIMO operations since they were easily accessible from their operational basis in Tanzania and in time FRELIMO gained control of large parts of these territories, won the support of the local population and drew the bulk of their fighters from them (ISS Undated; Stanford Undated). FRELIMO employed the classic guerrilla strategy of hit and run and tactics such as sabotage and ambush, exploiting the areas where control was weakest or confused such as the borders or inaccessible rural areas as basis of operation and retreat (Young 1991). The purpose was not to defeat the Portuguese militarily, but to drain them economically and destroy their morale so that through a process of attrition they would be forced to negotiate a withdrawal (Young 1991).

Portugal responded to the threat posed by FRELIMO with overwhelming force, sending in more than 70 000 troops; Portugal's endeavors were supported by arms from NATO, loans from the United States and West Germany and aid from South Africa (Stanford Undated; IIASA 2001; ISS Undated). The repression unleashed by the state provided little space for internal criticism or opposition and the churches, to a limited extent, stepped into the vacuum, resulting in about twenty foreign Catholic priest being forced from the territory, while protestants were persecuted with some clergy being jailed or killed (Sengulane & Goncalves 1998).

Matters took a turn for the worse for the colonial authorities when, to their shock, FRELIMO began operations in the Tete Province in 1968 (ISS Undated; Rupiya 1998). In response they launched a massive counter-insurgency offensive termed Operation Gordian Knot in 1970 in which they forcibly moved many villagers to camps (aldeamentos), used scorched earth tactics and napalm and terrorised the local population (Rupiya 1998). In December 1972 hundreds of civilians were massacred during an attack on a village in Tete (Rupiya 1998).

FRELIMO for its part was not a homogeneous, for while the leadership and the majority of the Central Committee were committed to socialism a substantial faction opposed this position and there was considerable infighting and purges; the socialist direction of the movement was endorsed by FRELIMO's Second Party Congress in July 1968 (It is an indication of the degree of FRELIMO's success that the Congress was held in northern Mozambique. Rupiya 1998, Wikipedia 2008). The movement was further destabilised when Mondlane was assassinated in Dar es Salaam in 1969, but after a brief factional struggle Samora Machel emerged as leader in 1970 and was able to consolidate his position (Rupiya 1998).

By the early 1970s, with a force of only about 7 000, FRELIMO effectively controlled much of northern and central Mozambique, while the force of about 60 000 troops deployed by the Portuguese to meet the challenge drained resources and casualties mounted (Columbia Encyclopedia 2007; IIASA 2001; Young 1991). Moreover Portugal was also engaged in counter-insurgency struggles against nationalists in Angola and Guinea Bissau (Crawfurd 2002). Dissatisfaction within the Portuguese army mounted, culminating in a left-wing military coup d'etat on 25 April 1974 (Young 1991; ISS Undated).

The new Portuguese government was determined to end all colonial conflicts and disengage from the colonial territories as rapidly as possible; moreover, sharing common ideological positions with FRELIMO, it was very sympathetic towards it (Lodge et al 2002, 193; ISS Undated). On 7 September 1974 the Lusaka accord was signed between the two parties that provided for a cease-fire, Mozambique's independence and for the installation of a FRELIMO led transitional government (Rupiya 1998; Crawfurd 2002). The agreement made no provision for elections prior to Independence; FRELIMO would not hear of it and the government did not insist; Jaoquim Chissano was installed as prime minister under a Portuguese governor to head the government that would take Mozambique to independence (Lodge et al 2002, 193; ISS Undated). A coup attempt was launched by white settlers to forestall black rule, but this was quickly suppressed (Columbia Encyclopedia 2007; Rupiya 1998).

On 25 June 1975 the People's Republic of Mozambique attained its independence under a FRELIMO government with Samora Machel as the first President and the name of the capital, Lourenco Marques, was changed to Maputo (Cravinho 2007, 796; ISS Undated).

References

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INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR APPLIED SYSTEMS ANALYSIS (IIASA) 2001 "Country Briefs: Mozambique - Chronology of History" IN Botswana's future, Mozambique's Future, Namibia's Future: Modeling Population and Sustainable development Challenges in the Era of HIV/AIDS [www] http://www.iiasa.ac.at/Research/POP/pde/briefs/mz-history.html [opens new window] (accessed 11 Mar 2010).

INSTITUTE FOR SECURITY STUDIES (ISS) UNDATED "Mozambique: History and Politics", [www] http://www.iss.co.za/af/profiles/Mozambique/Politics.html (offline 11 Mar 2010).

LODGE, T, KADIMA, D & POTTIE, D (eds) 2002 Compendium of Elections in Southern Africa, EISA.

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SENGULANE, DS & GONCALVES, JP 1998 "A Calling for Peace: Christian Leaders and the Quest for Reconciliation in Mozambique" IN Accord, [www] http://web.archive.org/web/20020419161151/www.c-r.org/accord/acc_moz/sengulane.htm [opens new window] (accessed 11 Mar 2010).

STANFORD, E UNDATED "Culture of Mozambique", [www] http://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/Mozambique.html [opens new window] (accessed 11 Mar 2010).

WIKIPEDIA 2008 "Eduardo Mondlane", [www] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduardo_Mondlane [opens new window] (accessed 11 Mar 2010).

YOUNG, LS 1991 "Mozambique's Sixteen-Year Bloody Civil War", [www] http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/1991/YLS.htm [opens new window] (accessed 11 Mar 2010).