Open letter to the Mozambican president and minister of the interior

Your Excellency President Joaquim Chissano, Your Excellency Minister of Interior, Almerinho Manhenje,

We, a group of journalists, authors, development-, aid- and grassroot-organisations, unions and individual citizens of Denmark, have closely followed Mozambique’s difficult way from independence to democracy, and have been pleased to see the country rise from a long and bloody war.

But our hope was shattered, when the journalist and editor Carlos Cardoso was assassinated on 22nd of November 2000. Throughout his career, he investigated and revealed a lot of the serious problems, that Mozambique has had to struggle with and published them in the media.

Our shock with the loss of Mozambiques leading, investigative reporter and the human being Carlos Cardoso has turned into deep concern, because the investigation of the murder seems to be slow and ineffective. This worries us, because the assassination was an attack on democracy, on freedom of speech and on journalists all over the world as well as on civil society.

We therefore appeal to Your Excellencies to invite an Independent International Commission of Inquiry to investigate the assassination and find the murderers as well as the persons who sent them.

Signatures:
MS, Danish Association for International Co-operation
Ibis
The Danish Union of Journalists
The Danish Writers Association
Nairobi-klubben, Development Journalist's Association
SiD, The General Workers Union in Denmark in Denmark,
AIF, The Labour Movement's International Forum
The Mozambique Group of Former Cooperants

A copy of this letter has been forwarded to the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Denmark