6.
WAR   C QMM UNIQUES
COMMUNIQUE No 46
21 January 1966
In a communique issued on the 16th of January the Portuguese Armed Forces
declare that they had had 1,500 clashes with the "terrorist" forces and the
people, during the last 6 weeks, in Mozambique, having!killed , wounded or
arrested hundreds of terrorists, and suffering only two casualties'.
The contradition of the Portuguese is very evident: on one hand, they
continue saying that there is no war in Mozambique, which they describe as
"an oasis of peace in an Africa full of conflicts". On the other hand, by
announcing 1,500 operations in 42 days, they suggest that there was an average
of 35 operations per day in Mozambique.
It is easy to explain this contradiction. The Portuguese authorities must
make the Portuguese population in Mozambique believe that the army has been
active in the struggle against the "terrorists", because that population knows
too well that there is war and that the Portuguese troops have been defeated,
and cannot anymore be deceived by that propaganda of peace. This explains the
"1,500 operations" and the "hundred killed, wounded or arrested".
At the same time, the Portuguese feel that it is necessary to make the
world believe that "peace and order are absolute in Mozambique", aiming at
attracting foreign investments, and trying to "prove" that there is no opposition from the people to their permanence in Mozambique.
It is impossible to satisfy both opposite aims at the same time. Therefore,
the Portuguese authorities alternatively declare in their communiques that "the
Portuguese troops were very active in the struggle against the enemy", and
"peace is absolute in Mozambique".
The following are some of the latest FRELIMO military operations. These
are the real operations in Mozambique.
1. On the 27th of December 1965 FRELIMO guerrillas attacked a small group
of Portuguese soldiers who had camped in the region of Pwambwala (Quissange).
Three Portuguese soldiers were killed.
2. On the 30th of December 2 military vehicles in a convoy of five were destroyed by mines and bazooka fire. 10 Portuguese soldiers were killed.
3. On the 4th of January 1966 FRELIMO fighters mined the road between Mocimboa da Praia and Mueda. One military lorry was destroyed and its 4 occupants
were killed.
4. On the 8th of January a force composed of all guerrillas of four FRELIMO
military bases attacked a large group of Portuguese soldiers camped near Nan-
gololo Mission. The attack lasted for one hour - from 6 to 7 am. The Portuguese
suffered heavy losses: reports from our informants in that region say that
later in the afternoon the Portuguese sent to the headquarters of Muidumbe 1
lorry loaded with dead soldiers and two with wounded.