The US embassy in Maputo has told reporters that the US government's decision to name Mozambican businessman Mohamed Bachir Suleman as a drugs "kingpin" was duly transmitted to the Mozambican authorities.
"The US government is in regular communication with the Mozambican government about this case", the embassy stated in a press release.
This contradicts a statement made on Friday by Mozambican Interior Minister Jose Pacheco that the government had not been notified of the accusations against Bachir.
The US press release makes no specific demands on the Mozambican government, merely saying that the US government "encourages all countries to take kingpin designations seriously and perform the investigations or other actions that they deem appropriate".
The release confirms that the embassy received a letter from Bachir protesting against the accusations. The embassy reacted by first contacting the US Treasury Department (the body responsible for keeping the list of drug barons), and then "responded to Mr Suleman, including encouraging him to be in direct contact with the Department of the Treasury to provide any information that he deems appropriate, and to obtain full details on the appeals process provided by the law".
It adds that the Treasury Department "has legal authority to deal directly with any individual or entity designated on the list, and has a clear and consistent policy and procedure for communication and appeals".
Meanwhile, the Mozambican Attorney-General's Office has announced the creation of a team from the Criminal Investigation Police who will investigate the accusations against Bachir. The team is working under the guidance of the Attorney-General's Office.
Pro-Bachir propaganda is now appearing in parts of the Mozambican press. Thus a the Sunday paper "Domingo" carried a full page editorial under the headline "Bachir case: what if Obama is wrong?"
It complains that the US government "did not hear the accused. It charged him and condemned him by administrative means". The paper claims this is a violation of the legal principle that an accused person is considered innocent until proven guilty.
"Domingo" seems not to understand that Bachir is not currently facing criminal charges in the United States or anywhere else. The US law concerned, the 1999 "Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act", is designed, not to haul the kingpins before the courts, for which a higher degree of proof would certainly be demanded, but to prevent suspected drug traffickers gaining access to the US financial system and to US assets.
On the lookout for a conspiracy, "Domingo" notes that Obama's announcement followed claims that the terrorist group Al-Qaeda has training camps in Mozambique (promptly denied by the Mozambican authorities).
The link between the Al-Qaeda claim and the Bachir case has been made in several quarters - some, like "Domingo", denying both claims, and others, such as Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama, accepting them both.
In fact, the claims are completely different. The accusation against Bachir comes from the US government which, whether one likes it or loathes it, must be regarded as a serious source, whereas the chatter about Al-Qaeda came from the NEFA Foundation, a private anti-terrorist body with no obvious expertise on southern Africa, but which needs to keep alive the spectre of terrorism here, there and everywhere, in order to keep the money rolling in.
The weekly paper "Scorpiao" goes even further than "Domingo", carrying an opinion article under the headline "We are in solidarity with Bachir for the defence of Mozambican identity".
This article alleges that the US government is trying to destroy Bachir in order to perpetuate US dominance over Mozambique. "It is on the agenda of the Americans to denigrate the good image and good name of Mozambicans, and discredit the entire struggle against poverty that we are waging", it claims.
Elsewhere in the paper, its director Carlos Andre argues that drug barons are protected by private armies, and do not walk around freely in public. Since Bachir does appear in public and does not have a private army, he can't be a drug trafficker.
Slightly less absurd is Andre's claim that the Americans may have made a mistake. 141 names were removed from the list of drug barons in 2008 and 76 in 2009, and in some cases this was because of "mere coincidence in names".
Although it is entirely possible that there are other people in Mozambique's substantial Moslem community with the name Mohamed Bachir Sulemane, there is only one MBS Group, one Kayum Centre and one Maputo Shopping Centre, the companies named by the US Treasury Department.
Pf/ (751)
Fonte: Allafrica - 07.06.2010
Reflectindo: who are the pro-drug barons? We do know them.
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