Bullets and Ballots
NEED TO KNOW
Bullets and Ballots
MOZAMBIQUE
Catholic bishops in the southern African country of Mozambique recently urged electoral observers to be “truthful and objective in their reporting” ahead of the presidential election on Oct. 9.
The message, reported in the Association for Catholic Information in Africa, reflected how Mozambiquans hope this election will cement the country’s transition to a democracy after years of internal conflict, poor governance and an expanding insurgency.
As the Robert Lansing Institute explained, an important difference between Daniel Chapo of the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frelimo) – the political party that has ruled the country since independence from Portugal in 1975 – and his three opposition candidates is how to handle the Islamic terrorists behind the surging insurgency in the northern Cabo Delgado province.
These insurgents – affiliated with the Islamic State – have fought against the central government in the capital Maputo for a decade, killing thousands and displacing millions as they rape, pillage homes, schools and other institutions, wrote World Politics Review.
Three years ago, the jihadists’ attacks compelled French energy giant Total to suspend construction of a $20 billion liquified natural gas project, drawing international attention. Rwandan and other militaries that are part of the Southern Africa Development Community were deployed to bolster Mozambiquan troops.
Meanwhile, the insurgents are expanding their territory and drawing in militants from around the region.
When the insurgents first appeared, leaders referred to them as “bandits” and “evildoers,” wrote the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Now, however, they control swathes of Cabo Delgado and have demonstrated their ability to severely harm the country’s economy, while at the same time, appealing to residents by promoting business and scaling back their abuses.
The government, meanwhile, has been accused of stifling dissent, arresting journalists and members of civil society, and extrajudicial killings.
These days, Chapo is calling for more spending on security forces while he builds better relations with neighboring countries also eager to tamp down Islamic terror movements in their region.
Meanwhile, Ossufo Momade of the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo) – a political organization that waged a civil war against Frelimo governments until peace accords were signed in 2019 – has vowed to crush the insurgency, reported the Club of Mozambique.
Independent candidate Venancio Mondlane has argued that curbing corruption would help take the wind out of the insurgents’ sails. Mozambique Democratic Movement candidate Lutero Simango has called for negotiations with the terrorists.
A “photo finish” between Chapo and Mondlane, a former Renamo party member, is highly likely, according to the Africa Report. Mondlane has drawn large crowds with pledges to renegotiate contracts with large foreign energy companies to benefit the country’s poor rather than its Frelimo-connected elites.
Still, the gas revenues will be easier to collect if the bullets stop flying, and that might happen if the next election brings better governance to Mozambique and make the insurgents less attractive to many residents in their territory, wrote the Soufan Center, a think-tank.
The analysis group notes that, even where the South African Development Community peacekeeping mission and Rwandan forces have succeeded in reclaiming territory in the county, “the Mozambican government failed to improve governance and provision of services to the population in these areas, providing ISIS-Mozambique an opportunity to resurge.”
With the elections, it added, there is a chance for that to change.
THE WORLD, BRIEFLY
Burning Chairs
ALBANIA
Thousands of members of the opposition clashed with police in the Albanian capital Tirana this week, with protesters demanding the resignation of left-wing Prime Minister Edi Rama and the creation of a technocratic government ahead of next year’s general elections, Euronews reported.
On Monday night, demonstrations organized by the conservative Democratic Party (DP) took place in front of government buildings, including the prime minister’s office and the interior ministry.
Protesters called for Rama to step down, accusing him and his Socialist Party of authoritarianism, corruption and voter manipulation. Scuffles took place in front of the prime minister’s office, and there were reports of Molotov cocktails being thrown at Socialist Party headquarters and other buildings.
Hundreds of officers were deployed and some used tear gas to disperse crowds moving toward the parliament, Agence France-Presse noted.
A number of demonstrators were taken to the hospital and authorities said at least 10 police officers were injured.
Monday’s unrest comes a week after DP lawmakers protested in front of the country’s parliament by setting their chairs on fire. The opposition was protesting the imprisonment of a DP official, Ervin Salianji.
Salianji was sentenced to one year in prison for “giving false testimony” in a drug trafficking case that targeted Agron Xhafaj, the brother of former Interior Minister Fatmir Xhafaj.
The right-wing party has labeled Salianji’s arrest as politically motivated, describing it as a “blind act of revenge and political terror against the Democratic Party.”
Critics and legal analysts told the Tirana Times that Salianji’s actions should have been classified as defamation, which is subject to a fine and not a criminal offense.
They pointed out how the prosecution of Salianji was expedited while, by contrast, authorities showed little urgency in investigating Xhafa’s serious drug allegations. At the same, they expressed concerns about Albania’s judicial independence, especially as the country is reforming its judicial system, a move pushed by the European Union.
Albania will start talks with the EU later this month on how the country will align with the bloc’s standards on the rule of law as part of its bid to join the 27-nation union.
Both the US and EU have urged the opposition to restart dialogue with the government, saying that violence hinders Albania’s efforts to join the bloc.
Even so, the DP has vowed that the “civil disobedience” will continue.
Nukes, Please
KAZAKHSTAN
Kazakh voters have overwhelmingly approved the building of the country’s first nuclear power plant to replace its coal-fired power production in a landmark referendum over the weekend that was criticized for being a rubber stamp for the government’s plan, the Diplomat reported.
About 71 percent of voters approved the plant, backed by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, in a referendum Sunday, according to results released by Kazakhstan’s Central Referendum Commission on Tuesday, the Astana Times reported.
Meanwhile, there were some irregularities reported during the vote such as “ballot stuffing” and the removal of independent observers, the Diplomat wrote.
The government wants to build a nuclear plant in the southeastern village of Ulken on the shores of Lake Balkhash, in an attempt to lessen the country’s reliance on highly polluting coal plants.
The government says that nuclear power can provide a net zero-carbon solution to Kazakhstan’s growing power deficit, especially since the country is one of the world’s biggest uranium producers.
However, the plan has faced public criticism due to fears over the potential dangers of nuclear power that stem from previous Soviet nuclear tests in the country, and suspicions that Russian contractors might be a part of the project, according to Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty.
Many Kazakhs want to reduce Russia’s influence over Kazakhstan.
Many also criticized the high cost of the project – estimated at around $12 billion – adding that gas-fired plants are less expensive and less risky.
When part of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan was the site of hundreds of Soviet nuclear weapons tests that made large parts of land uninhabitable and impacted the health of nearby residents, as well as the 1986 Chernobyl power plant disaster having made the public wary of nuclear power.
One of the four contractors whose reactors are being considered for the power plant project is Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear plant operator. The public is skeptical of Russian involvement because of its history and also sanctions on Russian energy.
Tokayev reiterated that there was no single company or country in mind as a potential contractor when he cast his vote in the referendum publicly in the capital Astana, reported Reuters.
Tokayev also said that holding this referendum is in line with his “Listening State” concept – listening to the people’s wants and needs.
Still, the country is authoritarian and anti-nuclear protesters have been impeded from demonstrating in cities across the country, with some activists detained or facing fines.
“The decision to build the nuclear power plant, and to build it with Rosatom, has already been made in (Tokayev’s office) and the people of Kazakhstan are being invited to polling stations as ‘notaries’ to authenticate this decision with their votes,” popular blogger Vadim Boreiko wrote.
Still, some locals hoped the project would bring jobs. “I support the power plant,” Dametken Shulgeyeva, who has lived in the small town of Ulken for more than 20 years, told Reuters. “This is our future.”
New Faces, New Targets
MEXICO
The mayor of the capital of Mexico’s violence-plagued state of Guerrero was killed over the weekend less than a week after he took office, one of almost three dozen murders of politicians in the past six months, CNN reported.
Alejandro Arcos Catalán, 43, was found dead on Oct. 6, five days after taking office in the city of Chilpancingo. Local media reported that he had been decapitated, with his head left on his car, a claim that was not confirmed.
His murder followed that of Chilpancingo’s general secretary, Francisco Tapia, who was killed a few days before.
Chilpancingo has been at the center of rival cartels trying to infiltrate and control the local economy. The cartels favor candidates willing to make deals and grant them immunity for their crimes. Arcos had said he was not so inclined.
Even so, criminal gangs often finance campaigns during election season, intimidating candidates and violently intervening to compel politicians to cooperate with them, CNN wrote.
Arcos was elected representing an opposition coalition that included the Institutional Revolutionary Party, CBS News reported. The party denounced his killing on the social media platform X, writing “Enough of violence and impunity! The people of Guerrero do not deserve to live in fear.”
However, the killing was just the latest targeting politicians both in the run-up to the June 2 election and since, an election deemed the largest – but also the bloodiest – in Mexican history.
During the campaign season, at least 34 political candidates were assassinated by crime gangs. Meanwhile, hours after the election results were announced on June 3, Yolanda Sánchez Figueroa, mayor of Cotija in Michoacán state, was also murdered.
Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s new president who was inaugurated on Oct. 1, called the incident “unfortunate” and said that she would soon unveil the details of her cabinet’s plan to address national security and cartel violence in the coming days.
DISCOVERIES
Sea Walkers
In a surprising turn of evolutionary ingenuity, some fish species have developed legs that do much more than help them scuttle across the ocean floor.
The northern sea robin, Prionotus carolinus, sports a pair of “legs” which are actually specialized extensions of the fish’s pectoral fins. These appendages act as highly sensitive sensory organs that allow them to detect buried prey, like mussels hiding in the seabed, for example.
Marine biologist Nicholas Bellono and his team began studying the fish after hearing about its unusual hunting skills. They discovered that the fish could easily uncover prey even when it was hidden in sand or presented in a capsule with just chemical cues.
“To our surprise, they were very, very good at it,” Bellono told the Harvard Gazette.
The team identified sensory papillae on the legs – bumps similar to the taste buds on a human tongue – making them highly attuned to both touch and chemical signals.
Still, the study took a strange twist when researchers accidentally received a shipment of striped sea robins, Prionotus evolans, a different species. While these fish could walk just fine, they failed to locate their next meal.
“I thought they were just some duds,” joked Bellono.
It turned out the striped sea robins simply lacked the same sensory capabilities.
While the findings underscored evolutionary specialization between closely related species, the researchers sought to understand the genetic roots of these “legs.”
They came across an ancient gene called “tbx3a,” which regulates the development of fins and limbs in a variety of animals.
“This is an excellent example of making new body parts by modifying old, shared tools,” co-author David Kingsley explained in an interview with New Scientist.
The authors noted that the quirky walking sea robin could be used as a model for understanding how new traits evolve by shedding light on how evolutionary processes work in humans, too – after all, our ability to walk upright only evolved about six million years ago.