Mozambique Political Parties and Liberation Movements

Last modified: 2016-03-25 by bruce berry
Keywords: fumo | monomotapa | coremo | pdd | mdm |
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• Comité Revolucionário de Moçambique (COREMO)
• Frente Unida de Moçambique (FUMO)
• MONOMOTAPA
• Movimento Democrático de Moçambique (MDM)
• Partido para a Paz, Democracia e Desenvolvimento (PDD)

• FRELIMO
• RENAMO
• UDENAMO

• Mozambique
• Mozambique : national index

Comité Revolucionário de Moçambique (COREMO)

This flag was attributed to the COREMO.
Jens Pattke, 24 Mar 2001

COREMO (Comité Revolucionário de Moçambique) or the Mozambique Revolutionary Committee is a small FRELIMO splinter group, and is possibly affiliated with Renamo.
Source: Political Handbook of the World, 1997.
Jarig Bakker, 24 Mar 2001

COREMO was created in Lusaka in 1965. Their ethnic base was the Makwa.
Jaume Ollé, 26 Mar 2001

Frente Unida de Moçambique (FUMO)

FUMO stands for Frente Unida de Moçambique (United Front of Mozambique), a guerilla liberation movement that operated in the west of Mozambique.  In 1964 it merged into FRELIMO along with UDENAMO, leaving a two party opposition (FRELIMO and RENAMO) fighting against Portuguese domination until 1974 and against each other since then.
Antonio Martins, 18 Nov 1997
 

MONOMOTAPA flag

Prior to 1963, UDENAMO  favoured an independent Mozambique under the name of Monomotapa - the name of a 16th century kingdom in modern Zimbabwe.  This plan was dropped after UDENAMO merged with FRELIMO.
Antonio Martins, 18 Nov 1997

In "Vlaggen; symbool - traditie - protocol" (1963) [sie63], Klaes Sierksma gives in the chapter about history of some flags the flag of Monomotapa:
"The national flag was designed by the delegate for international affairs and propaganda of the National-Democratic Union of Mozambique, Jaime R. Sigauke, with directions by Whitney Smith Jr. in 1961. The flag is an analogue to that of Angola - bend sinister light green and black. In the centre is a blue disk, with a red five pointed star, surrounded by a golden garland of sugar-cane stems. The black colour stands for Africa, the dark continent. Green symbolizes the agriculture. The red star stands for the the struggle for freedom by the unity of the people. Before independence of Monomotapa the territory was known as Mozambique."
Mark Sensen, 24 Sep 1997

When in 1961 the first liberation movement was born two flags were designated: one for the party (UDENAMO) and other for a future independent Moçambique, that would receive the name of Monomotapa, an old African kingdom in that region.

Later (1964 probably) UDENAMO merged with other two parties and became FRELIMO. The name elected for the future independent country was reverted to Moçambique and the name Monomotapa was abandoned. Monomotapa (in fact a King and not a kingdom) was only independent in the XVI-XVIII centuries.
Jaume Ollé, 25 Sep 1997
 

Movimento Democrático de Moçambique (MDM)

Image by Ivan Sache, 17 Mar 2013

Movimento Democrático de Moçambique (MDM) was founded on 06 March 2009 in Beira. The party's Statutes were published on 15 May 2009 in the Mozambican official gazette, Series III, No. 19 (2nd Supplement), pp. 364 (40) - 364 (44).  The MDM was formed as a splinter of Renamo (Resistência Nacional Moçambicana).  The MDM is presided over by Daviz Mbepo Simango (b. 1964), the Mayor of Beira. Simango was re-elected President of MDM during the 1st Congress of the party held in Beira on 08 December 2012.

The flag of MDM, as prescribed in Article 9 of the party Statutes, is white with the party's emblem in the middle. White is a symbol of internal peace, harmony and unity.

The emblem of MDM, as prescribed in Article 8 of the Statutes, is circular, bordered by a black ring symbolizing the African continent and inscribed with "MOVIMENTO DEMOCRÁTICO DE MOÇAMBIQUE" (top) and "MDM" (bottom) in white letters, the two separated by two white dots.  The black ring is bordered inside the emblem with a thin yellow ring representing the Mozambican subsoil. The inner disk is horizontally divided into two equal parts. The upper part is blue, representing the Mozambican universe, with a yellow rising sun symbolizing equality without discrimination. The lower part is green, representing hope. All over is placed a rooster, symbolizing the awakening cry of all Mozambicans.
Ivan Sache, 17 Mar 2013

Partido para a Paz, Democracia e Desenvolvimento (PDD)

This is the flag of the "Partido para a Paz, Democracia e Desenvolvimento" (literally Party for Peace, Democracy and Development). Antonio Teixeira reported to the Lusovex-mailing list about this Mozambican party.

The flag shown at this website, and is a horizontal triband of red, yellow and light blue, with white fimbriation (approx. 19+3+22+3+19) with the party logo issuant from the blue stripe (diameter c. half flag height). The party logo is a circle, cut at the blue stripe, and shows a pangolin proper, on a shaded green background, from dark at the edge to light in the center, fimbriated yellow and black; this fimbriation lacks at the cut out portion, on which rest the lettering "PDD", set in white sans capitals.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 09 Nov 2004

Agency Panapress, 8 February 2006, quoted by "Jeune Afrique" and quoting the Mozambican agency AIM, reports that an official of the administration of the district of Nhamatanda was arrested by the police after having thrown to the ground the flag of the opposition party PDD (Party for Peace, Democracy and Development). The opposition complained that the officials of the district, who are members of the ruling party FRELIMO, harass them very often. Ernesto Rudicha, aged 70, was accused of having hit the PDD flag with a machete in order to disturb a political meeting of the party; he was reported by Jose Juga, the local  leader of the PDD, to have worn a T-shirt with the FRELIMO colours when he committed the offense.
Ivan Sache, 08 Feb 2006