LUMPENPROLETARIAT—On this week’s episode of Africa Today, free speech radio host Professor Walter Turner presented an interview he conducted a couple of weeks ago with Dr. Joseph Hanlon, a veteran expert on the social studies of Mozambique. [1]  Professor Walter Turner prefaced the interview by reminding us that the nation of Mozambique is one of the most recently freed from direct colonialism on the African Continent.

Mozambique gained its independence in the 1970s, and later in the decade saw the rise of anti-communist party politics.  The mid-1990s saw an end to a decade-long civil war in Mozambique.  But since the 2014 elections, tensions have arisen again between the two dominant political parties, which has led to political and military unrest.  And, adding to the tensions, new and extensive discoveries of coal, natural gas, and other natural resources have attracted predatory capital.  Listen (or download) here. [2]

Messina

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[Working draft transcript of actual radio broadcast by Messina for Lumpenproletariat and Africa Today]

AFRICA TODAY—[13 JUN 2016]  “The time, here, at radio stations KPFA in Berkeley, at 94.1, KPFB in Berkeley, 89.3 FM, KFCF in Fresno, that’s 88.1 FM in Fresno, and K248BR 97.5, coming from Santa Cruz, and online all the time at www,kpfa.org.  The sounds of Thomas Mapfuma.  (c. 1:30)

[brief music break by Thomas Mapfuma]

“Shumba” by Thomas Mapfuma

[local community announcements:  Oakland Juneteenth Community Picnic, sponsored by the Eastside Arts Alliance, and hosted by KPFA’s Davey D with DJ Pam the Funkstres features Lenny Williams and a special tribute to the life and music of Prince.  Also the SF Black Film Festival begins on June 16, 2016.]

[SNIP]  (c. 4:40)

“We start off this evening talking about the country of Mozambique with Joseph Hanlon to update you a bit on Mozambique.  Since we produced this interview a couple of weeks back, uh, some changes in one of Africa’s newestly independent countries—in the 1970s—when we come back.”

[brief music interlude]

“Since independence in the 1970s, Mozambique has been governed by FRELIMO, the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique, the party of Eduardo Mondlane and Samora Machel.  FREMILO has won every single election since independence, although its percentage of electoral victory has declined with the elections of 2014.

“RENAMO, an anti-FRELIMO, anti-communist, party was formed in the mid-1970s—finally agreed to a peace settlement in the early 1990s, that ended the decade-long civil war between the two parties.  (c. 5:53)

“Since the elections of 2014, tensions have risen again dramatically between the two parties.  And, then, internal military and political conflict has ensued.  Additionally, to add to the picture, over the last five years, Mozambique has made extensive discoveries of extractive resources, including coal, natural gas, and oil.  And, actually, Mozambique is slated to be, I think, third on the African Continent, behind Nigeria and Algeria, in terms of access to gas resources.

“Joining Africa Today to discuss developments in Mozambique is Joseph Hanlon, a long-time writer, researcher, and analyst on developments in Mozambique, served at one time as a policy officer for Jubilee 2000, currently a Visiting Senior Fellow at the Open University, written books on the Mozambican Flood.  He has a regular newsletter, which we’ll give you the address to.  He has written on issues of land in Zimbabwe, agriculture in Mozambique, currently working on a book on Bangladesh.  His most recent book was Chickens and Beer.  And he joins us, as he has over the years, to talk about developments in his favourite country of Mozambique.

“Joe, thanks for joining us today.”  (c. 7:06)

DR. JOSEPH HANLON:  “Well, I’m pleased to be back to talk to you again, Walter.”

PROFESSOR WALTER TURNER:  “Good.  I read in one of your bulletins—the Mozambican Formation Bulletin, which you started in 2000 or so, and right now this is the third, 300th issue.”

DR. JOSEPH HANLON:  “Well, I mean I started it when Carlos Cardoso, the journalist was assassinated and I covered the trial and so on.  And I just, sort of, kept going with it and people subscribed to it.  Right now, I’ve got about 5,000 subscribers.”

PROFESSOR WALTER TURNER:  “Whoah!”

DR. JOSEPH HANLON:  “And it’s free.  So, any of your listeners can subscribe to it.  It’s easy, if you just send me a message at j.hanlon@open.ac.uk.  And it’s sort of erratic because I do it when I can space it around other things.  But it’s free.”  (c. 8:04)  [SNIP]

PROFESSOR WALTER TURNER:  “Okay.  Well, I’ll usually save ’em; and I’ll go back when I can read them when I have the moment there.

“Was there ever a moment when you thought about stopping the bulletin.”

DR. JOSEPH HANLON:  “Well, no, just because I do it because I’m interested in Mozambique.  And I like Mozambique.  And I’ve got so many friends there, now.  But I go back and forth.  And I just like to write about it and know about it.

“You know; being a journalist, you’re a storyteller.  And, so, you wanna tell the stories.”

PROFESSOR WALTER TURNER:  “Your last book, that we spoke about, which was out was Chickens and Beer.  And your newer book is gonna be on Bangladesh.

“Chickens and Beer was about the—it was an analysis of agriculture, was it not, in Mozambique?”  (c. 8:47)

DR. JOSEPH HANLON:  “Yeah.  [SNIP]  ”

[SNIP]  (c. 59:59)

Learn more at AFRICA TODAY.

[This transcript will be expanded as time constraints, and/or demand or resources, allow.]

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“War” (live) by Bob Marley and The Wailers

“And until the ignoble and unhappy regimes
that hold our brothers in Angola,
In Mozambique,
South Africa
Sub-human bondage
Have been toppled,
Utterly destroyed –
Well, everywhere is war –
Me say war.”

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[1]  Also see writings by Dr. Joseph Hanlon at The Guardian, which offers the following bio:

“Joseph Hanlon is visiting senior fellow at the department of international development of the London School of Economics and honorary research fellow in the school of environment and development of the University of Manchester. He is co-author of Just Give Money to the Poor. He has been writing about Mozambique since 1978. He is editor of the Mozambique Political Process Bulletin and co-author of Do bicycles equal development in Mozambique? His next book, Zimbabwe Takes Back its Land, will be published this year.”

[2]  Terrestrial radio transmission, 94.1 FM (KPFA, Berkeley, CA) with online simulcast and digital archiving:  Africa Today, hosted by Professor Walter Turner, Monday, 13 JUN 2016, 19:00 PDT, one hour broadcast.

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[14 JUN 2016]

[Last modified 13:45 PDT  14 JUN 2016]