Coal-fired war flares in Mozambique, emerging 'Kuwait of Coal'; impact on NW exporting

[Tim White]

Disturbing news from southeast Africa today, that bodes ill for NW coal schemes exploiting the existing North American rail infrastructure, which alone makes Powder River Basin coal of any economic value.

 

Any way you look at it, it’s a lose-lose-lose scenario of a race to the environmental and economic bottom for the people of Mozambique, for the people of the Pacific NW, and for the people of the world bearing climate decay.

Exports from one of the poorest countries of the world came on-line in July 2011 amid international fossil fuel watchers’ declaration of the southeastern African nation as the “Kuwait of Coal,” following discoveries of the world’s most massive exploitable coal fields within just hundreds of flat miles from the coast.

Coal-only rail lines, coal-only power lines, and coal-only export facilities are being laid, raised, and dredged as fast as international coal conglomerates can build.

Villagers have already gone on strike, lying across rails in protest that promised economic benefits of schools, hospitals, job creation and tax revenues have failed to materialize, while community dislocation and coal pollution devastates the populations in the way.

Now the fearsome opposition group Renamo has re-taken to armed attacks against the government, this time over coal exporting.

Renamo guerillas were the feared “contras” of Mozambique, waging a brutal 16-year civil war from independence from Portugal until 1992, claiming one million lives and devastating the southeast African nation’s stunted colonial infrastructure.

 

Regardless of which faction triumphs, once Mozambique’s coal fields, rail lines and export terminals are complete, and local resistance sufficiently contained, the Cherry Point terminal will be abandoned as “uneconomic.” Distant Powder River Basin coal is predestined as uncompetitive with “endless” cheap Mozambique low-sulfur coal available to India and China, the decades-long backer of the Mozambique ruling party.

 

Just google Mozambique coal for the emerging coal boom chaos there.

We are foolish to believe we are immune.

 

Submitted by Tim White, San Juan Island

(bold in text is mine)

 

Mozambique ex-rebels 'killed 36 security officers'

 

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/International/2013/Aug-13/227225-m...

August 13, 2013 06:28 PM

Agence France Presse

 

MAPUTO: Mozambique's main opposition party Renamo Tuesday claimed its fighters killed 36 soldiers and police in a fresh outbreak of violence at the weekend between the government and its former civil war foes.

 

Renamo said the killings occurred in two separate clashes in the central province of Sofala, a region where violence erupted earlier this year more than two decades after the end of a brutal civil war in the southern African country.

 

National police spokesman Pedro Cossa confirmed the presence of armed men in the region, but did not comment on the reported casualties.

 

Local media reported two deaths.

 

In a statement emailed to AFP, rebel group-turned-opposition party Renamo said it had first clashed with Frelimo government forces on Saturday.

 

"Renamo security forces responded promptly to fire from FADM (Armed Forces of Mozambique) and FIR (Police Rapid Intervention Force) causing 29 deaths," it said.

 

"The next day... there was a new onslaught by the forces of the Frelimo government and it was again answered promptly and killed seven," Renamo said, claiming the deadly exchange of fire was in self defence.

 

It was not clear what had prompted the clashes.

 

Tension had been simmering between the former warring parties which signed a peace deal in 1992 after 16 years of civil war which broke out shortly after independence from Portugal.

 

Support for Renamo has waned in recent elections, and its leader Afonso Dhlakama in October last year began retraining ageing veterans demanding "a new political order".

 

The party is demanding more representation in the armed forces, an overhaul of the electoral system and a cut of revenues from Mozambiques fast-growing coal and gas mines.

 

Armed clashes broke out in April with a Renamo attack on a police station in Muxungue, near the latest outbreak of violence.

 

In July police burnt down 50 huts belonging to suspected armed members of Renamo in an a bid to flush out those it suspected were behind a spate of ambushing civilian vehicles in the area.

 

A latest round of peace talks ended without a deal on Monday, despite a partial agreement reached last month to change the electoral laws.

 

Without changes to existing electoral legislation the opposition has vowed to boycott the local government elections due in November.

Submitted by Tim White, San Juan Island