The organisation reached this conclusion after a recent
four-day visit to the Mozambican capital, Maputo, during which CPJ
representatives met with dozens of journalists from both state-owned and
private media as well as high-ranking government officials.

Government officials expressed a commitment to press freedom, but
journalists presented a different picture, says CPJ. While there is no
official censorship, journalists described many episodes of self-censorship.
"There is fear when you get into the hardest part of the news," one
journalist told CPJ. According to another, "Certain stories involving highly
placed people -- we think it's best not to touch those." Many journalists
said they were afraid to follow in Cardoso's footsteps. CPJ is disappointed
by these findings given that press freedom organisations have been
encouraged by Mozambique's past record. "The country is known for an
environment in which both independent and state-sponsored media have
competed freely, without official interference," says CPJ.

Cardoso, a veteran independent journalist who edited the daily fax
newsletter "Metical", was shot dead on 22 November 2000, notes CPJ. One week
before his death, Cardoso launched a campaign against what he called the
"gangster faction" in the ruling Mozambique Liberation Front (FRELIMO),
which he accused of provoking political violence. Shortly before Cardoso's
murder, "Metical" had been investigating alleged wrongdoing at the
Mozambique Commercial Bank. CPJ calls on the Mozambican government to
"publicly reaffirm its respect for the role of the press as a check on
abuses of power" and to "make the Cardoso murder investigation an ongoing
priority and to aggressively pursue all avenues, regardless of where they
lead."

Meanwhile, the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) reported on 22 May
that the Public Prosecutor's Office had charged six people in the Cardoso
case. Businessman Ayob Abdul Satar and former bank manager Vicente Ramaya
were charged with ordering the killing, while four others were accused of
carrying it out. The Abdul Satar family and Ramaya are key figures in the
alleged fraud at the Mozambique Commercial Bank. [Updates IFEX "Communique"
#9-47.] For more information, see www.cpj.org and www.misanet.org.