Biography of Carlos Cardoso launched

Nina Berg, the widow of murdered Mozambican journalist Carlos Cardoso, on 16 June described a biography of her husband, written by two of his colleagues, as "a manifesto of a very active life, full of political and intellectual struggles".

She was speaking at the launch of the book, É Proibido por Algemas nas Palavras: Carlos Cardoso e a Revolução Moçambicana (It is forbidden to put handcuffs on words: Carlos Cardoso and the Mozambican Revolution) in Maputo, Mozambique.

The book has been written by Paul Fauvet, head of the Mozambican news service AIM , and Marcelo Mosse, editor of the independent newsheet Mediafax. Both men worked under Cardoso - Fauvet at AIM throughout the 1980s, and Mosse on the two papers that Cardoso edited in the 1990s, Mediafax and Metical.

The book is published by the Mozambican publishing house Ndjira. An English translation of the book is being prepared by Second Storey Books, of South Africa and is due for release in 2003.

The book's title comes from the slim volume of poetry and aphorisms, Directo ao Assunto (Straight to the Point), which Cardoso published in 1985. One of shortest of these pieces reads: "No ofício da verdade, é proibido por algemas nas palavras" ("In the business of truth, it is forbidden to put handcuffs on words).

"This book shows that Carlos was a very courageous person", said Berg. "He had no fear of confronting anybody, if he thought it correct, even if they were highly placed people, even if they were presidents".

Berg was pleased that, rather than simply mourning the death of Cardoso and demanding that his killers be brought to justice, here was a book that celebrated his life and his work.

The 450 page book charts Cardoso's life from his childhood in colonial Beira and Lourenço Marques right up to the fateful date of 22 November 2000 when the assassins shot him as he was leaving work.

The book's authors interviewed many of Cardoso's relatives, friends, colleagues, and the various politicians who worked with him, and with whom he often clashed. Sponsorship for the book was provided by the Maputo office of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Norwegian Embassy.

Salomão Moyana, chairman of the Mozambican branch of Media Institute of Southern Africa, the regional press freedom body, told the audience: "Cardoso was a man profoundly committed to the cause of the poor, and when we witness the launching of this book today, we are recognising that Carlos Cardoso was a superior kind of citizen".