What? FRELIMO IN QUIET DIALOGUE WITH RENAMO

Mozambique’s ruling Frelimo Party on Thursday announced that it has begun a dialogue with the main opposition party, the former rebel movement Renamo – but declined to say what matters are under discussion.Renamo has long demanded “negotiations” with Frelimo over such matter as annulling the 2009 elections or rewriting the 1992 peace agreement that ended the war of destabilisation.Frelimo, however, has no intention of negotiating matters that are already completely settled. The Frelimo Central Committee Secretary for Mobilisation and Propaganda, Edson Macuacua, told reporters “when Renamo came and asked for negotiations, we said we don’t accept negotiations, but we will hold a dialogue with them because Frelimo is a party that favours peace, and argues that only dialogue can lead to consensus and to the development of the country”.Asked about “renegotiating” the 1992 peace agreement, Macuacua said that was out of the question. Any alterations to be discussed must respect the political order in the country, he said.Renamo decided to seek “negotiations” with Frelimo at a meeting of its political commission held in late October last year. Following this meeting Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama set up a negotiating commission, consisting of Alberto Sabe, Meque Braz, and Jose Ferreira Muivai.Meque Braz was a member of the Zambezia Provincial Elections Commission in 2009, and in the subsequent disputes over whether Renamo deputies should take their seats in the new parliament, he was an unconditional supporter of Dhlakama who unsuccessfully demanded that all the Renamo members elected should boycott parliament. Braz publicly denounced the first 16 Renamo deputies to take their seats as “traitors”.Muivai was a member of the Renamo parliamentary group in the 2004-2009 parliament. Nothing is publicly known about Sabe.Frelimo also set up a team for the discussions, but its composition has not yet been made public. Asked what the two delegations were talking about, Macuacua said the reporters should ask Renamo, since it was Renamo that raised the issues. He thought it would not be ethical for Frelimo to reveal matters raised by Renamo. “You should speak with them, and certainly they will tell you everything”, he said.Reporters from the independent television station STV took his advice, and asked the Renamo national spokesperson, Fernando Mazanga, what matters were on the agenda. But Mazanga also declined to give any details in order not to disturb what he called “”the normal course of the negotiations”.The first round of talks took place quietly on 4-5 February. Clearly there is no urgency about whatever was discussed, since the next meeting will not take place until mid-April. Macuacua said the talks are being held in Maputo, and they have no time limit.