SPECTRE OF WAR IS REMOTE – CHISSANO

Former Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano has declared that the spectre of war is remote in Mozambique, even though physical and psychological violence persist within Mozambican society. Speaking at the Pan-African Forum on the Culture of Peace, held in Luanda, Chissano said that although some Mozambican politicians occasionally make inflammatory speeches threatening a return to war, the public is in favour of maintaining the climate of peace from which it has benefitted. Cited in Monday’s issue of the Maputo daily “Noticias”, Chissano added that the peaceful environment in Mozambique has made it possible to draw up paths for the country’s economic and social development .  “With the levels of economic growth that the country is registering and with the boom in the discovery of natural resources, we have been encouraged to multiply our efforts to transform the current difficulties into challenges that can be overcome in an environment of peace, expanding the space for all social strata to participate in development”, he added. Chissano said that the steps taken to transform a scenario of war into a scenario of peace included promoting the spirit of reconciliation, tolerance and respect for differences among citizens.The free circulation of people and goods, he said, is cementing the principles of freedom, social justice and democracy, as well as respect for human rights. Chissano believed this meant that the culture of dialogue is now rooted in Mozambican society.Among the factors which had contributed to the current prevailing climate of peace and dialogue, he said, was Frelimo’s opposition to divisions based on race or ethnicity. Chissano pointed out that, during the war for independence from Portugal, Frelimo brought together men and women from a variety of ethnic groups, regions and races. Initially, there were difficulties and acts of discrimination which degenerated into conflicts and violence within Frelimo, sometimes due to the intervention of agents of colonialism. “Aware of this, we acted under the banner of national unity”, said Chissano. “Culture was a fundamental instrument to create group cohesion and to staunch a wave of violence within our organisation”.He stressed that Frelimo had deliberately thrown together people from different regions and ethnic groups, and had promoted dialogue.“Politically we created spaces of dialogue to maximize our oral tradition”, he continued. “During the national liberation struggle, we used the figure of political commissars who, among other things, undertook profound political work about our struggle through dialogue with the population”. Chissano said that the Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, is an example of the culture of debate, dialogue and reconciliation.This exercise, he added, had been replicated in the provincial and municipal assemblies where there is a true democratic exercise of dialogue between representatives elected by the population, and between them and members of the government at various levels.  Chissano also regarded the “open presidencies” held by his successor, Amando Guebuza, in which the head of state tours the country regularly, as “a form of accountability through an open and frank dialogue between those who govern and those who are governed”.