Mozambican
President Filipe Nyusi and the leader of the former rebel movement Renamo,
Ossufo Momade, signed in Maputo on Tuesday evening an Agreement on Peace and
Reconciliation, which Nyusi described as “an unequivocal sign that Mozambique
will never again be a stage of war”.This accord follows the agreement on a
definitive cessation of hostilities that Nyusi and Momade signed in the central
district of Gorongosa last Thursday. The
reception given to the new peace agreement was one of euphoria. Among all those
interviewed by the media, whatever their nationality and whatever their
political hue, there was scarcely a murmur of criticism.Yet few people know
exactly what is in the Agreement. So far it has not been published, and copies
were not distributed to the press.Nonetheless, Nyusi declared categorically
that “Mozambique must never again become a theatre of war, and the results of
elections must never dictate the state of peace in the country”.Nyusi was
referring to Renamo’s excuse for resuming its insurgency in 2015. The Renamo
leadership claimed that the victory of Nyusi and the ruling Frelimo Party in
the 2014 general elections was achieved by fraud – even though local and
international observer groups believed the elections were generally free, and the
parallel count done by observers was in line with the official results.“Today
is a day for celebrating concord and harmony among Mozambicans”, said Nyusi.
“Today politics has overcome the abyss of division and violence which, over the
years has caused death and the destruction of the country’s economic and social
fabric”.This is the third peace agreement signed by successive governments and
Renamo. The General Peace Agreement signed in Rome on 4 October 1992 between
President Joaquim Chissano and Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama, allowed peace to
flourish for about 20 years.
But
in violation of the terms of the agreement, Renamo did not demobilise all its
forces, but held back a militia which allowed it to resume military operations
in 2013.On 5 September 2014, Dhlakama signed an agreement on cessation of
hostilities with Chissano’s successor, Armando Guebuza. The disarming of Renamo
envisaged under that agreement did not happen, and after losing the elections
of that year, Renamo slid back into war in 2015.
On
taking office in January 2015, Nyusi pledged to return the country to peace,
and established regular phone contact with Dhlakama, who had returned to
Renamo’s main military base in Gorongosa. These contacts led to Dhlakama
declaring a truce in late December 2016. There have been no significant
violations of the truce.Nyusi told the Tuesday ceremony that from the
experience of the previous agreements, it was clear that effective and lasting
peace requires permanent effort and commitment as well as the elimination of
factors that feed conflicts.He drew the lesson from the 1992 agreement that
decent socio-economic reintegration into society of former combatants was
necessary in order to remove any desire they might have to become involved in
further acts of violence.He stressed the importance of his direct negotiations
with Dhlakama in 2016. “This is the first peace agreement for Mozambique which
is the product of direct negotiation between the government and Renamo”, he
said. (Previous agreements had depended largely on mediators, both local and
foreign).
The
direct interaction between the two leaders, he said, “evaporated distrust and
created a better understanding between us. Brothers became aware that there is
no further reason to kill each other”.
“This
is not an agreement between enemies”, declared Nyusi, “but an agreement which
proves we don’t want any more war between us. With this accord, we are saying
that we can have our disagreements, which is common in families, but we will
always resort to dialogue to handle our differences”.For his part, Momade, who
succeeded Dhlakama after the latter’s death from diabetes in May 2018, called
for greater unity in order to keep the country one and indivisible. He declared
that the democratic rule of law has come to stay in Mozambique.
He
stressed that the separation of political parties from state institutions must
be permanent. “We repeat our appeals not to commit the same mistakes again”, he
said, and pledged that Renamo will scrupulously respect the terms of the
agreement.“It is our conviction that, with the ceasefire, Mozambicans can enjoy
the beauty and wealth of the country God has given us”, he added. The
forthcoming visit, in early September of the head of the Roman Catholic Church,
Pope Francis, will be “a privileged occasion for purifying our hearts”.The agreement,
he continued, should also mean the elimination of any barriers to the exercise
of Mozambican citizenship, allowing civil society to become one of the actors
in democracy. “Civil society should be the lantern for transparency and for
respect for the common good, and should not be subject to restriction or
reprisals”, Momade said.He believed the agreement marks the start of a new era
characterised by the acceptance of different ways of thinking and by peaceful
political coexistence.“Our vision should empower what unites us and not what
divides us”, he added.
The
signing of the agreement was witnessed by the two previous Mozambican
presidents, Joaquim Chissano and Armando Guebuza, by the president of the
African Union Commission, Moussa Mahamat, by the presidents of South Africa,
Cyril Ramaphosa, of Namibia, Hage Geingob, of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, by the
former president of Tanzania, Jakaya Kikwete, and by the Vice-President of
Zimbabwe, Kembo Mohadi.
Historical sequence of peace
accords
Photo 1 - Final Peace / Maputo capital (2019)
F2 - End of hostilities / Gorongosa Renamo central
base (2019)
F3- End of hostilities / Maputo capital (2013)
F4- 16-year cessation of fighting and openness to
multipartism / Rome (1992)
F5- With the South African white government to end
support for Renamo and African National Congress / Nkomati (1984)
F5- End of Portuguese colonialism and independence of
Mozambique / Lusaca Zambia (1974)
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