Talk show hosts say that it is better to jaw-jaw than to war-war. The move by Mozambique’s President Filipe Nyusi of meeting with the leader of the opposition group, Renamo, falls under the ambit of democracy. It is like the continuation of war by other means.
But it was really aimed at brokering peace between the opposition group and the ruling Frelimo party. The two groups battled for supremacy for fifteen years until 1992, when the Western countries succeeded in getting Renamo to accept the government put in place by Frelimo.
In a great show of statesmanship, President Nyusi went to the Gorongosa mountains last week to parley with Renamo’s leader, Afonso Dhlakama, who had taken refuge there since October 2015. The President had earlier pledged to change the constitution to allow for the devolution of power in an effort to persuade the opposition to sign a peace deal. He needed to sound Dhlakama out on the content of the deal.
Recall that there was three-year violence between the two sides from 2013 to 2016. The violence, which ended after Dhlakama announced a truce, forced thousands of people to escape to government-run camps, homes of their relatives or across the border to Malawi and Zimbabwe.
Renamo, which also holds seats in parliament, has long been seeking greater decentralisation of power and better integration of its supporters into the police and military. The expected peace deal will allow the Governors of the eleven provinces in Mozambique to be elected directly, instead of being named by the president as is currently the case.
The government is also pushing for the disarmament of the armed wing of Renamo which has continued to exist since the end of the civil war in 1992. “We welcome… the steps to be taken,” said Nyusi. “They will allow an end to military hostilities and open a new era for effective and lasting peace.”
The President assured that detailed proposals would be made public as soon as possible.
