Renamo accuses Frelimo of undermining peace

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Renamo accuses Frelimo of undermining peace
Renamo accuses Frelimo of undermining peace

Africa-PressMozambique. Ossufo Momade, leader of Mozambique’s main opposition party, Renamo, has accused the ruling party, Frelimo, of handling matters in bad faith and of showing a lack of political will to solve problems, which undermines peace and reconciliation.

Addressing a press conference on Monday in Maputo to mark the 29th anniversary of the General Peace Agreement (AGP) signed in 1992 between the government and Renamo, which ended the war of destabilization, Momade claimed that regional inequalities were the result of the wrong political decisions.

“A nation must belong to everyone and not to a small group of people. No one should be excluded from its collective construction. Social exclusion is one of the major enemies of peace,” he said, adding that 29 years after the peace accord, Mozambicans continue to live in an atmosphere of unhappiness which threatens peace and reconciliation.

The political parties from the opposition, especially Renamo, he said, are always hampered by local authorities from carrying out their political activities, and are not even allowed to hoist their own flags at their offices. He alleged that community leaders have been used as “a political weapon” to harass and limit the rights of political parties.

He also claimed there has been interference in humanitarian assistance in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado and alleged that the 3,000 meticais (about 47 US dollars, at the current exchange rate) allowance paid to the most vulnerable households, following the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak, has been granted only to Frelimo supporters. He offered no evidence for these claims

As for the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) of the Renamo militia, Momade said 12 months have gone by and the beneficiaries have never been paid their allowance. “The move corrodes the foundations of peace and social harmony,” he declared.

However, according to the United Nations, the allowances were paid for the first 12 months, and then the money ran out.

On one point Momade sees eye to eye with President Filipe Nyusi – both men took advantage of the Monday ceremonies to urge Mariano Nhongo, leader of the self-styled “Renamo Military Junta”, to persuade his men to lay down their weapons and join the demobilization.

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