Mozambique: Combatants Minister attends Guinea-Bissau 50th independence anniversary - Watch
File photo / European Union ambassador to Mozambique Sven von Burgsdorff
Sven von Burgsdorff, European Union (EU) representative in Mozambique, said on Tuesday that a peace agreement for the country would only be important if it passed from signature to action, and a credible process of national reconciliation.
“A peace agreement may not be enough. The most important thing will be its implementation,” he said in an interview with Lusa on European Day on Tuesday.
The successful implementation of a peace agreement would require “a way of looking at the past”, and asking why there was conflict in the first place. “Finding remedies to address the injustices committed and preventing this from happening again” would be essential, he said.
President Nyusi and Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo) leader Afonso Dhlakama are negotiating a third peace agreement, hopefully the last the country needs.
To be successful, “there must be tolerance and trust between political players and between the citizen and the state” alongside an “open and inclusive political system” and a “cohesive society with a common vision of the future,” von Burgsdorff said.
Von Burgsdorff said he thought Mozambique was only “at the beginning” of this journey.
“We hope that a peace agreement will be signed soon,” he said, encouraged by the progress made in talks between the president and the Renamo leader, which led last week to a declaration of indefinite truce.
“It is the first step” on the path. “Even after the definitive ceasefire” it was necessary “to continue the process of implementing this ambition and to steer the process so that a sustainable political solution is found”.
“This is why tolerance, trust, an open and inclusive democracy and social cohesion are important. Only with respect and established trust and guided reconciliation” could a peace agreement for Mozambique be reached.
Von Burgsdorff promised that the EU would continue to stand at the forefront of external support on the road ahead. Partnerships, rather than aid, were now the priority, he said.
“For the first time, Europe is understanding that Africa is not just a partner to give aid to, ” he said. “It is a partner for balanced cooperation to help meet the challenges of an increasingly globalised world,” and Mozambique could count on the EU a strategic partner.
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