President Nyusi calls for the preservation of peace in Lent – Mozambique

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President Nyusi calls for the preservation of peace in Lent – Mozambique

10:31 CAT | 03 Mar 2017

Filipe Nyusi Facebook

President Filipe Nyusi yesterday called on Mozambicans to be guided by the values of peace and national reconciliation as a way of observing the spirit of Lent, which began on Wednesday.

“That the fundamental values of Christianity, such as love of the neighbour, forgiveness, reconciliation and peace, transcend the religious domain to be guiding values of Mozambican society, because they are shared by all of us, regardless of our differences, religious or otherwise,” Nyusi said in a message to the media.

The head of state said that Lent should be a time of deep reflection on the values and principles of Christianity for Mozambicans.

Filipe Nyusi also called for the occasion of Lent to inspire Mozambicans in the hope and assurance of peace, removing all factors that undermine healthy, harmonious and peaceful coexistence.

Peace in Mozambique has been under constant threat in recent years due to fractures between the Mozambican Liberation Front (Frelimo), the ruling party, and the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo), the main opposition party.

Between 2013 and the end of 2016, the country was plagued by violence between the Defense and Security Forces (FDS) and the armed wing of Renamo, but since last December a truce declared by the government and the leadership of the main opposition party has been in force.

On Wednesday, Renamo said its armed wing would continue to observe the truce with the FDS after its official end on March 5.

On Tuesday, the Mozambican President invited six ambassadors accredited to Maputo and the European Union representative in Mozambique to join a Contact Group to support the dialogue for peace.

A presidency press release on Tuesday said that President Filipe Nyusi had invited the ambassadors of the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Ireland, the United States, China, Norway and Botswana and the head of the European Union Mission in Mozambique to join a working group supporting efforts to establish a sustainable peace in Mozambique.

At the end of January, President Nyusi announced the peace negotiations phase involving international mediation was at a close, but that the mediators in the talks between the government and Renamo could be recalled if it was considered necessary.

The work of the Joint Commission in the government–Renamo talks led by the international mediation team was suspended in mid-December without agreement on the decentralization package and the cessation of military hostilities, two of the key issues in the peace negotiations.

At the time, the EU-appointed mediation team coordinator, Mario Raffaeli, said that the mediators would only return to Maputo if called by the parties.

Despite the lack of agreement between the two delegations, the parties reached a truce later as a result of telephone conversations between the Mozambican president and the Renamo leader.

At the end of December, the Renamo leader declared a one-week truce as a “goodwill gesture” and later extended the deadline to 60 days to give space for negotiations.

In addition to the decentralization package and the cessation of hostilities, the negotiation agenda includes the depoliticisation of the Defence and Security Forces and the disarmament of the armed wing of the opposition and their reintegration into civilian life.

Source: Lusa