Dhlakama welcomes progress made in Mozambique to avoid military unrest as in Guinea Bissau

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Dhlakama welcomes progress made in Mozambique to avoid military unrest as in Guinea Bissau

2:47 CAT | 25 May 2017

Lusa (File photo) / Afonso Dhakama

The Renamo president Afonso Dhlakama yesterday welcomed progress in negotiating military matters with the government of Mozambique and said it would avoid the military revolt that occurred in Guinea-Bissau and other African countries.

“We can not forget [the de-politicisation of the armed forces], because forgetting would mean incubating a partisan army” that “can attack a democratically elected government like in Guinea-Bissau and other African countries,” Dhlakama said.

Dhlakama was speaking by telephone from his base in the central Gorongosa mountain range to Renamo members and supporters at a party meeting in Matola, outside Maputo.

“We want obedient, disciplined armed forces,” he said, and “people promoted on the basis of technical and professional trust. We do not want [political] parties in the military.”

The detachment of the armed forces from political parties and the integration of Renamo men are issues under discussion in one of two joint commissions seeking agreements for a definitive peace in the country.

“This issue is going well and there are foreign experts who are helping,” he said.

Among the points under discussion, “Renamo cadres with different ranks must be placed at all levels of the armed forces, including in the branches of the Army and General Staff,” he said.

The formation of republican armed forces has been a “pending issue” for Afonso Dhlakama since the 1992 peace agreement, which, he complained, discriminated against Renamo fighters.

“They have not been promoted since 1994”, nor are they selected for studies or other functions, he said.

Dhlakama and President Filipe Nyusi have agreed to leave the matter to a joint negotiating commission from which, as with the one dealing with decentralisation, the Renamo leader expects results by the end of the year.

“I hope this goes well, not only in the armed forces,” he said, adding that the integration of Renamo men into the Republic of Mozambique Police and the State Security and Information Services (SISE) was being negotiated.

Source: Lusa