Former Renamo leader says there are forces against peace in both Renamo and Frelimo

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Former Renamo leader says there are forces against peace in both Renamo and Frelimo

11:53 CAT | 09 Aug 2017

DW / A map of Mozambique

Raul Domingos, chief Renamo negotiator at the 1992 General Peace Accords, told Lusa on Tuesday that there are forces opposing the dialogue for peace in both of Mozambique’s two main political parties.

“There are forces opposed to the peace negotiations within both Frelimo and Renamo. It is important that Mozambican civil society and, above all, the parties themselves denounce and isolate these tendencies,” Domingos says.

Domingos, who was expelled from the Mozambican National Resistance in 2000 following disagreements with party leader Afonso Dhlakama, referred to the threats to peace in the country in a discussion about the meeting between the Mozambican head of state, Filipe Nyusi, and the leader of the main opposition party.

Domingos says the Mozambican Liberation Front (Frelimo), the ruling party has a faction that would prefer the military elimination of Afonso Dhlakama as a way of ending competition in the struggle for power in elections and ensuring the state monopoly of resources.

“The various attempts to assassinate Afonso Dhlakama, contrary to the promises of the head of state that dialogue was the best way to end instability, demonstrates the existence of a sector in Frelimo that believes in the military triumph,” Domingos said.

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The former Renamo Number Two says Renamo also has factions that prefer a military response to Frelimo hegemony.

“When the dialogue with Frelimo goes badly, when there are unfavourable situations and when electoral results are manipulated, there are Renamo generals who say that only a military victory will suffice with Frelimo,” Domingos said,

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Domingos, who currently lead the Party for Peace, Democracy and Development (PDD), which has no parliamentary representation, recalled that during the discussions about Renamo’s participation in the negotiations that led to the General Peace Agreement in 1992 there were party generals who still opposed dialogue, arguing that it was possible to win the war.

The former head of the Renamo negotiating team welcomed the Sunday meeting between Filipe Nyusi and Afonso Dhlakama, noting that it served to boost confidence that there would be a resolution of the differences behind the political and military instability in Mozambique by the end of this year.

“The meeting was an important step in the right direction and clearly defined the willingness of the two leaders to find a solution to the outstanding disputes as soon as possible,” he added.

Also Read: Nyusi warns against “opportunists” seeking to undermine efforts to achieve an effective peace

As one of Renamo’s leading figures, Raul Domingos headed the delegation of the movement in the negotiations that led to the signing of the General Peace Agreement with the Frelimo Government in 1992.

Raul Domingos led Renamo in the first general and multiparty elections in Mozambique in 1994, but was expelled in 2000 following disagreements with Afonso Dhlakama over the party’s refusal to recognise defeat in the 1999 general election.

Source: Lusa