“Good atmosphere” in the Joint Commission preparing Nyusi-Dhlakama meeting

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“Good atmosphere” in the Joint Commission preparing Nyusi-Dhlakama meeting

1:04 CAT | 02 Jun 2016

The government-Renamo Joint Commission charged with preparing a meeting between President Filipe Nyusi and the leader of Renamo, Afonso Dhlakama, held its third session yesterday, and announced after a five-hour session that it would continue to work towards an early meeting between the two statesmen.

Meeting spokesman Jacinto Veloso said the session took place in a “good, friendly atmosphere”. “We can confirm that, at our level, there is already a proposal for the high-level dialogue agenda items. We also made significant progress in preparing the terms of reference for the same”.

Defence and Security Council meeting

Earlier yesterday the Mozambican National Defense and Security Council reiterated the urgency of creating conditions for a peace meeting between the president of Mozambique and the leader of Renamo, the main opposition party.

In a statement, the council “expressed its support for the Joint Commission engaging swiftly with a view to achieving a meeting between the president and the leader of Renamo”.

Filipe Nyusi (R) and Afonso Dhlakama (L)

The Defence and Security Council statement notes the persistence of armed attacks by the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo) against civilian targets and defence and security forces, resulting in injury and loss of life as well as substantial material damage.

The statement, issued in the Mozambican capital, reveals that the council considered the reports of the existence of a mass grave containing more than a hundred bodies in the centre of the country, and encouraged the competent authorities to continue their investigations into the matter.

Dhlakama says parliamentary commission on mass graves a “masquerade”

The president of Renamo Afonso Dhlakama however says that the parliamentary committee on mass graves is a “masquerade” and yesterday demanded the creation of an independent commission to investigate the reports.

“Renamo requires the creation of a genuine commission of inquiry to investigate this mass grave,” Dhlakama told reporters in a conference call from Gorongosa in Sofala province.

For the leader of Mozambique’s largest opposition party, the parliamentary commission, which Renamo is boycotting, is a body effectively headed by the ruling party and insufficiently independent to genuinely clarify the case.

“The commission is a masquerade,” Dhlakama said, reiterating the need for an independent commission composed of experts, journalists, academics, intellectuals and deputies to visit the location and interview people there to establish the facts.

Parliamentary Commission has deied the existence of a mass grave

On Tuesday, the chairman of the parliamentary commission Edson Macuacua contradicted the farmers’ testimony.

A month after the testimony first came to light, Macauacua headed a visit by the parliamentary commission for Constitutional Affairs, Human Rights and Legality to the area indicated by the informants in Gorongosa, Sofala province.

Parliamentary Commission on visit to Canda (31/05/2016)

“The result [of the investigation] allows us to state categorically, unequivocally and definitively that there is no mass grave in Canda,” he said.

The assembly members who went to Canda were all from the ruling Mozambique Liberation Front, except for one representative of the Democratic Movement of Mozambique.

Source: Deutsche Welle