International mediators ask government and Renamo for commitment to peace

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International mediators ask government and Renamo for commitment to peace

12:23 CAT | 13 Oct 2016

O País (File photo) / Mario Raffaelli

The coordinator of the international mediators of the peace negotiations in Mozambique called on the government and Renamo to make a commitment to peace in honour of Jeremias Pondeca, the negotiator for the main opposition party murdered last Saturday.

“All parties should continue their efforts in search of peace. A commitment to peace is the best way to honour the memory of Jeremias Pondeca,” Mario Raffaelli, EU nominee in the Mozambican negotiating process said speaking to journalists at the end of the funeral of the Renamo member and state councilor.

The wake for Jeremia Pondeca was attended by Mozambique head of state Filipe Nyusi, former head of state Armando Guebuza, deputies of the three benches of the National Assembly and the heads of other state institutions.

According to the Mozambican police, Jeremias Pondeca was gunned down on Saturday morning, while exercising on the beach at Costa do Sol in Maputo by unknown individuals. His body was only identified by family and Renamo members in Maputo Central Hospital morgue on Sunday.

Pondeca’s death follows a wave of murders of Renamo and Frelimo members in areas where there are clashes between defence and security forces and the armed wing of the main opposition party.

The two main Mozambican parties have been accusing each other of political assassinations in the current military violence, triggered by the refusal of Renamo to accept the results of the 2014 general election.

Renamo demands governance in the six provinces in the centre and north of the country where it claims election victory, accusing Frelimo of electoral fraud.

The Government and Renamo are in negotiations to end the fighting with international mediation, but have still failed to reach any understanding with regard to several issues on the ongoing dialogue agenda.

Source: Lusa