Mozambique: Government wants road concessionaires to be aware of social responsibility
Mariano Nhongo rejects mediation by the Christian Council of Mozambique
12:56 CAT | 28 Feb 2020
FILE: Mariano Nhongo states that his interlocutor is President Filipe Nyusi. [File photo: DW]
The leader of the self-proclaimed Renamo ‘Military Junta’, Mariano Nhongo, will not accept the mediation by the Christian Council of Mozambique before the government releases or moves forward the document he sent to the Executive last year.
This week, the Christian Council of Mozambique expressed its willingness to mediate the internal crisis in the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo). But, in an interview with DW Africa, Mariano Nhongo declines the offer of mediation and accuses the Mozambican government of ignoring Military Junta’s demands.
“I rejected the Christians’ [offer] to negotiate. What am I going to negotiate with them? I already sent the document to the government. President Jacinto Nyusi received the document, he went to the cabinet with his staff members and read it. The only thing is that they do not want to comply with the document, because they are bloodthirsty,” he says.
Nhongo also says that, if the government is interested [in moving forward], the document submitted to the Mozambican executive should first be released to the media. “If there is to be a negotiation, I ask that President Nyusi release that document for all Mozambicans and neighbouring countries to see.”
If this requirement is not met, Nhongo says that the patience to wait for a negotiation will run out. But, at the same time, he acknowledges that he is tired of fighting.
“We are tired of being in the bush, with weapons. If this is how it is going to be, there will come a time when we will no longer negotiate with anyone. We know why we made us make the revolution in 2014, when Renamo had won six provinces,” he recalls.
The leader of the self-proclaimed Military Junta considers that the results of the 2019 elections should be annulled. “If Frelimo does not cancel votes this year, there will never be another vote in Mozambique: there will only be voting with weapons,” he says.
Renamo says Nhongo is “a matter for the state”
For its part, Renamo says that “the Nhongo issue is a matter for the State”. José Manteigas, spokesman for the main opposition party, also accuses the Mozambican government of having created the self-proclaimed Military Junta with the aim of discrediting Renamo.
“It was the Frelimo Government that created the Nhongo group, and the clearest and most evident sign that they are the parents of the Nhongo group is the television space that was reserved for Nhongo on October 14th, outside the campaign,” Manteigas maintains.
Even so, Manteigas calls on Mariano Nhongo to return to talks with Renamo.
“Renamo’s doors are open. If Nhongo feels like a member of the Renamo party, he has to come to the party and raise his concerns, which will be resolved at the proper time.”
Mass displacement
The armed conflict in central Mozambique has lasted for more than seven months and has already caused several deaths, displacing many from their home territory.
The Bar Association in Sofala is concerned about mass displacement, with representative Vicente Mondlane urging the government to take urgent measures to ensure that the conflict does not cost the population minimum standards of dignity or living conditions, whether in Cabo Delgado or in Sofala and Manica provinces.
“It is necessary to eliminate the causes of these conflicts, which are not only displacing people: human lives are also being lost. It is necessary to prevent more deaths resulting from these conflicts,” Mondlane emphasises. “The government must be there to ensure that these people do not suffer the consequences.”
Source: Deutsche Welle
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