Mozambique: Nhongo wants to resume negotiations with government – DW

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Mozambique: Nhongo wants to resume negotiations with government – DW

6:10 CAT | 10 Sep 2021

FILE - For illustration purposes only [File photo: DW]

Mariano Nhongo says that the Military Junta will not disappear, and that he wants to negotiate. The dissidence leader has proposed the setting up of working groups to discuss claims sent to the Mozambican president.

“I want the government to organise its group, and the Junta Militar will also organise its group. The two commissions will debate, will vindicate the document that the Military Junta sent” to the head of state, dissident Renamo leader Mariano Nhongo says in an audio recording distributed by the media on Wednesday (September 8).

Mhongo said that the Military Junta “will never disappear”, although some influential members of the dissident group have joined the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) process implemented by the Mozambican government, the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo) and the United Nations.

Read: Mozambique: 15,000 meticais base salary for military “square soldiers” and other ‘Junta’ demands – Carta

The DDR falls within the scope of the National Peace and Reconciliation Agreement signed between the government and Renamo in August, 2019.

“The military junta is doing well. The military junta will never disappear from here, from Mozambique,” Nhongo reiterated.

Military junta indicated as responsible for attacks

The group is indicated by the Mozambican authorities as responsible for armed attacks that have already caused the death of at least 30 people since 2019 on roads and villages in the provinces of Manica and Sofala, in central Mozambique.

The group led by former Renamo commander Mariano Nhongo disputes the leadership of Ossufo Momade, the current president of Mozambique’s largest opposition party, and the conditions for demobilisation.

Among other matters, the National Peace and Reconciliation Agreement provides for the disarmament of the approximately 5,000 members of Renamo’s armed wing.

Read: Nhongo claims Manzoni offered him US$4 million to join DDR – Sala da Paz

Despite developments in the process, with almost half of the guerrillas now demobilised, Mariano Nhongo’s group remains a challenge for the parties, and all attempts to start a dialogue with the dissenters have failed.

Source: Deutsche Welle