Cuba celebrates 50th anniversary of Mozambique's independence
Mozambique: “No more war and bloodshed”
11:50 CAT | 23 Dec 2016
DW / Members of the Christian Council of Manica at the launch of the 'National Prayer Campaign
Thousands of Mozambicans have gathered in Maputo and other Mozambican cities to pray for peace as part of a national campaign.
The ‘National Campaign for Prayer’ will run for a year and calls for forgiveness, reconciliation, national unity and an immediate ceasefire. It will culminate in December 2017 with a national conference on peace, forgiveness and healing.
For twelve months, all Mozambicans will be called to dedicate at least ten minutes a day to praying for peace, Secretary General of the Christian Council of Mozambique, Reverend Marcos Macamo explained. “All Mozambicans should contribute to the well-being of the nation, every one of us.”
Monitoring the ongoing political dialogue
In addition to promoting individual prayer and peace services, the ongoing political dialogue in the country between the government and Renamo will be monitored for the end of the political and military tension, according to the Platform for Prophetic Mission and Revival.
Artemisa Franco is the coordinator of the platform, which brings together nearly 100 religious denominations.
“Because of these problems, we have come to the conclusion that the 1992 peace agreement has not been properly implemented or monitored,” he says.
At the launch of the campaign in Maputo, all the participants agreed there had been “enough of war and bloodshed” and stressed the need for the immediate achievement of peace, a necessary condition for the development of the country.
Culture of peace
Former head of state Joaquim Chissano stressed that Mozambicans had a common goal and that “in this case it is peace and reconciliation. It is a culture of peace. It is not a peace but a complete peace, a deep peace, a peace of God, a peace of Christ, complete peace, in all its aspects, without criminality, without glaring deficiencies, without absolute poverty,” said the former (1986-2005) president.
Minister of Justice Isac Chande said religious confessions played an important role in bringing Mozambicans closer together.
“It is with our initiative that together and united we can make our country an example of participation and democratic construction, a sine qua non for the inclusive development that we aim for.”
Speaking for the parliamentary bench of ruling party Frelimo, Margarida Talapa pointed out that “the culture of peace and of human solidarity through dialogue, tolerance and reconciliation, with a view to building a fair, democratic and united society, is a cornerstone of Mozambican society”.
“Love, brotherhood and honesty,” MDM says
The head of the Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM) in parliament, Lutero Simango, said reconciliation should be based on love, brotherhood and honesty.
“It must be effective. Mozambicans should be treated equally, they should not be qualified by their political, religious or social convictions. It is now time for reconciliation. We must be reconcile among ourselves so that the Mozambican family embarks on a genuine project of rebuilding the nation, stone by stone, as our national anthem announces,” Simango said.
The biggest opposition party, Renamo, was not represented at the ceremony.
The national prayer campaign comes at a time when Mozambicans are plagued by continuing military attacks attributed to the armed wing of Renamo and an apparent lack of progress in political dialogue aimed at ending the current politico-military tension.
Mozambicans in some parts of the country are afraid to travel to be with their relatives over the festive season because of the military conflict.
Source: Deutsche Welle
Show comments
Also read
Leave a Reply
Be the First to Comment!
You must be logged in to post a comment.
You must be logged in to post a comment.