Mozambique peace mediators propose immediate ceasefire – Deutsche Welle

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Mozambique peace mediators propose immediate ceasefire – Deutsche Welle

4:13 CAT | 23 Aug 2016

DW (File photo)

International mediators in the peace negotiations in Mozambique have submitted a proposal to the Mozambican government and Renamo delegations for an immediate cessation of military hostilities.

Speaking during a press conference in Maputo at the end of a meeting of the Joint Commission yesterday [Monday 22 August], Mario Raffaelli said the proposal was delivered on Friday (19 August) and that the parties were reviewing the document, whose exact contents he did not reveal.

“It is a proposal that takes into account what was discussed in the separate meetings we held with the two parties,” the former chief mediator of the General Peace Agreement signed by the government and Renamo in Rome in 1992 said, adding that there are “sensible points” that still need more discussion.

“Now we begin to confront the positions in search of a solution satisfactory to all,” he added. Raffaelli is one of the mediators proposed by the European Union.

Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama (L) in a meeting with the president of Mozambique Filipe Nyusi (R) (25.02.2015)

While the two sides continue to talk in Maputo, Mozambique’s central region continues to be the source of reports of fighting between the armed wing of Renamo and Defence and Security Forces, with mutual allegations of abductions and assassinations of political leaders by both parties.

Accusations of ambushes on the roads

The Mozambican authorities have accused Renamo of a series of ambushes on the roads and other attacks in locations in central and northern Mozambique in recent weeks, targetting police stations and civilian facilities such as health centres and economic targets such as the train of Brazilian mining company Vale.

This is the first press release the Joint Commission has issued since Wednesday August 17 round of talks discussing Renamo’s claim to govern in the six provinces where it claims to have won the 2014 general election .

At the beginning of Wednesday afternoon, José Manteigas, leader of the Renamo negotiating team, speaking as the Joint Commission spokesman, read a joint statement declaring that “on governance in the six provinces, the delegations agree that legal mechanisms are to be found for the provisional appointment of provincial governors coming from Renamo as soon as possible”.

But just hours after this statement, the government delegation called journalists to clarify that the Joint Commission has no mandate to an agreement on the appointment of opposition governors and that this can only be signed by Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi and the Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama.

“The decision is not for the Joint Commission. We have a mandate to prepare for their meeting,” Jacinto Veloso explained, adding that the opposition’s claim can not be analysed in isolation in relation to other items on the agenda which are “also very important”.

In addition to the immediate cessation of military confrontation and the requirement of Renamo on the six provinces, the agenda of the negotiations includes the separation between political parties and the Defence and Security Forces and the disarmament of the opposition’s armed wing.

Renamo strongholds in Mozambique