Mozambique: Renamo Youth League demands release of former guerrillas - Watch
Photo: TVM
Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi warned on Monday that the terrorist attacks in the northern province of Cabo Delgado, and the armed violence of the self-styled “Renamo Military Junta” threaten the gains made by those who fought for the country’s independence.
He was speaking in the central city of Quelimane, at celebrations of “Victory Day”, the 46th anniversary of the independence agreement, signed in Lusaka, on 7 September 1974, between the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo) and the Portuguese colonial government.
The two current poles of violence in the country, said Nyusi, “are a threat to the gains of 7 September”.
He regarded the members of today’s defence and security forces, fighting in Cabo Delgado, as the heirs to the national liberation struggle. He revealed that two days ago heavy fighting took place near the town of Mocimboa da Praia (occupied by the terrorists in mid-August) and at the Awasse crossroads.
As for the fighting in the central provinces, Nyusi urged the “Military Junta” to lay down its weapons. There was no reason for any more war, he said, pointing out that the demobilization of the Renamo militia is pushing ahead (under the agreement he signed with Renamo leader Ossufo Momade in August 2019).
A further threat facing the country, the President added, is the Covid-19 pandemic. He once again urged citizens to respect preventive measures, such as the use of face masks in public places, social distancing and frequent washing of hands.
Last Friday, Nyusi announced the easing of some restrictive measures. Thus, as from 15 September, the ban on visiting the country’s beaches will be lifted – but only if the measures against the spread of Covid-19 are respected.
However, some people jumped the gun, and went to the beaches this weekend. Nyusi said they displayed “total disrespect” for the government’s guidelines on avoiding Covid-19. Those guidelines include a ban on all beach sports, and on the sale and consumption of alcohol on the beaches.
Nyusi warned that, if this attitude continues, the government would have no hesitation in closing again those beaches where irresponsible behaviour was noted.
Nyusi said that “Victory Day” celebrates not only the end of the anti-colonial war, but also the moment in which Mozambique became master of its own destiny.
“The Lusaka Agreement”, he stressed, “created the legal and material conditions for Mozambique to be born as an independent, sovereign and democratic state of social justice. Today we are the master of our own resources and of our fate”.
The role of the veterans of the liberation struggle could not be ignored, he said, and they should now be in the vanguard of the struggle against terrorism, corruption and the Covid-19 pandemic. ”Just as in the past, Mozambique relies on the support of the veterans to overcome these evils”, declared Nyusi.
During this year’s celebrations, 916 veterans were decorated, 25 of them (17 men and eight women) at the Quelimane event. The others will receive their medals in ceremonies across the country, but in small groups, so as to avoid the crowds that risk the spread of Covid-19.
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