Renamo gunmen should be forgiven, says governor – AIM report

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Renamo gunmen should be forgiven, says governor – AIM report

11:25 CAT | 13 Jul 2020

Photo: Noticias

The governor of the central Mozambican province of Manica, Francisca Tomas, has urged Manica community leaders and the public in general to forgive former militiamen from the main opposition party, Renamo, who have decided to leave their bush hideouts and hand over their weapons.

In August 2019, President Filipe Nyusi and Renamo leader Ossufo Momade signed a peace agreement, and under its terms all Renamo military bases are to be dismantled. Members of the Renamo militia are to be demobilised and disarmed, and then reintegrated into society. The Demobilisation, Disarming and Reintegration process (known by the acronym DDR) resumed last month after a lengthy hiatus.

Tomas launched her appeal on Friday, at a meeting with community leaders in Barue district. “You know that DDR is taking place in Mozambique”, she said. “It’s a process that allows our brothers to leave the bush, hand over their weapons, and begin a new life with you in our neighbourhoods. We urge you to forgive these brothers who voluntarily have joined this process”.

Tomas added that the former guerillas had decided to leave their past behind and return to a normal life, and so the public must know how to forgive them.

“This shows that they are agreeing to change”, said the Governor. “They want to be with other Mozambicans and to live through the restoration of definitive peace in the country. Let’s receive them, and we shall live normally with them in an environment of peace”.

Tomas stressed the importance of community leaders in mobilizing the population against other threats to the country’s development, including the Covid-19 pandemic. She said that community leaders should maintain permanent contact with the population to block the spread of Covid-19, insisting on observance of all the prevention measures decreed by the government.

Source: AIM