Renamo parliamentary leader wants peace and stability in Mozambique

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Renamo parliamentary leader wants peace and stability in Mozambique

4:37 CAT | 29 Sep 2016

DW / Ivone Soares

Ivone Soares, parliamentary leader of Mozambique’s largest opposition said in Lisbon that her party wants to reach an understanding in the current negotiations for peace and stability in the country.

Mozambicans abroad have been following negotiations between the main political parties with concern. Mozambicans residing in Portugal urge the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo) and Renamo to opt for dialogue in achieving a peaceful solution.

On the sidelines of a debate on economic justice in Lisbon, Soares told DW Africa that the political and military conflict in Mozambique has fostered a climate of terror in the country. She denounced the existence of death squads set up by the regime to shoot down any citizen who thinks differently tom them and criticizes the Frelimo government.

“The expectation is for an understanding as quickly as possible, because for us it is important that the issue of governance of the six provinces where we won the elections is resolved. And we think that it is imperative that Mozambique has defence and security forces that are effectively republican and not at the service of any particular political party,” she says.

Mosambik Friedensverhandlungen Renamo Mitglieder (DW/L. Matias) — Renamo’s delegation in the peace talks

Soares says that “these two aspects resolved, guaranteed the integration and reintegration of our residual force, since the Comprehensive Peace Agreement strengthened by the 2014 Hostilities Termination Agreement – that aimed to integrate all the men and women who have been fighting for democracy on the side of RENAMO in the defence and security forces in general – if there are conditions for this integration we are not going to talk of armed men, because we have no interest in having men who are waiting for their integration, contrary to what some people may think”.

A culture of fear underway

Mosambik Ivone Soares (DW/J. Carlos) — Soares at the ‘Economic Justice’ forum in Lisbon

Soares told DW Africa that she has received threats to her physical safety.

“I feel threatened and feel that the members of my party are also being threatened. We live in a situation of terror because there are, truly, death squads created by the Frelimo regime to shoot down any citizen who thinks otherwise, who openly criticises their positions, their poor governance policies that have been implemented over the past 40 years. This of course has to be fought. This involves reaching an understanding … because we can not continue with this scenario where people are persecuted and shot merely for thinking differently to Frelimo.”

Soares, who has already been the target of an [attempted] attack, supports the resolution of the fundamental problems to escape the spiral of violence in Mozambique.

“We need to resolve the underlying problems. And the underlying problems are centered precisely on this issue of governance in the six provinces, where, as you know, we repeatedly go into elections that are always fraudulent. We can not continue like this. Multiparty democracy must be made to work in Mozambique.”

DW Africa asked Soares to what extent Renamo shared responsibility for the escalation of violence in Mozambique.

“If we are persecuted clearly we must be prepared to defend ourselves. And in a confrontational situation, no one who stands there waiting to be attacked by his opponent. Of course we are in a self-defence situation and we have to prevent our adversary from gaining ground and killing us all. Our great hope is that government orders all the soldiers sent to confront us back to the barracks, because that’s where they should be, not promoting state terrorism in the country,” she said.

Source: Deutsche Welle