Three months to demilitarise, says RENAMO

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Three months to demilitarise, says RENAMO

10:08 CAT | 29 Jun 2018

Manuel Bissopo, general secretary of Mozambique’s main opposition party, Renamo (in file CoM)

The General Secretary of Mozambique’s main opposition party, the rebel movement Renamo, Manuel Bissopo, says it will take three months to integrate Renamo’s armed men into the country’s defence and security forces.

Speaking on Wednesday, in the northern city of Nampula, Bissopo said three months would be long enough for “rules and principles” established under the current agreements between the government and Renamo to be followed.

He added that Renamo wants the whole procedure to take place in a healthy environment so that the integration of Renamo men can occur within the spirit of the consensus that had been achieved between President Filipe Nyusi and the late leader of Renamo, Afonso Dhlakama, shortly before the latter’s sudden death.

Bissopo was sure that the political will existed on both sides. “Renamo wants peace to last forever”, he said. “The intention is that there should be only a single armed force in the country, so that they don’t kill each other tomorrow”.

Bissopo made these statements on his arrival in Nampula, where he intends to work with Renamo members and supporters to prepare the campaign for the municipal elections scheduled for 10 October.

Bissopo claimed that the demilitarisation of Renamo is proceeding “normally” under the agreements reached between Nyusi and Dhlakama. “We feel that we have a great commitment to the people – which is to keep the peace”, he declared.

Bissopo’s optimistic approach was a far cry from the angry verbal clashes between Renamo and the ruling Frelimo Party in Maputo in recent days. The extraordinary sitting of the Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, needed in order to amend the legislation on municipal elections, is on hold precisely because Frelimo is insisting that Renamo give some proof that it is serious about demilitarisation.

The sitting should have taken place on 21-22 June, but the head of the Frelimo parliamentary group, Margarida Talapa, warned that, unless there is some sign that Renamo really is demilitarising, then Frelimo will not allow the sitting to go ahead.

“Demilitarisation” means demobilising and disarming the Renamo militia, and then integrating its members, either into the defence and security forces, or back into civilian life. If this starts now, and Bissopo was serious about a three month calendar, then the demilitarisation could be complete before the municipal elections.

Despite the current impasse over the extraordinary sitting of the Assembly, both sides seem convinced that the elections will indeed take place in October. Frelimo and Renamo both have brigades working in the provinces on the selection of candidates, and Frelimo has declared it intends to announce its mayoral candidates next week.

As for the islamist insurgency that has erupted in the northern province of Cabo Delgado, Renamo and Frelimo seem to be in agreement on the need to end this crisis rapidly.

Like the government, Bissopo regarded the armed attacks against Cabo Delgado villages as a criminal, not a religious, matter. “The government must urgently find measures to halt this wave of crimes”, he said, describing the attacks as “unscrupulous massacres”.

They were acts that damaged Mozambique’s credibility, and threatened investments. “We hope that in the near future the government will solve this situation, which is undermining our state”, Bissopo said.

Source: AIM