Renamo and Frelimo to resume crisis talks soon

Maputo – Afonso Dhlakama, the leader of Mozambique’s main opposition, the former rebel movement Renamo, has confirmed the dialogue between his party and the Frelimo-led government will resume soon in Maputo, local radio reported yesterday.

Radio Mozambique reported that Dhlakama said he had ordered his delegation to return to the dialogue to discuss the country’s political crisis.

The Renamo delegation abandoned the dialogue in August on the orders of Dhlakama, who claimed the Frelimo government was refusing to meet his demands. These included power-sharing in the army and the police forces, if the government wanted Renamo to disarm.

The Renamo delegation is led by Saimone Macuiana and the government side by Agriculture Minister Jose Pacheco.

President Filipe Nyusi also confirmed on Sunday the dialogue would resume soon.

He said this time the talks would include other political parties, civil society and religious groups, among others.

Apart from the dialogue at Joaquim Chissano International Conference Centre in Maputo, plans are being made for faceto-face talks between Nyusi and Dhlakama.

The head of state has indicated he is open to receive the Renamo leader. Nyusi has sent an invitation to Dhlakama for that purpose.

The dialogue between the two sides started in 2013. One of the main achievements of the dialogue was the scrapping of an old electoral law and the setting up of a new one which was in operation during last October’s general elections, won by Frelimo party and Nyusi.

Renamo’s decision to return to the dialogue comes as Mozambique marks the 23rd anniversary of the signing of the peace agreement in the Italian capital, Rome, in 1992, between Renamo and the Frelimo government, ending the 16-year civil war in the former Portuguese colony. The conflict killed more than a million people. – Xinhua