EVARISTO CUMBANE, Maputo | Thursday
FORMER Mozambican rebel chief and now opposition leader Afonso Dhlakama finally recognised the government of President Joaquim Chissano late Wednesday, after seven hours of talks on the year-old electoral dispute.
In a joint communique signed by the two men, Dhlakama for the first time referred to Chissano as the president of the republic.
“The fact that we met here and are shaking hands for the first time after the elections means everything,” Dhlakama said after their meeting in Mozambique’s parliament building.
“The fact that there was a frank and open dialogue between us is an encouragement that it will be possible to solve all our outstanding problems,” he said.
Chissano also agreed to consult Renamo, Dhlakama’s party, on appointments to state posts, including district administrators and provincial governors.
Asked whether he would now appoint Renamo governors or administrators in the six provinces where the opposition won the most votes, Chissano said: “We are not necessarily going to appoint Renamo members, but RENAMO may suggest anyone competent to the government.”
The two agreed to form a joint working team to discuss the appointments and to look into alleged cases of discrimination against former Renamo soldiers in the unified national army.
The team will also follow the cases of RENAMO supporters arrested during violent anti-government demonstrations last month that saw at least 40 people killed in clashes between demonstrators and police.
“With the collaboration of Renamo as the main political force in the country, we will continue our paths for democracy and development,” Chissano told reporters after the meeting.
“All the concessions we have given to each other are designed to give an example to the world that Mozambicans can solve their problems on their own,” he said.
Dhlakama’s Renamo had insisted that results from the December 1999 elections were rigged, despite a Supreme Court ruling declaring them legitimate. Renamo’s poll protest began with a boycott of parliament that lasted more than nine months.
But in November, a month after the boycott ended, anti-government protests by Renamo supporters turned into running battles with police that left at least 40 people dead.
The death of 83 Renamo supporters in a police cell in the north of the country late last month only exacerbated tensions.
The electoral dispute had kept the threat of a wider instability lurking in the shadows, but Chissano and Dhlakama appear to have now ruled out that possibility.
In the poll, Dhlakama won 47.71% of the vote to Chissano’s 52.29%.
Until last month’s violent protests, the two parties had managed to deal with their disputes through – sometimes heated – political exchanges, which left the country in relative peace. – AFP