From: wsargeant@igc.apc.org (Winslow L. Sargeant)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.african
Subject: IPS:Mozambique, peace in sight
Date: 25 Jul 92 17:09:40 GMT

/* Written 12:04 am  Jul 24, 1992 by newsdesk in cdp:ips.englibrary */
/* ---------- "MOZAMBIQUE: PEACE IN SIGHT" ---------- */
Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Area: Africa, west
Title: MOZAMBIQUE: PEACE IN SIGHT


harare, jul 21 (ips) -- the complexion of southern african
politics is bound to change with the planned meetting between
mozambique's president joaquim chissano and rebel leader alfonso
ndlakama.

the meeting, whose venue and date are still to be decided,
will bring together the leaders of the ruling frelimo and the
mozambique national resistance (mnr) organisation for the first
time in 17 years.

hitherto, chissano has vowed not speak to his arch rival
although frelimo and the mnr are engaged in peace talks in rome,
italy, to stop the civil which has ravaged the country since
attaining independence from portugal in 1975.

more than 100,000 mozambicans have died in the conflict,
while about two million have sought refugee in neighbouring
countries and a further six million have been displaced within
the southern african nation.

''it is very encouraging that chissano has at last agreed to
meet dhlakama,'' the zimbabwe human rights organisation
(zimrights) secretary general, nicholas ndebele, told ips.

''this (planned meeting) should have taken place a year ago.
people are encouraged that the principal actors are now dealing
with one another,'' asserted a political science lecturer at the
university of zimbabwe, jonathan moyo.

they were reacting to revelations sunday in the zimbabwean
capital after a day-long meeting between zimbabwe's president
robert mugabe and his mozambican counterpart that the two
leaders had agreed to meet soon to discuss a ceasefire.

mugabe met dhlakama a fortnight ago in the botswana capital,
maputo.

moyo noted that the peace process, underway in rome, had
not succeeded up to now because the principal actors -- frelimo,
mnr and the zimbabwe government -- were not ready.

chissano, the political analyst noted, was still
re-organising frelimo into a political party by bringing in
young blood.

''chissano did not want the party to be caught with its pants
down,'' he said.

likewise, he said, the mnr rebel group was buying time by
demanding that the party should be part of the interim
government. (more/ips)


mozambique: peace (2)

on the other hand, zimbabwe, which at the peak of the
conflict had more than 9,000 soldiers assisting frelimo fight
the mnr, was reluctant to withdraw without a ''face-saving
formula''.

''now zimbabwe has broken the ice by brokering the meeting,
the mnr has got international recognition and chissano has
re-organised frelimo, we hope peace will be achieved soon,''
moyo noted.

the zimrights secretary-general said the war had dragged on
for too long and the time is ripe for southern african countries
to concentrate on their economies which are in bad shape.

a resolution of the mozambican problem, he said, would allow
free trade within the eastern and southern african organisation,
the preferential trade area (pta) and the southern african
development coordination conference (sadcc).

''if food can move freely in the region from the mozambican
ports, it will alleviate the suffering of millions of people in
land-locked countries,'' ndebele said.

moyo added that the refugee problem in the region would fall
away with peace in the region.

for zimbabwe, which has brokered the chissano/dhlakama
meeting, the withdrawal of soldiers from mozambique will assist
in the reduction of its defence expenditure by more than 70
million u.s. dollars per year.

however, moyo expressed concern that zimbabwe had fought
''a mindless war''.

''i would have thought that a resoltion of this war would
translate into a more meaningful economic role by zimbabwe in
mozambique. i hoped our policy makers to be more imaginative,''
he said.

giving the example of united states companies which are now
being awarded contracts to rebuild iraq after the gulf war, moyo
said zimbabwe should be benefitting by sending in ''economic
soldiers'' after withdrawing ''military soldiers''.

''instead, it is south african companies and lonrho (a
british-owned multinatiional) which will benefit from peace
in the region,'' moyo grumbled. (end/ips/gk/oa/92)