Mondlane and Chapo agree to end violence

Maputo, 25 Mar (AIM) – Mozambique’s former presidential candidate, Venancio Mondlane, has said that he and President Daniel Chapo have agreed to put an end to violence between their supporters.

Chapo and Mondlane met face to face in Maputo on Sunday for the first time since the general elections held on 9 October.

In a live broadcast transmitted on his Facebook page on Monday, Mondlane said the meeting with Chapo would be “the first of many debates, with the aim of promoting peace and reconciliation”.

He called on “all Mozambicans, including members of Frelimo, of Podemos, agents of the defence and security forces, and the paramilitary forces to end violence, destruction, harassment and road blocks”.

Doubtless Podemos is the only opposition party mentioned by name because it was the main political force supporting Mondlane’s presidential bid, and is the official opposition in the Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of the Republic.

But relations have soured and in mid-February, Mondlane broke off all relations with Podemos.

The Constitutional Council, the country’s highest body in matters of electoral law, sparked off an an enormous crisis when, in December it declared that Chapo and Frelimo had won the elections, but did not publish any of the polling station results sheet (“editais”) which might prove this.

The Council’s refusal to order a recount of the votes precipitated a wave of rioting and looting. So far, over 300 people have died in clashes between the police and protesters.

In his broadcast, Mondlane said he had reached consensus with Chapo on the need fo an end to violence “on both sides”, and support for families “who have lost loved ones due to the clashes”. This will include free medical care for people injured both by the police and by anti-government protesters.

Mondlane claimed Chapo had agreed for a full pardon for all those arrested during the protests “with no exceptions”. He added “Chapo commented that those detained are good people, and that the detention could damage their image. It is therefore necessary to release them”.

Mondlane said the purpose of Sunday’s meeting was “to generate trust and, thanks to God, both sides have advanced with agreements on essential points”.

He added that he and Chapo have set up teams “to monitor implementation of the agreed measures”.

It is not yet clear whether the various lawsuits against Mondlane himself and his closest colleagues will now be dropped. Mondlane’s accountant, Gloria Nobre Chire, remains in police custody, accused of unspecified crimes against state security.
(AIM)
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