6 October 2008
Maputo — The split in Mozambique's main opposition party, the former rebel movement Renamo, led to three separate ceremonies being held in the central city of Beira on Saturday to mark the 16th anniversary of the peace agreement between the government and Renamo, reports Monday's edition f the Beira daily paper "Diario de Mocambique"..
It is habitual for Renamo to boycott events organised by the central or provincial governments, even for something as apparently uncontroversial as the anniversary of the peace agreement. But in Beira, Renamo is split between supporters and opponents of the mayor, Daviz Simango, and so three ceremonies were held in different parts of the city.
The official celebration, led by the Sofala provincial government and supported by the ruling Frelimo Party, took place in Heroes' Square. At the same time Daviz Simango and his supporters were gathering at Peace Square in the Pioneiros neighbourhood, while the anti-Simango faction of Renamo met outside the party's offices in the densely populated suburb of Munhava.
The Renamo Beira political delegate, Faque Inacio, who addressed the Munhava ceremony, told reporters there was no law obliging Renamo to go to Heroes' Square, and so it would celebrate wherever it saw fit.
"Today we decided to meet with the information secretaries from all the neighbourhoods to discuss the significance of the date, among other questions", he said. He added that Renamo also took advantage of the date to hold meetings in several neighbourhoods to explain to its supporters why it had ditched Simango, refusing to run him for a second term of office.
Such meetings might be more effective if Renamo's replacement candidate, parliamentarian Manuel Pereira, would show his face in Beira. But Pereira is still in Maputo, attending a parliamentary sitting.
"We have been working with the masses to explain the changes that happened recently in the party, and the reasons why we were able to obtain peace in Mozambique", said Inacio.
At Simango's rally, the former spokesperson for Renamo in Beira, Geraldo Carvalho, read out a message from Renamo members, declaring their support for Simango, in defiance of the party leadership.
Simango said the peace agreement signed in Rome on 4 October 1992 opened a new page in Mozambican history. "We remember the meandering paths of the civil war", he declared, "and the various situations forced upon our people, including the absence of freedom the banning of religion and of traditional chiefs as a result of the one party state"
With ceremonies at three different places, the rival groups did not come in contact with each other, and there was no violence. The same cannot be said for the celebrations in the western city of Tete. Here clashes broke out between Frelimo and Renamo supporters, resulting in two injuries.
According to "Diario de Mocambique", the Tete provincial Renamo delegate, Albano Jose, was struck in the left eye with a stone, and received five stitches in Tete provincial hospital.
The second victim, Mario Supada, was a stonemason. Renamo claimed he was a Frelimo member, but the police say he was just a passer-by caught between two groups of people throwing stones. He needed stitches to his lips.
Albano Jose said the violence was begun by a group of young Frelimo supporters, who attacked Renamo supporters as they were celebrating the date at the Tete city Renamo offices. "They stoned us when I was standing up speaking", said Jose. "They shouted "kill Matsangaissa"
(Andre Matsangaissa was the man who the Rhodesian regime appointed as the first commander of Renamo in 1977. He died two years later, but still today Renamo members are habitually called "Matrsangaissa" or "Matsanga").
Jose claimed that Renamo in Tete was willing to join the official celebrations. "We waited for an invitation from Tete Municipal Council, but no invitation came", he said.
Jose, however, is no enthusiast for the 1992 peace agreement, which he thinks Renamo should not have signed. "The Peace Agreement was intended to deceive the people, just like independence", he said.
"In Tete, there's no democracy", he said. "Frelimo is a single party, a dictator. We're heading towards the end of democracy".
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