Moza govt accuses opposition of buying time in talks

MAPUTO. — The Mozambican government yesterday accused the main opposition group Renamo of buying time in talks to resolve the country’s political crisis.The 90th round of the talks between the government and the former rebel movement ended in deadlock on Monday, with Renamo refusing to hand over the list of its members that are going to be incorporated in the armed forces and police.

“We want to move forward and implement the agreement we signed with Renamo last year aimed at incorporating its men, but Renamo seems unwilling to hand over its men it has in the bush in the centre of the country,” said Gabriel Muthisse, deputy head of the government delegation, adding that the talks have been deadlock since last year.

For the past three months, Renamo has refused to provide the list, claiming that the prerequisite is an agreement on a “model” for the integration.

Renamo wants a shareout of senior military and police positions, 50 percent to be filled by the government and 50 percent by Renamo.

Muthisse accused the group of trying to privatize the armed forces, and said that it was completely unacceptable.

“For the government, this was the most blatant form of exclusion as it left out the vast majority of Mozambicans who do not belong to any political party,” he said.

The agreement on cessation of hostilities, signed by President Armando Guebuza and Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama in September, gave the Team of International Military Observers (EMOCHM) 135 days to complete their work, and the period ends on January 18.

With the two sides failing to reach deal, the observers could hardly recruit Renamo gunmen into the army and police, demobilise others back to civilian life, and disarm and demobilise the Renamo militia.

The September agreement envisaged the possibility of extending the existence of EMOHCM if its tasks were not completed within 135 days.

However, Muthisse warned that there was no guarantee that this would happen.

The government, he said, only favors renewing things that are functioning. — Xinhua.