For the past several weeks, the two main political parties in Mozambique have been clashing. Frelimo, the current political party in control has currently engaged in a potential conflict with the leading opposition party Renamo. The conflict gained limited international attention in late October when Renamo announced it’s withdrawal from a Peace Accord. As stated by Renamo spokesperson Fernando Mazanga: “Peace is over in the country, the responsibility lies with the Frelimo government because they did not want to listen to Renamo’s grievances.” Renamo, a former anticommunist rebel group is now Mozambique’s largest political opposition party. There are currently heavy clashes between Renamo and government forces. According to Renamo, the Frelimo led the government in monopolizing political power in Mozambique through the complete control of multimillion dollar foreign investments.

In addition, there are recent reports of armed conflict between the two opposing parties. The government occupation of the Renamo base located in the Sofala province, north of the capital Maputo, had resulted in clashes between government and Renamo forces. Government forces were said to have occupied the Renamo base after the ambush of government security by Renamo militia.

As a result of the clashes between government forces and Renamo militia, civilians have fled their homes. The Mozambique army issued a statement encouraging all those who fled to return to their respective provinces. The president of Mozambique, Armando Guebuza, issued a statement to the leader of the Renamo political party, Afonso Dhlakama, to meet on Friday, November 8. The proposal for peace talks was denied by Renamo as they have officially commenced the boycott of local elections that are to happen later this month.

In order to understand the complexity and importance of the recent calling off of the 1992 Peace Accord, one must understand Mozambique’s recent war-torn history which began in 1964-74 with their war for independence followed by a war with Rhodesia from 1976-80, and 1981-92 during a Cold War proxy conflict. The political climate was shaped largely by its armed liberation struggle from Portugal. Frelimo emerged as a response to cruel Portuguese colonialism. Founded in 1962 and in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, the movement began orchestrating military attacks in 1964. These continued for most of the 1960’s, and in the early 1970’s the movement garnered public support for its expansion of health and educational services. Frelimo, the only liberation movement in Mozambican history, finally signed a peace agreement in 1974 with its colonial ruler. The Peace Agreement was soon followed by independence when the Portuguese government collapsed in 1975.

After gaining independence, Mozambique’s geographic location proved to be problematic. Bordering both Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and South Africa, where apartheid systems were prevalent, racist systems threatened the stability of the newly emerged country. Mozambique’s involvement with housing and supporting Rhodesian independence fighters created conflict between the two nations. In response to Mozambique’s imposed sanctions on Rhodesia and support of independence fighters, Rhodesia launched an anti-Frelimo guerrilla force formally known as Renamo. The opposition combatants consisted of former soldiers and Mozambicans who were repressed in the new Fremlimo political systems. As economic instability ran rampant in regions within Mozambique, many citizens grew frustrated with Frelimo. Infighting within the party also contributed to increasing numbers of Renamo fighters.

After Rhodesia emerged as the independent nation now recognized as Zimbabwe, Renamo was handed over to South Africa. At this time, the United States and Soviet Union were competing for budding African nations. The Cold War proxy war’s concentration fell on the continent due to the race for democracies for the US, and communism for the Soviet Union. Simultaneously, Ronald Reagan was taking his place as president, and backed and helped to create armed opposition forces to nations like Mozambique due to its communist leanings. South Africa, who firmly opposed communism, supported Renamo forces in shipping them into Mozambique.

All of these outside forces that previously supported and pressured Mozambican’s are no longer present. Joseph Hanlon, an academic studying Mozambique, stated: “It’s not a return to war because neither side could wage a war.  If you go back to the 1990s, Renamo was supported extensively by apartheid South Africa and informally by the United States; they had substantial military capacity. Now, Renamo is composed of aging guerrillas who are now in their 50s and 60s and Mozambique opted after the civil war to have a very small military, so it does not have strong military capacity either. So neither side can go back to war.”

Nonetheless, the fact that the Renamo political opposition party has decided to boycott the upcoming elections this month should not be taken lightly. The Renamo are demanding electoral reform from the government all while clashing with governmental armed forces and civilians. The recent clashes have resulted in the displacement and killing of civilians. As a warning issued by the president of Mozambique, Armando Guebueza, unrelenting political violence in Mozambique has the potential to cause destabilization of the state.

Mozambique violence increases: 

DRC army wins a series of battles against M23:

Some people in the disputed Sudanese border region of Abyei participated in a referendum to decide if they should become part of the north or south, but neither country officially sanctioned the vote:

]]> https://standnow.org/2013/11/01/5554/feed/ 0 https://standnow.org/2013/10/24/education-update-this-week-in-pictures/ https://standnow.org/2013/10/24/education-update-this-week-in-pictures/#comments Thu, 24 Oct 2013 17:59:44 +0000 http://standnow.org/?p=5545 Read more…]]> STAND has decided to highlight the most important events of the past week by using pictures of important moments, meetings, and life throughout our conflict zones. We have pictures going over events in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, Syria, Burma, the Central African Republic, and South Sudan.

DRC: Talks between the Congolese government and M23 stalled this week, just days after M23 announced an imminent breakthrough in its negotiations with Kinshasa. The two sides have settled on terms for eight of twelve articles in a peace agreement between them, and agreed to reconvene in the near future to resolve the final four. The United States denounced this break in negotiations, blaming the rebels for intentionally holding up the peace process.

DRC: Two helicopters belonging to the UN peacekeeping force in the DRC came under fire at different points in the last week from M23-held territory. Mary Robinson, UN special envoy to the Great Lakes Region, condemned the attacks, blaming them on M23, though the rebels deny any involvement.

Mozambique: In Mozambique, Renamo, a former rebel group and the largest opposition party cancelled its peace accord with the current government in power. The current party in control of the nation, Frelimo has attempted to maintain control as Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama has initiated a campaign of violence. The ongoing confrontation stems from demands on electoral reform.

Mozambique: The deteriorating security situation in the nation has raised serious concerns of a backslide into civil war. This Monday ,Frelimo the party in control, attempted to preserve it’s legitimacy by attacking a Renamo base. Conversely, the outcome has been a full declaration of war from Afonso Dhlakama. Renamo spokesman Fernando Mazanga states, “Peace is over in the country… The responsibility lies with the Frelimo government because they didn’t want to listen to Renamo’s grievances.”

Syria: The Geneva II peace conference for Syria, meant to take place in late November, has been running into troubles as of late. The mainstream Syrian opposition, the National Coalition, has said it will not attend the talks without the removal of President Assad and several other conditions being met. The other conditions included safe passage in beseiged areas, the release of detained men, women and children, and setting a fixed timetable for all the phases of negotiation. President Assad stated in a recent interview that he does not “see any obstacles to being nominated to run in the next presidential elections”, indicating it would be unlikely for him to step down any time in the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, the core group of the the National Coalition’s international support group Friends of the Syrian People expressed support for the opposition group to attend Geneva II on October 22. This core group, termed the ‘London 11′, put forward a communiqué on Tuesday endorsing several of the Coalition’s key demands, including the removal of President Assad and his associates.

Syria: According to a classified report from the German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Syria has become “by far the most attractive location for jihadists.” On Tuesday, the al-Qaida-linked group Jabhat al-Nusra, or Nusra Front, battled the regime’s army to retain control of a Christian town they had stormed the day before. Opposition activists reported that the town, Sadad, was stormed for strategic reasons, as it is located next to several weapons depots and the Nusra Front rebels used the opportunity to seize medical supplies from its hospital. Sadad is located in central Syria between two of Syria’s major cities, Homs and Damascus. Jihadist rebel groups and government forces also clashed in the east of Syria in the city of Deir Ezzor. The militants reportedly executed 10 government soldiers after taking several neighborhoods of the city last Friday. A senior military intelligence officer, Major General Jamaa Jamaa, was also killed in Deir Ezzor city.

Burma: In Burma, nine separate explosions in cities across the country have left 3 people dead and 10 injured in the last two weeks. One bombing in particularly garnered international attention when an American woman was injured as a result of the blast while staying in a luxury hotel in downtown Yangon. Several people tied to the bombings have been arrested. The Myanmar police claim that the explosions were aimed at scaring away foreign investors. When the country was ruled by a military dictatorship, bombings were more common with the government blaming disenchanted rebel groups while others blamed the government itself.

CAR: The United Nations is scheduled to send troops to the Central African Republic in an effort to restore security and stability. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon recommended 560 troops to be sent to CAR. The UN Security Council is expected to endorse the security force on Friday.

CAR: A recent survey conducted by the United Nations Children Fund indicated that most children in the Central African Republic have not returned to school since the conflict started in December 2012. According to UNICEF, seven out of 10 students are currently out of school.  65 percent of schools examined in CAR are said to have undergone looting and destruction.

South Sudan: According to the UN news centre, a recent cattle raid in Jonglei State has resulted in several deaths and dozens seriously injured. Cattle raids have been on the rise in Jonglei as different factions vie for a greater influence in the region. Cattle is the primary source of wealth and income for a majority of Southern Sudanese citizens. A spokesperson from the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) stated that they “wish to convey its deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of those who lost their lives during the attacks.” The mission went on to say that a follow-up investigation is being carried out to find those accountable, however, as conflict continues to rage within Jonglei and numerous other Southern Sudanese states cattle raids like this will persist.

The weekly Education and Policy Update is brought to you by:

Cara Reichard (DRC)

Colleen Fonseca (Emerging Conflicts)

Samuel Reichman (Syria)

Alexander Colley Hart (Burma)

Sagal Hashi (Emerging Conflicts)

Baylen Campbell (Sudan, South Sudan)