Mozambique’s Daniel Chapo: Forging peace ‘at the negotiating table’

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Maputo, Mozambique – On a lukewarm September greeting successful Maputo, President Daniel Chapo stood earlier an auditorium of delegates, authorities ministers and absorption figures to state “the commencement of a way successful which Mozambique looks astatine itself successful the mirror, listens to itself, and projects its aboriginal with the spot of its diversity”.

At 48, Chapo is the country’s archetypal person calved aft independence. He took implicit arsenic president successful January astatine a captious clip for the country, amid economical challenges, a humanitarian situation and equipped rebellion successful the north, and successful the shadiness of post-election unrest.

‘Resilient people’

Outside the statesmanlike palace successful Maputo, aged Portuguese assemblage architecture sits feature by jowl with modern buildings and makeshift structures.

For Chapo, knowing Mozambique contiguous requires an knowing of its agelong past arsenic a taxable of empire, its fierce conflict for independence, and the deadly civilian warfare that his Mozambique Liberation Front (FRELIMO) enactment yet ended by signing a bid statement with rebels from the Mozambican National Resistance (RENAMO) successful 1992.

Sitting successful a wood-panelled country successful the palace, helium explained: “[It was] 500 years of colonisation versus lone 50 years of independence. And wrong these 50 years, we had 16 years of warfare that destroyed nationalist and backstage assets, burned shops, factories, railways, and killed much than 1 cardinal Mozambicans.”

It is done progressive attempts astatine unity and the country’s quality to perceive and negociate that galore of these challenges were overcome, helium says.

Portuguese colonialists archetypal established power of Mozambique – a resource-rich Southern African federation connected the Indian Ocean – successful the 1500s. By the mid-20th century, arsenic countries crossed the continent were gaining independence, FRELIMO formed arsenic an anticolonial liberation question and, successful 1964, launched an equipped conflict for independence.

“Mozambicans, astatine the beginning, opted to execute independency done diplomatic means, but unfortunately, the coloniser did not judge the diplomatic path,” Chapo explained. “That is wherefore Mozambique’s independency was achieved done equipped struggle.”

But eventually, aft 10 years of warring during which thousands of radical were killed, the negotiated colony they preferred prevailed.

A ceasefire was agreed successful September 1974, with the signing of the Lusaka Accord successful Zambia’s capital. This led to Mozambique’s negotiated independency from Portugal by June the pursuing year.

A akin attack led to the extremity of the country’s civilian war.

In 1977, conscionable 2 years aft independence, RENAMO rebels – backed by apartheid South Africa, the Rhodesian achromatic number government, and others – launched a rebellion against FRELIMO.

What followed was a decennary and a fractional of brutality and upheaval during which a cardinal radical were killed and a 3rd of Mozambicans were forced to fly their homes. The warfare yet ended with the signing of the Rome General Peace Accords successful Italy successful 1992.

“We needed to recognize who the enactment [of RENAMO] was, what the organisation was, and what its objectives were,” Chapo explained astir the process that led to peace. “We thought it was important [that] – portion continuing an equipped conflict to support our colonisation … we besides had to prosecute dialogue.”

Two cardinal challenges

For Chapo, a qualified lawyer who besides worked arsenic a broadcast writer earlier helium entered politics, it is “important to find paths to peace”.

This twelvemonth marks the 50th day of Mozambique’s independency from Portugal. Chapo was calved successful 1977 after the state had already gained its freedom. But helium grew up during the civilian war, which has near scars that the state is inactive moving to heal.

“Challenges remain,” helium said, acknowledging the myriad problems facing Mozambicans, including feelings of societal and economical exclusion, younker anxiety, clime disasters, and the rebellion successful resource-rich bluish Cabo Delgado province.

But helium urged that the challenges beryllium enactment into context, arsenic galore are not new.

Following the October 2024 election, absorption parties alleged irregularities successful the voting process, which kicked disconnected weeks of nationalist protests that swept crossed the country. For Chapo, post-election unrest is simply a longstanding situation that Mozambique has faced since the extremity of the civilian war.

“Whenever determination are elections each 5 years, bid is ever astatine risk,” helium said. “We’ve ne'er had a azygous predetermination since 1994 that ended without immoderate unit and destabilisation. So our situation present is to spot if we tin execute definitive economic, political, and societal stability.”

Chapo believes his government’s “policy of economic, societal and governmental inclusion” volition code this by “gradually allow[ing] each Mozambican – whether oregon not they beryllium to the ruling governmental enactment – to consciousness that improvement successful Mozambique positively impacts them.”

Of each the country’s challenges, easing tensions aft the protests and ending the rebellion successful Cabo Delgado look to beryllium the government’s apical priorities.

Since 2017, an ISIL affiliated armed group has been operating successful parts of Cabo Delgado province, launching attacks that person killed and displaced thousands of civilians. Security analysts accidental immoderate fighters are driven by perceived socio-economic exclusion successful an country that’s besides affluent successful earthy state reserves, but the radical has not publically stated its aims.

Mozambican equipped forces – unneurotic with Rwandan, Tanzanian and Southern African Development Community (SADC) troops – are connected the crushed helping combat equipped attacks, Chapo says. But helium agrees that much indispensable beryllium done to get to the basal of the troubles.

For some of the country’s 2 main struggles successful 2025, Chapo goes backmost to the aforesaid projected solution: negotiations.

The caller nationalist dialog was launched to talk to rival governmental parties and perceive to 1 another’s needs and concerns, helium said. Meanwhile, successful Cabo Delgado, the authorities is moving to recognize the rebellion’s “leadership and motivations” – successful the aforesaid mode FRELIMO worked to recognize RENAMO successful ending the civilian war.

“Like with independence, aft 500 years, and the civilian warfare aft 16 years, bid lone came done dialogue,” Chapo said.

And adjacent then, it was lone erstwhile Mozambicans “remained 1 and indivisible” that the concern improved.

Including each Mozambican citizens

As the state deals with its front-line challenges, extracurricular observers person expressed concerns.

Western institutions and analysts often remark connected insecurity arsenic good arsenic Mozambique’s struggling system and years of organization corruption. The World Bank besides lowered the country’s projected gross home merchandise (GDP) maturation to conscionable 3 percent this year.

However, the authorities is moving to item areas of opportunity, and ministers successful Chapo’s authorities look assured successful the caller leader’s imaginativeness to see each Mozambicans.

“President Chapo is idiosyncratic with a wide imaginativeness for the way of development,” Antonio Grispos, Mozambique’s caput of authorities for commerce, told Al Jazeera. “He is not lone by the numbers, but wants to stock this [Mozambique’s resources] – to beryllium disposable to the communities [who ain them].”

Chapo is assured that Mozambique’s richness successful agriculture, tourism, industry, vigor and mineral resources similar gas, golden and diamonds volition assistance amended the economy, unneurotic with a overseas argumentation committed to “more friends, less enemies”.

In areas wherever the state appears to beryllium lagging behind, the president points to the gains made contempt the hurdles.

“Before independence, we had lone 1 university; contiguous we person much than 50. In health, determination were less than 5 doctors [before independence]; contiguous we person much than 2,000,” helium said. Mozambique besides hosts “Africa’s largest suspension bridge”, helium added.

And portion Mozambique had a longer, much arduous roadworthy to ideology than immoderate of its neighbours, Chapo feels this was successful immoderate ways a blessing, arsenic it helped it look successful power of its ain currency, cardinal bank, onshore and resources – things immoderate African nations are inactive warring for.

“Even though it took longer to execute an independency that we deliberation was worthy it, it brought existent state for the onshore and the Mozambican people.”

Appeal for unity

Today, the state has freedom, but much effort is needed to fortify unity and rebuild trust, Chapo concedes.

It’s portion of the crushed for the government’s nationalist dialogue.

The inaugural volition bring unneurotic voices from crossed the spectrum – civilian society, academia, youth, women, spiritual leaders and each governmental parties. “Our aim,” said Chapo, “is to physique inclusive governance, wherever each Mozambican, careless of ethnicity, religion oregon governmental affiliation, indispensable beryllium considered Mozambican first.”

The president’s entreaty for unity comes astatine a captious moment. The dialog initiative, if successful, could redefine relations betwixt authorities and society, interruption the country’s rhythm of electoral strife, and acceptable Mozambique connected a way to sustainable development. But for galore inactive surviving successful poorness and violence, heavy wounds and scepticism remain.

Chapo, though, is hopeful, concluding with a sweeping semipermanent imaginativeness to combat corruption, fortify meritocracy, clasp diverseness and impact the youth.

“For the adjacent 50 years, our imaginativeness is peace, security, prosperity,” helium said, “to physique a developed, prosperous, sustainable Mozambique wherever each citizens stock successful the nation’s wealth.”

He believes that lone by listening to 1 different tin Mozambicans execute the unity and bid the federation deserves.

“Conflict solution worldwide shows: eventually, each wars extremity astatine the negotiating array – whether successful Ukraine-Russia, Israel-Palestine, oregon the DRC. Mozambique volition beryllium nary exception,” Chapo said, surrounded by a enactment of red, green, achromatic and yellowish Mozambican flags bearing the nationalist symbols of an unfastened book, a hoe and a rifle.

“Mozambique,” helium said, “is a state with precise resilient people.”

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