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The Peace Process in Mozambique
1984-1992
Dossier MZ-0772
6. Renamo, the 16 Points, and Talks
with Church Leaders, August 1989
The month of August 1989 saw the first real signs of progress towards negotiations between Renamo and the Mozambican government – and it was clear that religious leaders, and not just Catholics, were to be, at least to begin with, the trusted intermediaries. In late July, Frelimo had held its Fifth Congress (to which MHN intends to dedicate a page in the Frelimo series). Despite a certain racheting-up of rhetoric at the Congress – Chissano refered to a ‘war of aggression without precedent’ in one speech – significant policy decisions were also taken. For one thing, Marxist ideology was officially ditched; but finding a path to peace was the dominant theme.
Above left: President Joaquim Chissano in full dress uniform speaking at a public rally to mark Hero’s Day in February 1989. Right: Dom Alexandre dos Santos, the Catholic Archbishop of Maputo, speaking to the press on his return from Nairobi where he led a delegation of church leaders in the first direct contacts with MNR rebels.
Meanwhile, the four bishops and pastors were sitting down with six members of the post-Gorongosa Renamo leadership in Nairobi. Not many details emerged of what was discussed, but Cardinal dos Santos confirmed that the religious leaders had handed over the goverment’s «principles», and that the atmosphere had been «open and frank».
In the middle of the month Renamo responded to the 12 points circulated by Frelimo in June with a 16 point document [see below for downloadable copies in the original Portuguese and in English]. As might have been expected, this document was duly dismissed as lacking seriousness by the government.
Meanwhile, two tiny opposition groups based in Lisbon attracted government anger when they commented disparagingly on progress made; they were accused of opportunism. At month’s end, the religiosos had flown back to Kenya and a second round of conversations was about to begin.
Navigation for the «Peace Process» Pages
There will be an estimated 46 or 47 pages on the MHN website dedicated to the peace process, from 1984 up to November 1992. They are ordered chronologically. Click on the green button below to jump directly to the page covering the period that you are interested in. Note: at present only pages 1-12 are available, that is, up to January 1990. New pages will be posted regularly in the coming weeks.
MHN Resources
◊ 1 August 1989
Chissano in peace appeal. Herald [Harare] (1 August 1989). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 32 kb. Reports President Chissano’s remarks on the peace process at a mass rally in Maputo.
◊ 1 August 1989
Mozambican foreign minister rules out power-sharing with MNR rebels. Broadcasts by Radio Maputo and Radiodifusão Portuguesa on 1 August 1989 reported in the Summary of World Broadcasts [London]. In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 64 kb.
◊ 1 August 1989
Not peace at any price: Chissano. Star [Johannesburg] (1 August 1989). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 24 kb. Chissano says that willingness to negotiate does not mean that the government has been defeated.
◊ 2 August 1989
Mozambique rejects power-sharing. International Herald Tribune [Paris] (2 August 1989). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 32 kb.
◊ 2 August 1989
Renamo will keep up fight. Business Day [Johannesburg] (2 August 1989). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 20 kb. The Lisbon representation of the MNR says that the organisation would not lay down its arms during negotiations with the government of Mozambique.
◊ 4 August 1989
Frelimo’s fifth congress: Kaunda joins group to mediate with rebel forces. Southscan [London] vol.4 no.30 (4 August 1989). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 38 kb.
◊ 4 August 1989
Peace should not be prize for terror. Southscan [London] vol.4 no.30 (4 August 1989). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 27 kb.
◊ 4 August 1989
Ken Vernon. Rivals in Mozambican war sit down to negotiate. Star [Johannesburg] (4 August 1989). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 34 kb. Church leaders and MNR delegations arrive in Nairobi for talks. Vernon incorrectly reports this as direct negotiations with government representatives ‘accompanied by senior church leaders from Mozambique’.
◊ 5 August 1989
Em Harare, Chissano e Mugabe concertam posições. Notícias [Maputo] (5 August 1989). In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 98 kb.
◊ 7 August 1989
Bispos moçambicanos e Renamo em encontro de paz em Nairobi. Século de Joanesburgo [Johannesburg] (7 August 1989). In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 55 kb.
◊ 7 August 1989
Peace talks open in Nairobi. Africa Economic Digest [London] (7 August 1989). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 45 kb. An MNR delegation including Afonso Dhlakama, Raúl Domingos, Filipe Soares and Vitor Anselmo met with Mozambican church leaders in Nairobi on 7 August in what was widely seen as a first step towards direct negotiations with the government.
◊ 7 August 1989
Peter Biles. New bid to end 14 years of war in Mozambique. Guardian [London] (7 August 1989). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 45 kb. The article claims implicitly, with references to «14 years» of war, that the conflict with the MNR began immediately at independence in 1975.
◊ 8 August 1989
Esforços de paz em Moçambique: Robert Mugabe e Arap Moi reuniram-se em Nairobi. Notícias [Maputo] (8 August 1989). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 175 kb.
◊ 8 August 1989
Mozambique peace talks get under way. Citizen [Johannesburg] (8 August 1989), p.1, 2. In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 111 kb.
◊ 8 August 1989
Press statement by the Renamo delegation and the church leaders from Mozambique. Nairobi, 8 August 1989, 1 page. In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 106 kb. The original typed title of this document, ‘Press statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation’ (presumably of Kenya) has been corrected by hand on this copy to ‘Press statement by the Renamo delegation and the church leaders from Mozambique’. The copy also includes an illegible handwritten annotation and what appears to be a signature at the bottom of the page.
◊ 8 August 1989
Zimbabwe, Kenya endorse guide-lines. MIO News Review [London] no.161 (31 August 1989). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 501 kb. Reprints an AIM report dated 8 August 1989.
◊ 9 August 1989
[Interview with D. Alexandre dos Santos: translation of selected passages]. África [Lisbon] (9 August 1989). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 63 kb. A typed translation of extracts from an interview published in a Portuguese weekly. Dos Santos (b.1924), who led the church delegation in Nairobi, was the Archbishop of Maputo from 1975 to 2003; he became a cardinal in 1988.
◊ 9 August 1989
Princípios de paz da RPM apresentados aos cabecilhas dos BA’s. Notícias [Maputo] (9 August 1989). In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 783 kb.
◊ 10 August 1989
[Untitled news item]. Guardian [London] (10 August 1989). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 27 kb. Reset version of an original story published in the London Guardian.
◊ 10 August 1989
Jan Raath. [Telex]. Harare, 10 August 1989. In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 2.1 Mb. This report – probably for The Times in London – argues that the composition of the Renamo delegation in Nairobi reflects the attempt at the Gorongosa congress in July to project a more legitimately ‘political’ image of the organisation.
◊ 11 August 1989-17 August 1989
Paul Fauvet. M’bique talks put Renamo rebels in awkward dilemma. Weekly Mail [Johannesburg] (11 August 1989-17 August 1989), p.23. In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 132 kb.
◊ 12 August 1989
Mozambique: inch by inch. Economist [London] (12 August 1989). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 118.
◊ 12 August 1989
Peter Biles and Paul Fauvet. Optimism for Mozambique peace. Guardian [London] (12 August 1989). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 98 kb.
◊ 13 August 1989
Cabecilhas da Renamo dizem que querer também a paz. Domingo [Maputo] (13 August 1989). In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 88 kb.
◊ 13 August 1989
Dirigentes religiosos reúnem com cabecilhas da Renamo. Tempo [Maputo] (13 August 1989). In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 81 kb.
◊ 14 August 1989
Conversações moçambicanas. Século de Joanesburgo [Johannesburg] (14 August 1989). In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 26 kb.
◊ 15 August 1989
Resistência Nacional Moçambicana: Renamo. [16 pontos]. Gorongosa [?], 15 August 1989, 2 pages. In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 436 kb. This was Renamo’s belated response to the 12-point document circulated by the government in June, two months previously.
◊ 15 August 1989
Mozambican National Resistance: Renamo. [16 points]. Gorongosa [?], 15 August 1989, 2 pages. In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 72 kb. An English translation of the 16 points.
◊ 15 August 1989
Renamo. Press release. Gorongosa [?], 15 August 1989, 2 pages. In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 64 kb. The second page has been retyped from a hard-to-read telefax original.
◊ 15 August 1989
Mozambique National Resistance (Renamo). Southern African Political and Economic Monthly [Harare] (December 1989-31 January 1990), p.44. In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 63 kb. The Renamo 16-point document of 15 August 1989, translated into English by Colin Darch.
Above: As exploratory peace talks began in Nairobi, fighting continued unabated on the ground in Mozambique. The picture shows a group of heavily-armed FPLM soldiers, taken sometime in 1989. [Photo from: Tempo].
◊ 16 August 1989
Renamo issues its peace terms. Independent [London] (16 August 1989). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 34 kb.
◊ 17 August 1989
Mozambican peace talks delegation reports back to President. Summary of World Broadcasts [London] (17 August 1989). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 20 kb. Report of a Radio Mozambique broadcast on 15 August 1989, which quoted in turn from Notícias.
◊ 17 August 1989
Mozambique MNR peace proposals. Summary of World Broadcasts [London] (17 August 1989). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 24 kb. Report of a Radio Renascenca broadcast from Lisbon on 15 August 1989.
◊ 18 August 1989
Mozambique: MNR denies dropping demands for multi-party elections. Broadcast by the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation on 18 August 1989, reported in Summary of World Broadcasts [London]. In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 22 kb.
◊ 18 August 1989
Sharon Behn. Mozambican rebels join peace initiative. Christian Science Monitor [Boston MA] (18 August 1989). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 51 kb.
◊ 18 August 1989-24 August 1989
Eddie Koch and Paul Musker. While Renamo talks go on, more talk of SA connection. Weekly Mail [Johannesburg] (18 August 1989-24 August 1989). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 62 kb.
◊ 20 August 1989
Cabecilhas da «Renamo» dizem que querem a paz – D. Alexandre ao regressar de Nairobi. Tempo [Maputo] (20 August 1989), p.4. In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 71 kb.
◊ 26 August 1989
Mozambique: first steps towards peace. Indian Ocean Newsletter [Paris] (26 August 1989). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 29 kb.
◊ 26 August 1989
Mozambique: MNR delegation in Kenya. Summary of World Broadcasts [London] (26 August 1989). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 15 kb. Short report of a broadcast by Radiodifusão Portuguesa from Lisbon on 24 August 1989.
◊ 26 August 1989
President Chissano dismisses Renamo document. MIO News Review [London] no.161 (31 August 1989). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 485 kb. Reprints an AIM report dated 26 August 1989.
◊ 26 August 1989
Summits’ support for peace initiatives. MIO News Review [London] no.161 (31 August 1989). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 503 kb. Reprints an AIM report dated 26 August 1989.
◊ 27 August 1989
Fernando Manuel. Bandidos armados: o feito por não feito? Tempo [Maputo] no.985 (27 August 1989), p.7-10. In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 681 kb. Describes the 16 points as lacking in seriousness, and asks if this results from political short-sightedness. Illustrated with a large picture of victims of the Homoine massacre.
◊ 28 August 1989
Mozambique: exile groups on talks between government and MNR. Comments from two minor Lisbon-based opposition groups (UNAMO and the Comité para a União Moçambicana) on the Nairobi talks, reported from a broadcast by Radiodifusão Portuguesa in Lisbon on 28 August 1989 by Summary of World Broadcasts [London]. In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 30 kb.
◊ 29 August 1989
Meetings to resume in Nairobi. MIO News Review [London] no.161 (31 August 1989). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 509 kb. Reprints an AIM report dated 29 August 1989.
◊ 29 August 1989
Mozambique: MNR leader Dhlakama on talks with Frelimo. Broadcast of Dhlakama’s comments by Radiodifusão Portuguesa on 29 August 1989, reported by the Summary of World Broadcasts [London]. In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 50 kb.
◊ 30 August 1989
Mozambican comment on exiled groups’ opportunism. Reports a claim that the minor opposition groups in Lisbon are disassociating themselves from Renamo at the last minute. Broadcast by Radio Mozambique on 30 August 1989 and reported in the Summary of World Broadcasts [London]. In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 44 kb.
◊ 30 August 1989
Mozambique: churchmen leave for talks with MNR leaders. Summary of World Broadcasts [London] (30 August 1989). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 17 kb. The Catholic Archbishop of Maputo, Cardinal Alexandre dos Santos, the Presbyterian pastor Osias [sic: Jeremias] Mucache and Jaime Gonçalves, the bishop of Beira, leave for Nairobi for more talks.
◊ 30 August 1989
La Renamo se met à table. Jeune Afrique [Paris] no.1495 (30 August 1989), p.26. In French. Click here to download a PDF file, size 479 kb.
◊ 31 August 1989
Churchmen report back on Nairobi meeting. MIO News Review [London] no.161 (31 August 1989). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 497 kb. Reprints an AIM report dated 12 August 1989.
◊ 31 August 1989
Mozambican churchmen hold second round of talks with MNR in Nairobi. Report from the Yugoslav news agency in Luanda on 31 August 1989, summarised in the Summary of World Broadcasts [London]. In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 24 kb.
◊ 31 August 1989
Prospects for peace. MIO News Review [London] no.161 (31 August 1989). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 469 kb. Reports on developments in mid- to late-July.
◊ 31 August 1989
Team to MNR talks. Herald [Harare] (31 August 1989). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 122 kb.