denouncement of the Mozambican government’s recent action in t

World March of Womenから届いた Mozambican civil society organisations のコミュニケを紹介します。

COMMUNIQUĖ FROM CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS
“WE DON’T WANT MORE WAR, WE WANT PEACE”

The present communiqué was drafted in the wake of heightened tensions at the national level as a result of the invasion of the RENAMO base in Satungira, in the Gorongosa district, in central Mozambique on the 21st October 2013. Following the incident, RENAMO declared that this act marked an end to the General Peace Agreement of 1992.
The country has experienced a climate of uncertainty since the beginning of the year due to disagreements between the Government and RENAMO, the main opposition party, in relation to legislation and other electoral processes. Since the month of April, episodes of armed violence have occurred.
We – the women's movement, activists, civil society organisations represented by movements for the promotion and defence of human rights, peasant movements, academic associations, organisations of persons with disabilities, student organisations, informal workers, trade unionists and other Mozambican women and men – vehemently condemn the recent events surrounding the taking of the RENAMO base in Santunjira, Sofala province, on the 21st October by the Mozambican Armed Forces (FADM), which prompted the RENAMO statement declaring "end of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement" signed in 1992 and the severance of negotiations or dialogue that were then underway in relation to the Electoral Law and other matters of national interest.
This situation has left us all and the whole of the Mozambican nation outraged, sad, disgusted, frustrated, scared, helpless ... From all sides, appeals are coming in from our sisters and brothers begging: LET US DO SOMETHING TO STOP THIS WAR WITHOUT CAUSE OR APPARENT REASON!!
Through media channels, we have accompanied the tension and fear that people are experiencing in the towns and in the countryside where families are abandoning their homes to seek refuge in the cities – leaving behind everything – recalling the sad moments experienced during the 16 years of war waged between the same opponents as today: the Government / Frelimo and Renamo.
Have our leaders considered the people who are forced to leave their hospital beds, and the children who have to abandon their schools? The women who are abandoning their farms, their homes and their livelihoods to seek refuge in the towns and cities? What structures are being put into place to receive the flow of migrants seeking refuge in a safe place? Will State institutions take this situation into account and rapidly assist those who are in need?
We recall that in April of this year, at the time of the attacks in Muxungué, we, the women's movement and various civil society organisations, addressed an open letter to President Armando Emilio Guebuza and to the president of RENAMO, Afonso Dhlakama, calling for a frank dialogue to seek peaceful solutions for the country and for the people of Mozambique.
Over the months that have elapsed, we have followed many efforts to mediate peace through dialogue, but we have not seen progress; on the contrary, a worsening of tensions between the parties involved. The situation that we arrived at this week caught us by surprise, and we hoped that it is nothing more than a nightmare. However, we see that the situation is critical because:
• We have no reliable information to establish responsibility for the belligerent action, much less for the resulting loss of human lives;
• We do not know how many people are armed and how much weaponry is outside of government control as well as the chain of command of the RENAMO, now scattered;
• We know that the arms industry is always interested in finding markets and a vulnerable situation such as this makes Mozambique and the people of Mozambique likely targets of such weapons suppliers who promote conflict worldwide, contradicting the theory that RENAMO would not have support and that therefore the conditions for a civil war are not in place;
• The natural resources seen as an opportunity for the advancement of Mozambique may constitute a threat in the guise of the "plentiful resource curse".
The traumatising experience of the 16-year civil war convinced us that we do not want more war. Therefore, we make this appeal:
• That the President of the Republic use the powers that the Constitution grant him to ensure that peace, tranquillity and the public order are maintained, using all peaceful means to prevent an outbreak of war;
• That members of the Council of State as well as members of the National Defence and Security Council speak up against a possible Declaration of War;
• That the government take urgent measures to ensure the safety of women, children and families forced to flee their homes in the communities affected by this tension;
• That the authorities ensure the physical integrity of the main opposition party whose whereabouts are now so that it can play its role as a valid interlocutor in the peace process;
• That Mozambican women and men are not used to shed innocent blood;
• That the authorities ensure stable conditions for elections to take place in an atmosphere of peace and so that all Mozambicans can participate;
• That the former President Joaquim Chissano, the Community of Sant'Egidio and other actors involved in the process that brought peace to Mozambique in 1992 can play an active role in peacekeeping;
• That the Southern African Development Community and the African Union position themselves in such a way to prevent a worsening of the national situation;
• That the international community and the United Nations use diplomacy to help the maintain peace and tranquillity in Mozambique. We do not want the presence of more blue helmets!
We are the men and women of Mozambique; we are a people of peace and for peace, and we will enforce this supreme value that we built at great cost and effort and of which we are proud. We believe in our ability to recognise our limitations, and our ability to take a step back and start over.
We are for peace, and we want peace for us, for our homes, for our country and for the world!