Pretoria - Hostilities between government troops and the main opposition party, Renamo, in Mozambique could have a negative impact on regional stability, International Relations and Cooperation Deputy Minister Ebrahim Ebrahim has warned.
Speaking to reporters during a regular briefing on international developments, Ebrahim stressed South Africa’s conviction that only dialogue can solve the current situation of confrontation.
He said South Africa insists on peace, stability and security in that country.
In recent weeks, there have been sporadic clashes between Renamo and the military.
The former rebel movement is at loggerheads with the Frelimo government, accusing it of not honouring the Rome peace agreement they signed in 1992. Renamo is demanding the scrapping of the existing electoral law, arguing that it allows the government to rig elections. Renamo has lost all the elections since it laid its arms down to stop the 16-year civil war against Frelimo, which has been in power since independence from Portugal in 1975.
Renamo also accuses Frelimo of discriminating against its party members and sympathisers, all accusations rejected by President Armando Guebuza’s government.
There have been fears that people's safety could be compromised if they visit that country. However, South Africa’s High Commissioner to Mozambique, Charles Nqakula, last week assured South African tourists that the southern parts of Mozambique are safe to travel.
Ebrahim advised South Africans who are working or studying in Mozambique to add their names on the Registration of South Africans Abroad (ROSA) system.
There has been an outcry from all corners of Mozambique, including religious groups and politicians, that Guebuza and Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama must meet to resolve the crisis for good.
But there is doubt about the whereabouts of Dhlakama since he fled an attack on his bush home in Satunjira in the central province of Sofala on October 21.
It was on that basis that Guebuza had invited Dhlakama for talks in Maputo last week, but Dhlakama did not appear and it is unclear whether the invitation ever reached him.
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders have expressed concerns and strongly condemned the acts of violence perpetrated by Renamo.
Madagascar gears up for second round of elections
Meanwhile, the South African government has commended the peaceful manner in which the elections were held in Madagascar.
South Africa also called upon all political and other stakeholders in Madagascar to demonstrate political maturity and tolerance going into the second round of the presidential and legislative elections on 20 December.
Pretoria said this was a crucial period to successfully conclude the full implementation of the SADC Roadmap, restoring constitutional normalcy in Madagascar.
Madagascar is set to hold a second round of presidential elections after no candidate won over 50 percent in last month's first round vote.
Candidate Jean Louis Robinson took the lead with 21.1 percent in the first round, followed by Hery Rajaonarimampianina, who garnered 15.9 percent, according to the Independent National Election Commission (CENIT)
“Government wishes to call on all stakeholders and the people of the Republic of Madagascar to approach both the second round of the presidential elections and the simultaneous legislative elections on 20 December 2013 in the same constructive, calm and responsible manner in order to foster national unity, nation building, reconciliation and political tolerance in the interests of the greater good of the Malagasy nation,” said Ebrahim. – SAnews.gov.za
