Venancio Mondlane sets conditions for Frelimo peace talks

MOZAMBIQUE’S opposition leader said on Friday he would accept the president’s offer of talks after deadly post-election unrest on terms including they be held virtually and legal proceedings against him are dropped.

President Filipe Nyusi extended an invitation to Venancio Mondlane to meet at his office in Maputo on Tuesday after dozens of people were killed in a police crackdown on protests against the results of the October 9 election.

Mondlane, who says the election was rigged in favour of Nyusi’s Frelimo party, is believed to have left the country for fear of arrest or attack. His whereabouts are unknown.

“We are open to dialogue,” Mondlane said in a Facebook live address. “It has to be a genuine dialogue, it cannot be full of traps.”

A written reply to Nyusi’s invitation lists a condition for the meeting: “That the participation of the elected candidate Venancio Mondlane be virtual.”

The authorities have laid criminal and civil charges against him, including for damages caused during protests by his supporters, which has led to his bank accounts being frozen.

Another condition in the document which was made public by Mondlane’s office is that “the judicial proceedings in question must be immediately terminated”.

It also lays out 20 points that Mondlane wants on the agenda for talks, including “restoring electoral truth” and prosecuting anyone involved in vote-rigging.

Others are a public apology and compensation for the deaths during the demonstrations, as well as constitutional, economic and electoral reforms.

Rights groups have accused the authorities of using live ammunition on protesters in the impoverished country, which has been governed since independence from Portugal in 1975 by Frelimo.

The Centre for Democracy and Human Rights civil society group says about 65 people have been killed.

Mondlane on Friday gave a toll of more than 60. Nyusi said 19 people had died, including five police officers.

The president is meant to hand over in January to Frelimo candidate Daniel Chapo, whom the election authority says won 71% of votes against 20% for Mondlane.

The unrest was discussed this week by regional leaders at a summit of the 16-nation Southern Africa grouping SADC, which said afterwards it “extended condolences to the government and people” for the lives lost.

Human Rights Watch criticised the SADC on Friday for failing to denounce Mozambique for excessive use of force.

“SADC has squandered an opportunity to publicly condemn human rights abuses against post-election protesters in Mozambique,” it said in a statement.

The rights watchdog urged the grouping to tell Nyusi’s government to respect the right to peaceful protest and cease using unnecessary and excessive force.