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- From: barnhart@ddsw1.MCS.COM (Mr. Aaron Barnhart)
- Subject: IPS:MOZAMBIQUE: ACADEMICS CALL FOR SOCIO-ECONOMIC RECONSTRUCTION
- Sender: barnhart@ddsw1.mcs.com (Mr. Aaron Barnhart)
- Message-ID: <C059uo.CBn@ddsw1.mcs.com>
- Date: Thu, 31 Dec 1992 22:16:00 GMT
- Organization: Evanston, Illinois, U.S.A.
- Lines: 91
-
- Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved. Permission to re-
- print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.
-
- Reference: Trade & Finance
- Title: MOZAMBIQUE: ACADEMICS CALL FOR SOCIO-ECONOMIC RECONSTRUCTION
-
-
- maputo, dec 22 (ips) -- prospects for peace in mozambique will
- dim unless the country's socio-economic fibre is reconstructed,
- according to a group of international academics.
-
- ''there is need to use a new concept of security. when we
- talk of security, we are talking about people and, in this
- sense, security goes beyond simple defence of the state'', said
- the group in a statement tuesday.
-
- ''we have to look at economic development, environment...'',
- add the academics in a statement issued at the end of their
- meeting here.
-
- drawn from several countries, the academics discussed
- security matters under the theme ''mozambique post-war:
- challenges and realities''.
-
- the 17-year war between the mozambique government and the
- rebel mozambique national resistance (renamo) has devastated the
- former portuguese colony and made it the world's poorest
- countries.
-
- about one million people were killed during the war which
- displaced about six million others.
-
- the conflict ended with the oct. 4 signing of a peace accord
- in rome, italy, between mozambique's president joaquim chissano
- and renamo leader afonso dhlakama.
-
- renamo, brainchild of the former rhodesian (now zimbabwe)
- intelligence, was unleashed at the dawn of mozambique's
- independence in 1975 to thwart the socialist thrust of
- mozambique's first president, samora machel.
-
- when zimbabwe gained its independence from britain in 1980,
- south africa adopted renamo which continued its fight against
- the mozambique government until the oct. 4 accord.
-
- meeting ahead of the arrival next month of an 8,000-strong
- u.n.-sanctioned peacekeeping force, the academics pointed out
- the narrow scope of the contingent.
-
- the u.n. force will first disarm and demobilise both the
- government troops and the former rebel remano units and then
- observe mozambique's first multiparty elections.
-
- without the u.n. mandate being extended to deal with economic
- and social reconstruction, some of the academics said, ''there
- is unlikely to be real social peace in this country in
- mozambique''. (more/ips)
-
-
- mozambique: academics (2)
-
- ''in africa, there is a general tendency to generalise
- insecurity at all levels, and mozambique is no exception to this
- rule'', the academics said. ''an important part of solving the
- problem is total democratisation of african countries''.
-
- ''what we should talk about when we speak of insecurity and
- threats is people's food security'', said mozambican methodist
- church minister taimo jamisse.
-
- the academics observed that youths, claimimg to be renamo
- members and government troops, daily beckon traffic to stop
- along the country's main thoroughfares asking for food, money or
- cigarettes.
-
- meanwhile, the peace accord is largely holding. this week
- mozambique completes its second month of the agreement.
-
- the academics said although there is no ''conventional
- threat'' against mozambique from outside, they feared ''people
- who profitted from the war will try to resist changes and
- prolong insecurity'' in the country.
-
- mark simpson, an international relations expert from south
- africa's witwatersrand university, called for the collection of
- data on weapons flowing into mozambique in a bid to ensure the
- peace agreement holds.
-
- he also suggested buying back arms from people owning them, a
- compensatory incentive currently being carried out in south
- africa. (end/ips/gl/rw/fc/apc/92)
-