US embassy cable - 05MAPUTO1137

C O N F I D E N T I A L MAPUTO 001137 
 
SIPDIS 
AF/S - TREGER 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/31/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PINR, PREL, MZ, RENAMO, Military 
SUBJECT: MOZAMBIQUE - RENAMO OFFICERS THREATEN TO "RETURN 
TO THE BUSH" OVER MILITARY RETIREMENTS 
 
REF: A. DAO MAPUTO IIR 6 866 0042 05 271209ZJUN05 
B. DAO MAPUTO IIR 6 866 0055 05 300922ZAUG05 
Classified By: Ambassador Helen La Lime, for reasons 1.4 (b/d) 
1. (SBU) The Ambassador, along with other heads of missions, 
was called to a meeting at the Ministry of Foreign on August 
30 to hear the government rebut claims made recently a RENAMO 
leader that former RENAMO officers are being forced to retire 
unfairly from the Mozambican armed forces. Former senior 
RENAMO general Herminio Morais, at a press conference RENAMO 
called on August 25, had charged that the government had 
unfairly dismissed 25 former RENAMO officers serving in the 
Mozambican armed forces -- one colonel, six majors and 18 
captains. Morais threatened that unless the government took 
steps to rectify the situation "in the next 30 days," 
ex-RENAMO fighters would take weapons (Morais said "Ak-47's, 
pistols and hand grenandes") and return to their former 
military base in Meringue, Sofala province. 
 
2. (SBU) Speaking to the Ambassador and other diplomats, 
Deputy Foreign Minister Banze (most recently Deputy Minister 
of Defense in the Chissano government), clearly concerned to 
set the record straight with the international community, 
laid out the rationale for the retirement of army officers. 
He said that the retirements referred to by RENAMO's Morais 
were entirely regular and in keeping with ongoing reform in 
the military in terms of the army's mission, its access to 
funds, structure and training needs. Fundamentally, 
retirement was based on length of service and carried out 
regardless of whether an officer had formerly been with 
RENAMO or FRELIMO forces. Per Banze, a professional military 
should act according to three principles: respect for law; 
the military must not be a political instrument; and there 
must be no partisanship in the ranks. 
 
3. (U) Under the 1992 Rome Peace Agreement both soldiers from 
RENAMO (20,000 fighters) and Mozambican government units 
(60,000) were to be demobilized and then reconstituted into 
the new Mozambican army on an equal basis. The new armed 
forces would number 30,000 personnel. In fact, since the end 
of demobilization in 1994 the number of men and women in the 
armed forces has remained relatively constant at 
approximately 10-11,000 soldiers. (Comment: We do not have 
figures on the exact number of ex-RENAMO officers in the army 
at present, but believe that they are a distinct minority. 
RENAMO's officers and rank and file were generally considered 
less well-trained than FRELIMO's, which may partly explain 
RENAMO's lower representation in the officer ranks of the 
reformed army. End comment.) 
 
4. (U) RENAMO's threat of returning to war has been roundly 
criticized in the media (admittedly in the pro-government 
media) by prominent Mozambican personalities. Abdul Sau, a 
leading figure in the Islamic Council of Mozambique, said 
that RENAMO's belligerence signifies that the party has not 
been able to transform itself from a guerrilla movement into 
a viable political force 13 years after the war ended. The 
government paper, Noticias, carried interviews on August 30 
with heads of the other political parties. In every instance 
the politicians attacked RENAMO for its "irresponsible" 
statements and most added the obvious, that Mozambicans had 
no wish to resume fighting. A senior Catholic church 
official in Maputo, in a somewhat more conciliatory tone, 
downplayed the threats as merely an "expression of force" 
rather than a real desire to return to war. 
 
5. (C) Comment: Over the past several months RENAMO 
officials, including RENAMO president Dhlakama, have issued 
statements accusing the government of "marginalizing" 
ex-RENAMO officers in the military. We have been unable to 
substantiate these claims (Ref A). However, given President 
Guebuza's past as the FRELIMO political commissar in the army 
during the early years of the 1976-1992 civil war, we would 
not be surprised if the army now has a more partisan tinge, 
Deputy FM Banze's statements notwithstanding. 
 
6. (C) Comment Continued: We view the ex-RENAMO general's 
threat that former soldiers will take up arms and return to 
their old base at Meringue as grandstanding and a fantasy. 
Morais' remarks are the first we have heard by any RENAMO 
leader in favor of such a drastic step. Nonetheless we will 
watch developments closely. 
La Lime