The personal representative of the UN Secretary General for the peace process in Mozambique considered the appointment of Raúl Domingos as ambassador to the Holy See “historic”, the first time that an opponent holds such a position.
“It is a historic moment for the country, as it is the first time that a member of the opposition has been appointed ambassador. An unimaginable scenario just a few years ago,” said Mirko Manzoni, in a statement released this Wednesday.
For Manzoni, the appointment of Raúl Domingos “is another evidence of the progress the government has made to build a more inclusive Mozambique and is an example of continued commitment to the peace process and national reconciliation.”
For António Guterres’ personal envoy, the appointment reflects the importance that the Mozambican head of state, Flipe Nyusi, attaches to inclusion in the country, noting that this commitment has been demonstrated in the implementation of the Peace and National Reconciliation Agreement signed by the government and the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo), the main opposition party, in 2019.
On Monday, the Mozambican president appointed Raúl Domingos, former Renamo leader, extraordinary and plenipotentiary ambassador to the Holy See.
Domingos led the Renamo team in the negotiations with the Government of the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo), for the General Peace Agreement, signed in 1992 in Rome.
The negotiations were mediated by the Community of Sant’Egídio, an entity linked to the Catholic Church.
After the first multiparty elections in the history of Mozambique, in 1994, Raúl Domingos headed the bench of the main opposition party in the Assembly of the Republic, but ended up being expelled from Renamo, after disagreements with the then leader of the movement, Afonso Dhlakama. , after the general elections of 1999.
After leaving Renamo, Domingos founded the Party for Democracy and Development (PDD), an extra-parliamentary political force that never managed to elect representatives to the national elective bodies.
The politician is State Councilor by appointment of the current Mozambican head of state.
His appointment as ambassador has been highly commented on in the country, since it is the first time an opposition figure has been appointed to such a post and where the first positions in the hierarchy of the Mozambican state are occupied almost exclusively by militants of Frelimo.
Source: Observadora
