Good afternoon. Opposition politician Venâncio Mondlane has begun to speak about his meeting with President Daniel Chapo on Sunday (see below). According to Mondlane, both men agreed to several conditions for continuing their discussions, namely, calling for an end to violence on both sides, an amnesty for people arrested during demonstrations (referred to, probably wrongly, as “pardons” by some officials) and medical care for victims of police violence.
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Both Chapo and Mondlane have had to make concessions which demonstrate the limits of their power. Mondlane has effectively given up all appearance of trying to contest the presidential election last year, despite continuing to say that the elections were stolen and that he is the rightful winner. He referred to Chapo as “head of the government”, the closest he has yet come to acknowledging Chapo as the rightful president. Chapo, meanwhile, if Mondlane’s words are accurate, has had to reverse his hardline policy on the protesters and to agree to rein in the security forces. Certainly his comments about “reconciliation” and “forgiveness” during his speech in the city of Lichinga yesterday suggest so. The president is having to eat his earlier words about being ready to spill the blood of demonstrators.
