Talk:Renamo

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Renamo is the pronounced acronym name for the Resistencia Nacional Mocambiciana or MNR, a terrorist organization organized and directed by the apartheid era Rhodesian Army and later South African Defense Forces to undermine the majority rule government of Frelimo or Frente de Libertacao de Mocambique in post-colonial Mozambique. Sometimes compared to the Khmer Rouge for their ruthlessness though not for their efficiency, Renamo terrorists focused their attacks on the civilian population of Mozambique to demonstrate the inability of the Frelimo government to defend them. In this they resembled the Nicaraguan Contras in their efforts to destabilize the Nicaraguan government of the Sandinistas. Mozambique was a Front Line state in the regional struggle against white minority rule and thus the target for destabilization. Recruited from among former Portugese colonial soldiers, Frelimo deserters and lumpen elements, Renamo terrorists varied in number between 8,000 and 25,000 at different points in time.

Give me an effing break. Mozambique was a front-line state in the soviet/us bush wars. It may well have been anti apartheid, but only because it suited their Marxist masters at that time, as did the support of S. Africa suit the reagancomics.
 * First: "terrorist" is pretty god damned subjective to be used in this instance without any corroborating citations backing it up.
 * Khmer rouge? for a group opposed to the marxist FRELIMO party?  what kind of spin is this?  Trying to hide the fact that the Khmer Rouge is a nasty of communistic origin? Lousy rhetoric.  Once again, no real attribution.
 * Renamio is also the 2nd largest party in Mozambique. Where is the mention of that?
 * RENAMO, according to a FAS doc they were originally established in 1976 by the Rhodesian security services, primarily to operate against anti-Rhodesian guerrillas based in Mozambique. There were Mozambique based guerillas.
 * Heer is the Wiki - RENAMO

This article is marxist rhetorical trash. I am not claiming that RENAMO was not at one time an evil military force, but FRELIMO were certainly never the angelic liberators either. Sourcewatch is not a venue to bootstrap assinine ideologies taught by poly sci profs still angry that the Soviet fell.

--Hugh Manatee 09:04, 9 Aug 2005 (EDT)

Once again, the article has failed to address my major concerns with its bias, but I'll leave it, for the moment, since there was some extra work put into it, but the article still sucks!


 * 1: The "western double standard" in RENAMO not being called terroristic is god damned absurd.  We're talking the 70's and 80's in a African bush war between Soviet/Cuban supplied forces and Rhodesian/S African, and initially US an UK supplied forces.  Were FRELIMO forces ever defined as "terroristic"?  There were no saints in these god forsaken african bushwars during this period.


 * 2: RENAMO is the largest minority political party in Mozambique. If they are "terroristic"", how do they acquire such popularity as opposition?  How nasty is the ruling party?

Results from a quick googling:

Mozambique - CIA FactBook
Almost five centuries as a Portuguese colony came to a close with independence in 1975. Large-scale emigration by whites, economic dependence on South Africa, a severe drought, and a prolonged civil war hindered the country's development. The ruling Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO) party formally abandoned Marxism in 1989, and a new constitution the following year provided for multiparty elections and a free market economy. A UN-negotiated peace agreement between FRELIMO and rebel Mozambique National Resistance (RENAMO) forces ended the fighting in 1992. In December 2004, Mozambique underwent a delicate transition as Joaquim CHISSANO stepped down after 18 years in office. His newly elected successor, Armando Emilio GUEBUZA, has promised to continue the sound economic policies that have encouraged foreign investment.

At independence in 1975, Mozambique was one of the world's poorest countries. Socialist mismanagement and a brutal civil war from 1977-92 exacerbated the situation. In 1987, the government embarked on a series of macroeconomic reforms designed to stabilize the economy. These steps, combined with donor assistance and with political stability since the multi-party elections in 1994, have led to dramatic improvements in the country's growth rate. Inflation was reduced to single digits during the late 1990s although it returned to double digits in 2000-03. Fiscal reforms, including the introduction of a value-added tax and reform of the customs service, have improved the government's revenue collection abilities. In spite of these gains, Mozambique remains dependent upon foreign assistance for much of its annual budget, and the majority of the population remains below the poverty line. Subsistence agriculture continues to employ the vast majority of the country's workforce. A substantial trade imbalance persists although the opening of the MOZAL aluminum smelter, the country's largest foreign investment project to date has increased export earnings. Additional investment projects in titanium extraction and processing and garment manufacturing should further close the import/export gap. Mozambique's once substantial foreign debt has been reduced through forgiveness and rescheduling under the IMF's Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) and Enhanced HIPC initiatives, and is now at a manageable level.

--

Hmm, socialist mismanagement and a brutal civil war. Once again I ask, why the marxist spin?

Oxfam
Mozambique’s civil war was one of the most brutal conflicts ever waged in Africa. By the time it ended after sixteen years, close to one million people had lost their lives through violence, hunger and disease. Around four million people were forced to flee their homes to different parts of the country. Nearly two million escaped to neighbouring countries. Schools and hospitals were burned out. Industry was left in ruins.

Long after peace returned to Mozambique, the number of war casualties continued to grow. Civilians, especially women and children, were the main victims of landmines that had been buried throughout the country. They were usually planted off main roads on bush paths, at water sites, or in people’s fields. These have claimed over 10,000 lives and wounded many more. With these hidden dangers, it is very difficult for people to feel secure in peace.-

Colonial rule stifled Mozambique’s development. Resistance grew and a ten-year war for freedom began. When Mozambique became independent in 1975, the country was in ruins. Over 90 per cent of Portuguese settlers left, taking everything they could. Of the country’s 500 doctors, only 80 remained.

The Frelimo Party that came to power quickly set about re-building health and education services, but it had little experience, and even fewer resources. At the same time, the government had to fight an anti-Frelimo organisation called Renamo, which was backed by South Africa and Zimbabwe, which was then known as Rhodesia. The result was a devastating war in which many thousands of civilians were injured and killed. Schools, health-centres, railways, and roads were destroyed. -

Institute for Security Studies
On 24 September 1964, after two years of organizing and building up its forces, Frelimo guerrillas crossed the Rovuma River (the border between Tanzania and Mozambique) and launched an attack against the Portuguese administrative post near the town of Mueda. This signalled the beginning of the armed struggle for the independence of Mozambique. In Mozambique the main areas of military action after 1964 lay in the two northern provinces of Cabo Delgado and Niassa, where guerrillas controlled large areas. From 1968 onwards Frelimo also launched attacks against Portuguese garrisons in the Tete province. The South African government assisted the Portuguese government in its war against Frelimo.

In 1969 Dr Eduardo Mondlane was assassinated and was succeeded by Samora Machel as president of Frelimo. The war against Portugal ended after the dictatorship of President Marcello Caetano was overthrown during a left-wing coup in Lisbon on 25 April 1974. In a hurry to get rid of its colonies, the new Portuguese government transferred its authority in Mozambique to Frelimo, which refused to participate in an election and suppressed its rivals for power.

A transitional government with Joaquim Chissano as prime minister was formed in September 1974 and led the country to independence. The Peoples' Republic of Mozambique came into existence on 25 June 1975 with Samora Machel as president. He died in an air crash on South African territory on 19 October 1986 and was succeeded as president the following February by Joaquim Chissano.

Mozambique's closure of the border with Rhodesia in 1976 and its support for Rhodesian liberation movements as well as its support for the African National Congress (ANC) during the 1980s had led to commando raids by Rhodesian and South African forces into Mozambican territory. The government also had to contend with armed opposition from the Resistencia Nacional de Mozambique (Renamo) which, capitalising upon peasant resistance to certain Frelimo policies in parts of Mozambique, was encouraged and supported by the Rhodesian, and subsequently by the South African, governments to serve as a opposition force inside Mozambique.

In 1990 constitutional reforms in Mozambique ended the state’s formal commitment to a Marxist-Leninist single-party system. This, the collapse of the Eastern European regimes and the opening of political dialogue in South Africa all facilitated negotiations to settle Mozambique’s civil war. On 4 October 1992 a General Peace Agreement between Renamo and Frelimo was signed in Rome, bringing to an end a civil conflict that had completed the devastation of the countryside and the dislocation of what remained of the economy. The accord made provision for a cease-fire and for multiparty elections.

In the first multiparty elections in 1994 the ruling party, the Frente de Libertacão de Moçambique (Frelimo), secured 44% of the vote and 129 seats in the 250 member assembly. The opposition Resistencia Nacional Mocambicana (Renamo), of Afonso Dhlakama won 112 seats with 38% of the vote. The Unaio Democrática de Moçambique (Udemo), led by Gimo Phiri took 5% of the vote and 9 seats. The remaining 13% of the vote was split among 11 other parties, none of which crossed the required threshold to secure representation in the Assembly. -

Euro Time
This one actually offers a citable instance of "terror", but at the same time dispels some other claims that this stub's author would rather not discuss. One, RENAMO had by 1987 engaged in enough nastiness that both Thatcher and Reagan supported FRELIMO, but American Legislative opposition in the form of none other than Helms, and right-wing wonkage back up by the Heritage foundation which supported RENAMO held some funding up. -

I bet Helms and the Hertiage Foundation had reams of "data" documenting the atrocities committed by the Soviet/Cuban backed FRELIMO and their Marxist ANC allies.

This was also about the time that FRELIMO renounced Marxist/Leninist dogma. This should have been a clue for the hammerheaded right in America, but they were lost within their own ideology of evil. The free market's best weapon against marxism was and is production of wealth. It is also their worst enemy when the wealth from the new production accumulates only within the wealthy, and not in the pockets of the actual workers, but that result is a gross distortion of a "free" market.

Journal of Mine Action
During Mozambique’s civil war, government soldiers and rebels scattered mines indiscriminately, rendering vast portions of the country virtually uninhabitable. After the conflict, landmine accidents numbered at approximately 40 per month. On average, 15 of these accidents were fatal. Currently, a total of 7,000 Mozambicans have been fitted for prostheses-a number the Mozambican people do not want to see rise.

Presently, the U.N. believes Mozambique is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world. As records were not officially kept during the war, there is a large degree of uncertainty concerning the number of planted landmines; the reported numbers range from 400,000 to five million. Prior to the flooding, deminers had mapped much of Mozambique to assist the mine clearance efforts, and since 1994, deminers have removed approximately 18,000 mines. These maps also enabled government officials to warn citizens of unsafe areas. -

Indiscriminate scattering of mines by both RENAMO and FRELIMO. Who's the terrrorist here?

RENAMO was founded by Rhodesia and S. Arica to combat what they viewed as a type of "teroristic" force themselves, ANC guerillas backed with Soviet weaponry and trained by Cuban Advisors. If you had been on the receiving end of an ANC guerilla attack, you'd define them as terroristic also. The term terrorist is much too context laden to use here properly. It all depends on which side of the coin you were on during the cold war.

This is a tawdry and cheap article that serves as an attempt to whitewash the ANC and the Marxist FRELIMO. There were no angels in these conflicts, only death to those on the trickled downside when the cold war powers had their pissing contests. This article serves propaganda.

--Hugh Manatee 03:54, 11 Aug 2005 (EDT)