Renamo

This brief report about the anti-communist guerrilla forces in Mozambique describes the efforts of Renamo to oppose Frelimo's one-party rule. For more than a decade Renamo has fought to bring a pluralist political system, with free and fair elections, to its nation. The author details how Renamo's leader, Afonso Dhlakama, has attempted to develop, within his ranks, a democratic society with education, health, and human rights standards, while opposing President Joachim Chissano whose Marxist-Leninist government had the support of the former Soviet Union. This story is among the first written from Renamo's point of view. It is still little known. Sibyl Cline, with her husband Robert MacKenzie, walked into Gorongosa, Dhlakama's headquarters, to see for herself Renamo's forces and observe their activities. Now three years after this study was published, President Chissano and Afonso Dhlakama have finally met in Rome under United Nations auspices to negotiate a peace agreement. Originally published in 1989.