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afrol News, 4 October - After two decades of war and destruction, Mozambique can now celebrate an entire decade of peace, reconstruction and economic growth. The former warring parties, FRELIMO and RENAMO, now peacefully co-exist as ruling and opposition parties. The situation in Mozambique is not all gloomy - the country remaining one of the world's poorest - but progress has been immense during the last decade. Economic growth has been the highest in the Southern African region during the entire decade of peace - except for 2000, when devastating floods ravaged Mozambique - and reached almost 14 percent in 2001. Becoming the donors' favourite certainly has helped Mozambican recovery. Also the political situation has had its ups and downs, FRELIMO and RENAMO remaining regional parties of the areas they once controlled during the civil war. Despite non-transparent elections, corruption scandals in midst of the political elite and increased attacks on the independent press, democracy however seems to have gained a foothold. President Joaquim Chissano's decision to step down after having served his allowed presidential terms demonstrates this. Therefore, the tenth anniversary of Mozambican peace all in all has been an occasion to celebrate. "Ten years after the end of violent armed conflict, peace, stability and development are definitely entrenched in Mozambique," Leonardo Santos Simaő, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Mozambique underlined today. Also the UN, which plaid an important role in implementing the Mozambican peace, marked the occasion. "The history of Mozambique in the past year defies the commonly held negative stereotype of Africa and illustrates what effective partnerships can achieve," the UN's Deputy Secretary-General, Louise Fréchette, said today. - But reconstruction efforts is not finished, and the country still faces many serious challenges, Ms Fréchette said in remarks to a meeting of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) commemorating the 10-year anniversary of the peace agreement which brought an end to 16 years of violent armed conflict. Ms Fréchette urged ECOSOC to remain engaged with the people of Mozambique in their inspiring struggle, the UN press service reports. "Today should be not only a day of commemoration, but one on which we pledge our renewed commitment to their future security and well being," she said. The example of Mozambique provided lessons to other countries in the value of political will, leadership, international support and a clear Security Council mandate, Ms Fréchette went on saying. Other lessons included the regional context provided by the establishment of democracy in South Africa, the impact of peace on socio-economic development and the transformation of the former opposition in the country into a political party. Since the peace agreement was signed, the UN Deputy Secretary-General said, Mozambicans had "worked hard to safeguard the democratic process and create a dynamic civil society as they stressed the importance of human rights." Mozambicans had further brought that same courage to bear on other national challenges such as the devastating floods of February 2000, the spread of AIDS and the threat of drought. Minister Santos Simaő added that the successful implementation of the UN Operation for Mozambique (UNOMOZ) and the on-going process of post-conflict peace-building had put the country in the spotlight as a success story. Sources: Based on UN and afrol
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