Annan praises progress since peace

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has praised Mozambique as an African success story which has proved the Afro-pessimists wrong. Annan spent three days in Mozambique before arriving in Johannesburg on Sunday, for the World Summit on Sustainable Development. In the text of a speech he delivered at a banquet hosted by President Joaquim Chissano, Annan said he was particularly moved that his visit coincided with the 10th anniversary of the signing of the agreement that brought peace to Mozambique. "Despite the very real challenges that still confront your nation, what I have seen since arriving are, above all, the many and enduring dividends of a decade of peace," Annan said. Mozambique's stability provided an example to "every nation striving to rebuild after conflict and turmoil, not least in the African continent," he noted. The former Portuguese colony sank into civil war soon after independence in 1975. The particularly brutal conflict, in which rebel forces were backed by apartheid South Africa, ended with the signing of a ceasefire agreement in October 1992. Presidential and legislative elections were held in October 1994. "For the United Nations, Mozambique's triumph is of special significance. It will be remembered as one of the biggest success stories in which we have been involved - in peace-making, peacekeeping, mine action, humanitarian and electoral assistance, and the repatriation of refugees," Annan said. Mozambique's progress has been underlined by a rapidly growing economy, despite two successive years of floods, and the HIV/AIDS crisis. "Mozambique's continuing success story, and the climate of trust it has generated, is the best possible antidote to the sceptics and cynics about Africa," Annan said. The country's regional leadership, through its chairmanship of the Politics, Defence and Security Organ of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and contributions on individual issues, "ranging from Swaziland to the Comoros to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or your work on the Steering Committee of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD)", benefited the entire continent, he said. Annan also praised Chissano's "personal leadership and statesmanship", and his commitment to safeguarding the democratic and electoral process in Mozambique, as "an example to all Africa". The secretary-general also thanked donors for the partnership they had forged with the UN in working towards Mozambique's development.