The World - News from Dec. 18, 1987

Mozambique’s President Joaquim Chissano, battling a 12-year-old insurgency that has paralyzed the nation’s economy, announced an amnesty for rebels who lay down their arms. Addressing the People’s Assembly (Parliament) in Maputo, Chissano said there will be an amnesty “for all those who abandon terrorism and crime.” Under Chissano’s plan, pardoned rebels are to receive “a guarantee of freedom, the possibility to rebuild their lives, be reconciled with their families and reintegrate themselves into society.” The government blames South Africa for continuing to aid the Mozambique National Resistance. Pretoria, however, says it stopped aiding the rebels after signing a pact with Mozambique in 1984.