Former Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano has thrown his weight behind the calls for a truce between the current President, Filipe Nyusi, and Afonso Dhlakama, leader of the rebel movement Renamo.

Speaking on Thursday, at a Radio Mozambique seminar, Chissano urged the public to continue convincing Dhlakama to accept the invitation to a meeting issued by Nyusi last week.

“He (Dhlakama) demanded an agenda and an agenda was presented”, Chissano pointed out. Nyusi's initial invitation simply asked Dhlakama to come to Maputo to discuss “matters of peace and development”.

When Dhlakama claimed this was “too vague”, and insisted on a specific agenda, Nyusi responded with a proposed agenda containing three points - analysis of the Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities, signed on 5 September 2014, analysis of the dialogue between the government and Renamo (now suspended, on Dhlakama's orders), and “miscellaneous”.

Dhlakama rejected this proposal, and declared, at a rally in Namacurra district, in the central province of Zambezia on 27 August “There's nothing! Forget it!”

But for Chissano the agenda was not a problem. “The important thing is to hold the meeting and that it discusses everything”, he said. “They should clarify matters to each other, and take a decision. We want peace. We don't want to be cannon fodder, for bullets either of Renamo or of the government”.

Points on the agenda could be discussed and changed during the meeting itself, Chissano added. “An agenda is a piece of paper which people produce to give some indication of how to carry out discussions”, he said. “But when you want an open discussion, looking for solutions, the agenda can be corrected during the discussion”.

People should stop thinking that this was a question of two enemies talking, he urged.