Catholic NGOs in Cabo Delgado warn: “The military route is dangerous and no one knows how it will end”
Military solutions are always expensive and extremely destructive warn the participants in a virtual seminar of experts and operators of various Catholic organizations dedicated to the crisis in Cabo Delgado, in the northern region of Mozambique devastated by violence committed by jihadist groups which refer to the Islamic State.
Organized by the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) and the Denis Hurley Peace Institute (DHPI), the webinar brought together about 50 representatives from Misereor, the German Catholic Bishops’ entity for development cooperation; Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Catholic Pontifical and Charity foundation, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) International, and the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS).
“A reflection on the Mozambican state budgets shows that the allocation on military offensives is having a huge impact on what the country sets aside for water supply, health and social assistance.
Military allocation at the moment is three times more than what is allocated for these other three items”, said Bernhard Weimer, a longtime expert on the Mozambican crisis. The government of Maputo has in fact chosen the military option, after receiving the support of the member countries of the SADC (Southern African Development Community).
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