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Burundi -Peace talks | DECEMBER 13th , 1999
BURUNDI PEACE TALKS
BURUNDI FACILITATION SAYS GAP BETWEEN PARTIES STILL CLOSING
Arusha, December 13th, ’99 (FH) - The Facilitator’s representative for Burundi peace talks closed a session of committee negotiations at the weekend, saying that “ the gap between the various positions has continued to narrow ”.
However, Judge Mark Bomani told the delegates that “ we still have a number of tough issues to resolve before we can record a consensus ”. He named these as the electoral system, the composition of the security forces, and the transition period.
The latest round of Burundi peace talks in Arusha began with a December 1st regional summit which named former South African president Nelson Mandela as the new Facilitator. Mandela replaces the late former Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere, to whom Bomani was a close aide.
Bomani subsequently visited Mandela in South Africa. “ President Mandela is determined to apply all his energies towards the achievement of success in these negotiations, ” he told the Burundi delegates on Saturday. “ He is of the firm conviction that these negotiations should continue to take place in Arusha, as the Regional Summit did re-affirm. So he is quite prepared to travel to Arusha whenever necessary. I hope, though, that he will not have to travel to Arusha too many times. In other words, please let us conclude these talks as rapidly as possible. ”
According to a Nyerere Foundation press release, Mandela also plans to keep the present methodology and facilitation team for the negotiations. He will reconvene committee meetings in Arusha in February, with the exact date still to be announced.
“ I sincerely hope that you will use the recess to consult extensively among yourselves, ” Bomani told the Burundi peace delegates, ”and seek the necessary mandate from your principals, so that when we reconvene we can quickly move to completion of the talks. ”
While noting progress, Bomani urged the negotiators to “ demonstrate more clearly that you are ready to espouse the art of compromise, both within the process and outside it. This means doing a lot more political groundwork within your respective constituencies to persuade your supporters that the price of agreement must be concession on certain issues. Unless this is clearly accepted by all sides, there is a danger that you may not be able to deliver on the commitments you make at the negotiating table. ”
JC/FH (BU§1213e)
DECEMBER 1st 1999
BURUNDI PEACE TALKS
BURUNDI PARTIES WELCOME MANDELA AS MEDIATOR
Arusha, December 1st, '99 (FH) - All parties to the Burundi peace talks in Arusha, Tanzania, have welcomed the choice of former South African president Nelson Mandela as new mediator for the negotiations.
East and southern African heads of state meeting in Arusha earlier chose Mandela to take over from the late Mwalimu Julius Nyerere of Tanzania. Mandela also has the backing of the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity. Sources in South Africa say Mandela has accepted the role.
Speaking at a press conference, Burundi's president Pierre Buyoya (Tutsi) said Mandela was the government's choice. "We have indicated clearly that President Mandela can help in this negotiation process," Buyoya said. "He's a man of international stature like Mwalimu, very experienced in resolution
of conflicts and I think acceptable by the majority of Burundians. We are glad that he has been chosen to lead this peace process."
Jean Minani, leader of the external wing of Burundi's main opposition party FRODEBU (Hutu), expressed similar sentiments. "We were very happy to hear that the mediator is Nelson Mandela," he told Hirondelle. "As you know, Nelson Mandela is known by everyone in Burundi and by the whole international community as someone of the highest staure, of great calibre. He is someone who has fought all his life against oppression, for human rights, liberty and independence."
Eighteen delegations are taking part in the Arusha peace talks, which have stalled since the death of Nyerere on October 14th. Violence on the ground has increased, but one of the main rebel groups, the CNDD's dissident wing FDD, has not so far been brought into the negotiations.
Many delegates said they hoped Mandela would help bring all the armed groups into the process. Buyoya said his government shared that view. "We have been saying for a long time that all Burundian groups who are claiming something have to be invited and say at the negotiating table what they are claiming. We have been saying that all the armed groups should be invited to the negotiating table, and we hope that it will be the case in the future."
Delegates also expressed the hope that Mandela could help them reach a peace agreement quickly. The talks have dragged on for more than a year and some parties are still unwilling to make concessions on important issues such as power sharing and army reform. Burundi's Tutsi army is locked in a conflict with Hutu rebels which has also claimed many civilian lives.
In private, however, some of the Hutu groups say they would have preferred the choice of former Botswanan president Sir Ketumile Masire, said to have been Tanzania's candidate. "Mandela is not neutral in the Burundi conflict or in the regional conflicts," said a representative of the Hutu rebel
group CNDD.
Some Tutsi parties also expressed the fear that Mandela would try to impose the "law of the majority" in Burundi. They say it is too early to introduce "one man one vote" in Burundi. The Tutsi ethnic group makes up only about 15% of the population, compared with more than 80% Hutus.
Buyoya does not seem to be in complete agreement with the regional leaders either. The summit also "recalled its previous decisions and expressed its disappointment over the continued programme of establishing new Regroupment Camps notwithstanding the earlier commitment of the Government of Burundi to dismantle those in existence. In this regard, the summit called upon the Government of Burundi to immediately disband all regroupment camps."
But Buyoya said this was "a problem of management of the situation in the country". "This is government business," he said, " and it has not to be discussed in the peace process." The Burundi authorities have forced thousands of mainly Hutu citizens from their homes, citing "security reasons". Conditions in the regroupment camps are said to be appalling.
JC/FH (BU§1201h)
DECEMBER 1st 1999
BURUNDI PEACE TALKS
MANDELA TO BE NEW BURUNDI PEACE MEDIATOR
Arusha, December 1st '99 (FH) - East and southern African leaders meeting in Arusha, Tanzania, on Wednesday chose former South African president Nelson Mandela as new mediator for the Burundi peace process, the independent news agency Hirondelle reports. The spokesman for serving President of South Africa Thabo Mbeki, Parks Mankahlana, told Hirondelle from South Africa that Mandela had accepted the position.
Mbeki, who is attending the summit, thanked the regional leaders for their confidence in Mandela, but made no mention of his official acceptance.
"The Regional Summit realized the importance of having a new Facilitator to provide political leadership," says a joint communiqué of the eighth Great Lakes regional summit on Burundi, "and in this regard, it designated in consultation with the OAU and UN respectively, H.E. Nelson R. Mandela, former President of the Republic of South Africa, as the new Facilitator of the Burundi Peace process."
Regional leaders paid tribute to the work done by Nyerere. They said they "noted that the negotiations have reached an advanced stage and substantial progress has been achieved". For this reason, they said the summit had decided to maintain Arusha as the venue of the peace negotiations "and also to continue with the negotiation infrastructure already in place, so as to maintain the gained momentum and make use of the experience already realized".
The summit urged all parties to the Burundi conflict to extend "maximum cooperation" to the new Facilitator and to conclude the Arusha peace negotiations rapidly.
Regional leaders expressed concern about the situation on the ground in Burundi, where Hutu rebels have stepped up attacks against the Tutsi-led regime.
"The Regional Summit reviewed the political and security situation in Burundi," says the communiqué, "and noted with regret that notwithstanding the efforts made at the regional, continental and international levels to realize lasting peace in that war torn country, the political and security situation in that country has not improved significantly. The fighting continues unabated, claiming the lives of innocent people and wanton destruction of property."
The summit also "recalled its previous decisions and expressed its disappointment over the continued programme of establishing new Regroupment Camps notwithstanding the earlier commitment of the Government of Burundi to dismantle those in existence. In this regard, the summit called upon the Government of Burundi to immediately disband all regroupment camps."
President Pierre Buyoya of Burundi is present at the summit, along with the other delegates to the Burundi peace talks. The main Hutu rebel group FDD has not so far been brought into the process.
JC/FH (BU§1201g)
DECEMBER 1st 1999
BURUNDI PEACE TALKS
MANDELA DESIGNATED AS NEW BURUNDI PEACE MEDIATOR
Arusha, December 1st '99 (FH) - East and southern African leaders meeting in Arusha, Tanzania, have designated former South African president Nelson Mandela as new mediator for the Burundi peace process, the independent news agency Hirondelle reports on Wednesday.
A statement by the eighth Great Lakes regional summit said Mandela had been chosen by consensus. Uganda's foreign minister Amama Mbabazi said Mandela had the support not only of the region but also of the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity.
JC/FH (BU§1201f)
DECEMBER 1st 1999
BURUNDI PEACE TALKS
REGIONAL SUMMIT UNDER WAY TO CHOOSE NEW BURUNDI PEACE MEDIATOR
Arusha, December 1st, '99 (FH) - East and southern African heads of state and government have begun meeting in Arusha, Tanzania, to choose a new mediator for the stalled Burundi peace process, the independent news agency Hirondelle reports on Wednesday. Former South African president Nelson Mandela is said to be the favourite to replace the late Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, but it is still unclear whether Mandela would accept the job.
The eighth Great Lakes regional summit on Burundi is attended by an impressive line-up of leaders from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Zambia and South Africa. Burundi's President Pierre Buyoya is present, along with the eighteen delegations to the Arusha peace talks on Burundi.
Also in Arusha are the Organization of African Unity's Secretary-General Salim Ahmed Salim and a special envoy of Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the current OAU chairman. South Africa is represented by President Thabo Mbeki.
The already troubled peace process has been stalled since the death of former mediator Julius Nyerere in October. Although Nyerere's mediation was frequently criticized, especially by the Burundian government, he is widely credited with having got the parties in conflict around a negotiating table.
Violence inside Burundi has increased in recent months. Hutu rebels fighting Buyoya's Tutsi-led regime have stepped up their attacks, while the number of refugees moving into Tanzania has also risen.
Many donors and observers are afraid that if the Arusha peace talks are not given new impetus and restarted quickly, the situation will become explosive for the whole region. The main Hutu rebel group FDD has not so far been brought into the process.
Wednesday's summit is expected to designate a new mediator, approved by the parties to the Burundi conflict. The two candidates being mentioned are either Mandela or former Botswanan president Sir Ketumile Masire.
A "speech of acceptance by the facilitator" is scheduled for the end of the day, according to the official summit programme.
JC/FH (BU§1201e)
NOVEMBER 25th 1999
BURUNDI PEACE TALKS
SUMMIT TO CHOOSE BURUNDI PEACE MEDIATOR SET FOR DECEMBER 1ST
Arusha, November 25th, '99 (FH) - A regional summit to choose a new peace mediator for Burundi is to take place in Arusha, Tanzania, on December 1st.
Ambassador Patrick Chokala, Director of Information at Tanzania's Foreign Ministry, told Hirondelle news agency that heads of state would be arriving in Arusha on November 29th, for the signing of the East African Cooperation treaty on the 30th and the Burundi summit on December 1st.
Heads of state of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda will be present and will sign the EAC treaty, designed to move their countries towards closer economic cooperation. Also invited, according to Chokala, are the Presidents of Burundi, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Zambia and Algeria, which is current chair of the Organization of African Unity. South Africa is also expected to send a representative.
Informed sources say four candidates are being put forward as possible successors to former Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere, who died on October 14th. Since the mediator's death, the already troubled Arusha peace process for Burundi has stalled.
The four candidates are said to be former Tanzanian Prime Ministers Joseph Sinde Warioba and John Samuel Malecela, former South African president Nelson Mandela and former president of Botswana Ketumile Masire.
Warioba was close to Nyerere in the mediation process. However, one analyst told Hirondelle that the two Tanzanian candidates "did not have the necessary stature", and that Mandela and Masire were the two "serious candidates".
Ambassador Sebastien Ntahuga, diplomatic advisor to Burundi President Pierre Buyoya, told Hirondelle that Buyoya would come to Arusha on November 30th. He said the meeting on December 1st, to which all the Burundi parties were also invited, was to "choose the mediator". That, he said, was "the condition on which consultations between the 18 heads of [Burundian] delegations and the new mediator will take place, so that on December 6th, the peace committees can start their work again."
Most of the parties to the Burundi conflict are said to favour Mandela as mediator, including the government. An informed source said that the Burundi government was "desperate that the process should continue, but only if they can sell it to their own people. They can't sell the old Arusha any more [...] but if the process is taken over by someone like Mandela and there is a genuine new direction, they will support it."
Tanzania is said to support Masire, but some say Mandela would be more likely to bring real change to the process. It is unclear, however, whether any of the "candidates" has been officially approached or whether they would accept.
Mandela's office said this week that he was not considering mediating in the conflicts in either the Democratic Republic of Congo or Burundi. "No one has formally requested Mandela to mediate in these conflicts," his spokesman said. He added, however, that if Mandela is formally approached "then he will consider the requests".
JC/FH (BU§1125e)
OCTOBER 5th 1999
BURUNDI/PEACE TALKS
DAR ES SALAAM TALKS POSTPONED AMID WORRIES FOR NYERERE
Arusha, October 5th '99 (FH) - Dar es Salaam consultations due to begin Monday between parties to the Burundi conflict have been postponed, owing to fears for the health of mediator and former Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere.
A member of the Nyerere Foundation, Judge Mark Bomani, told Hirondelle that no new date had been set at present.
Nyerere is in intensive care in a London hospital, suffering from chronic leaukemia and various complications. He was absent from the last round of official Burundi peace talks in Arusha, Tanzania, in September.
Jean Minani, President of the pro-Hutu FRODEBU party which was to participate in the talks, said: "it is understandable that these discussions have been postponed, given the worries and speculation surrounding the deteriorating health of the mediator". Minani told Hirondelle by telephone on Tuesday that "the working atmosphere would not have been good".
The consultations were due to bring together the so-called "Group of Six" (G6) that first met in Dar es Salaam before the last round of Arusha talks. The six parties are: Burundi's Tutsi-led government, the national assembly, pro-Tutsi parties UPRONA and PARENA, and Hutu parties FRODEBU and CNDD.
The first G6 meeting caused friction in Arusha, where smaller parties complained it was "undemocratic" and that they had been excluded.
Judge Bomani told Hirondelle on Friday, however, that the sole aim of the planned talks in Dar es Salaam was to "reduce differences [between the parties] as much as possible before the next committee meeting in Arusha". He said the mediation's only aim was to speed up the Arusha negotiations, and that there was no hidden agenda.
New political grouping
Eighteen delegations are represented at the Arusha talks, but they have grouped into three main blocs, following informal consultations organized by the Nyerere Foundation. The blocs are known as the G3, representing the government, UPRONA and national assembly; the G7 of pro-Hutu groups; and G8 of smaller, pro-Tutsi groups.
However, according to reports from UN news agency IRIN, nine Burundian parties have created a big new grouping aimed at "bringing about peace and reconciliation".
IRIN said it received a statement on Monday from the new grouping which calls itself the National Consensus for Peace and Reconciliation (Convergence nationale pour la paix et la reconciliation).The nine parties are UPRONA, FRODEBU (internal), and the small predominantly-Tutsi parties RADDES, ANNADE, INKINZO, PIT, Parti Liberal, PRP, and PSD.
The announcement comes amid mounting violence in Burundi between Hutu rebels and the Tutsi army, and as peace talks fail to make significant progress.
IRIN quoted regional analysts as saying "it is noteworthy [...] that the group comprises the smaller Tutsi parties who, in times of trouble, are the 'ears and eyes' of Tutsis whose support [President] Buyoya badly needs to strengthen his power base. The internal RODEBU party, led by Augustin Nzojibwami, is close to the president and may be negotiating with CNDD-FDD on behalf of the government, as Nzojibwami is the cousin of CNDD-FDD leader, Jean-Bosco Ndayikengurukiye."
Parties in Arusha, especially the government, have been pressing for breakaway FDD rebels to be included in the Arusha peace talks. However, Nyerere maintains they must first conform with certain agreed rules of procedure.
The FDD is held responsible for many of the recent attacks around the Burundi capital Bujumbura.
JC/JMG/FH(BU§1005A)
OCTOBER 1st 1999
BURUNDI PEACE TALKS
SIX BIG PARTIES TO MEET AGAIN IN DAR ES SALAAM
Dar es Salaam, October 1st, '99 (FH) - The six biggest parties to the Burundi peace talks are to meet again in Dar es Salaam next week, organizers confirmed. Judge Mark Bomani of the Nyerere Foundation, which is facilitating peace talks in Arusha, told Hirondelle that the parties, popularly known as the "G6", would be holding consultations for at least 10 days.
The six parties are Burundi's Tutsi-led government, the national assembly, pro-Tutsi parties UPRONA and PARENA, the main Hutu party FRODEBU and CNDD Hutu rebels. These six met for the first time in Dar es Salaam prior to the last round of negotiations in Arusha, which ended on September 18th.
Smaller parties represented in Arusha complained that they had been excluded, with some pro-Tutsi groups staging a brief walkout to protest.
Judge Bomani, a close aide to ailing mediator and former Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere, said the meeting was to allow the parties to "reduce their differences as much as possible before the next committee meeting in Arusha". He said the mediation's only aim was to speed up the Arusha negotiations, and that there was no hidden agenda.
Bomani stressed that the Nyerere Foundation had organized similar informal consultations for the so-called G7 (Hutu) and G8 (Tutsi) blocs which have formed during the Arusha negotiations.
The next round of Burundi peace talks is scheduled to start in Arusha at the end of October or beginning of November. Faciliators and donors are pushing for a peace agreement before the end of the year, as violence has worsened on the ground.
Burundi's civil war has cost at least 200,000 lives since the country's first democratically elected president (Hutu) was murdered by Tutsi soldiers in a failed 1993 coup.
NI/JC/FH (BU§1001e)
SEPTEMBER 20th 1999
BURUNDI PEACE TALKS
PARTIES REMAIN DIVIDED ON KEY ISSUES
Arusha, September 20th '99 (FH) - The latest round of Burundi peace talks that ended this weekend made what most delegates called progress, but parties remained divided on key issues such as a future electoral system and army reform.
"The fact that we are now discussing on the basis of working documents means the real negotiations have started," former Burundi president and leader of the hardline Tutsi PARENA party Jean-Baptiste Bagaza told Hirondelle. "Before, we were mostly discussing procedural issues. [...] What's important is that we are now talking about the heart of the matters at stake."
Jean Minani, president of the main Hutu party FRODEBU said there had been "a little progress" this week compared with the previous round in July, when mediator and former Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere accused delegates of wasting time and money.
The negotiations are taking place in four committees, dealing with the nature of the Burundi conflict (Committee I); democracy and good governance (II); peace and security for all (III); and economic reconstruction and the return of refugees (IV). They are expected to produce proposals for an overall peace agreement.
Delegates say that Committee One has completed a good part of its agenda, and is now discussing possible solutions to the problems of Burundi's troubled past. One delegate from the Tutsi-led UPRONA party told Hirondelle that the parties agreed on the need for an international inquiry into past massacres and human rights abuses, and also for a truth and reconciliation commission at national level.
Having come so far, however, they then appeared to take a step back. Judge Mark Bomani of the Nyerere Foundation told Hirondelle at the end of the week that "they have started arguing about genocide again". Both Hutus and Tutsis accuse the other ethnic group of committing genocide. Now they cannot agree what terms of reference should be given to an international inquiry.
Delegates say Committee Four has almost completed its agenda and is calling for a plenary session. However, most observers and participants agree that economic reconstruction and the return of refugees cannot take place without a successful conclusion to the work of the other committees. Committee Two, which is currently discussing a national electoral system, and Committee Three, which is discussing army reform, are still far from any compromise agreement.
Hutu parties are pressing for a separation of the army and police force, with the latter being attached to the Interior Ministry. Both forces currently fall under the Ministry of Defence. The mainly Tutsi security forces, including the police, have often been accused of committing atrocities against civilians.
"We want to remove the army's responsibility for maintaining public order on a day-to-day basis," Minani told Hirondelle. "We want the military police to be scrapped, and instead a special force which would look after civil policing." He said that such a force would need to carry out a recruitment drive to redress the ethnic balance.
"The army should return to barracks and take care of its business of defending national borders," said Joseph Karumba of the FROLINA Hutu rebels. "It should leave the police to ensure the security of the population on a day to day basis. The army has always staged coups in Burundi without the slightest resistance, because it was mixed up with the police, which would have objected if it had been attached to another ministry."
However, the government and Tutsi parties want to maintain the status quo. "In the past," said Godefroid Hakizimana of the Tutsi PSD party, "when the two forces were separate, there was often collusion between them precisely because orders came from two different government departments, and that only creates disorder."
There is still no sign of a consensus on who should lead a transition government for Burundi. One FRODEBU delegate told Hirondelle the main problem was that current Tutsi president Pierre Buyoya did not want to relinquish power. "We can only make progress on this issue if Mr Buyoya softens his stance and gives his delegation instructions that would favour moves toward change," the delegate said.
The parties are no nearer agreement on an electoral system. Hutu parties want "one man one vote", but Tutsi parties want a form of indirect suffrage which would guarantee them significant representation in the country's institutions. Tutsis currently make up about 14% of the population.
"There is no reason to deprive the Burundi people of the right to choose their leader," a delegate of the pro-Hutu PP party told Hirondelle. "The main thing is to ensure security and respect of everyone's rights."
But a delegate of the pro-Tutsi PSD party said the parties should "come up with a democratic system suited to the realities of Burundi, and ensure that all elements of the nation are represented in national institutions".
The four Burundi peace committees are due to start a new round of talks in Arusha in the last week of October or first week of November, to be confirmed shortly. The Nyerere Foundation says it wants that to be the last round of committee negotiations.
Judge Mark Bomani, speaking on behalf of Nyerere who was absent for medical reasons, said on Saturday that donors were getting "anxious, and are beginning to wonder how much longer this process is going to go on for". The international community has spent nearly $8 million on the Burundi peace process since 1996.
Some two hundred thousand people have died in the civil war that broke out there after the assassination of the first democratically elected president, Melchior Ndadaye (Hutu) in 1993.
JC/CR/FH (BU§0920e)
SEPTEMBER 18th 1999
BURUNDI PEACE TALKS
FACILITATORS WANT BURUNDI PEACE ACCORD FAST
Arusha, September 18th '99 (FH) - Judge Mark Bomani of the Nyerere Foundation on Saturday closed the latest round of Burundi peace talks, saying they had made "significant progress" but that "I think it is also
true to say we have not made enough".
Bomani, who was closing this week's peace talks in the absence of mediator and former Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere, told the delegates that "we still have a few key issues to resolve before we can claim successful conclusion of the negotiations". He said the next round of talks would begin either in the last week of October or the first week of November, to be announced shortly.
"I would, however, like to express the wish that the next round of committee meetings be the last," he continued. "First of all, there are no outstanding issues that, given the will, cannot be concluded in the next
round. Secondly, those who have been financially supporting these negotiations are anxious, and are beginning to wonder how much longer this process is going to go on for. It has not been easy convincing them to go on offering their support. We need really to convince them that the assistance they are giving is being spent wisely and will yield results."
These negotiations in Arusha between the government, rebels and political parties have been going on for more than a year. Donors have spent nearly $8 million on the Burundi peace process since 1996. Talks have so far yielded no concrete results, while violence has recently escalated inside
Burundi.
More than 200,000 people have been killed in Burundi since the assassination of the first Hutu president by members of the Tutsi army in 1993, and ensuing massacres. The current Tutsi-led regime, which seized power in 1996, is facing a Hutu rebellion.
Bomani said that after a year of talks "one would have expected them to be finished, or to be at the point of signing a final pact". He urged delegates to "utilize the recess to consult among yourselves [...] so that when we meet again, we negotiate to the finish. Because the Burundi people want peace, and Burundi is crying out for development."
Burundi's Minister for the Peace Process Ambroise Nyonsaba said he shared Bomani's asessment of the talks so far. "He is right," Nyonsaba told Hirondelle, "these negotiations have to come to an end. When he says it is a matter of will, he is also right."
Nyonsaba said that Nyerere, who has been absent for medical treatment in London, was too harsh when in July he accused delegates of wasting "time, money and hope". The minister said Nyerere had also been "unjust" when he laid special blame at the government's door. But he told Hirondelle there had been discussions afterwards between the government and Nyerere, and that they had "smoothed things over".
However Jean Minani, President of the main Hutu party FRODEBU, said he did
not share Bomani's assessment of the talks, and that they had only made "a
little progress". He admitted, however, that progress had been made
compared with the last round of committee talks in July.
The talks in four committees have, by the admission of most delegates,
started to tackle the main issues at stake, such as electoral and army
reform. However, positions remain polarized. Terence Nsanze, a delegate of
the small Tutsi opposition party ABASA said that this time, members of the
three main negotiating blocs had held bilateral and direct talks without
the presence of facilitators. "This is a very salutory development, which
we have to enhance," he told Hirondelle.
Delegates say facilitators and donors are pressing for a global peace agreement for Burundi by the end of the year, although the facilitation says this is a target rather than a deadline. Asked if they thought this
were realistic, both government minister Nyonsaba and FRODEBU leader Minani said it would be possible if there was the will.
However, former president Jean-Baptiste Bagaza of the hardline Tutsi PARENA party said he thought that this was "too optimistic".
JC/FH (BU§0918f)
SEPTEMBER 16th 1999
DECEMBER TARGET DATE FOR BURUNDI PEACE ACCORD
Arusha, September 16th, '99 (FH) - Delegates to Burundi peace talks taking place in Arusha say mediators and aid donors have set December as the target for reaching a peace accord. The Foundation of former Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere, which is facilitating the talks, originally set the date for an agreement in August this year. However, that deadline passed with no significant progress. Negotiations have been taking place in Arusha for more than a year.
In July, Nyerere accused the delegates of wasting "time, money and hope", saying that the negotiating atmosphere had been "completely soured". This week's round of talks in four committees comes against a background of rising violence inside Burundi.
However, former Burundi president Sylvestre Ntibantunganya told Hirondelle news agency on Thursday he believed an agreement was possible by December, "if there is the will". Ntibantunganya, a member of the main Hutu party FRODEBU, was a successor to Burundi's first elected president Melchior Ndadaye, murdered in a coup attempt in 1993. Ntibantunganya lost power in the bloodless 1996 coup which brought current Tutsi president Pierre Buyoya to power.
"I think, if there is the will, we could reach an agreement even before December, " Ntibantunganya told Hirondelle. "Things have to be unblocked somehow. [...] I am certain that every party, starting with the government, has well-formed ideas of what an agreement should look like. Now what we have to do is to structure the different ideas and bring the negotiators to advance systematically on all the issues."
However, he admitted that the climate was not necessarily easy, and that the situation inside Burundi was worrying. "There is a lot of turbulence in Burundi today," Ntibantunganya said, "and at the point where it is today, Burundi is often compared with Rwanda in 1993 and 1994. There are lots of similarities, to the point that the Burundians who want peace, the region and the international community should be vigilant today, because the deterioration of the political, economic and social situation, and the undeclared but real refusal of some parties to negotiate a meaningful peace agreement, could lead to an impasse. And in our region, we know what that can lead to. It leads to genocide. We saw that in Rwanda."
Ntibantunganya said he was also concerned about recent moves by the authorities. " I am worried," he said, "when I see that the government is now reviving what it calls civil self-defence groups, saying it can control them.. But we know such groups can never be controlled. The case of Timor is a good demonstration. It is the militias that are creating a catastrophe in that country."
Walkout threat averted
All eighteen delegations were present as talks continued on Thursday, despite an earlier threat by seven small Tutsi parties to suspend their participation if a ceasefire were not put at the top of the agenda. The seven parties boycotted talks on Wednesday morning in the Peace and Security Committee, but then rejoined in the afternoon.
All seven parties, as well as smaller Hutu groups, were excluded from two weeks of consultations which the Nyerere Foundation organized in Dar es Salaam just before this round of Arusha talks.
Participants to the Dar es Salaam talks were the Burundi government, National Assembly, the main Hutu rebel group CNDD, the main Hutu party FRODEBU and Tutsi parties UPRONA and PARENA. Former presidents Ntibantunganya and Jean-Baptiste Bagaza of PARENA were invited as "resource people".
Ntibantunganya told Hirondelle he believed the Dar es Salaam talks were useful, and that the annoyance of the smaller parties would blow over. He said he thought the talks had "helped the different participants to better understand what the others think. There are even those who welcomed the initiative during the plenary sessions, saying that it had helped them to understand each other."
One PARENA delegate told Hirondelle that in Dar es Salaam "it was the first time PARENA talked with the government. Up to now it has been a relationship of repression and persecution," he said.
JC/FH (BU§0916e)
SEPTEMBER 14th 1999
TUTSI PARTIES STEP UP PRESSURE AT BURUNDI PEACE TALKS
Arusha, September 14th, '99 (FH) - Smaller Tutsi parties taking part in Burundi peace negotiations say they will suspend participation in the talks if a ceasefire is not put at the top of the agenda, the independant news agency Hirondelle reports.
A new round of talks went into their second day Tuesday, in an atmosphere delegates described as tense. The negotiations are taking place against a backgtround of rising violence and civilian deaths inside Burundi. Talks are being conducted in four committees and are due to last until the end of this week.
In a joint declaration, seven parties demanded that "an immediate ceasefire be put at the top of the agenda" of Committee Three, which is dealing with peace and security questions. They called for "all peace-loving parties [....] to suspend the negotiations if the ceasefire is not put at the top of the agenda at the current round of talks."
The signatories are small Tutsi parties belonging mostly to the so-called "G8" bloc, which has formed as a negotiating counterweight to the "G7" of Hutu groups and to the government and National Assembly.
One G8 member, the PARENA party of former Tutsi president Jean-Baptiste Bagaza, did not sign the declaration, however. PARENA was one of the six groups that took part in two weeks of talks in Dar es Salaam, just prior to this round of Arusha negotiations. Smaller parties are complaining that they were not invited.
The Dar consultations, organized by the Nyerere Foundation, were between the Burundi government, National Assembly, the main Hutu rebel group CNDD, the main Hutu party FRODEBU and Tutsi parties UPRONA and PARENA. The Nyerere Foundation, which is facilitating the Arusha talks said it organized the consultations in Dar at the request of the parties concerned. However, smaller Tutsi parties are annoyed that PARENA went "on its own account", rather than as part of the G8.
Hutu parties reject agenda change
Hutu delegates approached by Hirondelle said, however, that changing the agenda was not a solution. Committee Three is currently discussing the second agenda point, which is the restructuring of the mainly Tutsi army.
"Those who don't want to continue with the current schedule are the people who don't want to talk about Burundi's real problems, " People's Party (PP) president Shadrack Niyonkuru told Hirondelle. "The best solution would be to speed up the negotiations so as to tackle both points, that is, army reform and then a ceasefire."
Antoine Sezoya, vice-president of the hardline Palipehutu party, expressed a similar point of view. "They [the Tutsi parties] are afraid of talking about army reform before a ceasefire is agreed," he told Hirondelle. "Army reform is vital to guarantee security for everyone. If this question of the army is not settled, it will be impossible to reach a meaningful peace agreement."
JC/FH (BU§0914e)
SEPTEMBER 13, 1999
BURUNDI / PEACE TALKS
BURUNDI PEACE TALKS RESTART AMID MOUNTING VIOLENCE
Arusha, September 13th '99 (FH) - Burundi peace delegates reconvened in Arusha, Tanzania on Monday for one week of talks, amid mounting violence inside Burundi, the independant news agency Hirondelle reports. The country's Tutsi-led government, political parties and Hutu rebels resumed negotiations in four committees, following talks between heads of delegations earlier in the day.
A spokesman for the Nyerere Foundation, which is facilitating the Burundi peace process, said that Committee Four, dealing with economic reconstruction and the return of refugees, could reach an agreement by the end of the week.
However, the other committees, on the nature of the conflict (I), democracy and good governance (II) and peace and security for all (III) have so far failed to make significant progress. At the end of the last round of talks in July, mediator and former Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere accused them of wasting "time, money and hope". He said the delegations had been productive only in producing "press releases full of insults to one another" and that the atmosphere for negotiations had been "completely soured".
Nyerere is currently in London for medical treatment. His spokesman said he could be back to join the talks later in the week, depending on the advice of his doctors.
In July, Nyerere also said that if his Foundation could raise the money, he wanted to keep the Burundi delegates in Arusha until they reached a peace agreement. However, this round is to end on September 22nd.
Asked about this, Nyerere Foundation spokesman Hashim Mbita said "We are talking to the donors and I think the donors are still willing", but that the process was often lengthy. He said Nyerere had also promised wide-ranging consultations with the parties before this session, and that the process was not yet complete.
"The process of consultation does take time," Mbita told a press conference, "and you don't rush if you want to get good results. [...] So the process is on, and while the process is on we have to come back. We think there is also work that the committees can do within a week which may also accelerate and open new avenues out of the consultations."
Burundi's smaller political parties have complained of being excluded from two weeks of consultations just ended in Dar es Salaam. Six parties attended: the Burundi government, National Assembly, the main Hutu rebel group CNDD, the main Hutu party FRODEBU and Tutsi parties UPRONA and PARENA. Mbita said the Nyerere Foundation had held the talks at the request of the parties concerned, as it had done in the past for other groups.
Clashes between Hutu rebels and Burundi's Tutsi army have increased since July, and violence has claimed a rising number of civilian lives. Many delegations, including the government, are pressing for the breakaway Hutu rebel group FDD, held responsible for many of the attacks, to be invited to Arusha.
Nyerere said in July that FDD leader Jean-Bosco Ndayikengurukiye could only be invited to Arusha if certain rules of procedure were followed, and made proposals as to how he could be brought into the talks. Mbita said facilitators were still waiting for the parties to respond.
JC/FH (BU§0913e)
JULY 17th 1999
BURUNDI PEACE TALKS
NYERERE SLAMS BURUNDI PEACE NEGOTIATORS FOR WASTING TIME
Arusha, July 17th, '99 (FH) - Former Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere on Saturday accused Burundi peace negotiators of having achieved nothing in the last two weeks of talks, the independant news agency Hirondelle reports. Nyerere, whose Foundation is facilitating the negotiations in Arusha, said the delegates had "wasted time, money and hope".
Addressing all the delegates at the end of this session, Nyerere told them: "I would be less than honest if I did not express deep dissatisfaction about the work that has been done in the last two weeks. We have wasted these last two weeks. You have been extremely productive, but productive in producing communiqués, press releases full of insults to one another, and the atmosphere for negotiations has been completely soured.
"In most committees, no work has been done," Nyerere continued, "because some members have simply decided to block any kind of progress." The former Tanzanian president, known as Mwalimu or Teacher, told the delegates that this made him very sad.
The Burundi peace talks in Arusha have made only slow progress since they started more than one year ago. This is the first time, however, that Nyerere has had such tough words for the negotiators.
This round of committee talks, begun on July 5th, has been marked by tension. On July 6th, they were suspended for one day as the main Tutsi party UPRONA imposed a day of mourning for victims of recent killings blamed on Hutu rebels. Some fifty civilians have been killed in recent weeks, as attacks have increased around the capital Bujumbura.
Nyerere said the excuses that had been proffered for the lack of progress were unacceptable. "To use the absence of some groups here or to use continued violence in Burundi as a reason for not negotiating.... I don't understand," he said. "We are here so that we can discover a way to bring peace permanently to Burundi. To use the excuse of violence to stop negotiating, in my view, is not responsible at all."
Government rejects proposals
Nyerere said he was under constant pressure from delegates to bring the FDD-CNDD, a breakaway faction of the main Hutu rebel group CNDD, to the negotiations in Arusha. The breakaway rebels are led by Jean-Bosco Ndayikengurukiye.
"The impression given is that everyone wants Jean-Bosco to come and that the only problem is Mwalimu," Nyerere thundered. "You know this is a lie. We have agreed rules of procedure and the determination of who takes part in these negotiations is in accordance with those rules. Jean-Bosco represents a breakaway group from the CNDD, which is a party to these negotiations. If I simply invite Jean-Bosco to come... to come as what?"
Nyerere said he had nevertheless made a set of proposals as to how Jean-Bosco's group could be included. First he could reconcile with CNDD leader Léonard Nyangoma. If that is not possible, Nyerere said Jean-Bosco should replace Nyangoma in accordance with the constitution of the CNDD.
If that is also not possible, then Jean-Bosco could form his own party, Nyerere continued. The mediator said that he would invite such a party to Arusha and argue the case for its inclusion in the talks. But Nyerere said it was "just possible" that Jean-Bosco did not want to come to the talks in Arusha.
"I send messages to him, I can't contact him, he's like the Queen of the White Ants," Nyerere told the delegates. "He is very important this young man here. But it is possible he is not only important but also intelligent. He may be saying why go to Arusha where I will become [delegation] Number Nineteen and cease to be important."
Nyerere said that in that case, he would be prepared to organize a "different kind of involvement" for the CNDD-FDD rebels, in the form of "discreet talks". "I am prepared to do it for Jean-Bosco's group so they can have their input," Mwalimu said.
"I have been trying to facilitate his coming here," Nyerere continued. "But all the suggestions have been rejected. Rejected by whom? Not by Jean-Bosco but by the government of Burundi. And yet every time we meet they say 'Mwalimu you must invite him'."
Nyerere called on the delegates to come forward with their own proposals, and not simply to reject his. "I have put all the suggestions and none have been accepted," he said. "Give me better suggestions of how we can get this group involved."
Next round in September
Nyerere announced that the next round of talks would take place in Arusha on September 6th. "I am hoping that when we meet we shall really negotiate seriously. And if I can get the necessary financing I want to allow all the time we need until we complete the negotiations. We have been too leisurely in these negotiations."
The talks are taking place in four committees, which deal with the nature of the Burundi conflict, democracy and good governance, peace and security for all, and economic reconstruction. Nyerere said that if particular committees wanted to meet earlier, this would be arranged. The facilitators then announced that Committee One would remain in Arusha to continue its work.
Burundi's Minister for the Peace Process Ambroise Nyonsaba had at this point raised his hand to speak. Nyerere's apparent frustration with the Burundi delegates was again reflected. "Mr. Minister, I can suspect what you want to say," Nyerere said, "But I am going home."
JC/FH (BU§0717e)
JULY 13, 1999
BURUNDI PEACE TALKS
PEACE COMMITTEES STRUGGLE ON, DESPITE TENSION
Arusha, July 13th '99 (FH) - Burundi peace committees are struggling to continue their work, despite a tense atmosphere one week after the resumption of negotiations in Arusha, the independant press agency Hirondelle reports on Tuesday.
The first committee, on the nature of the Burundi conflict, is due to start discussing the issue of genocide, as well as political and social exclusion. On Tuesday afternoon the delegates were to discuss a summary of the different parties' positions, drawn up by the facilitators. The talks are organized by the Foundation of former Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere.
Earlier in the day, the G3 group (the Tutsi-led Burundi government and the parliament which includes the internal wing of the main Hutu opposition party FRODEBU) demanded that the group known as G8 withdraw a declaration made on Monday.
The G8, which comprises smaller Tutsi parties, accused the Burundi authorities of collusion with Hutu rebels in what they called "relaunching genocide". The group accused the government of repression against political parties and the media, and of trying to derail the peace talks in Arusha, Tanzania.
In a counter-declaration on Tuesday, the G3 said the G8's "lying and damaging declarations are in flagrant violation of [...] the rules of conduct of the Arusha negotiations". The G3 asked the Nyerere Foundation to exert pressure so that "slanderous declarations" against the government be withdrawn.
Most of Burundi's political parties are represented at the Arusha talks. However, the negotiations are now taking place between three main groups: the G3, the G8 and the so-called G7. The G7 comprises Hutu groups including the external wing of the opposition FRODEBU party and armed rebels.
Dissent on army reform
Progress is also painful in Committee Two ("democracy and good governance") and Committee Three ("peace and security for all"). Committee Two is due to discuss the issue of a transition government for Burundi, but its work has been hampered by the absence of the committee President and Vice-President. Since Monday, committee members have been following a lecture on systems of transition to democracy.
Committee Three is due to agree a discussion plan for army reform. However, the CNDD rebel faction is demanding that this issue be dealt with directly between the government and rebels, as agreed at a March 1997 meeting in Rome. That meeting was mediated by the Roman Catholic Saint Egidio group.
The Arusha talks have been fraught by tension since they resumed on July 5th, and coincide with a recent upsurge of attacks around the Burundi capital Bujumbura. One of the points of contention is the participation of the dissident rebel group CNDD-FDD, which split from the CNDD rebels of former Interior Minister Léonard Nyangoma. Nyangoma is in Arusha.
The CNDD-FDD, led by Jean-Bosco Ndayikengurukiye has accused mediator Nyerere of excluding it. In a July 9th declaration, it said that "any peace accord signed without the CNDD-FDD being represented [...] will not commit the fighting population".
The FDD warned that "if there is any attempt to impose this kind of agreement, our CNDD-FDD movement will respond and resist by all appropriate means".
JC/JMG/FH (BU§0713e)
JULY 12, 1999
BURUNDI PEACE TALKS
FLURRY OF DECLARATIONS HIGHLIGHTS RISING TENSION AT PEACE TALKS
Arusha, July 12th, '99 (FH) - One of the three main groups negotiating peace for Burundi on Monday expressed grave concern about the future of the talks, the independant news agency Hirondelle reports. The group, known as "G8" and composed of Tutsi parties, accused the Burundi authorities of collusion with Hutu rebels in what they called "relaunching genocide". At the same time, the PSD party which belonged to the G8, has left the group "temporarily", amid mutual accusations.
The G8 blamed what it called "genocidal terrorist groups" for the recent upsurge of violence in Burundi. But it also accused the government of repression against political parties and the media, and of trying to derail the peace talks in Arusha, Tanzania. It said such actions by parties to the peace talks "forces us to ask whether the process is not doomed to failure".
Eighteen political parties are represented at the Arusha peace talks, which have been under way for more than a year with very little sign of rapid conclusion. Facilitators have encouraged the formation of three "blocs" to speed up proceedings. One bloc is formed by the Burundi government, parliament and the internal wing of the main Hutu opposition party FRODEBU. Another comprises external FRODEBU and Hutu groups including armed rebels. The G8 was formed in response, but already appears to be splitting.
The PSD party on Sunday wrote to the mediator, former Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere, saying it was "temporarily suspending" its membership of the G8. It said the group was dominated by a "climate of mutual suspicion" and that certain heads of delegations were trying to "snatch group leadership for themselves".
On Monday, however, the G8 said that it had suspended the PSD. In another declaration, it accused PSD delegates of "notorious, repetitive and distorting indiscretions".
Climate of tension
Tension at the talks has been rising since they resumed in Arusha on July 5th. On Tuesday, the talks were suspended for one day as the main Tutsi party UPRONA imposed a day of mourning for victims of recent killings blamed on Hutu rebels. Sources close to the Burundi army have also claimed the rebels are being backed by Rwandan Hutu extremists. Some fifty civilians have been killed in recent weeks, as attacks have increased around the capital Bujumbura.
The FNL, armed wing of Burundi's Palipehutu party, on Saturday claimed responsibility for Friday's attack near the presidential palace in Bujumbura which left at least three soldiers injured. It said it had "knocked at the door of the so-called Buyoya's palace by attacking his presidential guard" and that this showed " FNL is capable of attacking anywhere." The rebels ordered foreigners to leave Burundi and said Palipehutu would make sure that "the monoethnic Tutsi bloody army is desmantled".
Also on Saturday, Palipehutu and another Hutu rebel movement FROLINA issued a joint statement blaming the Burundi authorities for the "escalation of violence seen today on the roads of the capital Bujumbura". They said President Pierre Buyoya's "monoethnic and putschist Tutsi army" was responsible, helped by forces of the Rwandan Patriotic Army.
Nyerere reacts
Sources close to the talks say the government and its allies last week threatened to stop the negotiations unless there was an immediate cessation of hostilities on the ground. Reacting to proposals from the pro-government delegation, mediator Nyerere is said to have declared that he did not have the experience to lead the negotiations, but that his experience did equip him to organize fighters from refugee camps who wanted to liberate their country.
Nyerere, seen as independant Tanzania's founding father, backed nationalist campaigns in countries such as Uganda, South Africa and Mozambique.
Reacting to Nyerere's words, Burundi's Minister for the Peace Process Ambroise Niyonsaba said the mediator was trying to exert pressure on the government, more than on other parties to the Arusha process. In the past, Burundi has accused Tanzania of backing Hutu rebels, notably in refugee camps near the Burundi border.
However FRODEBU President Jean Minani told Hirondelle that Nyerere had expressed a legitimate concern. " Resolving the question of the refugees' return is a vital, " he said.
Nyerere has now left Arusha to attend the Organization of African Unity (OAU) summit in Algiers.
Refugees invited for first time
As the talks resumed in four committees, Burundi Hutu refugees from Tanzanian camps were invited to Arusha for the first time. Last week, a delegation from the camps submitted a set of proposals to Committee Four, which deals with economic reconstruction and the refugee issue.
The other committees are dealing with the nature of the Burundi conflict, democracy and good governance, and peace and security for all.
Refugees circulated different versions of their document. They also addressed a version to Nyerere, in which they said: "We are worried that, since our Tutsi brothers do not want to share power, they will sabotage the Arusha negotiations. That is why we ask that, if that happens, Tanzania apply the plan that it applied under your regime, which helped bring liberation and democracy to countries like Mozambique, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia, Uganda, etc.".
The main Tutsi party UPRONA issued a reaction on Saturday, questioning how the refugee delegates were selected and accusing them of "political manouvring". UPRONA said the refugees' behaviour showed they were being manipulated and that the delegation had "gone beyond its mandate".
JC/JMG/FH (BU§0712e)
JULY 5, 1999
BURUNDI/PEACE TALKS
WORLD BANK AND EUROPEAN COMMUNITY PROMISE SUPPORT
Arusha, July 5th'99 (FH)- The World Bank and the European Community are ready to support reconstruction in Burundi if a peace agreement is implemented, representatives of the two institutions said on Monday during a one-day workshop organised in Arusha (northern Tanzania) for the Burundi peace negotiators.
The representatives unveiled that the European Community has just adopted a contribution of 1 million and half Euro for the peace process, and 48 million Euro for social and economic rehabilitation . The World Bank as well is willing to support Burundi as regards the struggle against poverty, demobilisation and resettlement of the " combatants ", but this goes through a good governance and the" peace process ownership", warned the representatives.
The World Bank representatives urged the negotiators to achieve a peace agreement without delay " if they really need support "as the situation in Burundi is worrying.
They mentioned among other indicators the increasing poverty and malnutrition, the high rate of infant mortality and HIV sero-positivity, and an on-going war into which the government pays more than 45% of the national budget.
"You should create a reassuring environment of security and we need to ensure that our money doesn't support war, but rather reaches all the social groups through a participatory process ", they told the delegates, in the presence of Mwalimu Nyerere, former President of Tanzania and facilitator for the Burundi peace talks.
The Burundi peace negotiators are expected to resume their talks on Tuesday ,split into the four ad hoc committees dealing with the nature of the Burundi conflict, democracy and good governance, peace and security, and economic reconstruction and development.
CR/FH(BU§0705e)
MAY 13th 1999
BURUNDI PEACE TALKS
MEETING OF HUTU GROUPS STIRS CONTROVERSY IN ARUSHA
Arusha, May 13th, '99 (FH) - A spokesman for the Tanzanian organizers of Burundi peace talks today defended their decision to facilitate last week's meeting of seven mainly Hutu parties and rebel groups in the town of Moshi (northern Tanzania). This meeting has also underlined divisions within the main Hutu party FRODEBU.
The meeting has been criticized by some Tutsi delegates to the main peace talks in Arusha, which are being mediated by former Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere and his Foundation. One delegate said that "the mediator made a mistake to invite all the extremists to a meeting in Moshi. To bring all the Hutus together in a coalition is not a way to solve our problem".
But Nyerere Foundation spokesman Brigadier General Hashim Mbita said on Thursday that the move had been in response to a request from the parties concerned and that this was in line with the Foundation's efforts to find common ground between the delegations.
This view was echoed by Jean Minani, exiled president of the mainly Hutu FRODEBU party."These people who are not happy [about the Moshi meeting] are those who want to hamper the negotiations, to slow them down and bring them to nothing," Minani told Hirondelle. "It is not because there was a meeting of Hutus -- and in any case it was not just Hutus -- it is because they don't want people to meet and reach a common position, because that position might threaten their efforts to delay a final outcome to the negotiations."
The Moshi meeting has also been slammed by dissident members of FRODEBU's internal wing who signed a statement denouncing it. The dissidents are led by expelled FRODEBU Secretary General Augustin Nzojibwami.
Nzojibwami told Hirondelle news Agency on Thursday that "FRODEBU's ideology is that of non-violent struggle, but by going to Moshi, the president of FRODEBU has visibly dragged the party into an alliance with the rebels. That is his business alone, and the resolutions he has signed do not commit the party."
Minani, however, denied that the anti-Moshi declaration reflected a split between FRODEBU's external wing and the internal wing which is working with the Tutsi-led government. "This was not a reaction by internal FRODEBU. There are some expelled members of FRODEBU who have signed this declaration. That does not concern us. And most of the signatories were members of UPRONA [Tutsi dominated] or other parties. That does not interest us."
However, Nzojibwami claimed he was still speaking for FRODEBU, as no congress had been convened to exclude him. "I am still the Secretaary-General of FRODEBU," he told Hirondelle. He said the declaration denouncing the Moshi meeting had been backed by 128 national and 16 regional leaders of FRODEBU.
The week-long Moshi meeting brought together FRODEBU, the smaller PL, PRB and PP parties, Palipehutu (hardline) and the main Hutu rebel groups CNDD and FROLINA. Minani told Hirondelle that the meeting had resulted in a common proposal which had been submitted to the mediators. He said he could not yet reveal the contents.
Sources close to the talks say that one of the proposals from Moshi is for foreign troops to oversee the transition in Burundi, following a peace agreement. Minani would not confirm this directly, but did not deny it. In the past, the government and Tutsi parties have resisted this idea, on the grounds that it would threaten national sovereignty.
JC/JMG/FH (BU§0513e)
MAY 11th 1999
BURUNDI PEACE TALKS
BURUNDI PEACE FACILITATOR SAYS TALKS STEPPING UP A GEAR
Arusha, May 11th, '99 (FH) - As Burundi peace talks resumed here on Tuesday, Tanzanian facilitators said this round of negotiations would go to the heart of the issues.
Nyerere foundation spokesman Brigadier General Hashim Mbita told reporters on Monday night, that "this time it's intended to go into serious issues of negotiations, rather than pronouncing political statements and political thinkings." Mbita also said that "We are looking forward to big progress by June, all being well."
The negotiations are organized by the foundation of former Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere, with this round due to last two weeks. Burundi's peace delegates are meeting in committees, to prepare the ground for a peace agreement.
The four committees are on the nature of the conflict (I), democracy and good governance (II), peace and security for all (III) and economic reconstruction and development (IV). The last time they all met in Arusha was in March.
Since then, Mbita said that the delegates and facilitators had been busy preparing the ground for this round. Committee One met in Arusha last month, members of Committee Four held a seminar in Vienna, and some delegations also met in the Tanzanian town of Moshi to try to find common ground on pressing issues.
Mbita said that Nyerere last month visited refugee camps in western Tanzania sheltering Burundi Hutu refugees. He said this was to explain to the refugees what was going on at the Arusha peace talks. This visit came at a time of heightened tension along the Tanzania-Burundi border, following cross-border attacks from the camps.
Last Sunday, human rights organizations said that 72 people had died in clashes between Hutu rebels and Burundi's mainly Tutsi army, in south Burundi near Tanzania. They said recent fighting had displaced 16,000 civilians and sent more than one thousand more refugees into Tanzania.
Dissident rebels still absent from Arusha
Burundi government and political parties are represented in Arusha. However, the armed wing of the main Hutu rebel movement, FDD, has not been represented since its political wing CNDD split into two. The dissident faction is led by Jean Bosco Ndayikengurukiye.
Asked about the absence of these rebels, Mbita said that there had been efforts to contact them, but that participation in the talks was not automatic. He said Nyerere had told Burundi refugees that "Jean Bosco is free to come to Arusha, but if he wants to take part in the negotiations, there are things he must subscribe to. He should stop hostilities, come, and his case will be put before other members".
Mbita said that Burundi delegates would also discuss during the next two weeks whether to admit Burundi refugees as observers at the Arusha talks.
JC/JMG/FH (BU§0511e)
APRIL 22nd 1999
BURUNDI PEACE TALKS
BURUNDI PEACE NEGOTIATORS SET TO DISCUSS RESPONSIBILITIES IN CONFLICT
Arusha, April 22nd '99 (FH) - Burundi peace delegates meeting in Arusha say they have made progress in their latest round of talks, but have still not entered into thorough discussion of their differences. A major difference singled out by facilitators is historical responsibility for the current conflict opposing members of the Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups.
Members of the first peace committee, on the nature of the Burundi conflict, have ended ten days of talks, aimed at speeding up their progress before a meeting of all four committees in Arusha on May 11th. The other committees are on democracy and good governance, peace and security for all, and economic reconstruction and development. They are due to submit proposals to the next plenary session in June, with the aim of concluding an overall peace agreement.
At the end of this session, the first committee has concluded discussions on the pre-colonial and colonial periods of Burundi history, but has not yet discussed more than the methodology for the post-colonial period.
A representative of the Tanzanian facilitators has expressed concern that donors patience with the talks may run out. Ambassador Anthony Nyakyi, head of the secretariat at the Office of the Facilitator, told Hirondelle that with regard to the first committee, "The fact that we are still at Agenda One, Item One does show the kind of problems we have to overcome to reach a settlement."
But Burundi's Minister for the Peace Process, Ambroise Niyonsaba, said on Thursday that current methodology was speeding things up. Where there are serious points of disagreement, he said, these are noted and the discussion moves on.
"Having different interpretations of history will not prevent us reaching a peace agreement," Niyonsaba told Hirondelle. He said the work of the first committee was important to "bring people together and to gradually build up trust". Niyonsaba said he hesitated to name a date for conclusion of a peace deal, but that this should happen before the end of the year.
The discussions that have just ended on the colonial period resulted in several points of contention between Hutu and Tutsi parties, notably the influence of social unrest in Rwanda in 1959, which drove thousands of Tutsis into Burundi. The debate revolves around whether Hutus in Burundi adopted a genocidal ideology towards the Tutsis, and whether the Rwandan Tutsi refugees spread fear of Hutus among the Tutsi community in Burundi.
More talks in May
When it meets again in May, the first committee will discuss the post-colonial period of Burundi history, which is expected to include discussions of genocide and of ethnic exclusion. Several parties have already submitted documents giving their position. According to the facilitators, the major point of disagreement is on responsibility for the violence.
A document submitted by the mainly Tutsi UPRONA party of President Pierre Buyoya also has the support of other Tutsi parties. But Jean Minani, president of the mainly Hutu FRODEBU party, said that UPRONA had once again "minimized its responsibilities in what has happened in Burundi". Minani said that the committee must establish the responsibilities of all concerned, whether they be parties, governments or individuals.
Referring to the Tutsi army's failed coup of 1993 and the killing of the country's first Hutu president, the UPRONA document says only that "The coup attempt of October 1993 resulted in the assassination of President Melchior Ndadaye and people working closely with him". It speaks of subsequent persecution of Tutsis and Hutu members of UPRONA and lays the blame on leaders of FRODEBU.
JC/JMG/DO/FH (BU§0422e)
APRIL 20, 1999
BURUNDI / PEACE TALKS
FACILITATORS CONCERNED ABOUT SLOW PROGRESS OF BURUNDI PEACE TALKS
Arusha, April 20th '99 (FH) - A representative of facilitators in the Burundi peace process expressed concern on Tuesday that donors' patience with the talks may run out.
The talks are organized by the foundation of former Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere, Ambassador Anthony Nyakyi, head of the secretariat at the Office of the Facilitator, told Hirondelle news agency that "The donor community has been understanding, and has helped so far. But of course it has not been easy to raise resources.
Every time we have a meeting coming we have struggled and we have managed to get enough for the meeting. We are now moving in the direction of more assured funding.but the progress that has been achieved must be a cause for concern for the donor community."
Asked whether there was donor pressure to accelerate the Arusha negotiations, Nyakyi replied: "Direct pressure, no, but there are questions which are quite legitimate. If you fund a process you want to see results. And as far as the work of Committee One is concerned, the results are not very encouraging."
The first peace committee, on the nature of the conflict in Burundi is currently meeting in Arusha, as it is lagging behind the other three committees. The other three are on democracy and good governance, peace and security for all and economic reconstruction and development.
All four committees meet again on May 11th, but none of them are progressing very fast. Nyakyi said the target date for conclusion of the talks was still June. "We continue to measure our progress against that target. We know we are a long way off (...) but we continue to work hard and we have to find ways to achieve our objective by the deadline."
Rebels still absent
Eighteen delegations are taking part in the Arusha peace talks, including all Burundi's political parties. But the dissident wing of the armed Hutu rebel movement FDD is not present. Asked why the FDD had not been included, Nyakyi said "This is not the only conflict situation where negotiations have been going on while fighting has been going on. Of course everything is being done to ensure that everyone who has a contribution to make has an opportunity to participate in the talks, and I know that there are contacts being made."
The first peace committee has now agreed texts examining the pre-colonial and colonial periods of Burundi's history. But the text on the colonial period contained different versions on some points, such as the influence of events in Rwanda in 1959 when tens of thousands of ethnic Tutsis fled to neighboring countries.
Asked whether the differences were serious, Nyakyi expressed the view that "Some of them are very serious differences. What we have adopted is a document that in some areas includes a consensus. But in other areas the only agreement we reached was agreement to disagree."
JC/DO/FH (BU§0420e)
APRIL 19th 1999
BURUNDI PEACE TALKS
BURUNDI PEACE DELEGATIONS MAKE PAINFUL PROGRESS
Arusha, April 19th '99 (FH) - Delegates to Burundi peace talks remain divided over interpretations of their history, despite adopting a summary of their colonial past, the independant news agency Hirondelle reported on Monday.
Members of the first peace committee, on the nature of the Burundi conflict, have adopted a text prepared by facilitators and resuming one week's discussions on the colonial period. However, where there is serious disagreement, alternative versions are given.
This is notably the case with regard to the influence of the 1959 disturbances in Rwanda, which led to the influx of tens of thousands of Tutsi refugees. The majority of Tutsi-dominated parties and the parliamentary delegation say that "the organization and implementation of selective massacres of Tutsis in Rwanda in 1959 had two effects on Burundi political leaders. A section of the Hutu élite was later tempted to install an ethnically based form of government like in Rwanda. Tutsis were to be haunted by these massacres and develop a suspicious attitude towards the Hutu élite."
The government's version is that, haunted by the massacres, the Tutsi "tried in turn to install an ethnically based political system to protect themselves against what happened in Rwanda."
The majority of Hutu parties, plus the anti-government PARENA party (Tutsi) see things differently. They say that "Even if the bloody socio-political events in Rwanda in 1959 may have affected the Burundi population and influenced certain Burundi political leaders, the strong nationalist policy led by the charismatic Prince Louis Rwagasore prevented the Burundi political class of the time from being dragged into ethnic manipulation."
Jean Minani, leader of the mainly Hutu FRODEBU party told Hirondelle last week that the influence of the 1959 events in Rwanda was "minimal".
Delegate "concerned"
One delegate on Monday expressed concern about the turn things had taken and what they termed "people's fear of confronting historical realities". The Tutsi delegate claimed that the influence of 1959 could not be denied, given the number of refugees that poured into the country.
The talks are now set to focus on the post-colonial period of Burundi history and the current conflict, with discussions likely to become more heated. The same delegate said that the negotiations could hit stalemate because they had taken an "ethnic turn".
Talks were suspended on Monday, owing to the death from illness of one delegate. They are due to resume tomorrow.
The "history committee" is one of four committees holding talks in Arusha. The others are on democracy and good governance, peace and security for all and economic reconstruction and development.
All four committees held their last session in March. At that time, they decided to meet again on May 11th. However, the committee on the nature of the conflict decided to hold a meeting beforehand, as it considered it was not making progress as fast as the three other committees. They are all expected to present conclusions to the next plenary session in June.
The importance of history
Raphael Ntibazonkiza, a historian and exiled member of FRODEBU, told Hirondelle that for Hutus, the committee on peace and security was the most important. For democrats, both Hutu and Tutsi, he said it was the one on democracy and good governance, and for refugees the fourth committee on economic reconstruction and development.
But for politicians, especially Tutsis, the "history committee" was the most important, he said. "For me it is also the most important," he continued. "We have always fought over our interpretation of our national history." He said that this was always a stumbling block for the other committees, especially the question of genocide.
Burundi's Hutu and Tutsi communities accuse each other of genocide. Some, both inside and outside the country, have called for the creation of an international tribunal, modelled on the United Nations tribunals for Rwanda and former Yugoslavia.
Ntibazonkiza said his party was also proposing the creation of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, along the lines of the South African model.
However, a Tutsi delegate said this would not work. "Impunity is one of our biggest problems," the delegate told Hirondelle, "and I am afraid that we would be continuing down the same path."
JC/JMG/DO/FH (BU§0419e)
APRIL 15th 1999
BURUNDI PEACE TALKS
BURUNDI PEACE DELEGATES DIVIDED OVER HISTORY
Arusha, April 15th (FH) - Burundi delegates discussing the nature of their country's conflict disagree about the influence of events in neighboring Rwanda, sources close to the talks said on Thursday.
Tutsi parties claim that developments in Burundi after independence were influenced by events in Rwanda in 1959, when unrest led to a backlash against the Tutsi minority and drove thousands into exile. However, Hutu parties disagree.
Rwanda and Burundi both gained independence from Belgium on July 1st, 1962.. In Rwanda, the Hutu majority assumed power, while in Burundi the Tutsi monarchy continued to rule until November 1966, when the king was overturned by the mainly Tutsi army. Tutsi leaders continued to rule until 1993.
Jean Minani, the exiled president of Burundi's mainly Hutu FRODEBU party, told Hirondelle his party believed that the influence of 1959 events in Rwanda was "minimal".
"People say that the massacres that occurred in Rwanda influenced us in Burundi," Minani said. "But if that were true, the Hutu would not have chosen UPRONA, which was a party led by a ganwa (ethnic group of Burundi's kings) and where there was even a large proportion of Tutsi. They would have chosen instead a party promoting Hutu interests, which was not the case".
Elections in 1961 produced a majority for the nationalist UPRONA party, which was composed of pro-independence supporters from both the main ethnic groups.
Asked about the influence of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, Minani said he believed that "those who are trying to exploit what happened in Rwanda are departing from reality. They do so only to maintain their position, to justify the use of force to stay in power. I don't think they are right at all, because the genocide that happened in Rwanda is a different phenomenon. It is precisely a consequence of people refusing to share power".
Eighteen Burundi delegations on Monday resumed discussions on the nature of their country's conflict, as part of peace talks in Arusha.
Members of the first peace committee are due to continue their talks on the causes of the conflict until April 22nd, and submit their conclusions to the next plenary session, scheduled for June.
The agenda includes defining the nature of the conflict, and how it has developed during the pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial periods. Delegates are due to adopt on Thursday afternoon conclusions from their discussions on the colonial period.
The committee is also expected to examine the controversial issue of genocide and crimes against humanity, including the rôle of Burundi politicians. They will also consider the question in a regional and international context.
Burundi's Hutu and Tutsi communities accuse each other of genocide. Some, both inside and outside the country, have called for the creation of an international tribunal, modelled on the United Nations tribunals for Rwanda and former Yugoslavia.
The committees set up by Burundi peace delegates to Arusha held their last session in March. At that time, they decided to meet again on May 11th. However, the committee on the nature of the conflict decided to hold a meeting beforehand, as it considered it was not making progress as fast as the three other committees.
JC/JMG/FH BU§0415e.doc
APRIL 12th 1999
BURUNDI PEACE TALKS
BURUNDIS RESUME TALKS ON THE NATURE OF THE CONFLICT
Arusha, April 12th '99 (FH) - Eighteen Burundi delegations on Monday resumed discussions on the nature of their country's conflict, as part of peace talks in Arusha.
Members of the first peace committee are due to continue their talks on the causes of the conflict until April 22nd, and propose solutions to submit to the next plenary session, scheduled for June.
The agenda includes defining the nature of the conflict, and how it has developed during the pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial periods.
The delegates are expected to examine the controversial issue of genocide and crimes against humanity, including the rôle of Burundi politicians. They will also consider the question in a regional and international context.
Burundi's Hutu and Tutsi communities accuse each other of genocide. Some, both inside and outside the country, have called for the creation of an international tribunal, modelled on the United Nations tribunals for Rwanda and former Yugoslavia.
The participants are also due to examine the question of ethnic discrimination and make suggestions for the promotion of national reconciliation.
The committees set up by Burundi peace delegates to Arusha held their last session in March. At that time, they decided to meet again on May 11th.
However, the committee on the nature of the conflict decided to hold a meeting beforehand, as it considered it was not making progress as fast as the three other committees.
"We are moving forward slowly but surely," vice-president of the People's Party (PP, Hutu) Sévérin Ndikumugongo told Hirondelle. He added that "unnecessary quarrels must be avoided in order to make progress".
Ndikumugongo said members of the first committee had already reached agreement on the pre-colonial period and a good part of the colonial period. But they still had to look at the whole post-colonial period when major conflicts emerged. Ndikumugongo gave the example of the civil war
that has reigned in the country for the past five years, fuelling refugee and other problems.
The other three committees are on democracy and good governance, peace and security for all, and economic reconstruction and development. All Burundi's political parties are represented.
The foundation of former Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere, who is mediating, says a fifth committee will be set up at an appropriate time to monitor implementation of eventual peace agreements.
Burundi plunged into crisis in October 1993, when its first democratically elected president, Melchior Ndadaye, was assassinated in a military coup.
Several of his ministers and parliamentarians were also killed in the coup.
AT/JC (BU§0412e)
MARCH 16TH 1999
BURUNDI MEDIATOR URGES PEACE DELEGATES TO MOVE FASTER
Arusha, March 16th '99 (FH) - The mediator of Burundi peace talks, ex Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere, on Tuesday urged delegates to speed up their work, and called more committee negotiations in Arusha starting on May 10th.
Nyerere urged the delegates to make use of the time until the next session. Speaking at the end of a ten-day committee session, Nyerere said he would be "less than honest " if he said he were happy with progress so far. "I don't think I am the only one who had hoped that, once we were into
the committee stage, we would be able to go more speedily.
"We agreed to negotiate from June last year," he continued. "This is nine months of the negotiating phase and we have met several times. I think people both inside and outside Burundi would be expecting by now that we'd be reporting some visible progress."
Delegates are divided into four committees, looking at the origin of the Burundi conflict (Committee One); democracy and good governance (Committee Two); peace and security for all (Committee Three) and economic reconstruction and development (Committee Four).
Committee One would meet again on April 11th, as well as May 10th, Nyerere said.
All Burundi's political parties are represented, as well as the government and parliament. Burundi's Minister for the Peace Process, Ambroise Niyonsaba, told Hirondelle he agreed that the talks should be speeded up.
He said the aim should be to have "something concrete by June", when the next plenary session takes place.
The minister told Hirondelle he believed it was possible to have a draft agreement by June or September. Asked if other delegates seemed to have such a time frame in mind, he said he did not know. He also denied press allegations that the government was seeking to stall on the peace process.
Niyonsaba said it was up to the facilitators and the delegates to find a more suitable methodology, and propose possible compromises in problem areas. He said the methodology should seek to hone down the issues.
The special representative for Nyerere, Judge Mark Bomani, earlier told Hirondelle that the facilitators were seeking long term financing for the Burundi peace talks, as opposed to the current ad hoc arrangements with donors. He said they were hoping the talks would conclude by the end of
September.
JC/DO/FH(BU§0316E)
MARCH 15TH 1999
BURUNDI PEACE TALKS EXPECTED TO NEED MORE TIME
Arusha, March 15th, '99 (FH) - Sources close to the Burundi peace talks in this northern Tanzanian town say another set of committee negotiations is likely before the next plenary session in June. This session is due to end Tuesday, after ten days of talks.
Delegates to the closed-door talks say progress is slow, especially on two key committees looking at peace and security, and at democracy and good governance.
Nicholas Haysom, the South African president of the democracy committee, told the independant news agency Hirondelle that "the differences remain sharp but are not insurmountable". He said his committee had completed preliminary discussions on a 36-issue agenda, but had not yet got down to brass tacks on the most difficult. Haysom said these were the issues relating to an electoral system, the composition of the legislature, local government and institutions.
The committee had started more in-depth discussions, he said, between parties and various different groups of parties, according to the issue. He said he wanted to combat the notion that he had formed groups solely according to political alliances.
Haysom said it was likely that another set of committee negotiations would be organized in Arusha ahead of the next plenary. But even so, he said there would not be enough time to come up with a comprehensive agreement by June. Asked about the possible timetable for an overall peace deal, he said he believed Burundis were looking to "sort out the problem by the end of the year".
No deadline has been set. However, countries in the region have made a temporary suspension of their embargo dependent on progress in the talks.
This stage of the talks is taking place in four committees.Committees One and Four, looking at the nature of the conflict and at economic reconstruction and development, are making relatively good progress, compared with the other two.
JC/DO/FH (bu§0315e.doc)
MARCH 11th, 1999
BURUNDI PEACE DELEGATES HIT STALEMATE ON TRANSITION GOVERNMENT AND ARMY REFORM
Arusha, March 11th, '99 (FH) - International mediators are trying to move Burundi peace talks taking place in this northern Tanzanian town out of stalemate.
The talks are taking place in four committees, behind closed doors, and are due to last until March 16th. All Burundi's political parties are present.
However, the FDD Hutu rebel group has not been represented since it split from its political wing, the CNDD.
The four committees are on: the nature of the conflict (Committee One); democracy and good governance (Committee Two); peace and security for all (Committee Three); and economic reconstruction and development (Committee Four).
Reliable sources told Hirondelle that Committees One and Four have started work, following agendas agreed at previous talks. But the other two are so far in stalemate.
Committee One, on democracy and good governance, has yet to agree an agenda. The sources told Hirondelle that the mediators have therefore divided committee delegates into three groups, along the lines of current alliances.
The first group comprises the current government; the parliament; the mainly Tutsi UPRONA party of president Pierre Buyoya; and the external wing of the majority Hutu FRODEBU party, which won 1993 elections. The government that resulted from those polls was overthrown by the July 1996
coup that brought Buyoya back to power. Buyoya had himself organized the elections.
The second group comprises the armed Hutu opposition groups, whose leaders are outside Burundi, and the external wing of FRODEBU. The third is made up of small Tutsi parties, whose leaders are also in exile.
Mediators hope the three groups can agree a position among themselves, and will then try to bridge the gaps between the three groups. Sources told Hirondelle that a key stumbling block is the composition and timetable for a transition government.
The third commission, on peace and security, has agreed an agenda but cannot agree on the way to proceed, notably on reform of the Tutsi dominated army. Tutsi parties are resisting any rapid discussion of this issue.
The next plenary session, the fifth, is due to take place in Arusha in June. These negotiations are organized by the foundation of mediator Julius Nyerere, a former president of Tanzania. They are sponsored by various western countries and international organizations.
JC/JMG/DO/FH (BU§0311E)
MARCH 9, 1999
BURUNDI EX PRESIDENTS DISAGREE ON CHANCES FOR PEACE
Arusha, March 9th, '99 (FH) - As Burundi peace talks went into a second day in Arusha, Tanzania, former President Sylvestre Ntibantunganya told the independent news agency Hirondelle he believed conditions were more and more favorable for a durable solution to Burundi's problems.
"When I see today how the different parties here are expressing themselves relatively freely and honestly," Ntibantunganya told Hirondelle, "I tell myself that when a problem has been posed, it is already fifty percent solved. It now remains for us to put in place the mechanisms that will
allow us to gradually solve this conflict."
All Burundi's eighteen political parties are represented here. But Ntibantunganya said peace should be negotiated between two groups: those who hold power now, and those who lost power in the July 1996 military coup.
Ntibantunganya, a member of the majority Hutu FRODEBU party which won 1993 elections, was himself unseated in the coup by the current Tutsi president Pierre Buyoya.
"In my opinion," Ntibantunganya told Hirondelle, "at this point it is those two groups, perhaps joined by other small groups, which should negotiate. (.....) I think the mediators are aware of that, and perhaps we will move towards that methodology, which will speed up our progress towards the
agreement that everyone is waiting for."
Ntibantunganya also called for the Burundi army and rebels fighting in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo to leave.
But another former president, Jean-Baptiste Bagaza, told the delegates at a seminar on Monday that preconditions for negotiations were not there. He said the necessary trust was not there, that there was no ceasefire, and that refugees could not return to Burundi. He also called for the release of political prisoners, a halt to what he called "sham trials" and a guarantee that people could move in and out of the country freely.
"Otherwise," he said, "this conference would be taking place in Bujumbura." Bagaza is the head of the hardline Tutsi PARENA party
Delegates are taking part in a second day of seminars, before negotiations in four committees start on Wednesday. The session is due to last until March 16th.
The four committees are on: the nature of the conflict; democracy and good governance; peace and security for all; and economic reconstruction and development. The next plenary session, the fifth, is due to take place in June.
(JC/JMG/DO/FH)
MARCH 8TH 1999
BURUNDI PEACE TALKS RESUME WITH CALLS FOR QUICK ACCORD
Arusha, March 8th, 1999 (FH) - Peace talks for Burundi resumed on Monday in Arusha, Tanzania, with calls for the rapid conclusion of an agreement.
Members of the Burundi government and political parties are represented, along with religious groups and members of civil society. However, the armed wing of the main Hutu rebel movement, FDD, has not been represented since its political wing CNDD split into two.
During a two-day seminar at the start of the talks, international speakers and a Burundi women's group urged negotiators to reach a peace agreement quickly. Several delegates also called for the implementation of a ceasefire, agreed last June but never respected.
Former Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere, the mediator in the Burundi conflict, has said he hopes for a peace agreement by June this year.
Today's seminar focussed on conflict management and techniques of peace negotiation. Co-chairman of the Northern Ireland peace talks Harri Holkeri spoke about that process, while former Bosnian Foreign Minister Muhamed Sacirbey told the conference about his experience during the Dayton talks for his country. Both hoped that Burundi could learn from Northern Ireland and Bosnia.
Holkeri presented what he called his ten commandments for peace negotiators. These include re-establishing trust; an unconditional ceasefire; voluntary disarmament; and that the parties should be able to deliver what they promise.
These talks are due to last until March 16th. Negotiations proper start on Wednesday, with the work of four committees. These committees have been mandated to work on the nature of the conflict in Burundi; democracy and good governance; peace and security for all; and economic reconstruction and development. They will work behind closed doors, preparing the way for the next plenary session in June.
JC/DO/FH (BU§0308e)
JANUARY 20, 1999
DELEGATES SAY SANCTIONS SHOULD BE LIFTED, BUT FEAR POSSIBLE CONSEQUENCES
Arusha, January 20, 1999 (FH/Internews) Delegates negotiating an end to five years of civil war in Burundi say they hope sanctions against their country are lifted, but worry that ending the embargo could slow talks.
Representatives from Burundi's government and from armed groups that oppose it gathered on Monday at a conference center in northern Tanzania for a fourth round of peace talks.
Although sanctions are not only the agenda for delegates this week, delegates have been privately debating whether the economic sanctions that brought the government to the bargaining table should be lifted.
"With sanctions, people will continue to suffer and our economy will not improve," said Dr. Jean Minani, president of a leading opposition party Frodebu. "In our party, we supported
sanctions because . . .we wanted to force negotiation. If we can make negotiations without sanctions, we agree they should be lifted."
Economic sanctions imposed by regional leaders pressured Burundi's government to negotiate with Hutu rebels fighting for power in the country.
Hutu opposition groups which claim to represent the majority of Burundi's people have fought the Tutsi-dominated government since the country's first elected president Melchior Ndadaye was
assassinated in 1993.
The Hutu president's assassination by Tutsi extremists unleashed a wave of bloody conflict between the army and Hutu rebels, killing an estimated 150,000 people.
In addition to the war, land-locked Burundi has gone for over two years without free trade with its neighbors, who imposed sanctions to force its strong-armed government to make peace with the country's rebels.
Regional leaders of other east African countries are expected to meet this Saturday to discuss the progress of Burundi's peace talks. It is widely believed that they will opt to suspend
the sanctions.
Many who once supported sanctions now say that it is time to suspend them as encouragement to a regime that has participated in peace talks with its opponents.
But others fear that the impending suspension could make an already slow process even slower by taking pressure off the government to strike an agreement.
Former Burundian president Sylvestre Ntibantunganya, ousted in a 1996 army coup, accused some participants in the peace talks of "putting a spanner in the works."
He said that although he supported the suspension of sanctions, there was a danger that the process would move even slower.
But government officials deny that the process is moving slower than expected, and say that lifting sanctions would not reduce their efforts to bring peace to the country.
"Committees have already started working following the timetables they have fixed," Peace Process Minister Ambroise Niyonsaba said. "People should not be impatient. I think its normal that people
should take their time, especially when doing something so complex."
This report has been prepared in collaboration with Internews.
OCTOBER 16, 1998
BURUNDI/PEACE TALKS
THREE BURUNDIAN LEADERS CALL FOR A TRANSITIONAL GOVERNMENT
Arusha, October 16th. '98 (FH) - Three Burundian leaders called here on Friday for an immediate set up of a transitional government to end a civil war that claimed more than 200'000 lives in five years.
Presenting their views at the third round of Burundian peace talks held in Arusha since last June, the three leaders said that the establishment of transitional organs would pave the way for free and fair elections and restore peace to the war-torn country.
"There must be a transitional government to allow peace to settle in Burundi" said the former toppled president Jean-Baptiste Bagaza, who is leading the PARENA (Parti pour le redressement national) delegation at the talks.
He added "the judiciary and the army has to be reformed at any cost to end the hostilities".
Dr Jean Minani, the president of the political wing of the Front pour la démocratie au Burundi (Frodebu) also supported the call at the talks for transitional organs alongside the armed rebel group Palipehutu (Parti pour la libération du peuple hutu).
"We'll not overcome our problems if we don't have a government which is reflective of different thinking of people" Dr Minani insisted at the talks brokered by the former Tanzanian president, Julius Nyerere.
The three leaders were contributing to a debate on democracy and good governance, where all seventeen parties to the Arusha talks expressed their views behind close doors, starting last Tuesday.
The CNDD (Conseil national pour la défense de la démocratie) suggested at the meeting that about 10'000 Hutus imprisoned in Burundi should be set free to allow the peace dialogue to continue.
"Ten thousand Hutus must be freed and given a fair treatment" said Leonce Ndarubagiye, number two of the rebel armed group fighting to topple the government of Burundi strongman Major Pierre Buyoya, who seized power by force in 1996.
The small Rassemblement du peuple burundais (PRB) suggested the establishment of a Burundi Tribunal which should try those who committed crimes of genocide, similar to the UN Court for Rwanda.
In the late afternoon, a group of Burundian women made a presentation to end the civil war, which killed mostly civilians. They are expected to ask the delegates to be officially included at the talks. The Press was not allowed to follow their speech.
According to president Nyerere spokesman, Brigadier general Hashim Mbita, the talks are to continue on Saturday morning.
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