Buyoya in South Africa

Burundi President Pierre Buyoya on Sunday left for South Africa for talks with the mediator of the peace process, Nelson Mandela. Burundi radio reported that the talks would focus on various mechanisms for resolving pending issues, to pave the way for the implementation of the peace accord in good time. "We are going to consult with the mediator, on how the pending issues are currently being addressed to find solutions and on the best way to begin implementing the accord," Buyoya said. "We are going to consult with South African deputy president, Jacob Zuma, who is in charge of the talks between the Burundi government and rebels, to find out how far they have gone - whether or not he is about to begin the talks." "We shall know all these during the consultations. That is why we are going there. We shall also take time to talk to those we believe can help push forward the peace process," Buyoya added. Buyoya also said that the rebel Forces nationales de liberation (FNL) was in contact with the South African deputy president and that several meetings had been held. "We said that we were open for talks with any movement or organisation which wishes to talk to us," Buyoya reiterated. "If the [rebel] Forces pour la defense de la democratie (FDD) is ready, we shall talk to FDD, if the FNL is ready, we shall talk to FNL as well." "If anyone is not ready, we shall wait until they are ready. Everyone knows our readiness to talk to anyone. I cannot tell you how much contact the FNL members have had with the mediator. He will tell us how far he has gone with these contacts," Buyoya added.