Donors meeting ends inconclusively

A one-day technical meeting of international donors ended inconclusively in Brussels on Friday. No pledges were announced, nor was a date was fixed for the donorsv conference in Paris proposed by the Burundi peace process facilitator, Nelson Mandela, to be held between October and the end of the year. Chaired by the European Commission, the meeting was attended by representatives of the EU, UN, Norway, Japan, Canada and Switzerland, as well as a Burundian delegation led by Foreign Minister Severin Ntahomvukiye and including representatives from four of the political parties. While conceding that the Arusha accord constituted a significant advance in the peace process, the donors expressed concern that basic issues such as the electoral system, the transitional leadership and the ceasefire remained unresolved. The convening of the proposed Paris conference was therefore dependent on a resolution of these and other important issues. Crucially relevant in this context would be the results of the 20 September meeting in Nairobi to discuss the ceasefire and the 25 to 28 September meeting in Arusha which would seek agreement on the 25 points of the accord which remained as yet unresolved.