FDD leader does "not see a problem with a cease-fire"

Following the conclusion of the latest round of Burundi peace negotiations held last week in Pretoria, Jean-Bosco Ndayikengurukiye, the leader of the Forces pour la defense de la democratie (FDD) Hutu rebel group, said he was "reassured" by the inclusion of Gabonese President Omar Bongo as a mediator in the talks, and suggested the FDD might be amenable to a cease-fire. Speaking to Burundi Radio Publique Africaine on Friday, Ndayikengurukiye said the FDD was "ready to initiate a peace process [....] We will discuss the constraints and if we agree amongst ourselves, I do not see a problem with a cease-fire." Although no agreement was reached in Pretoria regarding the two main items on the agenda - namely, the composition of an armed peacekeeping force and a cease-fire - the meeting was notable for the presence of representatives from Burundi's main Hutu armed opposition groups, the FDD and the Forces nationales pour la liberation (FNL). Neither is a signatory to the Arusha peace agreement on Burundi signed in Arusha, Tanzania in August 2000. A transitional power-sharing government comprised of Hutus and Tutsis is scheduled to be installed on 1 November.