Opposition leader appeals for cooperation with government

The recently returned Burundi political exile, Jean Minani, has said that the newly formed transitional government should be supported, and that armed opposition groups and parties that were not party to the Arusha peace accord should now seek peace with the new rulers in Bujumbura. "Everyone must do his part in serving the government," he said in a broadcast by radio Bonesha FM on Friday. Minani, who heads the pro-Hutu Front pour la democratie au Burundi (Front for Democracy or FRODUBU), said the government faced major challenges such as reaching a cease-fire with the two main pro-Hutu rebel groups, restoring peace, rebuilding the war-torn country and instituting democracy. President Pierre Buyoya, a Tutsi, heads the three-year transitional government inaugurated on Thursday. But 18 months from 1 Nov., under a power-sharing deal between the majority Hutus and minority Tutsi, he is due cede authority to his Hutu vice-president, Domitien Ndayizeye, 18 months from now. Ndayizeye and Minani were members of the external wing of FRODEBU. Minani's appeal for cooperation with the government, coming a day after the inauguration, has found support from other governments and world statesmen. The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao called on anti-government forces to "stop fighting" and enter the peace process, the official Chinese news agency, Xinhua, reported on Thursday. The European Union special envoy for the Great Lakes, Aldo Ajello, in Bujumbura, urged Burundian exiles to "return home" and contribute to the good functioning of transitional governmental institutions. The UN Security Council has also welcomed the formation of the government, and the chairman of the UN Implementation Monitoring Committee of the Arusha Peace Accord, Berhanu Dinka, described the establishment of the government as "a significant step forward" in the peace process.