Citizens see little cause for celebration, yet

For Burundi, 1 May was important as it marked the mid-point of the implementation of the Arusha Accord, the country's roadmap for peace and the restoration of democracy. The country witnessed the transfer of the presidency from a Tutsi minority to a Hutu majority. But for some Burundians, rich or poor, the change in presidency was merely symbolic and, after a decade of war with many people living in fear of ethnic violence, they are waiting to see if the next step of the peace process will bring what they dream of: lasting peace. The ongoing civil war, which was sparked off by the 1993 assassination of Melchior Ndadaye, the country's first democratically elected president, is estimated to have left 300,000 dead. Ongoing conflict "It was the second time people had been killed in my house," Kijakazi Mwamini, a resident of Buyenze, a poor neighbourhood in the capital, Bujumubura, said as she walked through the remains of the guest room. "This time it was the rebels, but last time, in 1995, it was the army that killed three people here during a clean-up operation in the neighbourhood," she said. Two weeks ago, Mwamini's home took a direct hit from a shell that had been launched from the hills overlooking the city. The family that lived in her guestroom lost their three daughters and the mother is in hospital, but is getting better, Mwamini said. "I don't know whose fault it is, but I do know that we are always stuck in the middle. Look at everything that has happened," she added, pointing to a pile of rubble and the remains of her roof. "All I ask for is some peace." In the centre of town, Rafael Bitariho, a middle class Burundian who was a negotiator during the Arusha peace process in 2000 and now serves as a senator, and his wife, Maggy Kizogombe, agreed. "We had three days of bombing - day and night. People were terrified," Bitariho said. "Before, it was clearer. But now, with all these splits in the rebel groups, it has got more and more complicated and dangerous," Kizogombe added. The recent shelling of Bujumbura was carried out primarily by rebel leader Pierre Nkurunziza's faction of the Conseil national pour la defence de la democratie - Forces pour la defence de la democratie (CNDD-FDD), and was widely seen as a method of highlighting the continued military presence of the armed groups, despite the political changes. The other non-signatory rebel group, Agathon Rwasa's Forces nationales de liberation (FNL), whose stronghold is rural areas surrounding the city, was also believed to have been involved in the recent shelling of the capital. While these two factions have continued to wage war, the 30 April change of president from Pierre Buyoya to Domitien Ndayizeye was an integral part of the Arusha Accord, a deal that was facilitated by former presidents Nelson Mandela of South Africa and Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, and brings together 19 Hutu and Tusti parties in a bid to end years of conflict. At the end of the second 18-month period of transition, elections will be held in an effort to bring lasting democracy to Burundi. Doubts While Mwamini is unsure of who to blame and worried about how she is going to rebuild her home, her sons, Rhamadan and Marcel, are less reserved and see little hope of peace in the near future. "We just hear news of meetings, signing ceremonies and promises, but how are we expected to see then end in sight when things like this happen?" Rhamadan, 19, who operates a bicycle taxi service in the area, said. He has little doubt why they were hit. Their home is near a military camp and the rebels "must have" missed their target. But, Rhamadam said this was part of the problem. "There has been this change of presidents, but without reform of the army," he said. "So, I am sure this will mean nothing. Only when there is integration and equality in the army, can we talk about peace." Wait and see His elder brother, Marcel, is also doubtful if President Ndayizeye will be able to deliver peace. "People say that to be president, you have to have the army behind you. We doubt that he [Ndayizeye] has this, so how can he bring any reforms?" he said. Marcel said that after many years of violence, they had just resigned themselves to adopting a "wait and see" attitude. "When we saw the Arusha process, we thought that we were going to have peace," he said. "But then we saw that many of the people involved are in it for their own good. If they were really doing this for the people, they would have made sacrifices and we would have peace." Instead, Marcel said, most of his friends have no work, and their lives have deteriorated beyond belief. "Things are bad in Burundi," Bitariho said. "Even someone who goes to university and comes back with a degree may end up earning as little as 30 dollars a month. We are in a serious economic crisis," More time needed People do not feel that they have been involved in the long, drawn out peace process, he said. With standards of living as low as they are now, people are reluctant to pin their hopes on a change of president, unless he can deliver peace. "We went to Arusha a long time ago and Burundians are still waiting, but tomorrow is a step," he said. Bitariho added that although the government still had a lot to prove, the rebels needed to clarify how they intended to fit in once the fighting was over. "Since independence, Burundi has been like a boil - we have been hurting, but nothing has come out," he said. "But now people are in the process of letting it all out. Tutsis and Hutus are speaking and becoming part of the process. It is only when the past is out in the open, that we can move on." But for his wife Kizogombe, the problem is so deep-rooted and there are too many people profiting from the status quo that it will take much longer for Burundians to really see the change. "We will have to wait another 10 years," she said. "People are tired of the war, but I think we will have to wait for this generation of political leaders to move on. I have confidence in the youth of Burundi, but they just need to be given a chance."