OAU says all conditions met for lifting sanctions

The OAU has added its voice to mounting pressure for lifting the embargo on Burundi. At the end of its meeting in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, on Friday, the OAU’s conflict resolution committee said Burundi had met all the conditions laid down by regional leaders for ending the sanctions. It added that the sanctions must be lifted “considering that the parties to the Burundi conflict have already held three sessions of negotiations in Arusha”. Burundi’s Peace Process Minister Ambroise Niyonsaba stated he was confident the embargo would be lifted. Speaking to the independent Hirondelle news agency in Arusha, Tanzania, he noted peace process mediator Julius Nyerere had expressed his intention to circulate a report to regional leaders recommending dropping sanctions. Nyerere, quoted by Hirondelle, said last week’s meetings in Arusha of three working groups on the conflict had attained “satisfactory results”. On Saturday, he held talks in Nairobi on the Burundi issue with Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi, Kenyan KTN television reported.