The Arusha peace process resumed on Wednesday after a 24-hour suspension in memory of victims of recent violence in Burundi. The Internews agency reported that the talks were increasingly tense, and observers said the process was at a "low point" amid stalemate over whether to include the main rebel group Forces pour la defense de la democratie (FDD). President Pierre Buyoya's UPRONA party believes the FDD should not be excluded from the process, otherwise any agreement signed would only be "a piece of paper", according to one delegate. Internews quoted Aldo Ajello, the EU special envoy to the Great Lakes region, as saying the negotiating sides "don't have a whole lot to be optimistic about today".
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