Sides "ambivalent" as Arusha talks resume

The independent Internews agency said the Arusha peace process resumed in the northern Tanzania town on Monday with "ambivalence rather than optimism". It cited Mathias Hatimana, leader of the pro-monarchist PRP party, as saying he and other Tutsi opposition groups would withdraw from the talks if the rebel Forces pour la defence de la democratie (FDD) did not take part in the process. He said the signing of a peace accord would be meaningless without the FDD's signature. According to sources cited by the Hirondelle news agency, mediator Julius Nyerere was expected in Arusha later in the week following medical treatment in UK.