Government, rebel faction meet to discuss ceasefire implementation

Representatives from the transitional government of Burundi and Jean-Pierre Nkurunziza's faction of the Conseil national pour la defense de la democratie-Forces nationales de liberation (CNDD-FDD) are meeting in the Tanzanian commercial capital, Dar es Salaam, with a view to reaching an agreement on the implementation of the Arusha ceasefire accord signed in December 2002.

The meetings, which began on 30 January, between the political and the defence and security technical commissions from the two sides are scheduled to last a week. They would focus on ways of implementing the ceasefire that, so far, has been largely ignored, sources close to the talks told IRIN on Tuesday.

"The South African facilitators spent the morning consulting both delegations separately, and in the afternoon, the technical commissions began their work," Rajabu Hussein, the CNDD-FDD secretary-general, told IRIN. "We will negotiate each and every point, but it is normal that there should be some things that the two delegations don't agree on."

Hussein said that on 9 February there would be a meeting in South Africa between Burundian President Pierre Buyoya and Nkurunziza. This meeting would centre on issues unresolved at the ongoing talks this week.

South African diplomats in Tanzania confirmed this, saying that the two groups would be reporting on progress made so far to the chief facilitator of the ceasefire talks, South African Deputy President Jacob Zuma.

Although the two groups are said to be "committed", observers citing the recent escalation of the conflict in Burundi say there is much yet to be agreed on if the 3 December 2002 ceasefire is to be fully implemented on the ground.