Government to hold talks with rebel group

The Burundian government is due to hold two days of talks beginning on Friday with the Conseil national pour la defense de la democratie-Force pour la defense de la democratie (CNDD-FDD) rebel faction led by Pierre Nkurunziza, a Burundian radio station reported. Bonesha FM radio reported that the talks would be held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where Nkurunziza lives. It quoted Communications Minister Albert Mbonerane as saying that the government had already received an invitation to attend the talks. The Burundian news agency ABP reported on Wednesday that the government was ready to resume ceasefire talks with Nkurunziza's faction. ABP quoted the president's principal adviser on missions, Ambroise Niyonsaba, as saying that the talks would be held under the aegis of the Regional Initiative on Burundi. A ceasefire agreement was signed on 3 December 2002 between Nkurunziza's faction and the government but CNDD-FDD rebels groups have continued attacks against government forces. On Tuesday, Nkurunziza told IRIN in Dar es Salaam that Burundi needed a new "charter of transition" for peace to be restored in the country and to allow it to prepare "suitably" for elections. He said the transitional government and the CNDD-FDD should submit their versions of the charter to regional facilitators, who would then provide experts to combine the drafts into a framework of how best to prepare Burundi for the remaining 17 months of transition. "Only once the text is ready can we sit down and call a regional summit," Nkurunziza said.