Parliament approves power-sharing deal

Burundi's Parliament has approved the power sharing agreement signed on 8 October between the transitional government and the country's largest rebel group, the Conseil national pour la defense de la democratie-Forces de defense de la democratie (CNDD-FDD) led by Pierre Nkurunziza, the Burundian news agency, ABP, reported. The agency said the transitional National Assembly approved on Wednesday all the agreement's provisions and pledged to contribute to its implementation. While calling on the government to deal with all outstanding issues, the national assembly at the same time welcomed the suspension of hostilities by combatants in most parts of the country, ABP reported. The parliamentary approval gives President Domitien Ndayizeye the authority to implement in its entirety the agreement signed in Pretoria, subject to the provisions of the Arusha accord of the year 2000 and the transitional constitution, ABP reported. Meanwhile, the EU parliament has adopted a resolution, drawn-up by its committee on development and cooperation on human rights violations, to show respect for the rule of law in Burundi. In a statement issued on Thursday in Brussels, the EU parliament expressed its concern over the ongoing hostilities and the degradation of the human rights situation in Burundi, in particular in regard to women and children. The House called on the transitional government to take firm action against groups that were still destabilising attempts to reach a peaceful settlement, "to prevent the country from slipping back into a further civil war situation". The parliament also called on the government to set up a truth and reconciliation committee as a matter of urgency. It urged the international community to provide money to the Burundian government to expedite the country's economic reconstruction. The parliament urged the EC to speed up the establishment of a fund it had proposed to pay for the African Union forces to restore and maintain peace in the country. "The House encourages Burundi's neighbours to actively support the peace process in Burundi, in particular by keeping a closer check on arms trafficking," the parliament said.