Museveni, Buyoya call for ceasefire

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, the chairman of the regional initiative on the Burundi peace process and Burundian President Pierre Buyoya on Monday called for a ceasefire as a guarantee for the peace accord signed three weeks ago. The two presidents met in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, in advance of ceasefire talks to be attended by two rebel groups in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on Wednesday. The Ugandan president called on the two Hutu rebel groups to participate in the talks or risk being isolated. “We are going to Nairobi tomorrow for more talks. I hope those Kabila groups will come. If they don’t come we always have medicine for such problems regionally,” Museveni told a news conference held jointly with Buyoya on Monday. Meanwhile, also on Monday, a private radio, Umwizero, monitored by the BBC, quoted the Burundian president as saying that the objective of the Wednesday meeting was not to achieve the signing of a ceasefire accord, but to absorb parties “on the sidelines into the peace process”. A diplomatic source close to the talks told IRIN that the rebels and the government “have compromised on suspension of hostilities rather than a comprehensive ceasefire agreement as had been anticipated”. Seven Burundian government representatives, including five military officers, are already in Nairobi for the Wednesday meeting. A senior Kenyan government official told IRIN that representatives of the two rebel groups were expected in Nairobi on Tuesday.