Rebels urge Mandela to “reconsider his approach”

The rebel group PALIPEHUTU-FNL has warned Burundi peace talks facilitator Nelson Mandela that he is working with “lions in sheep skins” and urged him to “reconsider his approach” to the talks. In a letter to Mandela, a copy of which was received by IRIN on Tuesday, PALIPEHUTU-FNL leader Cossan Kabura reiterated his commitment to peace negotiations. However, he added: “I shall never be accountable for a peace treaty worked out in my absence and without being invited”. “Therefore I am taking this opportunity to invite you to reconsider your approach towards the talks by giving priority to the belligerents: the Buyoya government and PALIPEHUTU-FNL,” he said. “As an armed political organisation, our party should not have been excluded from the political talks and it is also better positioned to talk effectively about military affairs.”

PALIPEHUTU-FNL failed to take part in the resumed Arusha peace process last week, citing problems with the methodology and the facilitator’s objectivity. “You are working with lions in sheep skins since your close advisers on the Burundi crisis are [Ugandan] President Museveni and [Rwandan] President Kagame, who, besides ruling their own people ruthlessly, have invaded the Democratic Republic of Congo in defiance of international law,” Kabura told Mandela.