Buyoya ready for ceasefire talks

African heads of state, meeting in Arusha, Tanzania, have expressed concern over the “slow pace” of the Burundi peace talks, the Internews agency reported. According to a joint statement issued on Monday, the leaders of Kenya, Namibia, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, Nigeria and Libya’s Secretary for African Unity, also said that some of the resolutions adopted at previous summits had not been carried out. The leaders hailed the mediation of Nelson Mandela and his efforts to bring previously-excluded rebel leaders to the negotiating table. President Pierre Buyoya of Burundi was quoted as saying his government was ready for ceasefire talks with the armed rebel factions. “We are available at whatever time...my government will spare no effort to see us come to a solution,” Buyoya said.

Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo warned that the longer the military stayed in power in Burundi, the more society would “lose its vital habit of thinking creatively and democratically and solving its problems accordingly”. He said he had told Buyoya that the Burundian leader “has the lion’s share of responsibility to ensure that peace is attained”.