Government accused of blocking peace process

The group of eight pro-Tutsi parties supporting Colonel Epitace Bayaganakandi as transitional president have issued a statement condemning the “unacceptable manipulation by the government and its associates aimed at avoiding the implementation of the Arusha agreement”, the private Burundi news agency NetPress reported. It said the parties believed that a recent meeting brokered by the Italian San Egidio religious community which brought together the CNDD faction of Leonard Nyangoma, the hardline Tutsi PARENA party, the government, and ruling party UPRONA, as well as the recent visit to South Africa by President Pierre Buyoya were attempts to “exclude Bayaganakandi”.

The parties reiterated their commitment to the Arusha agreement, saying that first attaining a ceasefire (as laid down by the government) was not a condition for implementing the transitional institutions. The parties said the “silence” of the international community regarding “this frantic search for a new negotiation framework aimed at torpedoing the Arusha agreement could cost a lot to Burundi, the sub region and international credibility”, NetPress added.