PARENA, CNDD opposed to continued Buyoya leadership

Former president Jean-Baptiste Bagaza said there would be continuing “chaos” if President Buyoya stayed in power. “If the current government is returned with just a few adjustments, the situation of genocidal war and chaos on all fronts is going to endure,” Bagaza, who leads the hardline pro-Tutsi PARENA party, told the private Net Press news agency. He wondered why the current negotiators “who are all part of the partnership regime”, had taken the trouble to travel to Pretoria “to strengthen their regime while they could as well have done it in Bujumbura”.

The rebel Conseil national pour la defense de la democratie (CNDD) of Leonard Nyangoma also opposed the continuation of Buyoya as head of state. In a statement, received by IRIN on Wednesday, it said fundamental issues - including the reorganisation of the defence forces - had not been concluded and signed in keeping with the Arusha accord. CNDD (Nyangoma faction), which is a signatory to the accord, said it considered that the negotiations were not yet over and stressed its readiness to continue talks on all outstanding issues.