Parliament to debate interim constitution

Burundi's parliament is to debate a draft interim constitution and immunity bill before the three-year transitional government is installed on 1 Nov., AFP quoted Parliamentary Relations Minister Eugene Nindorera as saying.

The interim government is being ushered in to end an eight-year civil war, in which at least 200,000 people have been killed, and set the tone for an emerging democracy. AFP quoted Nindorera as adding that though the power-sharing accord reached in 2000 in Arusha, Tanzania, did not set out a special constitution, "it has seen been determined that such a text was an essential legal reference without which a catastrophic judicial war would be waged."

The provisional immunity bill, if passed, would allow Hutu political exiles to return as members of the transitional government, the parliament and Senate, he said. The two-year immunity will only apply to those in these three institutions and "various bodies provided for under Arusha, such as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission".