Belligerents recommit to ceasefire, again

Burundi's transitional government and Pierre Nkurunziza's Conseil national pour la defense de la democratie-Forces pour la defense de la democratie (CNDD-FDD) reaffirmed on Sunday their commitment to peace, following a day-long regional consultative meeting in the Tanzanian commercial capital, Dar es Salaam. Both sides, which signed a ceasefire on 2 Dec 2002 in Arusha, northern Tanzania, have largely violated the accord. However, officials close to the negotiations said that on Sunday progress had been made and that, for the first time, the parties had discussed "real issues". "Although it wasn't concluded today, they [the government and the rebels] were having serious discussions," a source told IRIN on Sunday. "They talked about positions in government and the details of the Forces Technical Agreement. This is very positive." A full summit to "finalise all outstanding matters" will be convened within three weeks, the facilitator of the peace talks announced. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, as chairman of the Great Lakes Regional Initiative on Burundi, presided over Sunday's meeting. Also present were presidents Benjamin Mkapa of Tanzania and Domitien Ndayizeye of Burundi; the South African deputy president and facilitator of the Burundi peace process, Jacob Zuma and Nkurunziza, the CNDD-FDD leader. The facilitation also announced that, within two weeks, CNDD-FDD representatives would be participating in the Joint Ceasefire Commission in Bujumbura, where they would enjoy full immunity. Meanwhile, cantonment of CNDD-FDD fighters will take place "immediately" and the Members of Parliament abducted by the CNDD-FDD will be released "as a matter of urgency", the facilitation announced. Following intense fighting near the capital, Bujumbura, from 7 to 13 July, observers said the summit might address the possibilities of strengthening the mandate of the African Union's troops in Burundi or sending a regional intervention force to restore peace. However, Mkapa said "an intervention force was not discussed" and that the meeting instead made an appeal to the African Union (AU) to speed up the deployment of forces of the African Mission in Burundi. Speaking to reporters before his departure for Tanzania, Ndayizeye said that there was no need for an intervention force in Burundi, since there were "sufficient Burundi troops able to halt the various attacks". In a separate statement, the regional consultative meeting also "strongly condemned" the recent attacks on Bujumbura, which at have been attributed to Agathon Rwasa's Forces nationales de liberation (FNL). The army has reported that 325 people died in the fighting. Saying that they must negotiate directly with the Tutsi ethnic minority, rather than the transitional government, Rwasa's FNL is still to enter into direct negotiations with the government. But the facilitation said that while they were doing everything possible to engage the FNL in talks, time was running out for the rebels to join the peace process. "I hope they can rein themselves in and respond to this appeal," Mkapa said. "As far as my government is concerned, this is absolutely the last one I shall give."