CNDD-FDD expresses support for Mandela mediation

The main rebel group, Conseil national pour la defense de la democratie-Forces de defense pour la democratie (CNDD-FDD), has welcomed the speech of former South African president Nelson Mandela in Arusha, Tanzania, at the weekend. In a statement, received by IRIN on Wednesday, CNDD-FDD’s spokesman Jerome Ndiho said the movement supported Mandela’s remarks in which he called for the Burundi peace process to be “all-inclusive”. “Mandela’s position is a great step forward...for everybody,” the statement said. It added that CNDD-FDD would like to be addressed separately by the facilitation team of Nelson Mandela so as to implement an earlier proposal in which the rebel group called for direct talks with the army. “Thereafter, there will be a better atmosphere for all-inclusive talks,” it said.