Government says it didn’t get “sermon”

The Burundian government has reacted to press reports implying that President Pierre Buyoya had received a critical “sermon” from peace process facilitator Nelson Mandela during this week’s talks in Arusha. In a statement, received by IRIN on Friday, the government said Mandela’s comments “did not resemble anything like a sermon against the Burundian president”. In an address to the negotiating parties in Arusha, Mandela had called on the government to close regroupment camps and free political prisoners. But Mandela had indicated that Buyoya’s government remained an important ally for the completion of the peace process, the statement said.