FDD says it will not meet Mandela

The leader of the rebel Conseil national pour la defense de la democratie - Forces de defense pour la democratie (CNDD-FDD), Jean-Bosco Ndayikengurukiye, has said his party will not participate in a meeting of the heads of rebel groups and Arusha peace talks facilitator Nelson Mandela in South Africa from 22 to 24 May. Ndayikengurukiye said the FDD would not participate because “some of the participants took part in the Arusha talks,” the BBC Kirundi service reported on Wednesday. The FDD and FNL rebel groups were excluded from the Arusha process under the last facilitator, the late Julius Nyerere, but Mandela has sought to bring all parties to the table.

Ndayikengurukiye also said regroupment camps should be disbanded and political prisoners released before such talks. However, the facilitation team in Arusha said on Friday it was not aware that the group would not be attending the meeting. “We are travelling to South Africa on Sunday. If they don’t show up, then we will know they are not coming,” an official told IRIN.