Mandela condemns prison conditions

Peace mediator Nelson Mandela continued his visit to Burundi on Tuesday when he is due to meet army representatives and church leaders, as well as visiting Burundi’s second city, Gitega. The Hirondelle news agency reported that on arrival in Bujumbura on Monday, Mandela held closed door talks with President Pierre Buyoya before visiting the central prison. Having obtained concessions from Buyoya on closing the regroupment camps and dividing the national army equally between Hutus and Tutsis, Mandela is now pushing for the release of political prisoners. “Even people who may have killed a president will be described as a political prisoner if they committed that offence in promoting the objectives of their political organisation or their community,” he was quoted as saying. He talked to the prisoners and asked about their conditions, Hirondelle reported. Mandela described the prison as “dirty, dilapidated and filthy”. “I’ve never been so ashamed as to see human beings living in those conditions,” he said.

Meeting army leaders on Monday, he urged them to accept the division of the national army, as agreed with Buyoya. Hirondelle said military leaders expressed support in principle, but were concerned about guarantees for the Tutsi minority and asked for details on technical implementation. Mandela said that by delaying their acceptance, the military were giving the rebels space to continue fighting and killing. “It is up to you to speed up the process of integration,” he said.