CNDD not withdrawing from Arusha process

A spokesman for the rebel Conseil national pour la defense de la democratie (CNDD) has denied that the group warned it would pull out of the Arusha peace process, unless two of its delegates detained in Tanzania were freed. In a recent letter to Brigadier General Hashim Mbita of the facilitation team, CNDD leader Leonard Nyangoma said his delegation would not attend the next meeting in South Africa unless the two were freed. However CNDD’s foreign affairs representative Leonce Ndarubagiye clarified to the Hirondelle news agency that this did not signify withdrawing from the process as a whole. He pointed out that if two of the delegates were imprisoned, they could not travel to South Africa. “CNDD is taking part, and will take part, in the peace negotiations in Arusha,” he stressed. Hirondelle said he refused to go into details regarding the arrest of the two, saying their detention was a “mistake”.