Tutsi parties to see Mandela

Leaders of the three minority Tutsi parties which did not sign the Arusha peace accord travel to South Africa on Tuesday to meet talks’ mediator Nelson Mandela, one of the leaders told IRIN. “We shall leave Nairobi for South Africa on Tuesday to meet President Mandela for consultations, but our position is that we should not sign until there is a ceasefire in place,” the president of the Ralliement pour la democrate le developpement economique et social (RADDES), Joseph Nzeyimana, told IRIN. Other parties which did not sign the accord last month are the Alliance nationale pour le droit et le developpement economique (ANADDE) and the Parti independent des travailleurs (PIT). Burundi radio over the weekend reported that another small Tutsi party which had not signed had reversed its position and its leader had gone to Tanzania to sign the accord.