No invitation to Libreville, rebels say

The rebel CNDD-FDD group says its leader Jean-Bosco Ndayikengurukiye never received an invitation to attend peace talks with the government in Libreville, Gabon, on 28 March. In a statement, received by IRIN on Monday, CNDD-FDD spokesman Jerome Ndiho said comments by Burundian President Pierre Buyoya that the invitation came too late were untrue. “He [Ndayikengurukiye] learnt about the Libreville meeting via the press like everybody else,” the statement said. “If he had received an invitation in good faith, there was no reason for him not to continue the Libreville process. The reason for the failure of the 28 March meeting must be found elsewhere.” The process of direct talks between Ndayikengurukiye and Buyoya began in the Gabonese capital in January, brokered by DRC President Laurent-Desire Kabila who was assassinated shortly afterwards.

The CNDD-FDD statement, however, went on to describe as “significant” the fact that Burundian Peace Process Minister Ambroise Niyonsaba over various media “has recognised the existence of political prisoners in Burundi”. But, it added, Buyoya himself must also make a similar pronouncement. The statement recalled that one of the preconditions for CNDD-FDD to begin direct talks with the government was the immediate release of political prisoners.