One hundred days to lay foundations for peace - ICG

The Brussels-based think-tank, the International Crisis Group (ICG) has said that for the first time since 1993, there is a real chance for peace to take hold in Burundi. In a statement on Tuesday, ICG warned that time and money were short and the international community, donors and regional governments “must give the peace process their full support”. In its report published on Tuesday “Burundi: 100 days to get the peace process back on track”, ICG describes how a change of tactics by Nelson Mandela’s facilitation team finally broke the deadlock. On 23 July, after two and a half years of negotiations, Mandela announced that agreement had finally been reached on the presidency and vice presidency for the first half of a three-year transition period, which starts on 1 November. “However, there is still no ceasefire in Burundi, attempts to negotiate with Hutu rebels have failed and the economy is in tatters,” ICG said. “Two coup attempts in just over three months highlight dangerous divisions in the armed forces, and Tutsi extremists also threaten to derail attempts to build new institutions,” ICG noted. “The 100 days from Mandela’s announcement on 23 July to the beginning of the transition period on 1 November are crucial,” ICG senior analyst Francois Grignon said.

“The responsibility lies largely with FRODEBU - the main Hutu opposition party - to demonstrate its leadership by persuading Hutu rebel groups to put down their arms. But regional governments and international donors must also play their part. The DRC in particular must stop giving support to Hutu militias on its territory,” he said. ICG called on the UN Security Council to take strong action against any individual or party that supports coup attempts or assassinations. “These people must be threatened with sanctions and their foreign assets should be frozen,” the group said. The group said that the UN should also start making stand-by arrangements in order to deploy a peacekeeping force as soon as a ceasefire is reached. “Senegal, Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa have all promised troops, but planning must start now or it may be too late,” the group said. Noting that Burundi needs money, ICG urged donors who had pledged US $440 million to support Burundi’s transition in a meeting in Paris in December 2000, to release $100 million to stimulate economic activity, help establish new institutions and provide basic services. “Most of all the people of Burundi must feel confident that peace will deliver a brighter future. There are now less than 100 days left to convince them,” Grignon said. [Full details are available at http://www.crisisweb.org].