A 10-member delegation of lawmakers and government officials left Bujumbura on Thursday for Brussels where they hope to coax leading Burundian exiles to return home ahead of the installation of the transitional government on 1 November, the Burundian news agency, Net Press, reported.
The delegation - made up of parliamentarians, personnel from the Ministry of the Peace Process and journalists - is expected to meet exiled parliamentarians such as Jean Minani, leader of the external wing of FRODEBU, and former interior minister Leonard Nyangoma.
Other Burundian exiles have resisted returning home until a special protection unit is in place to guarantee their safety. Delay in setting up the unit has cast doubt that the transitional government will begin business as scheduled. The Implementation Monitoring Commission of the Burundi peace process, now meeting in Arusha, Tanzania, is expected to discuss this and other issues. There is agreement that the force would comprise equal numbers of Hutu and Tutsi personnel. However, no decision has yet been taken on the unit's full strength and how selection and training is to be conducted.
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