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FDD leader does "not see a problem with a cease-fire"

    NAIROBI

    Following the conclusion of the latest round of Burundi peace negotiations held last week in Pretoria, Jean-Bosco Ndayikengurukiye, the leader of the Forces pour la defense de la democratie (FDD) Hutu rebel group, said he was "reassured" by the inclusion of Gabonese President Omar Bongo as a mediator in the talks, and suggested the FDD might be amenable to a cease-fire. Speaking to Burundi Radio Publique Africaine on Friday, Ndayikengurukiye said the FDD was "ready to initiate a peace process [....] We will discuss the constraints and if we agree amongst ourselves, I do not see a problem with a cease-fire."

    Although no agreement was reached in Pretoria regarding the two main items on the agenda - namely, the composition of an armed peacekeeping force and a cease-fire - the meeting was notable for the presence of representatives from Burundi's main Hutu armed opposition groups, the FDD and the Forces nationales pour la liberation (FNL). Neither is a signatory to the Arusha peace agreement on Burundi signed in Arusha, Tanzania in August 2000. A transitional power-sharing government comprised of Hutus and Tutsis is scheduled to be installed on 1 November.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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