IRIN interview with presidential adviser Ambroise Niyonsaba

In 1987, Maj Pierre Buyoya took power of Burundi in a coup. He immediately introduced a process of reform aimed at ensuring equal opportunities in education and employment, and an ethnically balanced army. Peaceful elections took place in June 1993 and, for the first time, a Hutu, Melchior Ndadaye, was elected president. Ndadaye ruled for just four months before being murdered during another army takeover. Ndadaye's assassination triggered violent killings in the country - violence which was perpetrated by the new Front pour la Democratie au Burundi (Frodebu) administration against civilian Tutsi, particularly in the centre and north of the country. About 100,000 people were subsequently massacred, but then a further 100,000 civilians - most of them Hutus - were killed in retaliation by the army, while 380,000 others fled to neighbouring Tanzania, a Save the Children-UK report in August 2001 noted. After years of negotiations, a transitional government was installed last November, following a peace agreement signed by political parties, but not by armed rebels (the main ones being the Forces pour la defense de la democratie [FDD] and Forces nationales pour la liberation [FNL]) in Arusha in August 2000. Despite the installation of the government, fighting has been going on in different parts of the country and has caused displacement of thousands and a great many deaths. While ceasefire talks held between the Burundi government and the FDD wing led by Pierre Nkurunziza at the end of April in Pretoria, South Africa, achieved no tangible results, the possibility of future negotiations remains. IRIN spoke with Burundi presidential adviser, leader of government's delegation to the ceasefire talks and former peace process minister, Ambroise Niyonsaba, on 12 May 2002. QUESTION: Burundi media has been speaking of progress having been realised at the Pretoria, South Africa, talks between the government and rebel delegations. As head of the government delegation to the ceasefire talks, can you tell us where progress was made and on which issues you did not reach an agreement? ANSWER: Progress was realised only in our talks with Jean-Bosco Ndayikengurukiye’s Conseil national pour la defense de la democratie - Forces de defense de la democratie [CNDD-FDD] faction. We agreed on a framework of negotiations that includes the organisation, internal regulations, and the talks agenda - which takes into account political and security aspects - and the talks timetable. Q: Although the government delegation held discussions with Jean-Bosco’s CNDD-FDD faction, the other faction led by Peter Nkurunziza says they have no troops on the ground. Aren't you facing the risk of reaching an agreement which does not restore peace? A: The government has been calling for fully inclusive negotiations. It believes that any attitude which may marginalise some groups to the advantage of others would not be conducive to peace. Our plan is to sign one ceasefire agreement with all the armed groups, including the three movements which already signed the Arusha agreement. Q: Can you confirm or refute the information according to which the Forces nationales de liberation [FNL] is ready to hold direct negotiations with the government before the end of this month? Does that rebel group have any precondition to the talks? A: Our delegation did not meet the FNL. Therefore, I am unaware of its plans. Q: The United Nations is proposing a regional conference on the Great Lakes crisis. What would be the aim of that meeting, and to what extent would it contribute to solving the Burundi crisis, especially the implementation of a ceasefire in Burundi? A: It is clear that the various crises in the Great Lakes region are interrelated. Therefore, solutions should be coordinated. In that sense, a regional conference would be useful. Q: The UN delegation that recently visited the Great Lakes region is allegedly ready to propose sanctions against the rebels if they continue to ignore calls for a ceasefire, and if the subregion called for it. Have you initiated steps aimed at convincing the region that it is time to put pressure on the rebels? A: The Burundi transitional government has already demonstrated to the mediation team its total readiness to negotiate the ceasefire. The facilitation team has done everything possible to bring the FDD and the FNL to the negotiating table, without success. It is time it reported to the region so that it takes up its responsibilities as it has earlier promised, so as to force rebel groups to end the war. It is unacceptable that any group holds hostage Burundi citizens' peace. Q: The recent ceasefire talks that took place in Pretoria were marked by the absence of the Conseil national pour la defense de la democratie [CNDD], the Front de liberation national [Frolina] and [Etienne] Karatasi's Partie pour la liberation du peuple Hutu [Palipehutu] faction, although they were present in [the Tanzanian capital] Dar es Salaam in the framework of the Tanzanian efforts aimed at convincing the rebels to take part in ceasefire negotiations. Why were they absent in Pretoria, and won't this lead to a partial agreement? A: As I said earlier, the government would like to sign a ceasefire agreement with all the armed groups. The three movements that you have mentioned signed the Arusha agreement, and for that reason they are ahead of those that did not sign the agreement. Those lagging behind should be brought to the same level so that we can move forward together. Q: Is there any specific date for the next round of discussions on the ceasefire? A: Discussions should resume in the near future with Jean-Bosco Ndayikengurukiye’s CNDD-FDD. Discussions with Nkurunziza's group will only resume if they stop insisting on direct negotiations with the army [instead of the government]. [For more information on the recent ceasefire talks, see the recent IRIN focus ]