Accord problematic - diplomatic sources

Diplomatic sources have also voiced several concerns over the draft Burundi peace accord, which the peace process facilitator, Nelson Mandela, would like to see signed on 28 August. Potential problems of the agreement, according to the sources, include some of the provisions for a transitional government aimed at achieving an ethnic balance of power. The sources said that the distribution of “transition” posts is due to be based on a power-sharing arrangement between the 19 sides negotiating in Arusha. This makes the new coalition administration “very politicized” and, given their performance over two years of negotiations, does not inspire much confidence in the ability of the sides to conduct the transition smoothly, they said. The sources also noted that Tutsi parties oppose the fact the draft does not take into account a 1996 report by a UN commission of enquiry, which established that a genocide took place in Burundi after the 1993 murder of president Melchior Ndadaye.