UPRONA accuses Hutu parties of stalling Arusha talks

The ruling UPRONA party has blamed Hutu-dominated parties for the slow pace of the Arusha peace talks. Speaking over Burundi radio, Libere Bararunyeretse, UPRONA’s representative at the commission dealing with the origin of the conflict - which has been accused of dragging its feet - said agreement had been reached on the nature of the conflict. The sides had reportedly agreed that inter-ethnic conflict did not exist in pre-colonial times, but according to Bararunyeretse, the CNDD, FRODEBU, PALIPEHUTU and FROLINA representatives had reneged on this. “If you don’t keep your word, there can be no progress,” he commented. The second vice-president of the National Assembly, Augustin Nzojibwami, believed the slow pace was due to organisational problems. “Eighteen parties have been asked to negotiate directly during proceedings of the commissions, which is not easy,” he said. Agreement could be reached in June “as long as Burundians are prepared to enter into genuine negotiations”.