DATE=1/16/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=MANDELA/BURUNDI (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-258114
BYLINE=SCOTT STEARNS
DATELINE=ARUSHA, TANZANIA
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Nelson Mandela began work Sunday as the new
international mediator trying to stop years of ethnic
violence in Burundi. As Correspondent Scott Stearns
reports, Mr. Mandela's assessment of the peace process
so far left no one unscarred.
TEXT: Mr. Mandela is known for speaking his mind, and
Burundians got an earful Sunday. The former South
African president told delegates to Burundi's peace
talks that too many of them are simply looking to
further their own careers. He said they are too
inflexible and must learn to compromise instead of
demonize.
Join the modern world, he told them in a two-hour
speech. He blamed continuing ethnic violence in
Burundi for reinforcing the negative image Africa has
abroad.
Mr. Mandela urged representatives from more than a
dozen political parties to put their differences aside
and stop the ethnic violence that has killed 200-
thousand people in the past six-years.
/// MANDELA ACT ///
The purpose of this negotiation is to bring
about peace and political stability, and also to
stop this senseless slaughter of innocent
civilians - men, women, children and the aged.
/// END ACT ///
This latest round of ethnic violence began in 1993,
when paratroopers murdered the country's first
democratically elected president, an ethnic Hutu.
Hutu make up the majority of Burundi's population,
although the ethnic-Tutsi minority continues to
control the army, government, and most commerce. Hutu
rebels are fighting the military government because,
they say, they want a share of power.
Though some rebel groups are represented at the talks
in the Tanzanian town of Arusha, the group doing most
of the fighting in Burundi is not. Mr. Mandela said
that must change. He says there is no point making
decisions that will not be respected.
Expanding participation in these talks was one of the
most serious difficulties faced by Mr. Mandela's
predecessor, the late Julius Nyerere. Regional
diplomats hope Mr. Mandela will bring some new
momentum to the talks.
While saying he wants to hear from everyone involved,
Mr. Mandela expressed his own opinions on a variety of
subjects before the talks, from the length of a
transitional government to the make-up of a new
national army.
Mr. Mandela is due to discuss Burundi at the U-N
General Assembly this week. He says he hopes to have
a full meeting of the Burundi peace process next
month. He says he has already invited several world
leaders, including French President Jacques Chirac and
U-S President Bill Clinton.
Mr. Mandela met with international donors to thank
them for their support of the peace process, and urged
them to continue to back this process, toward a more
ethnically inclusive government for Burundi.
(SIGNED)
NEB/SS/ALW/RAE
16-Jan-2000 11:33 AM EDT (16-Jan-2000 1633 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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