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DATE=2/11/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=BURUNDI CAMPS (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-259064
BYLINE=TODD PITMAN
DATELINE=BUJUMBURA
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO:  The United Nations special representative on 
internally displaced persons, Francis Deng, says the 
so-called regroupment camps in Burundi are not 
acceptable.  As Todd Pitman reports from Bujumbura, 
Mr. Deng's comments come at the conclusion of a six-
day visit to Burundi.
TEXT:  At the end of his visit on Friday, Mr. Deng 
toured Kabezi camp, where around 40-thousand people 
have been crowded onto several hillsides, 15 
kilometers south of the capital.
Mr. Deng described conditions in the camp as what he 
called "unacceptable" and said people there lacked 
adequate medical care, shelter and space in which to 
live.
            /// DENG ACT ONE ///
      The one that we actually visited, this is the 
      one that is still operative, shows evidence of 
      the kind of concentration within such a short, 
      such a small amount of space that it doesn't 
      need much explanation to conclude that this is 
      not an acceptable condition.
            /// END ACT ///
The Burundi government set up the "regroupment" camps 
last year to separate civilians from rebel fighters 
after a series of rebel attacks on the outskirts of 
the capital. 
Around 350-thousand people have been forced into more 
than 50 sites in the hills around Bujumbura as part of 
the government's counter-insurgency measure.
United Nations officials say security in the capital 
and surrounding areas has considerably improved as a 
result of the policy. But Mr. Deng says that does not 
justify the camps.
            /// DENG ACT TWO ///
      The security of some of the citizens, 
      particularly in the city, cannot be at the 
      expense, hardship and indignity of the large 
      numbers of people who have been put into these 
      camps.
            /// END ACT ///
Authorities earlier this week dismantled the first of 
11 regroupment sites it said would close because 
security conditions had improved.
Mr. Deng welcomed the decision and called on the 
international community to provide assistance to help 
people to return home.  Helping people to go back, he 
said, would encourage the government to close other 
camps as well. (SIGNED)
NEB/TP/GE/JO
11-Feb-2000 12:46 PM EDT (11-Feb-2000 1746 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.