22 February 2000
President Mandela Opens Burundi Peace Talks in Arusha
(Cites cooperation of Burundi leadership) (1070) By Jim Fisher-Thompson Washington File Foreign Correspondent Arusha, Tanzania -- Former South African President Nelson Mandela began the second round of Burundi peace talks in Arusha, Tanzania, February 21 highlighting productive discussions he had with Burundi's political leaders, "men and women of integrity" whose cooperation was essential for peace, he said. Mandela also cautioned that time was running out on the opportunity to end Burundi's brutal civil war, which has cost 200,000 lives and contributed to instability in the Great Lakes region for the past six years. "We only have enough funds for this session and so it is absolutely necessary" to arrive at a solution as expeditiously as possible, he stated, adding that "We must not miss this opportunity" to bring peace to Burundi. The United Nations named Mandela to head up the Burundi peace talks last December following the death by cancer of its first facilitator, former Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere. The sessions are being held in Arusha's International Conference Center, home also to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). At the official opening of the latest round of negotiations, part of a formal peace process begun more than two years ago, Mandela said "my hopes (for peace in Burundi) were really sustained by discussions I had this morning" with members of the Burundi government and opposition. Observers say Mandela is pursuing more of a policy of inclusion than his predecessor, having met already with a succession of Burundian officials, non-government leaders as well as representatives of rebel groups even before the February 21-23 talks began. Last year, Burundian government officials were loathe to meet with political opponents who in turn believed it was a waste of time dealing with an administration they saw as unfairly weighted toward one ethnic group. But now a spirit of cooperation has entered the talks, in part, due to Mandela's ceaseless efforts at bringing all parties together to sift through their differences. On the question of ethnicity -- a sticking point in the negotiations -- Mandela noted that in Burundi, Tutsis control most of the government but comprise only 15 percent of the population compared to the Hutu's 84 percent. Now, "no one can deny that all (Burundi's] institutions of government are monopolized by a minority (and) this can no longer be tolerated," he said. More significantly, he told the delegates "I was happy to see in conversations this morning that the (Burundian) leadership understands this." Mandela said that in general the Burundians with whom he spoke exhibited "a genuine striving for peace, are constructive in their approach" to negotiations, and "understood the need for compromise." They realize, he added, that "only team work, a collective effort and cooperation can bring peace to Burundi." Among the heads of state joining Mandela at the opening of the talks were: its chairman, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni; Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa; South African President Thabo Mbeki; Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano; Burundian President Pierre Buyoya, and Rwandan President Pasteur Bizimungu. President Buyoya said "we need a conducive environment for peace and reconciliation," adding that since Mandela's appointment "the people of Burundi have new hope." Like Mandela, President Chissano was also impressed with the Burundian leadership's new spirit of cooperation. Speaking in English he said "we believe and have no doubt that we are in the presence of devoted Burundian leaders who are saying 'enough is enough' to the long-standing suffering of their own people." Non-African nations also sent representatives and observers to the talks, including Belgium, France and the United Kingdom. The U.S. delegation was headed by U.S. Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region Howard Wolpe. Mandela has invited heads of states to attend the talks, including President Clinton, who was to address the peace discussions via a video-conference hook-up from the White House on February 22, the second day of the talks. Turning to the problem of rebel groups that have not yet joined the talks, Mandela said "this process should be all inclusive -- not only government, National Assembly and political parties, but also rebel groups on the ground" must be included in the peace process. The facilitator pointed out that "these are the people slaughtering innocent civilians....and unless we include them in negotiations it will be difficult to stop the violence." On the issue of genocide, Mandela said a committee that had been set up earlier to examine the problem had recommended that a national truth and reconciliation commission for Burundi be established as well as an international commission of inquiry, and the delegates agreed. The latter would be funded by international donors, he said. However, the delegates could not agree on the question of amnesty for politically-motivated crimes, but "I have urged they accept" some form of it, Mandela added. Two other committees also dealt with the issues of democratization and security. Strides were made at the first day's talks in agreeing that future elections in Burundi would be based on universal suffrage and proportional representation, said Mandela. On security, the facilitator also reported that the Burundian government had agreed to address the issue of integrating rebel forces into the national army. Even when an agreement in Arusha is reached, Mandela pointed out that "it will present us with a formidable challenge" -- its implementation. Therefore, "I have undertaken to go to Bujumbura and other areas" to sell the agreement to people "on the ground," he said. "The decisions we have undertaken (in Arusha) must be respected by everyone and only when it is endorsed by the masses of the people can we say there is a breakthrough to peace," he said. On the question of funding the Arusha talks, Peter Hain, the United Kingdom's minister of state for foreign and commonwealth affairs responsible for Africa, told the delegates that his government was providing 30,000 pounds for the negotiations and 50,000 pounds to fund reconciliation programs inside Burundi. The U.S. government, which had spent $500,000 on the talks the past year, has pledged a further $500,000, and Belgian and French representatives said their governments would provide experts and technical assistance to the Arusha peace process. (The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: usinfo.state.gov)
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