29 August 2000
Fourteen of 19 Parties to Burundi Talks Sign Framework for Peace
Senior U.S. official terms "important step"
By Charles W. Corey
Washington File Staff Writer
Arusha, Tanzania -- Fourteen of the 19 parties attending the Burundi
Peace
talks here, including the Burundi government, all Hutu parties and the
larger Tutsi parties, on August 28 signed a framework agreement to
work for
peace as 13 sub-Saharan Africa heads of state, former South African
President Nelson Mandela, and President Clinton looked on.
Briefing reporters about the event later, President Clinton's National
Security Advisor Sandy Berger said "What we have witnessed today is an
important step in an ongoing process to establish a secure peace in
Burundi. This negotiating process has been going on for quite some
time."
"The other parties have indicated that they are not yet ready to
sign,"
Burger continued. "They haven't had time to review the changes made.
When we arrived here earlier today, we honestly could not have told
you what would have transpired."
Clinton traveled to Arusha from Abuja, Nigeria, at the request of
Mandela, who has been coordinating the continuing series of peace and
reconciliation talks here. Earlier Clinton met with Tanzania President
Benjamin Mkapa.
Both Clinton and Mandela addressed the parties prior to the signing
ceremony, with Mandela adopting a somewhat scolding tone and President
Clinton urging all parties to compromise. Their one-two punch induced
"a critical mass of the parties to sign" the agreement, Berger said.
Berger said the agreement is an "important step in a very intractable
and enduring conflict." But, he added, "We should not have any
illusion that this ends all the problems in Burundi. This step is
(part of) a process, which hopefully builds confidence and leads over
time to a new social fabric in Burundi."
Howard Wolpe, the administration's special envoy for the Great Lakes
Region,
told reporters "All of the parties now understand the document is an
invitation to the rebel groups who were not at the table to now become
part of the negotiations for a cease-fire."
Two outstanding issues remain, Wolpe said. They are who will lead the
transition and secondly, implementation of the cease fire itself. He
said the agreement stipulated that the process will be continued
within the next 30 days.
"In the last 48 hours, enormous progress was made," Wolpe said. The
first face-to-face discussions among the principals really began two
weeks ago so this is a "very significant achievement," especially
compared to two years ago when both parties were demonizing each
other, he said. "Hopefully we can achieve more" now, he said.
Following the signing ceremony, Clinton left for Cairo for brief talks
with
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak before returning to the United
States.
(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International
Information
Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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