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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |
BURUNDI: President meets army chiefs to "harmonise vision" for future
BNAIROBI, 29 May 2003 (IRIN) - Burundi President Domitien Ndayizeye on Tuesday held his first meeting with military commanding officers to discuss harmonisation in the running of the country during the second phase of the transition period, Radio Burundi reported.
"This is an opportunity for me to establish contact as head of state with the aim, first and foremost, of harmonising our vision on the running of the country," Ndayizeye said. "Why this harmonisation? Because before the change of hands in leadership, a lot was said and, in certain respects, there were concerns, in other respects, there were assurances. For me, the most important thing is for all of us to carry on with the same vision and to be in the same direction."
Ndayizeye said there would be no elaborate changes in the running of the country since the guiding programme had been set out by the Arusha accord.
Fighting between rebel groups and government forces continues in Burundi, despite the signing of ceasefire agreements between the government and three rebel groups in December 2002. The country is halfway through a three-year transitional period, brokered under South African mediation, which would see Burundi move to democracy.
"We will therefore have the opportunity to outline our country's priorities, which will characterise the government business during the second phase of transition," Ndayizeye stated. "We shall reiterate specifically what we expect from the defence and security corps in general, and the armed forces in particular, so that the goals we set be achieved within the 18-month term that we have been mandated... We can review the obstacles on our way which would impede our achieving these goals quickly and what are the ways of eradicating them."
For his part, National Defence Minister Lt-Col Vincent Niyungeko reiterated the army's "unconditional support" for the new head of state and to the ongoing peace process, which is still facing problems. "We would like to take this opportunity, as members of armed forces, to reaffirm to you our unconditional support in your noble task, to restore peace and security in the country, to continue working towards peace through negotiation with various armed movements. We have sincerely decided to support this process in two ways," Niyungeko said.
"First, the armed forces will continue working on the ground with the aim of restoring peace and security in order to reassure the concerns of the population," he said. "Secondly, the armed forces will continue to participate in various talks that the government will hold with the remaining armed movements which have not yet surrendered their weapons to join the others in finalizing the peace process."
Niyungeko also said that the armed forces would support the cantonment programme for the rebel movements wishing to participate in it. "We believe that this would encourage other movements which have not yet joined the programme to understand the good intentions of the programme," he stated.
Combatants of two minor rebel groups - the Forces pour la defense de la democratie (FDD) faction led by Jean-Bosco Ndayikengurukiye, and the Forces nationales de liberation (FNL) faction of Alain Mugabarabona - have declared themselves ready to be cantoned. Three cantonment areas are currently being established respectively in eastern, central and northwestern Burundi.
No agreement about cantonment has been reached between the main Hutu FDD rebel faction, led by Pierre Nkurunziza, and the government.
The African Mission in Burundi (AMIB) is charged with overseeing the cantonment process. The entire AMIB force will ultimately comprise 2,870 troops: 1,600 South Africans, 290 Mozambicans and 980 Ethiopians.
Theme(s): (IRIN) Conflict, (IRIN) Governance
[ENDS]
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