28 September 2004
Peace Is One Step Away in Burundi, but Other Countries Must Help
Former President Buyoya gives the lay of the land to packed audience
By Susan Ellis
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- The peace process ongoing in the troubled country of Burundi still has some obstacles to overcome, but on the whole it has made outstanding progress, former Burundi President Pierre Buyoya told a packed audience of diplomats, academics, media representatives and government officials September 24 in Washington.
Speaking at the U.S. Institute of Peace, an institution created by Congress in 1984 to promote the prevention and peaceful resolution of international conflicts, Buyoya said the most important achievement has been "an opportunity for a very large political dialogue among Burundians -- something we have never known before."
Buyoya was introduced by former U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Johnnie Carson as "an influential and important political figure and voice in his country." Carson, who served as moderator, described the political climate in present-day Burundi: "In one month from now, on October 30, national elections are scheduled to take place ... . Those elections will be another milestone in the peace process that President Buyoya has managed and actively participated in as leader and president of his country from 1996 until last year.
"However, these developments are occurring at a time of uncertainty in Burundi -- amid continued violent opposition from the National Liberation Forces, sometimes described as the FNL. And on the political front, Burundi's politicians have not been able to agree on the country's new constitution. In addition, a number of former rebel movement leaders have yet to register themselves as political parties," Carson said.
Buyoya said he considers reaching a consensus on a future constitution a major challenge "if we want to go forward. This consensus is not there yet. The Pretoria Protocol, signed on the 6th of August, has been signed by, I think, 20 parties and was not signed by 10 other parties."
The vote was divided along ethnic lines, he said. "The majority of the Hutu party signed, and the majority of the Tutsi party didn't sign."
A primary point of contention is how to represent the minority Tutsi in the National Assembly. The Pretoria agreement said the National Assembly will be 60 percent Hutu and 40 percent Tutsi, but how to select that 40 percent, he said, is a thorny point. The Tutsi minority wants the constitution to assure that the Tutsi party representatives will be chosen by Tutsis, not by Hutus.
The second difference concerns power sharing, Buyoya said. While the Pretoria Protocol proposed two vice presidents, one from each party, the Tutsi party insists on having "a president, probably Hutu, and one vice president, Tutsi," for real power-sharing.
The third issue is how long the mechanism to protect the minority politically will be maintained, said Buyoya. The Hutu want it to remain in force for only one term, while the Tutsis want to keep it, he said, "until we appreciate that ethnicity is no longer a factor which influences the political scene in Burundi."
There is currently no agreement on those three issues, Buyoya said, adding, "The risk is that we have tomorrow a constitution voted by some and not by others."
However, Burundians have reached some compromises, Buyoya said, including how to organize the transitional period, agreements on core security matters, and reforms in the military, police, judiciary, and civil service.
It's a complex process, he explained. "We have to reform, disarm, demobilize and form a new army and a new police [force]. If it's not done carefully and properly, it can be an opportunity not to move forward but a setback. There is danger of manipulation ... danger of undermining the whole security in Burundi, but also maybe in the region." He pointed out that this job is a question not only of political consensus but also of resources to demobilize and remobilize the forces and to rebuild the country.
On the optimistic side, Buyoya called the Arusha negotiation "a school of dialogue for Burundians" that has made possible "very important [political] compromises" that have erased some of the ethnic divisions and taught the people to work together not only in government, but also in everyday life.
Now the two peoples, Hutus and Tutsis, "have high expectations that the peace process is going to bring a better life," Buyoya said. He pleaded for the help of the international community in the reconstruction of Burundi and the stabilization of the entire Great Lakes region.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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