Burundi peace talks ‘marred by hurdles’

Arusha. Reconciliation talks between the warring parties in Burundi ended here yesterday with the facilitator, Retired President Benjamin Mkapa, admitting there were still some hurdles in the process.

“There are disagreements on the modalities for implementation on key issues on the roadmap to peace,” he said in a statement issued to journalists as the third round of the Inter-Burundian Dialogue session ended without much progress following the reported boycott of government representatives.

Mr Mkapa said due to the hurdles impeding the talks, there was an imperative need to hold an extraordinary meeting of the Heads of State of the East African Community (EAC) “to address the impediment of the process”.

He noted that he would inform the mediator of the Burundi crisis, President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, and the current chairman of the EAC Summit, President John Magufuli, on the need to hold another extra-ordinary summit to discuss the political turmoil in the EAC partner state.

Mr Mkapa added that although the participants of the just-ended talks had shown appreciation on the progress made so far by himself and the Ugandan Head of State, they have urged for the earliest involvement of the EAC leaders “to add impetus to the resolution of the crisis”.

The just-ended dialogue was attended by former Burundian heads of state Sylvester Ntibantunganya, Pierre Buyoya and Domicien Ndaizeye, leaders of various political parties and United Nations envoy on Burundi Jamal Benomar. The African Union (AU) was also represented.

Speaking to reporters after the talks, the leader of FNL-Amizero political party and deputy speaker of the Burundian parliament, Mr Agathon Rwasa, asked the EAC heads of state to once again intervene in the Burundi crisis so as to end it once and for all.

The other political party leaders, Mr Leonard Nyangoma (FNL) and Mr Evareste Ndayishimiye (CNDD-FDD), appealed to Burundians to resolve their political differences and rebuild their war-battered country.

They called upon those in exile to come back home because there was an improvement in the security situation compared to a year ago.

The third round of talks followed the Inter-Burundi Dialogue session held in Bujumbura in December last year in which Mr Mkapa defended President Pierre Nkurunziza’s government, saying the disputed elections in July 2015 should not be used to undermine reconciliation talks.

He said during a press conference at Bujumbura airport that he had not been tasked by EAC leaders to discuss the legitimacy of the government in power in Burundi but to bring the warring parties to a negotiation table.

He rejected calls by the exiled politicians and some opposition parties in Burundi to isolate President Nkurunziza’s regime from the dialogue on claims that it came to power through unconstitutional means.

Additional reporting by Zephania Ubwani in Kigali