AFRICANEWS

Burundi

Peace talks: the mandela factor

Peace

The Burundi peace deal has been touted quite often, but four years since negotiations started it has yet to arrive. However, members of the Burundi Facilitation have proposed for the signing of the accord.

The reason for the optimism is obvious; to use the words of former president Sylvestre Ntibantuganya it is the 'magic of Mandela'. Whatever one may think of such a sensitive matter being made to look as if it revolves around just one personality, it has to be admitted that former President Nelson Mandela has had a major impact on the Burundi delegations.

"He has not put Burundians with their back to the wall, but face to face with the truth," Ntibantuganya told AFRICANEWS.

Mandela's handling of the delegates is an interesting process to watch. At one time, the venerated aging president has berated them for their lack of commitment and selfish interests, but on the other hand he consistently reiterates his firm belief in them.

" There are times where people said that he pronounced words which were shocking, but in deed the truth can shock, the truth can hurt, but I think that it is starting to produce results, because, in the corridors the Burundians, even those who resist are saying that Mandela is right, you have to look at the heart of what he is saying, it is to make us face up much more to our responsibilities."

During the last session of the Burundi peace talks from March 27-31, Mandela gave the Burundi parties until April to study and compromise proposals made by the facilitation team and make comments and recommendations towards the final accord.

Mandela said that the facilitation team would then consider the comments and amendments and this would be adopted on merit. He took the opportunity to remind them of their responsibility in bringing about a peace deal.

" Now I know you don't seem to appreciate the principle of collective leadership, the principle of team work. Each individual leader wants to have the last word," he said. " No national issue can be settled if you think as individual leaders, not thinking of the masses of the people who are living under extremely difficult conditions in Burundi." he emphasised.

Moreover, Mandela went ahead to tell the delegates that there were critics who expected them to fail to agree. Mandela said that he had been questioned about his optimism that the process is about to be concluded and that he had been told that the delegates 'would approach the draft proposal as if all the issues were being raised for the first time.' In addition he said that he had been warned that the reason why they would reject the proposals 'however good they will be, is that they will not cater for personal interests'.

" Nevertheless I remain optimistic and full of hope, believing firmly that we are on the verge of a breakthrough," he said. There is reason for optimism, mainly because since Mandela took up the mantle for leadership, he had dealt with two issues that seemed to bar the way for a peace deal.

After speaking to the leaders of two rebel groups; Forces for National Liberation's [FNL] leader Cossan Kabura and Forces for the Defence of Democracy's [FDD] leader Jean Bosco Ndayikengurukiye, the two indicated their willingness to participate in the peace talks. According to the representative of the Facilitator, Judge Mark Bomani, it is hoped that the two groups will take part in the consultations of the committee on peace and security scheduled to take place before May 10. However, no date has been set for these consultations.

It was expected that there would be strong opposition to the rebel involvement, specifically from PALIPEHUTU, and CNDD from which FNL and FDD seceded. CNDD has previously threatened to walk out of the talks if FDD attended.

Here again, Mandela's personality seems to have prevailed over such rigid positions. "I have invited the rebel leaders to join these discussions and none of those amongst you who really want peace will object to their presence," Mandela said. "They are coming here in April as people who are committed to peace and who want to ensure that the crisis that is in Burundi is addressed seriously and resolved."

Indeed Leonard Nyangoma, the leader of CNDD has said that they do not have any problems with the involvement. When asked about their previous stand that FDD come as a separate organisation and follow all admission procedures, his response was simple: "We trust Mandela, he will know how to deal with that."

It is interesting that in the last plenary session of the talks on 28 March, Mandela not only praised the rebel leadership but also contrasted their behaviour with that of the delegates present at the conference.

" They came to me with difficult conditions which would make a meeting very difficult but for them, I said to them 'this is not the way leaders who want unity, who want peace behave, you must withdraw this conditions'. they did not give me the problem which I have experienced here of being rigid, being stubborn and thinking of themselves," Mandela said.

Despite Mandela's comments, the spokesperson of FDD told AFRICANEWS that the group still maintained two conditions to their participation at the talks. But in the typical behaviour that Mandela evokes, he believes that the facilitator can work something out before they come to Arusha.

" There are two conditions, for the government to dismantle the Nazi like concentration camps where up to 200,000 people are living without food shelter or medicine, and two the freedom of political prisoners," Ndiho said

"Mandela said he will do his best to ensure that the concentration camps are closed and the prisoners are released," Ndiho said. "These are the conditions, may be he intends to make sure they are met by putting pressure on Major Buyoya and his military government, perhaps he has a plan to succeed in satisfying the conditions, but we have confidence that he will do it."

However, there might be one hitch in the whole process and that is the fact that while the other groups have been meeting over some time and adjusting their thinking to accommodate others, the rebels will be fresh and may have rigid positions.

For instance, Ndiho said that FDD wanted to see the reinstatement of the 1992 Burundi constitution, which had been instituted through a referendum. He said that this was the only legitimate government as it was based on the decision of the people. "We hope that we will as soon as possible, get the draft compromise, we will look at it line by line and see if it is in accordance with the 1992 constitution. If it is different from what the people decided their right to be we will refuse," he said.

Such rigid stands on issues could well take back the negotiations several steps, but the facilitator's representative, Judge Bomani, hopes that this will not necessarily be so.

"When they come, they have a right to present their own views, one hopes that they will not force the discussions to start all over again because the discussions are at an advanced stage.They will be expected to improve on what has already been achieved rather than restart the whole process."

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