Regional Summit on Burundi’s Peace Process

(PANA)--A regional summit on Burundi’s long peace process will hold 4 December in Bujumbura, Burundian presidency spokesperson Léonidas Hatungimana said on Thursday.

Hatungimana said the issue was addressed during a meeting between President Pierre Nkurunziza and his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni Tuesday. The Ugandan head of state is chairing the Regional Peace Initiative which has successfully held over 20 summits on Burundi leading to the surrender of six of the country’s seven ex-main rebel movements.

Only the Party for the Liberation of the Hutu People/National Liberation Front (PALIPEHUTU-FNL) is yet to join the regional peace initiative but the moment of truth is getting near, according to some analysts who claim that the regional leaders gave the Burundian side still engaged in an open conflict until 31 December to implement their comprehensive ceasefire accord which has been pending for nearly three years.

Future regional summits may take ‘drastic measures’ against the Burundian side that would stall the full implementation of the 7 September 2006 ceasefire deal, according to the spokesperson. Each party knows what should be done to conform with the agreement and finally provide a lasting peace to the Burundian people who are still bogged down in an already over 14-year-old civil war.

According to Hatungimana, the government had to offer posts of responsibility to the rebel executives in the various national institutions. On the other hand, the PALIPEHUTU officials are still hesitant to change the name of the rebel movement which has an ethnic connotation in order to deserve a licence as a political party.

The country’s current constitution does not allow a political association claiming to be from a given ethnic group, region or religion. PALIPEHUTU-FNL is also late in implementing the initial calendar regarding the process for demobilising, disarming and reintegrating (DDR) the combatants.

The regional summit is announced as the warring parties have increased tension over the past days by trading accusations of ‘provocations’ and this has given rise to public suspicion of fresh clashes like those that took place last April in which about 100 people were killed and tens of thousands of others displaced from the Bujumbura outskirts and three provinces close to the Burundian capital.

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