Burundi: Prisoner release to help peace process

BUJUMBURA, 3 September 2008 (IRIN) - The release of detainees suspected to be members of the Palipehutu-Forces for National Liberation (FNL), Burundi's last rebel group, would remove a major impediment to the ceasefire between the group and the government, sources said.

The FNL has repeatedly demanded the release of its detained members as a pre-condition for implementing a ceasefire with the government, according to local observers in the capital, Bujumbura.

A meeting between President Pierre Nkurunziza and FNL leader Agathon Rwasa on 29 August agreed an unspecified number of detainees would be released. The closed-door meeting, held in the northern Ngozi province, was attended by South African mediator Charles Nqakula and UN special envoy Youssef Mahmoud.

Others at the meeting included the special envoy of the African Union Mamadou Bah and the leader of the mediation process known as the Political Directorate, Kingsley Mamabolo.

"If released, civilian prisoners will be sent to their villages, and FNL combatants will either be assembled or join their initial positions," FNL spokesman Pasteur Habimana said.

The exact calendar for the release of the detainees was expected to be finalised at a follow-up meeting between Nkurunziza and Rwasa.

Leaders of Burundi's political parties hailed the agreement. "I am satisfied with the accord because it is through dialogue that solutions to problems can be found... it shows both parties are committed to reach peace," former Burundi vice-president Fédéric Bamvuginyumvira said.

"I am however worried because it is not the first time accords are signed," Bamvuginyumvira, current Vice President of the Front pour la Democratie au Burundi-FRODEBU party, added. "What matters is to turn the accords into acts."

Léonard Nyangoma, leader of the Conseil National pour la Défense de la Démocratie CNDD, expressed similar sentiments. "I am delighted with the accord because it is a [step] towards restoration of peace, but I am also worried because it sometimes takes much to implement accords.

"The ceasefire accord with the FNL started to be implemented two years after it was signed," he added.

Habimana, however, said he did not know the exact number of FNL members in prison. "The figure reaching us daily keeps increasing...they are numerous [and] are found in all prisons of Burundi," he said in Bujumbura.

According to the human rights groups, Ligue Burundaise des Droits de l'Homme (ITEKA), 76 suspected FNL members were arrested in the Butaganzwa commune of Kayanza province on 2 August.

The suspects, who were in military uniform and armed with five grenades, were detained in a police station in Kayanza, ITEKA said. The arrests followed reports that 486 people had joined the FNL in the area in recent months.

Further hurdles

At the 29 August meeting both parties also asked the mediation team to address other stumbling blocks, including government jobs for rebel leaders and the FNL's transformation into a political party, which is problematic because the constitution prohibits references to ethnic groups in parties' names.

It was agreed to speed up implementation of the 2006 peace accords, set up viable assembly zones and increase contingents protecting assembly zones. Nkurunziza and Rwasa also agreed to hold regular meetings

Experts say Burundi's political situation may be calm and improving but tensions remain. According to Francois Grignon, Africa programme director for the International Crisis Group, Burundi is calm but that is 'misleading'.

"Burundi cannot afford an escalation of tensions and violent clashes during the electoral campaign, in a context where FNL disarmament will have barely started and the issue of the integration of former rebels into state institutions and security forces may have remained unresolved," he wrote in an opinion piece on 1 September.

"The spirit of Arusha must prevail. Only dialogue and compromise between Burundi's political parties, aiming at a consensus on legislative and possible constitutional reforms, can set up the adequate framework for the organisation of free, credible and peaceful elections in 2010."

Rwasa returned to Burundi on 30 May after years of exile in Tanzania and has since denounced rebellion. Before his return, he signed an agreement with the government, committing his group to end fighting.

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