'G6' points to link between Arusha and Bujumbura violence

The assault by the rebel Forces nationales pour la liberation (FNL) on the Burundi capital, Bujumbura, over the last 10 days is linked both to the issue of the transitional leadership and the question of a ceasefire agreement, not yet achieved, according to the 'G6' group of pro-Tutsi parties. Alphonse Rugambarara, president of the Inkinzo party and spokesman for the group of six pro-Tutsi parties, said the situation was related to the transition leadership "because President Buyoya is trying to negotiate alone with the rebels." The six parties in the 'G6' include: ANADDE, MSP-INKINZO, PRP, PIT, RADDES and VERT-INTWARI. They support former Interior Minister Colonel Epitace Bayaganakandi, and oppose President Pierre Buyoya, for the transitional leadership of Burundi proposed under the Arusha peace agreement. Rugambarara said Buyoya had met the CNDD-FDD and sent Augustin Nzojibwami [leader of the internal wing of the pro-Hutu FRODEBU party and elder brother of CNDD-FDD leader Jean-Bosco Ndayikengurukiye] to meet the FNL in Dar Es Salaam and Nairobi. "We wonder if this is not related to what is happening in Kinama [Bujumbura]," he added. Buyoya was "holding the rebel card" in order to say that if the Arusha process failed, or if politicians [at Arusha] were against him, he would hold negotiations with the rebels only, according to Rugambarara. The pro-Tutsi 'G6' hoped that the international community and peace facilitator Nelson Mandela would reject that option, "which could be very detrimental to the Burundi people," he said. Burundi Defence Minister Cyrille Ndayirukiye on Sunday denied allegations that the government was encouraging the fighting in Bujumbura. He told IRIN that those trying to make this out were part of the 'G6' opposed to President Buyoya and were "trying to advance their cause". Ndayirukiye said the FNL was sticking to its old ideology of "victory until death". It had got rid of its leader Cossan Kabura [in February] "because he was willing to start negotiations", he said. Kabura's replacement as FNL leader, Rwasa Agathon, was not ready to take part in the Arusha peace process, Ndayirukiye said. The FNL had brought together various of their units in Bujumbura, some of whom had already been in hiding in houses in the suburbs, to make "a surprise attack on Kinama", according to the Defence Minister. In response, the government was deploying more troops and helping to organise self-defence units as it did elsewhere in the country, but "the army can't be everywhere," he said. The FNL had a religious ideology, governed by the Bible, with some fanaticism and many soldiers prepared to be suicide fighters, according to Ndayirukiye. "We are increasing security and have to mop them up systematically," he said. The army was "mentally prepared to continue fighting for years," he added. Ndayirukiye said he had just returned from a trip to South Africa, not to meet rebels but to meet South African Vice-President Jacob Zuma, who is charged with bringing the Burundi government and rebels together, in order "to discuss how to get the [ceasefire] talks back on track." The Burundi government's negotiations with the FDD had hit "a sort of a stalemate", with the rebel group trying to control the ceasefire talks process, yet Bujumbura would welcome the continuation of the Libreville process, depending on the new DRC President Joseph Kabila, Ndayirukiye said. [The late DRC President Laurent-Desire Kabila and Gabonese President Omar Bongo facilitated face-to-face talks between Buyoya and FDD leader Jean-Bosco Ndayikengurukiye in early January.] A meeting between the army, the FNL and FDD reportedly scheduled for this week was not likely to take place, a Burundi government official told IRIN on Tuesday. "I don't think the talks will take place. They were not scheduled. We have not received any communications or invitation for the meeting," the source said. News organisations had quoted Judge Mark Bomani, a member of Nelson Mandela's facilitation team, as saying that there would be a meeting between the government and the armed groups. Back in Bujumbura, the FNL rebels' bombardment was linked to the ceasefire issue - as well as the transition leadership - because the rebel group had been encouraged by the government not having pushed for sanctions against those groups not involved in the peace process, 'G6' spokesman Alphonse Rugambarara told IRIN. "We called on the rebels [the FNL and FDD, not participating in Arusha] to join the negotiations or have sanctions imposed if they refused but, to our surprise, the government has shown no interest in the question of sanctions," he said. "This has encouraged rebels to continue to wage the war... The government should be aware of this and not allow the rebels to pursue that line. The government should support us in our call for sanctions against the rebels," he added. The pro-Tutsi 'G6' spokesman said there was a risk of the situation in Bujumbura getting out of control because of the number of people being forced fleeing the districts of Bujumbura which were being attacked by the rebels: Ngagara, Kinama and Kamenge. "That risk is there and we mentioned this to the mediator [Nelson Mandela]," said Rugambarara."We told him that if the question of the cease-fire and rebels was not addressed adequately, the agreement would be rendered obsolete by events beyond our control, since Burundians and the inhabitants of the capital may feel so much threatened that they would take up arms to defend themselves - especially if the army was unable to guarantee their security. There is a big risk which should compel President Buyoya, the government and the army to take action." Everybody should come together in search of a quick solution for the rebel question, notably through a call for sanctions and to find a solution to the question of the transitional leadership, by working together and avoiding "machiavellian calculations", Rugambarara added. He also told IRIN that there was no stalemate in the search for a leader for the transition period but that the 'G10' [comprising the pro-Tutsi 'G6', plus UPRONA, the PSD, ABASA and PARENA] should choose one person, by 18 March, to lead the first 18 months of the transition period. The 'G6' hoped for agreement on a transitional leader by consensus - "because we would rather prefer that everybody understands that we need a president chosen by consensus" - but if this failed then the 'G10' should, "as a last-resort", proceed by voting on the issue, Rugambarara said. The 'G6' had already initiated contacts on the leadership issue with other parties, including UPRONA, ABASA, PSD and PARENA, he added. African heads of state last week backed a compromise proposal whereby Burundi's transitional would be led for a first phase of 18 months by a Tutsi president from the 'G10' group of pro-Tutsi parties, with a Hutu from the 'G7' for vice-president. In a second phase of 18 months, the roles would be reversed, with a Hutu president and a Tutsi vice-president. The parties have been given until 19 March by the facilitation team to appoint a transitional government, comprising a president and a 16-person cabinet. The next meeting of the Implementation Monitoring Committee (IMC) for the Burundi peace agreement is scheduled for 19 to 23 March in Arusha, northern Tanzania.