FT News
Unity government installed in Burundi
By Mark Turner In Bujumbura
Published: November 1 2001 17:09 | Last Updated: November 1 2001 21:52

Burundi took a faltering but ambitious step towards ending eight years of
ethnic conflict on Thursday, as the country's dominant Tutsi elite formally
embraced the Hutu majority with the installation of a transitional
government of national unity.

In the parliament building surrounded by South African protection forces and
Burundian troops, President Pierre Buyoya and new Hutu vice-president
Domitien Ndayizeye swore to "fight the ideology of genocide and exclusion
without reservation", and never to betray the unity of the Burundi people.

Twenty six cabinet members, almost equally split between Tutsi and Hutu
(many of whom had only just returned from years of exile), similarly
promised to uphold the three-year government - in which a Hutu will assume
the presidency after eighteen months.

Members of the audience burst into laughter - whether with derision or
relief, it was unclear - as they saw men appear on stage whom even a few
months ago they never imagined would have joined the government.

But Nelson Mandela, the man largely responsible for brokering the agreement,
quickly restored a sense of solemnity. "Today we celebrate a triumph," he
said. "If you can build peace in your beautiful country, it will have an
effect on the entire region, and will reverberate throughout the continent.
Your country has bled enough."

Five African heads of state and two vice-presidents looked on, reinforcing
hopes that peace in Burundi might also help restore calm to the vast swathe
of central Africa poisoned by inter-ethnic struggle. Burundi's rebels have
played an active part in the neighbouring Congo's six-country conflict and
without peace at home, instability abroad is likely to continue.

But whether Thursday's shift in power - in a country that has seen
power-sharing fail before - can finally end a war that has claimed more than
200,000 lives remains deeply uncertain.

Reports of fighting outside Bujumbura over recent days underline the very
real instability that continues to plague this central African country. The
two main rebel groups - the FDD and the FNL - have so far refused to take
part in the peace deal, and there is no ceasefire.

"It is indeed bizarre and virtually unprecedented that the installation of a
new transitional government should have been agreed upon while the war
continues," says Jan Van Eck, from South Africa's Centre for International
Political Studies. "The failure of the Arusha process to include the two
armed rebellions will remain its fatal shortcoming and continue to challenge
its legitimacy."

Even senior government members concede that if they do not deliver a
ceasefire within 18 months, they will face serious problems. Not least of
those will be the Tutsi hardliners who have also rejected the agreement,
angry at a substantial loss of power and subsequent insecurity.

There have already been two failed coups this year, and while the army
appears loyal for the time being, it will need to be watched closely.
Analysts say any reform will need to be slow and careful.

The parallel with South Africa's army, of which 700 troops (paid for by
Belgium) have been brought in to protect returning exiles, has not gone
unnoticed. Burundians, suspicious of any foreign forces, have been surprised
by the number of white faces among the camouflage-clad soldiers patrolling
around downtown Bujumbura.

For South Africa's part, the Burundi protection mission will be also be an
important test of its reformed army, still haunted by its last disastrous
peacekeeping mission in Lesotho in 1998.

Finally, Mr Buyoya launched an urgent appeal to donors to support Burundi's
new government with cash. Pledges of $400m made last year at Paris have been
slow to appear - and there are fears that without outside support the
government will find it hard to deliver improvements.

"We think we have correctly fulfilled our commitment," he said. "We expect
that our development partners fulfill theirs."

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Please note: Materials by sources other than Derechos distributed in this
mailing list do not necessarily imply the endorsement of Derechos
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected]
For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]
If you need help, e-mail: [email protected]