06 May 2009: ISS Today: The End of the Burundian Peace Process

6 May 2009: The End of the Burundian Peace Process

 

“My demobilisation officially means the end of the war in Burundi. It is a sign that the country’s peace process is progressing.” That was how the Burundian rebel leader, Agathon Rwasa, aptly summed up the peace process as he handed in his AK-47 and rebel uniform at the April 18 ceremony marking the demobilisation of thousands of his Forces Nationales de Liberation (FNL) combatants. The ceremony took place in Rubira in the eastern province.

 

Rwasa’s optimism turned out not to be misplaced afterall, as three days later FNL had handed in their weapons and their demobilised combatants had started moving into Burundian military and police barracks. This was confirmed by the chairperson of the Joint Verification and Monitoring Mechanism (JVMM). To cap it all, FNL has even registered as a political party.

 

The push for the finalisation of the peace progress picked up momentum when the South African defence minister, Charles Nqakula called a stakeholders’ meeting under the auspices of Burundi Facilitation on March 13-14. That meeting effectively established a three-person High Level Task team comprising Major-General Derrick Mgwebi of South Africa, Major General Evariste Ndayshimiye representing the Burundian government, and Jonas Nshimirimana of the FNL.

 

The team, which was tasked with completing the process of disarming, assembling and verifying FNL combatants for either integration or demobilization, held its first meeting on March 16. The team worked closely with Jeroboam Nzikoanyanka, chairperson of the technical coordinating team for Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) in Burundi, United Nations Integrated Office in Burundi (BINUB), UNICEF, FNL leadership and political directorate. The process included even the facilitator, Nqakula taking site visits to Rubira Assembly area and Gitega Demobilisation Centre on April 1.

 

A follow-up meeting was held in Pretoria on April 8 that hammered out a declaration committing both the FNL and the government to the peace process. In that regard, FNL undertook to assemble its remaining combatants and surrender all weapons to the African Union (AU) Task Force within three days. Combatants were to be categorised into four distinct groups:

 

  • 3 500 to be integrated into the Burundi Defence Force and Police

  • 5 000 to be demobilised

  • Up to 10 000 who do not fit in either of the above groups but maybe considered as “Adult Associated”

  • Up to 1 000 women who are not on the list but may be considered as “Women Associated”

 

For their part the Burundian government agreed to:

 

  • Take responsibility for children that have been separated from FNL in Gitega Demobilisation Centre
  • The rapid conversion of Rubira and Randa sites into demobilisation centres, leaving Gitega open for processing children
  • On confirmation on the demobilization of FNL to register them as a political party
  • To initiate the integration of 3 500 FNL combatants into the Burundi Defence Force and Police, as well as training 390 FNL combatants as part of a Joint Protection Unit for FNL leadership in the interim. To demobilise 5 000 combatants into civil society, supported by the international community
  • To release the remaining FNL combatants

 

There had been appeals to key role players to support closure of the process. South Africa has undertaken to support the process the DDR and training the Joint Protection Unit for at least the following six months.

 

Henri Boshoff, Head, Training for Peace Programme, ISS Tshwane (Pretoria)

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