The Return of Agathon Rwasa Could Signal Permanent Peace in Burundi
blurb:isstoday:23062008burundi
23 June 2008: The Return of Agathon Rwasa Could Signal Permanent Peace in Burundi
On Monday 26 May 2008 the government of Burundi and the country’s last active rebel group, the National Liberation Forces (PALIPEHUTU-FNL), signed a ceasefire which provided for the immediate end to all fighting.
The signing came as a surprise since fighting between the Burundian Armed Forces and the FNL has been ongoing since April 2008. More than 100 people have been killed and thousands displaced.
There was further good news.
The work of the South African Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula, facilitator of the Burundi peace process, Mr Mamadou Bah, African Union (AU) representative and the Head of the United Nations Office in Burundi, Mr Youssef Mahmoud, resulted in the return of Agathon Rwasa, the leader ofthe FNL, from exile in Tanzania, four days after the signing ceremony.
Within days of Rwasa’s return, Nqakula invited the Group of Special Envoys on Burundi, the delegations of the PALIPEHUTU-FNL and the Government of Burundi to meet in Magaliesburg, South Africa from 9 to 10 June 2008. Rwasa headed the PALIPEHUTU-FNL delegation, while Major-General Evariste Ndayishimiye headed the delegation of the Government of Burundi.
According to the agreement reached between the two parties, the Government of Burundi and the PALIPEHUTU-FNL committed themselves to renounced violence and undertook to resolve all their differences through dialogue. They also promised to fully respect the timelines outlined in the Revised Programme of Action to Further the Burundi Peace Process, including the implementation of the agreements signed in 2006. Furthermore, the two parties resolved to address simultaneously all the outstanding political issues, including the political accommodation of the PALIPEHUTU-FNL in national institutions as well as the integration of its combatants in the security and defence forces. They also agreed to undertake specific initiatives in order to inform the national institutions, PALIPEHUTU-FNL members, and the population about the ongoing peace process. They also agreed to refrain from any inflammatory action or declaration; to find as soon as possible a mutually acceptable solution to the question of the registration and the name of the PALIPEHUTU-FNL as a political party; to spare no efforts to complete all the steps outlined in the Joint Verification and Monitoring Mechanism (JVMM) Program of Action and the Joint Operational Plan, including the demarcation and establishment of Assembly Areas; to ensure that the resolution of these issues would not be used in any way as a precondition for implementing the JVMM Program of Action and the Joint Operational Plan and finally to abstain from all actions that might be perceived as fresh recruitment drives, particularly amongst children.
The commitments of the Government of Burundi include that it undertakes, within the framework of the Constitution of the Republic of Burundi, to demonstrate the necessary flexibility to address all issues that could hamper the full implementation of agreements reached. Once the combatants are assembled, the Government commits to accommodate and integrate PALIPEHUTU-FNL members in the national institutions in accordance with agreements reached between the parties. The PALIPEHUTU-FNL also committed itself to engage in good faith in the immediate implementation of the Comprehensive Ceasefire Agreement.
The Group of Special Envoys on Burundi undertook to continue to accompany the efforts of the Facilitation and of the Political Directorate. They committed themselves to continue mobilising the international community to provide financial support to the Facilitation and the peace process, including interceding with donors on the provision of humanitarian assistance until the conclusion of the disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration process.
The Group of Special Envoys also agreed to support the transformation of the PALIPEHUTU-FNL into a political party, including the provision of training of its cadres; to pay special attention to the reintegration aspects of the disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration process of PALIPEHUTU-FNL combatants; to promote security sector reform efforts for the integration of PALIPEHUTU-FNL members in the national security forces and finally to consider ways of providing financial support to the Government of Burundi to address the pressures caused by rising prices of food and fuel.
A revised calendar for the implementation of the peace process was also accepted. The calendar makes provision for the following activities:
June 2008
- A team of representatives from the Government of Burundi and FNL to start assessing the position of political- and war prisoners
- To start the process of the demobilisation of PALIPEHUTU-FNL and reintegration into communities under the auspices of the United Nations (UN) and the AU.
- The Political Directorate to start discussions on the inclusions of PALIPEHUTU-FNL in the institutions of the state and transforming of the PALIPEHUTU-FNL into a political party.
- Liberation of political- and war prisoners.
- Movement of PALIPEHUTU-FNL combatants from assembly areas to disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration sites.
- A meeting of the Group of Special Envoys on Burundi to evaluate the implementation of the peace process.
July 2008
- Transformation of the PALIPEHUTU-FNL into a political party and participation of its members in the political, economic and social spheres.
- Completion of the integration of PALIPEHUTU-FNL in the institutions of the state.
August to December 2008
- The Political Directorate to report on demobilisation and reintegration of PALIPEHUTU-FNL combatants into social and economical environment.
The Facilitation also announced that the JVMM has on 2 June 2008 adopted a Joint Operational Plan, which will guide the JVMM during the process of Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration and Rehabilitation.
If ever the odds were in favour of the completion of the Burundi peace process it is now. The UN, AU, the facilitators and the international community must continue to put pressure on all parties for the implementation and completion of the process.
Henri Boshoff, Africa Security Analysis Programme, ISS Tshwane (Pretoria)
