Situation Report: Burundi: Critical Challenges to the Peace Process, Jean-Marie Gasana and Henri Boshoff

Three years after the signing of the Arusha Accord, the peace process in Burundi remains deadlocked. The much anticipated summit of the 15-16 September 2003 has ended without success. The impasse remains centred around a number of issues of a political and security nature. This latest summit was the 22nd attempt by Heads of State to find a solution to the protracted conflict in Burundi. What factors are responsible for the current deadlock between the Transitional Government of Burundi (TGoB) and the Conseil National pour la Défense de la Démocratie- Forces pour la Défense de la Démocratie (CNDD-FDD) of Pierre Nkurunziza? Reflection on the previous rounds of negotiations is needed to understand this. In this update on the peace process in Burundi, the July 2003 Dar es Salaam talks and the Sun City talks of August 2003 are discussed, with a view to explaining the current stalemate.