Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07BUJUMBURA267
2007-04-05 16:12:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Bujumbura
Cable title:  

THREE CONTENTIOUS ISSUES STALL BURUNDIAN CEASE FIRE TALKS

Tags:  PREL PGOV MARR PINR BY SF 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0001
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHJB #0267 0951612
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 051612Z APR 07
FM AMEMBASSY BUJUMBURA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0208
INFO RUEHXR/RWANDA COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS BUJUMBURA 000267 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR PINR BY SF
SUBJECT: THREE CONTENTIOUS ISSUES STALL BURUNDIAN CEASE FIRE TALKS

REF: BUJUMBURA 237

UNCLAS BUJUMBURA 000267

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR PINR BY SF
SUBJECT: THREE CONTENTIOUS ISSUES STALL BURUNDIAN CEASE FIRE TALKS

REF: BUJUMBURA 237


1. (U) SUMMARY: South African Special Envoy Kingsley Mamabolo outlined
the three most contentious issues facing the Joint Verification
Monitoring Mechanism (JVMM) and briefed the diplomatic corps on the
status of implementation after a meeting with the National Liberation
Front (FNL) on April 2. The three points of disagreement concern the
demobilization of FNL soldiers and subsequent reintegration into the
Burundian Army, the placement of FNL officials in substantial
government positions, and the difficulty of conducting negotiations
when FNL leadership remains in Dar Es Salaam. Mr. Mamabolo also
stressed that the mandate of the facilitator of the JVMM is not to
renegotiate the terms of the ceasefire agreement, but to implement
them. END SUMMARY


2. (U) The implementation of the September 7 ceasefire agreement
between the FNL and the Government of Burundi (GOB) stalled for the
third time during the week of March 26. In a bid to support the JVMM,
South African Special Envoy Kingsley Mamabolo traveled to Bujumbura on
April 3 to consult with the two parties. There are three issues
causing friction, according to Mamabolo. The first is a FNL request
that when the FNL army gathers in assembly areas for demobilization,
the Burundian National Army (FDN) stands down in their respective
barracks. During this time, an international military organization
such as the AU or UN will oversee the security in Burundi and ensure
that neither FNL nor FDN soldiers are subjected to arbitrary arrest or
mistreatment. After the troops are sequestered, the FNL then requests
that the two armies become one unified force in incremental steps. The
GOB sees this plan as untenable.


3. (U) The second FNL demand is for high level government positions for
some of its members. The GOB responded that per the Constitution,
high-level government positions cannot be awarded to unelected
officials. Mr. Mamambolo told the diplomatic corps that he asked
President Nkurunziza to prepare a structure that would permit FNL
officials to participate at some level in government activities.
President Nkurunziza responded by asking for FNL officials' Curricula
Vitae to determine where in administrative or diplomatic positions the
officials might work.


4. (U) In a widely published account in the government-owned newspaper
Le Renouveau, President Nkurunziza recently asked why FNL party head
Agathon Rwasa will not return to Burundi to facilitate the
implementation of the cease fire agreement. President Nkurunziza
stated publicly that the return of Rwasa would expedite the successful
resolution of the numerous implementation impasses. Mr. Mamabolo
indicated to the diplomatic corps that the FNL worries about the
physical security and potential incarceration of Rwasa if he were to
come to Burundi, even though FNL members have been granted blanket
immunity.


5. (U) The FNL is attempting to renegotiate terms of the ceasefire
agreement, asserted Mr. Mamabolo. He stressed that the mandate of the
facilitator in the JVMM is not to renegotiate terms, but rather to
implement the terms of the agreement as they are written. Mr. Mamabolo
said the facilitators would continue to work behind the scenes to find
a compromise in advance of the next scheduled meeting of the JVMM at
the end of April.


6. (U) Mr. Mamabolo also made a point of saying the facilitator has not
"promised anything to anyone" despite reports circulating in Bujumbura.
Specifically, he wanted to ensure the diplomatic community received
information about the negotiations directly from the facilitator,
saying that purported "FNL spokespersons" recently provided misleading
information about the negotiating process.


7. (SBU) COMMENT: Although Mamabolo was careful not to name names, it
was clear that the "FNL spokesperson" to whom the facilitator referred
is South Africa's Institute for Strategic Studies analyst Jan van Eck
(reftel). Mr. van Eck arrived in Bujumbura on March 25 and has met
with both government officials and FNL representatives. Van Eck
traveled to Dar Es Salaam over the weekend of March 31 to meet with FNL
leaders there and then returned to Burundi, where he will remain until
April 8. END COMMENT

BREITER