Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07BUJUMBURA538
2007-07-26 10:43:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Bujumbura
Cable title:  

FNL FLEES BURUNDIAN PEACE PROCESS IN DRAMATIC

Tags:  MARR PGOV PINR PREL BY 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0007
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHJB #0538/01 2071043
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 261043Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY BUJUMBURA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0449
INFO RUEHXR/RWANDA COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHMFISS/CDR USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L BUJUMBURA 000538 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/C AND AF/RSA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2017/07/25
TAGS: MARR PGOV PINR PREL BY
SUBJECT: FNL FLEES BURUNDIAN PEACE PROCESS IN DRAMATIC
FASHION

REF: A. BUJUMBURA 534


B. BUJUMBURA 466

Classified By: Classified By: Ambassador Patricia Moller for reasons
C O N F I D E N T I A L BUJUMBURA 000538

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/C AND AF/RSA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2017/07/25
TAGS: MARR PGOV PINR PREL BY
SUBJECT: FNL FLEES BURUNDIAN PEACE PROCESS IN DRAMATIC
FASHION

REF: A. BUJUMBURA 534


B. BUJUMBURA 466

Classified By: Classified By: Ambassador Patricia Moller for reasons 1.
4b and d.


1. (U) SUMMARY: The National Force for Liberation (FNL),
the last hold-out rebel group, has fled the negotiating
table and Bujumbura in a severe rupture of the year long
attempts to implement a June 2006 cease-fire agreement.
The 25 member negotiating team has been reduced to three
members of the FNL, all members of the political wing of
the party, according to South African Ambassador to Burundi
Lembede. The departure of the FNL negotiators was not a
surprise to individuals involved in the negotiations, but
the method in which some of the negotiators fled was quite
spectacular, including scaling walls and climbing out of
second story windows. The future of the negotiations
remains in jeopardy. END SUMMARY


2. (U) In a July 25 briefing to the diplomatic corps, South
African Ambassador to Burundi Mdu Lembede gave details of
the most recent breakdown of the Joint Verification
Monitoring Mechanism (JVMM),the organization responsible
for the implementation of the cease fire agreement between
the Government of Burundi (GOB) and the last hold-out rebel
group, the National Force for Liberation (FNL). A South
African team holds the facilitator role in the discussions.
During the briefing, Lembede emphasized the previous
success of the JVMM, provided clear details on the recent
failure of the JVMM, and appealed for suggestions from the
diplomatic community. The bulk of the briefing focused on
the disappearance of 22 of the 25 FNL negotiators from the
negotiating team, as media speculation on the event has
been varied and often uninformed. The facilitation team
will meet after August 2 to determine a new course of
action.


3. (U) Lembede highlighted the recent accomplishments of
the negotiations, including the July 16 agreement between
the GOB and the FNL, in which both sides agreed upon a
framework for releasing FNL political prisoners. The

outcome of the July 16 meeting was a direct result of a
June 6, head to head meeting in Tanzania between Burundian
President Nkurunziza and FNL leader Agathon Rwasa (ref B).

--------------
New FNL Maneuvers
--------------


4. (U) Subsequent to the July 16 agreement, the FNL
returned to the negotiating table on July 20 and in an
about face, abruptly demanded the unconditional release of
all of its political prisoners. The South African
facilitator to the negotiations noted at this point that it
was clear that "attempts were being made to not implement
the cease-fire agreement." The FNL team then disputed the
terms of reference for assembly areas for demobilized
soldiers, disagreed with certain aspects of a Forces
Technical Agreement, and complained of threats to personal
security. (Note: FNL negotiators have received threatening
phone calls at home, according to Embassy sources.)


5. (U) Rumors began circulating in the middle of the week
of July 16 that the FNL planned to abandon the
negotiations. FNL negotiators live in fifteen houses
scattered around Bujumbura; reports of fully loaded taxis
bearing suitcases, boxes and personal belongings departing
late at night from these residences quickly followed the
initial rumors.


6. (U) Perhaps not uncoincidentally, the six month rotation
of South African troops in charge of protecting FNL
negotiators also took place the week of July 16. As part
of the rotation, the troops performed a routine inventory
control on July 20. The inventory showed four rifles
missing. The four rifles were later found in a subsequent
inventory review. In an effort to locate the missing
rifles, the commander of the South African ordered all
soldiers to stand down, thus restricting the movement of
FNL negotiators.

--------------
Dramatic Stage Exits
--------------


7. (U) The following day, Saturday, July 21, FNL

negotiators began objecting to their confinement. As the
troops in charge of protecting them were unable to move, so
too were the negotiators restricted to their homes. In a
bid to allow the negotiators freedom of movement for the
weekend, the lead FNL negotiator, Jean-Berchmans
Ndayishimiye, insisted upon making a formal complaint to
the South African Ambassador Lembede at Lembede's
residence. While traveling to the Ambassador's residence,
Ndayishimiye told his South African escorts he wanted to
meet a contact before lodging his complaint with the
Ambassador. As the car climbed through the exclusive
Kiriri neighborhood on the hill behind the city of
Bujumbura, Ndayishimiye asked the driver to stop the car.
A group of around 10 armed FNL soldiers came into view and
surrounded the vehicle. About half of the FNL soldiers
were in uniform. Ndayishimiye exited the vehicle and
informed the South African troops he was going to consult
with someone and would return in two hours. He did not
come back.


8. (U) After the commander of the South African troops
heard his men had been surrounded by FNL soldiers, he
reaffirmed the order for the South Africans to stay put.
On Sunday July 22, the South African team contacted African
Union Ambassador Mamadou Bah for guidance. Bah responded
that the FNL negotiators should be free to come and go as
they please. At this point, the protective forces no longer
inhibited the movement of their charges.


9. (U) The FNL negotiating team met to undertake
negotiations as scheduled on Monday, July 23. One
negotiator claimed sickness and proceeded to the hospital,
accompanied by two of her colleagues. In dramatic fashion,
the three negotiators proceeded to climb out of the
hospital room window, cross the hospital grounds, and
scurry over the wall. Later that day, another negotiator
locked himself in his room, descended from his second story
window with the assistance of a ladder, crossed the yard,
and also climbed over the wall. By the start of
negotiations on Wednesday, July 25, only three of the
original 25 member negotiating team showed up for the
negotiations. The remaining three represent the political
wing of the FNL; all military members of the negotiating
have disappeared.

--------------
Back To The Table?
--------------


10. (U) At the conclusion of his briefing, the South
African Ambassador did not offer an official response from
the South African facilitators. He commented that the
facilitator team has sent a team member to Dar Es Salaam to
speak with FNL leadership there on July 30. The
facilitator will then move on to meet with Burundian
President on July 31, the chief of the facilitation team on
August 1, and the Tanzanian President on August 2. The
facilitation team will then determine a next course of
action.


11. (SBU) During the desertion of the FNL from Bujumbura,
the facilitation was in continual contact with FNL
leadership in Dar Es Salaam. according to the Tanzanian
Ambassador to Burundi, Brigadier General Francis Mndolwa.
Mndolwa continued that the FNL leadership assured the
facilitators that negotiations would continue and FNL lead
negotiator Ndayishimiye had only left for consultation.
Mndolwa then reported that the Foreign Minister of Tanzania
eventually spoke with Agathon Rwasa, leader of the FNL
rebel movement, and expressed his frustration at the
breakdown of negotiations. Rwasa responded that he had not
been in touch with his troops, people make their own
decisions on the ground, and his negotiators were concerned
they might be accused of stealing the missing rifles.


12. (U) The Burundian Army (FDN) informed the facilitation
on July 25 that the FDN had known of the impending FNL
departure for nearly a week. The FDN added that the FNL is
also near its recruitment goal and is "intent on stirring
up conflict", according to the South African Ambassador.
Burundian President Nkurunziza met with his Security Chiefs
yesterday, but spokespersons have remained quiet on the
content or outcome of the meeting.

--------------
Comment
--------------



13. (C) The rumors surrounding this most recent
breakdown of negotiations reach far and wide in this small
country. The fact that the facilitation has not gotten out
in front of this story has contributed to wild speculation
in the local media. While the FNL does not pose a serious
threat to the FDN, it is highly possible the FNL may
attempt to create a stir by undertaking small scale,
headline-grabbing operations. It is especially
interesting, and puzzling, to note the great lengths FNL
negotiators undertook to "escape." Negotiators were free
to come and go as of July 22, yet still climbed out of
windows and scaled walls when they could have walked out
the front door.


14. (C) The timing of this breakdown is slightly suspect,
as the president is facing political difficulties due to
his recent cabinet reshuffle. It is certain that
opposition parties will exploit the breakdown of talks to
place pressure on the government in order to advance their
partisan objectives. If the FNL refuses to return to the
negotiating table, one can question the original good faith
of both the GOB and the FNL when the cease-fire agreement
was signed in September 2006. Both sides privately
expressed reservations about the accord immediately prior
to the signing. END COMMENT
MOLLER