Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07BUJUMBURA543
2007-07-27 15:13:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Bujumbura
Cable title:  

BURUNDI'S CNDD-FDD PARTY SEEKS USG HELP IN

Tags:  PGOV PINR PREL BY 
pdf how-to read a cable
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DE RUEHJB #0543/01 2081513
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 271513Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY BUJUMBURA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0456
INFO RUEHXR/RWANDA COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CDR USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L BUJUMBURA 000543 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/C

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2017/07/26
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL BY
SUBJECT: BURUNDI'S CNDD-FDD PARTY SEEKS USG HELP IN
POLITICAL STALEMATE


Classified By: Classified By: Ambassador Patricia Moller for reasons
C O N F I D E N T I A L BUJUMBURA 000543

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/C

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2017/07/26
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL BY
SUBJECT: BURUNDI'S CNDD-FDD PARTY SEEKS USG HELP IN
POLITICAL STALEMATE


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


1. (C) Summary: On July 26, the President of Burundi,s
ruling National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces
for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) party, Jeremie
Ngendakumana, appealed to Ambassador Moller for assistance
in resolving the government,s impasse with Burundi,s major
political opposition parties, Front for Democracy in Burundi
(FRODEBU) and Unity for National Progress (UPRONA).
He wanted particularly to know the real reasons, for
FRODEBU,s reluctance to cooperate with the current
government
of Burundi (GOB),and to ascertain why UPRONA feels it
deserves more representation -- at the highest levels of
government -- than Burundi,s constitution allows.
Ngendakumana
accused FRODEBU of actively seeking an alliance with the
PALIPEHUTU-FNL, and chided UPRONA for insisting upon
additional positions at the highest levels of Burundi,s
government with little regard for the political structure
set forth by Burundi,s constitution.


2. (C) Responding to Ngendakumana, the Ambassador expressed
support for a solution agreed-to by all parties, and said she
would convey the same message to UPRONA and FRODEBU. Laying
the onus to maintain a dialogue squarely on the government,
Ambassador Moller stressed the need for negotiation, warning
that, if no solution could be found, consequent political
instability would eventually negate the great progress made
by Burundi over the last two years, and jeopardize donor and
other international cooperation. Importantly, a failure by
Burundi,s President Nkurunziza and his ruling CNDD-FDD party
to resolve this political impasse would virtually demolish
their ability to govern effectively and give impetus to the
eddying whispers of possible impeachment proceedings.
She said it would be a tragic failure (for Burundi) to lose
the ability to govern itself and urged all the political
principals, notably CNDD-FDD, to act out of patriotism and
regard for the future of Burundi and its people, rather than
to seek personal and political gain. End Summary.


--------------
Historical Context
--------------


3. (C) Burundi,s election of 2005 resulted in a decisive
win
for the CNDD-FDD party and its leaders, Burundi,s new
President Pierre Nkurunziza and party head, Hussein Radjabu.
The ruling government quickly came under fire from FRODEBU
and UPRONA. Both loudly claimed that CNDD-FDD was exploiting
its clear majority by ignoring the dictates of the Burundi
constitution in doling out key ministerial positions, handing
them to CNDD-FDD members rather than proportionally to
members of other parties, in accordance with election
results.
Despite repeated calls to adhere to the law, CNDD-FDD party
leaders Nkurunziza and Radjabu appeared to manage the
executive branch of the government according to their own
wishes. Following the removal of Radjabu as president of
CNDD-FDD at the congress of Ngozi on February 7,
a major schism has developed within the ruling party,
exacerbated by Radjabu,s claim that he would form a new
party as a CNDD-FDD off-shoot. This perceived new weakness
within the CNDD-FDD has emboldened opposition parties, in
particular FRODEBU, to challenge CNDD-FDD,s stranglehold on
Burundi,s political process and to work actively to destroy,
or at the very least, to discredit Nkurunziza,s government.


4. (C) In the wake of President Nkurunziza,s most recent
cabinet appointments that again fail to accommodate the
demands of the minority parties, there have been renewed
calls for action to restore the political legitimacy of
the government including, albeit tacitly, whispers of
possible impeachment proceedings against the President.
Although a successful impeachment of the Nkurunziza is
unlikely (See Comment a.),the very fact of its consideration
in Burundi,s parliament would effectively moot the
President,s ability to manage the proceedings of the
executive branch of the government. In the worst case,
if the President were successfully impeached, his successor
(See Comment b.) would be ineffectual domestically and
Burundi would be considered outside its borders as
politically
unstable. The real tragedy of an impeachment attempt,
successful or not, would be that the government would be

hamstrung in its ability to progress toward the economic and
social development so desperately needed by Burundi,s
people.
(Comment: a. An impeachment of the president can only be
successful with a 2/3 majority in total of both Burundi,s
National Assembly and Senate. b. In the event of a
successful
impeachment of President Nkurunziza, another member of his
CNDD-FDD party must be elected by the Burundi parliament.
End Comment.)

--------------
Meeting with the Ambassador
--------------


5. (C) At his request, CNDD-FDD ruling party president
Jeremie Ngendakumana, former Burundian Ambassador to Kenya,
met privately with Ambassador Moller on July 26. Ngendakumana
expressed his concern over the constitutional validity of
Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza,s newly named cabinet
and the potential for increased political strife its
composition would cause. In particular, Ngendakumana
criticized the two major political opposition parties,
FRODEBU and UPRONA, for their reluctance to actively
participate in the creation of an acceptable coalition
government according to the results of the 2005 elections.
He explained that, on several occasions, President Nkurunziza
had afforded both opposition parties the opportunity to
nominate candidates for each of the government,s ministerial
positions but had received no response. Without input from
the opposition, and interpreting their silence as
unwillingness to join his government, President Nkurunziza
named a new cabinet, which continues to be dominated by his
own party. Ambassador Ngendakumana cited what he claimed
were the roadblocks erected by FRODEBU and UPRONA to the
successful formation of a coalition government.

--------------
FRODEBU - A Disruptive Force?
--------------


6. (C) Ngendakumana claimed that FRODEBU is actively
working
to discredit Nkurunziza,s government, and actively seeking
an
alliance with the PALIPEHUTU-FNL to advance its political
aims
during Burundi,s next round of elections in 2010. The
CNDD-FDD
party head claims that FRODEBU is scared, that the recent
success of Burundi,s Partner Roundtable and its potential to
dramatically improve the lives of ordinary Burundians will
only serve to strengthen President Nkurunziza and his ruling
party. Ngendakumana further maintained that FRODEBU will be
a
disruptive force to any of the economic and social
improvement
projects generated through donor cooperation.


7. (C) Ngendakumana accused FRODEBU of engineering the
recent
exodus of the PALIPEHUTU-FNL. Additionally, according to
Ngendakumana, FRODEBU believes that CNDD-FDD,s success in
the 2005 elections can be attributed, in part, to the
existence of a military wing of the party. So, he surmised,
FRODEBU,s recent association with the militaristic
PALIPEHUTU-FNL is the beginning of an alliance that FRODEBU
believes will help ensure its political success in 2010.
Despite his assertions regarding the PALIPEHUTU-FNL role in
the degradation of Nkurunziza,s government, Ngendakumana
believes that the rebel PALIPEHUTU-FNL will soon be back at
the negotiating table.

--------------
UPRONA - Demanding a Right or an Advantage?
--------------


8. (C) According to Ambassador Ngendakumana, the UPRONA
party is persistently demanding greater representation at
the highest levels of Nkurunziza,s government, despite
having
already garnered a disproportionate number (15) of high
political positions (See Comment a.),including Burundi,s
First Vice President, Dr. Martin Nduwimana. (See Comment b.)

Ngendakumana pointed to the historical dominance of UPRONA
-- in power from 1966 - 1994 and from 1996 - 2003 -- as their

impetus for demanding a greater presence in the current
government. Ngendakumana claims to have asked UPRONA leaders
if their requests for additional government positions were
being made to realize a constitutional right or simply as a
way to gain political advantage, promising no CNDD-FDD
support
for the latter motive. (Comment: a. Ngendakumana,s tally of
UPRONA,s positions of power within the current government
may
be inflated since he tallies as "ministerial equivalents"
such
non-traditional posts as advisors to the First Vice
President.
b. Complicating these issues further, some within UPRONA
maintain that First Vice President Nduwimana is no longer a
member of the party, since he earlier refused to resign his
post in solidarity with UPRONA,s stand against Nkurunziza,s
government. End Comment.)


9. (C) As recently as July 19, Jeremie Ngendakumana claims
to have met with UPRONA President Aloys Rubuka to head off
what UPRONA considered a brewing political crisis; however
the meeting wrought only further attempts by UPRONA to gain
additional political footholds. At that meeting Ngendakumana
agreed in writing to support UPRONA,s bid for an open Senate
seat in return for UPRONA,s support of CNDD-FDD in the 2010
elections. UPRONA then promised to deliver UPRONA,s list of
nominees for ministerial positions to President Nkurunziza
within the next few hours, but the list was never forthcoming.

--------------
And in conclusion....
--------------


10. (C) While speaking in general terms regarding the
malaise Ngendakumana considers to be plaguing the current
government, he expressed his belief that it is only a small
group of people who are consistently at the heart of
continued disruptions. To manage public perceptions of the
ongoing crisis, and noting President Nkurunziza,s personal
popularity, Ambassador Moller suggested that it may be
prudent for Nkurunziza to use the media to communicate
to the Burundian people directly his desire and his
determination to resolve the ongoing political tussle.
Ngendakumana is also convinced that talking with opposition
leaders, he is not speaking to the real "decision makers"
but rather to interlocutors for former Burundian Presidents
Domitien Ndayizeye and Pierre Buyoya.

--------------
Comment:
--------------


11. (C) Unsurprisingly, the picture Ngendakumana painted of
CNDD-FDD was of a reasoned, judicious, and above all
constitutionally sensitive political party doing its best to
negotiate with intransigent self-seeking spoilers who seek
nothing more than the perquisites of power. Although
doubtless many of his assertions and his historical context
for the present conflict are true, he appears to have
forgotten it was CNDD-FDD,s arrogance following the 2005
election that led initially to bad feelings between his and
the other parties, and that now they see greater advantage
in rebuffing CNDD-FDD,s recent energetic approaches.
He seemed a bit disappointed that the Ambassador failed
wholeheartedly to endorse his disingenuous portrait, but
rather that she advocated strongly for CNDD-FDD to continue
vigorously its pursuit of a negotiated agreement adopting,
if necessary, a more conciliatory posture in order to end
the conflict and sidestep a stalemate in Burundi,s ability
to govern itself and for the welfare of the
country and its people. End Comment.
MOLLER