Burundi peace talks postponed
2005-05-06 14:25
Pretoria - A South African-brokered meeting due this weekend to iron out differences between Burundian President Domitien Ndayizeye and his chief political rival has been postponed, an official said on Friday.
"There will definitely be no talks this weekend. It's off the diary," said Lakela Kaunda, spokesperson for Deputy President Jacob Zuma, the chief mediator in the Burundi peace process.
"We're looking for an alternative date," said Kaunda, without elaborating.
A meeting between Ndayizeye and Pierre Nkurunziza, chief of the former rebel Forces for the Defense of Democracy (FDD), was originally scheduled for May 3 but was delayed by Zuma who cited a busy schedule.
They were then due to be held on Sunday and on Monday.
Ndayizeye's Burundi Democratic Front (Frodebu) and the FDD are currently locked in a bitter row over the appointment of a new interior minister to fill the vacant portfolio and have been jockeying for the position ahead of as—yet unscheduled polls.
The two Hutu groups are seen as the strongest political players in the tiny central African nation, still emerging from nearly 12 years of civil war claiming some 300 000 lives.
Last month, African Great Lakes leaders extended over the protests of the FDD the mandate of Ndayizeye's transitional government until August 26.
A new government is to be sworn in on that date following a series of elections to be completed by August 19, according to the terms of the extended mandate.