SA tries to save Burundi peace
2005-05-08 20:43
Pretoria - South African President Thabo Mbeki held talks with Burundi President Domitien Ndayizeye and former rebel leader Pierre Nkurunziza on Sunday to try to resolve a dispute threatening the peace process in the central African country.
A South African official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the talks at Mbeki's residence in Pretoria began in the evening and were expected to run late into the night.
Deputy president Jacob Zuma, South Africa's chief mediator for Burundi, was also taking part in the meetings with Ndayizeye and Nkurunziza, leader of the former rebel Forces for the Defence of Democracy (FDD).
The talks were aimed mainly at resolving a dispute between Ndayizeye and Nkurunziza over the appointment of the interior minister, according to the South African official.
The FDD is part of a power-sharing government in Burundi but its three ministers have stopped taking part in meetings for the past three weeks.
According to the official, Ndayizeye is insisting that Nkurunziza submit three candidates for the post of interior minister, which he is refusing to do.
Ndayizeye said earlier as he departed Bujumbura that he expected "understanding and not pressure" from the South African mediation effort.
Burundi is to hold presidential and legislative elections by August 19 under provisions of the 2000 Arusha accord that put the country on a course towards peace after 12 years of civil war that have claimed more than 300 000 lives.