Militias asked to disarm

2005-05-05 14:22

Bujumbura - Burundi's president has ordered the disarmament of pro-government militias and all civilians to ensure upcoming elections are peaceful, an official said on Thursday.

The disarmament decree President Domitien Ndayizeye signed on Wednesday also created the National Commission for Disarmament to plan how to take legal and illegal weapons from Burundians and foreigners, said Therence Mbonabuca, director general in the ministry for home affairs.

"This will allow the next election to be held in a secure environment," said Mbonabuca.

Burundians emerging from 12 years of civil war will vote for local government leaders on June 3. They will elect members of the National Assembly on July 4 and senators on July 19. The new legislators will then elect a new president on August 19.

Both Burundi's former government that was dominated by the Tutsi minority and rebels from the Hutu majority armed supporters in the civil war.

Legislators estimate more than 100 000 illegal assault rifles, grenades, rocket-propelled grenades and high calibre rifles are in the hands of civilians, said Thomas Bukuru, head of the legislature's commission on defence and security.

Disarmament follows ceasefire deals

The disarmament is in line with three ceasefire deals signed between the government and rebels between 2002 and 2003, according to the presidential decree.

The most recent fighting in Burundi began in 1993 when the country's first democratically elected president, a Hutu, was assassinated by paratroopers from the Tutsi-dominated army. More than 250 000 people have died, most of them civilians, in the violence that followed.

A new transitional government was formed in 2003 after a power-sharing deal was struck with the largest Hutu rebel group.

On April 13, the last holdout rebel group, the National Liberation Force, agreed to stop fighting once peace talks begin with the government. The talks are expected to open next week in neighbouring Tanzania.

- AP