Burundi rivals gather in Uganda for peace negotiations

AU Commission chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma on Friday said she would welcome “the resumption of the inter-Burundian dialogue in Entebbe”, and said she had written to Nkurunziza pleading for the force to be allowed to deploy, “to seek the consent of the Burundian government for the early deployment” of peacekeepers.

But the government and opposition, who met Monday in Uganda, are at odds about how to resolve their differences, and the government has rejected the African Union’s plan to send 5,000 peacekeepers to Burundi to protect civilians.

A failed coup, continued clashes, and gun attacks in the central African nation have unsettled a region where memories of the 1994 genocide in neighboring Rwanda are still raw.

Hundreds have been killed in Burundi this year, following the announcement by Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza that he would run for a third term.

But even before the start of negotiations – which are scheduled to begin January 6 in Tanzania – the Burundian government imposed conditions.

“Burundi will consider it an invasion” if any foreign troops come and will fight them, the president said.

“Burundi is not in such situations”, Nkurunziza said.

People demonstrate against the Republican Forces of Burundi (Forebu) on the beach of the lake Tanganyika near the port of Bujumbura on December 26, 2015.

However, Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni disagreed, telling the government: “This is something you should discuss carefully; these may be criminals but, for the sake of peace, let’s give them immunity”.

Now, that gain is starting to unravel as the violence, which has claimed more than 200 lives, takes on a more ethnic dimension.

Urging the Burundian government to focus on substance, Museveni stressed that: “We must encourage truth and reconciliation…”

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In May, as street protests against Nkurunziza’s third term bid turned violent, a senior army officer announced that Nkurunziza had been removed from power.

A peace meeting held in neighbouring Uganda on Tuesday to find a solution to the crisis ended without any agreement. But in running for a third term, Nkurunziza’a party argued that he was eligible because for his first term he was chosen by lawmakers and was not popularly elected.