29 August 2005

After almost 12 years of civil war and unrest, Burundi inaugurated its new democratically elected president on Friday. Some of South Africa's most prominent leaders have been behind the peace process: mediating, advising, and cajoling the Burundians to the talks table.

The country's new president, Pierre Nkurunziza, is the first democratically elected leader since the assassination of Melchoir Ndadaye in 1993.

The land-locked central African country, like its northern neighbour Rwanda, is riven by conflict between the Hutus and minority Tutsis.

Ndadaye, of the Hutu-led Front for Democracy in Burundi (Frodebu), was the first ever elected leader of the country. His death, in October 1993, after just 100 days in power, was blamed on Tutsi army officers.

Brutal civil war
The country was thrown into brutal civil war in which as many as 300 000 Hutus and Tutsis were massacred. In April 1994, new president Cyprien Ntaryamina was killed in the same plane crash that killed Rwandan president Juvenal Habyarimana.

The plane crash was the spark that ignited the Rwandan genocides. Burundi, already unstable, seemed poised on the brink of a similar disaster.

Former leader Pierre Buyoya, who had seized power in a 1987 coup, again stepped in to take control of the country.

Soon after Buyoya first took power in 1987, a Hutu uprising against his mainly Tutsi government had ended with the massacre of 20 000 Hutus. Buyoya then established a commission to foster better relations between the groups within the country, which eventually led to the drafting of a new constitution and the 1993 elections.

Although sanctions were imposed on the country because of Buyoya's return to power, he established an ethnically inclusive government. The civil war, although continuing, lessened in intensity.

Mandela starts the ball rolling
South Africans were first brought in to share their experiences of the successful multi-party negotiations which led to this country's first democratic elections in 1994.

Burundians called for the involvement of Nelson Mandela, the elder statesman of Africa, when he handed over the South African presidency in 1999.

Mandela insisted that the peace process be accelerated, and succeeded in forcing the parties to the table. Using decidedly undiplomatic tactics, like locking the parties in conference rooms, Mandela successfully got them to sign the Arusha Accord in 2000, the first major milestone in Burundi's path to democracy.

The Accord established a timetable for further negotiations, and resulted in the forming of a transitional government. This government was led by Tutsi Buyoya, with a Hutu from Frodebu, Domitien Ndayizeye, as his deputy.

Although the civil war had largely ended, two Hutu groups - Palipehutu-FNL (FNL) and National Council for the Defence of Democracy-Forces for the Defence of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) - remained outside the negotiations.

In 2003, former deputy Ndayizeye became president. Buyoya had handed over the reins under the terms of the Arusha Accord. Ndayizeze appealed to South African President Thabo Mbeki for help in including the Hutu rebel groups.

Jacob Zuma steps in
A man famed for his mediation skills, then South African Deputy President Jacob Zuma, took over the role as chief negotiator.

Where Mandela had driven the process and forced concessions at a frenetic pace, Zuma adopted a softer approach and quickly succeeded in drawing the CNDD-FDD into the negotiations with the signing of the Pretoria Accord in 2003.

The Pretoria Accord, more than anything, set up a schedule for elections, the first in 12 years.

"Everything was engineered so the elections were a mere formality," Zuma told The Star recently. "Nothing could derail the process."

The FNL, however, still refused to negotiate and continued its attacks on the government. In August 2004, the group killed more than 150 Tutsis in a refugee camp in the west of the country. The FNL was declared a terrorist group and warrants of arrest were issued for their leaders.

A ceasefire was finally signed in May 2005, paving the way for the elections that took place in July.

The way forward
With assistance and advice from South Africa's Independent Electoral Commission, elections were held. The CNDD-FDD won with a large majority. A joint sitting of the parliament and senate elected the CNDD-FDD's Pierre Nkurunziza as president.

Nkurunziza, says Zuma, is "a bright fellow who holds the interests of the country at heart." Zuma, as well as South African President Thabo Mbeki, joined a number of other African heads of state at Friday's inauguration.

"In front of all Burundians, I, Pierre Nkurunziza, swear that I will always respect the Burundian constitution and the peace agreement," Nkurunziza vowed. "I swear to ban all ideologies of ethnic division and genocide. I swear to work for the development of all Burundi."

The South African presidency has pledged its support to Nkurunziza and the people of Burundi as they set about rebuilding their country's democratic institutions.

"We look forward to standing alongside them as we, together, recommit to the building of a better Africa and a better world," the presidency said in a statement.

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	African Union  Department of Foreign Affairs

Burundi - the path to peace 1987 - Pierre Buyoya siezes power in coup. 1988 - After an uprising, 20 000 Hutus are killed by the Tutsi army. Buyoya appoints a commission to mediate between Hutus and Tutsis. The commission drafts a constitution which leads, in 1993, to the country's first elections. 1993 - The country's first democratically elected president, Melchior Ndadaye, is assassinated after 100 days in power. Subsequent violence between Hutus and the Tutsi minority plunge the country into chaos. 1994 - Cyprien Ntaryamira dies in a plane crash. 1996 - Buyoya takes power again. Civil war continues at a lower intensity. 2000 - After much pushing from Nelson Mandela, the Arusha Accord is signed. 2003 - In terms of the Arusha Accord, Buyoya hands over power to his deputy, Domitien Ndayizeye, a Hutu. The CNDD-FDD ceases hostilities and joins the transitional government. 2003 - Jacob Zuma, then deputy president of South Africa, takes over from Mandela as chief mediator, and soon succeeds in brokering Pretoria Accord, which lays the ground for elections. 2005 - Pierre Nkurunziza takes the presidency after democratic elections.

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