The last rebel leader still fighting in Burundi, Agathon Rwasa, emerged from the bush this week to begin preparing for negotiations in Dar es Salaam to join the peace process. Those talks could begin as early as next week.
There may be a brief delay because of the scheduled visit to Pretoria by interim president Domitien Ndayizeye and former rebel leader Pierre Nkurunziza.
In his first interview with a South African newspaper, Rwasa, leader of the Forces of National Liberation (FNL), told the Mail & Guardian that the time was right to join the peace process. Deputy President Jacob Zuma, the mediator in the Burundi peace process, is seeking to bridge growing differences in the interim government.
You have had problems with Zuma as the mediator. Do you still recognise him in that role?
“You are asking a question to which there is already an answer. Zuma is a mediator who has done everything to keep us out. He has done this in a hypocritical manner. If he changes, OK. If he maintains his position, we will oppose his role as a mediator.
A ceasefire must surely be top of your list of priorities?
It is the first question we will discuss with the government. We must first tackle that before other negotiations get under way. The ceasefire must be observed. We can’t do that unilaterally. Both sides have to observe it.
But your forces have been involved in fighting around Bujumbura in recent days.
We have to defend ourselves. We were attacked by government troops and others. While we are committed to peace we cannot fold our arms and do nothing if attacked. It is our right to defend ourselves. While there is no proper ceasefire on the ground, it should be noted that attacks from the other side have multiplied.
Are you looking for some kind of truth and reconciliation process?
In Burundi much worse things happened than in South Africa. Apartheid did not kill millions of people, but in Burundi there were massacres that claimed more than a million lives. The truth should be made public. For dialogue to succeed, those who are responsible for horrible acts should be tried. People should tell the truth and eventually one must pardon them.
Are you planning to enter the peace process before or after the elections?
That’s not our main concern now because elections are something apart. Our programme is to talk to our brothers to achieve lasting peace. If there are elections today it won’t bother us. We will continue to work to seek lasting peace.
A timetable for the complex electoral process, which envisages the inauguration of the new president at the end of August, was announced in Bujumbura this week