BURUNDI: PEACE TALKS POSTPONED AFTER DEFENCE MINISTER KILLED

Описание: (28 Jan 1998) Eng/French/Nat

Peace negotiations in Burundi have been postponed for two weeks after the defence minister was killed in a helicopter crash en route to the talks.

The talks between the Tutsi-led government and opposition leaders were meant to revive the flagging peace process.

The Defence Minister, Firmin Sinzoyiheba, was a staunch supporter of Pierre Buyoya's military coup in July 1996, which Hutu rebels are seeking to oust.

Opposition leaders and members of Burundi's Tutsi-led government had gathered in the central town of Gitega for the first of a number of peace initiatives launched by the government.

The four-days of peace talks were meant to revive a flagging peace process which has seen Hutu rebels stepping up attacks in and around Bujumbura in recent months.

But as the talks opened, there were reports that the Burundian defence minister had died along with four others when his helicopter crashed in a thunderstorm en route to the meeting.

A military spokesperson said Firmin Sinzoyiheba's helicopter crashed in the Gihanga Hills southeast of Bujumbura.

The other victims were the military pilot, the minister's bodyguard, the
commander of the Gitega air base and Buyoya's personal secretary.

The talks have now been postponed for two weeks.

The meeting -- one of several around the country -- is meant to gather ideas on how to achieve peace between the Tutsi-led government and Hutu rebels.

But it has nonetheless been boycotted by the Hutu extremist party, CNDD (the National Council for Democracy and Development) -- the political voice of the armed insurrection.

The main legal Hutu party, FRODEBU -- Front for Democracy in Burundi -- is politically opposed to Buyoya's government, but its leaders reject the rebel violence being used to oust the president.

SOUNDBITE: (French)
"I am convinced that amongst the members of the government, there are some that are serious and want peace and there are others that think that the solution is a military victory.
SUPERCAPTION: Augustin Nzojibwami, Secretary General FRODEBU (legal Hutu party)

Hutu rebels have stepped up attacks against the capital and surrounding areas since the beginning of the year in a bid to oust the Tutsi-led government.

More than 150-thousand people, mainly Hutu and Tutsi civilians, have died in violence sparked by the October 1993 assassination of the country's first elected Hutu president by Tutsi paratroopers.

A military spokesman said attacks by armed groups had worsened in response to the meeting.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
Just to show that they are there. Whenever there is a summit that is going to take place, they start shooting around. So, we fought them, they were fighting. we fought them back, and we are going to fight them."
SUPER CAPTION: Colonel Longin Minani, army spokesman (English)

News of the death of the defence minister -- a staunch defender of Buyoya -- is now likely to affect the situation on the ground.

SOUNDBITE: (French)
I would like to announce in the name of the government, a sad piece of news. A helicopter carrying the Minister of National Defence crashed this morning at 0930.
SUPER CAPTION: Luc Rukingama, Burundian Foreign Minister

At Gitega, members of the military leapt into their vehicles on hearing reports of the minister's death -- and sped off to the crash site.

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