Mandela presses for Burundi peace agreement

In a show of strength, Tutsi militia opposed to the peace process march in Bujumbura, Burundi, on Sunday

ARUSHA, Tanzania (Reuters) -- Former South African president Nelson Mandela was holding intensive talks in Tanzania on Sunday in a last-minute bid to bridge deep gaps among Burundi's warring political factions.

With only one day left before a historic power-sharing deal is due to be signed on Monday, he was pressing all sides to overcome their differences.

Tanzanian officials in Arusha told Reuters that Mandela was holding private consultations individually with delegations from the Burundi government, the parliament and 17 political parties. He planned to bring them all together for an evening plenary session to deal with any remaining disputes.

"So far we are still on course for the signing. Nothing has happened that can deflect us," Mark Bomani, a senior Tanzanian official involved in the talks said.

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However, 10 pro-government Tutsi political parties said on Saturday they would not sign the accord as it stands because they believe it could lead to genocide against Tutsis by the majority Hutus.

More than 200,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Burundi since 1993 in a wave of massacres and clashes between the country's mainly Tutsi army and Hutu rebels.

Bomani said Mandela would also chair a meeting on Sunday of regional heads of state who imposed sanctions on Burundi after current President Pierre Buyoya seized power in a 1996 coup.

The embargo was lifted in 1999 in recognition of progress made at the Arusha talks, which began in June 1998.

Mandela, who arrived in Arusha on Saturday, has stepped up pressure on all sides to drop their differences and support the draft peace pact. Nearly two-dozen world leaders, including U.S. President Bill Clinton, are expected to witness the signing on Monday.

Accord calls for elections in three years

Tutsi militia opposed to the peace process rally on Saturday

Mandela, who ended white minority rule in his native South Africa, is trying to end deep-seated ethnic divisions in Burundi, where the minority Tutsis -- for centuries the country's feudal rulers -- have controlled political, economic and military power since independence in 1962.

About 80 percent of Burundi's population are Hutus, the main victims of the violence.

The 178-page accord now awaiting adoption would set up an ethnically balanced transitional government that would pave the way for democratic elections in three years. It would also create an army, currently dominated by the Tutsis, split equally between the two ethnic groups.

Burundi held democratic elections in 1993, but Tutsi troops assassinated newly elected Hutu President Melchior Ndadaye in a coup attempt which sparked civil war.

Hutu parties have generally accepted the accord, but Tutsi groups and the government have criticized it, in particular because it does not include a cease-fire.

"The document in its current state won't bring peace," Burundi government negotiator Sebastian Ntahuga told reporters on Saturday after a meeting with Mandela.

"We don't have a cease-fire. If we have a political accord without a cease-fire, nothing is applicable."

Armed Hutu rebel groups back the peace deal, but say they will not sign it because they were not involved in drafting it.

The rebels have been invited to attend the talks as observers, but Bomani said none had yet arrived in Arusha.

Asked if there was a link between the talks and increased violence in Burundi, Ntahuga said: "There's a direct relationship. What people fear is a peace agreement which won't bring peace."

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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