Burundi's last rebel group becomes a political party
by
Reuters
BUJUMBURA, April 22 (Reuters) - Burundi's last remaining rebel group has
officially registered as a political party ahead of next year's national
elections in the coffee-producing central African nation, officials said.
Integrating the Forces for National Liberation (FNL) is seen as the last
hurdle for peace in Burundi, raising hopes that the tiny nation may shuck
off its violent past.
"It is definitely the end of war in Burundi," FNL boss Agathon Rwasa told
reporters late on Tuesday, adding that his party would now prepare for the
2010 elections.
An official at the interior ministry confirmed that the former rebels had
officially become a party.
"The FNL was registered as a political party, because it has separated its
military wing from the political one," said Aime Nkurunziza, chief of staff
at the interior ministry.
In January, the FNL renounced violence and removed "Palipehutu" -- which
means "party for the liberation of ethnic Hutus -- from its name to pave the
way to becoming a party.
Political parties with tribal affiliations are outlawed in Burundi where two
decades of ethnic conflict killed 300,000 people. Burundi's government and
the FNL inked a peace deal in mid-2006, but tensions have remained high.
Under an agreement, 2,100 former combatants from the FNL will join the army,
while the remaining 1,400 will go to the police. Thousands of former
combatants will also turn over their weapons to an African Union task force.
The deal adds that 5,000 former FNL fighters will return to civilian life --
the process started with Rwasa stepping down as military commander.
