BBC NEWS

The BBC's Martin Dawes reports
"A young mother of eight said there was so much shooting in Burundi, she had
been forced to flee"
 real 28k

Sunday, 16 January, 2000, 19:36 GMT
Mandela slams Burundi's 'failed' leaders

Nelson Mandela, the former South African president, has told representatives
of the Burundian Government and opposition that they have badly failed their
people. Mr Mandela was speaking in the Tanzanian town of Arusha where he
launched a new bid to revive the peace process.

WHY DO YOU ALLOW YOURSELVES TO BE REGARDED AS LEADERS WITHOUT TALENT,
WITHOUT VISION????  [Emphasis mine]

Nelson Mandela
The former president squarely blamed Burundi's politicians for failing to
show the talent and vision needed to end the brutal civil war that has cost
some 200,000 lives in the last six years.

"Please join the modern world. Why do you allow yourselves to be regarded as
leaders without talent, leaders without vision?" he asked.

He accused the leaders of Burundi of showing no urgency in their efforts to
end the fighting, and told them that they would have to compromise to end
what he said was a senseless slaughter.

"When people in the West hear these things they say 'Africans are still
barbarians - no human being could do what they are doing'.

"The fact that women, children and the aged are being slaughtered every day
is an indictment against all of you," he said.



He called us to order. It is our duty to respond

Silvestre Ntibantunganya
The listening politicians responded to the speech with a standing ovation.

The Burundi Government described the remarks as fair and understandable.

Minister for Peace, Ambroise Niyosaba, told the BBC that Mr Mandela's
comments were a clear indication that he was committed to helping the
country find a lasting solution to its civil war.

"He called us to order," the former president of Burundi, Silvestre
Ntibantunganya, said. "It is our duty to respond."

"There are things he said which won't please everyone, but they were things
which needed to be said," said Leonce Ndarubagiye of a faction of the CNDD
rebel group.

International effort


Fighting has left 200,000 people dead

Mr Mandela also announced that he had invited presidents Bill Clinton of the
United States, Jacques Chirac of France and other world leaders for peace
talks on Burundi in Arusha next month.

Similar invitations to attend the opening sessions of the talks had also
been sent to Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Uganda, Tanzania and the Organisation of
African Unity.

Mr Mandela was named as the new mediator in peace talks in December,
replacing former Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere, who died in October.

Previous efforts under Mr Nyerere were considered to have failed because
rebel Hutu groups were excluded from the negotiations.



He said things which didn't please everyone, but which needed to be said

Leonce Ndarubagiye
Mr Mandela conceded that the peace process had to involve all parties to the
conflict.

"The process must be all-inclusive, otherwise there can be no guarantee that
the decision of the people here, even if it is unanimous, will be respected
by the armed groups on the ground."

Exodus continues

The number of people fleeing into Tanzania to escape the war in Burundi
shows no sign of lessening.

A BBC correspondent in the Tanzanian town of Kibondo, says that it is simple
fear that is causing the exodus.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, will be visiting
refugee camps near the border on Monday.

She has appealed to the international community to devise concrete measures
to ease the plight of millions who have been forced from their homes around
Africa.

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