PRESS BRIEFING BY PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF BURUNDI

30 August 1996

Press Briefing

19960830 FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY

Nsanze Terence, the Permanent Representative of Burundi, held a press conference this afternoon in conjunction with today's Security Council meeting convened to take action on a draft resolution on the situation in his country. He said there was no decision being taken in the Council in relation to an arms embargo. "This came about thanks to strenuous negotiations between the members of the Security Council and my own delegation." There was no support for economic sanctions inflicted on Burundi by the neighbouring countries. Unlike the initial version of the draft, the latest version did not contain an ultimatum for entering into negotiations, although a timetable was included, with a Security Council meeting envisaged for 30 October to evaluate the progress achieved by that date.

A number of steps would be taken before then, he said, including the enlargement of the country's National Assembly; the commencement of a dialogue with all groups interested in participating in the establishment of peace and security and in reaching an overall agreement on the power-sharing system in Burundi; and the holding of a national debate.

He welcomed the position adopted by the European Union and associated States concerning the situation in his country, which had facilitated negotiations on the matter.

He went on to reiterate elements of the statement which he had made before the Security Council concerning allegations made by Amnesty International of mass graves in Burundi. The Government had quickly responded to those allegations with invitations to interested parties, including Amnesty International, to scrutinize the matter. "The reality is that the security and the humanitarian situations have steadily improved for the last 35 days."

However, he said, some armed clashes had occurred. The new Government wanted the whole world to witness the reality of those who were killing innocent people. The Government had asked the United Nations and its High Commissioner for Human Rights to substantially increase the number of human rights observers in Burundi. Such action was proof of the Government's determination to protect the human rights of all citizens of Burundi, regardless of their ethnic origin.

The Burundian army was determined to behave in a disciplined manner, but as with any army, there were elements that were not disciplined, he said. Those who had been caught had been severely punished, including being sentenced to life imprisonment; currently some 174 undisciplined soldiers were in prison. No army in the world was perfect. For example, unspeakable atrocities had been perpetrated by members of the military in the former Yugoslavia -- that in the heart of Europe. No such occurrences had taken place in Burundi.

* *** *