SECRETARY-GENERAL'S VISIT TO BURUNDI, 7 MAY

Press Release
SG/T/2136
AFR/65

SECRETARY-GENERAL'S VISIT TO BURUNDI, 7 MAY

Upon arrival in Bujumbura at noon on 7 May, the Secretary-General first met with heads of United Nations agencies, urging them to work together.

He then met privately with the President of Burundi, Major Pierre Buyoya, before having a formal meeting with the President, with full delegations. The President called for the United Nations to assist in the lifting of sanctions, the creation of a special Tribunal to deal with acts of genocide committed in 1993, and help with reconstruction and development.

The President then hosted a lunch in honour of the Secretary-General, which was also attended by the Speaker of the Parliament, Léonce Ngendakumana, and the former President, Sylvestre Ntibantuneanya. The Secretary-General spoke briefly with the former President afterwards.

At the Kogobe Congress Palace, the Secretary-General met privately with the Speaker, and the two men then addressed the Parliament. The Secretary- General declared his support for both peace tracks in Burundi -- the external one led by former Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere, and the internal one. He pledged his support for the rebuilding of the country and its recovery and the settlement of refugees in the process of reconciliation. (See Press Release SG/SM/6554.)

In the late afternoon the Secretary-General had a final, private meeting with President Buyoya, gave a brief press encounter, and left for Rwanda.

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