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RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
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R 291702Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY PRETORIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3653
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RUEHXR/RWANDA COLLECTIVE
RUEHTC/AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE 0502
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 1444
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RUEHSM/AMEMBASSY STOCKHOLM 0259
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA 0589
RUEHTN/AMCONSUL CAPE TOWN 5355
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0500
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PRETORIA 000428 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR AF/C, AF/S 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL KDEM BY SF
SUBJECT: SOUTH AFRICA OUTLINES NEW BURUNDI PEACE PLAN 
 
 
This cable is Sensitive but Unclassified.  Not for Internet 
distribution. 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY:  At a February 22-23 South African 
Government (SAG)-sponsored seminar, Facilitator Charles 
Nqakula and Special Envoy Kingsley Mamabolo outlined SAG 
plans to reinvigorate its Burundi mediation through creation 
of a "Political Directorate" that would include the 
Government of Burundi (GOB) and Palipehutu-FNL (FNL), as well 
as Uganda, Tanzania, the EU, UN, and AU.  The Bujumbura-based 
Political Directorate would serve as a "listening forum" to 
address contentious issues between the GOB and FNL, but would 
not/not be used to reopen existing agreements.  The SAG plan 
sets an ambitious timetable for the return of the FNL to 
Bujumbura (April/May 2008), for FNL DDR (beginning May 2008), 
for the withdrawal of South African/AU troops (June 2008), 
and for inclusion of the FNL in key positions in the 
government (by the end of 2008, consistent with the SAG's one 
year AU mandate extension).  Conference participants 
reaffirmed their strong support for the SAG mediation in 
Burundi and agreed on a coordinated "checklist" of messages 
for the GOB and FNL.  Nqakula and Mamabolo plan to travel to 
Dar es Salaam and Bujumbura in early March to seek the buy-in 
of the parties for the plan.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (U) The SAG Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) hosted a 
seminar for the "Group of Special Envoys for Burundi" 
February 22-23 in Cape Town.  SAG Special Envoy for the Great 
Lakes Kingsley Mamabolo chaired the seminar, joined for two 
hours on February 22 by the Facilitator of the Burundi Peace 
Process, SAG Minister for Safety and Security Charles 
Nqakula.  Others attendees included:  African Union Special 
Representative in Burundi Ambassador Mamadou Bah; UN 
Executive Representative for Burundi Youssef Mahmoud; 
European Union Special Envoy for the African Great Lakes 
Region Roeland van de Geer; Belgium Special Envoy for the 
Great Lakes Jozef Smets; Executive Secretary of the 
Secretariat of the International Conference on the Great 
 
SIPDIS 
Lakes Region Ambassador Liberata Mulamula; and 
representatives of the governments of Uganda, Tanzania, 
Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, and Canada.  DAS James Swan 
represented the USG, joined by PolOff (notetaker). 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
Strong Support for South African Facilitation 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) The seminar participants expressed strong support 
for the South African-led Regional Initiative for Peace in 
Burundi, whose mandate has been extended to December 31, 
¶2008.  Facilitator Nqakula, S/E Mamabolo, and other South 
African participants reaffirmed the SAG commitment to the 
Burundi peace process, but noted that the patience of the SAG 
-- which has nearly 750 troops serving in Burundi as part of 
the African Union Special Task Force -- is not unlimited. 
Several participants noted the link between concluding the 
FNL peace process and the long-term economic development of 
Burundi. 
 
------------------- 
Programme of Action 
------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) At the centerpiece of South Africa's "Programme of 
Q4. (SBU) At the centerpiece of South Africa's "Programme of 
Action to Take Further the Burundi Peace Process" (emailed to 
AF, AF/C, and Embassy Bujumbura) is the creation of a 
"Political Directorate," which is intended to be a "listening 
forum" to resolve sensitive issues between the FNL and GOB. 
Both the FNL and GOB would sit on the Political Directorate, 
along with a representative of the South African 
Facilitation; the AU and UN Special Representatives; the 
Ambassadors of South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda; and an EU 
representative.  The SAG initially proposed including a civil 
society representative on the Political Directorate, but 
reconsidered given concerns that sensitive information could 
 
PRETORIA 00000428  002 OF 003 
 
 
leak.  Instead, conference participants agreed to keep key 
stakeholders, including civil society and Parliament, briefed 
on developments.  Ambassador Mulamula of the International 
Conference on the Great Lakes Region made a plea to include 
her organization on the Political Directorate, a request that 
will be considered by the Facilitator. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Seminar participants agreed that the Political 
Directorate will not/not be used to reopen previous 
agreements, nor will it replace the work of the Joint 
Verification Monitoring Mechanism (JVMM), which was created 
to oversee implementation of the September 2006 Ceasefire 
Agreement.  The Ugandan representative and others stressed 
the narrow mandate of the Political Directorate, noting that 
the FNL might see its creation as an opportunity to reopen 
issues which had already been decided. 
 
--------- 
Timetable 
--------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) In its proposed Programme of Action, the SAG 
detailed an ambitious timetable for concluding the FNL peace 
process: 
 
-- February/March 2008: Discussions between the Political 
Directorate and FNL in Dar es Salaam, including preparations 
for the FNL to resume participation in the JVMM; 
 
-- April 2008: Resumption of work of JVMM and Liaison Teams, 
including discussions on release of political prisoners; 
 
-- May 2008: FNL leadership returns to Burundi; Political 
Directorate discusses inclusion of FNL into national 
institutions; prisoners released; beginning of disarmament, 
demobilization and reintegration for FNL combatants; 
 
-- June 2008: FNL transforms into political party; Ceasefire 
Agreement fully implemented; African Union Special Task Force 
withdraws; and 
 
-- July - December 2008: Political Directorate monitors 
reintegration of FNL into state institutions and 
socio-economic life of country. 
 
----------------------- 
Key Messages to Parties 
----------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Conference participants separately agreed on "common 
messages" and "common understandings" on key political 
issues.  These include: 
 
-- The international community is impatient for progress, 
particularly for the FNL to return to Burundi; this 
impatience is growing as there is momentum on the FDLR and 
LRA peace processes elsewhere in the region; 
 
-- FNL power-sharing demands may be conveyed to the Political 
Directorate, but must not re-open existing decisions 
contained in the Ceasefire Agreement or violate Burundi's 
Constitution or national laws; the GOB should show 
flexibility in giving the FNL a role in decision-making 
within these constraints; 
 
-- The FNL concerns over its security on return to Burundi 
should be raised in the Political Directorate; 
 
-- The FNL should drop its insistence on retaining 
"Palipehutu" in its name, as this violates the constitutional 
prohibition on "ethnic" party names; 
 
-- The alleged FNL dissidents in camps should go through the 
GOB DDR process like other former combatants; the 
international community will continue to provide humanitarian 
 
PRETORIA 00000428  003 OF 003 
 
 
aid to the FNL dissidents; as signatory of the Ceasefire 
Agreement with the GOB, Agathon Rwasa remains the recognized 
interlocutor representing the FNL; 
 
-- FNL concerns over alleged political prisoners should be 
channeled through the agreed Joint Verification and 
Monitoring Mechanism (JVMM) and Joint Liaison Teams, and only 
taken up by the Political Directorate if there is a major 
impasse; and 
 
-- The international community will not/not accede to FNL 
demands to pay debts it incurred to feed and lodge its 
still-mobilized combatants during the peace process; they may 
of course benefit from support upon entering the DDR process. 
 
---------- 
Next Steps 
---------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Minister Nqakula and S/E Mamabolo plan to travel to 
Dar es Salaam on March 1 to discuss the Programme of Action 
with the FNL, then to Bujumbura to meet with President 
Nkurunziza to seek his buy-in.  Mamabolo has already briefed 
the two parties on the general outlines of the plan, but will 
use these meetings to secure their full understanding and 
cooperation.  Post will follow-up with Mamabolo upon his 
return to get a readout from the trip and FNL/GOB reactions. 
The conference participants (termed by the SAG the "Group of 
Special Envoys for Burundi") agreed to meet again in May 
2008, possibly in New York, to evaluate progress in the 
implementation of the Programme of Action and discuss next 
steps. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Following the breakdown of communications between 
the FNL and the South African Facilitation in late 2007, the 
SAG has reevaluated its policy and decided to take a fresh 
approach to the Burundi peace process.  The creation of the 
Political Directorate is a significant new step, meant to 
facilitate GOB-FNL dialogue and reassure the FNL that its 
concerns will be heard.  Through the creation of the Burundi 
special envoys group, the SAG is attempting to keep key 
regional and international players on the same page, and 
ensure that they deliver consistent messages to the two 
parties. 
 
¶10. (SBU) The SAG greatly appreciated the high-level and 
active U.S. participation in the Burundi seminar.  Post will 
continue to follow closely SAG policy toward Burundi and 
recommends continued USG-SAG dialogue on Great Lakes issues, 
an area where we share common objectives and interests. 
BOST