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P 261043Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY BUJUMBURA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0449
INFO RUEHXR/RWANDA COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHMFISS/CDR USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L BUJUMBURA 000538 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/C AND AF/RSA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 2017/07/25 
TAGS: MARR PGOV PINR PREL BY
SUBJECT: FNL FLEES BURUNDIAN PEACE PROCESS IN DRAMATIC 
FASHION 
 
REF: A. BUJUMBURA 534 
 
     ¶B. BUJUMBURA 466 
 
Classified By: Classified By: Ambassador Patricia Moller for reasons 1. 
4b and d. 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY: The National Force for Liberation (FNL), 
the last hold-out rebel group, has fled the negotiating 
table and Bujumbura in a severe rupture of the year long 
attempts to implement a June 2006 cease-fire agreement. 
The 25 member negotiating team has been reduced to three 
members of the FNL, all members of the political wing of 
the party, according to South African Ambassador to Burundi 
Lembede.  The departure of the FNL negotiators was not a 
surprise to individuals involved in the negotiations, but 
the method in which some of the negotiators fled was quite 
spectacular, including scaling walls and climbing out of 
second story windows.  The future of the negotiations 
remains in jeopardy. END SUMMARY 
 
¶2. (U) In a July 25 briefing to the diplomatic corps, South 
African Ambassador to Burundi Mdu Lembede gave details of 
the most recent breakdown of the Joint Verification 
Monitoring Mechanism (JVMM), the organization responsible 
for the implementation of the cease fire agreement between 
the Government of Burundi (GOB) and the last hold-out rebel 
group, the National Force for Liberation (FNL).  A South 
African team holds the facilitator role in the discussions. 
 During the briefing, Lembede emphasized the previous 
success of the JVMM, provided clear details on the recent 
failure of the JVMM, and appealed for suggestions from the 
diplomatic community.  The bulk of the briefing focused on 
the disappearance of 22 of the 25 FNL negotiators from the 
negotiating team, as media speculation on the event has 
been varied and often uninformed.  The facilitation team 
will meet after August 2 to determine a new course of 
action. 
 
¶3. (U) Lembede highlighted the recent accomplishments of 
the negotiations, including the July 16 agreement between 
the GOB and the FNL, in which both sides agreed upon a 
framework for releasing FNL political prisoners. The 
outcome of the July 16 meeting was a direct result of a 
June 6, head to head meeting in Tanzania between Burundian 
President Nkurunziza and FNL leader Agathon Rwasa (ref B). 
 
------------------ 
New FNL Maneuvers 
------------------ 
 
¶4. (U) Subsequent to the July 16 agreement, the FNL 
returned to the negotiating table on July 20 and in an 
about face, abruptly demanded the unconditional release of 
all of its political prisoners.  The South African 
facilitator to the negotiations noted at this point that it 
was clear  that "attempts were being made to not implement 
the cease-fire agreement."  The FNL team then disputed the 
terms of reference for assembly areas for demobilized 
soldiers, disagreed with certain aspects of a Forces 
Technical Agreement, and complained of threats to personal 
security. (Note: FNL negotiators have received threatening 
phone calls at home, according to Embassy sources.) 
 
¶5. (U) Rumors began circulating in the middle of the week 
of July 16 that the FNL planned to abandon the 
negotiations.  FNL negotiators live in fifteen houses 
scattered around Bujumbura; reports of fully loaded taxis 
bearing suitcases, boxes and personal belongings departing 
late at night from these residences quickly followed the 
initial rumors. 
 
¶6. (U) Perhaps not uncoincidentally, the six month rotation 
of South African troops in charge of protecting FNL 
negotiators also took place the week of July 16.  As part 
of the rotation, the troops performed a routine inventory 
control on July 20.  The inventory showed four rifles 
missing. The four rifles were later found in a subsequent 
inventory review.  In an effort to locate the missing 
rifles, the commander of the South African ordered all 
soldiers to stand down, thus restricting the movement of 
FNL negotiators. 
 
--------------------- 
Dramatic Stage Exits 
--------------------- 
 
¶7. (U) The following day, Saturday, July 21, FNL 
 
negotiators began objecting to their confinement.  As the 
troops in charge of protecting them were unable to move, so 
too were the negotiators restricted to their homes.  In a 
bid to allow the negotiators freedom of movement for the 
weekend, the lead FNL negotiator, Jean-Berchmans 
Ndayishimiye, insisted upon making a formal complaint to 
the South African Ambassador Lembede at Lembede's 
residence.  While traveling to the Ambassador's residence, 
Ndayishimiye told his South African escorts he wanted to 
meet a contact before lodging his complaint with the 
Ambassador.  As the car climbed through the exclusive 
Kiriri neighborhood on the hill behind the city of 
Bujumbura, Ndayishimiye asked the driver to stop the car. 
A group of around 10 armed FNL soldiers came into view and 
surrounded the vehicle.  About half of the FNL soldiers 
were in uniform.  Ndayishimiye exited the vehicle and 
informed the South African troops he was going to consult 
with someone and would return in two hours.  He did not 
come back. 
 
¶8. (U) After the commander of the South African troops 
heard his men had been surrounded by FNL soldiers, he 
reaffirmed the order for the South Africans to stay put. 
On Sunday July 22, the South African team contacted African 
Union Ambassador Mamadou Bah for guidance.  Bah responded 
that the FNL negotiators should be free to come and go as 
they please. At this point, the protective forces no longer 
inhibited the movement of their charges. 
 
¶9. (U) The FNL negotiating team met to undertake 
negotiations as scheduled on Monday, July 23.  One 
negotiator claimed sickness and proceeded to the hospital, 
accompanied by two of her colleagues.  In dramatic fashion, 
the three negotiators proceeded to climb out of the 
hospital room window, cross the hospital grounds, and 
scurry over the wall.  Later that day, another negotiator 
locked himself in his room, descended from his second story 
window with the assistance of a ladder, crossed the yard, 
and also climbed over the wall.  By the start of 
negotiations on Wednesday, July 25, only three of the 
original 25 member negotiating team showed up for the 
negotiations.  The remaining three represent the political 
wing of the FNL; all military members of the negotiating 
have disappeared. 
 
------------------- 
Back To The Table? 
------------------- 
 
¶10. (U) At the conclusion of his briefing, the South 
African Ambassador did not offer an official response from 
the South African facilitators.  He commented that the 
facilitator team has sent a team member to Dar Es Salaam to 
speak with FNL leadership there on July 30.  The 
facilitator will then move on to meet with Burundian 
President on July 31, the chief of the facilitation team on 
August 1, and the Tanzanian President on August 2.  The 
facilitation team will then determine a next course of 
action. 
 
¶11. (SBU) During the desertion of the FNL from Bujumbura, 
the facilitation was in continual contact with FNL 
leadership in Dar Es Salaam. according to the Tanzanian 
Ambassador to Burundi, Brigadier General Francis Mndolwa. 
Mndolwa continued that the FNL leadership assured the 
facilitators that negotiations would continue and FNL lead 
negotiator Ndayishimiye had only left for consultation. 
Mndolwa then reported that the Foreign Minister of Tanzania 
eventually spoke with Agathon Rwasa, leader of the FNL 
rebel movement, and expressed his frustration at the 
breakdown of negotiations.  Rwasa responded that he had not 
been in touch with his troops, people make their own 
decisions on the ground, and his negotiators were concerned 
they might be accused of stealing the missing rifles. 
 
¶12. (U) The Burundian Army (FDN) informed the facilitation 
on July 25 that the FDN had known of the impending FNL 
departure for nearly a week.  The FDN added that the FNL is 
also near its recruitment goal and is "intent on stirring 
up conflict", according to the South African Ambassador. 
Burundian President Nkurunziza met with his Security Chiefs 
yesterday, but spokespersons have remained quiet on the 
content or outcome of the meeting. 
 
--------- 
Comment 
--------- 
 
 
¶13. (C) The rumors surrounding this most recent 
breakdown of negotiations reach far and wide in this small 
country.  The fact that the facilitation has not gotten out 
in front of this story has contributed to wild speculation 
in the local media.  While the FNL does not pose a serious 
threat to the FDN, it is highly possible the FNL may 
attempt to create a stir by undertaking small scale, 
headline-grabbing operations.  It is especially 
interesting, and puzzling, to note the great lengths FNL 
negotiators undertook to "escape."  Negotiators were free 
to come and go as of July 22, yet still climbed out of 
windows and scaled walls when they could have walked out 
the front door. 
 
¶14. (C) The timing of this breakdown is slightly suspect, 
as the president is facing political difficulties due to 
his recent cabinet reshuffle.  It is certain that 
opposition parties will exploit the breakdown of talks to 
place pressure on the government in order to advance their 
partisan objectives.  If the FNL refuses to return to the 
negotiating table, one can question the original good faith 
of both the GOB and the FNL when the cease-fire agreement 
was signed in September 2006.  Both sides privately 
expressed reservations about the accord immediately prior 
to the signing. END COMMENT 
MOLLER