FBIS3-1357
"drafr059_a_94001"
FBIS-AFR-94-059
Document Type:Daily Report
25 Mar 1994
CENTRAL AFRICA
Burundi
`Calm' Returns to Suburbs; Officials Note Events
Assembly Vice President Comments
PM2503141994 Paris Radio France International in French 1230
GMT 25 Mar 94
PM2503141994
Paris Radio France International
Language: French
Article Type:BFN
[Text] Calm seems to have returned to the northern suburbs
of Bujumbura this morning. According to AFP, there was no
shooting last night or early this morning. The death toll for
the recent clashes in Burundi has now been revised downwards,
but the clashes between soldiers and civilians are nevertheless
said to have claimed several dozen lives. Doctors Without
Borders Belgium has expressed its concern about the fate of the
wounded. Most of them are said to be too afraid to leave their
shelters to seek medical help. Christian Sendegeya, vice
president of the Burundi National Assembly, is currently
visiting Paris. He has confirmed that the head of state remains
quite free to move around as he wishes, and he denied that there
was any coup attempt, as had been claimed. This latest flare-up
nevertheless started when soldiers tried to disarm Hutu
civilians in Bujumbura. Murielle Pomponne began by asking
Christian Sendegeya if he felt that this process of disarmament
should continue:
[Begin recording] [Sendegeya] I quite agree that this
disarmament should continue, but we have to ask ourselves who
should be disarming whom. Is the Army to be involved in
disarmament? A large proportion of the Army was actively or
passively involved in the assassination of President Ndadaye.
Are we now to send out that same Army to disarm other people?
This does not make any sense.
The solution I believe is, as we have always asked, for the
international community to send a neutral force to Burundi.
This force could perhaps be entrusted with this mission of
disarmament.
[Pomponne] The OAU was set to send a number of men. Where
does this plan stand now?
[Sendegeya] The OAU was first going to send some 180
soldiers. The Army together with some opposition parties
complained about this. Now we are talking about some 50
officers who are expected to come and be scattered across the
various military camps in the country in order to monitor the
behavior of the Army. I feel, however, that this is not what is
needed. We need a good team of soldiers who could prevent the
current Army from doing any harm, who could begin the whole
process of disarmament, and then could help us to set up a
really national army, made up of soldiers from all regions. [end
recording]
That was Christian Sendegeya, vice president of the Burundi
National Assembly.
In a communique, the European Union yesterday condemned the
violence in Burundi. According to the Twelve, I quote, this
violence has been fanned by extremist elements in the
authorities, the opposition, and the Army.