The European Union welcomes the signing,
this past Sunday 16 November in Dar es Salaam, of the peace agreement between
the Transitional Government of Burundi and the Forces for the Defence of
Democracy (FDD) movement led by Mr Pierre Nkurunziza. After the conclusion
of the Pretoria Protocol on Political, Defence and Security Power Sharing
in Burundi on 8 October and the subsequent agreements of 2 November between
the Burundian government and the FDD, the European Union considers that
a further stage on the road to peace has been completed and urges the parties
to implement the agreements as soon as possible.
At the same time the European Union
regrets that fighting is still going on in several provinces of the country,
and especially in rural Bujumbura. The EU once again calls on the National
Liberation Forces movement led by Mr Agathon Rwasa to abandon the military
option, which appears to be as increasingly futile as it is deadly, aggravating
the enormous suffering already visited upon the population. As in its declaration
of 14 October, the European Union also calls on the Burundian government
to keep the door open for negotiations.
The European Union thanks the organisations and countries which made the signing possible: Regional Initiative, Presidency of the African Union, South Africa, contributors to the African Mission in Burundi. It reiterates its support for the African Mission in Burundi. The Union also affirms its commitment to supporting the reconstruction of the country at this crucial stage in its history and emphasises the importance of the donors' round table which will be held in Brussels on 14 and 15 January 2004.
The Acceding Countries Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia, the Associated Countries Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey and the EFTA countries, members of the European Economic Area, align themselves with this declaration.