Burundi: Rebels blocking peace process-gov’t

(SomaliNet) Burundian government on Tuesday accused the last rebel group opposing the government of blocking the implementation of a peace deal reached two years ago.

Charles Nqakula, South African Defence Minister, who is chairing talks between the two sides, held discussions with President Pierre Nkurunziza and the leader of the Forces for National Liberation, Agathon Rwasa, on Monday.

\"We are very disappointed. The FNL declared before the mediator that it will not disarm its combatants unless it is registered as a political party,\" said Leonidas Hatungimana, Nkurunziza\'s spokesman.

\"The peace agreement states that the FNL can\'t be registered if it has not yet separated its military wing from the political wing.\"

The government and the rebels reached the peace deal that halted two decades of violence in September 2006. That fighting killed 300,000 people.

\"Mediators and the international community are now aware of who is stopping the return of peace in Burundi,\" Hatungimana said.

The FNL said it would only go through with the implementation of the peace deal once it is accepted as a political party with the name \"Palipehutu\", which means party for the liberation of the Hutu people.

The government has rejected the demand, saying Burundi\'s constitution does not allow political parties with ethnic affiliations.

\"We have negotiated and signed a peace deal using the same name. We are not going to change it today,\" said FNL spokesman Pasteur Habimana.

Analysts say the Hutu rebel group is the last barrier to lasting stability in the coffee-growing nation of eight million.-Reuters