Regional summit on Burundi peace process wraps up in Tanzania

The Burundi peace process appears to have advanced another step today in Arusha, Tanzania, where governments wrapped up a regional initiative summit on the war-torn central African country, a United Nations spokesman said today.

Speaking to the press in New York, the spokesman said former South African President Nelson Mandela - the Facilitator of the peace process - had won agreement from the Governments attending the summit for his formula to have the current President of Burundi, Pierre Buyoya, serve the first year and a half of a three-year transitional government, alongside a Hutu Vice President. A Hutu would then serve as President during the second 18-month period.

Berhanu Dinka, Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Representative for the Great Lakes region, attended the summit, which has four core country members - Uganda (as chair), Tanzania (as vice chair), Kenya and Rwanda.