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afrol News, 2 November - A transitional government of national unity was inaugurated in Burundi yesterday, with President Pierre Buyoya maintaining his position as Head of State for the first half of the three-year transitional period. After 18 months with Buyoya, who is a Tutsi, as President, a member of the Hutu people is to take over the presidendy. Then, there will be national elections. At the swearing in ceremony, each of the 26 new Cabinet ministers swore to work for national reconciliation and fight the ideology of genocide, IPS reports. President Buyoya said one of the first priorities of his new transitional government will be to broker a cease-fire with the two remaining armed Hutu groups that have not joined the peace process. Several African state leaders attended the inauguration ceremony. These included Rwandan President Paul Kagame, President Fredrick Chiluba of Zambia, President Bakili Muluzi of Malawi, President Benjamin Mkapa of Tanzania, President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and former President Nelson Mandela of South Africa. South Africa and Uganda were represented by their Deputy Presidents. Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, former President Mandela the mediator of the Burundi peace process said, "Today we celebrate a triumph. No one can deny that the establishment of a Transitional Government of National Unity is a major step in the advance towards lasting peace and reconciliation in Burundi." President Mandela noted with regret that two fighting groups were yet to join the peace process. "Much therefore remains to be done for peace to be fully established in Burundi," he added. President Mandela thanked the 19 political parties and the Burundian army for opting for peace and reconciliation rather than continued conflict. "Our congratulations extend to the leaders and members of delegations of the 19 political parties that have signed the Arusha peace and reconciliation agreement," he said. President Mkapa of Tanzania, speaking on behalf of other Heads of State from the region, paid tribute to President Mandela under whose able and wise facilitation the peace process advanced to the stage of establishing a Transitional Government of National Unity. The aim of the transitional government is ending the eight years of civil war that have ravaged Burundi by heading a process towards national reconciliation and democracy. Exiles have been returning home to take part in the transitional government and other transitional institutions. The humanitarian suffering, which has plagued Burundi since late 1993, still remains unabated. Hundreds of thousands have died as a direct result of the conflict between the government and opposition forces. The number of Burundian refugees has already reached 500,000. More than 800,000 people, some 12 percent of the country's population, are internally displaced, many of them as a result of a deliberate government policy relocating civilians in circumstances where it cannot be justified under international civilian law, according to UN sources.
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