Burundi Peace Process: briefing

Meeting report

FOREIGN AFFAIRS PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
10 September 2003
BURUNDI PEACE PROCESS: BRIEFING BY DEPUTY MINISTER

Acting Chairperson: Mr Sithole (ANC)

Documents handed out:
Notes on Burundi briefing

SUMMARY
The Committee heard that South Africa has incurred massive costs in its quest to bring peace to Burundi and that although its peacekeepers are faced with an uphill task, the country cannot afford to withdraw from this mission at this time. The Committee also heard that so far, South Africa has not been able to recoup the cost of sending peacekeepers to Burundi from the UN and other international donors who had pledged help. It was also revealed that South Africa was the only country that has committed troops to Burundi despite the UN pledge for a joint Africa force.

MINUTES
Mr Sithole informed the Committee that the Chair was out of the country and that he would stand in for him. He then welcomed the Deputy Minister Mr Aziz Pahad and asked him to address the Committee

Briefing by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
Mr Aziz Pahad said that everyone is in agreement that South Africa has played a central role in peace missions in Africa. He noted that the involvement of the country in securing peace was costly but it was hoped that the international community would soon lend a helping hand to the process. He then gave a brief history of Burundi's peace process and what has been achieved to-date. He pointed out that South Africa is respected internationally for the role it has played in averting a genocide situation in Burundi. He added that South Africa, as the economic and military powerhouse on the continent, has a moral responsibility to take a leadership role in the pursuance of peace and stability on the continent. He shared with members the frustration South Africa has faced in trying to convince various combatants in Burundi to come to the negotiating table. It has been a tortuous process towards the attainment of peace and stability in Burundi. It is a very complex process that calls for lots of patience on the part of all those involved.

Speaking on the deployment of South Africa troops in Burundi Mr Pahad reported that Ethiopia and Mozambique were mandated by the African Union to join South Africa in this mission. However these countries could not raise the required troops due to the failure by the UN to fund their contribution to the peace mission. South Africa now finds itself in a situation where it is the only country with troops in Burundi. The EU has recently committed a sum of Euro 67 million to the Burundi peace keeping mission and hoped that with the assistance of the USA on the way, other African countries would deploy more peacekeepers. The government is aware of the many problems South Africa troops are faced with but that the county is committed to stay put until all armed combatants are disarmed and the situation stabilises.

Mr Pahad acknowledged the fact that many people were unhappy with the slow pace of peace but noted that at least there is some movement towards stability. A summit to be hosted by President Museveni on 14 September 2003 would hopefully secure the buy-in by all combatants in order to move the process forward. He concluded that conditions that could re-ignite a Rwanda-like situation are there and that therefore it is important for South Africa to remain put until acceptable conditions exist for peace to take root.

Discussions
The Chair asked the Deputy Minister to furnish the Committee with the report on the peace process and Mr Pahad agreed to.

Mr Mclntosh (DA) thanked the Deputy Minister for what he termed a sober assessment of the very complex process noting that other people elsewhere have issued statements that appear to overstate the success that has been made in this process so far.

The Deputy Minister pointed out that in a convoluted situation where poverty rules supreme, where there is a dearth of development and therefore no opportunity for employment and political progress, it cannot be said that South Africa has overstated its achievements so far. Quite to the contrary, there has been significant progress although the word 'progress' is relative.

Mr Mclntosh noted that the Deputy Minister was using the word "we" in regard to efforts being made to secure peace in Burundi and wondered whether this plural referred to we South Africans, the SADC, the AU or the international community.

Mr Pahad explained that the "we" refers to the African mission that is part of the UN implementation committee for the Burundi peace process.

Mr Mclntosh asked the cost to South Africa in terms of the troop commitment to Burundi and whether this is an indefinite commitment.

Mr Pahad replied that he was not familiar with the cost factor as far as the peace-keeping mission is concerned, noting that the Minister of Defence would be in a better position to comment on this.

Mr Mclntosh pointed out that South Africa has committed 1600 personnel in a conflict where strategic assessment had put the required troop capacity at 3000. This is unacceptable since South African troops have been exposed to an extremely hazardous situation.

Mr Pahad said that South Africa contributed troops that were relevant to its capacity and that the rest of African countries could not measure up to the calling without outside support. He contended that South Africa could not afford to sit and wait for others when the situation demanded urgent intervention. He assured members that there were clear rules of engagement and that so far, South Africa troops have not encountered any hostile fire from the combatants.

Mr Mclntosh said that when he chatted to the South African troops on his visit to Burundi there were protests outside the South African army base. He inquired from the Deputy Minister whether the general populace was dissatisfied with the presence of these troops in their country.

Mr Pahad replied that he was not aware of mass disaffection against South African troops in Burundi although, there were isolated situations when Tutsi thought South Africans were Hutus whilst Hutus thought they were Tutsi.

Dr Geldenhuys (NNP) asked who foots the bills for the peace talks in Sandton South Africa and the session held in Switzerland.

Mr Pahad reported that the Switzerland talks were funded by the EU whilst the South African talks were funded by South Africa.

Dr Geldenhuys inquired whether some thought had been given to the development of an infrastructure that would link Burundi to the DRC and Tanzania through the construction of a road network. This would facilitate the growth of that country's economy.

Mr Pahad observed that there were rumours that Burundi is due to join South African development Community (SADC) and that if that were to happen then the development of the country's infrastructure would fall under the SADC and Nepad infrastructural development plan.

Dr Geldenhuys noted that the mandate of the South Africa troops is limited to keeping the peace in Burundi but that the Deputy Minister had alluded to an element of disarming combatants in that country. He asked if South African troops are presently involved in Chapter 7 operations noting that such military enforcement operations would require parliamentary approval which has not been sought.

Mr Pahad assured the Committee that South African troops were not engaged in an operation to forcefully disarm militias. In view of the genocide history, many groups were reluctant to surrender their arms and that explains why the UN is hesitant in getting involved. He explained that one of the conditions for UN involvement is that all parties must be ready to lay down their weapons, which is not happening in Burundi. If and when it becomes necessary for South African troops to carry out Chapter 7 operations, the requisite approval would definitely be sought from Parliament.

Ms Hajaij (ANC) wanted to know if there were any successful efforts to build institutions in Burundi.

Mr Pahad said that establishing institutions in Burundi would take time in view of the dearth of resources in that country. The process of reconstruction would take place in terms of the Nepad initiative. He noted that the EU has already committed substantial sums of money to the DRC in this very regard.

Mr Madasa (ACDP) noted that South Africa is facing difficulties in getting reimbursed from donor countries and wondered whether these funds would be recovered at all.

Mr Pahad expressed optimism that South Africa would be able to recoup most of her funds. He however expressed regret that it might take time for the UN to commit troops to the Burundi peace process given that it is near impossible to achieve a complete disarmament in that country.

Mr Madasa said that the combatants had at one point claimed that the former President Mandela was forcing decisions down their throat and asked the Deputy Minister to confirm this accusation.

Mr Pahad agreed that the former President did the right thing when he sounded firm and forceful in his instance that unless progress is achieved in the peace process, South Africa would withdraw and leave the matter to the Security Council. He added that the mileage that has been made so far in the peace process is directly attributable to Mr Mandela's solid stand.

Mr Madasa asked if investigation and/or research has been undertaken to establish who supplies arms to the combatants and what action should be taken to stop this flagrant breach of international law.

Mr Pahad replied that it has been difficult to identify exactly who supplies the combatants with firearms but that the UN is continuing investigations in this respect. South Africa, unlike many other African countries, has put in place a very strict arms sales policy and that it destroys all small arms - something which other countries do not do.

Ms Camerer (DA) noted that trade statistics between Burundi and South Africa keep going up and down and wondered whether the sourcing of military supplies from South Africa would favour the country in any way.

Mr Pahad admitted that indeed South Africa has to secure all its supplies from the country noting that he did not see any other private sector participation other than the Department of Defence. He however pleaded ignorance on the question of trade statistics noting that the Department of Trade and Industry would be in a better position to explain this.

Mr Mokoena (ANC) thanked the Deputy Minister for what he called a lucid picture of an otherwise complex process that seeks to hammer peace. He expressed the view that South Africa is morally obligated to stay alive to problems facing other African countries. He noted that people in other African countries regard South Africa as an oasis of peace and prosperity and that they are naturally attracted to come and pursue a better life here. He cautioned that unless South Africa gets involved in solving these African problems, the very same conflict would be brought right to its doorsteps.

Mr Pahad agreed with Mr Mokoena that as a super-power in the region, South Africa cannot afford to shake its responsibility towards the continent and that to do so is to indeed invite these problems onto the country's doorstep.

Mr Mokoena asked the Deputy Minister to look into ways and means of getting the UN to play a major role in the peace process other than the current scenario where the world body is staying on the periphery. He added that South Africa takes pride in the fact that it played an important part in saving lives by averting a genocide situation from being repeated while the international community observed from afar.

The Chair noted that the Committee was happy to see that the government is committed to being part of the solution to African problems. He requested that the Deputy Minister look at ways of facilitating the Committee's visit to Burundi to have a first-hand feel of the events on the ground.

Mr Pahad welcomed the interest that members have shown in the success of the Burundi process and agreed that a fact-finding mission would be a great idea. He however pointed out that his Department did not have a budget for such a visit and encouraged members to interact with NGOs and multilateral donors who might be willing to fund the tour.

Mr Pahad reiterated that South Africa must accept that it is in its own interest to ensure that peace and stability reigns in Africa. He pointed out that the country has realized a 25% increase in exports of its beneficiated goods to African countries and that therefore without stability in the continent, South Africa's vision would be a pipe-dream.

The meeting adjourned.