Brussels, 17/04/2001 (Agence Europe) - On 11 April, the Presidency made the following declaration on behalf of the European Union:
"Continuously concerned about the situation in Burundi, the European Union
calls on the armed movements FDD and FNL to immediately and unconditionally cease hostilities, to join the peace process without further delay, and accept to negotiate a ceasefire agreement,
urges the signatories to the Arusha Accord to continue their efforts to agree, in a spirit of compromise and national unity, on the leadership of the transition period, and to agree on parts of the Accord where implementation can begin immediately, taking into account the work of the Implementation Monitoring Committee at its latest meeting in Arusha,
calls on president Kabila of the DRC, with the assistance of president Bongo of Gabon and vice-president Zuma of South Africa, to continue his efforts to bring the FDD and the government of Burundi together and reiterates its appeal to the governments of countries in the region to cease all forms of assistance and co-operation with these groups and use their influence to urge such groups to cease their activities,
calls on the Government of Burundi, and the politicians in charge on all sides, to do their utmost to restore a climate of confidence in the capital Bujumbura,
reiterates its continued support in favour of restoring peace in Burundi and reconciling the nation, as well as its commitment to continue to alleviate the suffering of the population, in the perspective of resumption of development co-operation.
The Central and Eastern European countries associated with the European Union, the associated countries Cyprus, Malta and Turkey, and the EFTA countries, members of the European Economic Area align themselves with this declaration."