BURUNDI'S NEW PRESIDENT APPEALS FOR RECONCILIATION.Byline: Donald G. McNeil Jr. The New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times The new president of Burundi took his message of reconciliation to the people Saturday, explaining his reasons for the coup he led last week and asking them to ``calm all the ethnicities, to let everyone know that there is no Hutu, no Tutsi, but only one Burundian people.'' Burundi, like neighboring neigh·bor n. 1. One who lives near or next to another. 2. A person, place, or thing adjacent to or located near another. 3. A fellow human. 4. Used as a form of familiar address. v. Rwanda, has been torn by the fighting between the majority Hutu and the Tutsi ethnic groups that has claimed 150,000 lives in the past three years. The coup, led by the Tutsi-dominated army, overthrew the Hutu president. The new president, Maj. Pierre Buyoya Major Pierre Buyoya (born 24 November 1949) is a Burundi politician who has ruled Burundi twice, from 1987 to 1993 and from 1996 to 2003. In September of 1987, Buyoya led a military coup against the Second Republic of Burundi, led by Jean-Baptiste Bagaza, and installed , a Tutsi, composed his message for widespread delivery. In the morning, it was delivered for him by the mayor of Bujumburato to a crowd of about 3,000 people, gathered for a celebration of the coup. In the afternoon, Buyoya delivered the message himself to a gathering of ambassadors, former government ministers and other politicians. Later, Bujumbura Mayor Pie Ntiynkundiye described in English what had been said to the crowds. ``We told them to be in (harmony) with each other, Hutu and Tutsi. And to assist each other. If a Hutu has a problem, he must seek Tutsi assistance, and vice versa VICE VERSA. On the contrary; on opposite sides. . And (we told them) to turn back to work, because work is the cement for good cohabitation A living arrangement in which an unmarried couple lives together in a long-term relationship that resembles a marriage. Couples cohabit, rather than marry, for a variety of reasons. They may want to test their compatibility before they commit to a legal union. .'' Buyoya said he had not sought to be the president. He previously held the post from 1987 to 1993. ``It's hard. It's a sacrifice,'' he said. ``We have to change the mentality that everyone only wants to be a leader and does not care about making peace. My actions will not be against anyone,'' he promised. ``I want you to know that I'll do my best to protect Hutu,'' he told his largely Tutsi audience, ``and to protect Tutsi.'' He also said he wants to reimpose Re`im`pose´ v. t. 1. To impose anew. Verb 1. reimpose - impose anew; "The fine was reimposed" levy, impose - impose and collect; "levy a fine" discipline, especially among young people. He said many young men enlist in the army to protect the state against Hutu guerrillas. ``But that must be done with order, discipline and respect for authority,'' he said. This may have been directed at Jean Baptiste Jean Baptiste is a male French name, originating with St. John the Baptist, and may refer to one of the following:
Bugaza held a news conference criticizing Buyoya and calling for peaceful resistance to his government. Buyoya promised to form a new government, saying he would ``choose honest people from here and there, not just politicians who want to be ministers.'' The streets were calm Saturday. The few soldiers on the road to town were standing around casually, not crouched crouch v. crouched, crouch·ing, crouch·es v.intr. 1. a. To stoop, especially with the knees bent: crouched over the grate, searching for his keys. behind sandbags sandbags small sacks containing sand used to support an anesthetized animal in dorsal recumbency and prevent it from rolling sideways during anesthesia or surgery. . Concerned diplomats and foreign governments are waiting to see whether violence will erupt again, but an army spokesman said there was no fighting anywhere in the country Saturday. The airport, which was closed for two days, reopened Saturday. A few aid officials were waiting to leave - not because they were nervous, they said, but because they had meetings or vacation plans that had been postponed. ``Oh we're in Phase 3, which means evacuation of staff's family members,'' said Leslie Elliott, an official with the World Food Program who was waiting for a plane. ``But we've been at Phase 3 for the last year. We're certainly not going to Phase 4, which is evacuation of nonessential non·es·sen·tial adj. Being a substance required for normal functioning but not needed in the diet because the body can synthesize it. staff. ``And I certainly hope everything stays OK,'' Elliott added, ``because I'm going for a week, and I'm leaving my cat.'' The city is still under a 7 p.m. curfew. ``And now the police are not kidding,'' said Jean Claude Nshimirimana, who was at the new president's news conference finding work as a translator. |
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