Ndayizeye Sworn in as New Burundian President

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, April 30, 2003

Ndayizeye Sworn in as New Burundian President

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Domitien Ndayizeye, a Hutu, was sworn in as the president of the Burundian transitional government Wednesday in Bujumbura in light of the power-sharing program aimed at ending the nine-year civil war in the tiny central African country.

Ndayizeye was the vice president of the first-phase transitional government in which Pierre Buyoya, a Tutsi, served as the president for the first 18 months.

According to the power-sharing program, Buyoya should step down on May 1 and hand over power to Ndayizeye.

In a brief speech, Ndayizeye pledged to make further efforts for restoring peace and stability in the war-torn country, callingon all the Burundians to work together for this goal.

After signing a document in front of the judges of the Constitutional Court, Ndayizeye took over the official seal and a Burundian national flag from Buyoya. His displaying the flag aroused thundering applause from the audience.

The handover ceremony was solemn and great thanks to the presence of many regional political leaders such as former South African president Nelson Mandela, Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa, and South African Deputy President Jacob Zuma.

After the ceremony, Buyoya gave his seat in the center of the stage to Ndayizeye, who will lead the three-year transitional government for the second 18 months.

Burundi's civil war broke out in 1993 when then president Melchoir Ndadaye, a Hutu, was assassinated by insurgent Tutsi soldiers. More than 300,000 Burundians, mostly civilians, were killed and large numbers of others displaced.

The transitional government was set up on Nov. 1, 2001 due to the collective efforts by regional leaders, paving the way for thetribal reconciliation. However, the government failed to bring about peace in the small landlocked country because some Hutu rebel groups refused to lay down arms.

In the past two weeks, the rebels of the Forces for the Defense of Democracy vowed to intensify attacks on the capital to force the leadership to include them in the transitional government.

In case of possible rebel attacks, heavy army soldiers and security policemen were deployed around the parliament building. Many military checkpoints were also installed along the roads to the parliament.

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