Burundi Page 1 of 17
Burundi Page 1 of 17 Burundi Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2007 Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor March 11, 2008 Burundi is a constitutional republic with an elected government and a population of 8.3 million. In August 2005, following local and parliamentary elections, the country's two houses of parliament indirectly elected as President, Pierre Nkurunzia, a member of the National Council for the Defense of Democracy–Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) political party. International observers reported that the elections, which ended a four-year transitional process under the Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Agreement, were generally free and fair. Although the CNDD-FDD party dominated parliament and the government, other major parties, notably the Burundian Front for Democracy (FRODEBU) and the Union for National Progress (UPRONA), were also represented. In September 2006 the government concluded a cease-fire agreement with the Party for the Liberation of the Hutu National Liberation Front (PALIPEHUTU-FNL or FNL), with which it had been engaged in hostilities since 1994, and began demobilizing an estimated 3,000 former FNL combatants. The government continued to integrate members of former rebel groups, including the CNDD-FDD, into the National Defense Forces (FDN). From 2004 to December 2007 the government demobilized more than 24,400 former combatants that included members of the regular army, some former rebels, and more than 3,000 child soldiers. Both sides generally adhered to the cease-fire agreement with the exception of a December 28 incident, in which the FNL attacked three military positions in Bubanza, resulting in several injuries and one death among government soldiers.
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