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ARUSHA, Tanzania, June 24 (AFP) - A Rwandan government-rebel peace pact has been postponed indefinitely after President Juvenal Habyarimana rejected parts of the accord at the last minute.
Informed sources at the talks between the Kigali government and the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) rebels said Habyarimana had rejected a 50-50 distribution of command posts in a proposed 13,000-man army to be formed in the war-torn central African nation during the transition to democracy.
The sources said Habyarimana's rejection had led the RPF to demand that the original provision for a 60-40 govermment-rebel share in the army's makeup be changed to 60-40 in the rebels' favor.
The last-minute stalemate came as a surprise, as the two sides had been expected to seal the pact, hammered out in 11 months of haggling, which would put an end to a two-year civil war.
The successful conclusion was to have been reported to next week's Organization of African Unity (OAU) summit in Cairo.
"Although they could not sign the agreement now as we expected, we are still hopeful of them doing so, may be after the OAU summit in Cairo", said Senegalese ambassador Papa Louis Fall, who is representing current OAU chairman, Senegalese President Abdou Diouf.
The peace accords included an agreement to bring the minority Tutsi rebels into a government currently dominated by Rwanda's Hutu majority.
They also included agreements on repatriation of refugees and resettlement of displaced people as well as the formation of a joint army.
The transition was to be supervised by a neutral international force under the auspices of the United Nations -- replacing the OAU military observer group that has overseen a ceasefire since last August.
hb/lto/mec
