Bujumbura — Yesterday the Security minister, Commissioner General Alain-Guillaume Bunyoni, broke the government's silence over the recent trend of violence.

He unveiled to the public a series of measures aimed at putting an end to the violent crimes that continue to shake Burundi. The security minister said that these measures intend â-što reinforce the presence of the police on all streets and quarters as well to insure fulltime surveillance.

The security minister made it clear that â-šfrom now on in each commune there will be a vehicle for the police to quicken their intervention." The police also plan to multiply cordon-search operations in order to catch illegal persons living in the capital city. The security minister also announced that the police will fire twenty officer and 38 sub-officers because of their misconduct. The Head of State and his government had remained silent over the flurry of violence that has hit the country over the three last weeks. Measures that the government had devised to protect the population at the advent of the New Year have been insufficient. Numerous selective killings have taken place in the northern quarters of Bujumbura despite a strong police presence there.

Opposition political parties have expressed their dissatisfaction with the Security minister's announcement. They complain that the security minister did not address finding a conclusion to the conflict between the Burundian government and PALIPEHUTU-FN or disarming the civilian population. FRODEBU states that what the security minister announced are only half measures.

The main cause of insecurity in Burundi continues to be the conflict between the government of Burundi and the PALIPEHUTU-FNL rebel movement. Both sides hold firm to their respective intransigent positions. PALIPEHUTU-FNL has survived an ultimatum that the Tripartite Plus announced last year with the support of the government of Burundi and the ruling party. The government has succeeded in temporarily blocking all attempts at setting up a special parliamentarian commission to look into the disagreements in the implementation of the truce agreement that was struck in 2006 between the government and the last active rebel group still active in Burundi, PALIPEHUTU-FNL.

Two weeks ahead of the February ordinary session of the parliament, it appears that there could be a legislative stalemate as opposition MP's have already made it clear that the setup of this special parliamentarian commission must be at the top on the agenda.