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DAR ES SALAAM, Oct 31 (AFP) - The Rwandan government and the rebel Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) signed a partial protocol on power-sharing on Saturday as a first step to end their devastating two-year civil war, Tanzanian foreign minister Ahmed Hassan Diria confirmed by telephone from Arusha in northern Tanzania.
The accord, which comes after a month of intensive negotiations, contains a concession by Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana to share executive powers and not to veto decisions taken by a new transitional cabinet, Diria said.
However, the RPF rebels will not enter government until other portions of the power-sharing protocol have been successfully negotiated, Diria said.
The peace talks were adjourned for two weeks earlier on Friday after the two sides failed to agree on modalities for representation in a proposed all-party transitional national assembly and the sharing of cabinet portfolios.
The signed protocol contains agreements for a weaker presidency, an executive cabinet headed by a prime minister and a judiciary under which the supreme court would be restored.
After further consultations with their respective leaderships, the two delegations will return to Arusha in mid-November to tackle the remaining sticking points of the peace negotiations.
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