WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Efforts are under way to bring peace to another African nation, Burundi in East Africa, where a civil war has raged for years. Negotiators who gathered in neighboring Tanzania have received a special appeal from the United States. More now from CNN's Catherine Bond.</s>CATHERINE BOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Live from the White House via satellite, President Clinton told the 18 groups at the Burundi peace talks they shouldn't let this chance for peace slip through their fingers.</s>WILLIAM J. CLINTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... or will you hesitate and falter? If that were to happen, I am afraid a disaster would befall your people and it would seep beyond your borders. We have seen how a spark lit in one small part of this region can engulf the whole.</s>BOND: Almost seven years of conflict between Hutu rebels and Burundi's mainly Tutsi army have killed more than 200,000 people and uprooted more than a million. Western diplomats say some Hutu rebels have been receiving help from neighboring Congo, one reason why they fear the conflict could widen. President Clinton's virtual trip came at the request of Nelson Mandela, who in his new role as mediator here said private meetings with delegates had left him confident of a breakthrough. He'd also invited, he said, rebels who haven't attended these talks to meet him in South Africa. But judging by the slow pace of the proceedings here, reaching a settlement will take time: Delegates asked to comment only on his proposal to draw up a draft peace agreement detailed instead Burundi's history, trying the former South African president's patience.</s>NELSON MANDELA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF SOUTH AFRICA: You are making impossible for me to have the views of everybody before we adjourn here.</s>BOND (on camera): The key words from presidents Mandela and Clinton were look to the future and forget the past. The success of the talks depends on whether Burundian delegates here are ready to do that. Catherine Bond, CNN, Arusha, Tanzania.
President Clinton Makes Appeal for Peace in Burundi