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PUBLISHED ON June 3rd, 2016

East African Community Pleased With Inter – Burundi Dialogue

The Office of the secretary General at the East African Community looks pleased with the progress the inter-Burundi dialogue has achieved so far. According to a recent statement from The East African community body, the mediator, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, Facilitator, Benjamin William Mkapa, former President of the United Republic of Tanzania have so far done a recommendable job in ensuring that peace and stability in Burundi is received soon through the Inter-Burundi Dialogue (IBD).

However, the office of the secretary General seems not pleased with local and international media that seem to be misleading the general public on the progress of the dialogue and hence forth has released a detailed statement on a few basics as reproduced below;

The Office of the Secretary General would like to set the record straight as follows:

As put clearly by the Facilitator, the Inter-Burundi Dialogue is an EAC-led process under the Mediatorship of H.E President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, a Member of the EAC Heads of State Summit.

The Summit appointed former President Benjamin William Mkapa of the United Republic of Tanzania as the Facilitator of the Dialogue to support the Mediator. As per the EAC Treaty requirement, the EAC Secretariat implements Council and Summit Directives.

Therefore, the EAC Secretariat headed by the Secretary General, who is also the Secretary to the Summit of the EAC Heads of State, has the obligation to give technical and logistical support to the activities of the Facilitator.

 However, the Facilitator is fully responsible for the conduct of the Dialogue.

The East African Community joins the Facilitator in supporting an inclusive Dialogue and congratulates the Burundi Government Officials, former Heads of State, the National Commission for Inter-Burundi Dialogue (CNDI), Political Parties, Civil Society Organizations, prominent Political Actors inside and outside Burundi, as well as the Media, Women and Youth Groups who spared their valuable time to come to Arusha to take part in the Inter-Burundi Dialogue from 21st to 24th May 2016 at the Arusha International Conference Centre.

Earlier on we reported: Burundi Dialogue Kicks off

The Burundi dialogue which was previously scheduled for 2 to 6 May finally kicked off in Arusha, Tanzania. The May 21 to May 24 meeting staged consultations between different stakeholders with the co-facilitator in the Burundian conflict, the former Tanzanian Head of State, Benjamin William Mkapa.

In his opening remarks, Mkapa made assurances that he will work hard to engage all stakeholders to Arusha since dialogue is informal.

“This is a regional initiative of the EAC and the role of the secretariat is to support this process. I sent invitations to all political parties and civil society groups, both inside and outside the country,” he said, adding that he is ‘greatly concerned’ by media reports of killings in Burundi.

The Burundian government has been showing reluctance to negotiate with opponents and it boycotted the January meeting. The opposition, on the other hand, still pushes to participate in all dialogues. The inter-Burundian dialogue comprises a series of talks aimed at ending the year-long political crisis.

Different commentators on the current dialogue said only genuine and inclusive dialogue can provide a way out of persistent violence and political impasse. However, Willy Nyamitwe, Burundi’s spokesperson for presidency, said on his twitter account that there is no political impasse in Burundi since they have elected institutions, government, parliament and others.

 Source: All Africa

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of TradeMark Africa.

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