The French Ambassador to Tanzania and the East African Community Malika Berak has called on all parties in the Inter-Burundi Dialogue to engage constructively and consensually in the forthcoming consultations to be held in Bujumbura, Burundi.
In a press statement also copied to the EAC Secretariat, Amb. Berak said that only a political solution would enable Burundi to achieve a peaceful exit from the crisis.
“We reiterate our full support for the continuation of sessions on Inter-Burundi Dialogue, within the framework of the mandate given to it by the East African Community,” said the envoy.
Amb. Berak further hailed the determination and commitment of the former Tanzania President Benjamin William Mkapa, who is also the Facilitator of the Inter-Burundi Dialogue.
Meanwhile, in a press statement on December 1, Mkapa disclosed that a roadmap for the Burundi Dialogue process was developed and presented to the Mediator, President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda on November 2nd, 2016. The roadmap provides for a series of engagements between December 2016 and June 2017 that will culminate in an agreement.
Mkapa said that in implementing the roadmap, he will in due course be visiting the Republic of Burundi to confer with President Pierre Nkurunziza and also consult with other political players, adding that this would lay the ground for a series of both formal and informal engagements with and among various stakeholders, in and outside Burundi and also with international actors.
The Facilitator observed that since his appeal in May 2016 to Parties to the Conflict to desist from violent acts and give dialogue a chance, there has been a noticeable improvement on the security situation in Burundi.
“It is important that as this process proceeds, and for which the Barundi and the EAC citizens will continue to be briefed on the progress, all parties should strive to avoid actions and utterances that are not helpful to the healing process and remain seized of the commitment to a political process,” Mkapa said.
