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BUJUMBURA Burundi (Xinhua) --
Burundi has urged former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa, the facilitator of
the Burundi dialogue, to visit refugee camps to identify “real” refugees, the
Burundian justice minister said Monday.
In an
interview with Xinhua on Monday, Aimee Laurentine Kanyana urged Mkapa, the
facilitator for the East African Community (EAC)-led Inter-Burundi Dialogue, to
check whether those refugees had fled Burundi fearing for their personal
security.
Mkapa and
other facilitation delegates visited Burundi from August 14 to 19. The main
objective of the visit to Burundi was aimed at requesting Burundian authorities
to promote “inclusiveness” in the Inter-Burundi Dialogue, which aims to find a
solution to the political crisis in Burundi.
“Burundi is
now enjoying peace and security. We don’t understand why Burundian refugees
don’t return home. That’s why we requested the delegates from the facilitator to
visit refugee camps hosting Burundian people to check reasons that push them to
remain in refugee camps,” said the minister during the interview.
“Some people
flee problems in their families, others flee because they have robbed banks or
because they are taken big bank loans that they are unable to pay back; others
flee because they have committed big offences and others flee because they will
be transferred to Europe or to America,” Kanyana said.
According to
her, the facilitation in the dialogue should visit those refugees and talk to
the UN Refugee Agency in order to “review” the profile of refugees.
“At the
internal level of the dialogue, there was no discrimination. Even at the
external level of the dialogue held under the auspices of the East African
Community (EAC) facilitation team, there is no discrimination either,” Kanyana
said.
She added
that the Burundian government will “never accept” to sit on the same table with
people who attempted to overthrow the east African country’s democratic
institutions on May 13, 2015, and people who “organized the insurgency” in April
2015.
“We have
called for the repatriation of the external dialogue because there is no reason
of holding talks out of Burundi,” Kanyana said.
Launched in
December 2015, the Inter-Burundi Dialogue talks at the external level under the
East African Community (EAC) auspices, with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni as
the mediator, have made no concrete progress.
In January
2016, the Burundian government boycotted talks in Arusha, Tanzania, arguing that
it could not sit on the same table with what it called “non-peaceful”
stakeholders.
In March that
year, the EAC heads of state summit appointed the former Tanzanian president as
the facilitator of the dialogue.
Mkapa
organized separate consultations with stakeholders in the dialogue, but real
negotiations have not yet taken place.
Burundi
plunged into a crisis since April 2015 when Burundian President Pierre
Nkurunziza decided to run his controversial third term bid.
His
candidature, which was opposed by the opposition and civil society groups,
resulted in a wave of protests, violence and even a failed coup on May 13, 2015.
Over 410,000
people have fled to other countries mostly Tanzania, Rwanda, DR Congo and Uganda
since the outbreak of the crisis.
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EARLIER REPORTS:
Burundian police intercept 24 women over human
trafficking
BUJUMBURA Burundi (Xinhua) --
Twenty-four women including 18 victims of human trafficking and six suspected
traffickers were Wednesday intercepted in Kayanza town, 95km north of the
Burundian capital Bujumbura with their destination to Oman, the police spokesman
said Thursday.
“Yesterday we
intercepted two buses in the Kayanza town that had on board 18 women who were
victims of human trafficking. Other six women who are seemingly traffickers of
those 18 women and who were aboard of those two buses were also arrested,”
Burundian Police Spokesman Pierre Nkurikiye said.
According to
him, those 24 women were going to Uganda with the final destination to Oman
where the victims of human trafficking would be taken.
Human
trafficking is a serious issue in Burundi, according to human rights groups.
Female victims of human trafficking do sex work when they arrive at their
destinations, according to the Burundian police.
In April, the
Burundian Senate called for creating a commission that will work with
destination countries mainly Arab countries to avoid human trafficking.
By mid June
2016, the Burundian police arrested seven persons over human trafficking
accusations and identified 11 companies involved in human trafficking in the
east African nation.
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Burundi hosts forum to address African youth’s
challenges
BUJUMBURA Burundi (Xinhua) --
Some 300 delegates from at least 40 African countries attended a
five-day pan African youth forum that kicked off Monday with the aim of
addressing youth’s challenges on the African continent.
At the launch
of the forum, Burundian Youth, Sports and Culture Minister Jean Bosco Hitimana
said the youth in Africa in general and in Burundi in particular face challenges
including unemployment and political manipulation.
He said
between 13 and 17 percent of Burundian young people who complete their secondary
education do not get jobs.
“Young people
should know that their life lies in their hands. Therefore they should think of
creating their jobs,” Hitimana said.
According to
him, on request of the Burundian youth, the Burundian government last year set
up a 10-year national youth’s policy to address the youth’s challenges.
Hitimana
indicated that the policy notably provides the creation, as of next year, of a
youth’s bank that will finance projects of the Burundian youth.
“The project
of launching the youth’s bank during the first three months of next year is far
ahead in our ministry (for the youth). Its business plan has already been
developed,” Hitimana emphasized. |
