Parties to the ongoing conflict in Burundi have been warned against fuelling civil war in the country and advised to learn from the two world wars on how such unrest could badly cost a community socially and economically.
That was stated by Head of the European Union Delegation to Tanzania, Ambassador Roeland Van-De Geer, who was speaking on behalf of the Diplomatic Community during the opening of the Burundi Dialogue Process on Saturday.
“In Europe, we learned the hard way. It took us two world wars to realise the importance of peace and conflicts resolutions,” he recalled. The four-day dialogue sessions are taking place here under the facilitation of former President Benjamin Mkapa.
The original Burundi Peace Accord was notably signed in Arusha during Mr Mkapa’s tenure and supervision alongside former South African President, the late Nelson Mandela. In his comments yesterday, Mr Mkapa pointed out that it was Burundi who held the responsibility of ensuring peace in their country.
“We are all aware that this is a Burundi problem and it can be solved only by the Barundi themselves,” he said, adding that his only role was to facilitate the dialogue and reach an amicable solution.
“My plan in this endeavour is to give ample time and space to all stakeholders to express their views on the way forward and for this reason I have sent invitations to former heads of state and political parties in Burundi, civil society Organisations, faith-based groups, prominent political actors as well as women and youth group,” explained Mr Mkapa.
The dialogue’s opening was also attended by the Special Advisor to the United Nations Secretary General on the Great Lakes, Ambassador Jamal Benomaar, who stated that the UN Security Council was very much concerned on the situation in Burundi.
“The Security Council has given its full support to the East African Community-led meditation efforts under the Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and commended the EAC’s decision to appoint former Tanzanian president to facilitate the process,” he said.
Mr Mkapa had been appointed as facilitator for the Burundi peace talks by the Summit of the East African Heads of State, a regional community, comprising of Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and Burundi itself.
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