{Burundian opposition parties rejected the appointment of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni by regional leaders to help mediate an end to the political crisis in the East African nation.}<\/p>\n
East African Community leaders announced on Monday they appointed Museveni, who has been in power since 1986, to lead talks to resolve a dispute sparked by Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza\u2019s plan to seek a third term in office. The five-nation bloc also called for presidential elections scheduled to take place on July 15 be postponed by two weeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cMuseveni has been in power since 1986; can he help the Burundian president to understand that a mandate limit is important? No,\u201d Frederic Bamvuginyumvira, deputy leader of the Front for Democracy in Burundi, said in an interview Tuesday in the capital, Bujumbura. \u2018I expect nothing from his work.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Burundi held parliamentary elections on June 29 without creating conditions for a \u201cfree, fair\u201d vote, the United Nations Security Council said last week. The U.S. government has halted security assistance programs in the East African nation because of abuses committed by police during political protests.<\/p>\n
Burundi has been roiled by violence that\u2019s killed at least 77 people dead since April, when the ruling party named Nkurunziza as its presidential candidate. Opponents say the bid to extend his tenure violates a two-term limit set out in peace agreements that in 2005 brought an end to a 12-year civil war. More than 100,000 people have fled to neighboring countries in the past three months.<\/p>\n
{{Regional Instability}}<\/p>\n
The unrest in Burundi has the potential to destabilize the Great Lakes region that includes the Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa\u2019s top copper and tin producer, and Rwanda, where the economy is still recovering from a genocide in 1994.<\/p>\n
The EAC said on Monday it had asked Burundi to disarm militias allied to political parties through a demobilization exercise overseen by the African Union.<\/p>\n
Bamvuginyumvira said the disarmament would take longer than two weeks. \u201cIt took years and years to arm them,\u201d he said. \u201cDo you think they can hand over their weapons easily?\u201d<\/p>\n
The regional body also asked that presidential elections be held on July 30 and that the winning party share power with losers in a government of national unity.<\/p>\n
Burundi government spokesman Philippe Nzobonariba said by telephone that \u201ccomment on the summit will be available when the delegation is back\u201d in Burundi.<\/p>\n
Nkurunziza did not attend Monday\u2019s meeting in Tanzania. He took part in the last summit in May, during which a group of generals led by the country\u2019s former intelligence chief tried to overthrow him in his absence.<\/p>\n
His ruling CNDD-FDD party has demanded a UN mediator helping to end the political crisis step down for not showing \u201cneutrality in his work\u201d.<\/p>\n
{{Source: Bloomberg}}<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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