Controversy over agenda for 5th round of inter Burundian Dialogue

Burundian politician’s ideas on the agenda of the 5th round of the inter-Burundian dialogue diverge.

Tatien Sibomana: “The points that are on the agenda cannot come from one side”.

“Our interest in participating in the 5th round of the inter-Burundian dialogue will depend on the strict respect of the agenda, namely the roadmap for the 2020 elections,” reads a correspondence that 11 political parties of the Extra-Parliamentary Opposition addressed to the facilitator Benjamin W Mkapa this Monday, October 15.

In this correspondence, they urge the facilitator Mkapa to stick to the roadmap for the 2020 elections as indicated in the letter of invitation. “We reject in advance any maneuver that would attempt to divert us from this objective”. According to them, other points will be analyzed after the elections.
Tatien Sibomana, says a consensus on the preparation of the elections is one of the solutions to get out of the crisis. He, however, says there are many other challenges that need to be handled. “Any electoral process must obey some rules particularly a promising environment for all political parties,” he says.

Mr. Sibomana says there is a need for a dialogue on the restoration of the Arusha Peace Agreement, the appeasement of the electoral process and all that has caused the 2015 crisis. “Ignoring it would be disappointing Burundians. There would be no solution to the country’s problems,” he says.

This political actor says the points that are to be discussed in dialogue cannot come from a single side arguing that those who produced this statement are all on the same side. “It is not those behind Bujumbura or CNDD-FDD party that set the agenda for the talks”.

Political parties that have signed the correspondence are among others RADEBU, PALIPE Agakiza, Sangwe-Pader, Kaze-FDD and are believed to be close to the government.

The next round of inter-Burundian dialogue is scheduled from 24 to 29 October, 2018.