Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza
country’s progressing political and humanitarian crisis.
The organizations maintain that the EAC leaders, who are due to
start a summit meeting here tomorrow, have let down not only Burundi as a
country, but the whole international community as well.
Their main concern is why the regional leaders have chosen not to
prioritize the Burundian issue on the summit agenda despite the
worsening situation there, even with embattled president Pierre
Nkurunziza himself due to attend the summit.
"We are deeply concerned (about this) and request that it be given
due priority," stated Marie-Louise Baricako from the Movement of Women
and Girls for Peace and Security in Burundi, a human rights group.
Baricako called on the summit to reaffirm the urgent need for the
protection of Burundian citizens being killed and brutalized on a daily
basis.
"We call upon the summit to support the establishment of a credible
investigative mechanism to independently investigate all allegations of
human rights violations in Burundi, as recommended by the committee on
regional affairs and conflict resolution of the East African Legislative
Assembly," she said.
According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees
(UNHCR), a total of 245,265 people had fled the unstable country and
sought refuge in neighboring countries by Wednesday last week (February
24).
This, coupled by the hundreds of deaths reported since April last
year, was just a sign of how the Burundi’s political crisis was taking
on a regional dimension with a serious impact on EAC citizens in
general, Baricako said.
The Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU) chief executive officer,
Donald Deya, questioned the seriousness of the five EAC presidents in
omitting to include Burundi on their summit agenda.
"It is now close to nine months (since the crisis started) and they
have not shown any real commitment to ending the political stalemate
that has caused it all, even as the crisis gets progressively worse," he
said.
According to Deya, Nkurunziza does not deserve to assume the EAC
chairmanship, and there is currently no Burundian national fit enough to
succeed Dr Richard Sezibera as the bloc’s secretary general.
Amnesty International human rights campaigner Rachel Nicholson
described the summit as an important opportunity for the EAC to act
decisively, especially with Nkurunziza present.
"We have documented the presence of mass graves in Burundi
therefore there is a need to bring to light what is happening in the
country and make those thought to be responsible for the atrocities
accountable for their actions," Nicholson said.
The EAC Heads of State summit includes, among other things,
deliberations on reports prepared by the EAC council of ministers on the
negotiations for the admission of Somalia and Southern Sudan into the
community.
It will also consider ministerial council reports on progress
towards forming an EAC political federation, introducing harmonized EAC
roaming charges, promoting motor vehicle assembly in the region and
reducing the importation of used motor vehicles from outside.
SOURCE:
THE GUARDIAN
