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Burundi disagrees on relocation of regional organization's secretariat

Xinhua, November 21, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Burundian government said Friday it disagrees on the relocation of the secretariat of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) for security concerns.

"The ministry reassures Burundian nationals and foreigners living in Burundi that the Burundian government is committed to ensure security for everyone," the Burundian foreign ministry said in the press release.

Executive Secretary of the ICGLR Alphonse Ntumba Luaba, who has suggested the relocation of the ICGLR secretariat from the Burundian capital Bujumbura to the Zambian capital Lusaka for security concerns, has taken it as a pretext for his frequent absence in his office, the ministry accused.

In a letter to chairman of the ICGLR's regional inter-ministerial committee and Angolan External Relations Minister Georges Chikoti, Luaba wrote: "The security situation in Burundi and particularly in Bujumbura has worsened and remains extremely volatile."

He added that members of the ICGLR secretariat staff are not feeling safe in Bujumbura and requested a "temporary relocation" of the secretariat.

Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza's third term bid and his controversial re-election in July have caused the death of more than 240 and forced more than 200,000 citizens into exile in neighboring countries, namely in Tanzania, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo).

The ICGLR heads of state held a summit on May 18 in the Angolan capital city of Luanda and recommended that the secretariat be temporarily relocated from Burundi to ensure the safety of the staff and the continued effective functioning of the regional organization until the situation stabilizes. Endi