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Facilitator acknowledges legitimacy of Burundi president's rule

Xinhua, December 9, 2016 Adjust font size:

Facilitator in the inter-Burundian dialogue and former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa on Friday ended his three-day visit to Burundi, stating that Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza's rule is legitimate.

"Elections were held, court cases were raised including the East African Court of Justice (EACJ); and they all said this is a legitimate process which has come to a legitimate conclusion," Mkapa told a press conference before departure, referring to the East African country's 2015 elections during which Nkurunziza won a controversial third term.

According to Mkapa, the legitimacy of the current Burundian government came from the citizens' will through the elections.

Mkapa called on all parties to "renounce violence" in order to give room to dialogue that should be concluded by June 2017.

"The dialogue should focus on creating favorable conditions for free, fair and credible elections in 2020," he said.

Asked whether coup plotters would participate in the talks, Mkapa said this was "out of the question."

"People who have been indicted or charged with the attempted coup, this is not the time to talk to them," said Mkapa.

He however stressed that all the other people who were not involved in criminal acts are welcome to participate in the inter-Burundian dialogue.

Some political actors like Agathon Rwasa, current first deputy-speaker of the Burundian National Assembly and chairman of the National Liberation Forces (FNL), however said it would be "unfair" to exclude what the Burundian government calls "coup plotters," stressing it would be condemning them before they defend themselves.

Mkapa held the press conference after a three-day visit in Burundi during which he held consultations with various stakeholders in the inter-Burundian dialogue.

The inter-Burundian dialogue at the external level has made no concrete progress since its launch in December 2015.

In January 2016, the Burundian government boycotted talks in Arusha, Tanzania, arguing that it could not sit on the "same table" with what it called "non-peaceful" stakeholders.

More than 500 people in Burundi have been killed and some 300,000 people fled to neighboring countries, mostly Tanzania, Rwanda, DR Congo, and Uganda since the outbreak of the crisis. Endit