Burundi threatens to leave East African community
Burundi's President Pierre Nkurunziza talks to the media during a joint press conference with European Union Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, unseen, at the end of their meeting at the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, 5 December 2005.
The president of the National Assembly of Burundi, Pascal Nyabenda, threatened that the country would leave the Community of East Africa (CAE) if its voice is not heard, reports Anadolu.
“Burundi has denounced the terms of the last election of the president of the EAC community parliament, this issue is not yet resolved,” he said this Sunday night, on the national radio, RTNB.
He made these statements on his return from a mission to Juba, Southern Sudan, where he participated in the 12th meeting of the Forum of Presidents of Parliaments of the Member States of the East African Community.
Bujumbura also objects to the systematic use of English in the recruitment of personnel within the Community. This excludes Burundians who are French-speaking.
“We have also denounced the exclusion of Burundians in different jobs within the Community, because the tests are done in English, while we are French-speaking and the summit of heads of state decided that French is also a working language “, added Pascal Nyabenda.
“We had the opportunity to defend our stand on this issue, we expect positive answers, otherwise Burundi will leave this community,” he said.
The 12th meeting of the Forum of Presidents of EAC Parliaments took place on 21 September in Juba, South Sudan.
The East African Community (EAC) comprises six East African countries, namely, Burundi, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan and Tanzania. Its headquarters are in Arusha, Tanzania.
