CNARED still demands negotiations to end crisis

Members of the National Council for the Respect of the Arusha Agreement and Rule of Law-CNARED have recently held a three-day meeting in Belgium. Negotiations and consolidation of the members of the board were on the agenda.

Members of the CNARED Executive board held a two-day meeting in Belgium

The executive board of the main opposition in exile –CNARED met in Brussels- Belgium from 14 to 16 August. Their discussion was focused on negotiations and consolidation of the executive members of the platform.

“We are convinced that only negotiations will get Burundi out of the current crisis”, says Pancrace Cimpaye, the newly appointed spokesperson for CNARED. He also says they focused on the roadmap towards the preparation for the forthcoming negotiations. “There are some pertinent elements that need to be improved for better success”, he says.

On 24 July, the Crisis Management Initiative (ICM) organized consultations that lasted two days in Finland. The meeting was held behind closed doors and attended by the CNDD-FDD delegation led by Ombudsman Edouard Nduwimana and the members of CNARED executive board. Reliable sources said the consultations in Helsinki aimed to find a way out of the crisis.

During the three day meeting, the members of the CNARED Executive board analyzed the ongoing sanctions imposed by the West. “The sanctions are still of paramount importance to force Burundi Government to engage in an inclusive dialog”, he says.

The EU sanctions began in March 2016. The European organization, whose aid accounted for 20% of the budget, decided to freeze the direct aid granted to the government of Burundi, in accordance with Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement.“As Burundi government has not yet agreed to engage in peace talks, we exhort the AU, UN and EU to continue to impose sanctions. Maybe the international community will convince Burundi government to engage in negotiations”, he says.

The spokesperson for CNARED also says the executive board of the opposition platform has been consolidated. Some changes have been made to improve and strengthen the strategies that CNARED uses.

After two years of crisis, the dialogue led by the EAC is deadlocked. Various consultations have been scheduled and a roadmap has been established for the forthcoming negotiations. While the international community has so far shown its limits, opponents in exile on their side are struggling to show that they still exist.