East African Legislative Assembly, Switzerland, Thursday, October 22, 2015: EALA Speaker, Rt. Hon Daniel F. Kidega is calling on legislators in Burundi to go the extra mile to help cement calmness in the East African country.
Rt. Hon Kidega said peace in Burundi was vital to enable the nation to realise any meaningful progress. The EALA Speaker made the call when he held talks with the President of the Senate of Burundi, Rt. Hon Révérien Ndikuriyo on the sidelines of the 133rd Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland.
“As representatives of the people, you have a role to play in ensuring stability of the nation is maintained,” Rt. Hon Kidega told the Speaker of the Senate.
“As Parliamentarians, you are not just the representatives of the people, but you are their voice also and are capable of instilling confidence in the populace”, he added.
The Speaker added that EALA would continue to stand firm with Burundi and that its position on the situation in the country was firmly aligned with that of the Summit for the EAC Heads of State.
The Speaker informed the Speaker of Senate that the regional Assembly had in May-June this year, undertaken a goodwill mission to assess the situation of the refugees from Burundi in Kigoma, United Republic of Tanzania and in the eastern Province of the Republic of Rwanda. The report he noted, was further debated and adopted at its recent sitting in Nairobi, Kenya (2nd meeting of the 4th Session of the 3rd Assembly).
Present at the occasion was the Deputy Speaker of the Senate of Burundi, senior diplomatic officials of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Burundi to the UN Office and other international organisations in Geneva led by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, H.E. Pierre Claver Ndayiragije and the EALA Senior Public Relations Officer, Bobi Odiko.
The President of the Senate, Rt. Hon Révérien Ndikuriyo lauded EALA for the support so far shown to the Republic of Burundi. He maintained that all stakeholders were committed to finding a lasting solution to take the country forward.
“The Head of State has called for national dialogue”, he remarked and “this shall help realise national consensus”, he added.
Rt. Hon Ndikuriyo maintained though that Burundi was largely peaceful. “Ideally, I have been to eleven of the seventeen Provinces in the country so far. I want to report that in a number of places visited, the situation is calm,” the Senate Speaker added.
“The authorities continue to do all that is possible to restore calm in some of the areas that may still be tense if any,” he added.
He stated the leadership of Parliament of Burundi, was keen to meet with their counterparts from the Parliament of Rwanda as well to help inspire confidence between citizens of both nations.
On his part, the Deputy Speaker of Senate, hailed the Summit of EAC Heads of State for their mediation efforts. “I congratulate H.E. Yoweri Museveni who is heading the peace efforts on behalf of the EAC,” he said.
-Ends-
For more Information, contact:
Bobi Odiko,
Senior Public Relations Officer;
East African Legislative Assembly;
Tel: +255-27-2508240, Cell: +254-733-718036, +@55-787-870945,
Cell: number in Switzerland; + 41-767-858939
Email: bodiko@eachq.org
www.eala.org
Arusha, Tanzania
