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Burundi wants Nqakula out
14/12/2007 13:33 - (SA)
Bujumbura - Burundi's parliament demanded on Thursday that the South African official mediating between the state and the rebels be replaced, accusing Charles Nqakula of lying and fuelling the crisis.
"The Assembly unanimously requests that the government seek a new mediator, one who will help our country find a way out of the crisis," Parliament Speaker Pie Ntavyohanyuma said.
Speaking at a parliament session of questions to Vice-President Yves Sahinguvu, the lawmakers accused the mediator of "being a liar, seeking to plunge Burundi back into war and aligning with government positions."
The vice-president said the request to remove Nqakula - also South Africa's security minister - would be looked into.
Burundi is struggling to emerge from the ashes of a civil war which erupted in 1993 and killed about 300 000 people.
One rebel group, the National Liberation Forces (FNL), is yet to sign a peace deal with the government.
The rebel movement had also demanded in September that Nqakula be replaced.
The African Union, which has a 1 000-strong force deployed in Burundi, has given the FNL until December 31 to rejoin the ceasefire implementation mechanism it quit earlier this year
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