The government of Burundi, faced with accusations of human-rights abuses, has asked the United Nations to recall its acting special representative in the country, Nureldin Satti.
"I will not tell you why we requested that he be recalled," Antoinette Batumubwira, Burundi's foreign minister, said on Wednesday from Bujumbura, the capital.
"We didn't want it to be public. It was meant to be confidential," she said.
The government is led by a former rebel group turned political party, the Conseil national pour la défense de la démocratie-Forces pour la défense de la démocratie (CNDD-FDD). It came to power in 2005 in elections that officially marked the end of the transition period that followed Burundi's 11-year civil war.
Human-rights groups have cited a spate of abuses by the government, including extrajudicial killings and the illegal arrest of prominent political leaders on allegations of plotting a coup. The former president, Domitien Ndayizeye, is in detention, accused of engaging in a coup plot.
Batumubwira said the request to recall Satti had begun several months ago. "It doesn't have anything to do with the current situation, with the attempted coup plot," she said.
However, Satti has been raising questions about the government's recent actions over the alleged coup plot. On 11 August, following a meeting with the government, Satti issued a statement in which he said, "We will see to it that all rights are respected and that all current procedures are in accordance with the laws and constitution of Burundi."
When asked on Wednesday to comment on the government's request to recall Satti, the spokesman for the UN Mission in Burundi, Amadou Ousmane, said, "It is still too early to react."
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"I will not tell you why we requested that he be recalled," Antoinette Batumubwira, Burundi's foreign minister, said on Wednesday from Bujumbura, the capital.
"We didn't want it to be public. It was meant to be confidential," she said.
The government is led by a former rebel group turned political party, the Conseil national pour la défense de la démocratie-Forces pour la défense de la démocratie (CNDD-FDD). It came to power in 2005 in elections that officially marked the end of the transition period that followed Burundi's 11-year civil war.
Human-rights groups have cited a spate of abuses by the government, including extrajudicial killings and the illegal arrest of prominent political leaders on allegations of plotting a coup. The former president, Domitien Ndayizeye, is in detention, accused of engaging in a coup plot.
Batumubwira said the request to recall Satti had begun several months ago. "It doesn't have anything to do with the current situation, with the attempted coup plot," she said.
However, Satti has been raising questions about the government's recent actions over the alleged coup plot. On 11 August, following a meeting with the government, Satti issued a statement in which he said, "We will see to it that all rights are respected and that all current procedures are in accordance with the laws and constitution of Burundi."
When asked on Wednesday to comment on the government's request to recall Satti, the spokesman for the UN Mission in Burundi, Amadou Ousmane, said, "It is still too early to react."
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This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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