PRESS CONFERENCE BY FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER OF BURUNDI

PRESS CONFERENCE BY FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER OF BURUNDI

At a Headquarters press conference this morning, Antoinette Batumubwira, Foreign Affairs Minister of Burundi, announced that country’s plans to host a donor conference during the first half of February 2006, so that much-needed resources could be mobilized to aid reconstruction efforts. 

She said Burundi had undergone a calm transition from civil war to peace,and that recent elections -- spanning all levels of Government, from the presidential level to the grassroots -- were an important milestone for the country, having been through a long period of political turmoil and war.  The people of Burundi were determined to rebuild their country so that they would never again find themselves in a similar situation.

Answering a question about United Nations peacekeepers in Burundi and a timetable for their withdrawal, Mrs. Batumubwira replied that 40 per cent of the peacekeeping troops would be withdrawn in January 2006 from areas deemed free of security problems.  However, peacekeepers would remain in areas where crime was still rampant.  The situation would then be reassessed in March 2006 for further withdrawals.

She added that the orderly manner in which the transition had taken place was proof that Burundians were maturing politically, and that the United Nations and other partners had done a good job in helping the country manage its crisis.

* *** *

For information media • not an official record