Referendum is a democratic choice for Rwandans -- UK minister

The British government has said the countrys referendum on revised constitution is a democratic choice of the Rwandan people that they will not interfere with. The remarks were made by James Duddridge the UK minister for Africa while addressing members of the press yesterday at the British High Commission in Kacyiru, Kigali. Polling for Rwandans in the Diaspora is today, while those in the country will cast their vote on Friday for ‘YES’ and ‘NO’ vote.” Duddridge who was on his way to Burundi’s capital Bujumbura said it was upon the Rwandan people to decide on the Constitution. “You have a democratic choice on what decision to take. I and the UK government do not want to and will not interfere with that democratic process, that would be highly inappropriate,” Duddridge told reporters. Prior to the Rwandan visit, Duddridge who is on a three day regional visit was in Uganda, where he met Ugandan President and East African Community (EAC) appointed mediator in the ongoing Burundi crisis, Yoweri Museveni. He said the escalating crisis in Burundi called for a speedy dialogue among the parties involved to reach a consensus. The dialogue he said should be both internal and external through the East African Community. The EAC in an emergency summit on Burundi held in July appointed President Museveni to facilitate dialogue between the parties at the highest levels in a view to end the tension and growing conflict. The UK minister said the British Government and international community back the regional intervention mechanism set up by the East African Community in Arusha. “The next step is to get everybody around the table and President Museveni will be convening a meeting. I call on all participants to get involved in that dialogue, external to Burundi and internally within Burundi,” he said. He said internal dialogue alone would be insufficient in bringing to an end the Burundian crisis as some of the participants were too scared to return to Burundi. “Logically, some of the key participants that need to be around the table are scared of going back to Burundi; key opposition leaders, members of President Nkurunziza’s own party are here in Kigali and in various other countries. Whereas internal dialogue may be part of the solution it is a very small part,” Duddridge said. He said the UK and the international community would not stand by and watch the crisis escalate, they would be there to support the people of Burundi if the dialogue process fails. “We led the way on sanctions; we led the way on discussions. It is however, right that we leave space for the dialogue to take place and for solutions to come from participants who will make the solutions work,” he said. Meanwhile, the political crisis in Burundi continues to cause concern across the world as human rights groups say that more than 300 people have died in the country while about 200,000 have fled their homes as part of violence that erupted after President Pierre Nkurunziza decided to seek re-election. Several experts, including senior UN officials, have warned that Burundi is at a critical situation and faces a deep political crisis with escalating violence and bodies of dead people being regularly dumped on the streets of the capital, Bujumbura. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Referendum is a democratic choice for Rwandans -- UK minister